The Productivity and Financial Impacts of Eight Types of Environmental Enrichment for Broiler Chickens

Philip J Jones,Jarkko K Niemi,Fernanda M Tahamtani,Anja B Riber,Ida J Pedersen

doi:10.3390/ani10030378

Abstract

Reduced mobility in broilers can contribute to leg health problems. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as one approach to combat this through stimulating increased physical activity. Past studies have tested the effect of environmental enrichments on bird behaviour, health and welfare, but few have estimated their financial impacts. This study tested the impact of eight types of environmental enrichment on enterprise net margin, accounting for direct intervention costs plus indirect effects via changes to bird mortality, weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and foot pad dermatitis. The trial used 58 pens each containing approximately 500 broilers (Ross 308) at a stocking density of 40 kg/m2. The environmental enrichments were: roughage, vertical panels, straw bales, elevated platforms (5 and 30 cm), increased distances between feed and water (7 and 3.5 m) and stocking density reduced to 34 kg/m2, plus a control group. Mortality was recorded daily and feed intake and weight weekly. Footpad dermatitis was assessed on day 35. Only one intervention improved financial performance (3.5 m between feed and water) above the control, suggesting that most environmental enrichment would have a negative financial impact due to the additional intervention costs, unless consumers were willing to pay a price premium.

Highlights

It has been suggested that the inactivity of fast-growing broilers reared in intensive indoor systems negatively impacts leg health, for example leading to gait problems, leg deformities and footpad dermatitis (FPD) [1,2,3]
There was no significant effect of enrichment on feed conversion ratio (F8,44 = 1.31; p = 0.26) or total mortality (F8,46 = 0.69; p = 0.7)
The findings of this study suggest that care must be taken when selecting, in commercial farming practice, environmental enrichment to improve bird welfare

Summary

Introduction

It has been suggested that the inactivity of fast-growing broilers reared in intensive indoor systems negatively impacts leg health, for example leading to gait problems, leg deformities and footpad dermatitis (FPD) [1,2,3] To address these welfare problems some recent studies have examined the possibility of improving leg health by increasing bird activity by means of providing environmental enrichment. Examples of types of environmental enrichment tested include the provision of perches [4,5,6], placing hay or straw bales into housing [7,8], introduction of sand trays, vegetable materials, hanging objects [5], a dust-bathing substrate, and mirrors [8,9] All of these enrichments involve changing the nature of the rearing environment to increase its complexity. The less positive the impact of the enrichment on productivity, the lower the likelihood that increases in financial returns will be able to offset higher production costs, and the lower the likelihood of uptake [11]

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