Cost-efficiency of animal welfare in broiler production systems: A pilot study using the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol

2016 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 55-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Gocsik ◽  
Suzanne D. Brooshooft ◽  
Ingrid C. de Jong ◽  
Helmut W. Saatkamp
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Broiler Production ◽  
Welfare Quality

scholarly journals Comparison of Chinese Broiler Production Systems in Economic Performance and Animal Welfare

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 491
Author(s):  
Qichang Chen ◽  
Helmut W. Saatkamp ◽  
Jan Cortenbach ◽  
Weidong Jin
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Economic Benefit ◽  
Deterministic Model ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Cage System ◽  
Broiler Production ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Welfare Quality

Both proper animal welfare and economic benefit are important to the broiler industry, so it is better to consider these two factors together. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between economic benefit and animal welfare in different production systems of white-feathered broilers in China. Based on the Welfare Quality Assessment (WQA) protocol for poultry, the authors compared and evaluated the results of the Welfare Quality model (WQM) and the deterministic model. The present study conducted welfare evaluations and investigations on 66 broiler chicken flocks on 52 farms in China. These flocks included three types: the net floor system (NFS), the normal cage system (NCS), and the high standard cage system (HCS). In terms of economy, the results were in line with high economic input, high output, and high profit. In terms of animal welfare assessment, the authors calculated the welfare scores per measure and the attributional WQ scores and WQ index scores of each production systems. The results showed that nine welfare measures from four welfare criteria presented different trends in the three production systems. WQ index scores were 778.24 ± 29.45, 691.09 ± 32.97, and 669.82 ± 22.79, respectively. According to Chow test results, significant differences were found between WQ index scores and total cost and profit (all p < 0.01). In conclusion, with the development of white-feathered broiler production in China, from the conventional system to the latest system, both cost and economic profit have been increased, but the welfare score has been decreased.

scholarly journals Animal welfare assessment in Slovenian conventional and alternative pig production systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-174
Author(s):  
Irena Golinar-Oven ◽  
Jan Plut ◽  
Marina Stukelj
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Good Health ◽  
The Body ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Conventional Farms ◽  
Suckling Piglets ◽  
Welfare Quality ◽  
Fattening Pigs

The aims of the study were to assess the welfare of pigs in Slovenian farms based on the international Welfare Quality? Assessment protocol for pigs and to gain a first insight into the welfare of pigs in Slovenian conventional and alternative farms. Pig welfare in Slovenia was assessed using the Welfare Quality? protocol on 10 alternative and 10 conventional farms. The size of the farm ranged from 11 to 1900 breeding sows in conventional farms and from three to 50 breeding sows in alternative farms. Using the protocol, the welfare of breeding sows, suckling piglets, growers, and fattening pigs was evaluated. The protocol consisted of four main principles of animal welfare (good feeding, good housing, good health, and appropriate behaviour), which were subdivided into 12 independent criteria. To evaluate each of these criteria, a set of measures was used. Overall animal welfare quality was calculated with a mathematical model incorporated into the protocol. Depending on the scores of the four principles, farms were classified as excellent, enhanced, acceptable or not classified. According to the Welfare Quality? protocol and statistical calculation, growers and fatteners in Slovenian conventional farms were rated as acceptable, while Slovenian alternative farms were rated as enhanced. We can conclude that the welfare of the growers and fatteners in our alternative farms is at a higher level than in conventional farms. The most critical evaluation points in sows were bursitis, wounds on the body, stereotypies, and fear of humans.

The Costs of Production in Systems Which Differ in Their Perceived Effects on Animal Welfare. 1. Eggs and Broilers

1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
John Hill ◽  
Carol Asby ◽  
Ian Sturgess
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Free Range ◽  
Broiler Production ◽  
Perceived Effects ◽  
Costs Of Production ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Equipment Costs

This paper considers what animal welfare is and the importance of animal welfare to the consumer. It also considers how different production systems are perceived in terms of kindness to animals, and outlines a method of assessing the costs of animal welfare by analysing the costs of intensive egg and broiler production and comparing them with costs of free-range production by using data from the UK. The extra costs associated with free-range production are due to higher labour, feed, building and equipment costs.

scholarly journals Test−Retest Reliability of the ‘Welfare Quality® Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Sows and Piglets’. Part 1. Assessment of the Welfare Principle of ‘Appropriate Behavior’

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich ◽  
Krieter ◽  
Kemper ◽  
Czycholl
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Appropriate Behavior ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Smallest Detectable Change ◽  
Welfare Quality ◽  
Animal Welfare Assessment ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

The present study’s aim was to assess the test−retest reliability (TRR) of the ‘Welfare Quality® animal welfare assessment protocol for sows and piglets’ focusing on the welfare principle ‘appropriate behavior’. TRR was calculated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), smallest detectable change (SDC), and limits of agreement (LoA). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for deeper analysis of the Qualitative Behavior Assessment (QBA). The study was conducted on thirteen farms in Northern Germany, which were visited five times by the same observer. Farm visits 1 (F1; day 0) were compared to farm visits 2 to 5 (F2–F5). The QBA indicated no TRR when applying the statistical parameters introduced above (e.g., ‘playful‘ (F1–F4) RS 0.08 ICC 0.00 SDC 0.50 LoA [−0.62, 0.38]). The PCA detected contradictory TRR. Acceptable TRR could be found for parts of the instantaneous scan sampling (e.g., negative social behavior (F1–F3) RS 0.45 ICC 0.37 SDC 0.02 LoA [−0.03, 0.02]). The human−animal relationship test solely achieved poor TRR, whereas scans for stereotypies showed sufficient TRR (e.g., floor licking (F1–F4) RS 0.63 ICC 0.52 SDC 0.05 LoA [−0.08, 0.04]). Concluding, the principle ‘appropriate behavior’ does not represent TRR and further investigation is needed before implementation on-farm.

scholarly journals Global Prospects of the Cost-Efficiency of Broiler Welfare in Middle-Segment Production Systems

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luuk S.M. Vissers ◽  
Ingrid C. de Jong ◽  
Peter L.M. van Horne ◽  
Helmut W. Saatkamp
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Middle Segment ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
The Cost

In the 2000s, the idea of a so-called middle-segment arose in North-West Europe to address the criticism on intensive broiler production systems. Middle-segment systems being indoor housing of slower-growing broiler strains at a stocking density ≤38 kg/m2. Previous literature showed that Dutch middle-segment systems entail a relatively large gain in animal welfare at a relatively low increase in costs, i.e., have a high cost-efficiency. The question is to what extent these findings are applicable to other countries. Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain insight in the global prospects of middle-segment systems by exploring the cost-efficiency of these systems in other parts of the world. A set of representative countries, containing the Netherlands, United States and Brazil were selected. Cost-efficiency was defined as the ratio of the change in the level of animal welfare and the change in production costs. The level of animal welfare was measured by the Welfare Quality (WQ) index score. Data was collected from literature and consulting experts. Results show that in the Netherlands, United States and Brazil a change from conventional towards a middle-segment system improves animal welfare in a cost-efficient manner (the Netherlands 9.1, United States 24.2 and Brazil 12.1). Overall, it can be concluded that in general middle-segment production systems provide a considerable increase in animal welfare at a relatively small increase in production costs and therefore offer good prospects for a cost-efficient improvement of broiler welfare.

scholarly journals The welfare of pigs in rustic and technified production systems using the Welfare Quality protocols of pigs in Mexico: Validity of indicators of animal welfare as part of the sustainability criteria of pig production systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natyieli Losada-Espinosa ◽  
María Elena Trujillo Ortega ◽  
Francisco Galindo
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Initial Approximation ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Pig Production ◽  
Sustainability Criteria ◽  
Welfare Quality

Veterinaria México OA ISSN: 2448-6760Cite this as:Losada-Espinosa N,Trujillo Ortega ME, Galindo F. The welfare of pigs in rustic and technified production systems using the Welfare Quality protocols of pigs in Mexico: Validity of indicators of animal welfare as part of the sustainability criteria of pig production systems. Veterinaria México OA. 2017;4(4). doi: 10.21753/vmoa.4.4.521.The Welfare Quality® (WQ) protocols have been developed as a tool for the assessment of farm animal welfare based on scientific evidence. Animal welfare (AW) is part of the sustainability criteria of livestock production. A study was carried out in four states of Central Mexico in seven rustic (rPS) and six technified (tPS) production systems using the WQ protocol with the objective of providing an initial approximation of the welfare of animals and to discuss the validity of indicators of AW. The results showed that the animals housed in rustic units presented better results in the Good Health category and with respect to the criterion expression of social behaviour, while the frequency of criteria concerning Positive emotional states was higher in animals in the technified units. In the changing context in which the farms operate, including changing agricultural policies, new environmental and food safety regulations, variability of climatic conditions, and volatility in prices of inputs and outputs, it is not only the attributes referring to productivity and efficiency that become relevant. It is concluded that the criteria related to the WQ principles of health and behaviour are sensitive to changes in the housing and management of pigs. The high occurrences of health and behaviour problems recorded in technified systems are an indicator of poor welfare.Figure 4. Classification of rustic (RS) and technified (TS) production units within the welfare categories proposed by the Welfare Quality protocol.

scholarly journals How Are Information Technologies Addressing Broiler Welfare? A Systematic Review Based on the Welfare Quality® Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heitor Vieira Rios ◽  
Paulo Dabdab Waquil ◽  
Patrícia Soster de Carvalho ◽  
Tomas Norton
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Good Health ◽  
System Variable ◽  
Broiler Production ◽  
Farmer Adoption ◽  
Conventional Production ◽  
Welfare Quality

This systematic review aims to explore how information technologies (ITs) are currently used to monitor the welfare of broiler chickens. The question posed for the review was “which ITs are related to welfare and how do they monitor this for broilers?”. The Welfare Quality® (WQ) protocol for broiler assessment was utilized as a framework to analyse suitable articles. A total of 57 studies were reviewed wherein all principles of broiler welfare were addressed. The “good health” principle was the main criteria found to be addressed by ITs and IT-based studies (45.6% and 46.1%, respectively), whereas the least observed principle was “good feeding” (8.8%). This review also classified ITs and IT-based studies by their utilization (location, production system, variable measured, aspect of production, and experimental/practical use). The results show that the current focus of ITs is on problems with conventional production systems and that less attention has been given to free-range systems, slaughterhouses, and supply chain issues. Given the valuable results evidenced by the exploitation of ITs, their use in broiler production should continue to be encouraged with more attention given to farmer adoption strategies.

scholarly journals Assessing Extensive Semi-Arid Rangeland Beef Cow-Calf Welfare in Namibia: Part 1: Comparison between farm production system’s effect on the welfare of beef cows

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Baby Kaurivi ◽  
Richard Laven ◽  
Tim Parkinson ◽  
Rebecca Hickson ◽  
Kevin Stafford
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Beef Cows ◽  
Export Market ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Commercial Farms ◽  
Cow Calf ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Arid Rangeland

A proposed animal welfare assessment protocol for semi-arid rangeland-based cow-calf systems in Namibia combined 40 measures from a protocol developed for beef cattle in New Zealand with additional Namibia-specific measures. Preliminary validation of the protocol had been undertaken with five herds in one semi-commercial village. The aim of the current study was to apply this protocol and compare animal welfare across three cow-calf production systems in Namibia. A total of 2529 beef cows were evaluated during pregnancy testing in the yards of 17 commercial, 20 semi-commercial and 18 communal (total: 55) herds followed by an assessment of farm resources and a questionnaire-guided interview. Non-parametric tests were used to evaluate the difference in the welfare scores between the production systems. The results indicated a discrepancy of animal welfare between the three farm types, with a marked separation of commercial farms from semi-commercial, and communal village farms in the least. The differences in these production systems was mainly driven by economic gains through access to better beef export market for commercial farms and semi-commercial villages, as well as by the differences in the available grazing land, facility designs/quality and traditional customs in the village systems. The results indicate an advantage of commercialisation over communalisation.

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