Project stakeholders
The main target groups are organic egg producers and advisors as well as political decision makers in Europe and other countries with comparable production systems.
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Promoting good health and welfare in organic laying hens
Relevant links
 Researchers from the HealthyHens project will stay in touch with the CORE Organic II project ICOPP and the European project Lowinputbreeds. Results from completed European research projects (Welfarequality, Laywel) will be considered in the HealthyHens protocol.
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News
Healthy Hens open scientific workshop will take place August 27.
Invitation
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Good health and welfare in organic laying hens
depends on good management
Organic egg production
Organic egg production has substantially increased over the last years and in some EU states gained considerable significance. A critical challenge for its further development is the ability to document a high level of animal health and welfare. Currently there are a number of health and welfare problems of mostly multifactorial nature. An epidemiological study will help to better understand these problems and address risk factors.
Expected benefits of the project
Resulting recommendations will help organic egg producers to further develop bird health and welfare according to the organic principles, and to enhance economic competitiveness through improved bird health and performance. Efficient management strategies will improve the current health and welfare status of organic hens, as well as to reduce nutrient build up in the surrounding environment.
The HealthyHens project aims
This project focuses on disease management, animal welfare and impacts on the environment on organic laying hen farms, as organic husbandry poses special challenges and has to fulfill high expectations in these areas. Major risk factors will be identified in eight participating countries: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, UK, The Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium.
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Main outcomes at this stage?
Data were collected on 115 farms at peak of lay
and on 110 farms at end of lay. Parasitological
autopsies were made on 15 hens per flock, on
55 farms. The sample shows a fairly even distribution
regarding season of data collection, farm
sizes and housing systems.
For hen health parameters, 50 hens were examined
per flock at the end of lay and 15 faecal
samples taken for helminth egg analysis at each
visit (peak and end of lay).
Preliminary results show a wide range of flock
prevalences concerning the different health parameters.
Plumage condition was scored for the back, the
tail, the vent-cloaca area and the neck of the
hens and wounds at the back and vent-cloaca
area. 0 to 100 % of the sampled hens per flock
were affected by feather pecking and 0 to 96 %
by wounds.
Regarding keel bones, there was no flock without
either deviations or fractures present in at least
one examined hen. Analysed separately, fractures
were found in 0 to 88 % hens (mean 28 %) per
flock and deviations in 0 to 84 % (mean 31 %).
Prevalences of hematomas at the keel bone on
the other hand were so low (median = 0 %) that
they will not be included in further analyses.
On the basis of faecal egg counts infections with
Ascaridia galli or Heterakis worms (eggs of these
two species were not differentiated) were found
in 55 % of flocks at peak of lay (61 % at the end
of lay), Capillaria were prevalent in about one
quarter of all flocks. All other helminth species |
Main project activities
- 107 flocks distributed over 8 countries will be included in the observational study with a cross sectional design
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Flocks will be visited twice at specified age periods during two seasons
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Housing, management and animal based data will be recorded during interviews, direct measurements or from farm documentation
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Recommendations will be formulated based on analyses carried out
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Search Organic Eprints
The open archive includes a vast amount of documents on organic certification
Search the open archive
More search options on www.orgprints.org
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HealthyHens
management of health, welfare and environmental impacts in organic laying hens
8 partners, 8 countries
Coordinator
Christine Brenninkmeyer and Ute Knierim, University of Kassel, Germany
E-mail: knierim@wiz.uni-kassel.de
brenninkmeyer@wiz.uni-kassel.de
Partners
Paolo Ferrari and Susanna
Lolli Fondazione CRPA Studi e Ricerche onlus, Italy
Jan Tind Sørensen, Ricarda Engberg and Lena
Karina Hinrichsen, Aarhus University, Denmark
Stephen Edge, Alice Willet and Emily Phelps,
ADAS UK Ltd., United Kingdom
Monique Bestman and Cynthia Verwer,
Louis Bolk Institute, The Netherlands
Knut Niebuhr and Fehim Smajlhodzic,
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
Stefan Gunnarsson and Anne Larsen,
Swedish university of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Frank Tuyttens and Jasper Heerkens,
Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Belgium
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