Silsoe Livestock Systems, Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire MK45 4EY.
Vet Rec. 2011 Feb 5;168(5):129. doi: 10.1136/vr.c5431. Epub 2011 Feb 1.
A breast support conveyor has the potential to improve bird welfare by avoiding the need to invert and suspend broilers by their legs as they move from the point of shackling to entry into the electric waterbath. To evaluate its effect on welfare under commercial conditions, a breast support conveyor was installed under the conventional shackle line of a small poultry processing plant. A structured assessment of the behaviour of the birds indicated a significant decrease in struggling and wing flapping at the point of shackling, on the straight conveyor and at entry into the waterbath. This resulted in a lower prevalence of red wing tips and bruising in the first wing joint. The shackle line and conveyor in this installation, however, passed around a 90° corner, which appeared to cause more disturbance to the birds on the conveyor than to comparable birds suspended from shackles in the traditional manner. The results indicate that a breast support conveyor has the potential to improve bird welfare on straight shackle lines and that, because struggling activity and duration following shackling are reduced, the time between shackling and stunning could also be reduced using this method, further improving bird welfare. Breast support conveyors should not be used when the shackle lines have sharp bends.
一种乳房支撑输送机有可能通过避免在将肉鸡从拴锁点移动到电击水浴时通过腿部倒置和悬挂来改善禽类福利。为了在商业条件下评估其对福利的影响，在一个小型家禽加工厂的传统拴锁线上安装了一种乳房支撑输送机。对鸟类行为的结构化评估表明，在拴锁点、直线输送机和进入水浴时，挣扎和翅膀拍打明显减少。这导致第一翅膀关节处的红色翼尖和瘀伤的患病率降低。然而，该安装中的拴锁线和输送机绕过了一个 90°角，这似乎使输送机上的鸟类比以传统方式从拴锁上悬挂的可比鸟类受到更多的干扰。结果表明，乳房支撑输送机有可能改善直线拴锁线上的禽类福利，并且由于拴锁后挣扎活动和持续时间减少，因此使用这种方法也可以减少从拴锁到致晕之间的时间，从而进一步改善禽类福利。当拴锁线有急转弯时，不应使用乳房支撑输送机。
