UNESP, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Departamento de Zootecnia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Zootecnia, 14884-900 Jaboticabal-SP, Brazil.
Grupo ETCO, Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Etologia e Ecologia Animal, 14884-900 Jaboticabal-SP, Brazil.
Poult Sci. 2019 Oct 1;98(10):4282-4289. doi: 10.3382/ps/pez284.
The aim of this study was to identify the influence of different catching practices during manual upright handling on broiler welfare and behavior. Catching was examined in a total of 4,595 Cobb broilers with average live weight of 3.2 kg and 42 days old. Six catching practices were evaluated: shed curtain position, loading time, catching method, catching team, height of the crates from the floor, and placement of the bird in the crate. Behavioral welfare indicators were defined as follows: 1) broiler agitation in the catcher's hands, measured when the birds flapped their wings, kicked, or wriggled in the hands; 2) broiler striking the crate entrance as it was being placed in the crate, measured when the birds get the head, wings, or legs, hit at the crate entrance; and 3) broiler agitation in the crate, measured when birds flapped the wings or jumped inside the crate for 3 s or more after placement in the crate. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the chance of occurrence of each behavioral welfare indicator due to the handling factors. All catching practices evaluated in the present study influenced the birds' welfare and behavior. Thus, some procedures during broiler catching potentially improved their behavior, making them less prone to accidents, and consequently improved their welfare. The catching process should be performed with the curtains in the closed position, carrying one broiler per catcher in an upright position while containing its wings, carefully placing the birds inside the crates, and with the crates being positioned at a height of at least 21 cm from the ground. Additionally, it was concluded that more attention should be given to the broiler catchers, since the position of the curtain, loading time, and position of the crate during handling can influence the work done by them, affecting the welfare and behavior of both humans and birds.
本研究旨在确定人工直立处理过程中不同捕捉方式对肉鸡福利和行为的影响。总共检查了 4595 只平均体重为 3.2 公斤、42 天大的科布肉鸡的捕捉情况。评估了六种捕捉方式：棚帘位置、装笼时间、捕捉方式、捕捉团队、从地面到笼具的高度以及鸡只在笼中的放置位置。行为福利指标定义如下：1）鸡在捕捉者手中的煽动行为，当鸡在手中拍打翅膀、踢腿或扭动时测量；2）鸡在被放入笼中时撞击笼门，当鸡的头、翅膀或腿碰到笼门时测量；3）鸡在笼中的煽动行为，当鸡被放入笼中后 3 秒或更长时间内拍打翅膀或在笼内跳跃时测量。使用逻辑回归模型计算每个行为福利指标因处理因素而发生的机会。本研究评估的所有捕捉方式均影响鸡的福利和行为。因此，在肉鸡捕捉过程中的一些程序可以改善它们的行为，使它们不太容易发生意外，并因此提高它们的福利。捕捉过程中应将棚帘关闭，以直立的姿势每个捕捉者抓取一只鸡，同时抓住其翅膀，小心地将鸡放入笼中，并且笼具应放置在离地面至少 21 厘米的高度。此外，还得出结论，应该更加关注肉鸡捕捉者，因为在处理过程中棚帘的位置、装笼时间和笼具的位置都会影响他们的工作，从而影响人类和鸡的福利和行为。
