The EU ban on conventional barren cages for laying hens from 2012 has improved many aspects of laying hen welfare. The new housing systems allow for the expression of highly-motivated behaviors. However, the systems available for intensive large-scale egg production (e.g., aviaries, floor housing systems, furnished cages) may cause other welfare challenges. We have reviewed the literature regar...

In the United States, empirical information on the sustainability of commercial-scale egg production is lacking. The passage of state regulations specific to hen housing created urgency to better understand the effects of different housing systems on the sustainability of the egg supply, and stimulated the formation of a coalition, the Coalition for a Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES), to conduct r...

Poultry manure supports the development of several serious fly pests (Axtell and Arends 1990). Fresh manure is rich in nutrients and is produced at the rate of one-quarter pound per hen per day, providing an ideal habitat for fly larvae to live and feed. The problem has become more acute in modern high-density poultry housing where manure often is concentrated in piles below the birds. The hous...

The survey was conducted to examine poultry production and determine causes of poultry losses in a communal area of Zimbabwe. Qualitative data were obtained using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques, while quantitative data were captured through a structured questionnaire administered to 416 households. The majority (68%) of the farmers in the study kept indigenous chickens and the r...

Rhodnius ecuadoriensis infests peridomiciles and colonises houses in rural southern Ecuador. Six out of 84 dwellings (7%) surveyed in a rural village were infested (78 bugs/infested domicile; 279 bugs were collected in a single dwelling). Precipitin tests revealed R. ecuadoriensis fed on birds (65%), rodents (31%), marsupials (8%), and humans (15%) - mixed bloodmeals detected in 37.5% of indivi...

Recommendations are presented for the minimum structural components, special utilities, installations, and other design and operational features which define a microbiologically-secure animal containment facility. These biocontainment parameters are expected to enable the safe housing and handling of livestock and poultry infected with pathogenic agents. Physical testing and certification requi...

Human infections with Salmonella Enteritidis are often attributed to the consumption of contaminated eggs, so the prevalence of this pathogen in egg-laying poultry is an important public health risk factor. Numerous and complex environmental influences on Salmonella persistence and transmission are exerted by management practices and housing facilities used in commercial egg production. In rece...

Fungi are present in abundance poultry housing. The aim of the study was to assess effect season and microclimate parameters housing on fungal flora air broiler trachea commercial fattening conditions. conducted summer winter. Study results indicated seasonal impact association between composition trachea. However, total count significantly higher winter, both correlated with indoor relative hu...

The bacterial eggshell contamination of shell eggs in different commercial housing systems; two conventional cages, one organic aviary system and one barn production, were compared. The total counts of aerobic bacteria and the total counts of Gramnegative bacteria on the shell were used to detect key points where contamination occurred and to study the progress of contamination in the egg handl...