Getting welfare right at catching time

It is widely recognised that catching and loading end-of-lay hens can be a stressful time, both for the birds and the farmer. Taking proper measures however, will minimise these harmful effects. By Justin Emery , ADAS, UK Welfare can be compromised during depopulation, especially as hens are susceptible to bone breaks due to the demands made on their skeletons during the process of egg shell production. The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) recently reported that conventional cage systems wer