3 results
Welfare assessment of broilers through examination of haematomas, foot-pad dermatitis, scratches and breast blisters at processing
- KG Gouveia, P Vaz-Pires, P Martins da Costa
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- Journal:
- Animal Welfare / Volume 18 / Issue 1 / February 2009
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 January 2023, pp. 43-48
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Analysis of post mortem lesions is a common means for assessing poultry welfare during rearing and pre-slaughter handling. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of: age, sex, rearing system, total number of birds on-farm, period between catch and slaughter and distance from poultry house to processing plant on the incidence of: foot-pad dermatitis (FPD), breast blisters (BB), bruises and scratches. Rearing systems consisted of extensive indoor (EI) and traditional free-range (TFR). Accordingly, birds were reared under non-intensive conditions (< 12 broilers m−2). In TFR, the maximum flock size was 4,800, birds had continuous daytime access to open-air runs from at least the age of six weeks, and the minimum slaughter age was 81 days; whereas EI rearing was exclusively indoor and birds were slaughtered at 56 days or later. Observations occurred daily after plucking and each bird was examined for: haematomas, scratches, FPD and BB. Logistic regressions were applied to study the relationship between variables. Farms holding between 10,000-20,000 birds were the most affected with FPD, BB and scratches. The oldest birds (91-100 days) showed the greatest incidence of FPD and scratches. TFR birds exhibited the highest prevalence of bruises and lowest of FPD. BB were most common among birds travelling between 31-60 km from poultry farm to processing plant while scratches were more frequent at greater distances (91-120 km). Male broilers were more predisposed to BB than females. Scratching increased relative to the number of hours that birds awaited slaughter. Despite the fact that only a relatively small number of broiler flocks were examined, these findings may have implications for the draft of future European legislation regarding poultry welfare.
Bruises in culled cows: when, where and how are they inflicted?
- A. C. Strappini, J. H. M. Metz, C. Gallo, K. Frankena, R. Vargas, I. de Freslon, B. Kemp
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In Chile, cow carcasses present the highest bruise prevalence compared with other cattle categories; however, the causes of the bruises are frequently unknown. In this study, 52 cull cows were transported to the slaughterhouse in three batches under identical transport conditions. A combination of direct observation and video analyses was used to determine moment, pre-slaughter stage and cause of potential bruising events during the period from loading on the farm until stunning at the slaughterhouse. After slaughter, number of bruises, location on the carcass and characteristics of the bruises were assessed. Seventy-eight bruises were observed on 37 carcasses. Fifty-two bruises were linked back to their causal event. Results showed that 46% of these bruises were a result of interactions between animal and facility, and most of them were inflicted in the stunning box, 27% of the bruises originated from animal–animal interactions and were mostly inflicted during lairage, another 27% was a result of human–animal interactions and were mostly inflicted during loading and unloading of animals. The percentages of potential bruising events resulting in a bruise were 43%, 9% and less than 1% for animal–facility, human–animal and animal–animal interactions, respectively. Most bruises on the back site were inflicted when the animal was in the stunning box (91.2%), whereas bruises on the pin site were mostly (75%) inflicted during loading at the farm. One may conclude that in relative short journeys (⩽4 h) directly from farm to the slaughterhouse and long lairage times (>12 h), most bruises are the result of circumstances at the slaughterhouse. A substantial amount of these bruises could be avoided by proper animal handling and adequate stunning facilities.
Characteristics of bruises in carcasses of cows sourced from farms or from livestock markets
- A. C. Strappini, K. Frankena, J. H. M. Metz, C. Gallo, B. Kemp
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Bruises in cattle develop after the application of force, and they provide evidence for sub-optimal animal welfare. The aim of this study was to describe the gross characteristics of bruises in cows arriving at the slaughterhouse directly from farms or through the livestock market. The number of bruises and their distribution on the carcass as well as their severity, shape, size and colour were assessed post mortem in a slaughterhouse in Chile. A total of 258 cow carcasses were evaluated, and a total of 846 bruises were found on 243 of the carcasses. Cows that had passed through a livestock market (M-carcasses) had in total 563 bruises (mean 3.8 bruises/carcass, s.d. 2.0), whereas cows transported directly from farms (F-carcasses) had in total 283 bruises (mean 2.5 bruises/carcass, s.d. 1.8). The backs of F-carcasses had twice as many bruises as M-carcasses (32.9% and 16.2%, respectively), whereas bruises in the rib area were more frequently observed in M-carcasses (13.1%) than in F-carcasses (8.1%). Superficial bruises (grade 1) were the most frequently observed (66.2% of all bruises). Regarding the size of the bruises, 64 (7.6%) were classified as large, 271 (32.0%) as medium and 511 (60.4%) as small. Irregularly shaped bruises were the most frequent (91.1%, n = 771), followed by linear (3.8%, n = 32), circular (3.1%, n = 26) and tramline-shaped bruises (1.9%, n = 16). The latter were noticed only in M-carcasses, which may indicate that these animals were beaten more frequently with sticks or other rod-shaped objects. Fresh, bright red-coloured bruises were found more frequently on all the animals (69.5% from farms and 70.5% from market) compared with bluish (29.7% and 29.3%, respectively) and yellow bruises (0.4% and 0.2%, respectively). The method of selling was significantly associated with the number of bruises on the carcass (P < 0.001) and the anatomical site (P < 0.05), but not with the severity, shape and colour of the bruises. Increased fat coverage reduced the severity of bruises (P < 0.001). This study shows that, in Chile, market animals have more bruises than those sourced directly from farms, and their distribution is different. More information about the causes of infliction may help reduce bruises and it may also improve their welfare. Further studies are required to elucidate whether the causes of the high bruising in the case of animals passing through markets are related only to extra handling (repeated loading, unloading, transportation, eventual mixing) or to the way of handling by personnel and inadequate design.