The welfare of egg-producing poultry is a topic of great concern to the poultry industry and to researchers in applied animal behaviour. It is also subject to increased legislation. Issues such as battery cages, space requirements, access to daylight and ''free-range'' eggs have attracted public interest.

The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions is the first title in Blackwell Publishing Professional's groundbreaking series Issues in Animal Bioethics. This important book examines the ethical and economic importance of production animal well-being and pain management—topics of increasing concern to consumers. The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions offers veterinarians, veterinary and agriculture students, animal scientists, and food animal producers both practical methods to enhance farm animal well-being, and greater understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of those methods. With a variety of perspectives from respected experts and specialists, this book conveys new research findings and promotes valuable discourse on critical issues. Most importantly, editors Benson and Rollin provide feasible instruction to put theory into practice. The theories and applications presented in this book are likely to be legislated in the future. Therefore, it is important for veterinarians in production animal medicine to keep abreast of the latest issues in promoting animal well-being, and implement sound animal welfare methods every day. The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions provides the information veterinarians need to do both.

Annotation. The rapid growth of organic farming has been among the most remarkable changes in global agriculture in recent decades. However, more attention was initially aid to the crop side of organic systems, and animals are a lower priority in formal research and the development of organic farming. But now, that has changed. There is now greater recognition of the need to understand animal health and welfare better. The purpose of this book is to further the understanding of organic animal husbandry and to demonstrate practical solutions and innovative methods, drawing mainly on research and practical experience with organic farming in Europe.

Advances in Poultry Welfare provides a targeted overview of contemporary developments in poultry welfare. The reviews in the volume address topical issues related to poultry welfare research and assessment, with a focus on identifying practical strategies for improvement as well as information gaps that remain to be filled. Part One provides an introduction to poultry production systems and gives a broad overview of current poultry welfare issues. Part Two moves on to review several aspects of poultry management, focusing on hatchery practices, early rearing, and slaughter. Part Three deals with welfare assessment on the farm, while Part Four explores continuing challenges, such as feather pecking and skeletal problems. This is followed in Part Five by a discussion of emerging issues, with chapters covering alternative parasite control methods, backyard poultry production, mass depopulation, and genetic approaches to reducing the impact of environmental stressors on welfare. This book is an essential part of the wider ranging series Advances in Farm Animal Welfare, with coverage of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. With its expert editor and international team of contributors, Advances in Poultry Welfare is a key reference tool for welfare research scientists and students, veterinarians involved in welfare assessment, and indeed anyone with a professional interest in the welfare of poultry. - Provides in-depth reviews of emerging topics, research and applications in poultry welfare - Integral part of a wider series, Advances in Agricultural Animal Welfare, which will provide comprehensive coverage of animal welfare of the world's major farmed animals - Covers a range of topical issues within the field, from beak-trimming and skeletal problems, to early rearing and the design and management of poultry production systems - Edited by a distinguished leader in the field

Part 1 of this volume reviews advances in research on key aspects of poultry behaviour and welfare monitoring. Part 2 discusses particular welfare issues affecting broilers and layers such as housing and environmental enrichment as well as problems such as injurious pecking and bone health.

Atlas of Clinical Avian Hematology is a practicalguide to the hematological characteristics of birds. Illustratedthroughout with many color photographs, this rich resource aidsinterpretation of hematological data, and promotes the accurateclassification of hematological cells and identification ofpathological changes. Covering over 100 species of birds, the Atlas illustrates thegeneral hematological characteristics of birds; the hematologicalvariations encountered between the different Orders of birds; andthe hematological responses to disease of birds, using clinicalcases from many species of birds and a range of clinicaldisorders. Describes how to collect and handle blood samples from birds tobest preserve the quality of the blood. Highly illustrated, color guide to the hematologicalcharacteristics of birds Case data and images illustrates the avian hematologicalresponses to disease

How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.

Chickens are by far the world’s most widely farmed animal, kept for both meat and egg production. They are at the centre of many debates regarding housing and production systems, causing significant interest in what lies behind chicken behaviour. This accessible book covers sensory biology, behavioural development, preferences and aversions, social behaviour, learning and cognition, behavioural issues in different systems and solutions for behavioural problems. Authored by an authority on chicken ethology, it brings together the fields of animal behaviour, neuroscience, psychology and epidemiology to provide a comprehensive understanding of chicken behaviour and help improve the lives of farmed chickens around the world.

This book consolidates the welfare and production issues associated with beak trimming in poultry. It outlines the reasons for beak trimming, history of the practice and new methods under development. The focus of the book is on the welfare issues associated with the practice. An assessment is made of the ethics of beak trimming and cannibalism. The contributors examine beak anatomy, acute and chronic pain and the physiological changes in the bird associated with beak trimming. Other areas covered include an evaluation of production, egg quality and health of birds relative to the severity and method of beak trimming. Beak trimming has been banned in some countries and is being phased out in others. A section in the book is devoted to an examination of alternatives to beak trimming. The contributors report genetic, environmental enrichment, nutritional and lighting strategies that could be used to replace beak trimming, and offer practical solutions, including the use of fitted devices and beak abrasives. The volume is an important information source on beak trimming for scientists, students, welfare groups, policy makers, poultry industry leaders and the community. It will improve knowledge on why, when and how birds are trimmed and responses of birds to trimming. Consumers, media and policy makers will get a better understanding of beak trimming and the alternatives methods to support sound debate on the issue.