Housing for laying hens on free-range, general considerations.

Abstract

Consumer concerns about animal welfare have prompted egg producers to dabble into alternative systems. This review aimed to describe the feeding practices and animal welfare of laying hens in systems with access to pastures, as well as forage management and production costs. Eighty-seven scientific manuscripts were consulted in databases and were classified according to feeding, behavior, characteristics of the grazing area, animal welfare, and costs. A free-range system has an area outside covered with vegetation where hens can spend at least 6 hours per day throughout the year, while weather conditions allow it. These systems need to control and manage environmental conditions, grazing areas, animal welfare, bird health, and operating costs, in which feeding reaches up to 41%, so producers want to replace part of this cost with forage, with the aggravating circumstance that an excess of forage causes malnutrition, affecting animal welfare and productive performance. Entrepreneurs of free-range egg production systems must know the proper management of birds and pastures, to manage the system to guarantee adequate nutrition, the manifestation of normal behaviors, and the absence of stress, fear, pain, and illness.