Protection of the animals
The majority of hen species are more or less aggressive by nature. They do not only peck for food, but also peck each other and the aggressions can lead to both feather picking and outright cannibalism. Therefore, the parent birds’ beak is often trimmed whilst they are still very young. Beak trimming occurs by approx. 1/3 of the upper beak being burned or cut off. The beak grows back to its almost normal size in time but without the extremely sharp tip, they cannot damage each other by, e.g. feather picking where they can peck each other until they bleed and pull feathers out so they end up with open wounds and cannibalism.
Feeding and weight control
The parent birds have a very big appetite, so it is important to regulate and control their feed intake. If the hens become too heavy, they lay fewer eggs and if the cocks become too heavy, they can damage the hens during mating. A too high weight can also result in leg problems and other physical deformities that are a nuisance and can damage the animals.
The weight is both relevant to how much they eat and what they eat. Feed adjustment begins when the chicks are 15 days old and the feed composition is adjusted continuously so it always matches the chicks’ nutritional needs according to their ages. Moreover, they have up to 8 hours’ darkness per day so their appetite is moderated and they rest. From the time it is one-day old until it is 38 days old, a chicken consumes approx. 3.3 kg feed in total.
Hygiene and cleaning
As soon as the producer’s house has been emptied of chickens, the extensive and in-depth cleaning process begins, which prevents any bacteria, virus and fungus from the manure and dust from having a chance to survive. Everything is hosed down, cleaning agents are used, high-pressure cleaning is done and everything is disinfected so even micro-organisms are killed. Finally, the house is aired and the dried so it is ready for the next batch of chicks.
At the abattoir as well, significant focus is placed on hygiene. There is a sharp separation between the unclean and clean divisions. The unclean includes the hanging up, sedation and slaughtering, whilst the clean includes the cutting, partitioning, cooling and packing.
Space conditions
There are specific rules for how much space a chicken should have. The number of chickens that are placed in the houses is therefore precisely calculated according to how large they become when they are ready for slaughter. The space requirements are calculated in per kilo live weight and legislation prescribes 40 kg per square metre at the most. This means that day-old chicks of only 40 grams have extremely good space; the occupancy in the house is at this time is almost 1 kg per square metre. When the chicks are 10 days old, they weigh approx. 220 g; after 20 days approx. 710 g and at 30 days they are up around 1280 g – which provides occupancy of almost 25 kg per square metre. They look somewhat dishevelled at this time. However, this is not due to poor conditions, but because their down is being replaced by real feathers.
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