Animal Welfare and Production in Laying Hens
Summary
Animal welfare and production in laying hens encompass the interplay between ethical husbandry and economic efficiency across diverse system architectures. Advances in housing design have sought to reconcile behavioural freedom with biosecurity, while nutrition and genetics are tailored to sustain egg yield without compromising health. Skeletal integrity, particularly bone quality and eggshell robustness, is increasingly recognised as a sentinel of hen well-being, reflecting underlying physiological and affective states. Emerging frameworks integrate welfare metrics into sustainability assessments, highlighting the interdependence of animal health, product quality and environmental impact. As consumer expectations evolve, producers worldwide are adopting enriched cages, aviaries or free-range systems, each presenting unique challenges in disease control, resource use and regulatory compliance. Contemporary research underlines the importance of positive welfare indicators, refined monitoring technologies and life cycle approaches to ensure that intensified production aligns with societal imperatives for humane treatment and resource stewardship.
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Animal Welfare and Production in Laying Hens publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in animal welfare and production in laying hens across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCA): A methodological framework for evaluating environmental and welfare impacts of a production system across all stages from cradle to grave.
Affective state: The emotional or subjective experiences of an animal, encompassing both positive and negative feelings that contribute to overall welfare.
Eggshell calcification: The process by which calcium carbonate is deposited onto the eggshell matrix during shell formation in the hen’s uterus.
Uterine calcium transport: The physiological mechanism through which calcium ions are transferred across uterine tissues to support eggshell deposition.
References
- Development of a life cycle impact assessment methodology for animal welfare with an application in the poultry industry. Sustainable Production and Consumption (2023).
- Variation in nutritional quality in UK retail eggs. Food Chemistry (2024).
- Decreased eggshell strength caused by impairment of uterine calcium transport coincide with higher bone minerals and quality in aged laying hens. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology (2024).
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