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Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau
Rhineland-Palatinate
Stiftsstraße 9
55116 Mainz
Website: External link to the authority
Chickens are going mobile - increase of the utilisation of mobile coops for laying hens in organic farming in Rhineland-Palatinate
Presently about 24,000 eco-laying hens are being kept in 40 organic farms. Twenty of these have mobile coops in which about 30 % of the hens are held. The interest in this method is increasing.
Mobile coops contribute to the appropriate animal husbandry in many respects. Free-range husbandry does bear certain risks such as: losses due to predators or infestation with parasites because of poor coop or yard hygiene, as well as uneven use of the yard by the hens because of a disadvantageous layout. These, and other aspects, can be a hinderance in the expansion of the use of the mobile coops.
The aim of this project is the further development, and with that, the propagation of this as very humane depicted system in every-day practice. While doing so, an indicator system to assess the animal-friendliness will be applied for the first time.
With the help of an indicator system (M-Tool), the animal welfare of keeping organic laying hens in mobile stalls was examined as part of the project. Data was collected over a period of three years on a total of ten organic farms in RLP. Based on the data collected, it can be stated that keeping laying hens in mobile stalls in organic farming in RLP has no negative impact on animal welfare or animal health. However, the weight of the pullets and the quality of the feed should be checked regularly in order to be able to exploit the full performance potential of the hens. The issues of animal loss due to predators and herd protection should also be kept in mind and not neglected.
During the project period, there was a pleasing development in RLP in relation to the number of organic laying hens kept in mobile stalls. On the project farms alone, the husbandry capacity has more than tripled within the last six years.
Rural development 2014-2020
Dienstleistungszentrum ländlicher Raum - Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück (DLR-RNH)
Rüdesheimerstraße 60 - 68
55545 Bad Kreuznach
Phone: 0671 820 417
Email: Nadine.Ossowski@dlr.rlp.de
2017
completed
280,000
DEB14 Bad Kreuznach
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