Laying hen welfare in intensive farming system in Sri Lanka: a five freedoms approach

Abstract

Animal welfare refers to the state of an animal's physical and mental health as well as its well-being, humane treatment, and appropriate care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the welfare of a flock of laying hens on an intensive farm in Kundasale, Sri Lanka's mid-country. The Five Freedoms and welfare indicators, including as behaviour, environmental circumstances, and production statistics, were used to evaluate the overall welfare of the farm. The Five Freedoms and behaviours like eating, drinking, relaxing, strolling, dust bathing, foraging, excretion, and flapping were among the welfare indicators that exhibited notable variations. The Kundasale farm in Sri Lanka was categorised as a "Normal farm" with an overall wellbeing score of 44.73%, which is between 40 and 60%. In terms of meeting the needs of the intensive broiler breeder farm, the results of this assessment contributed to enhancing flock welfare standards and improvements in the poultry farming practices of this farm