Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 15
1 important feature is to make sure the birds do not get
over fat in terms of minimising mortality. So although
2 quite often companies have a schedule by which to achieve
that, there may be some manipulation by -- adjustment,
3 sorry, that is the right word, adjustment.
4 Q. Can you tell us a bit about the degree of food
restriction, how hungry they get?
5 A. The usual system is that the males have a separate
type of feeder to the females. Your question would be
6 best addressed to Dr. Pattison in terms of what the
reduction in consumption is relative to that which they
7 would eat if offered food to appetite.
8 Q. Right.
A. But, as my understanding is, the usual system is to
9 restrict to about 80 per cent of appetite. But I am open
to correction as to what that might be in the case of Sun
10 Valley.
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is there any science on whether they feel
hungry or uncomfortably hungry based in human terms or
12 not?
A. One can make an informed guess as to whether they are
13 hungry. I think this is highly likely. They spend a lot
of their time foraging, looking for feed. One example
14 where that occurs is if aggression occurs in these flocks
(which it can do) the way of overcoming that sometimes is
15 to scatter feed, that is, put food on the ground. The
birds spend an inordinate amount of time looking for that
16 food rather than resting. In addition birds kept under
these conditions, whether scatter fed or not, will consume
17 quite large amounts of environment/index.html">litter, so they would be eating
wood shavings. So one assumes they are hungry.
18
MS. STEEL: Is it fair to say that the broiler industry is in
19 something of a dilemma because either it restricts food
which causes -- well, in a welfare dilemma: Either it
20 restricts food which could cause suffering through the
hunger involved to the chickens or else, if they do not
21 restrict food, there is severe fertility problems?
A. And mortality problems, can be mortality problems,
22 yes.
23 Q. This dilemma is due to the genetic selection for faster
growth and heavier weight birds?
24 A. Yes, and its effect on the appetite of the bird.
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: So it is not a problem with -- I hesitate to
use the word "free range" -- chickens just wandering
26 around near a farmhouse, if that still happens?
A. The analogous situation, let us say, you are breeding
27 chicks for egg production, egg layers. These situations
do not exist in those breeding flocks because there the
28 bird, in fact, has been selected against appetite, to
improve efficiency of production.
29
MS. STEEL: Why does the broiler industry use the genetic
30 strain for fast growth and heavy weight?
A. For economic reasons.
