What technical solutions can be used to shelter mulard ducks during periods when there is a risk of avian influenza? Main results of the PROSPeR project

This issue deals with the results of winning projects in 2017 and 2018 from the CASDAR (Compte d'Affectation Spéciale Développement Agricole et Rural) call for projects, ‘Innovation and Partnership’ and ‘Technological Research. These projects are funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

International audience

English. The increased number of avian influenza cases on duck farms for the production of foie gras has led to a major reassessment of how these animals should be reared, particularly the obligation to shelter the animals during high-risk periods (i.e. to keep them indoors). As a result, farmers face the same twofold challenge: managing the indoor climate, which is inextricably related to managing litter and farmers' workloads, while ensuring animal performance and welfare. The PROSPeR project aimed at overcoming these difficulties by developing innovations and technical choices adapted to different situations that can be encountered on livestock farms, in order to help farmers manage sheltering. To clarify and objectively examine farmers' choices, the work performed combined three complementary approaches: a farm feedback approach, an experimental approach and a computing approach. Three main types of decisionmaking tools for professionals were developed to help farmers make choices in their sheltering management: (1) a decision-support tool combined with case studies to share feedback about different sheltering situations, (2) a variety of supporting materials that cover the four key success factors for sheltering and (3) a calculator to assess whether the density chosen and associated litter requirements are manageable, depending on the type of building and weather conditions.