A Study of Analysis on Comparison of Laying Performance and Disease Occurrence of Welfare Approved Farms of Laying Hens with Housing Type

This study was carried out to collect basic data on the egg laying performance and disease occurrence on animal welfare-approved farms (AWAF) for laying hens with different housing types (windowless, open, and free-range house) and strains (Hy-line, Lohmann). Age at first egg laying was 151 d in the windowless house and 141 d in both the open and freerange houses, and the percentage peaks of each farm were 91.8%, 92.9%, and 86.3%. Average egg production according to housing types were 70.9%, 77.4%, and 65.6% at 18∼38 wk old and 91.1%, 90.1%, and 76.2% at 32∼36 wk. The average dirty and cracked egg ratio of the windowless, open, and free-range houses was 2.84%, 1.15%, and 0.23%, respectively. Mortality in the open house was lower than the other house types. Age of first egg laying for the Hy-line strain was 155 d and that for the Lohmann strain was 157 d, and the percentage peaks of the two strains were 92.9% (252 d) and 87.2% (237 d), respectively. Average egg production of the strains was 83.7% and 76.9%, respectively. The average dirty and cracked egg ratio of the Hy-Line and Lohmann strains was 3.85% and 2.97%, respectively. Mortality of the Hy-Line strain was lower than that of the Lohmann strain. There were significant differences (P less than 0.05) in the egg weight, HU, and egg yolk color of chickens raised in the open house compared with those of chickens raised in the other house types. In terms of antibody titer, that for Newcastle disease in open house chickens was lower than that of chickens raised in windowless and free-range houses. The antibody titer for low pathogenic avian influenza, avian infectious bronchitis, and avian pneumovirus was high at over 3.0 in all three farms. SG, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella pullorum, fowl adenovirus infection, and infectious laryngotrachitis were not detected in any of the three house types. The number of AWAF for laying hens has continuously increased in Korea, but there is currently little data on the housing types used on the AWAF for laying hens. Therefore, the results of the present study, in which analyzed the laying performance and disease occurrence on AWAF for laying hens, can use as basic data for the improvement of performance and prevention of disease on further AWFA for laying hens.