Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 40


     
     1        able to, is sufficient to support that stocking density.
     2        The MAFF recommendation is based on an average of
     3        facilities that are available up and down the country.  And
     4        also our stocking densities would vary according to winter
     5        and summer, so we would reduce that stocking density in the
     6        summer because we want to ensure that we do not have losses
     7        from heat stress.
     8
     9   Q.   When the chicks arrive, of course, they have bags of space
    10        because they are only little things, are they not, like
    11        that?
    12        A.  Yes, yes.
    13
    14   Q.   Having just come out of an egg, they would have to be quite
    15        small.  But take maximum density, when you have 42 day old
    16        females and males all in the same shed, what sort of room
    17        for manoeuvre do they actually have?
    18        A.  Well, for most of their lives as they are growing they
    19        have plenty of room to run around and do what they wish.
    20        The only time when their movement is somewhat restricted is
    21        towards the end of their lives, in the last three or four
    22        days.  They can still get up, walk around, eat and drink,
    23        but they are not able to cover large distances.
    24
    25   Q.   From observation, does this appear to cause them any
    26        distress?
    27        A.  As far as I can tell, it does not cause them any
    28        distress whatsoever.
    29
    30   Q.   In the period before they attain maximum weight or nearly
    31        maximum weight, when they are smaller and when there is
    32        more space, how much flying do they do?
    33        A.  They do not fly at all.
    34
    35   Q.   What is your understanding of the reason why that is so?
    36        A.  I think different birds have different requirements for
    37        flying.  There are some birds that would much rather walk
    38        or run than fly.  You see this in the wild as well.
    39
    40   Q.   Have you ever seen wild chickens?
    41        A.  I have certainly -- well, I have seen extensively kept
    42        chickens in countries like Thailand and so on where you
    43        just see them in farmyards and so on.  They are not truly
    44        wild, though.
    45
    46   Q.   If they did decide to take a leap into the air into the
    47        unknown, is there somewhere where they could land without
    48        hitting their other chums?
    49        A.  It is not something that you really ever see.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Does the wish to fly vary even between the 
    52        same species? 
    53        A.  I think it can vary enormously.  I mean, I think with
    54        chickens, the lighter strains of chickens, the egg laying
    55        strains, would probably have a greater tendency to fly than
    56        the heavy meat types, and it is something I observed with
    57        turkeys.  Turkeys, actually, although they are quite big
    58        birds, they can fly quite a bit which surprises me.  Other
    59        birds, you know, some birds in the wild prefer to fly, some
    60        prefer to walk.

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