Day 091 - 17 Feb 95 - Page 28
1 Q. In a normal broiler shed in one of your other units, not a
2 breeding unit, at four weeks how much would the broilers in
3 there been eating per day?
4 A. At that age, at four weeks, they are probably eating
5 about 100 grammes of food a day, and at seven weeks
6 something like a 180 grammes.
7
8 Q. At seven weeks?
9 A. That is correct.
10
11 Q. What would they be getting at seven weeks in the breeding
12 unit?
13 A. In the breeder units they are getting about 70 grammes
14 a day.
15
16 Q. So that is quite a bit less than half of what they are
17 getting in the broiler house?
18 A. That is correct.
19
20 Q. Is the water also restricted?
21 A. In the breeder houses the birds are fed once a day.
22 The water is available to them throughout the day. It
23 tends to be switched off at night when the lights go out
24 because the birds do not drink at night anyway.
25
26 Q. When the lights are off?
27 A. When the lights are off.
28
29 Q. Whereas in the broiler houses where the lights are on all
30 the time, apart from half an hour, they do drink?
31 A. They will eat and drink, yes.
32
33 Q. You said that you did not think it had welfare implications
34 to reduce the food because it was equally cruel to overfeed
35 the animal if it had potential to get fat. Does that mean
36 that you think that the rations that the chickens are
37 getting in the broiler houses are cruel because they are
38 being overfed?
39 A. I do not think I said that precisely. What I said was
40 that the broilers have an opportunity to eat and drink when
41 they want. The breeders are given a ration each day which
42 is weighed out according to the number of birds, and the
43 idea is that they do not put on excessive weight so that
44 they are in good condition for breeding.
45
46 I do not see any difference with broiler breeders, for
47 example, to my own labrador dog. As you know, labrador
48 dogs would love to eat all day long if they wanted, but it
49 does not really do them any good if they are allowed to do
50 that. The analogy is exactly the same for a breeder.
51
52 Q. You were asked: Does this reduced diet have, in your
53 opinion, any welfare implications so far as the breeding
54 parents are concerned? You said: I believe it does not.
55 I think it is equally cruel to overfeed an animal if it had
56 potential to get fat?
57 A. The analogy I gave you of the labrador dog is exactly
58 what I was referring to then.
59
60 Q. Are the chickens in the broiler houses overfed?
