Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 55
1 There is a danger or a risk, there is a risk, that this
will put an additional demand upon the skeleton of the
2 birds and it will deplete its skeleton of calcium
rendering them weak. So weak bone is, weak bones can be a
3 consequence of high selection pressure for egg production.
4 Q. How often do the hens lay in the battery system,
approximately?
5 A. Once every 28 hours. They produce about 250 eggs in
an egg laying period of 50 weeks.
6
Q. Does this put the bird under strain?
7 A. In what respect?
8 Q. For example, the mortality rate -- has this an implication
for mortality?
9 A. One of the main causes of mortality in battery systems
would be salpingitis which would be an infection in the
10 fallopian tube. I would not like to comment whether that
is the function of egg, number of eggs laid. I would be
11 surprised if it was because the implication is that the
most productive flocks would be the ones with the highest
12 mortality. I do not think there is any evidence for that.
13 Q. Do you know anything about ovarian tumours in high
producing laying hens?
14 A. Not a lot. I am not an expert on that.
15 Q. Do you know the mortality rates at all for safer --
probably you would not remember on Oasters -- but
16 generally mortality rates, say, per year, what percentage?
A. Yes. It does vary between flocks. It depends on when
17 the flock is sold for slaughter, how long it goes on for.
Six per cent might be a figure which -----
18
Q. Six per cent?
19 A. Six per cent mortality from point of lay, that is 16
weeks of age, up to, say, 72 weeks of age. That would be,
20 I would say that is within the normal range. That is a
typical sort of level.
21
MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, might not the relevant question be: What
22 is its rate as compared with free range egg layers?
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I had understood you to say, so far as
pressure on the bird is concerned from repeated egg laying
24 or frequency of egg laying, I have assumed it would be
about the same because you said that the egg laying rate
25 is about the same. So if there is a greater mortality in
battery hens, it is because of other factors in their
26 lives; is that right?
A. That is right.
27
Q. But how does the mortality rate compare? Do you have any
28 way of knowing that?
A. I can speak generally rather than give precise
29 national estimates, is that satisfactory?
30 Q. Give an answer to that. Let us see where we are.
A. In free range systems, if things go wrong, then you
