Researchers explore how stocking density may affect cage-free layers
Pullets thrived at all the densities and feeder spaces
7 September 2022
1 minute read
By: US Poultry and the US Poultry Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at Purdue University in which researchers explored how stocking density may affect cage-free layers. The research was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from CCF Brands and is part of the Association’s comprehensive research program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. A summary of the completed project is below.
Darrin Karcher and Marisa Erasmus, both from Purdue University, recently completed a research project that sought to improve pullet welfare in cage-free rearing systems by developing outcome-based (animal-based) welfare measures for pullets reared at different stocking densities. Findings revealed that pullets thrived at all the densities and feeder spaces evaluated in the project.
