Gathering and transport

Poultry are normally slaughtered in batches, i.e. as entire rearing groups with beef cattle and laying birds. This facilitates efficient production systems and thorough cleaning of stalls before new animals are placed in them. With turkeys and geese, groups of birds ripe for slaughter are taken out of the group while the rest continue to be reared for a time.

It may be useful to know how poultry are gathered together and transported, as these operations have a major influence on the animals and involve risks from an animal welfare standpoint.

While being gathered together and transported, animals may be adversely affected by intense light, high or low temperature and high ambient humidity, among other things. Careless capturing and handling of the containers may cause stress and serious injuries such as broken legs, broken wings and trapping. Birds are often gathered together and transported during the hours of darkness so as to minimise the risk of stress resulting from daylight, and also so that animals are on site when the slaughter begins in the morning.

Fowl, turkeys and geese are captured manually prior to transport. They are normally placed in special transport containers which are loose or stacked to form larger units (known as “modules” or “containers”). Turkeys and geese can also be driven on the floor and transported unconfined in the vehicle.

Left: A smaller transport container. Photograph: Lotta Berg, SLU. Centre: Taller containers for transporting geese. Photograph: Viveca Sandström, SLU. Right: Transporting unconfined turkeys. Photograph: Viveca Sandström, SLU.

A loading machine can also be used for gathering together broilers. It sweeps the animals up onto a conveyor belt using rotating rubber fingers. The conveyor belt transports the animals directly down into transport containers. This automatic gathering of the animals is considered to be gentler for them in that there is no risk of them being handled roughly by humans. Factors such as the rotation rate and conveyor belt speed, the drop to the transport container, the density of animals in the container and care taken when closing the container are all of significance to the welfare of the animals during such loading.

Left: Gathering of broilers using a loading machine. The picture shows the rotating rubber fingers sweeping up the birds. Centre: The birds are transported on a conveyor belt to the transport containers. Right: The birds are moved directly down into the container from the conveyor belt. Photograph: Lotta Berg, SLU.

If birds are stressed enough to try to flee inside the rearing stall, this is sometimes referred to as them “flocking together”, which describes a situation in which the birds attempt to escape and gather together in tight groups in the corners of the store. There is a major risk of the birds suffocating one another when they crowd in close together like this and wait. Behaviour can be triggered by stress when the birds are being handled (e.g. when they are gathered carelessly) or due to other disruptions inside/outside the stall (branches tapping on walls, sudden loud noises, high wind, lights from vehicles, etc.). When rearing and handling broilers, turkeys and geese in particular, it is important to be aware of this flight behaviour so as to reduce the risk of it occurring.

The demand for chicken meat is very limited nowadays, and so relatively few laying hens are sent for slaughter. Large chicken slaughter houses normally no longer accept laying hens for slaughter, partly for reasons relating to infection control. At many farms, laying hens are killed in the stalls where they are kept by passing in carbon dioxide gas. This avoids having to gather them together and transport them. Worn out laying hens are sometimes also caught and carried out into the farmyard to be killed there in a flow container of carbon dioxide before then being used as feed for mink.

Left: Killing laying hens in the accommodation store. The picture shows how carbon dioxide gas is leaking out through the vents. Right: Laying hens killed with carbon dioxide. Photograph: Viveca Sandström, SLU.

The transportation of poultry is a critical element given the fact that these animals are delicate and sensitive to climate. Effective ventilation and temperature monitoring are vital for good transportation. The animals must be guaranteed a good supply of air through the often densely packed modules, and hence good ventilation is required. The temperature in the cargo bay – which is greatly affected by the vehicle’s type, ventilation, outdoor temperature, speed and animal density – is also crucial to animal welfare. Birds can die as a result of heatstroke or insufficient air. In cold weather, the temperature in the cargo bay can fall dramatically as a consequence of high speed and wind. In a worst-case scenario, this can lead to birds freezing to death; primarily a risk for birds with poor plumage. Transport runs are sometimes cancelled in extreme weather so as not to subject birds to major risks as a consequence of heat or cold conditions.