1. The present study was designed first to explore the potential economic benefits of adopting management practices to reduce lameness in broiler farms, and second to explore farmers' possible perceptions of this potential in the Swedish context. The likely financial effects were addressed using a normative economic model, whereas a questionnaire-based survey was used to obtain in-depth knowledge about the perceptions of a group of broiler farmers in Sweden. 2. The three alternative practices (out of 6 tested) which realised the greatest improvements in gross margin and net return to management compared to the conventional practice were feeding whole wheat, sequential feeding and meal feeding. 3. The model showed that the negative effect of feeding whole wheat on feed conversion rate was outweighed by the effect of a low feed price and the associated decrease in feed costs. The price of wheat played a major role in the improvement of economic performance, whereas the reduction of lameness itself made a relatively minor contribution. 4. Apparently, the surveyed farmers do not recognise the potential of the positive effects of changing feed or feeding practices on both broiler welfare and farm economics although their implementation can be of great importance in the broiler sector where profit margins are very tight.​.

The possibility of using automatic recordings of broiler chicken activity in commercial flocks to assess the birds΄ walking ability (lameness) was investigated. Data were collected from 5 commercial broiler farms in 4 European countries, using 16 flocks and 33 assessment occasions. Lameness was assessed using established gait scoring methods (Kestin et al., 1992; Welfare Quality®, 2009) and took place at 3, 4, and 5 wk of age. Gait score (GS) was used to assess the birds' walking ability, and automatic recordings of bird activity were collected using the eYeNamic™ camera system before, during, and after an assessor walked through the house. The variables used to predict the level of GS extracted from the camera system were: baseline activity, time from assessor leaving the house to resumption of baseline activity, average activity over that period, and Δ Amplitude (difference between highest activity peak after assessor left the house and baseline level). Age (<0.001) and Δ Amplitude (P = 0.0002) were significantly related to GS, with the gait getting poorer with increased age and Δ Amplitude decreasing with declining walking ability. Both measures are thus included in a predictive equation. The results demonstrate a potential method using image analysis techniques to realize an automated assessment of the level of lameness in commercial broiler flocks. This could be of use in future animal welfare assessment schemes.

General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms Abstract 14The present study was designed to investigate the effects of additional human contact on the human-15 animal relationship in broilers and on the birds' productivity. A total of 1558 broiler one-day-old 16 chicks were distributed into 12 equally sized pens at two different stocking densities (SD); calculated 17 on estimated weight at slaughter (4 pens with 32 kg/m 2 and 8 pens with 16 kg/m 2 ). Six groups (2 high 18 and 4 low SD) received Additional Human Contact (AHC),which consisted of 30 min sessions with 19 visual human contact three days/week.. The remaining 6 groups received as little human contact as 20 possible and served as controls. A Touch Test was used to assess the human-broiler relationship and 21 the production parameters measured were: growth rate, mortality, feed consumption and feed 22 conversion. The AHC-treatment had a positive effect on the quality of the HAR but failed to affect 23 any production parameter. 24 25

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