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Chickens go mobile - increase of the utilisation of mobile coops for laying hens in organic farming in Rhineland-Palatinate
Project
Project code: EIP-Agri-Rlp-2017-LPTSBB01
Contract period: 01.01.2017
- 31.12.2019
Budget: 280,000 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: farming practice/ activity, animal husbandry, pest/disease control, soil, marketing/supply chain
Presently about 24,000 eco-laying hens are being kept in 40 organic farms. Twenty of these have mobile coops in which about 30 % of the hens are held. The interest in this method is increasing. Mobile coops contribute to the appropriate animal husbandry in many respects. Free-range husbandry does bear certain risks such as: losses due to predators or infestation with parasites because of poor coop or yard hygiene, as well as uneven use of the yard by the hens because of a disadvantageous layout. These, and other aspects, can be a hinderance in the expansion of the use of the mobile coops. The aim of this project is the further development, and with that, the propagation of this as very humane depicted system in every-day practice. While doing so, an indicator system to assess the animal-friendliness will be applied for the first time.
Section overview
Subjects
- Animal Husbandry
- Organic Farming
Funding programme
Excutive institution
Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück (DLR-RNH)