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Information System for Agriculture and Food Research

Information platform of the Federal and State Governments

Laying hens in mobile houses: chance or risk for animal welfare as well as market and citizen acceptance? (MobiWohl)

Project


Project code: 28N201903
Contract period: 01.03.2021 - 31.05.2024
Budget: 142,808 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: market information / market transparency, animal welfare, stable building, poultry, organic farming, husbandry techniques

Mobile hen houses, which are spreading very dynamically in organic and conventional egg production, presumably meet consumer expectations regarding visibility and animal welfare to a very large extent and, if moved sufficiently frequently, have advantages in terms of environmental impact and animal behaviour. To what extent they also have a positive effect on animal health, an important aspect of animal welfare, has not yet been proven. They have both risk reducing and risk promoting factors for various animal welfare aspects. Farm management is of great importance here. Therefore, one aim of the project is to assess animal welfare of different types of mobile houses and to identify specific management requirements, also with regard to predator defence in the free range, and to assess the effect of specific extension recommendations. Since an economically successful use of mobile houses depends on whether an additional benefit compared to stationary houses can be communicated to consumers, fact-based and target group-specific marketing strategies are to be developed. Besides the question of egg marketing, the acceptance of mobile houses by the population is a success factor. Therefore, possible conflicts when mobile houses are put into operation, as well as residents’ perceptions with regard to environmental and health effects of mobile stables in the neighborhood will be investigated. Overall, the project aims to provide information and recommendations for a future field of laying hen husbandry, thereby focusing on an innovative husbandry method that promotes contact between agriculture and society. In 40 mobile houses of different categories (partially vs. fully mobile, small vs. large), half of which are managed organically and half conventionally, relevant animal welfare indicators over a period of two years in summer and winter as well as husbandry and management conditions will be analysed and evaluated. On this basis, the farmers will receive individual advice, which will be further discussed in working groups with the farmers. This, together with analyses regarding associations between animal welfare and management/housing conditions, will contribute to the elaboration of recommendations. Furthermore, an overview over different types of mobile houses and possible criteria for their selection by farmers will be provided. In the first half of the project, a quantitative consumer survey and a discrete choice model will be used to determine expectations (e.g. animal health, herd size, management) and willingness to pay for eggs from mobile barns. The form of farm management (organic vs. conventional) is included. In the second half of the project, mainly qualitative citizen interviews of three to six households in three communities where mobile barns are in operation will be conducted on the acceptance of mobile barns. The aim is to reveal what initial concerns people in the communities had and what perceived burdens result from the implementation of mobile stables. Based on the results, a quantitative survey will be conducted with 1,000 citizens regarding concerns about potential mobile houses in the neighborhood. Different argumentation frames concerning the communication strategy will be tested against each other.

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