Chicken farming course

Poultry farming is the activity consisting in the breeding of chickens or hens for the production of meat, eggs or live animals (chicks or breeders). It can be practiced in a rural and family environment or on a large scale, through the practice of intensive farming in use in various countries of the world. The EC directive 99/74 effectively bans this farming system by 2012. From 5 October 2003 all new battery breeding plants must set up modified or enriched cages with an area of ​​750 cm2, a height of at least 45 cm, perches with at least 15 cm available per head, 12 cm of manger available per chicken, at least 2 drinkers and a nest per cage, a litter for scratching and nail trimming devices that cannot wear themselves out without sufficient scratching. The cages must be separated by corridors at least 90 cm wide. Furthermore, any kind of mutilation is forbidden, with the exception of debecaggio in crowded cages to prevent cannibalism. In free-range farming, the hens live free in sheds at different levels (from 1 to 4) with a nest for every 7 animals and where the feeders and drinking troughs are located. The single-storey shed is the most common system, consisting of a sloping grated floor below which is the septic tank for collecting manure; the density is approximately 10 items per m2. The aviaries, on the other hand, extend in height with several overlapping open floors below which the grilled floor is located. On the other hand, in open-air rearing, the hens have a shelter sheltered from the elements at their disposal, with feeding troughs and troughs, and an open space to scratch around. Again, population density is lower, but mortality is slightly higher than in cage farming with lower egg production.