Nutritional management of free range laying hens

Abstract

Free range poultry production is a rapidly growing sector (Australian Eggs, 2017). Currently, 28% of all Australian layers are housed under free range conditions. Range usage depends on flock size, number of pop holes, shelter on the range, weather conditions, age and experience of the flock (Petterson et al., 2016). The individual freedom to range results in the development of several sub-populations within one flock. Previous studies revealed that a certain percentage of birds rarely leave the hen house, while others spend the majority of their time ranging (Gebhardt-Heinrich et al., 2014). As a result, free range flocks experience reduced flock uniformity, sub-optimal nutrition, and as a consequence sub-optimal hen production (Coletta et al., 2012; Fanatico, 2006; Sibanda et al., 2018).