Performance of commercial laying hen genotypes on free range and organic farms in Switzerland, France and The Netherlands (original) (raw)
Bestman, Monique; Leenstra, Ferry; Maurer, Veronika; van Sambeek, Frans; Zeltner, Esther; Reuvekamp, Berry; Amsler, Zivile; Galea, Fabien and van Niekerk, Thea (2012) Performance of commercial laying hen genotypes on free range and organic farms in Switzerland, France and The Netherlands. In:Rahmann, Gerold and Godinho, Denise (Eds.)Tackling the Fututre Challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Braunschweig, Germany, Landbauforschung Sonderheft 362, pp. 355-359.
Free range and organic systems provide different circumstances for laying hens than closed houses or cages, where most hens are selected in. An enquiry and farm visits were done in The Netherlands, Switzerland and France in order to find out what genotypes are being used and how they perform. There are differences between countries, systems (organic vs free range) and groups of breeds. There is not just one genotype suitable for organic and free range systems.
EPrint Type:
Conference paper, poster, etc.
Type of presentation:
Paper
Keywords:
LowInputBreeds, Tierhaltung, laying hens, free range system, organic, genotypes