In February 2024, Enver Cavusoglu from Turkey visited Dr Lisa Jung in Kassel, Germany on a STSM. The project was titled ‘Tagged visual analog and 3-point scales concerning reliability and practicability in welfare assessment of poultry and dairy’.
Enver aimed to improve his welfare assessment skills through hands-on assessments of poultry and dairy cattle during this STSM. Starting in Goch, he evaluated over 800 “Coffee and Cream” chickens, a dual-purpose breed developed to reduce the killing of day-old male chicks. These evaluations included checking for keel bone deformities, footpad ulcers, and body weight. The experience not only enhanced his technical knowledge but also provided insights into biosecurity practices in breeding facilities. Later, in Kitzingen, he engaged aspiring farmers in a course about keel bone damage in laying hens, including practical X-ray techniques for identifying these issues.
The STSM continued with visits to a free-range laying hen farm in Witzenhausen and the experimental farm at Kassel University (also using the dual-purpose chicken breed). At both locations, he used comprehensive welfare assessment protocols to score the health and behavior of hens and dairy cows. Assessments for poultry covered plumage quality, skin lesions, and the Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA), and for cattle, body condition, dirtiness, claw, lameness and QBA, in order to evaluate the physical and psychological welfare of the animals. This immersive experience underscores the importance of thorough welfare assessments in improving the quality of life for farm animals and advancing ethical farming practices.
