Latest update on HenTrack 1.0

For poultry breeders it is not always easy to select laying hens that thrive in all housing systems. The goal of this research collaboration between Hendrix Genetics Layers and Dr. Michael Toscano, the group leader of the Center of proper Housing of Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ) in Switzerland, is to identify new traits, and the appropriate methods to keep track of these traits in alternative housing systems for egg layers.

The HenTrack project will make use of the state-of-the-art, large-scale cage-free research facilities at The Aviforum in Zollikofen, Switzerland to conduct detailed, continuous observations on the behavior, the health, and the welfare of individual laying hens over the laying period. Combining behavioral patterns with animal health and welfare indicators will allow Hendrix Genetics Layers to add new traits (phenotypes) to their breeding program. Which will help to bring the performance of their breeds in alternative housing systems to an even higher level.

The data that is currently generated by HenTrack 1.0 includes information on how animals acclimate to standard commercial stressors such as human interference, environmental conditions, and vaccinations, as well as variation in use of their environment, including access to the wintergarden and the use of popholes. Information collected at the Aviforum, using large groups, within a commercial aviary housing system, will be combined with traditional breeding evaluations conducted by a team of laying hen geneticists, in small family groups and more focused observations on productivity and egg quality.

In HenTrack 1.0, Dekalb White laying hens are tracked. The Dekalb White is a chicken breed that is quickly gaining market share in markets that are moving away from caged housing. The Dekalb White laying hens are recognized for their docile behavior and excellent performance in terms of egg laying persistency, egg quality and overall livability, in cage-free housing systems.