Enriched colony housing is ‘wave of the future,’ predicts JS West president

JS West and Konos Inc. each operate in ballot initiative states, California and Michigan, respectively, which have passed laws regulating how laying hens are to be housed. Each of these companies have built new facilities with enriched colony housing. Eric Benson, president, JS West, and Rob Knecht, vice president of operations, Konos, presented their observations on housing birds in these enclosures at the Future of the Egg Industry Forum at the 2013 International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta.

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JS West and Konos Inc. each operate in ballot initiative states, California and Michigan, respectively, which have passed laws regulating how laying hens are to be housed. Each of these companies have built new facilities with enriched colony housing. Eric Benson, president, JS West, and Rob Knecht, vice president of operations, Konos, presented their observations on housing birds in these enclosures at the Future of the Egg Industry Forum at the 2013 International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta.

Bird performance

Benson said that JS West has two enriched colony houses that can house approximately 150,000 hens each at 116 square inches per bird. In each of the three flocks that had completed laying cycles, Benson said that the egg laying performance was better than in sister flocks in conventional cages, and that the mortality was less. He said that feed cost has been 4 percent greater in the enriched colonies because of the higher activity level of the birds and the feed that is used on the scratch pad.

Konos has had one flock in its 120,000-hen enriched colony house. The hens were housed at 116 square inches per bird for 60 weeks, then this flock was molted. Knecht said that Konos placed Hyline W-36 hens in the fully enriched house, new houses with enrichable cages and a conventional high-rise house all in the same time frame. The hens in the conventional and enrichable cages were housed at 67 square inches per bird.

The mortality through 60 weeks of lay in the conventional, enrichable and enriched cages was 2.76, 2.14 and 1.77 percent, respectively. The eggs per hen housed in the enriched house were 5.89 percent more than in the conventional house and 1.33 percent more than in the enrichable house.

Capital cost

Benson said that cages at JS West usually last 20 years, “sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less.” He said that the useful life of the enriched cages could be a little longer than 20 years if they continue to house birds at 116 square inches per bird. The enriched houses built at JS West cost approximately $24.50 per bird to build and equip assuming 116 square inches per bird for the housing density. Knecht said that the Konos house cost approximately $25 per hen to build and equip.

“I believe we would be spending around $14-14.50 per bird for new housing with conventional cages,” said Benson. He pointed out that the ratio of $14/$24.5 (0.57) is just about the same as the cage density ratio of 67 square inches per bird/116 square inches per bird (0.58).

There is little difference in the cost of the building and equipment; the cost difference is primarily the result of the space allotted per bird. The capital cost of an enriched house is 1.75 times what a conventional house would be on a per bird basis; it is all about density.

Proposition 2

Benson said that the type of enriched colonies they have at JS West (Big Dutchman) with 60 layers per colony provides 116 square inches per bird. At 116 square inches per hen, these enriched colonies should meet Proposition 2 requirements. “I believe that they can, but that is not the official position of the industry at this point,” he said.

Benson questioned whether 116 square inches per bird, which is the EU standard for enriched colony housing, was necessary for birds to be able to express the behaviors called for in California’s Proposition 2. He speculated based on research findings and personal observation that densities as low as 92 square inches per bird might be adequate in a large colony, since birds have a tendency to flock together then individual birds can have room to spread their wings in a colony of 60 birds.

Bird behavior

Knecht provided some anecdotal observations of hen behavior in the enriched colonies. “In my opinion, since some of the birds are occupied in the scratch area, on the perches and in the nest area, then they are less aggressive and are more content.” In addition, he said that there is less competition for feed at the feeder trough, which he believes reduces the urgency for the hens to eat. Birds do spread their wings in the enriched enclosures, according to Knecht, and “they do love the perches.”

Knecht and Benson both said that hens appear anxious when they are moved from the pullet house into the enriched colonies, perhaps because they are not used to having so much space or having the enrichments.

Other considerations

Knecht said that housing birds at lower densities may create heating and cooling issues with enriched houses; they have had two relatively mild winters in Michigan since they placed birds in the enriched house. Without supplemental heating, they have been able to maintain good air quality with house temperatures getting as low as the mid-60s F at the coldest.

Knecht also asked whether or not manure in the nest or on the scratch pad might impact bird health, or whether coccidiosis be more of a problem. He also said that operation of the auger to bring feed to the scratch pad to attract the hens works, but it results in some wasted feed.

What’s next?

“It is understandable that many of us don’t know where to go from here,” Benson said. “The culture wars are not over; they are really never going to be over. Where we go next is up to us as an industry. We at JS West believe that hens housed at 116 square inches per bird in a reasonable sized colony is the wave of the future. ”

“The food industry is a victim of its own success,” he said. “We produce cheap food with 5 percent of the population today. We hide our success from prying eyes as best we can. Our industry must open its doors as much as it can and show the good, the bad and the ugly. Because, without a clear picture from us, the only images the public will see will be dangerous to our future or manufactured by advertising.

“We must lead to create the future that we want. You should not and cannot just hope that the future that is thrust upon you will be the one you deserve, but it may not be the one that you want or expect. The enriched colony system is part of a viable future. If you will build a new hen house next year, in the next four years or in the next 20, it is foolish to build traditional conventional housing; it makes less and less sense every day. The flexibility and comparable performance of these systems along with the optics and welfare of the birds makes colonies the obvious choice,” he said.

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