Inter-Observer Repeatability of Indicators of Consciousness after Waterbath Stunning in Broiler Chickens
Publication date
2022-07-13ISSN
2076-2615
Abstract
Waterbath stunning is intended to induce unconsciousness until death occurs due to bleeding in poultry. However, it is not always effective. For this reason, in order to protect their welfare, it is mandatory in the European Union that the state of consciousness of broiler chickens is monitored at the exit of the waterbath, and that they do not regain consciousness before death. Ineffectively stunned birds can be re-stunned using back-up methods to avoid unnecessary pain, stress and suffering. One of the main challenges in monitoring the state of consciousness in broiler chickens after waterbath stunning is the selection of animal-based indicators ensuring consistency among assessments. The indicators should be valid, feasible and repeatable. However, only the validity and feasibility have been reported. Thus, the main goal of this research was to assess the repeatability of the most valid and feasible indicators of the state of consciousness after waterbath stunning in broilers both before bleeding (tonic seizure, breathing, spontaneous blinking and vocalization) and during bleeding (wing flapping, breathing, spontaneous swallowing and head shaking). This study proposes a refined list of indicators that could be used to assess the consciousness of broiler chickens in commercial slaughterhouses.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
Pages
15
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Animals
Citation
Contreras-Jodar, Alexandra, Aranzazu Varvaró-Porter, Virginie Michel, and Antonio Velarde. 2022. "Inter-Observer Repeatability Of Indicators Of Consciousness After Waterbath Stunning In Broiler Chickens". Animals 12 (14): 1800. doi:10.3390/ani12141800.
Grant agreement number
SANTÉ/ /EURC-2020-SI.824038/EU/ /
SANTÉ/ /EURC-2021-2022-SI2.871763/EU/ /
Program
Benestar Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2831]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/