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For Farmers
Free range farmers on range

Farm Sustainability Dashboard

The Farm Sustainability Dashboard has been designed to improve industry best practice and meet evolving community expectations. It has been created for business owners and is appropriate for farms of all sizes.

Animal Welfare

Rachel Wilson free range farm

Leading Research: in Animal Welfare

Animal Welfare refers to the protection of the health and well-being of animals. It concerns how an animal is coping in its living environment in terms of freedom from hunger and thirst, fear and distress, discomfort, pain injury or disease, and the freedom to express natural behaviours.

Hen welfare is critical for an efficient and sustainable egg farming business. Improving hen health and welfare represents an important opportunity for productivity gains in each egg production system and to ensure that management practices align with consumer expectations.

The investment in hen welfare RD&E means that animal husbandry on-farm is supported by robust, replicated and peer reviewed science, with key research outcomes regarding best management practice being communicated to all stakeholders.

It is intended that outcomes will be animal welfare gains, productivity improvements and the ongoing sustainability of Australian’s egg industry.

Key Resources

  • Model Code of Practice for Domestic Poultry

    The minimum standards outlined in this code are intended to help people involved in the care and management of poultry to adopt standards of husbandry that are acceptable.

  • Land Transport of Poultry Standards and Guidelines

    Standards and guidelines that ensure the welfare of poultry during land transport.

  • Feather condition and behaviour score sheet

    Scoring sheets for monitoring plumage condition, pecking behaviour, flock vocalisation and flightiness. These sheets can also be used to train stock hands to develop their skills in observing and detecting changes in flock behaviour during daily checks. (Print in colour for best results)

  • 4 x Best practice lighting management factsheets

    These fact sheets outline basic information about the relationship between lighting and hen health, productivity and behaviour.

Current Research

Completed Research

Projects you might find interesting

Want to see what an egg farm looks like? Take this interactive 360 degree tour to see how eggs are produced in Australia.

Free range farm with two people