Executive summary: Healthier Hens (HH), a charity aiming to improve the welfare of caged and cage-free hens, reports on its second year of operations, detailing financial challenges and a transition to a volunteer-led organization, while continuing research and outreach efforts to reduce hen suffering. It also provides updates on various projects, including a failed calcium timing study and ongoing work in Kenya, and discusses potential future strategies based on available funding and collected data.
Key points:
Despite financial challenges and a transition to a volunteer-led organization in their second year, Healthier Hens continued their mission of reducing hen suffering, particularly from keel bone fractures.
The organization conducted a calcium timing study with the University of Bern, but results indicated negative impacts on hen health, welfare, and productivity, leading to a reconsideration of such dietary interventions.
In Kenya, HH carried out farmer workshops, published a literature review on hen feed fortification, and a report on Kenyan feed quality issues, revealing significant knowledge gaps and the need for regional data on hen health issues.
HH estimates a slight net positive impact from their two years of operations, improving the lives of approximately 14,000 hens at a cost of $27 per hen.
Future strategies for the organization, to be decided in January 2024, range from shutting down to trialling multiple interventions simultaneously, dependent on financial resources and collected baseline data.
HH has received funding from multiple sources but continues to seek additional funds to further investigate and implement interventions to improve the welfare of cage-free hens.
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Executive summary: Healthier Hens (HH), a charity aiming to improve the welfare of caged and cage-free hens, reports on its second year of operations, detailing financial challenges and a transition to a volunteer-led organization, while continuing research and outreach efforts to reduce hen suffering. It also provides updates on various projects, including a failed calcium timing study and ongoing work in Kenya, and discusses potential future strategies based on available funding and collected data.
Key points:
Despite financial challenges and a transition to a volunteer-led organization in their second year, Healthier Hens continued their mission of reducing hen suffering, particularly from keel bone fractures.
The organization conducted a calcium timing study with the University of Bern, but results indicated negative impacts on hen health, welfare, and productivity, leading to a reconsideration of such dietary interventions.
In Kenya, HH carried out farmer workshops, published a literature review on hen feed fortification, and a report on Kenyan feed quality issues, revealing significant knowledge gaps and the need for regional data on hen health issues.
HH estimates a slight net positive impact from their two years of operations, improving the lives of approximately 14,000 hens at a cost of $27 per hen.
Future strategies for the organization, to be decided in January 2024, range from shutting down to trialling multiple interventions simultaneously, dependent on financial resources and collected baseline data.
HH has received funding from multiple sources but continues to seek additional funds to further investigate and implement interventions to improve the welfare of cage-free hens.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.