Exploring the economic potential of reducing broiler lameness.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Economics
• Animal Science
• Welfare Science

Background:

• Lameness is a significant issue in broiler farming, impacting both animal welfare and farm profitability.
• Optimizing management practices is crucial for economic viability in the competitive broiler sector.
• Understanding farmer perceptions is key to successful adoption of new practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the economic benefits of management practices aimed at reducing lameness in Swedish broiler farms.
• To investigate broiler farmers' perceptions regarding the economic and welfare implications of these practices.

Main Methods:

• A normative economic model was employed to evaluate financial effects.
• A questionnaire-based survey gathered data on farmer perceptions.
• Six alternative management practices were tested, with a focus on feeding strategies.

Main Results:

• Feeding whole wheat, sequential feeding, and meal feeding showed the greatest improvements in gross margin and net return.
• The economic benefits of whole wheat feeding were primarily driven by lower feed costs, outweighing negative effects on feed conversion rate.
• The price of wheat significantly influenced economic performance improvements, more so than lameness reduction itself.

Conclusions:

• Broiler farmers surveyed did not fully recognize the economic and welfare potential of altered feeding practices.
• Implementing these feeding strategies could be highly beneficial for farm economics, especially given tight profit margins.
• There is a need to bridge the gap between the proven economic benefits and farmer awareness/adoption of improved feeding practices.