Effect of catching method on the prevalence of broken bones in end of lay hens.

Five trials were conducted in which six methods of picking end of lay hens from battery cages were compared with three people performing the picking. Pulling the birds over a breast support slide, which created a smooth surface over the feeding trough, did not affect the prevalence of broken bones. In one trial, picking birds by one leg resulted in about three times more fractured bones than picking by two legs. This effect, however, was not evident in three other trials, suggesting that the advantage from two leg picking would only exist with some pickers or some flocks. Pulling more than one bird at a time by one leg through the cage entrance was associated with more skeletal damage than pulling birds individually by two legs. Picking the birds by one leg was easier to perform than picking by two legs.