CFRIL collaboration improves poultry welfare tools

Focused on advancing animal welfare, Cargill Limited and Cascades partnered with the Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab (CFRIL) to create enriched environments for broiler chickens.

The focus of the enrichment is to encourage the natural behaviours of chickens in the wild, such as roosting, sheltering, foraging, scratching, pecking, dustbathing, play, and interactive social behaviours.  

Recognizing the importance of these behaviors for poultry welfare and farming practices, the research team explored the use of recyclable and compostable materials to build objects that focused on the sheltering and perching behaviors. 

Due to the complexity and creativity required for this project, Jeff Mills, sales manager at Cascades and part-time professor in the Packaging Engineering Technician program at Conestoga College, knew that bringing this challenge to the CFRIL team would bring a unique perspective from both the researchers and students.  

The project also engaged packaging faculty Steve Gardner, mentoring the students through the design process and supported by CFRIL researcher Tracy Butt. 

The project employed five student researchers from the Packaging Engineering Technician program, all of whom have since graduated and are working in packaging technology roles. 

“The students came up with really imaginative designs,” Mills said.  

Since the enrichment objects were designed to encourage chickens to interact with them naturally, the chickens’ behavior was the key measure of success.  

“What we ended up seeing was the chickens enjoyed using the objects, which meant the object was attractive to them,” said Cargill’s veterinarian, Dr. Taylor. “Even when a human approached them, they didn’t want to move.”  

The team used these observations as feedback for the designs, refining the objects the chickens preferred based on input from Dr. Taylor and the farmers, while redesigning or discarding those the chickens ignored.  

Cargill’s General Manager of Agriculture, Dave Johnson, credits the student’s ability to be adaptable during the project to produce effective designs for the broilers.  

“We could see the students taking Dr. Taylor’s feedback and applying it in real time to the designs,” he said. “At one point, they combined two designs into one that featured elements of both.” 

But it wasn’t just about designing new elements for the broilers, disposal considerations were equally important.  

Currently, chickens spend around six to seven weeks in their barn environment. Once the chickens are removed, the entire barn is thoroughly cleaned out before the next group arrives. 

The original idea to use corrugated material to make the enrichment objects came from a farmer during a meeting with Cargill.  Biosecurity is a critical consideration for anything entering the barn due to the threat of diseases such as avian flu, which can have devastating impacts on a flock.   

Recyclable, compostable materials reduce biosecurity risks by eliminating the need for cleaning and sanitizing, unlike steel or plastic.

"Anything that has to be cleaned between each flock increases risk,” said Dr. Taylor. “Having a single use object adds that extra layer of biosecurity.” 

By using compostable and recyclable corrugated materials for the enrichment objects, the research team had to find the perfect balance between durability and the ability of the shelters to break down naturally after use. 

“They really needed to last exactly six or seven weeks,” Butt said. “We had some structures that didn’t make it past five weeks in the barn and some that didn’t degrade in the compost pile. It really was a balancing act in the design.” 

The safety and wellbeing of the chickens were carefully considered during the development of the shelter prototypes. Special attention was given to ensuring the structures could support the chickens’ increasing weight and remain intact throughout their time in the barn.  

“Adding this new element to the chicken’s habitat that isn’t normally there could pose significant risks to the chickens, so every object is evaluated to make sure it is safe and suitable,” said Dr. Taylor. 

The students and researchers developed a pre-barn test where objects were tested to ensure they could withstand the needs of the broilers as they grew. 

Although the designs and outcomes are still being evaluated by Cargill and their customer, the project was recently presented by Cargill at an international poultry meeting, where Dr. Taylor says the approach and results were well-received by the audience.