In the debate on improving animal welfare in broiler chicken farming, raised platforms and pecking blocks have come increasingly into focus in recent years. But how should these platforms be designed for the birds? Do the broilers actually use them throughout the entire rearing period? What about pecking blocks – do different degrees of hardness affect their use?

However, it is not just questions of animal behaviour that need to be clarified. A good house climate is also crucial for the animals’ health. The aim is to keep concentrations of the harmful gases CO₂ and ammonia low. But can CO₂ and ammonia concentrations in the house be used to directly control ventilation?

These questions were investigated in the animal welfare model and demonstration project ‘Improving animal welfare in broiler chicken farming’. In this interview, Jan Heck and Birgit Schiller (Chair of Animal Welfare, Behaviour, Animal Hygiene and Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at LMU Munich) report on the observations and experiences they gathered during the project period at various commercial farms.