Emerging Layer Housing Systems in USA Hongwei Xin, Distinguished Professor Depts of Ag & Biosystems Engineering and Animal Science, Iowa State Univ. Director of Egg Industry Center hxin@iastate.edu A Webinar on Livestock & Poultry Housing; March 6, 2015 U.S. Egg Industry Human population: 314.5 million Number of laying hens: 297 million Eggs produced: ~83 billion/year Per-capita egg consumption: 258 eggs 69% shell eggs & 31% processed eggs 95% of eggs produced in cage housing systems (high-rise or manure belt). Xin - 2 Today s Issues/Challenges Animal Welfare Consumer Education Efficiency & Profitability Egg Safety & Quality Environmental Impact Hen & Worker Health Sustainability Xin - 3 1
Recent Developments in European Union and USA 1. Jan 1, 2012, EU banned egg production from hens in cages. ~25% did not meet deadline. Shortage of egg supply and price hike. 2. CA Prop 2 went into effect Jan 1, 2015: Shell eggs sold in CA must comply with new space and SE vaccination/testing requirements: # hens/cage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 in 2 /hen 322 205 166 146 135 127 121 117 116 Current industry standard (UEP certified): 67 in 2 /hen Xin - 4 Modern Hen Housing Has Come a Long Way 5 5 Xin - 5 High-Rise (Cage) Hen House Xin - 6 2
Manure-Belt (Cage) Layer House Xin - 7 Forced Air Drying of Manure on Belt Photo Courtesy of Tom Lippi, CTB Manure drying 8 Xin - 8 Distribution of Electricity Use (Xin et al., 2013) Xin - 9 3
Supplemental Air Drying Chamber Courtesy of Tom Lippi, CTB Xin - 10 Ammonia (NH 3 ) Emission Rate (ER) of High-rise vs. Manure-Belt Layer Houses NH3 ER (g/au-day) 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 316 High-rise Layer Housing Type AU = animal unit = 500 kg live body weight Storage 38 Belt House Xin - 11 U.S. Trend in Layer House Construction Courtesy of Tom Lippi &Rick Van Puffelen, CTB Xin -12 4
Enriched Colony Hen House Colony size: 60 hens Area/hen: 116 in 2 Perch/hen: 6 in Nestbox/hen: 9.3 in 2 Scratch pad: 7.8 in 2 Sources: Big Dutchman web site & CSES Project Xin - 13 Aviary Hen Houses 2.5 m Xin - 14 Aviary Hen Houses Litter Area Inspection Aisle 15 Xin - 15 5
Non-Cage Hen Houses Xin - 16 A Holistic Evaluation of Three Hen Housing Systems in USA Michigan State University University of California-Davis Iowa State University/EIC USDA ARS Cargill and McDonalds Xin - 17 Ammonia (NH 3 ) Concentrations of Three Hen Housing Systems CC = conventional cage; EC = enriched colony; AH = aviary house (Xin et al., 2013) Xin - 18 6
PM 10 Concentrations of Three Hen Housing Systems CC = conventional cage; EC = enriched colony; AH = aviary house (Xin et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2015) Xin - 19 Source Ammonia (NH 3 ) Emissions of Three Hen Housing Systems Housing System CC EC AV g/hen d % Total g/hen d % Total g/hen d % Total House 0.083 b 28% 0.054 c 31% 0.112 a 40% Storage 0.21 72% 0.11 69% 0.18 60% Farm 0.29 100% 0.16 100% 0.30 100% Within a row, means with different superscripts significantly differ (P < 0.05) (Xin et al., 2013; Shepherd et al., 2015) Xin - 20 House-Level PM Emissions of Three Hen Housing Systems PM Size Unit Daily Emission Rate (Mean ± SE) CC EC AV mg/hen-d 15.7 ± 1.0b 15.6 ± 0.9b 100 ± 5.1a PM 10 g/au-d 5.4 ± 0.3 b 5.0 ± 0.3 b 32.0 ± 1.6 a mg/kg egg 299 ± 0.02 b 297 ± 0.01 b 1,909 ± 0.07 a mg/hen-d 0.9 ± 0.3b 1.7 ± 0.1b 8.8 ± 0.3a PM 2.5 g/au-d 0.30 ± 0.08 b 0.55 ± 0.05 b 2.82 ± 0.10 a mg/kg egg 18.0 ± 4.7 b 32.0 ± 2.7 b 168 ± 6.3 a Within a row, means with different superscripts significantly differ (P < 0.05) AU = Animal Unit, 500 kg live body weight (Xin et al., 2013; Shepherd et al., 2015) Xin - 21 7
Closure Concerns over animal welfare have led to development and adoption of alternative egg production systems. Each system has its pros and cons. A holistic approach should be used when assessing sustainability of a production system (i.e., animal welfare, food safety, environmental impact, food affordability, work ergonomics, etc.). Xin - 22 EIC Annual Forums www.eggindustrycenter.org 2009 Des Moines, Iowa 2010 Chicago, Illinois 2011 Columbus, Ohio 2012 Denver, Colorado 2013 St. Louis, Missouri 2014 Indianapolis, IN 2015 (April 7&8) Des Moines, Iowa Xin - 23 8