TABLE 2.

Survey on farming practices and activities in farms A, B, C, D, and E

Item	Observed practices	Farm
		A	B	C	D	E
Interactions between two batches
No. of different ages on site	Two different ages present concurrently on site	x	x	x	x	x
	Only one age
Interval between new batches	One new batch every 7 to 8 wks	x	x	x	x	x
Management of enclosure (outdoor area adjacent to starter building)a
Use of lime: depending on the breeder, spreading of lime for each depopulation period or once a year, over the whole enclosure or only in part (immediate surroundings, around hatches, etc.); spreading takes place on a moist surface with about 0.5 to 1 kg of lime per m2	No
	Yes, whole enclosure for each batch		x
	Yes, in part for each batch				x
	Yes, whole enclosure once a year					x
	Yes, in part (surrounds and entrances) once a year	x
Surface scraping of enclosure	Yes, once a year in spring		x		x
	No	x				x
Depopulation	5 wks	x	x		x
	3 to 5 wks					x
Management of outdoor expansion areab
Use of lime	Yes, whole run once a year	x	x
	No			x	x	x
Surface scraping of run	Yes, once a year in spring		x	x	x
	No	x				x
Depopulation: more than 3 wks on most breeder farms, but highly variable (from 0 days to 8 wks)	7 to 8 wks		x
	6 to 7 wks				x
	3 to 6 wks	x				x
	None			x
Cleaning and disinfection of starter building
Cleaning with a high-pressure cold water pump using an alkaline foam detergent, Agromousse, applied to partitions and ceilings	Application of a foam detergent with a contact time of 6 h, then action with high-pressure cold water pump	x
	Application of a foam detergent with a contact time of 15 min, then action with high-pressure cold water pump		x	x	x	x
Disinfection using a disinfectant containing quaternary ammonium and glutaraldehyde at a dilution of 1% (a bactericide by contact in 5 min, a virucide in 15 min)	Yes, two disinfections, one after washing and one before arrival of next ducklings				x
	Yes, one disinfection after washing, followed by one fumigation (Fumagri, orthophenylphenol)		x
	Yes, 1 disinfection after washing	x		x		x
Use of lime (all or part, frequency).	Yes, throughout for each batch		x	x	x	x
	Not systematically	x
Cleaning of starter equipment product recommended by professional agricultural body (0.5% sodium hypochlorite)	Washing with water and disinfection by soaking 24 h with sodium hypochlorite		x
	Washing with water and disinfection by soaking a few hours with sodium hypochlorite					x
	Washing with water and disinfection by soaking 24 h with acid descaler-detergent	x
	Washing with water and disinfection (quaternary ammonium and glutaraldehyde) by spraying with all-round disinfectant				x
	Washing with water and disinfection by spraying with sodium hypochlorite			x
Cleaning of piping	Use of an alkaline (sodium hypochlorite) 30 min, then rinsing, then an acid descaler-detergent for 30 min				x
	Use of an alkaline (sodium hypochlorite) 30 min to 1 h	x
	Rinsing with water		x	x		x
Depopulation of starter building	1 wk	x	x	x
	2 wks				x
	Up to 3 wks					x
Cleaning and disinfection of expansion facility
Removal of litter	Yes		x		x	x
	Not systematically after each batch, but regularly (more than twice a year)	x
	Twice a year			x
Washing with high-pressure cold water pump	Yes, all surfaces				x	x
	Not systematically: only all partitions		x
	Not systematically: only base of partitions	x
	Carried out once a year in full			x
Application of an alkaline foam detergent (Agromousse) applied to partitions and ceiling	Yes, contact time > 15 min		x		x	x
	No	x		x
Disinfection using a disinfectant containing quaternary ammonium and glutaraldehyde	Yes, two disinfections, one after washing and one before arrival of ducks				x
	Yes, one disinfection after washing					x
	Carried out once a year			x
	Never	x	x
Spreading of lime (all or part, frequency); spreading was carried out on a moist surface with about 0.5 to 1 kg of lime per m2	Yes, throughout for each batch		x		x
	Yes, throughout for each batch except if depopulation interval is too short (in winter)					x
	No	x		x
Cleaning of expansion facility equipment	Systematic cleaning with cold water without disinfection				x
	Washing with cold water without disinfection not systematic	x	x			x
	Washing once a year with water, then disinfection with sodium hypochlorite by soaking 1/2 day			x
Cleaning of piping	Use of an alkaline (sodium hypochlorite) 30 min, then rinsing, then an acid descaler-detergent 30 min				x
	Rinsing with water, no use of products	x	x	x		x
Depopulation of expansion facility	3 to 4 wks	x
	1 wk					x
	A few days		x		x
	None			x
Interactions between animals of the same batch
Access to building throughout rearing phase (summer)	No, no shelter beyond 3 wks of age			x		x
	No, no shelter beyond 5 wks of age				x
	Sometimes no	x
	Always yes		x
Access to building throughout rearing phase (winter)	No, no shelter beyond 6 wks of age					x
	Always yes	x	x	x	x
Startup density (ducks/m2)	12 ducks/m2	x	x
	14 ducks/m2			x
	19 ducks/m2				x	x
No. of drinkers available at introduction (one drinker available per no. of ducklings)	One drinker for less than 100 ducklings or drinking nipples available				x
	One drinker for more than 100 but less than 150 ducklings		x
	One drinker for more than 150 ducklings	x		x		x
Feeders available at introduction (1 feeder available per no. of ducklings)	One feeder for less than 50 ducklings or chain feeders	x			x
	One feeder for more than 50 but less than 70 ducklings		x
	One feeder for more than 70 ducklings			x		x
Management of straw in starter building	Straw added every day	x	x	x	x	x
Mortality over first 4 days (%)	≤0.1	x	x	x
	≤0.2					x
	0.2 to 0.5				x
Density of animals in enclosure adjacent to expansion building (ducks/m2)	2 ducks/m2	x
	5 ducks/m2					x
	10 ducks/m2		x		x
Time in enclosure adjacent to expansion building (weeks)	1 week		x			x
	2 weeks	x			x
Surface of outdoor run area available per duck (m2/duck)	30 m2/duck	x
	15 m2/duck			x
	5 m2/duck		x		x	x
Time on outdoor run area (wks)	7	x			x
	8		x
	9			x		x
Drinking troughs available for 2,000 ducks	Three drinking troughs				x
	Four drinking troughs	x		x
	Five drinking troughs		x			x
Feeding troughs available for 2,000 ducks	Three feeding troughs				x
	Five feeding troughs	x	x	x
	Eight feeding troughs					x
Density in expansion building (ducks/m2)	7 ducks/m2	x		x	x
	14 ducks/m2		x
	15 ducks/m2					x
Management of straw in outdoor run facility	Every day	x		x	x	x
	Every second day		x
Interactions between humans and animals
Setup
No. of persons present when animals are handled	1	x				x
	2		x	x	x
	3
	4
	5
	6
	7
	10
Origin of persons (private company, neighbors, other breeders)	Farm's own personnel	x	x	x	x	x
	Personnel from neighboring ready-for-gavage farms
	Workers from a private company specializing in the handling of poultry and rabbits
Duration of operations	1 to 2 h	x	x	x	x	x
	1/2 day
	1 day or several 1/2 days
	More than 1 day
Place of operation (open-air vs indoor facility)	Closed building	x	x	x	x	x
	Building with wide-open doors
	Open-air facility
Debeaking (only for farm C)
No. of persons present when animals are handled	1			x
	2
	3
	4
	5
	6
	7
	10
Origin of persons (private company, neighbors, other breeders)	Farm's own personnel			x
	Personnel from neighboring ready-for-gavage farms
	Workers from a private company specializing in the handling of poultry and rabbits
Duration of operations	1 to 2 h
	1/2 day
	1 day or several 1/2 days
	More than 1 day			x
Place of operation (open air vs indoor facility)	Closed building			x
	Building with wide-open doors
	Open air
Declawing/debeaking
No. of persons present when animals are handled	1
	2		x	x
	3
	4
	5
	6	x				x
	7
	10
Origin of persons (private company, neighbors, other breeders)	Farm's own personnel		x	x
	Personnel from neighboring ready-for-gavage farms	x
	Workers from a private company specializing in the handling of poultry and rabbits					x
Duration of operations	1 to 2 h
	1/2 day	x	x	x		x
	1 day or several 1/2 days
	More than 1 day
Place of operation (open-air vs indoor facility)	Closed building	x	x	x		x
	Building with wide-open doors
	Open air
Primary vaccination
No. of persons present when animals are handled	1	x		x
	2		x
	3
	4				x
	5
	6					x
	7
	10
Origin of persons (private company, neighbors, other breeders)	Farm's own personnel	x	x	x
	Personnel from neighboring ready-for-gavage farms
	Workers from a private company specializing in the handling of poultry and rabbits				x	x
Duration of operations	1 to 2 h
	1/2 day		x		x	x
	1 day or several 1/2 days	x
	More than 1 day			x
Place of operation (open-air vs indoor facility)	Closed building		x	x	x	x
	Building with wide-open doors	x
	Open air
Booster vaccination
No. of persons present when animals are handled	1	x		x
	2		x
	3
	4				x
	5
	6					x
	7
	10
Origin of persons (private company, neighbors, other breeders)	Farm's own personnel	x	x	x
	Personnel from neighboring ready-for-gavage farms
	Workers from a private company specializing in the handling of poultry and rabbits				x	x
Duration of operations	1 to 2 h
	1/2 day		x		x	x
	1 day or several 1/2 days	x
	More than 1 day			x
Place of operation (open-air vs indoor facility)	Closed building				x
	Building with wide-open doors			x		x
	Open air	x	x
Transfer to force-feeding
No. of persons present when animals are handled	1
	2
	3
	4
	5
	6	x			x	x
	7
	10		x	x
Origin of persons (private company, neighbors, other breeders)	Farm's own personnel
	Personnel from neighboring ready-for-gavage farms	x
	Workers from a private company specializing in the handling of poultry and rabbits		x	x	x	x
Duration of operations	1 to 2 h	x	x	x	x	x
	1/2 day
	1 day or several 1/2 days
	More than 1 day
Place of operation (open-air vs indoor facility)	Closed building
	Building with wide-open doors	x			x
	Open air		x	x		x

^aUse for 1 to 3 weeks starting from day 15 or 4 weeks depending on weather conditions.

^bUse for 8 weeks from age 4 weeks with rotation of two or three runs of 1 Ha each (highly variable depending on available surface area).