Table 3.
Summary of chicken welfare research in Chinese (N = number of publications).
| Primary Category | N | Primary Subcategory | N | Secondary Subcategory | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition | 39 | Feed/diet/nutrition | 38 | Feed additives | 17 |
| Nutritional management | 12 | ||||
| Feeding strategy and management | 7 | ||||
| Non-experimental article on feed, diet and nutrition | 4 | ||||
| Water | 3 | ||||
| 2. Freedom from discomfort and exposure | 215 | Environment impact and control | 115 | Environmental enrichment | 33 |
| Lighting | 24 | ||||
| Temperature, humidity | 23 | ||||
| Environmental control | 15 | ||||
| Air quality, ventilation and ammonia | 15 | ||||
| Non-experimental article on environmental impact and control | 6 | ||||
| Bedding | 4 | ||||
| Environment assessment | 4 | ||||
| Integrated rearing management | 134 | Chicken rearing systems | 69 | ||
| Stocking density | 29 | ||||
| Equipment and technology for rearing management | 14 | ||||
| Rearing management of broilers | 8 | ||||
| Breeding mode | 7 | ||||
| Beak trimming | 4 | ||||
| Rearing management of chicks | 4 | ||||
| Rearing management of layers | 3 | ||||
| 3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease | 129 | Injury or disease | 99 | Feather loss | 36 |
| Foot pad injury | 35 | ||||
| Lameness and leg disease or injury | 31 | ||||
| Feather pecking | 17 | ||||
| Feather cleanliness score | 13 | ||||
| Fluctuating asymmetry of legs, wings and tibias | 13 | ||||
| Breast disease | 10 | ||||
| Beak disease or injury | 7 | ||||
| Claw condition including toe damage | 6 | ||||
| Skin wounds | 5 | ||||
| Organ damage | 4 | ||||
| Abnormality of the keel | 3 | ||||
| Ocular health | 3 | ||||
| Skeleton disease or injury | 3 | ||||
| Prevention and control | 61 | Immunity (incl. indicators of immune response (44)) | 46 | ||
| Non-experimental article on causes of diseases, prevention and control | 7 | ||||
| Specific disease detection technology and treatment | 6 | ||||
| Biosecurity | 3 | ||||
| 4. Freedom to express normal behavior | 82 | Behavior research | 80 | Feeding | 43 |
| Gait score | 39 | ||||
| Drinking | 38 | ||||
| Standing | 32 | ||||
| Preening | 29 | ||||
| Walking | 27 | ||||
| Lying | 24 | ||||
| Pecking | 23 | ||||
| Perching | 17 | ||||
| Sand bathing | 16 | ||||
| Foraging | 14 | ||||
| Tonic immobility | 14 | ||||
| Panting | 12 | ||||
| Wing flapping | 12 | ||||
| Stretching | 10 | ||||
| Aggression | 19 | ||||
| Resting | 9 | ||||
| Shaking | 9 | ||||
| Vocalizing | 8 | ||||
| Nesting | 7 | ||||
| Wing lifting | 7 | ||||
| Exploratory activity | 6 | ||||
| Scratching | 6 | ||||
| Head movement | 5 | ||||
| Running | 4 | ||||
| Sitting | 4 | ||||
| Non-experimental article on behavior | 2 | ||||
| 5. Freedom from fear and distress | 14 | Measurement of fear response | 14 | ||
| 6. Welfare assessment and indicators | 21 | Welfare indicators | 16 | Non-experimental article on welfare indicators | 13 |
| Welfare assessment | 5 | ||||
| 7. Welfare during loading, unloading, transport or slaughter | 19 | Welfare during slaughter | 13 | Pre-slaughter impact and strategy for reducing stress | 7 |
| Slaughter with stunning | 3 | ||||
| Welfare during transport | 8 | Impact of transport stress and strategy for reducing stress | 7 | ||
| Specific transport stressor | 4 | ||||
| Welfare during loading or unloading | 1 | ||||
| 8. Public or farmers’ attitude | 3 | Knowledge or attitude of chicken farmers and farm staffs | 2 | ||
| Knowledge or attitude of public | 1 | ||||
| 9. Non-experimental article on welfare | 31 | Non-experimental article on welfare | 28 | ||
| Non-experimental article on welfare related strategy, technology, facility and equipment | 3 | ||||
| 10. Welfare related genetic and breeding | 18 | Genetic improvement and breeding | 12 | Stress resistance | 7 |
| Non-experimental article on genetic improvement and breeding | 3 | ||||
| Genetic research | 6 | Genome-wide association study linked to diseases | 4 |