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Traditionally it is said that the consequences of flapping are that wings get damaged in varying degrees of severity. However, by analyzing the situation closely, it can be concluded that there are costlier side effects in terms of other body parts affected and that have a higher commercial value.
Dear reader, with this suggestive title, I would like to draw your attention to the great importance of this reaction of chickens when they are under stress during pre-fattening, fattening and processing.
Traditionally it is said that the consequences of flapping are that wings get damaged in varying degrees of severity. However, by analyzing the situation closely, it can be concluded that there are costlier side effects in terms of other body parts affected and that have a higher commercial value.
The flapping “chain reaction” starts in the houses, the result of visits by farm staff for daily monitoring of chickens on farms. Staff must enter the houses to inspect if all equipment are working normally, as well as the uniformity and vitality of the flocks. In addition to collecting mortality, etc., it involves walking amongst the birds. If the personnel do it moving at their normal pace, the birds will change their normal calm behavior, to a state of maximum alert which is manifested by fast escapes and short bursts of flight, which they end up landing on the back of neighboring birds.
During this routine check, the chickens flutter intensely to put themselves out of harm’s way – an intruder, in this case the farm operators, have entered the house – and their intentions are unknown.
When chickens land on the backs of their companions they scratch them, because they try to hold on so as not to fall. This can lead to infections, taking a toll on the quality of the eventual processed carcass, whose level must be Grade A. Simultaneously, repeated flapping causes physical damage to their wings and the bodies of birds in close proximity. And should they all flap simultaneously, their wings will get damaged both internally and externally.
HEAVY BIRDS
In heavier birds, this situation becomes more critical, because the capillary vessels that transport nutrients, oxygen and/or carbon dioxide and metabolic waste are ruptured releasing part of the circulating blood and forming large hemorrhages.
LIGHT BIRDS
In lighter birds, the hemorrhages are smaller. These impa...
