D.Temple, C.Weeks, T.van Niekerk, X.Manteca
Towards the end of the laying period (EoL), the hens are either removed from the laying houses and taken to the slaughterhouse for human consumption or slaughtered on site and destroyed. The end of the laying period consists of the latter transport of the spent hens to the slaughterhouse, from the time they are caught to the time they are slaughtered, including the preparation and planning of the transport. The spent hens are transported from the farm to the slaughterhouse, which involves catching the hens at the farm, loading them onto the truck, transporting them and finally unloading them once they arrive at the slaughterhouse, where they are slaughtered. During all these stages, hens can suffer from hunger, heat stress, pain and anxiety. For this reason, certain measures have to be taken to reduce stress at all stages of the process in order to maintain satisfactory welfare levels.
