Scoring systems to assess housing conditions of farm animals - examples from dairy cows and laying hens

摘要

Different scoring methods have been developed in Austria and Germany for an on-farm assessment of housing conditions with respect to animal welfare. In this paper a brief overview is given about the development and principles of these scoring methods. The application is illustrated by own investigations on 65 dairy farms with littered loose housing systems (comparison of 3 methods) and on 46 organic farms with laying hens (2 methods). The results are discussed with respect to the usefulness of the respective methods.