How do Danish organic farmers use agroforestry system to improve the distribution of laying hens : a case study on seven farms

Abstract

In big scale production laying hens do not use evenly the outdoor area, also called the run. However the presence of trees can influence the distribution of the birds. Agroforestry systems provide indeed a shelter for the hens roaming outside. In this study 26 runs including flocks of 3,000 organic laying hens and agroforestry systems were investigated. The goals were first to establish a typology of the runs observed and identify the advantages and limits for each type of run. Secondly the study aimed to make a descriptive sheet for each farm, including the thoughts of the farmer interviewed and figure out the features of the run with the best distribution and its type. An important part of the work was also to search in the scientific literature what was already found about the influence the trees and the design runs with agroforestry in Europe. The result of the observations on the 26 runs showed Danish specificities like the presence of a plantation on 78% of the cases, made of an orchard or a coppice for biomasse production and sometimes a forest of firs for Christmas trees production. No specific interest was found in between the type of run including orchard or coppice and the run with the best distribution seem to gather both of the features: presence of fruit on the outdoor area in addition to a plantation of willows. However the factors influencing the distribution of the hens on the outdoor area are multiples and include the density inside of the veranda, the presence of a source of food outside like a field of grains or the fact that the pop-holes are facing the plantation.