Investigating the causes of laying hen deaths systematically transforms mortality events from losses into welfare intelligence that drives flock health and management improvement.
Hen mortality investigation welfare value is twofold: each investigated death provides information that may prevent future deaths, and patterns in mortality data identify welfare problems affecting the broader flock that have not yet caused deaths. A flock losing hens to Mycoplasma synoviae has a welfare problem throughout — not only in the birds that die. Investigation translates mortality into actionable welfare information. The welfare barrier is primarily the time investment and technical skill required for meaningful post-mortem examination, both of which are addressable through training.