The welfare of egg-producing poultry is a topic of great concern to the poultry industry and to researchers in applied animal behaviour. It is also subject to increased legislation. Issues such as battery cages, space requirements, access to daylight and "free-range" eggs have attracted public interest. This book brings together edited papers from the 27th Poultry Science Symposium of the World's Poultry Science Association (UK Branch), held in Bristol in July 2003. Topics covered include: welfare issues, perception and cognition, behaviour, health and diseases, stockmanship and the environment, handling, slaughter and transport, and perspectives of consumers and producers.

Derived from the 28th Poultry Science Symposium of the World's Poultry Science Association (UK), this book focuses on the current interest of the phasing out of antibiotic use in poultry and covers in-depth interactions between the bird, its diet and potential pathogens. It also demonstrates the understanding of the gut health in the 21st century of commercial poultry and flocks and the ultimate safety of poultry product in the human food chain.