UFAW 'Ruth Harrison Student Scholarship' for RVC BVetMed Student
Congratulations to Izzy Izquierdo-Hall BvetMed student who was awarded the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) ‘Ruth Harrison Student Scholarship award for the highest quality project addressing the welfare of farmed animals at the recent UFAW vacation scholars meeting in Edinburgh.
Izzy received the award for her vacation scholarship work on laying hens with Prof Christine Nicol and Kate Norman. Izzy studied comfort behaviour performed by laying hens in cage-free barns compared to colony cages to determine whether the two systems differed in provision for these highly motivated behaviours that are important for hen welfare. She found that there was a significantly broader and higher rate of positive comfort behaviour expressed amongst the laying hens in the cage-free barns compared to the colony cages. These findings can aid producers and consumers in decisions about the potential for provision of better hen welfare in different systems.