Even farmed animals feel a spring in their step
With the longer evenings and warmer weather, who doesn’t feel a little spring in their step? And it's not just humans who enjoy this time of year, animals feel the difference as well.
To learn more about animal behaviour in spring, we spoke to one of our regional assessment managers. Charlotte visits our member farms in all kinds of weather. From blossom to blizzard, she’s out there ensuring that farmed animals on the RSPCA Assured scheme are being reared to the RSPCA’s higher welfare standards.
“With its lighter evenings, Spring is a welcome change for everyone working in farming, and it’s fascinating to see changes in the animals’ behaviour too.”
Springing into life
“Spring brings a whole host of new opportunities for environmental enrichment. With new grass growing and leaves appearing on trees, animals have more to munch on and more exciting places to explore outdoors. It’s great to see hens perching up in the branches and peering down at us through the leaves.
Cows appreciate the extra freedom of movement as well. They love being outside, where they can lie down and have a good old stretch out in the grass or browse on the new leaves of trees and shrubs.”
Farmed animals and the arrival of spring
“As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, farmed animals become more active and enjoy spending more time outdoors. It’s great to see this in free-range animals like hens, who start to spend more time outside being active, foraging, dust-bathing, and interacting with flock mates. But you can see it in the indoor-raised animals as well, as they become more active for longer as the daylight extends.”
Fresh shoots and insects
“Pigs love rooting around in the earth and nibbling at grass and vegetation. As well as providing them with different nutrients, it also keeps them busy by giving them something to do. It’s great to see them in the spring as they start rooting around new growth. And while it may not be everyone's cup of springtime tea, the warmer weather also brings more bugs for chickens and hens. Scratching around in the dust for bugs is extra enrichment for birds, as it stimulates their curiosity and encourages natural foraging behaviours.”
Keeping farmed animals mentally and physically active
“RSPCA Assured farming members care for their animals according to the RSPCA’s higher welfare standards. There are, on average, 700 standards that must be met for each species, each one making a difference to the lives of the animals. One of RSPCA Assured’s key requirements is for animals to be provided with environmental enrichment.
Enrichment can be anything from straw for pigs to root about in, objects for chickens and hens to peck at, to cow brushes for cattle. These things encourage the animals to engage in their natural behaviours and keep them mentally and physically active.”
Giving animals the freedom to move
“Seeing hens exploring their environment and clucking around freely makes me proud to work for RSPCA Assured. We never allow cages on the scheme; they prevent animals from expressing their natural behaviours, but sadly, over eight million laying hens still spend their whole lives in cages.
“For cows, being outside not only provides them with space to move and exercise, but they also have more freedom to interact with other cows and strengthen social bonds. The RSPCA welfare standards for cows state that they must be given plenty of outdoor access and cannot be kept permanently indoors; sadly, on some lower-welfare farms, they are never allowed outside. A cow that lives inside all the time is more likely to show serious health issues such as lameness and udder infections.”
Spring into action for animal welfare
RSPCA Assured is working hard alongside the RSPCA to bring an end to highly intensive farming and wants to see all animals cared for to the RSPCA’s higher welfare standards. You can help by signing up to their campaign to ban cages and help farmed animals lead better lives.
We also have the power to influence how farmed animals are treated every time we go shopping. By making informed choices, we can support higher-welfare farming. When you see the RSPCA Assured label, you know that the animals have been raised to higher welfare standards. This means they've had access to better living conditions, space to move, and the opportunity to express their natural behaviours all year round.
About the author
Jodie - Website Manager
Jodie is RSPCA Assured's Website Manager.