Laying-hen feather-cover and pecking audit (AssureWel outcomes) — Sioux County, IA.

Iowa is the nation's top egg-producing state, with roughly 45 million laying hens producing on the order of 13-15 billion eggs a year, and Sioux County has carried some of the state's largest single-flock stakes: 4.2 million egg-laying hens were killed in a single Sioux County flock in a 2024 HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) outbreak -- the largest single-flock loss nationwide that year -- following a separate 1.6-million-hen loss at a Sioux County commercial layer operation in late 2023. This standard's own reportable-disease decision rule (sudden multi-bird mortality -> state veterinarian, never wait-and-see) is not a hypothetical here; it is exactly the call a Sioux County keeper needs to get right, fast. Feather cover itself stays the honest day-to-day welfare ledger this audit tracks between those acute events.

Where

On-site with the flock / Sioux County, IA (laying hens, commercial and backyard) · Open the map

Pay

$140 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash — recorded, and readable any time at vealth.net/labor/credit/(your wallet). You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

A dated flock audit: feather-loss scores (0-2, two body regions) on a stated sample, pecking-injury and red-mite observations, trend vs the prior audit, and every flagged finding routed

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2026-11-30

Posted by

0x034F…6c89

The creator wallet. Its signature is what approves proof and settles the wage.

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it.

Bring

• The AssureWel scoring guide (published protocol with photo standards)
• A stated sampling plan (whole flock if small; a representative sample if large)
• A flashlight for red-mite checks at perch ends/crevices (best after dark)
• The prior audit's scores for trend

Steps

1. 1. State the sample: whole flock for small keeps, or a representative walk-through sample for larger flocks; record the number scored.
2. 2. Score each sampled bird's feather loss 0-2 at head/neck and 0-2 at back/vent per the AssureWel photo standards, without catching birds unless necessary.
3. 3. Record active injuries: pecking wounds, vent damage, and any cannibalism signs; separate injured birds as found.
4. 4. Check for red mite: inspect perch ends and crevices (grey ash-like clusters; at night, mites on birds); record presence.
5. 5. Note context drivers observed: range/enrichment use, feeder space, litter condition, lighting.
6. 6. Compare scores to the prior audit; record the trend.
7. 7. Route findings: husbandry/management fixes named with dates, injured/sick birds to veterinary care, and any reportable-disease sign to the state veterinarian immediately.

What counts as done

• Sample size and sampling method stated; feather-loss score 0-2 recorded per bird for head/neck and back/vent
• Active pecking injuries, vent wounds, and red-mite signs (checked at night or under perch ends) recorded
• Trend vs the prior audit kept once one exists
• Flagged findings routed: management/husbandry fix named, or veterinary consult for injured/sick birds — and sudden multi-bird deaths reported to the state veterinarian (reportable-disease law)

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.