Laying-hen feather-cover and pecking audit (AssureWel outcomes) — West Lafayette, IN.

No honesty-limit caveat needed: confirmed directly from PubMed's own record (via NCBI eutils) that D.C. Lay Jr., first author of this standard's own hen-welfare-background citation (Lay et al. 2011, "Hen welfare in different housing systems," Poultry Science), is affiliated with the Livestock Behavior Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service-USDA, West Lafayette, IN -- a direct, named-author-institution match sourced from the paper's own PubMed record. Distinct from the existing national, Sioux County (that county's own acute HPAI-outbreak stakes), Bristol (the AssureWel protocol's own literal origin institution), Godalming (CIWF, a campaigning charity), Horsham (RSPCA, a named AssureWel co-developer), Athens (UGA Poultry Science, a broad academic-field connection), and Bristol Soil Association (a third named AssureWel co-developer) tiles -- West Lafayette is this standard's own hen-welfare citation's first author's institution.

Where

On-site with the flock / West Lafayette, IN (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

2026-12-07

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 or USDA APHIS hotline (reportable-disease law)

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.