Things I really enjoyed about this course: the videos were short and organized around one central topic. The explanations were clear and concise with just enough photos to illustrate a concept. The course began with an explanation of chicken evolution and common behaviors and then those concepts were referenced later in relation to housing and behavior of commercial poultry. I would recommend this course to anyone who works in commercial poultry to better understand animal welfare concepts or to anyone keeping a backyard flock. Well done.

I found the course excellent, but I was really confused about the fact that the course is talking about welfare and it have no problem to say that 50% of the chicks (male chicks) of the laying chicken breed are just destroyed after hatching, I don't know but I can't find this ethical or logical.

Fantastic, detailed and mindfully planned course serving all those who connect their lives with the chicken ones. Very pleased with professional work performed by a very welcoming lector + finest extra interviews. I'd say that an additional week showing the basics of maintaining a proper small chicken barn or diving a bit deeper into organic chicken farming would make it even more great and useful. Warmest thanks anyway, couldn't help finishing the 5 weeks course in actual 2 - that fascinating it was.

I learned so much. I am a hobby farmer with a small flock, but I really enjoyed learning about all aspects of chicken welfare as it pertains to both small and large scale operations. Thank you!

I'm very glad I took this course. I've kept chickens throughout much of my life since childhood and some of the information presented here made me go, "Oh! Now I get it." The course was well structured and presented in an informal yet professional manner that I found appealing. This was one of my first coursera classes so I don't know if it's already offered, but I would love to see this team put together a course on chicken breeds if they haven't already. The only downside to this class was that the last section (slaughter) seemed (to me) a bad note to leave on. Maybe add a bit about bringing in the new batch of chicks or just anything a bit more upbeat. Thanks to everyone involved for a job well done.

I have a small flock of backyard chickens. I found your course to be very informative. I also felt that I could trust what I was reading, instead of relying on word of mouth and the internet. My hens thank you for educating their keeper.

i learned a lot of knowledge from this course because it is very critical and important part of my field related to Poultry Behaviour and welfare

i really thanks ful to coursea community

this course is very gainful for any person who is involved in any type of poultry production system directly or indirectly i would instigate all to involve and complete this course.

I have learned so much from this course that I hadn't even considered before attempting to raise layers. I especially appreciate the tips for rearing free ranged birds in an urban or small yard environment; expressly the difference in approach for broilers opposed to the layers. I will most definitely incorporate the tip about liming into our routine. I've used it in the past as it sweetens the soil and helps for a healthier lawn, but now I know it can help lessen events of worms. Couldn't be happier about the decision to take this class.

A very interesting and very developed course, wth so many concrete details ! Serious study in the depth of chickens life (backyard and commercial). Much useful, to be able to understand chickens, to evaluate their welfare, and then to improve it. I think that, thanks to this course, it's really possible to be a good stock keeper, and to have a happy flock ! Thank you so much for this precious help !

Really interesting and easy to follow. I was mostly learning with a view to owning a small backyard flock one day, but even so the information pertaining to commercial operations was important and easy to understand. A lot can be taken from that for a small set-up anyway.

Really insightful and useful - gave me some additional knowledge on how to care for my back yard chickens and also details on the supply chain of chickens raised for consumption.

Easy to follow videos and quizzes - would recommend to anyone with an interest in chickens!

Thank you very much to the instructor at Duke University. This course has taught me a great deal of information. Things that I never knew before, it was interesting and rewarding. Thank you very much.

Great information about chickens' instinctive behaviors and the advantages and disadvantages of various means of caring for them. I learned a lot about the various systems used throughout the world.

Fantastic course if you're just starting out in the world of chickens. I feel that I gained vital knowledge which has boosted my confidence in my abilities as a back garden hen keeper.

Very, very interesting and informative. I've always wanted to raise chickens for small scale selling and consumption and this course has provided me with the tools to do so. Thank you

I found this course to be very informative for those who are beginning to learn about chickens or would like to expand their knowledge to improve conditions for their backyard flock.

I realize this course is offered by the University of Edinburgh, however I wish there was less emphasis on unnecessary facts related to the UK such as "What percentage of chickens were free range in the UK in 2013" which in no way matters to me as someone trying to learn about raising and caring for chickens. That said, I learned A LOT in this course. So many things I did not know that I did not know. Chicken behavior, feeding, watering, transport, feather pecking, as a few examples. I will recommend this course to anyone I meet who asks where to learn more about chickens, raising them, or caring for them.

Tests can be too difficult, considering they have questions on details I'm not especially here to learn. I'm here to take care of chickens, I'm not going to remember the percentage of free range vs. enriched cages in the UK as of 2013.

The course was information dense, with many factors of chicken health and rearing that I was not aware of, despite some extensive reading prior to getting our own flock of Heritage chicks last year. Understanding the commercial applications makes me a better informed consumer. I prefer to pay (perhaps) a bit more for humanely treated animals and especially in those circumstances where chickens have the opportunity to 'express their chicken-ness'. I live on the west (wet) coast of Canada and frequently give our birds access to the yard and garden. I would lime anyway because of acid rain, but knowing it can help limit bird worms and pathogens is added incentive. I will also be looking to get some oyster shell grit. Thank-you so very much for making this course available.

A big thanks to Dr. Victoria Sandilands and his team for brilliant narration and excellent execution of the course content, covering maximum content on chicken behaviour issues and ethics. the links given further enhances our deep knowledge and interview session with entrepreuneurs gives the insight of practical application of rearing chicken with pros and cons of behaviour and welfare. Quizs are little bit tough but interesting and it makes us to seriously go through all the course content for better learning. Thanks to the University of Edinburgh and its entire team for their untiering efforts and contribution for providing us this excellent course.

I like how the view of this course is broad and handles the topic from everybody's point of view. Both the commercial view to the consumer view. I like how this course helps to increase consciousness about how the behaviour of animals can help us understand their suffering and enjoyment. Now that all the students in this course have the knowledge we can debate and propose new ideas to help improve this systems in a humane way. Thank you very much. It was a very enjoyable course and all the content is ultra high quality. Special thanks to the instructors who curated very carefully the content and it really reflects their effort and love in the process.

I like how the view of this course is broad and handles the topic from everybody's point of view. Both the commercial view to the consumer view. I like how this course helps to increase consciousness about how the behaviour of animals can help us understand their suffering and enjoyment. Now that all the students in this course have the knowledge we can debate and propose new ideas to help improve this systems in a humane way. Thank you very much. It was a very enjoyable course and all the content is ultra high quality. Special thanks to the instructors who curated very carefully the content and it really reflects their effort and love in the process.

I came away feeling, knowng, that I have learnt something new about chickens/egg and meat production. The course material is informative, topic-specific and relevant, and the quizzes are pertinent to the information covered.

Also, I liked the fact that we are told which materials [per the "reading"] we will be held responsible for and be [not] quizzed on. The online format also gives the excellent opportunity to learn a great course without having to travel to the University grounds -- a lot of time is saved with respect to getting ready, travelling, and having various frustrations.

I am glad that I was also able to move at my own desired pace.

Excellent and well done. More challenging than I thought it would be. The quizzes were hard but fair. The "pick all of the correct answers and miss even one and you are wrong" questions are annoying but they teach the material. The questions change if you retake the test so just writing down wrong answer will not help you unless you study the material. I am also pleased the instructor did not require a peer-reviewed assignment. Some courses just don't need them, they are silly, and the peer-reviewers don't have the knowledge to review them. I can just imagine what a peer-reviewed chicken project would have looked like. LOL.