This course was extremely informative! I thought I knew a bunch from owning my own chickens and doing independent research... This gave me so much more than that. There were some parts that were a little hard to hear and the quizzes seemed to be a little much with how they were graded. Coursera notified me for almost every quiz that 80-90% of students failed the quiz on the first attempt, which may be something worth looking back at regarding how the questions are worded and formatted! The overall content of the videos and readings was extremely helpful, I would love to take more classes like these.

As an ultimate beginner in chicken keeping (just got my first 3 pullets) I find this course an absolute necessity for all beginners. I have never thought much about where do my eggs and chicken breasts come from. Also, the factory farming has been demonized so much that it really was an eye opener for me to see that in big farms everything really is regulated and controlled, keeping the chickens welfare in mind.

I now know more what to pay attention to and how to make my chickens feel welcome and promote their natural healthy behavior. Thank you for creating this course!

The course explain the commercial chicken raise method, types, problems, and solutions (kind of). Through the course, I have learnt a lot of new knowledge about chickens! My mom planned to raise some chicken and through this course, I see tons of limitation in her plan and be able to make some improvement. However, the course is mostly for stock, not for a small amount of chicken in the backyard (though there is an interview about it and plenty reference links), so I am not sure if you only like to raise chicken in your backyard, is it a worthy course.

I would like to thank University of Edinburgh and Coursera for organizing free and such a nice, informational course in this pandemic. I had refreshed my basic knowledge and gathered very useful information especially regarding UK poultry industry. The videos and provided material is very good, scheme of study was well managed and well covered I must say... Thanks again and i wish that we may got access to more such courses so that the process of learning and sharing remains continue.... Have a nice time

I loved this course. This course covers everything from the fields of study used for behavior to end-of-life situations, including slaughter. I couldn’t bring myself to watch the videos in the last week, as I don’t care to learn how to slaughter these wonderful birds. Well worth the money if you want the certificate. I most appreciated the discussion of incorporating natural behaviors into the commercial raising of chickens and how studies of such behaviors led to the changing of laws.

I learned a lot from this course: what is normal and necessary behavior for chickens, what they require for welfare, EU regulations, how modern farming methods may fall short of providing true welfare, the challenges of transport, what is required for humane culling and slaughter, and how selective breeding based on human convenience can lead to welfare issues for the birds. Most important: I learned a lot about what my two backyard girls need to be happy.

This was my first online course ever! I loved it and especially the subject matter. The course is a fantastic overview that has been well-written, clearly envisioned, and well-expressed by Dr. Victoria Sandilands. It included great supplemental material and readings. The feedback was personal and friendly.

Thank you for such a wonderful course!

Wishing Dr. Sandilands further success in her research, as well as taking care of all those hens! :)

As a seasoned exotic poultry breeder, I honestly didn’t expect to learn much from this but gave it a go anyway. Much to my surprise, I learned a ton and HIGHLY RECOMMEND it to any and all poultry owners, regardless of the size of your flock. Both you and your birds will greatly benefit from this class. It takes a lot of the guess work out of good poultry husbandry. - Noelle Reagan, Native Colors Exotics, Wisconsin, USA

This is an extremely interesting course. Practical material is presented in a straight forward manner. It is excellent to see real life footage of laying and broiler hens and the environment they are kept. This course is useful for those interested in learning more about their backyard chickens and the type of conditions they require. It is also use for those with an interest in animal welfare in general.

I come from a family of farmers (both sides) and had not the slightest idea that health issues could arise from raising chickens in a free range, or even organic, system. Fantastic course for anyone looking to get into agriculture/farming, such as myself. The University of Edinburgh should be proud of how well their faculty and partners assembled this course. Thank you!

Salaam.

Thanks Dr. Victoria Sandilands

I learned a lots of new things regarding chicken. highly recommend for beginners to get this certification.

things new for me are ,Housing of chicken ,Incubation related thins, Care of new born chicks, chickens welfare, chicks behaviors most important (pecking and foraging) how to brought up chicks, feed related things. thanks

This was brilliant for me as I struggle with reading and a lot of this was done by audio.

I have gained even more knowledge to help me maintain my flock and hope to use this knowledge to progress in the future.

Many thanks to all the staff and teams that made this online course available and flexible.

No doubt ill be back to learn some more :)

I LOVED this course. I don't have chickens, nor do I have much experience with them, but I want to keep them in the future for our own personal egg production (not commercially). This helped me really understand what I'm in for, and helped me understand different parts of poultry anatomy, behavior, and what I need to do to care for them.

THIS COURSE WAS AWESOME , AND GAVE US A NICE EXPOSURE TOWARDS BIRD LIFE AND THE WAY IT IS BEEN TAUGHT TO US WAS EXTRAORDINARY , SPECIAL VOTE OF THANKS TO MY INSTRUCTOR SHE TAUGHT US SO WELL AND GAVE MAXIMUM INFO , THANKS TO COURSERA FOR PROVIDING US THIS SPECIAL PLATFORM TO LEARN AND EXPLORE.......

THANK YOU THANK YOU VERY MUCH

This course offers invaluable Back Yard & Commercial chicken management, behaviour and welfare education. I've had back yard chickens for years and currently work in the poultry industry in Japan. I enjoyed the interesting professional insights and excellent educational material on this course. I highly recommend it.

Having just commenced a role as a weekend poultry worker,with absolutely zero pre employment knowledge & understanding of chicken welfare this course has really fulfilled my immediate needs. The delivery was clear and the content and quiz sections are challenging enough to make you really take note of the information.

The course consisted of a smart alternation between lecture videos, demonstrative videos, interviews and documents. The instructor spoke clearly and at a thoughtful pace and I appreciate how the videos were filmed on-site. The course also provided tips for anyone keeping chickens in a backyard coop.

I enjoyed the fact that the background was the real environment. The material was short and to the point and easy to follow yet offered deeper learning with the extra articles that were offered. I was amazed at some of the statistics and that gave me more appreciation of chickens. Thank you.

Excellent cours pour ceux et celles qui désirent n apprendre plus sur l'élevage de poules et leur mieux-être. J'aime qu'on ait des exemples de plusieurs parties du monde, pour pouvoir appliquer à notre contexte. C'est un must pour tous ceux et celles qui ont des poules à la maison.

It's a new experience for me as an Indonesian fresh-graduate student at animal husbandry major to learn from one of the top university to knows the development and cultural difference of poultry science in another country. Thank you very much Miss :) *apologize for my bad english

The woman who does the lectures for this course is thorough, well spoken, clear, and consistent. I also felt the the course information was relevant and tailored the the needs of the participant. Take it, even if it's just for fun. It wasn't terribly time consuming whatsoever.

Very worthwhile. Great overview of pertinent behavioral, environmental, physiological and biological factors influencing chicken behavior and welfare. Good videos with supplementary materials that added value to the course. Thank you for making this available through MOOC.

I learned a lot! I only wish that there is a section that focuses solely on keeping chickens in the backyard (comparison of breeds, examples of coops, types of feeds, etc.), although I'm not sure if that would fall under chicken behavior and welfare :) Thank you!

I started this course knowing nothing about caring for chickens and have completed it feeling like I now have the knowledge required to properly care for a flock. I have also answered some of my friends questions, leading to the improvement of their flocks lives.

Despite having minimal knowledge of poultry science prior to taking this course, I found the content to be engaging an informative enough to the point that I can converse about topics regarding the raising of chickens with great confidence. A magnificent course.