1. Preferences for three nesting materials and nest box positions were investigated simultaneously in two trials using a furnished cage: one with 18 individual laying hens and one with 18 groups of 5 hens. Following a habituation period in pre-test cages, every hen or group of hens was tested for 2 d: once without and …
Use of nest boxes is an important part of the behavioural repertoire of laying hens kept under commercial conditions. A special form of nest box use is gregarious nesting, which occurs when a hen given the choice between an occupied and an unoccupied nest site chooses the occupied nest site. Knowledge about gregarious nesting behaviour …
In the wild, a hen usually moves away from her flockmates and finds a secluded place in which to nest. Several factors influence the hen’s decision of where to lay her egg. In addition to the quality and safety of the nest, she may also consider social factors. Under commercial conditions, there are usually more …
In connection with the development of a test method for the attractiveness and appropriateness of nests for laying hens, we carried out an investigation by using a preference test and motivation measuring with the help of push doors. Hens were offered two different nest sites either consisting of a tray filled with wood shavings (litter …
Domestic hens (Gallus gal/us domesticus) from commercial laying strains have been selected for high egg yield and may lay over 300 eggs in their working lives. In conventional wire cages, there is little opportunity to perform either nest seeking or nest building activities, which may lead to frustration each time an egg is laid. To …
This study examined the effects of dietary energy content on the egg production and egg quality of hens kept in 3-hen conventional cages or 8-hen furnished cages. A total of 1,088 Lohmann Selected Leghorn hens were housed in either furnished or conventional cages and offered low- or high-energy diets (from 2,342 to 2,414 kcal/kg or …
Concerns regarding the welfare of laying hens raised in battery cages have led to the development of enriched cages that allow hens to perform natural behaviors including nesting, roosting, and scratching. This study was conducted to compare indices of production and welfare in birds housed in 2 different caging systems. Shaver White hens were housed …
1. The advantages and disadvantages of various housing systems for laying hens were compared as a pilot study for work in commercial conditions. 2. At 16 weeks of age, 284 hens were introduced into one of 6 housing systems: two types of conventional cages (small: SC; large: LC), furnished cages (small: SF; large: LF), and …
1. Based on our previous studies, we designed a medium-sized furnished cage with a dust bath and nest box on both sides of the cage (MFS) and evaluated its usefulness. 2. We used 180 White Leghorn layers. At the age of 17 weeks, the birds were distributed at random into one of the 4 cage …
Laboratory animal well-being can be improved by housing the animals in species-specific natural or near-to-natural environments. An enriched environment may have a similar effect on chickens. The purpose of this study was to examine if housing environment (furnished cages vs. battery cages) effects the well-being of laying hens. One hundred ninety-two 1-d-old non-beak-trimmed White Leghorn …
The battery cage system is being banned in the European Union before or by 2012, and the furnished cage system will be the only cage system allowed after 2012. This study was conducted to examine the different effects of caging systems, furnished cages vs. battery cages, on bird behaviors. One hundred ninety two 1-d-old non-beak-trimmed …
In order to find out whether furnished cages contribute to improving the welfare of laying hens, humerus quality and adrenal responsiveness were evaluated in laying hens reared in standard (S) and furnished cages (F). Four cage models were used: S5, a standard cage model with 5 hens per cage; S6, a standard cage model with …
A total of 1992 ISA Brown hens were housed from 18 to 70 weeks of age, in four different types …
1. Foot pad health was determined macroscopically and histologically in two trials with Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL, white layer strain) and Lohmann Brown (LB) laying hens kept in a small group housing system (40 and 60 hens) and two types of furnished cages (10 and 20 hens). 2. A total of 864 foot pads (648 …
1. This study included two designs of furnished cages for 16 hens; H-cages divided into two apartments by a partition …
Production performance, including egg quality, and proportion of eggs laid in nests were studied in furnished experimental cages incorporating nests, …
The effects of 3 different furnished cage systems (Aviplus, Eurovent 625a, Eurovent 625A) on 2 different laying hen strains [Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL), Lohmann Brown (LB)] were examined for the traits of production, egg quality, bone strength, claw length, and keel bone status. Two trials were carried out in which all hens received identical feeding …