In the near future EU-legislation will ban the use of conventional battery cages, while national legislation in some countries in Western Europe will ban beak trimming as well. The ban on battery cages and beak trimming causes an increased risk of feather pecking and cannibalism in laying hens. Many factors influence feather pecking behaviour, but this paper …
Adult laying hens from Rhode Island Red (RIR) origin both express lower levels of feather pecking and lower fear responses towards a novel object than laying hens from White Leghorn (WL) origin. The present study investigated whether mixed housing of RIR and WL laying hens would affect their behaviour in both an open field (at …
Variance components and selection response for feather pecking behavior were studied by analyzing the data from a divergent selection experiment. An investigation indicated that a Box-Cox transformation with power λ = −0.2 made the data approximately normally distributed and gave the best fit for the model. Variance components and selection response were estimated using Bayesian …
1. The objective of the present study was to examine the behaviour of laying hens in single-tiered aviaries with and …
This well attended Workshop stimulated lively discussion that continued throughout the Conference. It addressed a behavioural problem in laying fowl that causes concern from both welfare and economic standpoints, particularly in the context of the current trend towards alternative colony housing systems where its consequences tend to be more serious. The Workshop was structured around …
The aim of this review is to discuss the effects of selection method and early-life history on the behavioural development of laying hens. Especially in larger groups, laying hens often develop damaging behaviours, such as feather pecking and cannibalism, leading to impaired animal welfare. We hypothesise that the propensity to develop feather pecking and cannibalism …
Feather pecking is a major problem in laying hens. Frustration, i.e. the omission of expected reward, may play a role in the development of feather pecking. In two experiments, we studied if feather pecking could be facilitated by short-term frustration in birds with a high feather pecking phenotype and victims of feather pecking (experiment 1), …
The objective of the current study was to estimate heritabilities (h2) of feather pecking and openfield response of laying hens at two different ages. An F2 cross, originating from a high and a low feather pecking line of laying hens, was used for the experiment. Each of the 630 birds of the F2 cross was …
1. The effect of the presence of loose feathers (on the floor) on the behaviour and plumage condition of laying hens (Lohmann Silver, LS) was studied during the rearing and laying periods. 2. From one day old, 60 birds in each of 4 straw-bedded pens (n=240 in total) with 6.5 birds/m² were either kept under …
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate assocations between vent pecking (VP) and management in laying hens in alternative systems and to compare the results with those from the feather pecking (FP) analysis using data collection in the same study [Vet. Rec. 147 (2000) 233]. The data were derived from a postal questionnaire …
Six flocks of laying hens were housed in percheries at each of four stocking densities (6, 14, 22 or 30 birds m -²) from 14 to 30 weeks of age. Stocking density was manipulated by changes in flock size (72, 168, 264 or 368 birds) within percheries of the same floor and height dimensions. The …
It has been suggested that feather pecking in poultry results when foraging behaviour is redirected to feathers in the absence of adequate foraging incentives and that gentle feather pecking is a precursor of severe feather pecking. Associations have also been proposed between feather pecking and other behaviours including dust bathing and preening. Here, we present …
Abnormal behaviours, such as feather pecking, can become an even greater problem if they spread through the flock. Domestic hens are a social species and it has been suggested that feather pecking behaviour can be socially transmitted from few feather pecking individuals to many. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether feather pecking …
Injurious pecking remains one of the biggest problems challenging free range egg producers, with both economic implications for the farmer and welfare implications for the birds. The most widespread form of injurious pecking is feather pecking, the most damaging form of which is severe feather pecking (SFP) which has, as yet unclear, links with gentle …
In the present study, high feather pecking (HFP) and low feather pecking (LFP) birds were used to investigate if the lines differ in their willingness to work for food or feathers in the presence of freely available identical substrates. Twenty HFP birds and 20 LFP birds were used for the present study and tested in …
Feather pecking, commonly found in flocks of laying hens (Gallus gallus), is detrimental to bird welfare. Thought to cause this problem is the normal housing of layers without a floor substrate. Some evidence suggests that early substrate access decreases later feather pecking. However, there has been little research on the immediate effects of a change …
Injurious pecking has serious welfare consequences in flocks of hens kept for egg laying, especially when loose-housed. Frequent diet change is a significant risk for injurious pecking; how the mechanics of diet change influence pecking behavior is unknown. This study investigated the effect of diet change on the behavior of chicks from a laying strain. …
Feather pecking in laying hens is an important issue in animal welfare. Four studies in laying hens were selected which investigated increased or reduced pecking behaviour using direct or indirect measures of feather pecking behaviour. Direct comparison of the selected experiments is difficult, as the selection criteria and even the selection procedures varied. Keeping these …