Free-living hens roost on branches in trees at night, and laying hens in aviary systems or cages provided with perches also make extensive use of these for night-time roosting. It is therefore suggested that roosting on perches is important to the hens and that domestic hens should be provided with perches in order to promote …
Laying hens housed in extensive systems may be at risk of injury when many birds compete for use of the same perch space. Experiments were carried out to determine the space required by laying hens to move between obstructed perches. Eighty Lohmann Brown layer hens were reared in floor pens fitted with perches from 1 …
Eighty Lohmann Brown layer hens were reared in floor pens fitted with perches from 1 day of age. After the peak of lay (25 weeks of age), their ability to jump to and from perches in different light environments was assessed in two experiments using digital video techniques that allowed detailed measurements of take-off, flight …
Behaviour problems, such as feather pecking and cannibalism, in loose housing systems for laying hens may originate from the rearing period. Early access to perches facilitates the use of three dimensional space and therefore allows escape from threatening pen mates. In this experiment, we studied individual differences in start of perching behaviour and if environmental …
Four groups of 15 – 19 adult ISA Brown hens were studied in pens to assess the relationship between social status and use of perches and nestboxes. This was to test the hypothesis that subordinate hens use these resources more by day, for avoiding dominants, but that dominants use perches more at night, for roosting. …
The spatial distribution and behaviour of perchery housed laying hens were compared at a constant stocking density (18.5 birds/m²) in eight pens with colonies of five diferent sizes (323 birds (N = 1), 374 birds (N = 2), 431 birds (N = 2), 572 birds (N = 1) and 912 birds (N = 2)). The …
Free-range systems improve the welfare of laying hens. However, hen runs are often used only close to the poultry house and only a small proportion of hens are outside. Several studies indicate that structuring elements in the hen run improve the frequency and distribution of hens in the run. In our experiments we studied the …
Blue-shelled eggs are gaining popularity as the consumption demand diversifies in some countries. This study was carried out to investigate …
1. Movement (frequency of changes) between inside and outside housing areas, time spent in each area, tonic immobility (TI) and differential blood cell counts were studied in relation to feather condition in laying hens of two genotypes, white (LSL) and brown (LT). 2. From 18 weeks of age, LSL and LT were kept in 4 …
This review discusses animal welfare effects of providing an outdoor run to laying hens. Compared with barn systems, the provision of an outdoor run leads to higher space allowances, a higher number and diversity of behavioural and physiological stimuli, and freedom to change between different environments with for instance different climatic conditions. Evidence is presented …
The Swiss Animal Welfare Act decrees that the housing conditions of farm animals must guarantee animal welfare. In the process of developing a method to test nest boxes for their suitability for laying hens, we conducted an investigation using preference testing. It was aimed at verifying the occurrence of different types of layers within the …
1. When laying hens are stressed some retain their eggs in the shell gland beyond the normal time of laying and this can result in the deposition of extra-cuticular calcium which makes brown eggs appear paler. 2. Three different types of enriched modified cage were compared: the location where eggs were laid was recorded and …
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 …