Chicken

Clicker training as an applied refinement measure in chickens

When using chickens in animal studies, the handling of these animals for sample collection or general examinations is considered stressful due to their prey nature. For the study presented here, plasma and salivary corticosterone as well as New Area Test...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Animal Training, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Mählis, G., Kleine, A., Lüschow, D. et al. 2023. Clicker training as an applied refinement measure in chickens. Animals 13(24), 3836.

Thinking chickens: A review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken

Domestic chickens are members of an order, Aves, which has been the focus of a revolution in our understanding of neuroanatomical, cognitive, and social complexity. At least some birds are now known to be on par with many mammals in...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, PersonalityAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Marino, L. 2017. Thinking chickens: A review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken. Animal Cognition 20(2), 127–147.

Assessment of preference behavior of layer hens under different light colors and temperature environments in long-time footage using a computer vision system

As for all birds, the behavior of chickens is largely determined by environmental conditions. In many production systems, light intensity is low and red feather strains have low contrast with the background, making it impossible to use conventional image segmentation...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Kodaira, V., Siriani, A. L. R., Medeiros, H. P. et al. 2023. Assessment of preference behavior of layer hens under different light colors and temperature environments in long-time footage using a computer vision system. Animals 13(15), 2426.

Lateralised behavioural responses in livestock to environmental stressors: Implications for using infrared thermography to assess welfare conditions

Lateralised behavioural responses to environmental stressors have become more frequently used as indicators of social welfare in animals. These lateralised behavioural responses are under the control of asymmetrical brain functions as part of the primary functions of most vertebrates and...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Goma, A. A., Uddin, J., Kieson, E. 2023. Lateralised behavioural responses in livestock to environmental stressors: Implications for using infrared thermography to assess welfare conditions. Animals 13(23), 3663.

A practical approach to providing environmental enrichment to pigs and broiler chickens housed in intensive systems

In Europe, regulations contain guidance to maintain high standards of animal welfare. In many parts of the world, large buyers for supermarkets or restaurants are the main enforcers of basic animal welfare standards. They can have considerable influence on improving...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken, Pig

Citation: Grandin, T. 2023. A practical approach to providing environmental enrichment to pigs and broiler chickens housed in intensive systems. Animals 13(14), 2372.

Influence of perch-provision timing on anxiety and fearfulness in laying hens

Perches can enhance laying hen welfare, but their effectiveness might be age-dependent. We investigated early and late perch access effects on anxiety and fear in pullets through attention bias (AB) and tonic immobility (TI) tests. Pullets (n = 728) were...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Anderson, M. G., Johnson, A. M., Jacobs, L. et al. 2023. Influence of perch-provision timing on anxiety and fearfulness in laying hens. Animals 13(19), 3003.

A buffet of litters – Broiler chickens behave differently according to litter type and freshness

Poultry are usually provided with a single litter type that may not satisfy all litter-directed behavioural functions and may lose functional value over time due to soiling and degradation. We investigated this hypothesis in two commercial broiler flocks reared to...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Holt, R. V., Vas, J., Vasdal, G. et al. 2023. A buffet of litters – Broiler chickens behave differently according to litter type and freshness. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 260, 105856.

Better welfare for broiler chickens given more types of environmental enrichments and more space to enjoy them

Providing an increased variety of environmental enrichment options, with sufficient space to use them, could increase the behavioural expression of positive affective states in production animals. The goal of this study was to investigate associations between the number of different...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Vas, J., BenSassi, N., Vasdal, G. et al. 2023. Better welfare for broiler chickens given more types of environmental enrichments and more space to enjoy them. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 261, 105901.

Animal agency, animal awareness and animal welfare

In nature, animals need to actively engage with the environment in order to prosper in survival and reproduction. Hence, agency is a central adaptive characteristic of animal life. In this paper, I propose that from the adaptive/functional point of view,...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General, Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Špinka, M. 2019. Animal agency, animal awareness and animal welfare. Animal Welfare 28(1), 11–20.

Poultry welfare: Science or subjectivity? British Poultry Science 43(5), 643–652

1. Most people in the developed world agree on what “animal welfare” is, although it is impossible to give it a precise scientific definition. 2. The argument is made that animal welfare is all to do with the feelings of...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Duncan, I. J. H. 2002. Poultry welfare: Science or subjectivity? British Poultry Science 43(5), 643–652.