Chicken

Farm animal enrichments improve the welfare of layer chicks and pullets: A comprehensive review

Currently, cage housing is regarded as a global mainstream production system for laying hens. However, limited living space and confinement of birds in cages cause welfare and health problems, such as feather pecking, osteoporosis, obesity, and premature aging. Many studies...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Xu, D., Shu, G., Liu, Y. et al. 2022. Farm animal enrichments improve the welfare of layer chicks and pullets: A comprehensive review. Animals 12(19), 2610.

Environmental change or choice during early rearing improves behavioural adaptability in laying hen chicks

Laying hens are typically moved to a novel environment after rearing, requiring adaptability to cope with change. We hypothesized that the standard rearing of laying hen chicks, in non-changing environments with limited choices (a single variant of each resource), impairs...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Skånberg, L., Newberry, R. C., Estevez, I. et al. 2023. Environmental change or choice during early rearing improves behavioural adaptability in laying hen chicks. Scientific Reports 13(1), 6178.

Effects of stocking rate and environmental enrichment on the ontogeny of pecking behavior of laying hen pullets confined in aviary compartments during the first 4 weeks of life

The objective of this study was to describe the ontogeny of the severe feather pecking (SFP), gentle feather pecking (GFP), aggressive pecking (AP), and enrichment pecking (EP) of non-beak-trimmed Lohmann Brown (LB)-pullets during the first 4 weeks of life (observation...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental Enrichment, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Schwarzer, A., Erhard, M., Schmidt, P. et al. 2022. Effects of stocking rate and environmental enrichment on the ontogeny of pecking behavior of laying hen pullets confined in aviary compartments during the first 4 weeks of life. Animals 12(19), 2639.

Energy assessment from broiler chicks’ vocalization might help improve welfare and production

Vocalization seems to be a viable source of signal for assessing broiler welfare. However, it may require an understanding of the birds' signals, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The delivery of calls with a specific set of acoustic features must be...

Year Published: 2023Topics: VocalizationAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Pereira, E., Nääs, I. de A., Ivale, A. H. et al. 2023. Energy assessment from broiler chicks' vocalization might help improve welfare and production. Animals 13(1), 15.

Environmental complexity and reduced stocking density promote positive behavioral outcomes in broiler chickens

The objective was to evaluate the impacts of a complex environment and stocking density on Ross 708 broiler chicken behaviors. Eight pens contained either high complexity (HC) or low complexity (LC) environments, and high (HD) or low (LD) density. Through...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Evans, L., Brooks, G. C., Anderson, M. G. et al. 2023. Environmental complexity and reduced stocking density promote positive behavioral outcomes in broiler chickens. Animals 13(13), 2074.

Social behavior in farm animals: Applying fundamental theory to improve animal welfare

A fundamental understanding of behavior is essential to improving the welfare of billions of farm animals around the world. Despite living in an environment managed by humans, farm animals are still capable of making important behavioral decisions that influence welfare....

Year Published: 2022Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Lee, V. E., Arnott, G., Turner, S. P. 2022. Social behavior in farm animals: Applying fundamental theory to improve animal welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 932217.

Effects of housing system on anxiety, chronic stress, fear, and immune function in Bovan brown laying hens

The scientific community needs objective measures to appropriately assess animal welfare. The study objective was to assess the impact of housing system on novel physiological and behavioral measurements of animal welfare for laying hens, including secretory and plasma Immunoglobulin (IgA;...

Year Published: 2022Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Campbell, A. M., Johnson, A. M., Persia, M. E. et al. 2022. Effects of housing system on anxiety, chronic stress, fear, and immune function in Bovan brown laying hens. Animals 12(14), 1803.

Increasing environmental complexity by providing different types of litter and perches during early rearing boosts coping abilities in domestic fowl chicks

Early experience of a complex environment can improve biologically relevant traits related to coping abilities. However, the mechanisms underlying these positive effects have not been well explored. We hypothesized that giving chicks possibilities to express choices within relevant resources could...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Nazar, F. N., Skånberg, L., McCrea, K. et al. 2022. Increasing environmental complexity by providing different types of litter and perches during early rearing boosts coping abilities in domestic fowl chicks. Animals 12(15), 1969.

Perch use in commercial broiler breeders – Preference for perch material and effect of age

Unlike for laying hens in most European countries, few broiler breeders have access to perches, and there is a need for more knowledge on perching behavior in broiler breeders. The aim of this study was to investigate the overall use...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Tahamtani, F. et al. 2022. Perch use in commercial broiler breeders – Preference for perch material and effect of age. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 253, 105680.

Effect of providing environmental enrichment into aviary house on the welfare of laying hens

This study aimed to determine the effects of providing environmental enrichment materials—pumice stone and alfalfa hay—to laying hens in the aviary system. A total of 2196 40-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly allotted to three treatment groups: (1) no...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Son, J., Lee, W.-D., Kim, H.-J. et al. 2022. Effect of providing environmental enrichment into aviary house on the welfare of laying hens. Animals 12(9), 1165.