The effects of floor space and nest box access on the physiology and behavior of caged laying hens

Poultry Science
J M EngelPaul Hemsworth

Abstract

Confinement housing appears to be at the forefront of concern about laying hen welfare. This experiment examined the effects of floor space during rearing (315 or 945 cm2/bird) and adulthood (542 or 1648 cm2/bird) and access to a nest box on the welfare of caged laying hens. Measurements of the normality of biological functioning, such as plasma, egg albumen and yolk and fecal corticosterone concentrations, and heterophil to lymphocyte ratios, behavioral time budgets, mortality and efficiency of productivity, and measurement of hen preferences, such as choice behavior in Y maze tests, were used to assess hen welfare. There were no effects of treatment on physiological measurements. Hens given less space during adulthood spent less time mobile, inedible pecking, drinking, and preening and spent more time resting and feed pecking and sitting (P < 0.05). Hens with access to a nest box spent more time resting (P = 0.046) and less time sham dust bathing (P = 0.044) than hens without access to a nest box. There were no effects of space allowance on choice behavior for space or a nest box over food; however, hens with access to a nest box chose the nest box over food more than hens without access to a nest box (P = 0.0053). The presen...Continue Reading

Citations

May 14, 2020·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Malcolm P Caulfield, Matthew P Padula
Sep 15, 2020·Frontiers in Veterinary Science·Md Saiful BariDana L M Campbell
Apr 16, 2020·Frontiers in Veterinary Science·Mariana R L V PeixotoTina M Widowski
Dec 31, 2020·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Andrés F Gonzalez-MoraSébastien Fournel

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