Domestic fowl still tend to exhibit very similar behavior such as perching, nesting and dust-bathing to their ancestor, Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus), even though they have been domesticated for 8,000 years. If given the opportunity, they choose high place for staying at night, a dark place for laying eggs and do dust bath in litter area. Therefore, these behaviors are considered for very important role in improving the welfare of laying hens. In EU and some countries, farmers must provide perches, nests and litter for the housing of laying hens. An understanding of behavior can lead to enhance physical health, emotional condition and welfare of laying hens. Unfortunately, there is little information on behavior of laying hens in Korea. Therefore, we researched the literature on certain behavior of laying hens.(Key words : behavior, laying hens, animal welfare) † To whom correspondence should be addressed : jeon75@korea.kr

We conducted investigations of the information and welfare of broiler chickens in Korea. The livestock housing of all broiler chicken farms were windowless type, bell feeder and nipple waterer were used, and stocking density was relatively higher (ranging from 18.2 birds/m 2 to 24.2 birds/m 2 ) than RSPCA's welfare standards for chicken hens (less than 19 birds/m 2 ). The ratios of sandwich panel, urethane form, slate, and steel plate in roofing materials were 61%, 21%, 13%, and 5%, respectively. The ratios of sandwich panel, urethane form, brick, and steel plate in wall materials were 61%, 21%, 13%, and 5%, respectively. The ratios of soil and concrete in flooring materials were 10% and 90%. The mist spray, fan, and cooling pad in cooling facilities were 42%, 32%, and 26%, respectively. Thus we believe that present data contribute to develop the animal welfare certification for broiler chickens and to improve animal welfare in Korea.

The study was conducted to develop an ESF (electronic sow feeder) for improving animal welfare of group housed gestation sows. Feed intake of both individual and group housed gestation sows was restricted 2 kg a day. ESF system was very effective in reducing feed loss.The amount of feed loss in treatment group (group housed gestation sows with ESF) was only about 55 g, while the amount of feed loss in control group (individually housed gestation sows) was about 200 g. In spend time to feed intake, there was no difference in the result between the control (about 30 min) and the treatment (about 22 min) group. The ESF system ran well without any mechanical problems throughout the entire experiment. These results suggest that the EST is expected to improve the performance feeding of sows.

The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral changes of laying hens in an aviary system. In this study, 500 laying hens (Hyline brown) were held in an aviary system in a open-type poultry house. The behaviors of laying hens were recorded using CCD cameras and a digital video recorder. The data were scanned every 2 min to obtain an instantaneous behavioral sample. In the behaviors of laying hens, 'Feeding' and 'Drinking' increased from 3 d placing chick and stabilized after 5 d placing chick. 'Perching' increased from 19:00 to 05:00, while 'Nest visiting' increased from 06:00 to 18:00. 'Aggressive behavior' decreased gradually after 5 d placing chick. These results suggest that the behaviors of laying hens are changed rapidly for about 5 days after placing chick and the behaviors of the laying hens are almost stabilized at 5 d placing chick.