Effects of genetic origin and social environment on behavioral response to manual restraint and monoamine functioning in laying hens

Uitdehaag, K.A.; Rodenburg, T.B.; Reenen, C.G. van; Koopmanschap, R.E.; Reilingh, G. de Vries; Engel, B.; Buist, W.G.; Komen, Hans; Bolhuis, J.E.

doi:10.3382/ps.2010-01292

Cited by 49 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…This seems in line with lower 5-HT values in whole blood or platelets found in humans with mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) [57] and depression [58], [59], and in laying hens that perform feather pecking behaviour [60], [61]. Additionally, in laying hens selected for a low mortality due to severe feather pecking and other injurious behaviours, lower platelet 5-HT uptake velocities were found [60], [62]. Therefore, tail biters may suffer from a (temporary) change in the blood 5-HT system.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Tail Biting in Pigs: Blood Serotonin and Fearfulness as Pieces of the Puzzle?

et al. 2014

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Tail biting in pigs is a widespread problem in intensive pig farming. The tendency to develop this damaging behaviour has been suggested to relate to serotonergic functioning and personality characteristics of pigs. We investigated whether tail biting in pigs can be associated with blood serotonin and with their behavioural and physiological responses to novelty. Pigs (n = 480) were born in conventional farrowing pens and after weaning at four weeks of age they were either housed barren (B) or in straw-enriched (E) pens. Individual pigs were exposed to a back test and novel environment test before weaning, and after weaning to a novel object (i.e. bucket) test in an unfamiliar arena. A Principal Component Analysis on behaviours during the tests and salivary cortisol (novel object test only) revealed five factors for both housing systems, labeled ‘Early life exploration’, ‘Near bucket’, ‘Cortisol’, ‘Vocalizations & standing alert’, and ‘Back test activity’. Blood samples were taken at 8, 9 and 22 weeks of age to determine blood platelet serotonin. In different phases of life, pigs were classified as tail biter/non-tail biter based on tail biting behaviour, and as victim/non-victim based on tail wounds. A combination of both classifications resulted in four pig types: biters, victims, biter/victims, and neutrals. Generally, only in phases of life during which pigs were classified as tail biters, they seemed to have lower blood platelet serotonin storage and higher blood platelet uptake velocities. Victims also seemed to have lower blood serotonin storage. Additionally, in B housing, tail biters seemed to consistently have lower scores of the factor ‘Near bucket’, possibly indicating a higher fearfulness in tail biters. Further research is needed to elucidate the nature of the relationship between peripheral 5-HT, fearfulness and tail biting, and to develop successful strategies and interventions to prevent and reduce tail biting.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Tail Biting in Pigs: Blood Serotonin and Fearfulness as Pieces of the Puzzle?

et al. 2014

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“…Additionally, genetic selection for egg production may have caused strain-dependent differences in the ability to cope with challenging (social) conditions. Supporting this are the many studies indicating that commercial lines originating from a White Leghorn (WL) or Rhode Island Red (RIR) genetic background differ in levels of fearfulness, stress sensitivity, and the propensity to develop SFP (Hocking et al, 1999(Hocking et al, , 2001Uitdehaag et al, 2008Uitdehaag et al, , 2009Uitdehaag et al, , 2011de Haas et al, , 2014. We have recently shown that hens originating from a RIR line are more strongly affected by social factors such as a large group size and mixing with other genotypes (Uitdehaag et al, 2009(Uitdehaag et al, , 2011 than hens from a WL line.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Predicting feather damage in laying hens during the laying period. Is it the past or is it the present?

Haas

Bolhuis

Jong

et al. 2014

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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“…ISA birds appear to be more strongly affected by their (social) environment than DW birds [38]. In comparison to other hybrids, birds from a brown origin (in the PS [24] and founder lines [36]) repeatedly show higher fear in response to social isolation [93]–[95] and novel items in their home environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents and Early Life Environment Affect Behavioral Development of Laying Hen Chickens

et al. 2014

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Severe feather pecking (SFP) in commercial laying hens is a maladaptive behavior which is associated with anxiety traits. Many experimental studies have shown that stress in the parents can affect anxiety in the offspring, but until now these effects have been neglected in addressing the problem of SFP in commercially kept laying hens. We therefore studied whether parental stock (PS) affected the development of SFP and anxiety in their offspring. We used flocks from a brown and white genetic hybrid because genetic background can affect SFP and anxiety. As SFP can also be influenced by housing conditions on the rearing farm, we included effects of housing system and litter availability in the analysis. Forty-seven rearing flocks, originating from ten PS flocks were followed. Behavioral and physiological parameters related to anxiety and SFP were studied in the PS at 40 weeks of age and in the rearing flocks at one, five, ten and fifteen weeks of age. We found that PS had an effect on SFP at one week of age and on anxiety at one and five weeks of age. In the white hybrid, but not in the brown hybrid, high levels of maternal corticosterone, maternal feather damage and maternal whole-blood serotonin levels showed positive relations with offsprings’ SFP at one week and offsprings’ anxiety at one and five weeks of age. Disruption and limitation of litter supply at an early age on the rearing farms increased SFP, feather damage and fearfulness. These effects were most prominent in the brown hybrid. It appeared that hens from a brown hybrid are more affected by environmental conditions, while hens from a white hybrid were more strongly affected by parental effects. These results are important for designing measures to prevent the development of SFP, which may require a different approach in brown and white flocks.

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Effects of genetic origin and social environment on behavioral response to manual restraint and monoamine functioning in laying hens

Cited by 49 publications

References 30 publications

Tail Biting in Pigs: Blood Serotonin and Fearfulness as Pieces of the Puzzle?

Tail Biting in Pigs: Blood Serotonin and Fearfulness as Pieces of the Puzzle?

Predicting feather damage in laying hens during the laying period. Is it the past or is it the present?

Parents and Early Life Environment Affect Behavioral Development of Laying Hen Chickens

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