Effects of litter provision during early rearing and environmental enrichment during the production phase on feather pecking and feather damage in laying hens

Abstract

Feather pecking is a multi-factorial behavioral disorder and a serious welfare issue in the poultry industry. Several studies report early life experience with litter to be a major determinant in the development of feather pecking. The current study aimed to test the large-scale on-farm efficiency of a simple and cheap husbandry procedure applied during the rearing period with the ultimate goal of reducing the incidence of feather pecking and plumage damage during the production stage in laying hens. Five laying hen-rearing farmers from across Norway participated in the study. These farmers were asked to create divisions within their hen rearing houses and to separate their chicks into 2 groups: one reared with access to a paper substrate from the first d of age, the other a control group without access to paper substrate during rearing. All flocks were visited at the production farms at 30 wk of age and observed for pecking behavior and feather damage. Birds in the control group had higher odds of having more feather damage compared to the birds from the treatment group. In addition, flocks provided with environmental enrichment at the production farms had a reduced incidence of feather pecking, irrespective of the treatment. These results indicate that husbandry procedures during both rearing and production stages have the potential to alleviate feather pecking and increase laying hen welfare.

The Dual-Purpose Hen as a Chance: Avoiding Injurious Pecking in Modern Laying Hen Husbandry

“…It may be more difficult and laborious to control for injurious pecking behavior in loose housing systems, where, due to a larger group size, many potential victims are exposed to one offending hen [19], or where abnormal behaviors can be spread by social learning [20]. On the other hand, these systems also offer the potential to tackle some of the underlying causes of abnormal behaviors, for instance, by providing resources, such as foraging and dustbathing substrates, space, or perches at different heights, whose absence has been associated with the occurrence of injurious pecking [21][22][23][24]. In addition, a well-structured housing system with distinct functional areas offers a more controllable setting, which may enable the hens to better cope with minor environmental or social stressors [2].…”

Environmental Enrichment for Broiler Breeders: An Undeveloped Field

“…(32–34)] and broiler chickens [see review by Riber et al (submitted) 1 ], there are very few studies on environmental enrichment for broiler breeders. These few studies indicate that there are possibilities for successful enrichment that may promote species-specific behavior and thus welfare of broiler breeders.…”

Effects of litter and additional enrichment elements on the occurrence of feather pecking in pullets and laying hens – A focused review

“…In field studies by Tahamtani et al. () and Brantsaeter et al. (), rearing chicks on chick paper in the aviary block during the first 5 weeks of life was able to reduce the anxiety reactions of the hens during the laying period (30th week of life) only in certain parameters compared to chicks raised only on wire floors.…”

“…Behavioural observations of chicks kept on wired floors in closed aviary segments by Helmer (2017) detected a reduction in foraging behaviour and an increase in the SFP rate when chick paper was partially or completely removed and if no additional enrichment material was available. In field studies by Tahamtani et al (2016) and Brantsaeter et al (2017), rearing chicks on chick paper in the aviary block during the first 5 weeks of life was able to reduce the anxiety reactions of the hens during the laying period (30th week of life) only in certain parameters compared to chicks raised only on wire floors.…”