The relevance of variations in group size and phenotypic appearance on the behaviour and movement patterns of young domestic fowl

Liste, G.; Campderrich, Irene; Heredia, I. Beltrán de; Estévez, Inma

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2014.11.013

Cited by 20 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…It is also known that in relatively small groups (e.g. 20 hens), hens will form a well-defined and stable social hierarchy which is used to determine access to key resources 14 – 16 . As group size increases, birds seem to adopt a different social system characterized by decreased acts of aggression 17 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding hens in a haystack: Consistency of movement patterns within and across individual laying hens maintained in large groups

Rufener

Berezowski

Sousa

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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We sought to objectively quantify and compare the recorded movement and location patterns of laying hens within a commercial system. Using a custom tracking system, we monitored the location within five zones of a commercial aviary for 13 hens within a flock of 225 animals for a contiguous period of 11 days. Most hens manifested a hen-specific pattern that was (visually) highly consistent across days, though, within that consistency, manifested stark differences between hens. Three different methods were used to classify individual daily datasets into groups based on their similarity: (i) Linear Discriminant Analysis based on six summary variables (transitions into each zone) and total transitions; (ii) Hierarchical Clustering, a naïve clustering analysis technique, applied to summary variables and iii) Hierarchical Clustering applied to dissimilarity matrices produced by Dynamic Time Warping. The three methods correctly classified more than 85% of the hen days and provided a unique means to assess behaviour of a system indicating a considerable degree of complexity and structure. We believe the current effort is the first to document these location and movement patterns within a large, complex commercial system with a large potential to influence the assessment of animal welfare, health, and productivity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding hens in a haystack: Consistency of movement patterns within and across individual laying hens maintained in large groups

Rufener

Berezowski

Sousa

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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“…Preliminary studies were conducted with these birds during their rearing phase [ 44 , 45 ]. During these initial studies, one day old chicks were randomly allocated to one of the 45 experimental pens housing 10, 20 or 40 birds (N = 15 pens per GS).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous study we investigated the effects of altering the phenotypic appearance (PA) of different proportions of birds (0, 30, 50, 70, 100% of birds altered) upon arrival to the experimental facility at one day of age [ 44 , 45 ]. The birds were maintained at three experimental group sizes (GS; 10, 20 and 40 individuals) during the rearing period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The birds were maintained at three experimental group sizes (GS; 10, 20 and 40 individuals) during the rearing period. In these studies a larger number of social interactions, aggressive and affiliative, were found in small groups of 10 compared to groups of 40 [ 45 ], while locomotion was higher in larger group [ 44 ]. By contrast, the effects of PA were unclear, although there was some indication that aggression was mainly directed from unmarked (U) towards marked (M) birds irrespective of the proportion of U or M individuals in each group [ 45 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The looks matter; aggression escalation from changes on phenotypic appearance in the domestic fowl

2017

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Domestic fowl in small groups are assumed to establish hierarchical systems based on individual recognition. Conversely, interactions in large groups are modulated by badges of status. Previous studies suggested that birds differing in phenotypic appearance (PA) became targets for aggression, possibly mistaking altered PA for badges of status. We evaluated the impact of altering PA on 0, 30, 50, 70 or 100% of the birds’ house at three experimental group sizes (GS). Tested GS were 10, 20 or 40 (8 birds/m2, 3 pens/GSxPA, 45 total). Thus, for each GS we had groups initially homogenous (100U, U = Unmarked; 100M, M = Marked), or heterogeneous M and U phenotypes coexisting in different proportions: 30M/70U, 50M/50U, and 70M/30U, remaining unchanged until 33 weeks of age. Then, homogeneous groups (100U and 100M) were sequentially altered by marking or unmarking 30, 50 and 70% of birds at 34, 38 and 44 weeks, respectively. Aggressive interactions were observed before applying changes at 27–28 weeks (T0), and after each sequential PA change on week 35–36 (T1), 39–40 (T2) and 45–46 (T3). Frequency of aggressive interactions in altered groups at T1, T2, and T3 were compared with non-altered heterogeneous controls. Results indicate no differences across initial PA and GS treatments (T0; P>0.05). However, aggression escalation was observed at T1 immediately after the first PA manipulation (Tukey P<0.05 altered vs controls). Aggression in altered groups remained high at T2 when compared to controls (Tukey, P<0.05), although by T3 interactions declined to almost initial levels (Tukey, P>0.05 altered vs controls). Aggressive interactions at T1 and T2 were predominantly directed from un-altered towards recently altered birds, irrespectively of their initial phenotype and of the GS. These results demonstrate that a sudden change in PA affects group dynamics. Altered birds were exposed to escalated aggression even in small groups, where individual recognition was presumed.

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“…Hens wearing monitoring devices may also attract aggression from their conspecifics, as devices usually alter their appearance. Even minor changes in appearance can attract aggression and lead to decreased bodyweights and altered adrenaline and dopamine levels ( Dennis et al, 2008 , Liste et al, 2015 , Campderrich et al, 2017 ). Chickens also peck each other during social exploration ( Riedstra and Groothuis, 2002 ) and equipment may renew the motivation for such exploration, increasing the number of pecks received.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural and physiological responses of laying hens to automated monitoring equipment

Buijs

Booth

Richards

et al. 2018

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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The relevance of variations in group size and phenotypic appearance on the behaviour and movement patterns of young domestic fowl

Cited by 20 publications

References 46 publications

Finding hens in a haystack: Consistency of movement patterns within and across individual laying hens maintained in large groups

Finding hens in a haystack: Consistency of movement patterns within and across individual laying hens maintained in large groups

The looks matter; aggression escalation from changes on phenotypic appearance in the domestic fowl

Behavioural and physiological responses of laying hens to automated monitoring equipment

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