2. During the first 24 weeks of lay about 95% of eggs were laid in nest boxes in treatments N and DN. Slightly fewer were laid in boxes where doors were present. Over 90% were laid in dust baths in D cages without doors and 67% with doors, which birds learned to open. Prelaying behaviour was least disturbed in nest boxes, most disturbed on the floor and intermediate in dust baths.
3. Fully developed dust bathing occurred in D and DN as bouts lasting 5 to 10 minutes; its incidence, surprisingly, was greater when doors were present and greater still when nest boxes were present, even though it was not performed in them. It was also performed by some hens in nest boxes in N (without doors). In N with doors and in control cages, dust bathing occurred on the bare floor in truncated form, as serial bouts each lasting only about 10 s. This truncated dust bathing was also occasionally observed in D and DN.
4. Plumage, foot and claw damage were less in hens from modified cages than from controls. Egg production was very good in all treatments but more eggs from control cages were downgraded because they were dirty or cracked.
5. When a choice was available birds generally partitioned their behaviour appropriately between nest box and dust bath. In N and DN virtually all prelaying and nesting behaviour took place in the nest boxes. Matching between dust bathing and the environment was less close; the reasons for its relatively low incidence and occurrence in truncated form outside dust baths remain to be established. 相似文献
2. The EMC was 600 mm wide, 450 mm deep and 450 mm high at the rear; it had a softwood perch and at one side a 250 mm wide nest box (containing litter or artificial turf) with a dust bath direcdy above. It housed 4 birds and provided 675 cm2/bird in the main cage with an additional 281 cm2 /bird in the nest box. The nest box and dust bath had automatically controlled doors which were closed at night. There were 18 EMC; in the first trial these were compared with 6 control cages with perch but without next box or dust bath.
3. Hens spent 32 to 37% of day time on the perch, 5 to 7% in the dust bath and 5 to 6% in the nest. At night 92 to 98% roosted on the perch.
4. Initially only 55 to 70% of eggs were laid in the nest box partly because some eggs were laid before dawn. Once the door was retimed to open 3h before lights‐on the proportion rose to 91 to 96%. Very few eggs were laid in the dust bath. Pre‐laying behaviour lasted longer in treatments with nest boxes (55 to 76min) than in control cages (48min); disturbance was slight in all treatments, but lowest in control cages.
5. Dust baths were well used, with on average 61% of hens dust bathing during a 3‐h afternoon observation period compared with only 17% in control cages. Two birds could use the dust bath simultaneously.
6. It was concluded that although a number of minor design features still required attention the EMC has potential to reduce the disadvantages of conventional cages for welfare while retaining their advantages and has possible commercial application. 相似文献
2. There were 5 treatments: control (C); a wire‐floored nest box attached to the back of the cage (W); a nest box containing a fibreglass rollaway hollow (N); two rollaway nest boxes (T); a rollaway nest box, protected by a partition from the main part of the cage (P).
3. The holes in the rollaway nests in treatment N, T and P were shut initially, but the proportion of eggs laid in these nests only reached 50%. This proportion rose to over 80% when wood shavings were added daily, but fell to below 30% when rollaway holes were opened. These rollaway hollows are apparently not suitable for use in laying cages.
4. Use of nest boxes in treatment W varied between 60 and 80%. However, when pre‐laying behaviour was recorded (in 19 hens) two birds which laid in the nest boxes nevertheless showed abnormal behaviour.
5. Individual hens had on average 29 to 60% of their pre‐laying behaviour overlapped by that of others in the cage. Nesting space for at least two birds is probably necessary in a cage for 4 birds. However, in treatment T pre‐laying behaviour was disturbed by hens moving between the two boxes. This would be avoided by provision of one box big enough for two hens.
6. Soiling of hollows resulted in dirty eggs and suggested that nest boxes for laying cages may have to be provided with doors to prevent hens from roosting in them. 相似文献
2. Time spent overall in daytime perching was relatively consistent over the laying cycle, from 47% in period 1 to 41% in period 10. Perch arrangement had a major influence on perching time, which varied from 20% on the rear perch to 85% on the long perch. Predominant activities on front perches were feeding and drinking; on rear perches, preening and resting.
3. Perches were heavily used for roosting at night: the proportion varied from 60 to 72% on front or rear perches, through 72 to 78% on long perches, and 99% on two perches.
4. Physical condition was also affected by treatment. Foot damage was less in birds with rectangular perches than with circular perches; rear perches resulted in less damage than the control. Tibia breaking strength was greater in birds from cages with perches. There was some evidence of reduced feather damage, especially where there was sufficient perching space for all birds.
5. Egg production on a hen‐d basis across 12 laying periods was 83% in cages with perches compared to 85% in control cages, with no significant differences between treatments. Hens were seen to lay from perches; this probably accounted for the higher proportion of cracked eggs from cages with perches. This proportion varied from 4% with rear perches to 18% with two perches, compared to 2% in control cages.
6. Although not all effects of perches were beneficial, overall they made an appreciable contribution to bird welfare. They should be considered in combination with other potential modifications to cages. 相似文献
2. We investigated the relationships between a hen's prelaying behaviour and its tendency to lay on the floor by recording the behaviour of 20 hens housed individually in wire cages with single littered nest boxes.
3. Most floor eggs (80%) were laid by the same 6 hens. These 6 “floor‐layers” performed more nest seeking behaviour, less nest‐building behaviour and less sitting prior to oviposition than the 14 hens that consistently laid in nest boxes.
4. The incidence of floor eggs declined with age. Both nest and floor laying hens performed less nest seeking behaviour with age. Floor layers, however, increased their performance of nesting behaviour, whilst nest layers performed less nesting behaviour with age.
5. Floor laying hens behaved as if they found the nest box less attractive than nest‐laying hens; perhaps because they had lower nesting motivation, or perhaps because their nesting motivation was as high, but they less readily perceived the nest box as an appropriate nest site. 相似文献
2. Forty hens were never observed in nest boxes and 33 others were recorded only in ground‐level boxes. These 73 birds were recorded significantly less often in nest boxes and more often apparently laying on the floor than others. Fewer of them perched during observations and they started doing so later than birds which used raised nest boxes.
3. These results suggested that there were consistent floor layers, which had difficulty reaching raised nest boxes, as found previously in experimental conditions. Many or all floor layers may, however, have used ground‐level boxes sometimes.
4. Hens were inconsistent in their use of particular nest boxes, and some even nested in two distinct areas.
5. Most individuals were, however, consistent in their reaction to one or more features of the nest boxes, including height, aspect and area. Individual choices for these features varied, so no boxes were used particularly heavily, with the exception of those at ground level. 相似文献
2. Three layer hybrids (two brown and one white, ISA-Hendrix Genetics, France) and two substrate conditions (with or without wheat bran automatically distributed on the PSA) were compared in a 3 × 2 experimental design with 12 cages per treatment.
3. Substrate distribution improved laying rate with no impact on the frequency of dirty or cracked eggs.
4. Substrate distribution improved the viability and body integrity of hens, which were not beak-trimmed.
5. Distribution of substrate tended to increase the number of hens in the PSA and enhanced their pecking and scratching behaviours but had a negative impact on the number of dust bath bouts per cage and encouraged dust bathing on the wire floor close to the feeder.
6. The white hens laid more eggs in the nest than the brown birds and used the PSA more for pecking, scratching and dust bathing at the end of the day than the brown hens, underlining the necessity to adapt cage furnishing and rearing management to specific behaviours of each layer genotype. 相似文献
2. In the first trial two nest models were used, artificial turf and welded wire floor. In the second trial both nest models were used in GA, while all nests in ME were equipped with artificial turf. In the second trial there were 4 sandbath treatments in ME; no sandbath, sandbath (25×50 cm) first opened at 16 weeks of age, sandbath first opened at 26 weeks and double size sandbath (50 × 50 cm) first opened at 16 weeks. Hens in GA were allowed access to the sandbaths from 26 weeks.
3. At 35 and 55 weeks the best plumage condition (feather cover) was found in PL and GA but plumage condition in ME was not significantly inferior than in GA. Hens in GA had the dirtiest plumage and most bumble foot but no toe pad hyperkeratosis. Some toe pad hyperkeratosis occurred in the other systems. Most keel bone lesions were found in systems with perches. The highest mortality was registered in GA. Hens in systems with perches, sandbaths and nests had increased strength of humerus at slaughter.
4. More eggs were laid in nests with artificial turf than in welded wire floor nests. LSL hens laid larger proportions of eggs in the nests (94% and 92% in the two trials) than the other hybrids. Less than 1% of the eggs in ME and 2% in GA were laid in the sandbaths.
5. The use of perches in ME and PC was approximately 30% in the day time. At night the use was 93% in ME and 89% in PC in trial 1 and 96% in ME and 81% in PC in trial 2.
6. Hens in ME with the double sized sandbath both visited the sandbath and performed dust bathing behaviour most, followed by hens in GA, hens in ME with access to the bath from 16 weeks and last, hens in ME with access to the bath from 26 weeks.
7. It is concluded that enrichments of laying cages are used by the hens to a large 相似文献
2. For the first experiment, 4 groups of 15 birds (ISA Brown) were subjected to each of the experimental treatments (using three perches with angles of 0° (horizontal control), 30°, 45° or 60° between them). The birds were required to move upward between the perches for each treatment and then to move downward between the perches, as a second part of the experiment.
3. Birds moving up between the perches took significantly longer at 60° than at any other angle. No birds failed to complete the task.
4. For birds moving downward between the perches, the median time to complete the task increased significandy with angle. Furthermore, the number of birds failing to complete the task increased with angle.
5. A second experiment was conducted to test whether the vertical or horizontal component of distance affected birds’ ability to negotiate perches separated by different angles.
6. For the second experiment 4 groups of 10 Lohmann Brown laying hens were subjected to each of the following treatments: two horizontal perches separated by 30° or 60° and either direcdy, horizontally or vertically separated by a set distance of 50 cm. Birds were required to move both up and down between perches.
7. Birds negotiated horizontally‐separated perches more successfully at 30° than at 60°. However, when the vertical distance between the perches was 50 cm there was no significant difference in the ability of birds to move downward at 30° or 60°. For birds moving upward, 60° was easier to negotiate dian 30°.
8. The vertical and horizontal separations, as well as the different angles affected the ability of birds to move between perches. There was a general decreasing trend in ability with increasing vertical separation between perches.
9. The findings are important in terms of arrangements of perches to improve bird welfare. To minimise die risk of injury, the angle between perches at different heights should be no more than 45 degrees, and die horizontal and vertical distances between these perches minimised, to allow the birds to be able to move downwards more easily. 相似文献
2. More eggs were produced per hen housed from 30 to 70 weeks in the shallow cages; the difference approached significance.
3. The pattern of feeding activity over the day was significantly more U‐shaped in the shallow cages; this pattern accords more closely with physiological requirements.
4. Feather damage caused by pecking was slightly but significantly more severe in the deep cages at 70 weeks.
5. The proportion of cracked eggs (collected from 60 to 70 weeks) was significantly lower in the shallow cages.
6. The arrangement of the hens was such that within the shallow cages a higher proportion of birds was present in the front half.
7. It is suggested that some of the advantages conferred by the shallow cage may be related to the greater accessibility of the food trough. 相似文献
2. Twenty ISA Brown hens were observed in each system for 60 min before oviposition and 5 min afterwards.
3. There were significant between‐system differences in a number of behavioural elements associated with the nest. Most varied along the sequence: C, P, DL, S, but the differences between the three alternative systems were generally less than between them and C.
4. The main factor governing the expression of pre‐laying behaviour appeared to be the availability, the number and the arrangement of littered nests.
5. Behaviour elements preceding nest entry and which were associated with area per bird again varied along the sequence C, P, DL and S with the major discontinuity between P and DL.
6. In P and C the searching phase was extended, in C at the expense of sitting. In P much time was spent inspecting the nests and many nest entries were made.
7. The Gakel call appeared to be related to finding a suitable nest site. In P the number of calls and the mean duration per nest inspection declined in a parallel fashion towards oviposition. In C, where no suitable nest could be found, Gakel calling remained high during the whole observation period.
8. These behavioural differences suggested that pre‐laying behaviour was poorly expressed in C and most fully in S, but that expression was in general relatively complete in all three alternative systems.
9. The ability of hens to express pre‐laying behaviour fully and coherently may be relevant to their welfare. 相似文献
2. Daytime perching did not differ significantly between the treatments. At night, over the whole year, 81% of birds in the 480 mm cages and 86% in the 520 mm cages roosted on the perch. This figure reached about 95% in the 560 and 600 mm cages, significantly more at most ages than in the 480 mm cages.
3. Feather damage was slightly less, but claw problems slightly more, in the 2 wider treatments than in the 2 narrower treatments. Birds in the wider cages were calmer when approached or handled by humans than those in the narrower cages. This may have been associated with variation in space allowance between the treatments.
4. There was a trend for lower production in the 480 mm cages than in the other treatments which may have been associated with the reduced feeding space in this treatment. There were few other treatment differences in production traits.
5. The balance of the evidence from this study is that when perches are provided in laying cages for medium weight hybrids, 140 mm of perch space per hen is adequate. For the amelioration of a number of the welfare problems of conventional cages, provision of perches should be combined with other modifications. 相似文献
2. Birds in conventional deep cages were more active than those in shallow cages in each of four different periods of day. Activity reached a peak between 11.00 and 13.00 h irrespective of cage shape.
3. Mean feeding activity was greater in the shallow (45.6%) than in the conventional deep cages (39.9%).
4. Mean feeding activity was greater in birds fed ad libitum (43.3%) than in those fed on a restricted diet (40.4%).
5. Although restricted birds in shallow cages showed more feeding activity than those in conventional deep cages they consumed less food (56% against 67%) in the 7 h between supply of their daily ration and the onset of the dark period.
6. Feather damage was greater in the conventional deep cages than in the shallow cages.
7. The more efficient utilisation of food by hens in shallow cages is probably due largely to three factors: reduced levels of motor activity and general disturbance, a more leisurely eating pattern and better feather cover. 相似文献
2. Most eggs were laid in traditional nests (70% in pen 1, 66% in pen 2). Metal rollaways were the next preferred type. These preferences were confirmed by analysis of records from individual nest boxes, and by observations of hens marked with wing tags.
3. Choice of nesting material was tested in one pen of 370 hens. Traditional nests were provided, containing either wood shavings or a mixture of buckwheat and oat husks.
4. Preferences for type of nesting material were equivocal. The majority of eggs were laid on wood shavings initially, but on buckwheat/oat husks later. Individual hens were inconsistent in their choice. A deep (100 mm) layer of nesting material was preferred to a shallow (25 mm) layer.
5. Individual, wooden nest boxes incorporating buckwheat/oat husk nesting material on a movable belt are probably the most suitable system for automation of egg collection in deep litter houses. 相似文献
2.?Fifty-eight laying hen farms in France were studied, including 21 flocks housed in conventional cages, 7 in furnished cages and 30 kept on-floor.
3.?Sixty eggs per flock were analysed to obtain counts of the total mesophilic flora. Data on equipment and hen management were collected.
4.?Mean bacterial count on eggshells tended to be higher in on-floor systems (4·82 ± 0·51 log CFU/eggshell) than in cage systems (4·57 ± 0·58 log CFU/eggshell, P = 0·09).
5.?Contamination increased with age of the hens, airborne dust concentration, manual packing of the eggs, and packing in plastic rather than in recycled-pulp egg-flats.
6.?The effect of the housing system on eggshell contamination, previously described in experimental assays, was confirmed under production conditions. 相似文献
2. In experiment 1, each cage contained one unlined nest (type A), one lined with neoprene rubber (type B) and one lined with rubber with an additional peckable strip of artificial grass attached above the nest rear (type C). Positions of the nests were systematically altered over 45 d.
3. Hens spent most time in and made most visits to nest type C. More eggs were laid in nest types B and C than in nest type A.
4. In experiment 2, all nests were of type C, but nests were divided within each cage either by wire mesh, or a solid nest partition, or no partition. Nesting behaviour was monitored over 20 d for each of the 3 conditions.
5. Hens spent most time in, and made most visits to the nests when solid partitions were present. However, disturbance of nesting birds was also significantly increased by solid partitions. There were no significant effects of partition type on the number or positions of eggs laid in the nests. 相似文献
2. Hen housed egg production was lower on litter (208 to 235) than in cages (230 to 253). However, the estimated 52‐week values for litter were comparable to or better than standards published by the National Farmers’ Union.
3. Ambient temperatures were well controlled in both houses, but atmospheric dust and ammonia were a problem in the litter system and ammonia was a problem in the deep pit cage house. Litter condition was good at all stocking densities.
4. There was a trend for production to increase with stocking density on litter, but to decrease in cages.
5. Most egg quality variables were similar in the two systems, although there were more dirty eggs from litter and shell thickness was slightly greater in eggs from cages.
6. Body weight increase was initially faster in birds on litter; caged hens were equally heavy by the end of lay, but a greater proportion of their body mass was lipid.
7. The severity of feather damage and loss was correlated with stocking density for hens both on litter and in cages, being worse at the higher densities. Median cage scores were greater than values from litter at low densities but less than those from high densities. Beak trimming reduced feather damage on litter but had no effect in cages.
8. Mortality was low (1 to 3%) for all flocks, except those in year 3 which had not been beak trimmed and which suffered from cannibalism both in cages and on litter. 相似文献
2.?Cleaning and disinfection efficiency was assessed by a visual evaluation of cleaning and a bacteriological monitoring of surface contamination from counts of thermotolerant streptococci on contact agar plates.
3.?In battery cage houses, dropping belts, manure conveyors, and house floors remained highly contaminated due to poor cleaning in half of the buildings examined.
4.?In on-floor houses, a high standard of cleaning was achieved but errors in the planning of cleaning and disinfection operations sometimes led to a high residual contamination of nest boxes and egg sorting tables. 相似文献
2. It was concluded that most, though not all, of the feather damage seen in the individually‐caged birds was due to abrasion, but that abrasion was likely to be relatively unimportant in multi‐bird cages.
3. There were no significant differences in egg production or food intake associated with the two kinds of housing.
4. In the adjacent cages there was an increase in maintenance requirement related to increased feather damage, which amounted to about 7% for an increase of about one unit in feather‐loss score. In the spaced cages the increase was less.
5. Hens with increased feather damage also showed increased egg production. 相似文献
2. Over two experiments, 9 or 10 hens of each of three layer lines (Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL), Lohmann Tradition (LT) and Lohmann Brown (LB)) were filmed while landing on three different perch types, including steel perches of various diameters, a commercial mushroom-shaped plastic perch and a newly developed prototype perch with a soft surface material.
3. Data on landing behaviour (safe vs. unsafe or failed landing) following downward jumps were collected for 25, 50 and 60 cm vertical distances and 75 cm horizontal distance between a wooden start perch and the different destination perches.
4. The highest proportion of safe landings occurred on the prototype perch, whereas least safe landings were observed on steel perches, irrespective of their diameter. The mushroom-shaped perch was intermediate with regard to the safeness of landing.
5. A threshold of 50 cm vertical distance (34° slope) was identified as the optimum for downward jumps on perches in order to reduce the risk of unsafe or failed landings. Above this threshold, the proportion of safe landings declined significantly.
6. Brown shell layer types (LB and LT) had a lower proportion of safe landings compared to the white shell layer type (LSL), whereas no difference was found between LB and LT layer lines.
7. Although steel perches prevail in commercial housing, these perches were found to be least advantageous with regard to landing behaviour. The prototype perch provided the most stable footing on perching and is a promising alternative to replace commercial steel perches, thus helping to reduce the risk of perch-related keel bone injury. 相似文献