Reduction in feather pecking and improvement of feather condition with the presentation of a string device to chickens
Reduction in feather pecking and improvement of feather condition with the presentation of a string device to chickens
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DOI：
10.1016/j.applanim.2004.09.004
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发表时间：
2005-09-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Jones, RB
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
McAdie, TM;Keeling, LJ;Jones, RB
啄羽毛仍然是商业鸡蛋生产中的一个严重问题。有人争辩说，啄羽是由于错误的啄食而发生的，所以一个可能的解决方案是增加这种啄食针对环境中的另一个物体而不是同种生物的羽毛的可能性。不同品系和年龄的鸡会很容易地啄食由白色细绳组成的装置，但尚不清楚在该装置上啄是否会取代在同种鸟身上啄食。因此，我们考察了在实验条件下(实验1)和在商业条件下(实验2)提供绳索装置对啄毛的影响。在试验1中，300只白色来航型蛋鸡的高羽啄食品系的雏鸡被分成5个一组，放在窝棚里。这60支笔被随机分配到五个处理中的一个：从1日龄到57日龄实验结束时，装置持续放入鸡圈中；从1日龄开始，每天呈现4小时；22日龄首次呈现；52日龄首次呈现；最后，从未呈现的设备。当这些装置从1日龄起留在围栏中或每天呈现4小时时，几乎可以消除啄羽现象。在从未使用过这种装置的鸟类中，啄食羽毛的现象最为明显，而在22或52天大的时候引入这种装置则产生了中等的效果。当设备在后来被添加时，这种更多地啄食羽毛的有序模式是显著的(p<；0.005)。试验2将768只Lohmann-LSL蛋鸡饲养在16周龄的饲养笼中，720只鸡分成3组转移到常规蛋鸡笼中。这些鸟被分配到四个处理中的一个：设备从1日龄起出现；每4周出现一次；从16周开始持续出现；最后，设备从未出现。在35周龄时，可以接触到该装置的母鸡的羽毛状况显著好于从未使用该装置的母鸡(p<；0.05)。综上所述，在未修剪喙的高啄羽鸟的笼子中添加简单的绳状装置降低了啄羽行为(实验1)，而在未修剪的商品蛋鸡的笼子中显著改善了羽毛状况(实验2)。(C)2004爱思唯尔B.V.保留所有权利。
Feather pecking remains a serious problem in commercial egg production. It has been argued that feather pecking,occurs as a result of misdirected pecking, so a possible solution would be to increase the likelihood that such pecking was targeted at another object in the environment rather than to the feathers of conspecifics. Chickens of various strains and ages will readily peck at a device consisting of strands of white string but it is not yet known if pecking at that device would substitute for pecking at conspecifics. Therefore, the effects of providing string devices on feather pecking in an experimental situation (Experiment 1) and on feather condition under commercial conditions (Experiment 2) were examined. In Experiment 1, 300 chicks of a high-feather pecking strain of white leghorn-type layers were housed in groups of five in litter-floor pens. The 60 pens were randomly allocated to one of five treatments: devices incorporated in the chicks' pens continuously from 1 day of age till the end of the experiment at 57 days; devices presented for 4 h per day from 1 day of age; first presented from 22 days of age; first presented from 52 days of age; and finally, devices never presented. Feather pecking was virtually eliminated when the devices remained in the pens from 1 day of age or when they were presented for 4 h per day. Feather pecking was most pronounced among birds that had never received the device whereas its introduction at 22 or 52 days of age yielded intermediate results. This orderly pattern of more pecking at feathers when the device was added at later ages was significant (p < 0.005). In Experiment 2, 768 Lohmann LSL laying chickens were housed in rearing cages and 720 were transferred in groups of three to conventional laying cages when 16 weeks old. The birds were allocated to one of four treatments: devices present from 1 day of age; presented for 24 h every 4 weeks; continuously present from 16 weeks of age; and finally, devices never presented. At 35 weeks of age, hens with access to the device had significantly better plumage condition than those that had never received the device (p < 0.05).In conclusion, the addition of a simple string device to the pens of non-beak-trimmed high-feather-pecking birds decreased feather pecking behaviour (Experiment 1), and to the cages of non-beak-trimmed commercial layers significantly improved feather condition (Experiment 2). (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.