Exposure to Increased Environmental Complexity during Rearing Reduces Fearfulness and Increases Use of Three-Dimensional Space in Laying Hens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Exposure to Increased Environmental Complexity during Rearing Reduces Fearfulness and Increases Use of Three-Dimensional Space in Laying Hens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
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DOI：
10.3389/fvets.2016.00014
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发表时间：
2016-01-01
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
Janczak, Andrew M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Brantsaeter, Margrethe;Nordgreen, Janicke;Janczak, Andrew M.
饲养环境的复杂性对行为发展和恐惧很重要。这项研究的目的是验证一个假设，即在一个复杂的鸟舍系统中饲养的蛋鸡，暴露于轻微的间歇性压力源中，对压力不那么害怕，对压力不那么敏感，成年后会比在一个贫瘠的笼子环境中饲养的蛋鸡更频繁地使用围栏的高区域。蛋鸡（N = 160）饲养在同一鸡舍；一半的鸟（n = 80）在鸟舍里，另一半（n = 80）在笼子里。在16周龄时，这些鸟被运送到实验设施。他们的行为在19周龄和23周龄时被记录下来，并通过主成分分析产生的恐惧相关主成分的个体得分方差分析进行分析。结果表明，在19周龄和23周龄时，鸟笼饲养的鸟的恐惧程度低于笼养的鸟。当比较19周龄和23周龄时首次接触新物体所引起的反应时，与笼养的鸟类相比，更多的鸟在19周龄时倾向于飞起来，这表明鸟养的鸟类比笼养的鸟类倾向于更积极的行为反应。在23周时，两种治疗方法在飞行反应方面没有差异。两组在排便频率和粪便皮质酮代谢物浓度上均无差异。在19周时，对家笼内空间分布的观察表明，与笼养的鸟相比，鸟养的鸟在低栖、高架平台和高栖上停留的时间更多。然而，在23周龄时，这些差异不再被检测到。这项研究的结果支持了一个假设，即饲养过程中环境复杂性的增加减少了成年蛋鸡的恐惧。
The complexity of the rearing environment is important for behavioral development and fearfulness. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that laying hens reared in a complex aviary system with exposure to mild intermittent stressors would be less fearful, less sensitive to stress, and would use elevated areas of the pen more often as adults than hens reared in a barren cage environment. Laying hens (N = 160) were housed in the same rearing house; half of the birds (n = 80) in an aviary and the other half (n = 80) in cages. At 16 weeks of age, the birds were transported to the experimental facilities. Their behavior was recorded at 19 and 23 weeks of age and analyzed by analysis of variance on individual scores for a fearfulness-related principal component generated using principal component analysis. The results indicate that aviary-reared birds have lower levels of fearfulness compared with cage-reared birds both at 19 weeks and at 23 weeks of age. When comparing the response induced by initial exposure to a novel object at 19 and 23 weeks of age, more aviary-reared birds tended to fly up at 19 weeks compared to the cage-reared birds, indicating a tendency toward a more active behavioral response in the aviary-reared birds than in cage-reared birds. There was no difference between treatments in the flight response at 23 weeks. The groups did not differ in defecation frequency or the concentration of fecal corticosterone metabolites at either age. At 19 weeks, observation of the spatial distribution in the home pens indicated that more aviary-reared birds spent time on the low perch, the elevated platform, and the upper perch, compared to the cage-reared birds. However, at 23 weeks of age, these differences were no longer detected. The results of this study support the hypothesis that increased environmental complexity during rearing reduces fearfulness of adult laying hens.