Simplification of furnished cages for laying hens in consideration of their health and comfort, and economical points.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The aim of these experiments was to simplify the furnished cages for laying hens in consideration of their health and comfort, and economical points. In Exp. 1, I studied the usage of the perch, and the possibility to use an area both as nest box and sand-bath. In Exp. 2, the usage of the turf on the nest/sand-bath floor was studied. Most of laying was occur in the morning, and most of sand-bathing was occur in the afternoon. So, it might be possible to use an area both as nest box and sand-bath. The active behavior was observed more than in perched cage than in non-perched cage. Artificial turf on the floor of the nest/sand-bath area was useful for nesting and sand-bathing behaviors. Simplification of furnished cages using conventional ones is one of the useful way to modify the traditional housing system for hens.