The use of pecking blocks as foraging enrichment for improvement of feather condition in laying hens

鸡毛啄啄导致鸡毛覆盖受损、受伤和死亡，是富养群和非笼养蛋鸡的常见问题。啄羽毛是一种重新定向觅食的形式，当蛋鸡获得觅食资源时，这种行为出现的风险较低。《照顾和处理小鸡和蛋鸡的操作规范》是加拿大鸡蛋行业的国家标准，要求使用觅食资源，但没有具体说明哪种资源最合适。啄食块是由矿物质（主要是碳酸钙）、谷物和/或其他纤维来源压缩而成的块，建议用来磨钝母鸡的喙。因此，它们是有希望的觅食资源，可以在丰富的殖民地和非笼子住房中提供。然而，在加拿大的两种住房系统中，缺乏对啄块对羽毛啄的影响的比较和详细的研究。本项目将检验市售啄食块的有效性，以提高觅食能力，从而减少在富裕的群体和非笼舍环境下的小鸡和蛋鸡啄羽毛的现象。这些实验采用实验室和实地研究的方法，紧密地代表了现实世界的场景，调查了鸟类与啄食块相互作用的动机，在系统中哪个位置是最可行的，并量化了对整个产卵过程中羽毛啄食、羽毛损伤和生产结果的影响。了解啄木块的用途及其对鸟类羽毛覆盖的潜在好处，不仅有利于鸟类本身，也有利于成千上万的蛋农和数百万关心生产实践的加拿大消费者。

Feather pecking leading to damaged feather cover, injury and mortality is a common problem in laying hens in enriched colonies and non-cage housing. Feather pecking is a form of redirected foraging and the risk of this behaviour appearing is lower when laying hens are given foraging resources. The Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pullets and Laying Hens, the national standard of care for the egg industry in Canada, requires foraging resources, though it does not specify which resources are most suitable. Pecking blocks are compressed blocks of minerals (mainly calcium carbonate), grains and/or other fiber sources, and are suggested to blunt hens' beaks. Consequently, they are promising foraging resources that can be provided in both enriched colonies and non-cage housing. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of comparative and detailed studies on the impact of pecking blocks on feather pecking in either housing system in Canada. This project will examine the effectiveness of commercially available pecking blocks to enhance foraging and, thereby, reduce feather pecking in pullets and laying hens in enriched colonies and non-cage housing. The proposed experiments use laboratory and field studies to closely represent real-world scenarios and investigate birds' motivation to interact with the pecking blocks, which location(s) is/are most feasible within the system, and quantify effects on feather pecking, feather damage, and production outcomes throughout lay. Understanding the use of pecking blocks and their potential benefit on the feather cover of birds will not only benefit the birds themselves, but the thousands of egg farmers and millions of Canadian consumers who care about production practices.