Effect of sight barriers in pens of breeding ring-necked pheasants (<i>Phasianus colchicus</i>): I. Behaviour and welfare

Deeming, D. C.; Hodges, Holly R.; Cooper, John R.

doi:10.1080/00071668.2011.590796

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Both aggressive interactions and disturbances were at least halved when barriers were added, and in one instance (complex barrier treatment), aggression was almost eradicated (See Table 3). It was recently demonstrated that providing visual barriers (tin sheets and straw bales) reduces aggression in breeding rink-necked pheasants, which could be explained by a number of factors including reduction in visual horizon, increased escape opportunities, or more even bird distribution in the pen [31]. In our study, the decrease in disturbances and aggression in the enriched environments may be explained by how the barriers affected birds' spatial distributions: their attraction as perching furniture along with the protection offered by the barrier edges may have dispersed resting areas throughout the pen [13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to Barrier Perches Improves Behavior Repertoire in Broilers

2012

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Restriction of behavioral opportunities and uneven use of space are considerable welfare concerns in modern broiler production, particularly when birds are kept at high densities. We hypothesized that increased environmental complexity by provision of barrier perches would help address these issues by encouraging perching and enhancing use of the pen space across a range of stocking densities. 2,088 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of the following barrier and density treatment combinations over four replications: simple barrier, complex barrier, or control (no barrier) and low (8 birds/m2), moderate (13 birds/m2), or high (18 birds/m2) density. Data were collected on focal birds via instantaneous scan sampling from 2 to 6 weeks of age. Mean estimates per pen for percent of observations seen performing each behavior, as well as percent of observations in the pen periphery vs. center, were quantified and submitted to an analysis of variance with week as the repeated measure. Barrier perches, density and age affected the behavioral time budget of broilers. Both simple and complex barrier perches effectively stimulated high perching rates. Aggression and disturbances were lower in both barrier treatments compared to controls (P<0.05). Increasing density to 18 birds/m2 compared to the lower densities suppressed activity levels, with lower foraging (P<0.005), decreased perching (P<0.0001) and increased sitting (P = 0.001) earlier in the rearing period. Disturbances also increased at higher densities (P<0.05). Use of the central pen area was higher in simple barrier pens compared to controls (P<0.001), while increasing density above 8 birds/m2 suppressed use of the central space (P<0.05). This work confirms some negative effects of increasing density and suggests that barrier perches have the potential to improve broiler welfare by encouraging activity (notably by providing accessible opportunities to perch), decreasing aggression and disturbances, and promoting more even distribution of birds throughout the pen space.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to Barrier Perches Improves Behavior Repertoire in Broilers

2012

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“…Environmental enrichment in our experimentally enriched cages included also the presence of a simple hideout in each cage. Deeming et al (2011) investigated the effects of providing sight barriers in breeding pens on pheasant mortality, feather damage and behaviour. The authors suggest that barriers may improve pheasant welfare by reducing potentially harmful aggressive interactions, without affecting activity patterns or reproductive behaviour.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of tonic immobility in common pheasant hens kept in different housing systems during laying period

et al. 2012

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Common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) hens kept in different housing systems during laying period were exposed to a tonic immobility test. At the end of the laying period, the shortest duration of the tonic immobility, and thus the lowest fear level, was found in birds kept in enriched cages, i.e. cages equipped with 2 perches and a hiding place. The duration of the tonic immobility in hens kept in enriched cages was significantly lower (P<0.05) than in hens kept in conventional cages where other measures against feather pecking were used (beaktrimming and using spectacles, respectively).

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“…A full description of the experimental design for this study is provided by Deeming et al (2011) and so is only briefly described here. Twenty-two pens holding commercially reared ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were established at a commercial game farm to provide 11 control pens, and 11 experimental pens that contained sight barriers.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%