Nest preference of laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) and their motivation to exert themselves to gain nest access

Use of straw and wood shavings as nest material in primiparous does

“…There is no literature regarding this possible preference for nesting materials in rabbits, whereas in other species such as hamsters (Lanteigne and Reebs, 2006), rats (Ras et al, 2002), mice (Van de Weerd et al, 1997) or laying hens (Kruschwitz et al, 2008), some works have been done.…”

“…It could be interesting to determine the strength of these preferences of does through devices such as push doors, which seem to be appropriate to test nests (Kruschwitz et al, 2008). These preferences might be taken into account when deciding nest materials, but there may be other important points in this decision.…”

Dairy cows value access to pasture as highly as fresh feed

“…For example, to investigate feeding motivation, some authors4 measured the maximum distance walked to obtain food when cows were exposed to different levels of feed deprivation, and found that cows were willing to walk longer distances to access feed after longer periods of feed deprivation. Weighted doors (that animals push open to access a reward have also been used to study motivation for access to specific resources5, including access to a dust bathing area6 and a nest box7 by chickens, and access to a water bath by farmed mink8. This experimental paradigm is based on the concept that animals will be willing to push heavier weights to access more important resources.…”

Cognition and Welfare

“…However, this possibly does not fulfil the behavioural needs of the fishes if animals are highly motivated to build nests and leads to frustration, stress and associated maladaptive behaviours. In other intensively farmed animals such as pigs and chickens, providing females with nesting material had a dramatic improvement on their behaviour and well-being (Cronin et al 1998;Kruschwitz et al 2008). Yet these materials are generally not provided to captive fishes even though they may have a positive impact upon behaviour and welfare.…”