The influence of stocking density and enrichment on the occurrence of feather pecking and aggressive pecking behavior in laying hen chicks

Zepp, Miriam; Louton, Helen; Erhard, Michael; Schmidt, Paul; Helmer, F.; Schwarzer, Angela

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2017.12.005

Cited by 53 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Environment: Environmental conditions [11,25] that might affect the development and severity of feather pecking are, among others, stress [26,27], lighting conditions [28,29], and stocking densities [30,31]. Improving environmental conditions such as rearing chicks in dark brooders [32], providing environmental enrichment [8,31,33,34], adapting the diet [29,35] (e.g., dietary tryptophan supplementation [36]), and beak trimming [9] might provide measures to control feather pecking.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of Basic Research on the Causes of Feather Pecking in Relation to Welfare

Fijn

Staay

Goerlich-Jansson

et al. 2020

Animals

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Feather pecking is a prominent issue in the commercial egg industry, associated with economic losses and welfare problems. A non-systematic literature search suggests that studies on feather pecking are predominantly concerned with applied research goals. That is to say, they aim to solve or diminish the effects of this problematic behavior by orienting towards practical approaches. The strong emphasis on this research approach has skewed our knowledge of the causes of feather pecking in relation to welfare. While the need for such research is high, there is an equivalent need for basic research that has not received corresponding effort. Also, current research predominantly focuses on the negative effects on the birds being pecked, whereas too little attention is given to the possible welfare problems of the peckers. We argue that more basic research is needed for obtaining comprehensive science-based knowledge of behavioral needs and abilities of hens, in particular with respect to behavioral problems that threaten their welfare.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of Basic Research on the Causes of Feather Pecking in Relation to Welfare

Fijn

Staay

Goerlich-Jansson

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…Zepp et al. () housed brown‐layer chicks in aviary housing under production conditions in groups with and without enrichment material (pecking stones and alfalfa bales) at high stocking density and at reduced stocking density. Feather pecking was reduced by offering enrichment material and by reducing the stocking density.…”

Section: Effects Of Additional Enrichment Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The restrictive use of silage and other perishable feeds is a practical consideration on farms, where the simultaneous assurance of animal health has to be considered, especially during rearing because of possible nutritional consequences, along with biosecurity (Steenfeldt et al, 2007). Zepp et al (2018) housed brown-layer chicks in aviary housing under production conditions in groups with and without enrichment material (pecking stones and alfalfa bales) at high stocking density and at reduced stocking density. Feather pecking was reduced by offering enrichment material and by reducing the stocking density.…”

Section: Effec Ts Of Additional Enrichment Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of litter and additional enrichment elements on the occurrence of feather pecking in pullets and laying hens – A focused review

Schreiter¹,

Damme

Borell

et al. 2019

Veterinary Medicine & Sci

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Severe feather pecking (SFP) is a serious problem in the egg production industry with regard to animal welfare and performance. The multifactorial causes of SFP are discussed in the areas of genetics, feeding, husbandry, stable climate and management. Several studies on the influence of manipulable material on the incidence of SFP in different environments and housing systems have been performed. This review presents current knowledge on the effects of litter and additional enrichment elements on the occurrence of SFP in pullets and laying hens. Because SFP is associated with foraging and feed intake behaviour, the provision of manipulable material in the husbandry environment is an approach that is intended to reduce the occurrence of SFP by adequate exercise of these behaviours. As shown in the literature, the positive effect of enrichment and litter substrate on SFP in a low‐complexity cage environment is evident. On the other hand, consistent results have not been reported on the influence of additional enrichment material in housing systems with litter substrate, which represent the most common type of husbandry in Northwestern Europe. Thus, further research is recommended.

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“…It is known that influencing factors besides a genetic predisposition, lies inter alia in housing, management and feeding [2][3][4][5]. A main causative factor that has been found in several studies is the inhibition of foraging behaviors in pullets and laying hens [5][6][7][8][9]. Light is necessary to enable normal behavior [10][11][12] and performance [12,13] in poultry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of UV-A Light Provided in Addition to Standard Lighting on Plumage Condition in Laying Hens

Spindler

Weseloh²,

Eßer

et al. 2020

Animals

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Natural light with ultraviolet spectrum (UV) influences the birds´ perception, the reflectivity of their plumage and affects bird behavior. Therefore, in Germany, laying hens kept in barns should be provided with daylight inlets. Nevertheless, lighting in laying hen houses with a UV proportion is not common practice and little is known about the detailed effects of UV-A lighting during the entire rearing and production period. The present on-farm study examines the impact of light quality on plumage loss, skin injuries and production parameters of laying hens. Therefore, about 92,000 Lohmann Brown hens with untrimmed beaks were kept on a farm in two different groups. Half of them were housed in a barn containing 10 pens illuminated by additional UV-A light (simulate “daylight spectrum”). The other half in the second barn were equally grouped, but exposed to standard lighting for poultry houses. Health, production parameters and plumage condition were monitored during rearing and production. The study results reveal that additional UV-A light is associated with the occurrence of plumage damage and cannibalistic injuries during production. In all groups, the plumage condition of the hens was intact when the hens started laying and declined with age. Therefore, complex interactions alongside UV illumination, environmental enrichment, feed and feeding strategies as well as other management factors that possibly affected both feather damage and skin injuries must also be taken into account.

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The influence of stocking density and enrichment on the occurrence of feather pecking and aggressive pecking behavior in laying hen chicks

Cited by 53 publications

References 37 publications

Importance of Basic Research on the Causes of Feather Pecking in Relation to Welfare

Importance of Basic Research on the Causes of Feather Pecking in Relation to Welfare

Effects of litter and additional enrichment elements on the occurrence of feather pecking in pullets and laying hens – A focused review

The Effects of UV-A Light Provided in Addition to Standard Lighting on Plumage Condition in Laying Hens

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