Schreiter, Ruben Freick, Markus
Published in
Poultry science
Plumage damage (PD) as a result of severe feather pecking (SFP) and skin lesions (SL) due to cannibalism (CA) is serious welfare, performance, and economic problems in commercial layer farms. Genetics, nutrition, and housing conditions are central complexes that contribute to the multifactorial causes of these behavioral disorders. Practical recomm...
Wang, Chao Li, Yaling Wang, Haoliang Li, Miao Rong, Jinsheng Liao, Xindi Wu, Yinbao Wang, Yan
Published in
Frontiers in Microbiology
Background Feather pecking (FP) is a maladaptive behavior in laying hens that is associated with numerous physiological traits, including those involving the central neurotransmitter system and the immune system, which have been identified in many species as being regulated by the gut microbiota via the “microbiota-gut-brain” (MGB) axis. Yet, it is...
Bessei, Werner Tetens, Jens Bennewitz, Jörn Falker-Gieske, Clemens Hofmann, Tanja Piepho, Hans-Peter
Published in
Poultry Science
Various aspects of activity, such as spontaneous activity, explorative activity, activity in open-field tests, and hyperactivity syndrome have been explored as causal factors of feather pecking in laying hens, with no clear results. In all previous studies, mean values of activity over different time intervals were used as criteria. Incidental obse...
Hanh, Han Quang Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tien, Nguyen Dinh Nhung, Dang Thuy Lebailly, Philippe Ton, Vu Dinh
Published in
Journal of applied animal welfare science : JAAWS
There is an increasing concern about welfare issues related to battery cages, which are commonly used in Vietnam, and requires a modified cage that improves hen welfare while retaining its economic and management advantages. We combined adjacent conventional cages to form group cages to examine the effects of stocking density on egg production, eco...
Mott, Alexander Charles Mott, Andrea Preuß, Siegfried Bennewitz, Jörn Tetens, Jens Falker-Gieske, Clemens
Published in
Frontiers in Genetics
Feather pecking in chickens is a damaging behavior, seriously impacting animal welfare and leading to economic losses. Feather pecking is a complex trait, which is partly under genetic control. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the etiology of feather pecking and notably, several studies have identified similarities between feather...
Özkan, Sezen Yalçın, Servet Bayraktar, Özer Hakan Bilgen, Güldehen Dayıoğlu, Miray Bolhuis, J. Elizabeth Rodenburg, T. Bas
Published in
Poultry Science
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 16L:8D photoperiod with green ( GREEN ) or white ( WHITE ) lights during incubation on hatching performance, blood melatonin, corticosterone, and serotonin levels, hypothalamic expressions of genes related to photoreception, serotonin, and stress systems in layers in relation with feather pecking ...
Schwarzer, Angela Rauch, Elke Erhard, Michael Reese, Sven Schmidt, Paul Bergmann, Shana Plattner, Christina Kaesberg, Anne Louton, Helen
Published in
Poultry Science
Various plumage and integument scoring methods are commonly used to deduce the occurrence of severe feather pecking and cannibalism in laying hens. The aim of our study was to provide evidence of correlations between the occurrence of severe feather pecking and our individual plumage scoring system used under practical conditions on commercial farm...
Schreiter, Ruben Freick, Markus
Published in
Poultry Science
For the standardized assessment of plumage damage in laying hens, imaging techniques can be used in addition to visual plumage scoring ( PS ). In this study, the diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermography ( IRT ) was analyzed in white-feathered ( WL ) and brown-feathered laying hens ( BL ) with PS as a reference. In 28 flocks, a 3-level PS and IR...
Gernand, E Ahlers, C Huchler, M Donat, K
Published in
British poultry science
1. Within a triennial project, 34 layer flocks with untrimmed beaks were examined regularly throughout the laying period to broaden knowledge on the occurrence and development of severe feather pecking and cannibalism, as well as on factors influencing this non-desirable behaviour.2. Flocks involved 850 to 27,183 hens of seven different genetics, k...
Rudkin, C
Published in
British poultry science
1. Feather pecking (FP) is said to be a redirection of food-related foraging pecks to feathers. The effects of three foraging enrichments on the pecking behaviours of layer pullets in pens and as hens in cages (Gallus gallus domesticus) were studied.2. Treatments included no added enrichment (Control), addition of a mix of wheat and sorghum grains ...
