Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens
Severe feather pecking is a damaging allopecking behavior in pullets and laying hens which was found to be associated with multiple factors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the occurrence of feather pecking could be reduced by additional environmental enrichment materials (EM; pecki...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Poultry Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003257912030482X |
| _version_ | 1818149178906247168 |
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| author | Ruben Schreiter Klaus Damme Michael Klunker Camille Raoult Eberhard von Borell Markus Freick |
| author_facet | Ruben Schreiter Klaus Damme Michael Klunker Camille Raoult Eberhard von Borell Markus Freick |
| author_sort | Ruben Schreiter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Severe feather pecking is a damaging allopecking behavior in pullets and laying hens which was found to be associated with multiple factors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the occurrence of feather pecking could be reduced by additional environmental enrichment materials (EM; pecking stones and hard-pressed alfalfa bales) in a littered housing system. In total 4,000 pullets (2000 Lohmann Brown classic [LB] and 2000 Lohmann Selected Leghorn classic [LSL]) were reared in an aviary system until week 18, and 1,320 remaining laying hens were kept thereafter, from week 19 to 48. During rearing, half of the compartments were permanently supplied with enrichment materials, while the other half did not receive any EM. After transferring to the laying hens’ stable, we examined the hens under four treatment variants: V1 - no EM over the entire study period; V2 - rearing period with and laying period without EM; V3 - rearing period without and laying period with EM; V4 - EM over the entire study period. The integument condition (i.e. beak protrusion, beak fissures, plumage condition, skin and toe injuries, and foot pad dermatitis) was scored in weeks 2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 18 (rearing) and 25, 30, 40, and 48 (laying period). At the end of the study (week 48), lower plumage damage was observed in the variants provided with EM during rearing (V2 and V4) compared to the other two variants (V1 and V3; P < 0.001). Skin injuries were less prevalent in week 40 in hens with access to EM during rearing (V2 and V4) than the other variants (V1 and V3) within LSL (P < 0.001), and in week 48 in the both strains (P < 0.001). The variants with access to EM during the laying period (V3 and V4) showed lesser protrusion of the beak tip in week 48 (P < 0.001). The observed beneficial effects of EM could be attributed to its impact on foraging behavior and beak-tip abrasion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T13:02:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9bd69a8428ab437cbc048e9fa8447907 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0032-5791 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T13:02:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Poultry Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-9bd69a8428ab437cbc048e9fa84479072022-12-22T01:06:24ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912020-11-01991151845196Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hensRuben Schreiter0Klaus Damme1Michael Klunker2Camille Raoult3Eberhard von Borell4Markus Freick5ZAFT e.V., Centre for Applied Research and Technology, Dresden, Germany; Corresponding author:Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture, Teach, Research and Demontration Centre for Poultry and Small Animal Farming, Kitzingen, GermanyZAFT e.V., Centre for Applied Research and Technology, Dresden, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, GermanyZAFT e.V., Centre for Applied Research and Technology, Dresden, Germany; Faculty Agriculture/Environment/Chemistry, HTW Dresden – University of Applied Sciences, Dresden, GermanySevere feather pecking is a damaging allopecking behavior in pullets and laying hens which was found to be associated with multiple factors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the occurrence of feather pecking could be reduced by additional environmental enrichment materials (EM; pecking stones and hard-pressed alfalfa bales) in a littered housing system. In total 4,000 pullets (2000 Lohmann Brown classic [LB] and 2000 Lohmann Selected Leghorn classic [LSL]) were reared in an aviary system until week 18, and 1,320 remaining laying hens were kept thereafter, from week 19 to 48. During rearing, half of the compartments were permanently supplied with enrichment materials, while the other half did not receive any EM. After transferring to the laying hens’ stable, we examined the hens under four treatment variants: V1 - no EM over the entire study period; V2 - rearing period with and laying period without EM; V3 - rearing period without and laying period with EM; V4 - EM over the entire study period. The integument condition (i.e. beak protrusion, beak fissures, plumage condition, skin and toe injuries, and foot pad dermatitis) was scored in weeks 2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 18 (rearing) and 25, 30, 40, and 48 (laying period). At the end of the study (week 48), lower plumage damage was observed in the variants provided with EM during rearing (V2 and V4) compared to the other two variants (V1 and V3; P < 0.001). Skin injuries were less prevalent in week 40 in hens with access to EM during rearing (V2 and V4) than the other variants (V1 and V3) within LSL (P < 0.001), and in week 48 in the both strains (P < 0.001). The variants with access to EM during the laying period (V3 and V4) showed lesser protrusion of the beak tip in week 48 (P < 0.001). The observed beneficial effects of EM could be attributed to its impact on foraging behavior and beak-tip abrasion.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003257912030482Xenrichmentpulletlaying henfeather peckingplumage |
| spellingShingle | Ruben Schreiter Klaus Damme Michael Klunker Camille Raoult Eberhard von Borell Markus Freick Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens Poultry Science enrichment pullet laying hen feather pecking plumage |
| title | Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens |
| title_full | Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens |
| title_fullStr | Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens |
| title_short | Effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary—Part 1: integument condition in pullets and laying hens |
| title_sort | effects of edible environmental enrichments during the rearing and laying periods in a littered aviary part 1 integument condition in pullets and laying hens |
| topic | enrichment pullet laying hen feather pecking plumage |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003257912030482X |
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