Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences reached included other academics interested in poultry welfare and behavior, the poultry industry, and avian veterinarians Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? As part of this project, Dr. Mench trained (or participated in the training of) 5 Ph.D. students and 2 postdoctoral scholars. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been widely disseminated as publications and via presentations at scientific and veterinary meetings (Poultry Science Association, International Society for Applied Ethology, American Association of Avian Pathologists) and poultry industry meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project involved conducting and publishing research on various aspects of the behavior and welfare of poultry, focused on the following topics: a) Cannibalism in Muscovy ducks. Outbreaks of cannibalistic pecking in poultry flocks can lead to serious injury and economic losses for producers. This abnormal behavior occurs sporadically in flocks, and the triggers for outbreaks are not well understood. The problem is usually dealt with by trimming the birds' beaks or bills, a practice that has been criticized because it causes pain. We evaluated the effects of providing food and water-based foraging enrichments, but found that these had little effect on reducing cannibalism in Muscovy duck flocks, although similar foraging enrichments have been found to be promising for reducing this problem in chickens. This indicated that future attention should be directed towards developing improved methods of bill-trimming to reduce pain, since trimming is currently the only effective method for preventing injury due to cannibalism. b) Space, management and housing system requirements for laying hens. There has been increasing emphasis on setting housing and management standards for poultry, such as standards for floor area, cage height, or feeder space, to comply with animal care auditing and certification programs. It is important that such standards be science-based to ensure that they actually support good animal welfare. We carried out two experimental studies of feeder and floor space. The first showed that Hy-Line W36 hens, the most common genetic stock used by the US poultry industry, adapted well to less feeder space than the currently recommended 4 linear inches per hen, since providing less space than this had no negative effects on aggression, physiology, production, or health. The second study involved using 3-dimensional kinematic video analysis to determine the space used by hens performing various behaviors. In 2008, California voter passed a proposition that stipulates that hens must be given enough space to perform particular behaviors, and this research provided a numerical basis that could be used for enforcement of that law, which will be effective 2015. We also conducted an epidemiological study that involved collecting data from 179 commercial farms housing more than 15 million hens. The focus was on determining how cage design and management affected hen health and production. This required us to develop a “cage calculator” program that could be used to measure cages accurately. We collected large amounts of data from the producers and were able to pinpoint specific factors that can help them modify their management practices, or that they can take into consideration when purchasing new cages, that will help them to improve the health and production of their hens. c) Nestbox provision for Pekin ducks. Eggs laid outside nestboxes are a problem in many poultry breeding and laying systems. These eggs are difficult to collect and are more likely to be cracked and dirty, which has negative effects on food safety if the eggs are marketed for human consumption, or on hatchability if they are incubated for breeding. We carried out experiments designed to assess some of the factors that might cause Pekin ducks to lay their eggs outside of designated nestboxes, and found that the most important factor was the number of nestboxes provided, but that ducks also preferred highly enclosed nestboxes to the open nestboxes usually used. These findings are being employed by the duck industry to reduce problems with floor-laid eggs. d) Dustbathing behavior and its relationship to ectoparasite removal. Hens kept in newer designs of cages, called furnished cages or enriched colony systems, are provided with an Astroturf mat onto which loose substrate is dispensed, in order to allow them to perform dustbathing behavior. One function of dustbathing behavior is to reduce feather oiliness, thus keeping the feathers in good condition. However, it has also been suggested that it functions to remove ectoparasites. The most common substrate dispensed on to the pad is feed, since it is easy to deliver. We evaluated the use of Astroturf mats with various loose substrates for dustbathing, and also the effectiveness of this dustbathing on removing Northern fowl mite, which is the most common hen ectoparasite in the US production. Chicks and pullets given Astroturf with feed did dustbathe on it, but by the time they were adults their dustbathing on this surface was limited, particularly if they were provided with an opportunity to dustbathe on a more preferred substrate like sand. Dustbathing on Astroturf with feed actually worsened problems with Northern Fowl mite infestation, for reasons that are not yet clear. These results indicate that the current practice of using feed as a dustbathing material may be problematical, since hens are not attracted to use it but even their limited use can increase mite infestation problems.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Vezzoli, G., Mullens, B.A., Mench, J.A. Dustbathing substrate affects mite populations and dustbathing behavior in laying hens. Poultry Science 92(E-Suppl. 1):27
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Mench, J.A., Blatchford, R.A. Determination of space use by laying hens using kinematic analysis. In press, Poultry Science.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Keiss, A.S., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A., Newberry, R.C., Garner, J.P. A standardized cage measurement system: A versatile tool for calculating usable cage space. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 21:657-668.
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs included conducting experiments and mentoring a graduate student PARTICIPANTS: Joy Mench directed the project. She provided training to a graduate student, Gina Alvino, as well as undergraduate student interns assisting with the project TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
There has been increasing emphasis on setting housing standards for poultry by animal welfare certification and auditing programs, including by requiring that cages be supplemented with important resources (enrichments) such as perches and nestboxes to allow hens to perform more of their natural behaviors. Dustbathing in loose substrate is a natural behavior that allows hens to keep their plumage clean. Current designs of enriched cages typically include an area with an Astroturf mat onto which feed is delivered in order to stimulate both foraging and dustbathing behavior. In a previous study, we found that this mat was under-utilized for dustbathing. We therefore carried out two studies to assess whether exposing chicks and pullets to Astroturf prior to placing them in enriched cages would promote dustbathing on Astroturf later in life. While the chicks and the pullets did dustbathe on the Astroturf, the early experience with Astroturf did not necessarily improve their use of the Astroturf mat for dustbathing when they were transferred to the enriched cages. This research is important to the poultry industry in terms of providing information about how the chick and pullet rearing environment affects the later expression of natural behaviors in enriched cages.
Publications
- Garner, J.S., A.S. Kiess, J.A. Mench, R.C. Newberry, and P.Y. Hester. 2012. The effect of cage and house design on egg production and egg weight of White Leghorn hens: An epidemiological study. Poultry Science 91:1522-1535.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs included conducting experiments, informal consultations with poultry producers and other stakeholders, and mentoring post-doctoral scholars. PARTICIPANTS: Joy Mench was the co-director of the first project, along with Joseph Garner (Purdue University), Patricia Hester (Purdue University), and Ruth Newberry (Washington State University), and helped mentor Aaron Keiss, a post-doctoral scholar at Purdue; this project involved collaboration with about approximately 30 commercial egg production companies. Joy Mench was the sole director of the second project, and mentored a graduate student/postdoctoral scholar, Richard Blatchford. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
There has been increasing emphasis on setting housing and management standards for poultry, including related to enclosure configuration and space. However, there is often little empirical information available to help in setting the appropriate standards. Two projects were carried out to address this need. The first was conducted on commercial laying hen farms, and involved collecting information about conventional cage design variables and hen management, and relating to those to various hen health and production outcomes, including egg production, mortality, house ammonia levels, and feather cover and cleanliness. This study allowed us to pinpoint which specific features of cage design and management were critical for improving hen welfare and production outcomes. Some of these findings were surprising - for example, that drinker placement and design are more important than manure management for affecting house ammonia levels. These results will be helpful to producers in managing their current cage systems and in selecting new caging systems. The second project involved using kinematic analysis to measure the space used by hens for 3-dimensional movement. The goal of this project was to provide scientifically based specifications for the implementation of Proposition 2 in California. This proposition required that hens be given enough room to perform various behaviors, but there was no information available prior to our study to determine exactly how much space that would require.
Publications
- Makagon, M.M. and Mench, J.A. 2011. Floor laying by Pekin ducks: effects of nest box ratio and design. Poultry Science 90:1179-84.
- Newberry, R. C., Kiess, A.S., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A and Garner, J.P. 2011. Epidemiological relationships between cage design, feather cover and feather cleanliness of commercial laying hens. P. 30 in T. Widowski, P. Lawliss and K. Sheppard (Editors), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level (WAFL), Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen NL.
- Hester, P. Y., Kiess, A.S., Mench, J.A., Newberry, R.C., and Garner, J.P. 2011. The effect of cage design on feed efficiency and egg weight of white leghorn hens: An epidemiological study. Poultry Sci. 90: (E-Suppl.1):116.
- Kiess A. S., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A., Newberry, R.C., and Garner, J.P. 2011. The effect of cage design on egg production of white leghorn hens: An epidemiological study. Poultry Sci. 90: (E-Suppl.1):116.
- Mench, J. A., Kiess, A.S., Hester, P.Y., Newberry, R.C., and Garner, J.P. 2011. Cage design and management effects on ammonia levels in laying hen houses. Poultry Sci. 90: (E-Suppl.1):53.
- Garner, J. P., Kiess, A.S., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A., and Newberry, R.C. 2011. The effect of cage design on mortality of White Leghorn hens: An epidemiological study. Proc. 45th Congress ISAE, Purdue University, Indiana: page 37.
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs included conducting experiments, informal consultations with poultry producers, and mentoring students. PARTICIPANTS: Joy Mench directed the project and mentored Maja Makagon, a graduate student, as well as a variety of undergraduate interns who assisted with data collection. Dr. Cassandra Tucker was a collaborator on one of the studies. A local commercial duck producer (Woodland Farms) provided supplies and assistance with the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Eggs laid outside designated nest boxes are a problem in many poultry laying and breeding systems. These eggs are difficult to collect, increasing the staff time required to manage the system. They are also more likely to be cracked or dirty, and thus have poor hatchability or pose potential food safety risks if they are consumed by humans. We conducted studies to evaluate factors affecting nesting preferences and nest use by Pekin duck breeders, with a goal of better understanding the factors that may cause ducks to lay outside of the designated nest boxes. The age at which nest boxes were introduced did not affect the proportion of eggs laid on the floor after box introduction. However, ducks did prefer to lay in boxes offering a high degree of enclosure rather than in more open boxes. They also preferred to lay in boxes that already contained an egg. The most important factor affecting whether or not eggs were laid on the floor was the amount of nest space provided to the flock. More eggs were laid on the floor when there when there were only two boxes/8 ducks than when there was 1 box/duck. These findings also need to be tested on a commercial scale, but should help duck producers to design nesting areas that will attract ducks to lay in them and thus decrease the number of eggs laid on the floor.
Publications
- Makagon, M.M. 2010. Nest site selection by Pekin ducks. PhD Thesis, University of California, Davis.
- Makagon, M.M., Tucker, C.B., and Mench, J.A. 2011. Factors affecting nest choice by Pekin ducks. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 129:121-128.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs included conducting experiments, informal consultations with poultry producers, and mentoring a graduate student. PARTICIPANTS: Joy Mench helped to direct the project and mentor Collette Thogerson, a graduate student at Purdue University. Other primary collaborators on the project were Joe Garner, Ed Pajor, and Patricia Hester (all Purdue University) and Ruth Newberry (Washington State University) TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
There has been increasing emphasis on setting housing and management standards for poultry, such as standards for floor area or feeder space, to comply with auditing and certification programs. However, there is often little empirical information available to help in setting the appropriate standards. In conjunction with collaborators, a study was conducted to determine the effects of feeder space on the behavior, physiology, and production of caged Hyline W-36 laying hens. The hens were found to adapt well to a wide range of feeder spaces, including spaces lower than the minimum in current standards. This was because the hens desynchronized their feeding activity and thus shared the feeder space, resulting in all hens receiving adequate nutrition. There was no competitive aggression at the feeder, and few effects on physiology or production. This research suggests that this strain of hens needs less feeder space than currently required, although this would have to be evaluated in a large-scale industry setting.
Publications
- Thogerson, C.M., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A., Newberry, R.C., Pajor, E.A. and Garner, J.P. 2009. The effect of feeder space allocation on behavior of Hy-Line W36 hens housed in conventional cages. Poultry Science 88:1544-1552.
- Thogerson, C.M., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A., Newberry, R.C., Pajor, E.A. and Garner, J.P. 2009. The effect of feeder space allocation on productivity and physiology of Hy-Line W-36 hens housed in conventional cages. Poultry Science 88:1793-1799.
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs include conducting experiments, informal consultations with poultry producers, and mentoring a visiting scholar. PARTICIPANTS: The Principal Investigator (Joy Mench) directed the project. She mentored Anja Riber, who was a visiting scholar from Denmark. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Cannibalism is a welfare problem that also causes economic losses for commercial producers of Muscovy ducks, but surprisingly little is known about what causes this problem to occur in flocks. The usual preventative measure is to trim the bill, but this practice has been criticized because it causes short-term pain, as shown in our previous research. We conducted an experiment to evaluate an alternative strategy for preventing problems with cannibalism which has shown some success with chickens, providing foraging enrichments. Ducks were given a variety of food- and water-based foraging devices, and use of the devices and behavior were monitored. Although the devices were successful in decreasing the time spent foraging, cannibalism still broke out in all pens. This experiment demonstrated that this type of environmental enrichment cannot be used successfully to deal with the problem of cannibalism in Muscovy ducklings. Other approaches might include genetic selection to decrease the behavior, or finding less painful methods of bill-trimming.
Publications
- Riber, A.J. and Mench, J.A. 2008. Effects of feed- and water-based enrichment on activity and cannibalism in Muscovy ducklings. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 114:429-440.
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
The quality and quantity of space provided to animals can have important effects on their welfare. The U.S. egg industry has recently developed guidelines for the amount of floor space that should be provided to caged hens, which were based on literature showing that reduced floor space allowances are associated with reduced egg production and increased mortality. However, it is unclear whether these effects are due to per-hen floor space allocation, feeder space allocation, or a combination of the two. Inadequate feeder space alone could increase competition at the feed trough, thus causing aggression, disrupted feeding, increased stress, reduced productivity, and mortality. Several published studies suggest that feeder space may be the most critical variable affecting the hens' response to reduced floor space, but these studies are older and were carried out using now-discontinued designs of cages and genetic stocks of hens that are not typical of the modern U.S.
industry. The effect of varying the amount of feeder space on the welfare of Hy-Line W-36 hens (the most common commercial strain) was therefore evaluated in an experimental study carried out in conjunction with Purdue University and Washington State University. Hens were housed 5 per cage at a stocking density of 434 cm2 per hen. Hens were initially provided with 12.2 cm of feeder space per hen; this was then reduced to 5.8, 7.1, 8.4, 9.7, or 10.9 cm per hen, or remained at 12.2 as a control. With reduced feeder space, hens spent less time feeding and occupied the feeder for less time than when given more space. However, reduced feeder space did not result in increased aggression or monopolization of the feeder by certain individuals. Instead, with reduced feeder space the hens de-synchronized their feeding, suggesting that they were able to adapt behaviorally to the restriction of feeder space. There were also no effects of reducing feeder space on mortality or production, but this
was a small-scale study. Currently data from commercial farms are being analyzed to assess the effects of feeder space and other cage design variables on hen welfare on a large scale.
Impacts
Although these results will need to be confirmed by studies carried out on commercial farms, they have potentially important implications for the egg industry. Several cage manufacturers are now marketing deeper cages that provide the hens with increased floor space and also have advantages with respect to manure management. However, such cages also reduce the amount of feeder space available to each hen. Our results suggest that hens of the strain of most commonly used by the U.S. cage layer industry, Hy-Line W-36, adapt their feeding behavior in response to reduced feeder space allocations without engaging in excessive competition that could lead to stress, reduced production, and mortality.
Publications
- Gustafson, L., Cheng, H-W., Garner, J.P., Pajor, E.A. and Mench, J.A. 2007. The effects of different bill-trimming methods on the well-being of Pekin ducks. Poultry Science 86: 1831-1839.
- Thogerson, C.M., Hester, P.Y., Mench, J.A., Newberry, R.C., and Garner, J.P. 2007. The effect of feeder space allowances on behavior of hens housed in conventional cages. Proceedings of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Merida, Mexico, pp. 99.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Ducks are often bill-trimmed to prevent feather pecking and cannibalism, but this practice has been criticized because of the resulting potential for acute and chronic pain. In our first study, we compared two different bill-trimming methods, hot blade trimming with cautery (TRIM) and cautery only (tip-searing; SEAR), on the behavior, bill morphology, and weight gain of Pekin ducks. Ducklings (N = 192, 96 per sex) were trimmed at the hatchery and assigned into 12 floor pens by treatment. Behavior was evaluated by scan sampling, and plumage condition scored using a 0 to 3 scoring system. Thirty-six ducks were randomly euthanized at 3 and 6 wk of age, and their bills collected for examination. Following fixation and decalcification, the bills were embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned longitudinally, and stained to examine connective tissues and nerve fibers. Trimmed ducks performed fewer bill-related behaviors and rested more than untrimmed ducks (NOTRIM) during the
first 2 weeks post-trim. SEAR and NOTRIM showed similar patterns of weight gain, but TRIM had a lower rate of gain than SEAR during the first week post-trim and than NOTRIM for 2 weeks post-trim. Feather scores of NOTRIM were significantly worse than those of TRIM or SEAR by 18 d, and continued to deteriorate at a greater rate than in trimmed ducks throughout the study. Both trimming methods caused connective tissue proliferation in the bill stumps, but TRIM caused thicker scar tissue than SEAR. No neuromas were found using either trimming method, but there were more nerve fibers in the SEAR than the TRIM bill stumps. In a second study, untrimmed female Muscovy ducks (N=270) were raised in groups of 17 in either standard pens, or pens supplied with a range of either water or food foraging enrichments. It has been suggested that feather pecking and cannibalism are redirected foraging behaviors, so the goal of the study was to prevent or reduce these behaviors by providing the ducks
with foraging opportunities. By the second week of age, there was evidence of feather pecking and cannibalism in all pens. By the time the ducks were four weeks of age, injury due to these behaviors was sufficiently persistent and serious to warrant terminating the study. Foraging enrichment was therefore ineffective in preventing or reducing these undesirable behaviors.
Impacts
These results are important to the duck industry. These results of the study of bill-trimming of Pekin ducks suggest that there is acute pain associated with both trimming methods evaluated, but that tip-searing may be a preferable method because it is better for the welfare of the duck, causing less check in weight gain and fewer bill morphological changes while still being effective in minimizing feather pecking damage. The study of the effects of enrichment on Muscovy ducks demonstrates that problems with feather pecking and cannibalism in this species cannot be easily addressed by environmental changes, and that bill-trimming is currently therefore the only reliable method for preventing injuries due to this behavior.
Publications
- Gustafson, L., Cheng, H-W., Garner, J.P., Pajor, E.A. and Mench, J.A. In press (available on-line as of May, 2006). Effects of bill-trimming on the behavior, bill morphopathology, and weight gain of Muscovy ducks. Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
In contrast to chickens, little is known about the effects of bill-trimming on the welfare of ducks. We conducted a study to determine the effects of a commercial bill-trimming method, cutting without cautery, on the behavior and bill morphopathology of ducks. Muscovy ducks were housed in 12 pens each containing 16 ducks (8 males and 8 females). Half of the ducks were trimmed (TRIM) using scissors at 20 days post-hatch, while the rest were sham-trimmed (NOTRIM). The behavior of all ducks was recorded until 12 weeks of age, at which time the bills of the male focal ducks were collected, sectioned, stained and subjected to histological analysis. TRIM showed transient decreases in bill-related behaviors, and increased resting, post-trim. There was also a transient check in weight gain. Behavioral and weight differences between TRIM and NOTRIM were no longer evident after the first week post-trim. The TRIM bills were scarred and lacked vascularization, but there were no
neuromas. It is likely that the extensive scarring prevented nerve regrowth into the bill. These results are consistent with this bill-trimming method causing acute, but not chronic, pain in Muscovy ducks. A study was also conducted to examine the effects of lighting on broiler chickens. Commercial broiler chickens are often reared in near-continuous light, which has been reported to be associated with a higher incidence of leg problems and ascites. It has also been suggested, although with little evidence, that sleep patterns are disrupted in near-continuous lighting. We examined the effect of three lighting schedules on the behavior, weight gain, and leg condition of broilers. Broilers (194 Ross 308 and 96 Ross x Cobb) were housed in environmental chambers. During the first week, all treatments received a 23L: 1D regime (100 lux and 1 lux during the photophase and scotophase, respectively. On day 7, each chamber was assigned a lighting regime of either 23L: 1D, 20L: 4D, or 16L: 8D
for weeks 2-5 (20 lux photophase and 1 lux scotophase). At day 35, all chambers were put on a 23L: 1D regime to stimulate compensatory growth. Behavior was observed continuously 2 days per week, and the broilers were gait scored using a 0-5 system at 42 days of age. Broilers showed few differences in their overall pattern of behavior regardless of photoperiod. However, birds given a longer dark period of 8 hours did sleep more than broilers given either 4 or 6 hours of darkness. There was no effect on production of providing a longer dark period. In contrast to previous studies, photoperiod length had no effect on gait score. However, a long light period was associated with more total external lesions and more leg bruising.
Impacts
These results are important to the duck and broiler industries, and also address public concerns about the welfare of food animals. Bill-trimming of Muscovy ducks is used to prevent damaging feather pecking and cannibalism in flocks, but it is a potentially painful procedure that could have long-term effects on the behavior of the ducks. Our results show that the pain associated with this procedure is transient, and suggest that pain management (for example, providing analgesics) in the immediate post-trim period could be effective in improving welfare while still retaining the benefits of trimming. The results of the broiler project suggest that providing a longer dark period can be beneficial in increasing sleep in broilers, with no negative economic effects; however, this would need to be tested on a larger scale more typical of commercial production conditions.
Publications
- Blatchford, R., Mench, J.A., and P. Wakenell. 2005. The effect of scotophase length on broiler behavior and welfare. Proceedings of the 39th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (eds. R. Kusunose and S. Sato), Kanagawa, Japan, p. 67.
- Gustafson, L., Cheng H-W., Garner, J.P., Pajor, E. and J.A. Mench. 2005. Effects of bill trimming on the welfare of ducks. Proceedings of the 39th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, (eds. R. Kusunose and S. Sato) Kanagawa, Japan, p. 56.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
Two goals were addressed during this year of the project: 1) to determine whether providing opportunities for increased behavioral activity in broiler chickens is effective in decreasing skeletal problems; and 2) to assess the effects of bill-trimming on pain in ducks. Two experiments were conducted to address the first goal. In these experiments, broiler chickens were reared either in standard pens or with various combinations of enrichments, including perches, ramps, and platforms placed in front of the feeder. These enrichments were found to be effective in improving walking ability, as measured by gait scores, although no effect on specific categories of leg problems, such as femoral head necrosis or tibial dyschondroplasia, could be detected. To address the second goal, Muscovy ducks were either bill-trimmed (by cutting the beak with scissors at 3 weeks of age, according to standard industry practice) or not trimmed. Feather pecking and cannibalism were observed
in the non-trimmed ducks beginning at 3 weeks of age. Trimmed ducks showed signs of pain such as decreased bill-related activities (feeding, drinking, pecking) and a check in weight gain. However, these signs were transient, lasting for only 1 week. Morphopathological analysis of the bills showed no evidence of neuroma formation, which is an indicator of chronic pain. However, trimmed bills did show scarring and lacked blood vessels. These findings suggest that there is acute, but not chronic, pain associated with this method of bill-trimming.
Impacts
Our studies indicate that relatively simple and inexpensive structural changes (e.g. addition of perches) to broiler pens could help to improve walking ability. Lameness in broiler chickens is both an economic and animal welfare issue, so this result is important to the broiler industry. The finding that bill-trimming of Muscovy ducks causes acute, but not chronic, pain is also of importance to the poultry industry. Bill-trimming is currently necessary to prevent feather pecking and cannibalism, and short-term pain can potentially be controlled by management practices (e.g. giving an analgesic).
Publications
- Mench, J.A. 2004. Lameness. In: Measuring and Auditing Broiler Welfare, eds. C.A. Weeks and A. Butterworth. CABI, Wallingford, U.K., pp. 3-18.
- Shields, S.J., Garner, J.P. and Mench, J.A. 2004. A comparison of the behavior of broiler chickens raised on two different bedding types. Poultry Science 83, Supplement 1, p 83. Falcone, C., Mench, J.A. and Wakenell. 2004. Can perches and platforms affect the incidence of gait abnormalities in broiler chickens? Poultry Science 83, Supplement 1, p 362.
- Gustafson, L., Cheng, H-W., Pajor, E. and Mench, J.A. 2004. Effects of bill trimming on the welfare of Muscovy ducks. Poultry Science 83, Supplement 1, p 261.
- Falcone, C., Mench, J.A. and Wakenell, P. 2004. Effect of perches and platforms on lameness in broiler chickens. In Proceedings of the 38th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Helsinki, Finland, p. 122.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
There were two goals for the first year of the project: 1) to determine whether providing opportunities for increased behavioral activity (e.g. dustbathing) for broiler chickens is effective in decreasing skeletal problems; and 2) to assess the effects of bill-trimming on the behavior of Muscovy ducks to determine whether or not the bill-trimming procedure is painful. Three experiments were conducted to address the first goal. In Experiment 1, broilers were deprived of the opportunity to dustbathe for 24 hours. Dusbathing substrate preferences of 28 broilers reared on the most commonly used bedding material, wood shavings, were then tested in a choice test each week from 1-7 weeks of age. The broilers strongly preferred to dustbathe in sand as compared to wood shavings, a recycled paper product, or rice hulls. This preference was seen at all ages. In Experiment 2, therefore, 60 broilers were housed in pens that were divided down the middle so that half of the pen
could be bedded in wood shavings, and half in the preferred substrate, sand. Activity patterns were monitored from 1-6 weeks of age. As the birds aged, they spent more time on the sand side of the pen and used the sand more than the wood shavings for several active behaviors, including dustbathing, walking, and foraging. This suggested that housing broilers on sand might increase activity sufficiently to decrease leg problems. Therefore, in Experiment 3, 400 broilers were housed in pens bedded only either in sand or wood shavings, and their activity monitored from weeks 1-6 of age. There were no treatment differences in behavior. Thus, although broiler prefer sand for dustbathing and other activities and will use this substrate if it is available, if no choice is provided the behaviors will still be performed at the same frequency on a less-preferred substrate. Providing sand as bedding is therefore unlikely to increase activity sufficiently to affect leg problems. To address the
second objective, 64 Muscovy ducks were either bill-trimmed or non-trimmed. Bill-trimming was conducted using one standard industry procedure, which involves cutting the hook from the bill using scissors at 3 weeks of age. After trimming, the behavior of the ducks was observed until they were market age (10-12 weeks of age), to assess whether there was acute pain associated with the procedure. The bills were then collected for neurological analysis, which will provide evidence regarding any chronic pain associated with trimming. The data are currently being analyzed.
Impacts
Although broilers prefer sand to other commonly-available bedding materials, and will perform more of their active behaviors on sand if it is available, bedding pens in wood shavings does not appear to be detrimental to the birds behavior. This result is of importance to the poultry industry in considering the selection of bedding types to best provide for the health and welfare of the birds.
Publications
- Shields, S.J., Garner, J.P. and Mench, J.A. 2003. A comparison of broiler chicken behavior on two different bedding types. In Proceedings of the 37th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Abano Terme, Italy, p. 235.
- Shields, S.J., Garner, J.P. and Mench, J.A. 2003. Dustbathing by broiler chickens: a comparison of preference for four different substrates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. In press.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
The overall goal of this project is to provide scientific evidence regarding certain aspects of poultry welfare that can contribute to the development of best management practices by poultry producers. This is a new project, so there is nothing to report at the present time. However, the goal for the first year of the project is to pursue two of the specific objectives: 1) To assess the effects of bill-trimming on the behavior and beak condition of Muscovy ducks; and 2) To determine whether providing opportunities for increased behavioral activity (in the form of dustbathing and perching behavior) is effective in decreasing skeletal problems in broiler chickens.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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