Ontogeny of behavior of hand-reared and hen-reared captive houbara bustards
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:33.3.CO;2-# The ontogeny of behavior of hand-reared and hen-reared captive houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata) was recorded between hatching and fledging and compared to determine ways to improve the behavioral and physiological health of individuals destined for release into the wild. Chicks from both groups were able to walk and run on the first day […]
Killing day-old chicks? Public opinion regarding potential alternatives
Throughout the world, male chicks from layer breeds are killed just after hatching, as they are not profitable as regards the production of meat. The Dutch and European parliaments have insisted on research into possible alternatives to the killing of day-old chicks. In the present study we have investigated Dutch public opinion on the acceptability […]
How birds use their eyes: Opposite left-right specialization for the lateral and frontal visual hemifield in the domestic chick
Recent evidence has demonstrated that, in animals with laterally placed eyes, functional cerebral asymmetry is revealed by preferential use of either the left or right eye in a range of behaviors (birds: [[1, 2, 3]]; fish: [[4, 5]]; reptiles: [[6, 7]]). These findings pose a theoretical problem. It seems that there would be disadvantages in […]
Nutritional and physical characteristics of commercial hand-feeding formulas for parrots
Hand-rearing is a common practice for the propagation of captive psittacines, however, research on their nutrition is limited and the requirements of growing chicks are not well understood. The nutrition of 15 commercially available parrot hand-feeding formulas was compared with the average content of the crops of free living Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) chicks, as […]
Comparison of the tonic immobility duration, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, and fluctuating asymmetry of chicks reared with or without a broody hen, and of broody and non-broody hens
The purposes of this study were to determine whether rearing with a broody hen influenced duration of tonic immobility, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, and relative fluctuating asymmetry of chicks and to analyze the differences between broody and non-broody hens in fear and stress indicators. A total of 120 chicks (60 reared with a broody hen […]
Use of space by domestic chicks housed in complex aviaries
To improve the understanding of the development of locomotor capacity in layer hens, we measured how female laying hen chicks (n = 120) of four different strains (LSL-lite, Hyline Brown, Dekalb White, Lohmann Brown; 3 groups of 10 chicks per line) utilized the ground, the air, elevated horizontal (platforms and perches) and inclined surfaces (ramps […]