Effects of cage height and stocking density on the frequency of comfort behaviours performed by laying hens housed in furnished cages
Spatial restriction and low cage height can reduce the rate at which comfort activities, such as wing flaps, stretching, body shakes and tail wags, are carried out by laying hens in conventional wire cages. In this study we investigated the performance of these activities in laying hens housed in furnished cages with perches and nest […]
The effect of group size and stocking density on the welfare and performance of hens housed in furnished cages during summer
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of group size and stocking density on the welfare and performance of hens housed in furnished cage systems during summer. A total of 924 Hy-Line Brown hens were assigned to three housing systems: a standard battery cage system (control, 4 hens per cage and 398 […]
Astroturf as a dustbathing substrate for laying hens
Furnished cages for laying hens often contain an Astroturf (AT) pad which may be sprinkled with feed to promote foraging and dustbathing. We evaluated AT and AT plus feed (ATF) to determine if hens use these substrates for dustbathing. Hens (N = 30) without prior exposure to substrate were housed singly in cages at 34 […]