Perching Behaviour and Preferences for Different Perch Designs Among Laying Hens
Non-cage systems for housing laying hens often incorporate a framework of perches, allowing birds to move in three dimensions. Wood is predominantly used for perch construction, because it is relatively cheap and easy to work with. However, wooden perches are difficult to clean and disinfect, which could lead to disease and discomfort for the birds […]
Behaviour of Laying Hens Negotiating Perches at Different Heights
Research into the responses of hens on perches is important in order to assess the welfare impact of alternative systems for egg production which incorporate perches in their design. Previous studies suggest that many flight and landing accidents occur in such systems as birds attempt to move between perches and facilities, resulting in a high […]
The Push-Door for Measuring Motivation in Hens: Laying Hens are Motivated to Perch at Night
Free-living hens perch on branches in trees and domestic hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) show signs of unrest if they cannot reach a perch, suggesting that night-time perching is a behaviour that hens are motivated to perform. This motivation was quantified in two experiments using a weighted push-door that hens had to push open in order […]
The ability of laying hens to negotiate perches of different materials with clean or dirty surfaces
Increasingly, perches for laying hens are being made from metals and plastics. There is nothing in the literature regarding how easily birds jump between perches of different materials, or how their ability to do so changes with faecal contamination of the perches. Forty-four medium hybrid brown hens negotiated perches of wood (5 cm × 5 […]
The influence of access to aerial perches on fearfulness, social behaviour and production parameters in free-range laying hens
The aim of this trial was to determine the influence of aerial perches on welfare and production parameters in free-range laying hens. Five commercial free-range houses, each containing between 7000 and 8000 birds, were used. Each house and range area was split in half to create two treatments. In half of the house the birds […]
Environmental complexity and use of space in slow growing free range chickens
Production environments for meat poultry are generally bi-dimensional open areas where birds tend to cluster along the walls. We investigated the impact of increasing environmental complexity (EC) on slow-growing free-range chickens raised under commercial conditions. The study was conducted in four farms, each with three independent houses and outdoor ranges that were outfitted with panels, […]
Effects of panels and perches on the behaviour of commercial slow-growing free-range meat chickens
Environmental enrichment has the potential to benefit the welfare of farm animals. In poultry, panels and perches are two of the most commonly used forms of enrichment but few studies have determined their effects under commercial conditions. The aim of this work was to assess the impact of these forms of enrichment on the behaviour […]