Assessment of pre-laying motivation in the domestic hen using social interaction
While much is known about the hormonal basis of pre-laying behaviour of domestic hens,Gallus gallus domesticuslittle is known about how the behaviour is initiated or how changes in this behaviour occur. An experiment was conducted in which hens had to overcome an aversive task, during the course of pre-laying behaviour, in order to reach a […]
Motivational aspects of individual variation in response to nestboxes by laying hens
Laying hens,Gallus gallus domesticusshow individual variation in pre-laying behaviour including their ultimate choice of nest site. In housing systems with nestboxes, the majority of hens make a small number of long visits to nestboxes and lay their eggs therein, but some hens make many short visits and occasionally lay outside the nestbox. We investigated the […]