Perch-shape preference and perching behaviors of young laying hens

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dc.contributor.author Liu, Kai
dc.contributor.author Xin, Hongwei
dc.contributor.author Shepherd, Timothy
dc.contributor.author Zhao, Yang
dc.contributor.author Xin, Hongwei
dc.contributor.department Animal Science
dc.contributor.department Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
dc.contributor.department Egg Industry Center
dc.date 2018-07-13T16:58:15.000
dc.date.accessioned 2020-06-29T22:43:54Z
dc.date.available 2020-06-29T22:43:54Z
dc.date.copyright Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2018
dc.date.embargo 2019-06-01
dc.date.issued 2018-06-01
dc.description.abstract <p>Provision of perches in enriched colony or cage-free hen housing facilitates birds’ ability to express natural behaviors, thus enhancing animal welfare. Although considerable research has been conducted on poultry perches, further investigation is needed of perching behavior and preference of laying hens to perch exposure and perch types. This study aimed to assess preference of young laying hens for round vs. hexagon perches and to characterize temporal perching behaviors of the young hens brought to an enriched colony setting from a cage pullet-rearing environment. A total of 42 Lohmann white hens in six equal groups, 17 weeks of age at the onset of the experiment, were used in the study. Each group of hens was housed in a wire-mesh floor pen equipped with two 120 cm long perches (one round perch at 3.2 cm dia. and one hexagon perch at 3.1 cm circumscribed dia., placed 40 cm apart and 30 cm above the floor). Each group was monitored continuously for 9 weeks. Perching behaviors during the monitoring period, including perching time, perch visit, and perching bird number, were recorded and analyzed daily using an automated perching monitoring system. Results revealed that the laying hens showed no preference between the round and hexagon perches (P = 0.59–0.98). Young laying hens without prior perching experience showed increasing use of perches over time (P < 0.01). It took up to five to seven weeks of perch exposure for young hens to show consistent perching behaviors in the enriched colony setting. This study also found that laying hens spent about 10% of daytime on the perches and over 75% of hens perched at night after approaching consistent perching behaviors. In general, the results supplemented to the existing knowledge base for the quantitative behavior study on laying hens’ temporal perch use.</p>
dc.description.comments <p>This is a manuscript of an article published as Liu, Kai, Hongwei Xin, Tim Shepherd, and Yang Zhao. "Perch-shape preference and perching behaviors of young laying hens." <em>Applied Animal Behaviour Science</em> 203 (2018): 34-41. doi: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.02.009" target="_blank">10.1016/j.applanim.2018.02.009</a>. Posted with permission.</p>
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/945/
dc.identifier.articleid 2229
dc.identifier.contextkey 12483933
dc.identifier.s3bucket isulib-bepress-aws-west
dc.identifier.submissionpath abe_eng_pubs/945
dc.identifier.uri https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/1763
dc.language.iso en
dc.source.bitstream archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/945/2018_Xin_PerchShape.pdf|||Sat Jan 15 02:33:13 UTC 2022
dc.source.uri 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.02.009
dc.subject.disciplines Agriculture
dc.subject.disciplines Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering
dc.subject.disciplines Poultry or Avian Science
dc.subject.keywords Perch utilization
dc.subject.keywords Perch preference
dc.subject.keywords Alternative housing
dc.subject.keywords Behavior and welfare
dc.subject.keywords Automated monitoring
dc.title Perch-shape preference and perching behaviors of young laying hens
dc.type article
dc.type.genre article
dspace.entity.type Publication
relation.isAuthorOfPublication 36e0a8ce-fa2e-4df4-9f67-8d1717122650
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 85ecce08-311a-441b-9c4d-ee2a3569506f
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 8eb24241-0d92-4baf-ae75-08f716d30801
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