A risk assessment of health, production, and resource occupancy for 4 laying hen strains across the lay cycle in a commercial-style aviary system

Abstract

Different strains of commercial laying hens have been molded by varying selection pressures, impacting their production, health, and behavior. Therefore, assumptions that all laying hen strains use the given resources within aviary systems similarly and maintain equal health and performance may be false. We investigated interactions among patterns of aviary resource use by 2 strains of white and 2 strains of brown laying hens (4 units per strain, 144 hens per unit) with daily egg production, location of egg laying, keel fractures, and footpad damage across the lay cycle. Hens' distribution among resources (litter, nest, wire floor, ledge, and perch) was recorded during light and dark periods at 28, 54, and 72 wk of age. Daily egg production and location were recorded, and 20% of hens per unit were randomly selected and assessed for keel bone damage, foot health, and plumage quality. Production and health risks associated with hens' resource use were assessed using multivariable regression. During the day, more brown hens occupied wire floors, while larger numbers of white hens were on perches and litter. More brown hens were on lower-tier wire floors in the dark, while more white hens occupied top tiers. Brown hens laid more eggs outside nests, showed lower incidence of keel fractures, and had better plumage quality than white hens. White hens had higher odds of keel fractures (4.2) than brown hens. Odds of keel fractures were 3.7 and 5.7 times higher at 54 and 72 wk than at 28 wk in all strains (P ≤ 0.05). Occupying the upper tier at night increased odds of keel fractures by 5.4 times. Occupying perches was associated with lower odds of foot lesions and poor plumage quality in all strains across the lay cycle (P ≤ 0.05). Finally, white hens were associated with lower odds of non-nest laying (0.76), whereas higher nest use by brown hens resulted in higher odds of non-nest egg laying (1.56) across the lay cycle (P ≤ 0.05). Distinct strain differences in resource use in an aviary were associated with different risks to hens' production, health, and welfare.