Behavior of the Domestic Fowl in the Presence of Vertical Panels

Abstract

The effects of environmental complexity on the time budget of chickens were investigated. It was hypothesized that the provision of vertical panels to pen centers would generate additional protective areas within the pen, influencing the amount of time spent performing different behaviors. The experiment consisted of three cover treatments (mesh panels, frame panels, and no cover) and two group sizes (80 and 110). Vertical panels, constructed of polyvinyl chloride piping, were positioned in pen centers, whereas pen centers in the no-cover treatment were left empty. Drinking, dust bathing, feeding, foraging, movement, preening, resting, and standing were recorded during continuous focal sampling of 210 focal individuals from 5 to 44 d of age. Resting was the most frequent behavior accounting for over 64% of the chicken time budget. Resting time was influenced by the presence of cover (P < 0.01), and was higher in pens enriched with panels. Time spent moving and standing in the different pen regions was influenced by the presence of cover (P < 0.01) and age (P < 0.05). The presence of cover did not influence time spent feeding or drinking, but both behaviors were affected by age (P < 0.05). The presence of cover influenced time spent foraging, which occurred more often in the pens containing no panels (P = 0.05). Preening and dust bathing were the only behaviors influenced by group size (P < 0.05). These results suggest that incorporating enrichment into the environment does influence the time a chicken will spend performing different behaviors.