Abstract
The behaviour of ostrich chicks bred in captivity was studied by using groups with 30 birds in five age groups: from 10 to 40 days of age; from 41 to 60 days of age; from 61 to 90 days of age; from 91 to 120 days of age and from 121 to 150 days of age. Six birds at each age were ringed around one of their feet and observed for four consecutive days for eight hours daily in three periods (in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon), following the one-zero method for sampling. The order for observation of behaviour of the six selected birds was performed randomly at every thirty minutes, totalling 16 periods or 80 minutes/bird/day. Fourteen types of behaviour were observed. There were differences among ages for behaviour like standing, walking, running, ingesting stones, ingesting feces, picking and attacking. Non-parametric-tests were used to analyse the behaviour according to age of the bird and to the periods of the day. There was a statistical difference between in the morning and at noon periods on behaviours standing, walking, eating ration and in litophagia, which were observed more frequently at the first hours of the day. When periods of the morning and afternoon were compared, the birds' age had a significant effect on behaviour sand bathing. When the periods noon/afternoon were compared, the behaviours which presented significant differences were walking, running, drinking water, eating ration, litophagia, coprophagia, dancing, sand bathing, whose occurrence was the highest during dusk. It was observed that the behaviour of young ostriches diverge according to the age and to day period.
Highlights
Studies on behaviour are important for evaluation of the welfare of animals such as ostriches
The objective of this study was to evaluate the behaviour of farm-hatched ostriches in captivity from ten days to five months of age, the critical time for the development and survival of the ostriches in these rearing systems
More studies should be carried out to determine the real needs of this bird species under production system conditions in different places in the world. It was not found pecking among young ostriches or other behaviour that suggested that there is dominance or feeding order for these groups of birds
Summary
Studies on behaviour are important for evaluation of the welfare of animals such as ostriches. The African ostrich is a social species, it thrives better in groups (Bolwig, 1973). Providing conditions where the animals can express their normal behaviours is one of the basic requirements of good welfare. According to Newberry et al (2007), in the wild, pecking is a natural behaviour that leads to the establishment of a pecking order in the group. The chicken family groups are composed of one male, which holds a harem and the chicks. These authors observed that normal pecking behaviour in chickens can become pathological due to inadequate management, often leading to cannibalism
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