Abstract
The pecking behavior [severe feather, gentle feather, and aggressive pecks (AP)] of individual White Shaver non-cage laying hens (n = 300) was examined at 21, 24, 27, 32, and 37 weeks. Hens were housed in 30 groups of 10 hens each and on 3 cm litter with access to a feeder, perch, and two nest boxes. The number of severe feather pecks given (SFPG) and received (SFPR) was used to categorize hens as feather peckers (P), victims (V), neutrals (N), or feather pecker-victims (PV) at each age. Hens categorized as PV exhibited pecking behaviors similar to P and received pecks similar to V. SFP given were correlated with APs given, but not with gentle feather pecks (GFP) given throughout the study. State-transition plot maps illustrated that 22.5% of P remained P, while 44% of PV remained PV throughout the duration of the study. Lifetime behavioral categories identified hens as a consistent feather pecker (5%), consistent neutral (3.9%), consistent victim (7.9%), consistent feather pecker-victim (29.4%), or inconsistent (53.8%) in their behavioral patterns throughout their life. Consistent feather peckers performed more SFP than hens of other categories, and consistent neutral hens received fewer GFP than consistent feather PV. No differences in corticosterone or whole blood serotonin levels were observed among the categories. Approximately, half of the population was classified as a feather pecker at least once during the study, while the remainder was never categorized as a feather pecker. Therefore, even if the development and cause of feather pecking may be multifactorial, once the behavior has been developed, some hens may persist in feather pecking. However, as some hens were observed to never receive or perform SFP, emphasis should be made to select for these hens in future breeding practices.
Highlights
Behavioral syndromes in nature are the result of natural selection for optimal survival in different environments [1]
As agricultural animals have been selected for high productivity and low input costs, we may have inadvertently selected, housed, or managed for individuals that perform unwanted behaviors that have severe social and environmental ramifications, such as the socially transmitted behavior of feather pecking in laying hens [2, 3]
Feather pecking is a welfare concern for laying hens as well as an economic concern for the producer as this detrimental behavior can damage feather cover causing increased feed costs as well as result in injury and potentially cannibalism that is very difficult to control [4]. This worldwide phenomenon is present in flocks of laying hens that differ in flock size [4], stocking density [5, 6], hen strain [7], or housing system [8]
Summary
Behavioral syndromes in nature are the result of natural selection for optimal survival in different environments [1]. Feather pecking is a welfare concern for laying hens as well as an economic concern for the producer as this detrimental behavior can damage feather cover causing increased feed costs as well as result in injury and potentially cannibalism that is very difficult to control [4]. This worldwide phenomenon is present in flocks of laying hens that differ in flock size [4], stocking density [5, 6], hen strain [7], or housing system [8]. Hens that do not engage in pecking behavior may consistently avoid these types of interactions – yet the validity of this assumption has not been verified
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