Abstract
Modification of perchery system: Preference for ramps rather than ladders during early adaptation period for cage-reared pullets
Highlights
Movements and behavioral repertoire of birds are restricted in conventional cages because of the limited space and barren environment[1,2,3,4], which is thought unfriendly for animal welfare
3.1 Distribution of hens during adaptation period Percentages of hens on the 1st tier, the 3rd tier, on modification facilities and on perches were significantly affected by interaction of modification × days of adaptation and modification × compartment, indicating distinct adaptation condition over time with different modification and difference in separate compartments (Table 2)
In ladder group, the majority of birds stayed on system floor instead, 85.0% for daytime and 89.6% for the night on the 14th day, which was nearly or more than four times the percentages compared with ramp group
Summary
Movements and behavioral repertoire of birds are restricted in conventional cages because of the limited space and barren environment[1,2,3,4], which is thought unfriendly for animal welfare. Cage-free systems, mostly well-known like aviaries, which featured multi-tier levels of three-dimensional space[8] and have either integrated nest boxes or separate ones, are increasingly being used in production as alternative systems for conventional cages[9]. Such systems provide birds more space and opportunities to perform more natural behaviors[4,10] so as to improve the bone strength of birds[3,11,12]. Several problems remain in practice regarding the use of three-dimensional space, with which health condition of birds and production performance are related
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