The effect of water deprivation on the behavior of broiler chickens.

Abstract

Chronic thirst is a threat to animal wellbeing. We examined whether behavior can be a useful indicator of thirst in broiler chickens that were deprived of water for 0, 6, 12 or 24 hours. Half of the chickens was familiar with the open drinker. There were 16 pens, with four chickens in each pen, in eight treatments, in a combination of the water deprivation period and familiarity to the drinker. Each individual was observed for -30 minutes. The frequency of drinking behavior was higher in the 12 h and 24 h deprived groups, compared to the 0 h deprived groups. This difference was significant between the groups who where familiar with the drinker and those who were not. Drinking duration was higher in the 6 h and 24 h deprived groups, compared to the 0 h deprived groups. Chickens that were familiar with the drinker drank longer. The 6 h, 12 h and 24 h deprived groups started to drink earlier than the 0 h deprived groups. The groups who were familiar with the drinker, drank earlier. The frequency of explorative behavior towards the drinker was higher in the 24 h deprived groups and in the groups who were familiar with the drinker. However, this was not the case for the groups who were 24 h deprived and not familiar with the drinker. The results suggest that behavior can form an indicator for thirst in broiler chickens and that familiarity with the drinker plays an important role.