Feather Pecking and Cannibalism in Non-Beak-Trimmed Laying Hen Flocks—Farmers’ Perspectives

Controlling Feather Pecking & Cannibalism in Laying Hens without Beak Trimming

Modelling of feather pecking behavior in beak-trimmed and non-beak-trimmed crossbred laying hens: variance component and trait-based approach.

Because of a ban on the use of beak trimming in some European countries, feather pecking is becoming a substantial problem in the layer industry, both from animal welfare and economic points of view. The feather condition score (FCS) as a measure of feather damage has been shown to be closely related to feather pecking behavior in laying hens housed in groups. To obtain a better understanding o...

Effect of manipulating feathers of laying hens on the incidence of feather pecking and cannibalism.

Feather pecking is a problem in commercial laying hens, particularly in loose-housing systems, where many hens can be affected by only a few feather peckers. In addition, feather pecking can become an even larger problem if it spreads throughout the flock. There are several possible ways that feather pecking may spread. The simplest way is that one hen may damage the feathers of a hen, and anot...

Genetic parameters of natural antibody isotypes and survival analysis in beak-trimmed and non-beak-trimmed crossbred laying hens.

Natural antibodies (NAb) are important humoral components of innate immunity. As the first line of defense, NAb provide protection against infection and support adaptive immunity. An earlier study indicated that serum levels of NAb isotypes IgM and IgG at a young age were predictive for survival in non-beak-trimmed purebred laying hens during the laying period. In the present study, genetic par...

Relationship between feather pecking and ground pecking in laying hens and the effect of group size.

The aim of this experiment was to study the relationship between feather pecking and ground pecking in laying hens and the effect of group size on feather pecking behaviour. Hisex White hens were kept in floor pens in group sizes of 15, 30, 60 and 120 birds, each with four replicates. Behavioural observations were performed at four different ages and focused on the number of feather pecks and a...