Rodriguez-Aurrekoetxea A, Estevez I
Neiker-Tecnalia, Department of Animal Production, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
Neiker-Tecnalia, Department of Animal Production, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
Poult Sci. 2016 Nov 1;95(11):2503-2513. doi: 10.3382/ps/pew238. Epub 2016 Jul 18.
The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing patterns of space use of commercial free-range laying hens and their relation to welfare indicators. Three free-range laying hen flocks were studied during one production cycle by collecting spatial locations on 150 individually tagged hens per flock. At the end of production, welfare and morphometric measures were collected. The results indicated that use of the outdoor area was lower during midday (P < 0.05), but remained stable across age periods (P > 0.05). Tagged hens were classified according to their use of the outdoor area (heavy, medium, light, or never) per age period. A total of 49.5% were never observed using the outdoor area, which was higher than any other category (P < 0.05). In addition, the early experience of the hens using the outdoor area during the first 16 wk (20 to 36 wk) determined the level of use of the outdoor area at later ages (P < 0.05). Most use of space parameters did not vary according to age period (P > 0.05); only activity center indoors increased (P < 0.05), while mean distance from the hen house tended to increase (P = 0.053). However, birds with a higher frequency of use of the outdoor area had larger home ranges and activity centers (r = 0.956, r = 0.964 P < 0.05, respectively) and showed lower plumage damage (r = -0.337, P < 0.05) and a lower incidence of footpad dermatitis (r = -0.307, P < 0.05). On the contrary, birds showing higher total walked distance indoors showed a higher incidence of footpad dermatitis (r = 0.329, P < 0.01). We conclude that there exist individual differences in the use of the outdoor area, with early experience (20 to 36 weeks) during the production period being the most relevant factor affecting outdoor area use. Birds visiting the outdoor area more frequently also used larger areas. In addition, individual patterns of space use had some relevance on the incidence on foot pad dermatitis and plumage condition.
本研究的目的是探讨影响商业散养蛋鸡空间利用模式的因素及其与福利指标的关系。在一个生产周期内，对三个散养蛋鸡群进行了研究，每个鸡群收集了150只个体标记母鸡的空间位置。在生产结束时，收集了福利和形态测量指标。结果表明，中午期间室外区域的利用率较低（P < 0.05），但在不同年龄阶段保持稳定（P > 0.05）。根据各年龄阶段标记母鸡对室外区域的使用情况（重度、中度、轻度或从不使用）进行分类。共有49.5%的母鸡从未被观察到使用室外区域，这一比例高于其他任何类别（P < 0.05）。此外，母鸡在第16周龄（20至36周）期间使用室外区域的早期经历决定了其在后期年龄阶段对室外区域的使用水平（P < 0.05）。大多数空间利用参数在不同年龄阶段没有变化（P > 0.05）；只有室内活动中心增加（P < 0.05），而离鸡舍的平均距离有增加的趋势（P = 0.053）。然而，室外区域使用频率较高的鸡具有更大的家域和活动中心（r分别为0.956、0.964，P < 0.05），并且羽毛损伤较轻（r = -0.337，P < 0.05），脚垫皮炎发病率较低（r = -0.307，P < 0.05）。相反，室内总行走距离较长的鸡脚垫皮炎发病率较高（r = 0.329，P < 0.01）。我们得出结论，在室外区域的使用上存在个体差异，生产期间的早期经历（20至36周）是影响室外区域使用的最相关因素。更频繁访问室外区域的鸡也使用更大的区域。此外，个体空间利用模式与脚垫皮炎发病率和羽毛状况有一定关联。
