Department of Animal Biosciences and The Campbell Center for the Study of Animal Welfare, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E., N1G 2W1.
L. H. Gray and Son Limited, Strathroy, ON. N7G 3H8.
Poult Sci. 2017 Sep 1;96(11):3805-3815. doi: 10.3382/ps/pex197.
There are few published data on the effects of housing laying hens at different densities in large furnished cages (FC; a.k.a. enriched colony cages). The objective of this study was to determine the effects of housing laying hens at 2 space allowances (SA) in 2 sizes of FC on measures of production and well-being. At 18 wk of age, 1,218 LSL-Lite hens were housed in cages furnished with a curtained nesting area, perches, and scratch mat, and stocked at either 520 cm2 (Low) or 748 cm2 (High) total floor space. This resulted in 4 group sizes: 40 vs. 28 birds in smaller FC (SFC) and 80 vs. 55 in larger FC (LFC). Data were collected from 20 to 72 wks of age. There was no effect of cage size (P = 0.21) or SA (P = 0.37) on hen day egg production, egg weight (PSize = 0.90; PSA = 0.73), or eggshell deformation (PSize = 0.14; PSA = 0.053), but feed disappearance was higher in SFC than LFC (P = 0.005). Mortality to 72 wk was not affected by cage size (P = 0.78) or SA (P = 0.55). BW (P = 0.006) and BW CV (P = 0.008) increased with age but were not affected by treatment. Feather cleanliness was poorer in FC with low SA vs. high (P < 0.0001) and small vs. large FC (P < 0.0001). Feather condition was poorer in low SA (P = 0.048) and the best in small cages with high SA (P = 0.006), but deteriorated in all treatments over time (P < 0.0001). Treatments did not affect the breaking strengths of femur, tibia, or humerus, proportions of birds suffering keel deformations, or foot health scores. Overall, the SA studied in the 2 cage sizes in this trial had few effects on production parameters. However, stocking birds at the lower space allowance resulted in some measures of poorer external condition in both sizes of FC, which indicates that the welfare of hens housed at the lower space allowance may be compromised according to some welfare assessment criteria.
关于在大型有家具的笼（FC；也称为富集鸡舍笼）中以不同密度饲养蛋鸡的影响，发表的数据很少。本研究的目的是确定在 2 种 FC 空间允许量（SA）下以 2 种大小饲养蛋鸡对生产和福利措施的影响。在 18 周龄时，将 1218 只 LSL-Lite 母鸡饲养在装有帷幕式产蛋区、栖木和挠痒垫的笼中，并以 520 cm2（低）或 748 cm2（高）的总占地面积进行饲养。这导致了 4 种鸡群大小：较小 FC（SFC）中的 40 只与 28 只和较大 FC（LFC）中的 80 只与 55 只。数据从 20 周到 72 周龄采集。笼大小（P = 0.21）或 SA（P = 0.37）对母鸡日产蛋量、蛋重（PSize = 0.90；PSA = 0.73）或蛋壳变形（PSize = 0.14；PSA = 0.053）没有影响，但 SFC 的饲料消失率高于 LFC（P = 0.005）。到 72 周龄的死亡率不受笼大小（P = 0.78）或 SA（P = 0.55）的影响。BW（P = 0.006）和 BW CV（P = 0.008）随年龄增长而增加，但不受处理影响。与高 SA（P < 0.0001）和大 FC（P < 0.0001）相比，低 SA 的 FC 中羽毛清洁度较差。在低 SA（P = 0.048）中羽毛状况较差，在高 SA 的小笼子中状况最好（P = 0.006），但随着时间的推移，所有处理都会恶化（P < 0.0001）。处理方式不会影响股骨、胫骨或肱骨的断裂强度、龙骨畸形的鸟类比例或足部健康评分。总体而言，在这项试验的 2 种笼大小中研究的 SA 对生产参数几乎没有影响。然而，以较低的空间允许量饲养鸟类，导致在这两种大小的 FC 中都出现了一些外部状况较差的情况，这表明根据一些福利评估标准，饲养在较低空间允许量下的母鸡的福利可能会受到损害。
