Department of Animal Science, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.
SARDI South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), Roseworthy Campus, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5371, Australia.
Poult Sci. 2020 May;99(5):2307-2314. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2019.11.068. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
Severe feather pecking is frequently associated with impaired egg production, poor hen welfare, and increased mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of pecking stones to ameliorate the incidence of feather pecking. A total of 18 flocks of Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to control (n = 9 no pecking stone access) or treatment (n = 9 pecking stone access) flocks and housed in commercial fixed sheds (farm A, n = 10) or commercial mobile sheds (farm B, n = 8) differing in various housing conditions. Beak length, feather score, egg production, and mortality were evaluated at 16 wk of age and every 10 wk until at least 46 wk of age. On farm A, hens with access to pecking stones had significantly lower mortality than hens without pecking stone access (P = 0.001). A significant interaction between pecking stone and age was observed on feather scores of wings of hens housed in farm A. Hens of the pecking stone group in farm A had higher wing feather score (indicating better feather condition) at the age of 56 and 66 wk than hens with no access to pecking stones (pecking stone × age, P = 0.002). The age of the hens was significantly associated with lower overall feather scores (poorer feather condition), reduced egg production, and higher mortality (P < 0.05). Although pecking stones reduced some feather loss and mortality, this effect was only present on one farm and therefore may be related to farm management. Especially the impact of pecking stones on mortality was inconclusive as the cumulative mortality in farm B was nearly twice as high compared with that in control flocks. Further investigations are warranted including the effects of pecking stone provision at an early age such as during rearing (0-17 wk of age).
严重的啄羽行为常常与产蛋性能下降、母鸡福利差和死亡率增加有关。本研究旨在探讨啄癖石对啄羽发生率的潜在改善作用。将 18 个海兰褐蛋鸡群随机分为对照组（n=9 无啄癖石）和处理组（n=9 有啄癖石），并分别安置在商业固定鸡舍（农场 A，n=10）或商业移动鸡舍（农场 B，n=8）中，这些鸡舍在各种饲养条件方面存在差异。在 16 周龄和至少 46 周龄时，评估鸡只的喙长、羽毛评分、产蛋率和死亡率。在农场 A，有啄癖石的母鸡死亡率显著低于无啄癖石的母鸡（P=0.001）。在农场 A 中，有啄癖石的母鸡和无啄癖石的母鸡的翅膀羽毛评分存在啄癖石与年龄的显著交互作用。在农场 A，有啄癖石组的母鸡在 56 和 66 周龄时翅膀羽毛评分较高（羽毛状况较好），而无啄癖石组的母鸡没有（啄癖石×年龄，P=0.002）。母鸡的年龄与整体羽毛评分降低（羽毛状况变差）、产蛋率降低和死亡率升高显著相关（P<0.05）。尽管啄癖石减少了一些羽毛损失和死亡率，但这种效果仅在一个农场存在，因此可能与农场管理有关。特别是啄癖石对死亡率的影响尚不确定，因为农场 B 的累积死亡率几乎是对照组的两倍。有必要进行进一步的调查，包括在早期（0-17 周龄）提供啄癖石对母鸡的影响。
