Meuser Verena, Weinhold Leonie, Hillemacher Sonja, Tiemann Inga
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Institute for Medical Biometry, Informatics and Epidemiology, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Mar 4;11(3):679. doi: 10.3390/ani11030679.
Fear and exploration are crucial traits determining how animals behave in novel situations, and thus, they influence animal welfare. The aim of this study was the characterization of these behavioral traits among different strains to identify interesting alternatives for future poultry production. Whereas the Novel Object Test (NOT) focuses on fear and exploration of novel objects, the Avoidance Distance Test (ADT) addresses this in the context of humans. Here, a commercial hybrid line, a dual-purpose hybrid and a local adapted strain were tested. For the differences between strains and development of fear, Lohmann Brown ( = 714), Lohmann Dual ( = 844) and Rhinelander ( = 458) were observed weekly until maturity. Results show that fear and exploration towards unknown objects and humans are breed-specific (all < 0.01). Additionally, development of fear in NOT and ADT differed between all three strains (both < 0.01). The expressions of fear of humans or objects should be regarded as characteristics adapted for different husbandry systems and breeding goals, e.g., high exploratory behavior in aviary or high avoidance of predators in free-ranging husbandry or at least a balanced ratio between fear and exploration. Characterization of behavioral traits among different strains, understanding diversity and integrating these behaviors into future breeding and husbandry systems might reflect the need to preserve local strains and the potential to improve animal welfare.
恐惧和探索是决定动物在新环境中行为方式的关键特性，因此，它们会影响动物福利。本研究的目的是对不同品系的这些行为特性进行表征，以便为未来的家禽生产找到有趣的替代方案。虽然新物体测试（NOT）侧重于对新物体的恐惧和探索，但回避距离测试（ADT）则是在人类环境中对此进行研究。在此，对一个商业杂交品系、一个兼用品系和一个本地适应品系进行了测试。为了观察品系间的差异以及恐惧的发展情况，每周对罗曼褐（n = 714）、罗曼兼用型（n = 844）和莱茵兰（n = 458）进行观察，直至其成熟。结果表明，对未知物体和人类的恐惧及探索具有品种特异性（所有p < 0.01）。此外，在新物体测试和回避距离测试中，所有三个品系的恐惧发展情况均存在差异（两者p < 0.01）。对人类或物体的恐惧表现应被视为适应不同饲养系统和育种目标的特性，例如，在禽舍中具有高探索行为，或在自由放养饲养中高度回避捕食者，或者至少在恐惧和探索之间保持平衡比例。对不同品系行为特性的表征、理解多样性并将这些行为整合到未来的育种和饲养系统中，可能反映出保护本地品系的必要性以及改善动物福利的潜力。
