Schürmann Pia, Becker Senta, Krause E Tobias, Hillemacher Sonja, Büscher Wolfgang, Tiemann Inga
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, 29223 Celle, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Sep 10;13(18):2879. doi: 10.3390/ani13182879.
Improving animal welfare is a prerequisite for the societal acceptance of poultry production. Support for improvements requires practical tools to quantify animal welfare and identify predispositions at the individual level, where possible. In this study, the activities and behavior of dual-purpose chickens (N = 245) and commercial breeders (N = 224) were analyzed. The general locomotor activity (GLA) data were collected using an RFID system over five days with 9-to-14-week-old animals. The results show that the animals of comparable age and stocking density differed from each other in their activity ( ≤ 0.001) according to breed, but no sex differences were observed ( = 0.159). No correlations were found between GLA and plumage condition ( > 0.05). The individual variations within the breeds are presented and discussed on an animal-by-animal level, providing new insights into the individual behavioral variability of chickens. The RFID systems can reliably generate GLA data that help to understand the potential interplay between behavior and animal welfare. The technology is also suitable for creating individual (personality) profiles that can be used for breeding. With a better understanding of the role of activity, husbandry and management practices can be adapted to improve animal welfare.
改善动物福利是家禽生产获得社会认可的前提条件。要支持相关改善措施，就需要实用工具来量化动物福利，并尽可能在个体层面识别易感性。在本研究中，分析了兼用型鸡（N = 245）和商业育种鸡（N = 224）的活动与行为。使用射频识别（RFID）系统在9至14周龄的动物身上收集了五天的总体运动活动（GLA）数据。结果表明，年龄和饲养密度相当的动物，其活动根据品种不同而存在差异（≤0.001），但未观察到性别差异（= 0.159）。未发现GLA与羽毛状况之间存在相关性（> 0.05）。在个体层面展示并讨论了各品种内的个体差异，为鸡的个体行为变异性提供了新见解。RFID系统能够可靠地生成GLA数据，有助于理解行为与动物福利之间的潜在相互作用。该技术还适用于创建可用于育种的个体（个性）档案。通过更好地理解活动的作用，可以调整饲养和管理措施以改善动物福利。
