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Author Albentosa, M.J.; Kjaer, J.B.; Nicol, C.J. openurl 
  Title Strain and age differences in behaviour, fear response and pecking tendency in laying hens Type Journal Article
  Year 2003 Publication British poultry science Abbreviated Journal Br Poult Sci  
  Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 333-344  
  Keywords Age Factors; Aggression/*physiology; Animal Husbandry; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Breeding; Chickens/genetics/*physiology; Fear/*physiology; Feathers/*injuries; Female; Housing, Animal; Population Density; Social Behavior  
  Abstract 1. Behaviours associated with a high or low tendency to feather peck could be used as predictors of feather pecking behaviour in selective breeding programmes. This study investigated how strain and age at testing influenced responses in behavioural tests. 2. Four layer-type strains (ISA Brown, Columbian Blacktail, Ixworth and a high feather pecking (HP) and a low feather pecking (LP) line of White Leghorn) were reared in 6 same-strain/line pens of 8 birds from one day old. Birds in half the pens were given an open field test, a novel object test and a test with loose feather bundles between 4 and 12 weeks of age and a tonic immobility (TI) test at 13 weeks of age. All pens were tested with fixed feather bundles at 26 weeks, and undisturbed behaviour in the home pens was videoed at 1 and 27 weeks of age. Daily records of plumage damage were used as an indicator of feather pecking activity in the home pens. 3. Strain did not influence novel object test, open field test or loose feather test behaviour, although age effects in all three tests indicated a reduction in fearfulness and/or an increase in exploratory behaviour with increasing age. 4. White Leghorns showed longer TI durations than the other strains but less pecking at fixed feather bundles than ISA Browns and Columbian Blacktails. 5. There were few associations between behaviour in the 5 different tests, indicating that birds did not have overall behavioural traits that were consistent across different contexts. This suggests hens cannot easily be categorised into different behavioural 'types', based on their test responses and casts doubt on the usefulness of tests as predictors of feather pecking.  
  Address Centre for Behavioural Biology, Division of Farm Animal Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, England. MAlbentosa@lincoln.ac.uk  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0007-1668 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:13677322 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial (down) 80  
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Author Wilkins, L.J.; Brown, S.N.; Zimmerman, P.H.; Leeb, C.; Nicol, C.J. openurl 
  Title Investigation of palpation as a method for determining the prevalence of keel and furculum damage in laying hens Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication The Veterinary record Abbreviated Journal Vet. Rec.  
  Volume 155 Issue 18 Pages 547-549  
  Keywords Animal Husbandry/methods; Animal Welfare; Animals; Bone and Bones/*injuries; Chickens/*injuries; Female; Fractures, Bone/diagnosis/epidemiology/*veterinary; Great Britain/epidemiology; Housing, Animal/standards; Oviposition; Palpation/methods/*veterinary; Poultry Diseases/*diagnosis/epidemiology; Prevalence; Sensitivity and Specificity  
  Abstract Old breaks of the keel and furculum were identified by palpation in 500 end-of-lay hens from 10 flocks housed in free-range and barn systems, and the results were compared with the results obtained by a full dissection and inspection. The method was considered to be sufficiently precise to be used as a diagnostic tool although people using it would need to be trained. The results obtained by dissection indicated that 50 to 78 per cent of the birds in the flocks had breaks of the furculum and keel, but no other breaks of bones were detected.  
  Address Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol BS40 5DU  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0042-4900 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15559420 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial (down) 70  
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Author Haslam, S.M.; Brown, S.N.; Wilkins, L.J.; Kestin, S.C.; Warriss, P.D.; Nicol, C.J. doi  openurl
  Title Preliminary study to examine the utility of using foot burn or hock burn to assess aspects of housing conditions for broiler chicken Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication British poultry science Abbreviated Journal Br Poult Sci  
  Volume 47 Issue 1 Pages 13-18  
  Keywords Animal Husbandry; *Animal Welfare; Animals; Chickens; Dermatitis, Contact/diagnosis/pathology/*veterinary; Feathers; Female; Foot Diseases/diagnosis/pathology/*veterinary; *Housing, Animal; Male; Poultry Diseases/diagnosis/*pathology; Skin/pathology  
  Abstract 1. Eleven broiler chicken farms, representing 4 production system types, were visited during the last 5 d of the flock cycle: bird and flock details were recorded. Litter friability was assessed at 9 sites within the house, atmospheric ammonia was measured at three sites and bird cleanliness was assessed on a numerical rating scale. 2. For these flocks, hock burn, foot burn and breast burn were measured at the processing plant by standardised assessors. 3. Significant correlations were identified between the percentage of birds with foot burn and average litter score, average house ammonia concentrations and feather score. 4. No correlation was found between the percentage of birds with hock burn or breast burn and average litter scores, average ammonia concentrations or feather score. 5. No correlation was found between stocking density and foot burn, hock burn or breast burn.6. If confirmed, these findings may have implications for the draft EU Broiler Directive, for which it is proposed that permitted stocking density on farm may be determined by the incidence and severity of contact dermatitis measured on plant.  
  Address Division of Farm Animal Science, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, England. sue.haslam@bris.ac.uk  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0007-1668 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16546791 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial (down) 66  
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Author Nicol, C.J.; Brown, S.N.; Glen, E.; Pope, S.J.; Short, F.J.; Warriss, P.D.; Zimmerman, P.H.; Wilkins, L.J. doi  openurl
  Title Effects of stocking density, flock size and management on the welfare of laying hens in single-tier aviaries Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication British poultry science Abbreviated Journal Br Poult Sci  
  Volume 47 Issue 2 Pages 135-146  
  Keywords Animal Husbandry/*methods; *Animal Welfare; Animals; Body Constitution/*physiology; Chickens/*physiology; Crowding; Feathers; Female; *Housing, Animal/standards; Mortality; Organ Size; Oviposition/physiology; Population Density; Population Dynamics; Random Allocation  
  Abstract Management practices, stocking rate and flock size may affect laying hen welfare but there have been few replicated studies in commercial non-cage systems that investigate this. This study used a broad range of physical and physiological indicators to assess the welfare of hens in 36 commercial flocks. Six laying period treatments were examined with each treatment replicated 6 times. It was not possible to randomly allocate treatments to houses, so treatment and house were largely confounded. Three stocking rates were compared: 7 birds/m(2) (n = 2450), 9 birds/m(2) (n = 3150) and 12 birds/m(2) in either small (n = 2450) or large (n = 4200) flocks. In addition, at 12 birds/m(2), in both small and large flocks, birds were subjected to either standard (SM) or modified (MM) management. MM flocks had nipple drinkers and no nest-box lights. Bone strength, fracture incidence, heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, live weight, organ weights, serum creatine, serum osmolality, muscle pH and faecal corticosterone were measured on samples of birds at the end of the rearing period and at the end of lay. During the laying period, mortality, production and integument condition were recorded at regular intervals. Birds housed at 9 birds/m(2) had higher mortality than birds housed at 12 birds/m(2) by the end of lay, but not higher than birds housed at 7 birds/m(2). Birds housed at 7 and 9 birds/m(2) had lower percent liver weight, and worse plumage condition than most of the 12 bird/m(2) treatments. Modified management tended to improve plumage condition. There were no clear effects of flock size on the welfare indicators recorded. At the end of the rearing period fracture incidence was almost negligible and H:L ratio was within a normal range. By the end of lay fracture incidence was 60% and H:L ratio was high, with no treatment effect for either measure. This, together with information on faecal corticosterone, feather loss and mortality, suggests that the welfare of birds in all treatments was relatively poor by the end of lay.  
  Address School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford BS40 5DU and ADAS Gleadthorpe, Meden Vale, Mansfield, Notts NG20 9PF, England. c.j.nicol@bristol.ac.uk  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0007-1668 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16641024 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial (down) 65  
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Author Houpt, K.A. openurl 
  Title Animal behavior and animal welfare Type Journal Article
  Year 1991 Publication Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association Abbreviated Journal J Am Vet Med Assoc  
  Volume 198 Issue 8 Pages 1355-1360  
  Keywords *Animal Welfare; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Cats/*psychology; Hoof and Claw/surgery; Horses/*psychology; Housing, Animal  
  Abstract The value of behavioral techniques in assessing animal welfare, and in particular assessing the psychological well being of animals, is reviewed. Using cats and horses as examples, 3 behavioral methods are presented: (1) comparison of behavior patterns and time budgets; (2) choice tests; and (3) operant conditioning. The behaviors of intact and declawed cats were compared in order to determine if declawing led to behavioral problems or to a change in personality. Apparently it did not. The behavior of free ranging horses was compared with that of stabled horses. Using two-choice preference tests, the preference of horses for visual contact with other horses and the preference for bedding were determined. Horses show no significant preference for locations from which they can make visual contact with other horses, but they do prefer bedding, especially when lying down. Horses will perform an operant response in order to obtain light in a darkened barn or heat in an outside shed. These same techniques can be used to answer a variety of questions about an animal's motivation for a particular attribute of its environment.  
  Address New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-1488 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:2061151 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial (down) 40  
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