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Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being

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...

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Autores principales: Widowski, T. M, Caston, L. J, Hunniford, M. E, Cooley, L, Torrey, S
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850468/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29050408
http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex197
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author Widowski, T. M
Caston, L. J
Hunniford, M. E
Cooley, L
Torrey, S
author_facet Widowski, T. M
Caston, L. J
Hunniford, M. E
Cooley, L
Torrey, S
author_sort Widowski, T. M
collection PubMed
description 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 cm(2) (Low) or 748 cm(2) (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 (P(Size) = 0.90; P(SA) = 0.73), or eggshell deformation (P(Size) = 0.14; P(SA) = 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.
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spelling pubmed-58504682018-03-23 Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being Widowski, T. M Caston, L. J Hunniford, M. E Cooley, L Torrey, S Poult Sci Animal Well-Being and Behavior 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 cm(2) (Low) or 748 cm(2) (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 (P(Size) = 0.90; P(SA) = 0.73), or eggshell deformation (P(Size) = 0.14; P(SA) = 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. Oxford University Press 2017-11 2017-07-28 /pmc/articles/PMC5850468/ /pubmed/29050408 http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex197 Text en © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.
spellingShingle Animal Well-Being and Behavior
Widowski, T. M
Caston, L. J
Hunniford, M. E
Cooley, L
Torrey, S
Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being
title Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being
title_full Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being
title_fullStr Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being
title_full_unstemmed Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being
title_short Effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, Part I: Performance and well-being
title_sort effect of space allowance and cage size on laying hens housed in furnished cages, part i: performance and well-being
topic Animal Well-Being and Behavior
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850468/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29050408
http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex197
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