A study on the development of locomotion and flight in chicken to improve the freedom of movement in aviary systems for laying hens

• Unité de recherche: OSAV
• Numéro de projet: 2.13.09
• Titre du projet anglais: A study on the development of locomotion and flight in chicken to improve the freedom of movement in aviary systems for laying hens

Mots-clé (Allemand)

Legehennen, Fortbewegungsverhalten, bipedale „Bodenbewohner“, Flug, Laufverhalten, Präferenz

Mots-clé (Anglais)

Laying hens, locomotion, bipedal ground birds, flight, walking, preference

Description succincte (Allemand)

In vorliegender Untersuchung soll festgestellt werden, wie sich das Fortbewegungsverhalten am Boden und in der Luft bei Hühnern entwickelt, welche Präferenzen sie hinsichtlich der Art des Fortbewegungsverhaltens haben und welche Bedeutung dies für die tiergerechte Haltung von Legehennen in Volièrensystemen hat.

Description succincte (Anglais)

The present study aims to investigate the development of locomotion in the air and on the ground in domestic fowl, the birds’ preferences for flying and walking, and the significance of this knowledge for the proper housing of laying hens in aviary systems.

Objectifs du projet (Anglais)

The main objective of the present proposal is to investigate the ontogeny of walking and flight behavior in laying hens.

The four key objectives of the present research proposal are:

1.  to assess the development of flight and wing-flapping performance in layer chicks from hatchlings to mature hens to establish knowledge on how chicks acquire efficient flight/flapping skills.

2.   to assess the development of the simultaneous use of running legs and wing-flapping in layer chicks from hatchlings to mature birds for upward and downward movements on a variable-pitched ramp, built to emulate an incline that birds could encounter to move between multiple tiers in aviaries.

3.   to assess whether birds prefer ramps (via leg and wing) over perches (wing) to move up or down to reach resources and whether these preferences are different in birds with “production diseases” such as keel damage, bumble foot and feather damage. Birds with keel damage and bumble foot will also be evaluated as to whether their preference for ramps over perches or vice versa would be different when they are treated with an analgesic.

4.   to evaluate the ability of laying hens to balance themselves and whether these balance abilities are different in laying hens with “production diseases” (such as keel damage, bumble foot and feather damage),  in wild hens (Bankiva), flightless backyard Silkie hens and back yard flyers such as Anconas.

Publications / Résultats (Anglais)

Harlander, A.; Kozak, M.; LeBlanc, C.; LeBlanc, S.; Wuerbel, H. (2016) A study on the development of locomotion and flight in chickens to improve the freedom of movement in aviary systems for laying hens

LeBlanc, S.; Tobalske, B.; Quinton, M.; Springthorpe, D.; Szkotnicki, B.; Wuerbel, H.; Harlander-Matauschek, A. (2016) Physical health problems and environmental challenges influence balancing behaviour in laying hens. PLOS ONE 11(4): e0153477. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153477  

Kozak, M.; Tobalske, B.; Martins, C.; Bowley, S.; Wuerbel, H.; Harlander-Matauschek, A. (2016) Use of space by domestic chicks in complex aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 181, 115-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2016.05.024

Kozak, M.; Tobalske, B.; Springthorpe, D.; Szkotnicki, B.; Harlander-Matauschek, A. (2016) Development of physical activity levels in laying hens in three-dimensional aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, in press (Applan-D-16-121R1, accepted for publication October 11^th, 2016).

LeBlanc, C.; Tobalske, B.; Bowley, S.; Harlander-Matauschek, A. (2016) Development of locomotion over inclined surfaces in laying hens. Submitted for Publication to Animal (ANIMAL-5-16-00810).

LeBlanc, C., Tobalske, B., Szkotnicki, B., Harlander-Matauschek, A.  (2016). How inclines affect the anticipatory nature of adaptive locomotion in domestic fowl. Submitted for Publication to Animal Behaviour (ANBEH-D-16-00597).

Documents annexés

• 2.13.09 DB/MJB Würbel [PDF] 25 kB
• 2.13.09 Publikationen Kozak [PDF] 666 kB
• 2.13.09 Publikationen LeBlanc [PDF] 282 kB

Adresses URL (Allemand)

2.13.09 ex 2.13.j Würbel ex Harlander Untersuchungen zur Entwicklung des Fortbewegungsvermögens am …