Characterising piling behaviour in Australian free-range commercial laying hens

Author(s)
Rice, Maxine
Acharya, Rutu
Fisher, Andrew
Taylor, Peta
Hemsworth, Paul
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
In Australia, 47% of all egg sales are from free-range hens. Anecdotal industry reports indicate that smothering can account for up to 40% of mortality in Australian free-range laying hens. Smothering occurs when birds mass together, often on top of each other, resulting in death from suffocation, but not all piling results in smothering. The present preliminary observations, which are part of observational and epidemiological studies on hen smothering in Australian free-range farms, aimed to characterise the piling behaviour of a flock of 22,514 Hyline-Brown laying hens housed in a free-range aviary system over a randomly selected 9-h observation period
Citation
ISAE 2020 Global Virtual Meeting: Online Programme Book, p. 1-1
Link
Language
en
Title
Characterising piling behaviour in Australian free-range commercial laying hens
Type of document
Conference Publication
Entity Type
Publication

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink