Male rank order, space use and female attachment in large flocks of laying hens

Sammanfattning

In a flock of 3500 modern laying hens with males present at an average ratio of 1:190 females and a density of 7 birds/m(2), male dominance, space use and eventual female attachment were studied by direct observations of the males and a total of 232 female focal birds. Territorial, sexual and agonistic behaviours were observed, as well as the location of the birds during daytime and night roosts. A rank order was determined based on crowings and matings and it was found that high-ranking males used more of the space available than low-ranking males (P < 0.05) and there was a positive correlation between male rank order and space use (r = 0.851, P < 0.01). However, most males used more than half of the area. The dominance hierarchy was maintained mainly by low-ranking males avoiding the higher-ranking ones. Furthermore, there appeared to be no strong female attachment to specific males. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Nyckelord

laying hens; males; rank order; space use; female attachment

Publicerad i

Applied Animal Behaviour Science
2004, Volym: 87, nummer: 1-2, sidor: 83-94
Utgivare: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU författare

• Oden, Kristina

  • Institutionen för tillämpad husdjursvetenskap och välfärd, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Algers, Bo

  • Institutionen för tillämpad husdjursvetenskap och välfärd, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Berg, Lotta

  • Institutionen för tillämpad husdjursvetenskap och välfärd, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Gunnarsson, Stefan

  • Institutionen för tillämpad husdjursvetenskap och välfärd, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Veterinärmedicin
Husdjursvetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2004.01.002

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/2822