Special Issue "The Effects of Housing and Management on the Behaviour and Welfare of Hens and Broilers"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Victoria Sandilands
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Scotland's Rural College, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
Interests: poultry; behaviour and welfare; management
Prof. Dr. Tina Widowski
E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Animal Biosciences, Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Interests: poultry; behaviour and welfare; housing; early life experience
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Housing and management practices have a significant influence on the health and wellbeing of poultry such as hens and broilers.  In recent years, many housing trends have changed, for example with increased use of multi-tier aviaries for hens (and the rearing of pullets), the move away from any caged egg production, or the use of windows in broiler housing.  Management practices are also changing on a regular basis, with many countries aiming to stop routine beak trimming in laying hens, or the increased practice of in-farm hatching for broilers.  Furthermore, lighting trends are embracing new technologies (such as LEDs) and different lighting patterns. Such changes can be influencers on how birds behave, their welfare, and production.  This Special Issue will focus on current housing and management trends in laying hens and broilers, bringing readers the most up-to-date information from reputable scientists working in these fields.

Dr. Victoria Sandilands
Guest Editor

Dr. Tina Widowski
Co-Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • conventional cages
  • enriched cages
  • non-cage systems
  • free-range
  • organic
  • conventional and extensive floor rearing
  • cage pullet rearing
  • floor pullet rearing
  • aviary pullet rearing

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Effect of Environmental Complexity and Stocking Density on Fear and Anxiety in Broiler Chickens
Animals 2021, 11(8), 2383; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082383 - 12 Aug 2021
Viewed by 528
Abstract
Barren housing and high stocking densities may contribute to negative affective states in broiler chickens, reducing their welfare. We investigated the effects of environmental complexity and stocking density on broilers’ attention bias (measure of anxiety) and tonic immobility (measure of fear). In Experiment [...] Read more.
Barren housing and high stocking densities may contribute to negative affective states in broiler chickens, reducing their welfare. We investigated the effects of environmental complexity and stocking density on broilers’ attention bias (measure of anxiety) and tonic immobility (measure of fear). In Experiment 1, individual birds were tested for attention bias (n = 60) and in Experiment 2, groups of three birds were tested (n = 144). Tonic immobility testing was performed on days 12 and 26 (n = 36) in Experiment 1, and on day 19 (n = 72) in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, no differences were observed in the attention bias test. In Experiment 2, birds from high-complexity pens began feeding faster and more birds resumed feeding than from low-complexity pens following playback of an alarm call, suggesting that birds housed in the complex environment were less anxious. Furthermore, birds housed in high-density or high-complexity pens had shorter tonic immobility durations on day 12 compared to day 26 in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, birds from high-density pens had shorter tonic immobility durations than birds housed in low-density pens, which is contrary to expectations. Our results suggest that birds at 3 weeks of age were less fearful under high stocking density conditions than low density conditions. In addition, results indicated that the complex environment improved welfare of broilers through reduced anxiety. Full article
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