Welfare and Behavior of Laying Hens
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 67
Special Issue Editor
Interests: laying hens; stress; animal welfare; animal behavior; neurophysiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Eggs are an important source of protein and energy for humans, and their quality is increasingly attracting the attention of consumers. There are many welfare issues in the intensive production of laying hens. Low welfare status will not only reduce the production performance of laying hens but may also affect the quality of eggs. Therefore, improving the welfare level of laying hens during the production process is essential for improving the economic benefits of laying hens. In addition, with the improvement of global animal ethics awareness, the public is paying increasing attention to the welfare of animals in the production process, calling for reduction of animal suffering by meeting their physiological and psychological needs. However, since laying hens cannot express their feelings with language and facial expressions, researchers usually use behavioral phenotypes combined with neurobiological and physiological indicators to determine their emotional state and evaluate their welfare level. Therefore, focusing on the behavioral state of animals and providing a practical basis for the efficient assessment of the welfare level of laying hens has become an urgent problem requiring a solution.
This Special Issue will explore the welfare issues faced by laying hens in production from multiple perspectives and provide new insights into the welfare production of laying hens.
Prof. Dr. Runxiang Zhang
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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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 semimonthly 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 2400 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
- egg production
- animal behavior
- animal welfare
- animal ethics
- healthy farming
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
