AN ETHOGRAM OF WHITE LEGHORN-TYPE HENS IN BATTERY CAGES

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to record the ethogram of White Leghorn-type hens in cages and to note changes in behavior over the course of the laying period. Three hundred and eighty-four hens derived from two male parental stocks were randomly assigned as pairs to the cages of two three-tiered, semi-stairstep batteries. Hens within pairs were of the same stock, and the batteries were in the same room. The laying phase comprised 13 28-d periods and on the first 4 d of periods 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 video recordings were made of eight cages per day. Each cage was observed on 1 d only. The levels of occurrence of a variety of behavioral states were estimated from 60 records of the behavior of each hen obtained over an 8-h interval. Head flicking was the most prevalent of its group of mutually exclusive behavioral states, followed by eating and preening. Cage pecking appeared stereotyped in many hens, but, at a frequency of 5% of observations, was not unusually prevalent. Bobbing was primarily a prelaying behavior indicative of the restlessness prior to oviposition typical of White Leghorn hens in cages. Hens were on their feet for more than 75% of the time of observation. Physical displacement of a hen by its cagemate was commonplace. Eating was negatively correlated with head flicking and preening. Walking and bobbing were positively correlated with physical displacement. Hens became less active with time in cages, possibly due to an age effect or to behavioral adaptation to the cage environment. A second trend in behavior over time may be related to changes in levels of egg production or feed consumption. Key words: Ethogram, behavior, laying hen, battery cage

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