عنوان

Role of Comparative Psychology in the Development of Effective Environmental Enrichment Strategies to Improve Poultry Welfare

Number

LA8z76b6kj

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Role of Comparative Psychology in the Development of Effective Environmental Enrichment Strategies to Improve Poultry Welfare

General Material Designation

[Article]

First Statement of Responsibility

Jones, Bryan R.

Text of Note

Environmental enrichment can improve poultry welfare and productivity by decreasing harmful behaviours, like fear or feather pecking. Having shown that chickens used an environment more when it was enriched, we then identified specific preferences in order to design more effective enrichment. First, we found that televised stimuli were attractive to chickens, that their regular presentation reduced fear, and that the images should incorporate movement, brightness, colour, and moderate complexity. Projecting them onto the walls might be a practicable strategy. Second, farmers reported that playing the radio reduced aggression, improved the birds' health and increased productivity; this is also one of the easiest ways of enriching the farmers' environment. Third, our findings that the presence of a familiar odourant reduced chicks' fear of novel places, birds and food suggest that olfactory therapy could minimize certain behavioural problems. Finally, providing chickens with bunches of string promoted foraging and exploration, sustained lengthy interest, and reduced potentially injurious inter-bird pecking and feather damage in the laboratory and at a commercial farm. Clearly, extraneous stimulation is important to chickens. The provision of appropriate visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile enrichment is likely to improve their quality of life.

Date of Publication

2002

Title

International Journal of Comparative Psychology

Volume Number

15/2

Entry Element

Jones, Bryan R.

Electronic name

[Article]

275578

a

Y