Behavioural and physiological responses of laying hens to automated monitoring equipment.

ABSTRACT: Automated monitoring of behaviour can offer a wealth of information in circumstances where observing behaviour is difficult or time consuming. However, this often requires attaching monitoring devices to the animal which can alter behaviour, potentially invalidating any data collected. Birds often show increased preening and energy expenditure when wearing devices and, especially in laying hens, there is a risk that individuals wearing devices will attract aggression from conspecifics. We studied the behavioural and physiological response of 20 laying hens to backpacks containing monitoring devices fastened with elastic loops around the wing base. We hypothesised that backpacks would lead to a stress-induced decrease in peripheral temperature, increased preening, more aggression from consp

SUBMITTER: Buijs S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5805850 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature