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Poster De Conférence Année : 2023

Provision of enrichments to meet the behavioral needs of broilers

Résumé

To meet the behavioural needs of broilers is fundamental to increase their welfare. The provision of physical enrichment in the barn is a way to meet these needs. The aim of the study was to assess the relevance of enrichments from the animal point of view. First, a working group described 11 behavioural needs based on the knowledge of Gallus g. domesticus and red jungle fowl : forage, perch, move, rest, preen, dustbath, sunbath, stretch, interact, play, use of cognitive ability. Then, 5 broiler farms were monitored in Western France (Ross308 or JA987; 1 week before slaughter, 28–38 days; 19–22 broilers/m2) in Spring 2021. The enrichments were designed to meet the following behavioural needs: foraging (pecking blocks, strings, chains, straw bales, balloons, bags of pellets), perching/resting (platform perches, linear and straw bales), dustbathing (tray with sand), use of the cognitive abilities (more complex environment with vertical panels). Resting and foraging behaviours were collected through 5 scans (at 1min intervals), while other active behaviours were collected through 5min continuous sampling, twice a day, in an enriched and a non-enriched areas. Data were analysed using non parametric tests. More broilers were foraging with a pecking enrichment than in the empty area (10% of animals/scan VS 2%, p<0.05), and seemed to prefer the pecking blocks, strings and straw bales compared to the other items. Platforms and straw bales were preferred by broilers to perch on compared to linear perches (≈60% of animals/scan VS 10%, p<0.001), even if no difference was observed on the percentage of resting birds. Vertical panels were also used by birds to rest along. No difference was observed on the dustbath behaviour with or without the tray. The addition of suitable enrichments improves the welfare of broilers and it is important to provide different enrichments so that the broilers can express their full behavioural repertoire.
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Dates et versions

hal-04175175 , version 1 (01-08-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04175175 , version 1

Citer

Laura Warin, Maryse Guinebretière, Sophie Brajon, Emilie Gregorio, Estelle Guerin, et al.. Provision of enrichments to meet the behavioral needs of broilers. XI. European Symposium on Poultry Welfare, Jun 2023, Prague, Czech Republic. 2023. ⟨hal-04175175⟩
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