EPA small pen tests I. Effects of pen and group sizes, sex combinations, and feeding levels on bobwhite activity

Conclusions

Six-bird groups of bobwhites in large pens exhibited significantly more movement than did corresponding pairs of bobwhites in small pens, indicating a need to standarize pen and bird-group sizes in EPA small pen tests if results are to be comparable. Although in this study we did not detect any statistically significant differences in activity levels of bobwhites attributable to pen or bird-group size, the fact that the activity of pairs of bobwhites in small pens were consistently higher than those of 6-bird groups in larger pens reinforces the need to standardize pen and bird-group sizes in EPA small-pen tests. High er levels of aggression noted in the 6-bird groups compared with the 2-bird groups further substantiate this need. Additionally, the all-male 6-bird groups traveled significantly less distance than did male-female 6-bird groups, suggesting the need to also standardize sex combinations of birds used in EPA small pen tests. Dietary levels did not appear to affect either activity levels or movements of birds. Therefore this study produced no data to support the need to standardize dietary levels provided birds used in EPA small pen tests.

Additional research is needed to separate the effect of group size and pen size on bird activity and movements before these parameters are standardized in EPA small pen test protocol.