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Feather Pecking in Domestic Fowl is Genetically Related to Locomotor Activity Levels: Implications for a Hyperactivity Disorder Model of Feather Pecking

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Abstract

Feather pecking is a major welfare problem in egg production. Genetic lines differing in the level of feather pecking have been developed by genetic selection. In two experiments correlated responses in locomotor activity were investigated. Firstly, general locomotor activity was estimated using electronic transponders. A total of 325 pullets from three lines: an unselected control line (CON), a line selected for low levels of feather pecking (LFP) and a line selected for high levels of feather pecking (HFP) during 6 generations, were reared in mixed line groups and activity was recorded from 13 to 17 weeks of age using antennas placed in the litter. Locomotor activity was significantly higher in the HFP and significantly lower in the LFP compared to the CON line (lsmeans 0.72 vs. 0.62 vs. 0.57 records per hen per h for HFP, CON and LFP respectively). In a second experiment locomotion was recorded in 40 chickens from the LFP and the HFP line at 5 weeks of age during day time from 09.00 to 16.00 h using a very precise computer facilitated tracking system. Distance travelled was found to be significantly higher in the high feather pecking line compared to the low feather pecking line (lsmeans 122 vs. 99 m per hour in HFP and LFP respectively). These results are discussed in relation to the ontogeny of feather pecking and a hyperactivity disorder model of feather pecking is suggested.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was part of the Welfare Quality® research project which has been co-financed by the European Commission, within the 6th Framework Programme, contract No. FOOD-CT-2004-506508. The text represents the author’s views and does not necessarily represent a position of the Commission who will not be liable for the use made of such information. Experiment 1 was performed in the facility of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Aarhus, Denmark, from where parent stock for production of experimental animals for experiment 2 was kindly supplied. Experiment 2 was performed at the Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Celle, Germany. The author thanks the technical staff of both Institutes for managing the activity recording systems. A special thank goes to Oliver Sanders and Brigitte Müller for developing the diode recording system used in experiment 2. Lars Schrader gave valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany

    Joergen B. Kjaer

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Kjaer, J.B. Feather Pecking in Domestic Fowl is Genetically Related to Locomotor Activity Levels: Implications for a Hyperactivity Disorder Model of Feather Pecking. Behav Genet 39, 564–570 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9280-1

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