Sustainability Issue #2 April 2010

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Far from the junglefowl

By Gunnel Bergström

- Whoever can solve the problem of feather pecking among chickens should get the birds' Nobel prize, says Ragnar Tauson, Professor of Avian Nutrition and Management at the Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, SLU.

Several factors. – Light, genotype and fodder are three important causes of feather pecking and cannibalism among chickens, explains Ragnar Tauson, Professor of  Avian Nutrition and Management, SLU. Photographer: Kent Pehrzon

We who conduct research in different disciplines really need one another, since the problem is multifactorial, ethically and economically, and also its occurrence cannot be predicted. Light, genotype and fodder are the three best known causes of feather pecking and cannibalism.

Brown chickens peck one another more than white ones. The size of the population is also significant. Although Swedish legislation regarding overcrowding is quite strict, the reality of birds is far from the junglefowl's original conditions – small groups of five-six animals, mostly with one cock, in quite dense undergrowth.

In today's large scale egg production, pecking order is very seldom evident and it is thus a problem. It is not unusual for the animals to settle on the floor in flocks of more than 10,000 hens. If feather pecking or aggressive pecking is started by some chickens in such a huge group, the whole flock is very often affected.

- "Bettan" or "Barbro" do not recognise each other in the huge groups, and chaos and aggression may then start when they want to choose the best perch or come up to the food trough in the right order. In a modern fitted cage with nests, perches and dustbaths for eight animals, damage is usually limited to to the individual cage where such a phenomenon may occur.

His research team is just now conducting a study for the Swedish Board of Agriculture and Formas to investigate different types of fodder ingredients for different genotypes. But light is also a serious worrying factor.

- Earlier, lamps were painted red. Windows were whitewshed, especially in March when the spring sun was low and could shine in to worry the animals. Now stalls are built and lit in a different way.

- Nor can we use old fashioned lamps any longer, which will be a challenge for industry and the owners of animals. I am sure we can help in this respect by testing different types of light sources, says Ragnar Tauson.

Author :

Gunnel Bergström
E-mail: gunnel.bergstrom@mosebackemedia.se

Responsible for this page: Birgitta Bruzelius

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