scholarly journals Relationship between Range Use and Fearfulness in Free-Range Hens from Different Rearing Enrichments

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
Md Saiful Bari ◽  
Simon S. Allen ◽  
Jarrod Mesken ◽  
Andrew M. Cohen-Barnhouse ◽  
Dana L. M. Campbell

Inconsistency between the environments of indoor pullet rearing and adult outdoor housing may increase the fearfulness in free-range hens. Rearing enrichments and/or range use may reduce adult fearfulness. Hy-Line Brown® chicks (n = 1700) were reared inside across 16 weeks with three enrichment treatments: weekly changing novel objects, custom-designed perching/navigation structures, or no additional enrichments. Pullets were transferred to a free-range system at 16 weeks of age, with range access provided from 25 weeks. At 62 weeks, 135 hens were selected from the three rearing treatments and two ranging groups (indoor: no ranging and outdoor: daily ranging) based on individual radio-frequency identification tracking. Individual behavioural tests of tonic immobility, emergence, open field, and novel object (pen level) were carried out on hens. Spectrograms of vocalisations were analysed for the open field test, as well as computer vision tracking of hen locomotion. The results showed few effects of rearing treatments, with outdoor rangers less fearful than indoor hens. The latency to step in the open field test negatively correlated with hen feather coverage. These results show that individual variation in ranging behaviours is present even following rearing enrichment treatments, and subsequent range use might be an indicator of bird fearfulness.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e8122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana L.M. Campbell ◽  
Emily J. Dickson ◽  
Caroline Lee

Assessment of negative affective states is a key component of animal welfare research. In laying hens, excessive fearfulness results in reduced production and increased sensitivity to stress. Fearfulness can be defined as a response to a known threat, but anxiety is a response to an unknown threat and may have similar negative consequences. The open field test and tonic immobility test are commonly applied to measure fearfulness in laying hens. An attention bias test that measured individual hen’s responses to playback of a conspecific alarm call in the presence of food was recently pharmacologically validated using an anxiogenic drug but was confounded by the hen’s typical motionless response in a novel environment. The current study used 56-week old free-range layers to further assess the validity of an attention bias test to differentiate ranging treatment groups in comparison with the open field and tonic immobility tests. The selected hens varied in their range use patterns as tracked by radio-frequency identification technology. ‘Indoor’ hens did not access the range and ‘outdoor’ hens ranged daily; previous research has confirmed higher fearfulness in hens that remain indoors. The tonic immobility test did not differentiate ranging groups (P = 0.34), but indoor birds were slower to first step (P = 0.03) and stepped less (P = 0.02) in the open field test. The attention bias test occurred in an isolated wooden box using a conspecific alarm call playback (a threat) and mixed grain (a positive stimulus). The behavioural response of latency to resume eating following playback of the alarm call was measured to differentiate the anxiety states of the indoor and outdoor ranging birds. Before the attention bias test could occur, birds had to be habituated to the test box across three separate 5-minute sessions to increase the willingness to feed within the novel test environment. All birds ate faster across time (P < 0.001) but the indoor birds were slower to eat than the outdoor birds (P < 0.001). In this study, the latency to resume eating following an alarm call was determined to be a poor measure for highly anxious birds as they failed to eat at all. Forty-six percent of indoor hens were excluded for not eating across the 5-minute test. Of the birds that did eat, only 7% of indoor hens ate following playback of the alarm call, compared with 36% of outdoor hens. This repetition of an attention bias test for laying hens highlights the challenges in assessing hens with extreme fearful/anxious responses and that information may be missed when non-performing hens are excluded from behavioural tests. We suggest that latency to eat in a novel arena without any alarm call playback is an informative measure of anxious state that can be applied to all hens but consideration must be made of potential differences in food motivation.



Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 389
Author(s):  
Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato ◽  
Francesca Conti ◽  
Felix Loosli ◽  
Nicholas S. Foulkes ◽  
Cristiano Bertolucci

The use of juvenile and larval fish models has been growing in importance for several fields. Accordingly, the evaluation of behavioural tests that can be applied to larvae and juveniles is becoming increasingly important. We tested medaka at four different ages (1, 10, 30, and 120 dph) in the open field test, one of the most commonly used behavioural assays, to investigate its suitability for larvae and juveniles of this species. We also explored ontogenetic variation in behaviour during this test. On average, adult 120-day-old medaka showed higher locomotor activity in terms of distance moved compared with younger fish. Our analysis suggests that this effect was derived from both quantitative changes in locomotion related to the ontogenetic increase in fish size as well as qualitative changes in two aspects of locomotor behaviour. Specifically, time spent moving was similar between 1- and 10-day-old medaka, but progressively increased with development. In addition, we revealed that adult medaka showed constant levels of activity, whereas younger medaka progressively reduced their activity over the course of the entire experiment. The thigmotaxis behaviour typically used to assess anxiety in the open field test emerged at 120 days post-hatching, even though a difference in the temporal pattern of spatial preference emerged earlier, between 10 and 30 days post-hatching. In conclusion, some measures of the open field test such as total distance moved allow behavioural phenotyping in the medaka of all ages, although with some degree of quantitative and qualitative developmental variation. In contrast, immature medaka appear not to exhibit thigmotactic behaviour.



animal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L.M. Campbell ◽  
G.N. Hinch ◽  
T.R. Dyall ◽  
L. Warin ◽  
B.A. Little ◽  
...  


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123
Author(s):  
Nibras Naeb Abdulhamza

This study was aimed to investigate any possible neurotoxic signs and teratogenic anomalies that may result from pre incubation dipping of fertile eggs in Enrofloxacin concentrations as a preventive measurement against omphalitis. E. Coli sensitivity against Enrofloxacin was examined in a dose dependent manner by using 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 µg/ml. Forty two non-infected newly hatched chicks at age of 5-7 days were divided into six groups of seven chicks each, subjected to behavioral tests namely; Open Field Test and Tonic Immobility Test. For Open Field Test results showed that the lowest latency period was recorded significantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 10µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (6±0.78 sec.) in comparison to control group (32.43±1.52 sec.) while the highest latency period was recorded insignificantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 2µg/ of Enrofloxacin (29±1.61 sec.). The highest number of lines crossed by both feet was recorded significantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 10µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (31.43 ±2.7) in comparison to control group (12.43 ±1.02) while the lowest number of lines crossed by both feet was recorded insignificantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 2µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (14 ±1.87). The highest number of jumps was recorded significantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 10µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (8.85 ±0.3) in comparison to control group (1.14 ±1.0) while the lowest number of jumps was recorded insignificantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 2µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (2 ±0.17). The highest number of defecation times was recorded significantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 10µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (1.6 ±0.23) in comparison to control group (0.86 ±0.26) while the number of defecation times were insignificant in the rest of groups. Both of call and backing times in all groups were insignificant in comparing with control group.  Results for Tonic Immobility Test showed that shortest time needed by the chick to upright itself and stand unaided was recorded significantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 10µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (1 sec. ±0.1) in comparing with control group (2 sec. ±0.11) while the longest time needed by the chick to upright itself and stand unaided was recorded insignificantly in chicks whose eggs dipped in 2µg/ml of Enrofloxacin (1.8 sec. ±0.1). Pre-incubation dipping of fertile eggs in Enrofloxacin concentrations showed insignificant changes in body weight, body length, leg length, wing length and beaker length. We concluded that using low concentrations of of Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin to dip eggs in has resulted in minimized neurotoxic and teratotgenic effects.





animal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 847-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Hartcher ◽  
K.A. Hickey ◽  
P.H. Hemsworth ◽  
G.M. Cronin ◽  
S.J. Wilkinson ◽  
...  




2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Navarro ◽  
S. J. Alonso ◽  
R. Navarro

Elenine is the aglycone of elenoside, a cytotoxic arylnaphthalene lignan (NSC 644013-W/1) derived fromJusticia hyssopifolia. (Family: Acanthaceae). Elenoside is a β-D-glucoside, with a similar chemical structure to etoposide, exhibiting central depressant activity. In the present study, elenine was given to mice and rats at doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg. Acute toxicity (24 h) and general behaviour in mice was studied as well as its effects on muscular relaxant activity, locomotor activity (Varimex test), and the open-field test and were compared with 10 mg/kg of chlorpromazine. Elenine produced a reduction in the permanence time in muscular relaxant activity (traction test). Spontaneous activity was lower in the Varimex test. The ambulation and rearing were lower compared with the control group, and an increase in boluses was observed in the open-field test. Thus, it can be concluded that elenine has central sedative effects at lower doses than those used with elenoside and has a possible application in conditions of anxiety.



2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Francisco Rodríguez-Landa ◽  
Rosa Isela García-Ríos ◽  
Jonathan Cueto-Escobedo ◽  
Blandina Bernal-Morales ◽  
Carlos M. Contreras

Human amniotic fluid and a mixture of eight fatty acids (FAT-M) identified in this maternal fluid (C12:0, lauric acid, 0.9 μg%; C14:0, myristic acid, 6.9 μg%; C16:0, palmitic acid, 35.3 μg%; C16:1, palmitoleic acid, 16.4 μg%; C18:0, stearic acid, 8.5 μg%; C18:1cis, oleic acid, 18.4 μg%; C18:1trans, elaidic acid, 3.5 μg%; C18:2, linoleic acid, 10.1 μg%) produce anxiolytic-like effects that are comparable to diazepam in Wistar rats, suggesting the involvement ofγ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptors, a possibility not yet explored. Wistar rats were subjected to the defensive burying test, elevated plus maze, and open field test. In different groups, threeGABAAreceptor antagonists were administered 30 min before FAT-M administration, including the competitive GABA binding antagonist bicuculline (1 mg/kg),GABAAbenzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil (5 mg/kg), and noncompetitiveGABAAchloride channel antagonist picrotoxin (1 mg/kg). The FAT-M exerted anxiolytic-like effects in the defensive burying test and elevated plus maze, without affecting locomotor activity in the open field test. TheGABAAantagonists alone did not produce significant changes in the behavioral tests. Picrotoxin but not bicuculline or flumazenil blocked the anxiolytic-like effect of the FAT-M. Based on the specific blocking action of picrotoxin on the effects of the FAT-M, we conclude that the FAT-M exerted its anxiolytic-like effects throughGABAAreceptor chloride channels.



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