Space is defined as a continuous area or expanse that is free, available, or unoccupied. Laying hens that are housed in furnished cages are lacking such “space” which means they are missing out on freedoms. For example, freedom to forage, freedom to express behaviour, such as vigorous wing flapping, freedom to escape from harm, and freedom to find shelter from harm, these freedoms should be met in order for the laying hens to have a positive and productive life without suffering. Having a better quality housing system for laying hens would allow for that. There are advantages to furnished cages such as controlled environments, dust baths, nesting boxes and perching areas but they provide limited space. Hens have the opportunity to express their natural behavior and habits better when they are housed in a free run system, which maximizes their well-being.
Laying hens can be severely affected by extremes of cold and/or heat. Hens in the free run facility were housed in a comfortable temperature range of 19- 24°C, which lies well within the 18-24°C thermo neutral zone for chickens (Weaver 2002). Hens housed in the furnished cage facility, were subject to fluctuating temperatures that varied by eight degrees rising to a high of 28°C. Heat stress and lack of feed intake could become an issue for hens housed in furnished cages, especially those in the uppermost third tier. Laying hens housed the free run facility have the welfare advantage of being able spread their wings away from their body to increase airflow and cool their body temperature, which a lack of space in furnished cages may restrict.
Proper nutrition is a very important welfare issue. Aggressive behavior in birds may occur if there is not enough area for each ...
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... (eds.), Animal Welfare (Wallingford, U.K.: CABI Publishing, pp. 89-105).
Rodenburg, T.B., and Koene. 2004. Feather pecking and feather loss. In G.C. Perry, ed.
Welfare of the laying hen. Wallingford, UK. CABI Publishing.
Struelens, E. Tuyttens, F.A.M, Duchateau, L. et al. 2008. Perching behaviour and perch height preference of laying hens in furnished cages varying in height. British Poultry Science 49(4): 381
Weaver Jr, W.D. 2002. Poultry housing. In: Commercial chicken meat and egg production, 5th edition (Ed. Donald D. Bell and William D. Weaver Jr.). pp. 102-103.
Weeks, C.A. & Nicol, C.J. 2006. Preferences of laying hens. World’s Poultry Science Journal, 62: 296-307.
Welchsler B and Huber-Eicher B. 1998. The effect of foraging material and perch height on feather pecking and feather damage in laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 58:131- 41
Our hypothesis was correct for the most part, however we thought our bird would be more versatile than it really was. Our finches had a very hard time picking up the block seeds because of their very large size. Our finch was very well...
Red-tailed black-cockatoos usually form a lifelong bond with their mating partner (Del Hoyo et al., 1997). They typically nest in large hollows of eucalyptus trees where they rear their young, generally one egg per clutch. Parental care is shared between the two mates; however, the female does most of the incubating and the male does most of the feeding (Higgins, 1997).
The female reproductive system in birds is reduced in most species to a left ovary and oviduct. This unilateral reduction of the female reproductive system is thought to bear two benefits: it reduces the female’s body and it prevent the potential problem of simultaneously carrying two large fragile eggs within the abdominal cavity. It also balances the body with the liver on the right side adjacent to the left ovary.
Some people even step on their nest and bringing pets that kill the chicks and destroy the eggs. As these things kept on happening, their population started to decrease.
Chickens have to endure suffering that no living thing should have to go through. The egg laying chickens have to be forced into tiny cages without enough room to stretch their wings. Up to 8 hens are crammed in to a cage that is the size of a folded newspaper, about 11"-14". Stress from the confinement leads to severe feather loss so the chicken will be almost completely bald in the cold cages. When the chickens are of egg-laying age, there beaks are cut off without any pain killers to ease the pain, they do this so the chickens don’t break their own eggs and eat them because the chickens are hungry.
The Cooper’s Hawk, breeds mostly in the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. This species was named in 1828 by Charles Bonaparte for his friend and collogue William C. Cooper. They are migratory birds that focus highly on thermal air for direction. Female Cooper’s Hawk is one third larger than the males, and this species is a great example of dimorphism. They are among one of the most reverse sized dimorphism of any hawks in the world. They breed in forests and dense woods. They are also noticed to live in suburban and urban habitats. They consume prey of different sizes, including birds and mammals such as doves, robins, chipmunks, squirrels, and different rodents. In mid 1990s, the eastern population of the birds declined significantly. Some major causes of this decline in population include trapping, pesticide contamination, pollution, and shooting. Thereby, the specie is stamped as threatened or endangered species in some eastern states. Although their population was low, it is slowing recovering now in many areas. Over the years, this specie has been studied intensively by ornithologists and they have put in a collaborative effort to document the specie’s habitat and other characteristics.
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8. Taylor, Dan. 1998. Audubon Society Inspired to Action by Bird Die -offs . 17 Jan. 1998 . E-mail . Available bkus@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
Taylor, AA and Hurnik, JF. 1996. The long term productivity of hens housed in battery cages and an aviary. Poultry Science. 75:47-51.
Northern bobwhite quail adults are on average around 6 inches tall and weigh around 6 ounces (1, 16). This relatively large body size is accompanied by elliptical wings which limits flight. Flight in these birds is usually referred to as a “flush”. This is a short, fast burst of flight relatively low to the ground as a final effort to avoid predation (14). The main form of locomotion for these quail is walking or running. These quail are non-migratory and typically have a limited home range (3.4 - 47.7ha) (4). Bobwhites also have a short round bill which is primarily used for seed foraging, but they are known to include invertebrates into their diet (8). Bobwhite quail are sexually dimorphic. Both sexes have similar body plumage, but the females
Barred owls tend to favor dense forests with large trees for nesting and allow for a relatively open under story. The owls use this under story to stalk and catch their prey from high above. The availability of perch sites and large trees for nesting have been found to be the most important factors in habitat selection. The Barred Owl can live in a variety of habitats including urban areas, swamps, oak savannas, marshes, and forests located next to fields that provide prey animals (Dark, Gutierrez, and Gordon, 1998).
del Hoyo, Josep, Andrew Elliott and Jordi Sargatal. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol 1, Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, 1992.
Hirsch, Veronica. "Legal Protections of the Domestic Chicken in the United States and Europe." . N.p., 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 13 May 2014. .
Poultry production is a very important and diverse component of Northern American agriculture. Poultry products including eggs, chicken and turkey meat have been an essential part of the diets of most Americans throughout history and other individuals all arou...
Mason, Georgia, et al. “Plastic Animals In Cages: Behavioural Flexibility And Responses To Captivity.” Animal Behaviour85.5 (n.d.) : 1113-1126. Biological Abstracts. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.