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The feather condition and behaviour of laying hens in modified cages with elevated (28 cm above floor) and conventional (6 cm above floor) height feed troughs was measured at 32–34 and 56–59 weeks of age. Feather cover was generally better at the younger age than the older, and in cages with the elevated trough as opposed to the conventional height trough. The differences in feather condition could not be attributed to different feeding patterns from the two troughs as neither feeding duration nor the number of bouts varied significantly between treatments. Increased feather damage was noted in cages with conventional height troughs compared with cages with elevated troughs and was likely to be due to hens stepping on each other's backs more in the former (medians 2.28 and 0.78 steps/bird/h, respectively, P

The spatial distribution and behaviour of perchery housed laying hens were compared at a constant stocking density (18.5 birds/m(2)) in eight pens with colonies of five different sizes (323 birds (N=1), 374 birds (N=2), 431 birds (N=2), 572 birds (N=1) and 912 birds (N=2)). The birds were placed in the perchery when they were 12 weeks old. Observations began when they were 26 weeks old and continued at 8 week intervals until 61 weeks of age. Colony size did not appear to affect the spatial distribution of birds, but more standing behaviour and less feeding behaviour were observed in the smallest and largest colony sizes. Older birds spent more time on the floor areas and less time on perches. Young birds (26-28 weeks) spent more time feeding, foraging, drinking and preening, and less time standing idle than older birds. In the afternoons, there were fewer birds on the perches and more on the floor levels, corresponding with less time spent resting and more time spent performing active behaviours. Birds did not distribute themselves evenly throughout their pens: within specific areas of pens densities varied between 9 and 41 birds/m(2). This variation, which reflects the flux of birds from one part of the pen to another, was greatest for the larger colony sizes, and may have adverse implications for welfare in terms of crowding and hysteria.