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Free-range egg producers face continuing problems from injurious pecking (IP) which has financial consequences for farmers and poor welfare implications for birds. Beak-trimming has been practised for many years to limit the damage caused by IP, but with the UK Government giving notification that they intend to ban beak-trimming in 2016, considerable efforts have been made to devise feasible housing, range and management strategies to reduce IP. A recent research project investigated the efficacy of a range of IP-reducing management strategies, the mean costs of which came to around 5 pence per bird. Here, the results of the above project's consumer survey are presented: consumers' attitudes to free-range egg production are detailed showing that, whilst consumers had a very positive attitude towards free-range eggs, they were especially uninformed about some aspects of free-range egg production. The contingent valuation technique was used to estimate the price premium consumers would be prepared to pay to ensure that hens do not suffer from IP: this was calculated as just over 3% on top of the prevailing retail price of free-range eggs. These findings reinforce other studies that have found that whilst consumers are not generally well-informed about certain specific welfare problems faced by animals under free-range conditions, they are prepared to pay to improve animal welfare. Indeed, the study findings suggest that producers could obtain an additional price premium if they demonstrate the welfare provenance of their eggs, perhaps through marketing the eggs as coming from birds with intact beaks. This welfare provenance issue could usefully be assured to consumers by the introduction of a mandatory, single, accredited EU-wide welfare-standards labelling scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lame broiler chickens perform poorly in standardised mobility tests and have nociceptive thresholds that differ from those of non-lame birds, even when confounding factors such as differences in bodyweight are accounted for. This study investigated whether these altered responses could be due to pain, by comparing performance in a Group Obstacle test and a Latency to Lie (LTL) test of lame (Gait Score [GS] 2.5-4) and non-lame (GS 0-1) broilers administered analgesia or a saline control. We used exploratory subcutaneous doses of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), meloxicam (5 mg kg-1) or carprofen (35 mg kg-1) or the opioid butorphanol tartrate (4 mg kg-1). We included butorphanol to explore the possibility that NSAIDs could improve mobility by reducing inflammation without necessarily invoking an analgesic effect. Lameness was a significant predictor in all analyses. Neither the number of obstacle crossings nor latency to cross an obstacle was significantly changed by either NSAID, but LTL was longer in lame birds given carprofen and meloxicam than in lame birds given saline. LTL was associated with foot-pad dermatitis and ameliorated by both NSAIDs. Butorphanol did not affect LTL but appeared soporific in the obstacle test, increasing latency to cross and, in non-lame birds, reducing the number of crossings. Combined with data from other studies, the results suggest carprofen and meloxicam had some analgesic effect on lame birds, lending further support to concerns that lameness compromises broiler welfare. Further investigation of opioid treatments and lameness types is needed to disentangle effects on mobility and on pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the risk factors that affect the development of vent pecking (VP) and cannibalism in free-range and organic laying hens in Great Britain. Topics discussed include a definition of VP, the increase in severe feather pecking (SFP) rate, flock size, and animal welfare implications.

The article focuses on a study which investigated the used of two mobility tests to assess the performance of lame and non-lame broiler chickens. Topics covered by the study include the process of using two mobility tests, namely the Group Obstacle test, a novel test to assess broiler ability to access resources when housed in groups, and Latency-to-Lie (LTL) test, the associations between outcome test measures and other bird characteristics, and components of lameness.

The article looks at the impact of broken keel bones towards the reproduction capabilities of hens during their egg-laying stage. The study was done on Lohmann Brown hens divided to those with and without keel fractures, where they were evaluated in terms of bone strength and body temperature. Results of the research showed that hens without broken keel bones produced more eggs than their fractured counterparts.

The article discusses the results of study conducted under British Home Office licence which analyzed the correlations between the behavioural, physiological and physical indicators in Hyline laying hens during several housing phases. The study revealed some of the hens' traits that were stable including comb elevation and colour. Comfort behaviour was found to be unrelated to other measures. Also noted is the relationship between slow approach responses and alert behaviour in novel object tests, and reduced levels of physiological stress in hens.

The article discusses a study which determined the ideal number of untamed ponies that should be grouped together in a one-hour trip. Blood samples were used as indicators of behavior during the journey and were analyzed for levels of aggression and number of slips, falls, stumbles and collisions (SFSC). It concludes that the ideal stocking density of untamed horses in the journey should be four. It adds that unbroken ponies should not be transported in individual pens since they have a strong herding instinct.

Nineteen young horses that had recently started to perform the stereotypy of crib‐biting were compared with 16 non‐stereotypic horses for 14 weeks. After initial observations of their behaviour and an endoscopic examination of the condition of their stomachs, the horses were randomly allocated to a control or an antacid diet. At the start of the trial, the stomachs of the crib‐biting foals were significantly more ulcerated and inflamed than the stomachs of the normal foals. In addition, the faecal pH of the crib‐biting foals (6.05) was significantly lower than that of the normal foals (6.58). The antacid diet resulted in a significant improvement in the condition of the horses' stomachs. The crib‐biting behaviour declined in most of the foals, regardless of their diet, but tended to decline to a greater extent in the foals on the antacid diet.

The spontaneous behaviour and the apparent digestibility of dry matter and fibre and transit times of digesta were compared in four normal horses and four crib‐biters. A technique was developed for measuring total gut transit times (TGTT) by using single‐stool analysis of the passage of radio‐opaque polyethylene markers. Longer TGTT were recorded in the crib‐biters than in the normal horses but the orocaecal transit times did not differ. The crib‐biters rested less than the normal horses.

A cross‐sectional study of risk factors for feather pecking in layings hens in alternative systems was carried out in July 1998. A total of 637 questionnaires were sent out to farmers and producer groups and, after two reminders, the final response rate was 51.5 per cent. The outcome variable was feather pecking after point of lay. Over 55 per cent of the farmers reported that feather pecking had occurred in the last depopulated flock. This outcome was compared with the management procedures reported by flock managers by using univariate statistics. Factors associated with feather pecking with a significance ≤0.05 were then tested in two logistic regression models. In the first model the following factors were associated with an increased risk of feather pecking: less than 50 per cent of the flock using the outdoor area on a fine and sunny day, the occurrence of egg peritonitis and the occurrence of infectious bronchitis. The direction of the association between feather pecking and these infectious diseases was unclear, so in the second model only factors which were consistent throughout the laying period were tested. The following factors were associated with an increased risk of feather pecking: less than 50 per cent of the flock using the outdoor area on a fine and sunny day; three or more changes of diet during lay; the inspection of the flock by one person; an absence of loose litter at the end of lay; a temperature in the hen house of less than 20°C; turning the lights up when the flock was inspected; and the use of bell‐drinkers. It is concluded that some of these factors could inhibit foraging and dust‐bathing behaviour and others may increase competition or frustration, both of these changes having been shown experimentally to initiate feather pecking behaviour.

A postal survey was conducted on 410 pig farms in south‐west England to investigate the risk factors for vulva biting. The results of the bivariate analyses indicated that group housing, keeping a boar in the same pen and the number of sows per drinker were significantly associated (P≤0.05) with vulva biting in service sows. Group housing, group size, keeping a boar in the same pen, straw bedding, electronic sow feeders, feeding once daily, providing water automatically and the number of sows per drinker were significantly associated with vulva biting in dry sows. Vulva biting was also significantly associated with an increased percentage of culled sows and the occurrence of tail biting on the farm. A logistic regression analysis showed that group size and the number of sows per drinker were significant risk factors for vulva biting in service sows, and once a day feeding, group size, the number of sows per drinker and providing water automatically were significant risk factors for dry sows.

1. Accumulation of noradrenaline (NA), 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5HT) and tyramine by rabbit erythrocytes was measured at 37 degrees C in vitro. 2. Of the amines used only NA was broken down during incubation. This was a result of intracellular catechol‐O‐methyl transferase activity. 3. NA and 5HT entered the red cells by similar processes which were temperature‐sensitive (cooling to 0 degrees C inhibited accumulation) and had saturation kinetics. The entry of NA was partially stereospecific; the (‐)‐isomer accumulated twice as fast as did (+)‐NA. 5HT and NA competed for entry. Tyramine entry was unaffected by cooling, was not saturable and did not affect the entry of either NA or 5HT. NA and 5HT entered the erythrocytes at rates which were proportional to their lipid solubilities. 4. Metabolic inhibitors had no effect on amine transport. Inhibitors of amine transport in other tissues produced only small non‐specific reductions of NA accumulation in the red cells. 5. Amine accumulation was a symmetrical process (no amine was retained by the red cells if the concentration gradient was reversed). It is concluded that NA and 5HT enter the cells by facilitated diffusion. The entry of NA and 5HT displayed countertransport, an additional feature of facilitated diffusion. 6. The relationship between the physical properties of the amines and the routes by which they entered the erythrocytes is discussed.

1. Nine groups of 4 ISA Brown hens were housed in modified battery cages each containing 3 nest sites. Egg laying was performed exclusively in these sites.2. In experiment 1, each cage contained one unlined nest (type A), one lined with neoprene rubber (type B) and one lined with rubber with an additional peckable strip of artificial grass attached above the nest rear (type C). Positions of the nests were systematically altered over 45 d.3. Hens spent most time in and made most visits to nest type C. More eggs were laid in nest types B and C than in nest type A.4. In experiment 2, all nests were of type C, but nests were divided within each cage either by wire mesh, or a solid nest partition, or no partition. Nesting behaviour was monitored over 20 d for each of the 3 conditions.5. Hens spent most time in, and made most visits to the nests when solid partitions were present. However, disturbance of nesting birds was also significantly increased by solid partitions. There were no significant effects of partition type on the number or positions of eggs laid in the nests.

1. T-maze preference tests were used to study group size and space preferences in laying hens kept on deep litter. The first experiment revealed a non-significant tendency to prefer a larger group (120 hens) in a large space (9 m2) over a smaller group (5 hens) in a small space (1 m3), but when the space was constant and large, a strong preference for the smaller group in a large space emerged.2. In experiment 2, 5 different group size/space options were tested using a T-maze and test hens were non-randomly selected, choosing more aggressive 'peckers' and more subordinate 'receivers'. Chi-squared tests showed preferences for (1) a larger group (70 over 4 or 0 hens), (2) a larger space (9 m2 over 1 m2) and (3) 4 hens rather than an empty space. Although both peckers and receivers preferred the same size companion hen groups, receivers were more consistent in their choice than peckers.3. The results have important implications for hens in all group sizes and suggest that while smaller group sizes may be important, they need to be combined with sufficient space. Furthermore, the 'ideal group size' may differ depending on the individual hen's dominance status.

1. The aversiveness of motion and noise to broiler chickens was examined using a passive avoidance technique. Birds were initially trained to peck a key a fixed number of times to obtain food. After training, food could still be obtained by key pecking, but feeding was immediately followed by 1 min exposure to noise or motion. Birds could delay or avoid exposure by delaying or avoiding key pecking, hence foregoing food. Reduced pecking rate was therefore taken as a measure of aversion.2. In experiment 1, simultaneous motion and noise, but not noise alone, resulted in a significant decrease in pecking rate in comparison with baseline rates obtained after training.3. In experiment 2 there was no significant difference in the pecking rates of 4 groups of broilers during training. However, after exposure to 1 of 4 types of motion, strongly significant differences in pecking rates were found between the groups. The mean latency to peck 3 times was significantly greater for birds exposed to gentle vibration, with a single jolt after 55 s, than for birds exposed to simple harmonic motion in either the horizontal or vertical plane. Birds exposed to circular motion in the horizontal plane had a significantly greater mean pecking latency than birds exposed to simple harmonic motion in the vertical plane.4. Baseline latencies to keypeck in experiments 1 and 2 were longer than expected. In experiment 3 a direct comparison of baseline pecking was made between broilers and laying hens. The hens had significantly shorter pecking latencies.