Young chicks, including broilers, need to rest frequently. In the natural situation resting is synchronised by the mother hen, however in the commercial situation no cues synchronise resting. Furthermore, perching in an elevated position is important for broiler welfare, however hampered by body weight in fast growing broilers. For animal welfare reasons broilers growing less rapidly are now available on the market and in this study the researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences aimed to investigate the welfare of these new broiler hybrids.
In a mixed flock resting behaviour and resting location was compared between three broiler hybrids. The resting frequency did not differ but the fast growing broilers perched less and lower, at night both and day. The birds that were resting on the floor were often disturbed by other birds running over them. The cockerels disturbed the other birds resting on the floor more often than hens did. As disrupted rest is a potential welfare issue in broilers, hence perches or other elevated structures would improve welfare. The two medium growing hybrids used in this study were 100 birds each of Rowan Ranger, Hubbard CYJA57 and the fast growing hybrid used was Ross 308. The birds were reared in a large littered pen (1.84 birds/m2), with perches, feed and water. The birds also got Lucerne as roughage enrichment. Resting behaviour and position was observed on daytime and night-time.
Reference
J. Yngvesson, M. Wedin, S. Gunnarsson, L. Jönsson, H. Blokhuis & A. Wallenbeck (2017) Let me sleep! Welfare of broilers (Gallus gallus domesticus) with disrupted resting behaviour, Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science, 67:3-4, 123-133, DOI: 10.1080/09064702.2018.1485729
