4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[lollyfry]

Hello all!

 

Firstly i must say how helpful this site is! We are getting our 1st 4 ex-batt hens on 12th Sept and have picked up so many tips and hints already, so thank you!

 

Ok, I'm doing an animal behaviour degree and for a research assignment I am looking at free range chickens and if egg laying levels increase the more 'enrichment' (or play things!) the chickens have access to

 

Does anyone have any 1st hand experience or thoughts on this?? All comments welcome - not only for the project but for our own girls when they arrive!

[Space Chick]

Interesting question

 

I am by no means an expert but I would say that the opposite is true. True "wild" chickens lay far less than the pure breeds and modern hybrids.

 

If you look at the battery hen industry for example, that aims to maximise egg laying, and the chickens have appalling conditions but lay their socks off.

 

In my mind, the main factors which motivate egg laying are breeding (hybrids lay more than pure breeds at least initially), hours of light (more light = more eggs, hence that artificial lighting in battery farms) and feed (less foraged and treats, more pellets or mash)

 

In saying that, I would much rather less eggs and content and happy free range, spoiled girls like my lot

 

Good luck with your assignment.

[C&T]

Regarding hentertainment or enrichment, everything we tried was ignored....

 

I have come to the conclusion that ours simply don't want to be entertained, unless it is greens hanging from the top of the run

 

I like to think of them as petulant teenagers, loitering around the place moaning there is nothing to do, but when there is something they ignore it!!

[Saronne]

I would say that if they're playing rather than eating their layers pellets, they won't lay as well..look at battery hens.

 

 

Saronne x

[mostin]

Lack of exercise does seem to affect my girls laying, but maybe that's just due to change in routine?

 

They all live in a big walk in run with free access to pellets, but when I get home from work I let them play out on the lawn for a couple of hours. If I'm on-call or it's really bad weather they don't get let out to play, and there are always less eggs the day after.

 

I can't figure out if it is just a coincidence/the change in routine affecting them/or them sulking at me for not letting them play out .

[Snowy]

It does seem to be related to their breeding and what they are fed. Hybrids, as said above, are bred to lay more. In addition if they are fed solely on layers feed and given extra, artificial light in winter, then they will lay more. However they will then develop more health problems and not live as long as a hen who lays less regularly. Basically egg laying is a physiological function unrelated to behaviour - they will lay whether they want to or not.

 

Now if you were to measure egg quality, thats a whole different matter! There is no comparison between an egg laid by a happy, free range hen fed on a varied diet and an egg laid by a battery hen!

 

Maybe you could look at morbidity and mortality rates in free range chickens compared to battery chickens?

[lollyfry]

Thank you for all your info and observations! Its really interesting the points you make about battery hens, I really should have been thinking of it from the other way round!!

 

The assignment has to be behaviour-based so maybe egg laying levels is not the way to go as this is a physiological function??

 

I've done some more research and a few articles I have found look at the amount of feather plucking/pecking that happens (or doesn't happen!) when the chickens have more to do/things to interact with

 

Any thoughts?? Thank you in advance!!

[mostin]

I would say that feather pecking/bullying is a much more interesting aspect to look at when comparing conditions that chickens live in. It reduces dramatically the less chickens you have in a space and the more things there are to entertain their minds. (In my experience that is).

[Snowy]

Ooh yes, I think that would be a good aspect to research!

I like the sound of this research - I did 'The Nursing Management of Upper Limb Disorders' - yours sounds far more interesting! (I think I did the wrong degree )

[lollyfry]

Oh Snowy Howells, that sounds.....hard!! Its such an interesting subject so although I work full time as well I don't mind all the hard work!!

 

Thanks again guys for the imput - think I'm defininatley going to go ahead with the feather plucking/peacking angle. Its a year long research project but when i'm done I'll be sure to put my finding on here!

 

If anyone has any ideas or recommendations for enrichement that they have used I would love to hear them!

[mostin]

When it's treat time I make them work for it . If it's real sweet corn, we hang it form all sorts of different places, and it swings when they peck at it so they get quite frustrated and have to work it out .

 

We build little ladders up to platforms, where food treats are. if they are not keen on the ladders we thread raisins onto cable ties fastened onto each rung. They can't resist climbing them then.

 

Just when they've got the hang of it all, OH decides he wants to change it all round .