Simulation of maternal care to improve welfare in chickens

For a domestic chick, the mother hen is an important role model; chicks learn a great deal from their mother about what to peck, when to rest and how to behave when there is a threat. However, in large farms, allowing hens to rear their own chicks is not commercially viable and in the UK last year, around 900 million domestic chicks were hatched in large incubators and reared artificially, without a mother hen. Chicks reared without a mother in this way are more fearful and more likely to develop behavioural problems, such as pecking the feathers and skin of other chickens; a highly prevalent and serious welfare concern. Since natural brooding is not an option on commercial farms, the aim of this project is to artificially simulate a number of important features of maternal care that result in healthy, less fearful, higher welfare chickens. For example, one method of simulating the mother's role in directing chick pecking activity might be to play recordings of maternal feeding calls near to feeders, to encourage the chicks to peck at food rather than the feathers of their brood mates.

To develop these artificial simulations of maternal care, I will first observe how effective mother hens behave by identifying features of maternal care that result in less fearful, higher welfare chicks. After pinpointing the most effective features, small scale studies with non-brooded chicks will allow me to assess whether artificial simulation of these features is feasible and effective in improving chick welfare. Finally, candidate artificial features of maternal care will then be rolled out onto commercial laying hen farms to determine whether the welfare benefits can be replicated on a large scale and persist until the end of the production period. This project will not only provide fundamental new insight into avian maternal behaviour, but will result in practical and effective animal welfare solutions; a strategic priority for BBSRC.

In domestic chickens, the provision of maternal care strongly influences the behavioural development of chicks. Chicks reared by a mother hen are less fearful and show higher levels of behavioural synchronisation than chicks reared artificially. In a commercial setting, more fearful chicks with unsynchronised behaviour are more likely to develop feather pecking; a serious welfare and economic problem. Despite this, in the UK around 900 million domestic chicks per year are hatched in large incubators and reared artificially, without a mother hen. Since natural brooding on farms is not commercially viable, the aim of the study is to artificially simulate the effective features of maternal care that lead to reduced fear and increased behavioural synchronisation. The project will employ observational and behavioural studies of broody hens and chicks, to determine the most effective features of mother hens. After testing which features can be artificially simulated, these will be incorporated into commercial farms, to determine the effects on the behaviour and welfare of commercially-housed chickens.

As well as being of important welfare relevance, this research area is likely to provide a significant contribution to our understanding of the importance of mothering in a precocial avian. My work demonstrated that chicks are highly sensitive to, and modify their behavioural response, according to their mother's reactions, and that these reactions vary between individual mothers. However, the extent to which features of this maternal response relate to the mothers' effectiveness, are representative of 'maternal styles', and can be replicated to direct the chicks' responses in the mother's absence and later in life remain to be elucidated, but will be addressed by this project. The project brings together basic and applied research to provide fundamental new insight into avian maternal behaviour and will generate practical and effective animal welfare solutions.

The study of animal behaviour and welfare contributes to legislation, informs housing and husbandry practices for farm animals, as well as having the potential to influence decision making by consumers, driving higher welfare systems. The proposed project will be the first in a theme on the use of animal behaviour to contribute to sustainable agriculture. Impact from this project will therefore be considered in accordance with the Defra sustainability framework (Defra, Sustainable development in Government, 2011), incorporating 1) animal welfare, 2) production, 3) the environment, and 4) society.

1) Animal welfare - benefits for chickens: Maternal care reduces feather pecking in chickens, through a mechanism of reduced fear and increased behavioural synchronisation. Feather pecking is a serious and widespread welfare concern, causing pain, distress and mortality. The need to find solutions to feather pecking is becoming ever more important; feather pecking is most prevalent in free range systems (affecting 65 - 86% of flocks) and the recent EU ban on conventional cages and continuing upward shift towards the purchase of free range eggs (European Egg Producers Association, 2013), means that feather pecking is likely to affect more birds over the coming years. Currently, to reduce feather pecking, birds are beak trimmed at one day old. However, a UK ban on beak trimming, expected in 2016, necessitates the urgent need to find alternative solutions to this welfare problem. Increased fear and stress responses in the commercial environment are inherent welfare problems, leading to reduced use of the range, flightiness and smothering.

2) Production - economic benefits for industry and tax payers: In 2013, the UK value of egg production rose by 8.5% to £718 million (Defra, 2014). Fear has a negative effect on production though reduced feed efficiency and increased mortality. Feather pecking is associated with increased mortality, a reduction in egg weight and quality, lower feed efficiency, and has been estimated to cost the egg industry around £12 million per year. Reductions in fear and feather pecking will decrease energy usage and improve productivity. Worldwide, numerous food certification schemes have been developed to provide assurances to consumers on animal welfare and other societal concerns. Compliance with these assurance schemes as a result of reduced fear and feather pecking and improved welfare will result in higher value food products. Reduced energy usage, increased, higher value production will result in economic benefits for industry and tax payers.

3) Environmental benefits - benefits for the planet: The first and only example of where study of maternal care to improve welfare has been incorporated into commercial farms - dark brooding - has been associated with 80% reduction in energy costs (see Case for Support). In the proposed project, developing a refined version of dark brooders (e.g. associated with recordings of maternal roosting calls or a maternal odorant) will aim to further promote use by birds, increasing uptake of dark brooders on farms and decreasing energy use from heating whole sheds. Less fearful chickens also have lower mortality and improved feed conversion, meaning fewer resources are needed for the production of poultry products.

4) Societal benefits: Good animal welfare in food production is integral to a thriving, sustainable society. A large European Commission survey found that animal welfare is of great importance to European people (mean score 7.8/10) with 62% of participants willing to change their shopping habits to buy higher welfare products. Furthermore, 77% of Europeans believe that there is a need for further improvements to be made (EC Eurobarometer, 2007). Animal welfare is an important issue that is receiving increasing public attention and results of this project have the potential improve welfare in accordance with these societal aims.