a
School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, United Kingdom
b School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Queens Terrace, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
b School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Queens Terrace, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
Abstract
In domestic chickens,
the provision of maternal care strongly influences the behavioural
development of chicks. Mother hens play an important role in directing
their chicks’ behaviour and are able to buffer their chicks’ response to
stressors. Chicks imprint upon their mother, who is key in directing
the chicks’ behaviour and in allowing them to develop food preferences.
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 behavioural problems, such as feather
pecking. As well as being an inherent welfare problem, fear can also
lead to panic responses, smothering, and fractured bones. Despite the
beneficial effects of brooding, it is not commercially viable to allow
natural brooding on farms and so chicks are hatched in large incubators
and reared artificially, without a mother hen. In this review we cover
the literature demonstrating the important features of maternal care in
domestic chickens, the
behavioural consequences of deprivation and the welfare implications on
commercial farms. We finish by suggesting ways to use research in
natural maternal care to improve commercial chick rearing practice. ©
2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Author keywords
Animal welfare; Behaviour; Chicken; Domestic; Hen; Imprinting; Laying; Maternal; Simulation; Social learning
