Publications by authors named "R A Blatchford"
The skeletal health of laying hens improves when birds are given opportunities to perform load-bearing movements with elevated structures, such as perches. We investigated how early access to elevated structures varying in complexity and height would affect bone quality and subsequent keel bone fractures in a layer multitiered aviary. Female Dekalb White pullets were reared in floor pens furnished with floor perches (FL), single-tiered aviaries (ST), or 2-tiered aviaries (TT; n = 5 pens/treatment) through 16 wk of age.
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- The chicken body louse is a parasite that feeds on feathers and negatively affects the health and productivity of egg-laying chickens, especially in cage-free settings.
- A study was conducted comparing infested flocks to uninfested controls, measuring behaviors and welfare indicators like pecking, preening, and presence of skin lesions.
- Results showed infested chickens engaged in more preening and had skin lesions, highlighting the need for more research on the economic impact of chicken body lice on welfare and productivity.
Spatial abilities of hens are particularly sensitive to development during early life. Experiences in pullet housing may have lasting consequences on adult hens' movements in cage-free environments. We tested whether opportunities to access elevated spaces during rearing improved hens' use of a multitiered aviary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProviding environmental enrichments that increase environmental complexity can benefit poultry welfare. This Poultry Science Association symposium paper is structured around four themes on 1) poultry preferences and affective states 2) species-specific behavior, including play behavior and the relationship between behavior, activity level and walking ability, 3) environmental enrichment and its relationship with indicators of welfare, and 4) a case study focusing on the application of enrichments in commercial broiler chicken production. For effective enrichment strategies, the birds' perspective matters most, and we need to consider individual variation, social dynamics, and previous experience when assessing these strategies.
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- Recent studies on welfare certification suggest scatter feeding as enrichment, but scientific backing is limited.
- This research examined how scatter feeding different materials affects the foraging behavior of broiler chicks.
- Results showed that while scatter feeding increased foraging, especially with dried mealworms, it didn't consistently encourage more foraging behavior over time, indicating a need for more research on feed types and methods.