Assessing Environmental Control Strategies in Cage-Free Egg Production Systems: Effect on Spatial Occupancy and Natural Behaviors
Andrés F. Gonzalez-Mora,
Araceli D. Larios,
Alain N. Rousseau,
Stéphane Godbout,
Cédric Morin,
Joahnn H. Palacios,
Michèle Grenier,
Sébastien Fournel
Affiliations
Andrés F. Gonzalez-Mora
Centre Eau Terre Environnement (ETE), Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), 490 rue de la Couronne, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Araceli D. Larios
Agri-Food Engineering Division, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment (IRDA), 2700 rue Einstein, Quebec, QC GIP 3W8, Canada
Alain N. Rousseau
Centre Eau Terre Environnement (ETE), Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), 490 rue de la Couronne, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Stéphane Godbout
Agri-Food Engineering Division, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment (IRDA), 2700 rue Einstein, Quebec, QC GIP 3W8, Canada
Cédric Morin
Agri-Food Engineering Division, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment (IRDA), 2700 rue Einstein, Quebec, QC GIP 3W8, Canada
Joahnn H. Palacios
Agri-Food Engineering Division, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment (IRDA), 2700 rue Einstein, Quebec, QC GIP 3W8, Canada
Michèle Grenier
Agri-Food Engineering Division, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-Environment (IRDA), 2700 rue Einstein, Quebec, QC GIP 3W8, Canada
Sébastien Fournel
Département des sols et de Génie Agroalimentaire, Faculté des Sciences de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation, Université Laval. 2425, rue de l’Agriculture, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
Animal welfare concerns have been a challenging issue for producers and international marketing. In laying hen production, cage-free systems (CFS) have been identified as an alternative to ensure the laying hens’ well-being. Nevertheless, in CFS, important environmental issues have been reported, decreasing indoor air quality. Environmental control strategies (ECS) have been designed to enhance indoor air quality in CFSs. However, little information exists about the effect of these ECSs on natural animal behaviors. Four strategies and one control were tested in an experimental CFS, previously designed to track behavioral variables using video recordings over seven time-lapses of 1 hour per day. Spatial occupancy (SO) and laying hen behaviors (LHB) were registered. One statistical analysis was applied to evaluate the effect of ECS on SO and LHB using a multinomial response model. Results show lower chances to use litter area within the reduction of litter allowance treatment (T17) (p < 0.05). Neither the four ECSs nor the control implemented in this experiment affected the natural behaviors of the hens. However, stress patterns and high activity were reported in the T17 treatment. This study shows that it is possible to use these ECSs without disrupting laying hens’ natural behaviors.
