Feather pecking in domestic chicks: its relation to dustbathing and foraging

Feather pecking is a serious problem in poultry housing, as it may lead to feather damage, injuries and even mortality. We tested predictions of the two prevalent hypotheses claiming that feather pecking is related to dustbathing and foraging, respectively. Forty-two groups of 30 laying hen chicks, Gallus gallus domesticus, were reared in pens with a slatted floor. Access to sand as a dustbathing substrate and straw as a foraging substrate was varied between groups. The rate of Feather pecking was measured in early development up to week 7. The provision of a sand area did not prevent the chicks from developing high rates of feather pecking that caused injuries. Chicks that had access to sand from day 10 showed higher rates of feather pecking than chicks that had access to sand from day 1. The provision of straw to chicks that had developed high rates of feather pecking led to a decrease in this behaviour. Chicks that could use both sand and straw from day 1 on did not show high rates of feather pecking, and no injuries were observed in these groups. There was no significant difference in dustbathing activity between housing conditions characterized by high or low rates of feather pecking. On the other hand, foraging activity was inversely related to the rate of feather pecking, and the occurrence of feather pecking could be delayed from week 4 to week 7 by postponing procedures that led to changes in foraging behaviour. In conclusion, the results show that the presence of an appropriate substrate for dustbathing does not prevent domestic chicks from developing feather pecking. On the other hand, housing conditions that promote foraging behaviour are effective in reducing and preventing feather pecking. (C) 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.