The types of bedding and flooring material used early in a laying hens’ life can influence air quality, hen welfare and egg quality, according to new research from the Purdue University College of Agriculture.
“Laying hen research is very interesting, but also very complex, because laying hens are in production for a long time,” explained Marisa Erasmus, Ph.D, assistant professor, Purdue University College of Agriculture.
“We examined the early rearing environment with white and brown laying hen pullets, then followed the white pullets until 36 weeks of age to collect additional data on how floor type influences hen productivity and welfare, and air quality. The main findings of our study were that the age and type of bird matters, and that the type of flooring that laying hens are housed on can influence body condition and air quality.”
Cage-free layer housing poses several air quality and welfare challenges. Although hens typically have more room to perform natural behaviors, such as perching, nesting and dustbathing, the housing system can also encourage behavioral problems like floor laying, feather pecking, cannibalism and more.
Comparing AstroTurf to other bedding substrates
The research project compared two types of flooring: artificial turf (AstroTurf) flooring and wood shavings.
“One of the key things we found with this study is that a lot changes as birds get older, and these changes are not always consistent,” Erasmus said.
For example, at 20 weeks, the feather conditions of the white pullets housed on shavings was better, however the birds housed on AstroTurf were less likely to sustain a keel tip fracture.
But, at 28 weeks, the AstroTurf-housed birds had worse footpad conditions and were more likely to have keel fractures.
“We found that whether birds were reared with AstroTurf or shavings on the floor did not influence egg production. However, birds with shavings on the floor laid more floor eggs. We did not take any additional steps to prevent floor eggs in this study, and management is key in preventing birds from laying on the floor, so this is something that needs more research,” Erasmus added.
The project was funded by the USPOULTRY Foundation, MPS Egg Farms and proceeds from the International Poultry Expo, part of the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE).
“To follow up on this work, I hope to be able to study birds on a commercial scale and see how our results translate from our relatively small experimental scale to a commercial-scale system. I am also continuing to investigate hen behavior on the two types of flooring so that we can be better able to answer whether housing birds on AstroTurf or shavings at a young age influences their behavior later on, and whether they will still perform behaviors such as dustbathing and foraging when housed on AstroTurf flooring,” she concluded.
