STUDIES OF FEATHER PECKING IN POULTRY

Feather pecking and cannibalism are obviously detrimental to birds' we lfare, Moreover, the introduction of alternatives to battery cage hous ing of laying hens is seriously hampered by these behaviours. Our expe rimental work reviewed here supports the hypothesis that feather pecki ng evolves as redirected ground pecking. Thus the main practical strat egy to prevent feather pecking and cannibalism is to provide an adequa te substrate throughout life, from the start of the rearing period onw ards. However, no strategy guarantees that feather pecking will not de velop in practical poultry husbandry and beak trimming may be required in specific cases to prevent the risk of greater welfare problems cau sed by cannibalism. Studies in birds showing differrent propensities f or feather pecking may lead to a better understanding of the processes underlying feather pecking as well as providing simple procedures to select strains of birds in which the incidence of feather pecking and cannibalism is low.