Reducing stress during welfare inspection - Validation of a non-intrusive version of the laywel plumage scoring system for laying hens

Joergen Kjaer (1) , Henrike Glawatz (2) , Britta Scholz (1) , Sophie Rettenbacher (3) , Ragnar Tauson (4)

1 ITT - Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry
2 Fachbereich Genetik und Biometrie
3 Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences
4 Department Animal Nutrition and Management

1. The objectives of the present study were to validate a reduced, non-intrusive version (RLS) of the LayWel plumage scoring system in domestic laying hens with reference to the complete, intrusive scoring (CLS) and to investigate the effect of these two scoring methods on corticosterone metabolite concentrations. 2. A total of 312 medium heavy laying hens from 4 commercial hybrids kept in 24 floor pens were scored by two experienced teams. Another 150 hens from 2 hybrids kept in 6 pens were used for estimating scoring treatment effects on corticosterone metabolites in droppings. 3. Plumage scores were in general higher using the RLS method compared to the CLS method. The agreement between teams for plumage scores (CLS) were on a high (total score) to an excellent (single body part except breast and cloaca) level. 4. Birds subjected to CLS tended to have a higher level of corticosterone metabolites in droppings two hours after scoring compared to birds in the control treatment (not scored). Birds subjected to RLS had an intermediate level. 5. It was concluded that a reduced version of the LayWel scoring system is a valid and reliable scoring method tending to induce less stress to the subjects than the original procedure.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Domaines: Biologie animale

Joergen Kjaer, Henrike Glawatz, Britta Scholz, Sophie Rettenbacher, Ragnar Tauson. Reducing stress during welfare inspection - Validation of a non-intrusive version of the laywel plumage scoring system for laying hens. British Poultry Science, 2011, 52 (02), pp.149-154. ⟨10.1080/00071668.2011.554799⟩. ⟨hal-00686679⟩