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[hal-04914388] Performance, meat quality and blood parameters in four strains of organic broilers differ according to range use
Chicken meat production in organic systems involves free-range access where animals can express foraging and locomotor behaviours. These behaviours may promote outdoor feed intake, but at the same time energy expenditure when exploring the outdoor area. More generally, the relationship of range use with metabolism, welfare including health, growth performance and meat quality needs to be better understood. We studied four strains of intermediate (JA757) to slow-growing (S757N, White Bresse and a dual-purpose strain) meat-type chickens with outdoor access. We selected 25 males high- (HR) and low-rangers (LR) per strain. Only in JA757, HR exhibited lower body weight before range access, which may have predisposed them to use the range more. Carcass weight and/or carcass yield were significantly lower in HR compared to LR, showing a negative trade-off between range use and growth performance in all strains. Breast meat yellowness was higher in HR compared to LR in JA757 and the dual-purpose strain, probably due to carotenoids intake from the grass. No relationship between range use and welfare indicators at slaughter was reported whatever the strain. Chicken metabolism differed by range use as HR and LR diverged for blood biomarkers of oxidative and metabolic status, immune and inflammatory system response.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Claire Bonnefous) 27 Jan 2025
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04914388v1
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[hal-04699728] L’élevage de poulets biologiques : les verrous à lever et les opportunités offertes par cette production
La France est actuellement au premier rang des productions européennes de poulets biologiques. Cette production ne représente toutefois encore que quelques pourcents de la production nationale. L’élevage avicole biologique est souvent considéré comme respectueux du bien-être animal et de l’environnement. Cependant, au-delà de ces images positives que l’élevage avicole biologique et les produits biologiques véhiculent, certaines contraintes déjà identifiées limitent leur développement. Le contact avec la faune sauvage présentant un risque sanitaire, la gestion du parcours, les tensions sur l’environnement dues à une excrétion des déjections sur le parcours difficilement maîtrisable et la sensibilité au contexte économique et aux comportements de consommation sont autant d’obstacles. L’élevage biologique offre néanmoins des opportunités 1) pour l’animal : le parcours facilite l’expression de nombreux comportements et permet la consommation d’insectes et de plantes possédant diverses propriétés (nutritionnelle, médicinales…) ; 2) pour l’éleveur : une amélioration des conditions de travail ainsi qu’une plus grande satisfaction sont mises en avant ; 3) pour l’environnement : le parcours constitue une source de biodiversité. Après une présentation des conditions d’élevage des poulets biologiques en France et en Europe, nous proposons d’identifier les barrières à l’extension de l’élevage biologique et les leviers/opportunités pour les dépasser.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Karine Germain) 17 Sep 2024
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04699728v1
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[hal-04637092] Early and late cognitive and behavioral aspects associated with range use in free-range laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Individual differences in free-range chicken systems are important factors in fluencing how birds use the range (or not), even if individuals are reared in the same environmental conditions. Here, we investigated how various aspects of the birds ' behavioral and cognitive tendencies, including their optimism/pessimism, cognitive flexibility, sociability, and exploration levels, are associated with range use and how they may change over time (before and after range access). To achieve this, 100 White Leghorn laying hen chicks underwent three distinct behavioral/cognitive tests - the cognitive bias test, the detour test, and the multivariate test -prior to gaining access to the range, between 9 and 39 days of age. After range access was allowed (from day 71), birds ' range use was evaluated over 7 nonconsecutive days (from 74 -91 days of age). Subsequently, a subset of birds, classi fied as high rangers (n = 15) and low rangers (n = 15) based on their range use, underwent retesting on the same three previous tests between 94 and 108 days of age. Our results unveiled a negative correlation trend between birds ' evaluation of the ambiguous cue and their subsequent range use (rho =0.19, p = 0.07). Furthermore, low rangers were faster to learn the detour task ( x2 = 7.34, df = 1, p = 0.006), coupled with increased sociability during the multivariate test (rho = -0.23, p = 0.02), contrasting with their highranging counterparts, who displayed more exploratory behaviors (F[1,27] = 3.64, p = 0.06). These behavioral patterns fluctuated over time (before and after range access); however, conclusively attributing these changes to birds ' aging and development or the access to the range remains challenging. Overall, our results corroborate that behavioral and cognitive individual differences may be linked to range use and offer novel perspectives on the early behavioral and cognitive traits that may be linked to range use. These findings may serve as a foundation for adapting environments to meet individual needs and improve animal welfare in the future.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 05 Jul 2024
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04637092v1
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[hal-04588500] High-throughput phenotyping to characterise range use behaviour in broiler chickens
A key characteristic of free-range chicken farming is to enable chickens to spend time outdoors. However, each chicken may use the available areas for roaming in variable ways. To check if, and how, broilers use their outdoor range at an individual level, we need to reliably characterise range use behaviour. Traditional methods relying on visual scans require significant time investment and only provide discontinuous information. Passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) systems enable tracking individually tagged chickens’ when they go through pop-holes; hence, they only provide partial information on the movements of individual chickens. Here, we describe a new method to measure chickens’ range use and test its reliability on three ranges each containing a different breed. We used an active RFID system to localise chickens in their barn, or in one of nine zones of their range, every 30 seconds and assessed range-use behaviour in 600 chickens belonging to three breeds of slow- or medium-growing broilers used for outdoor production (all <40 g daily weight gain). From those real-time locations, we determined five measures to describe daily range use: time spent in the barn, number of outdoor accesses, number of zones visited in a day, gregariousness (an index that increases when birds spend time in zones where other birds are), and numbers of zone changes. Principal Component Analyses (PCAs) were performed on those measures, in each production system, to create two synthetic indicators of chickens’ range use behaviour. The first two PCA axes represented over 90% of the variance of the five measures and were both consistent over time and correlated with independent visual scans. Contributions of the five measures to the PCAs were similar among breeds, except for the correlation between the number of outdoor accesses and the four other measures. PC1 correlated with time spent inside the barn and zone changes frequency, whilst PC2 was explained by exploration of the range. Taken together, PC1 and PC2 indicators showed that range use increased with age, outdoor temperature (in spring), and did not differ between males and females. Importantly, daily scores for both indicators were repeatable among individuals - particularly in PC1 - showing inter-individual variability on range-use. The characterisation of broiler behaviour around their range with these reliable and repeatable indicators provides novel tools to help understand individual variations of range-use in free-range farming.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Julie Collet) 27 May 2024
https://hal.science/hal-04588500v1
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[hal-04426412] Feeding predictability as a cognitive enrichment protects brain function and physiological status in rainbow trout: a multidisciplinary approach to assess fish welfare
Cognitive enrichment is a promising but understudied type of environmental enrichment that aims to stimulate the cognitive abilities of animals by providing them with more opportunities to interact with (namely, to predict events than can occur) and to control their environment. In a previous study, we highlighted that farmed rainbow trout can predict daily feedings after two weeks of conditioning, the highest conditioned response being elicited by the combination of both temporal and signalled predictability. In the present study, we tested the feeding predictability that elicited the highest conditioned response in rainbow trout (both temporal and signalled by bubbles, BUBBLE+TIME treatment) as a cognitive enrichment strategy to improve their welfare. We thus analysed long-term effects of this feeding predictability condition as compared with an unpredictable feeding condition (RANDOM treatment) on the welfare of rainbow trout, including the markers in the modulation of brain function, through a multidisciplinary approach. To reveal the brain regulatory pathways and networks involved in the long-term effects of feeding predictability, we measured genes markers of cerebral activity and plasticity, neurotransmitters pathways and physiological status of fish (oxidative stress, inflammatory status, cell type and stress status). After almost three months under these predictability conditions of feeding, we found clear evidence of improved welfare in fish from BUBBLE+TIME treatment. Feeding predictability allowed for a food anticipatory activity and resulted in fewer aggressive behaviours, burst of accelerations, and jumps before mealtime. BUBBLE+TIME fish were also less active between meals, which is in line with the observed decreased expression of transcripts related to the dopaminergic system. BUBBLE+TIME fish tented to present fewer eroded dorsal fin and infections to the pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum. Decreased expression of most of the studied mRNA involved in oxidative stress and immune responses confirm these tendencies else suggesting a strong role of feeding predictability on fish health status and that RANDOM fish may have undergone chronic stress. Fish emotional reactivity while isolated in a novel-tank as measured by fear behaviour and plasma cortisol levels were similar between the two treatments, as well as fish weight and size. To conclude, signalled combined with temporal predictability of feeding appears to be a promising approach of cognitive enrichment to protect brain function via physiological status of farmed rainbow trout in the long term.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Aude Kleiber) 21 Mar 2024
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04426412v1
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[hal-05453526] Mieux comprendre le picage. Origines et pistes d'amélioration
Chez les poules pondeuses, le picage sévère représente un problème majeur en termes de bien-être animal et de productivité en élevage. Ce comportement peut avoir une multitude d’origines, que ce soit la densité d’animaux, le manque d’enrichissement, l’alimentation, ou encore être lié à des facteurs intrinsèques à l’individu et/ou à sa génétique. Ainsi, les souches rousses sont réputées pour avoir un tempérament plus piqueur que les souches blanches. Cette prédisposition à piquer peut donc être héréditaire, ce qui a permis de sélectionner des lignées de poules au tempérament plus ou moins piqueur. Les lignées piqueuses se montrent en général plus proactives que les lignées moins piqueuses, notamment en se déplaçant davantage dans un environnement nouveau ou en vocalisant plus. Cela suggère que certains traits comportementaux pourraient permettre d’identifier les individus piqueurs au sein de lignées utilisées en élevage. Une identification précoce de ces individus pourrait permettre de prendre des mesures préventives et de limiter le picage avant même son apparition. Cette synthèse vise à résumer les connaissances actuelles sur le picage chez la poule pondeuse et proposer des pistes d’améliorations.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Lucille Dumontier) 12 Jan 2026
https://hal.science/hal-05453526v1
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[hal-04219741] Comment les volailles perçoivent et interprètent leur environnement : recherche scientifique et exemples d’applications
La science s’intéresse de longue date aux pratiques d’élevage et à la notion de sensibilité animale. En accord avec ces questionnements, il existe une demande sociétale croissante pour l’amélioration des conditions de vie des animaux de rente. Cette amélioration nécessite des connaissances de leurs capacités cognitives, qui permettent à l’animal de traiter, mémoriser, interpréter ce qui se passe dans son environnement. Ces connaissances permettent d’expliquer voire limiter certains comportements observés en élevage. [ Cet article est issu d’une synthèse présentée aux 14èmes Journées de la Recherche Avicole des 9-10 mars 2022 à Tours. (Calandreau et al., 2022) ]
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Rachel Degrande) 27 Sep 2023
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04219741v1
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[hal-04109688] Cognitive enrichment to increase fish welfare in aquaculture: A review
While most animals have received increasing attention for their welfare, consideration for fish welfare has started more recently, particularly since the recognition that fish have emotions and complex cognitive abilities. Housing conditions in fish farms do not always meet fish ethological requirements as these conditions lack sufficient sensory and cognitive stimulations. An approach to address this issue involves enriching the rearing environment by including social, food, physical, or cognitive stimuli. Cognitive enrichment (CE) is a recent but promising concept to improve fish welfare by manipulating the predictability and controllability of their environment. It relies not only on the ability of fish to predict positive and negative events but also on their ability to perform and succeed in operant conditioning. In our present review, we identified four categories of CE: (i) feeding predictability, (ii) predictability of a negative event, (iii) operant conditioning through self-feeders, and (iv) learning experiences. Existing CEs were reviewed for their effects on behaviour, brain, zootechnical performances, and welfare in terms of physiological stress or physical integrity in the aquarium and farmed teleost fish. The review highlights unbalanced categories and the lack of adequate multidisciplinary analyses to assess the effects of these categories on fish welfare. Providing free access to self-feeders seems to be a good strategy, given its positive effects on zootechnical and physiological parameters. Other categories showed contradictory and species-dependent results; hence, further studies are required to confirm the benefits of CE on fish welfare. Finally, further investigations should also validate current CE systems and assess other strategies that may trigger positive emotions in fish.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Aude Kleiber) 09 Jul 2025
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04109688v1
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[hal-04052261] Behavioural indicators of range use in four broiler strains
Free-range systems provide an outdoor range for broilers to give them the possibility to express a higher frequency and a wider range of behaviours, such as exploration, compared with those raised indoors. Greater variability in outdoor range use between individuals of the same flock is often reported. Individual variation in range use may result from differences in early-life behaviour or genetic background. Understanding how earlylife behaviour influences range use may provide opportunities to enhance and predict range use. Previous studies have shown that range use could be influenced by the animal’s personality traits such as social motivation, boldness and foraging motivation. Therefore, this study investigated personality traits in several broiler strains, namely Hubbard JA757, Hubbard S757N, White Bresse and a dual-purpose strain; we examined the latter as it represents a potential solution to the ban of 1-day-old chick culling. The present study also investigated early-life behaviours, before range access, of range use to identify and assess the stability of these early-life indicators among the four broiler strains. For that purpose, we recorded the behaviour and range use of 100 male chickens per strain, both in the barn and during individual tests, before and after range access. We examined which behaviours were time consistent, whether early-life behaviours were influenced by genetic variation and whether early-life behavioural indicators predicted range use regardless of genetic variation. There was a significant (p < 0.001) difference between strains in several early-life behaviours, including the time spent resting or standing. Range use was time consistent regardless of the strain as our range use indicator followed a high-quality linear regression model (R2 > 0.7) for 82–99% of the individuals depending on their strain. Besides, time consistency of social motivation and boldness seemed to depend on the strain. Even though foraging showed low (rho = 0.2–0.4) positive correlations with range use in three of the four studied strains, there were no significant and strong correlations in the four studied strains between early-life behavioural indicators and range use. In conclusion, our results show that the link between chick behaviour (before range access) and range use can be modulated by the bird’s strain. It is crucial to consider all these different factors to better understand how range use varies within and between flocks.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Claire Bonnefous) 30 Mar 2023
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04052261v1
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[hal-03746208] Positive effects of bubbles as a feeding predictor on behaviour of farmed rainbow trout
Occupational enrichment emerges as a promising strategy for improving the welfare of farmed animals. This form of enrichment aims to stimulate cognitive abilities of animals by providing them with more opportunities to interact with and control their environment. Predictability of salient daily events, and in particular predictability of feeding, is currently one of the most studied occupational enrichment strategies and can take several forms. In fish, while temporal predictability of feeding has been widely investigated, signalled predictability (based on a signal, such as light or sound) has received little attention. Depending on the type of predictability used and the ecology of the species, the effects on fish welfare often differ. The present study aimed to determine which feeding predictability would be most appropriate for rainbow trout, the main continental farmed fish in Europe, and what the consequences might be for their welfare. We tested four feeding predictability conditions: temporal (based on time of day), signalled (based on bubble diffusion), temporal + signalled (based on time and bubble diffusion), and unpredictable (random feeding times). Behavioural and zootechnical outcomes recorded were swimming activity, aggressive behaviours, burst of accelerations, and jumps, emotional reactivity, and growth. Our results showed that rainbow trout can predict daily feedings relying on time and/or bubbles as predictors as early as two weeks of conditioning, as evidenced by their increased swimming activity before feeding or during feed omission tests, which allowed to reinforce their conditioned response. Temporal predictability alone resulted in an increase in pre-feeding aggressive behaviours, burst of accelerations, and jumps, suggesting that the use of time as the sole predictor of feedings in husbandry practices may be detrimental to fish welfare. Signalled predictability with bubbles alone resulted in fewer pre-feeding agonistic behaviours, burst of accelerations, and jumps than in the temporal predictability condition. The combination of temporal and signalled predictability elicited the highest conditioned response and the level of pre-feeding aggression behaviours, burst of accelerations and jumps tended to be lower than for temporal predictability alone. Interestingly, fish swimming activity during bubble diffusion also revealed that bubbles were highly attractive regardless of the condition. Rainbow trout growth and emotional reactivity were not affected by the predictability condition. We conclude, therefore, that the use of bubbles as a feeding predictor could represent an interesting approach to improve rainbow trout welfare in farms, by acting as both an occupational and physical enrichment.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Aude Kleiber) 31 Aug 2022
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03746208v1
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[hal-03760602] Welfare issues and potential solutions for laying hens in free range and organic production systems: A review based on literature and interviews
In free-range and organic production systems, hens can make choices according to their needs and desires, which is in accordance with welfare definitions. Nonetheless, health and behavioral problems are also encountered in these systems. The aim of this article was to identify welfare challenges observed in these production systems in the EU and the most promising solutions to overcome these challenges. It is based on a review of published literature and research projects complemented by interviews with experts. We selected EU specific information for welfare problems, however, the selected literature regarding solutions is global. Free range use may increase the risk of infection by some bacteria, viruses and parasites. Preventive methods include avoiding contamination thanks to biosecurity measures and strengthening animals' natural defenses against these diseases which can be based on nutritional means with new diet components such as insect-derived products, probiotics and prebiotics. Phytotherapy and aromatherapy can be used as preventive and curative medicine and vaccines as alternatives to antibiotics and pesticides. Bone quality in pullets and hens prevents keel deviations and is favored by exercise in the outdoor range. Free range use also lead to higher exposure to variable weather conditions and predators, therefore shadow, fences and guard animals can be used to prevent heat stress and predation respectively. Granting a free range provides opportunities for the expression of many behaviors and yet many hens usually stay close to the house. Providing the birds with trees, shelters or attractive plants can increase range use. Small flock sizes, early experiences of enrichment and personality traits have also been found to enhance range use. Severe feather pecking can occur in free range production systems, although flocks using the outdoor area have better plumage than indoors. While many prevention strategies are facilitated in free range systems, the influence of genetics, prenatal and nutritional factors in free range hens still need to be investigated. This review provides information about practices that have been tested or still need to be explored and this information can be used by stakeholders and researchers to help them evaluate the applicability of these solutions for welfare improvement.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Claire Bonnefous) 09 Sep 2022
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03760602v1
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[hal-04185493] White Leghorn and Red Junglefowl female chicks use distal and local cues similarly, but differ in persistency behaviors, during a spatial orientation task
Although there is evidence to suggest that animal domestication acts as a modulator of spatial orientation, little is known on how domesticated animals, compared to their wild counterparts, orientate themselves when confronted to different environmental cues. Here, using domesticated White Leghorn chicks, and their ancestor, the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), our main objective was to investigate how bird domestication influences the use of distal and local cues, during an orientation task. We also investigated the memory retention of these cues over time, and how persistent/flexible individuals from both breeds were at pecking at unreachable mealworms. Our results showed that the breeds did not differ in their use of distal or local cues, with both showing a marked preference for the use of local cues over distal ones. Over time, individual performance declined, but this was not influenced by the type of cue present during the tests, nor by the breed. Domesticated chicks showed greater signs of persistency compared to their wild conspecifics. In conclusion, domestication did not seem to alter how birds orientate spatially, but may have caused more subtle changes, such as an increase in behavioral persistency, a feature that may be adaptative in human-controlled and homogenous environments.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 22 Aug 2023
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04185493v1
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[hal-03627159] Foraging Behavior Shows Individual-Consistency Over Time, and Predicts Range Use in Slow-Growing Free-Range Male Broiler Chickens
Recent research on free-range chickens shows that individual behavioral differences may link to range use. However, most of these studies explored individual behavioral differences only at one time point or during a short time window, assessed differences when animals were out of their social group and home environment (barn and range), and in specific tests or situations. Therefore, it is yet unclear how different behaviors relate to range use and how consistent these behaviors are at the individual level. To fill this gap, we here aimed to describe the behavioral budget of slow-growing male broiler chickens (S757N) when in their social group and home environment during the whole rearing period (from the second week of life to the twelfth week, before slaughter), and to relate observed behavioral differences to range use. For this, we followed a sample of individuals in two flocks ( n = 60 focal chickens out of 200 chickens per flock), over two seasons, during three periods: before range access (from 14 to 25 days old), during early range access (first weeks of range access, from 37 to 53 days old), and during late range access (last weeks of range access, from 63 to 87 days old). By the end of each period, individual tests of exploration and social motivation were also performed, measuring exploration/activity and sociability propensities. Our results show that foraging (i.e., pecking and scratching at the ground) was the only behavior that correlated to range use for all three rearing periods, independent of the season. Foraging was also the only behavior that showed within-individual consistency from an early age and across the three rearing periods. Foraging may, therefore, serve as a useful behavioral predictor of range use in free-range broiler chickens. Our study increases the knowledge of how behaviors develop and relate to each other in a domesticated and intensely selected species, and improves our understanding of the biology of free-range broiler chickens. These findings can, ultimately, serve as a foundation to increase range use and improve chicken welfare.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 03 May 2024
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03627159v1
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[hal-03133130] Rainbow trout discriminate 2-D photographs of conspecifics from distracting stimuli using an innovative operant conditioning device
Cognitive abilities were studied in rainbow trout, the first continental fish production in Europe. Increasing public concern for the welfare of farmed-fish species highlighted the need for better knowledge of the cognitive status of fish. We trained and tested 15 rainbow trout with an operant conditioning device composed of self-feeders positioned in front of visual stimuli displayed on a screen. The device was coupled with a two-alternative forced-choice (2-AFC) paradigm to test whether rainbow trout can discriminate 2-D photographs of conspecifics (S+) from different visual stimuli (S-). The S- were applied in four stages, the last three stages representing increasing discrimination difficulty: (1) blue shapes; (2) black shape (star); (3) photograph of an object (among a pool of 60); (4) photograph of another fish species (among a pool of 60). Nine fish (out of 15) correctly managed to activate the conditioning device after 30–150 trials. The rainbow trout were able to discriminate images of conspecifics from an abstract shape (five individuals out of five) or objects (four out of five) but not from other fish species. Their ability to learn the category "fish shape" rather than distinguishing between conspecifics and heterospecifics is discussed. The successful visual discrimination task using this complex operant conditioning device is particularly remarkable and novel for this farmed-fish species, and could be exploited to develop cognitive enrichments in future farming systems. This device can also be added to the existing repertoire of testing devices suitable for investigating cognitive abilities in fish.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Aude Kleiber) 20 Apr 2023
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03133130v1
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[hal-03207748] Loss of light colour preference after chronic embryonic stress in rainbow trout fry: a novel and potential indicator of fish welfare?
For many fish species, environmental colour may act either as a source of stress or as a stress-buffer, alleviating behavioural and physiological responses after a stressful situation. While much is known on the effects of environmental colour on fish stress parameters, knowledge on the effects of stress on fish colour preferences is still lacking. In order to test the effects of stress on colour preference in fish, in this work, we exposed rainbow trout embryos (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to stressful conditions (air exposure, pheromone alarm cue or control, with minimal stress) from 19 to 44 days post fertilization (dpf). They were then raised up to 56 dpf in bright, dark, green or blue environments. After that, fry were individually tested for colour preference in a three-chambered arena where they could choose between green and blue areas. The time spent in the blue and in the green chamber was compared between experimental groups. Rainbow trout fry exposed to minimal stress (control) or to biotic stress (pheromone alarm) showed increased time in the blue environment, with little effect of ambient colour where they were raised. However, fish that experienced air exposure stress showed a lack of colour preference irrespective of the colour they were raised in afterwards. These results imply that early life stress affects colour preference in rainbow trout, suggesting that abiotic stressors, such as air exposure, may affect colour perception or behavioural plasticity in young fish. If the results presented herein are corroborated by future studies in fish at different life stages, beyond the embryonic phase, colour preference tests may be used as an additional and potential welfare indicator to estimate, in a retrospective manner, which stressors were faced by the individuals during early stages. By knowing whether or not their fish were exposed to certain stressful conditions may allow farmers to better adapt fish rearing conditions and to implement strategies that alleviate any long-term impacts that may exist, and, therefore, improve fish welfare.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Violaine Colson) 08 Jul 2022
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03207748v1
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[hal-03173757] Working for food is related to range use in free-range broiler chickens
When animals prefer to make efforts to obtain food instead of acquiring it from freely available sources, they exhibit what is called contrafreeloading. Recently, individual differences in behavior, such as exploration, were shown to be linked to how prone an individual may be to contrafreeload. In this work, our main objective was to test whether and how individual differences in range use of free-range broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) were related to the individual motivation to contrafreeload. We also verified whether other behavioral variations could relate to range use. To that aim, over three different periods (before range access, first weeks of range access, and last weeks of range access), chickens with different ranging levels (low and high rangers) were submitted to a contrafreeloading test and had different behaviors recorded (such as foraging, resting, locomotion) in their home environment. During the contrafreeloading test, chickens were conditioned to one chamber presenting a foraging substrate and mealworms, while in the other chamber, mealworms were freely available on the floor. During testing trials, chickens had access to both empty chambers, and the time spent in each chamber was quantified. On average, low rangers preferred the chamber where mealworms were easily accessible (without the foraging substrate), while high rangers preferred the chamber where mealworms were accessible with difficulty, showing greater contrafreeloading. Out of ten behaviors recorded in chickens' home environment, foraging was the only one that differed significantly between our two ranging groups, with low rangers foraging, on average, significantly less than high rangers. These results corroborate previous experiences suggesting that range use is probably linked to chickens' exploratory trait and suggest that individual differences in free-range broiler chickens are present even before range access. Increasing our knowledge of individual particularities is a necessary step to improve free-range chicken welfare on the farm.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 18 Mar 2021
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03173757v1
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[hal-03140110] Range use is related to free-range broiler chickens’ behavioral responses during food and social conditioned place preference tests
Free-range broiler chickens usually show an uneven spatial utilization of an outdoor range. Due to behavioral and cognitive between-individual differences, some animals may be driven to associate food and conspecifics more strongly to the barn, causing them to be less prone to explore the range. In this study, we aimed to understand how broiler chickens with different ranging levels (low- and high-ranging chickens) would behave under conditioned place preference (CPP) test situations. We used two cohorts conditioned to two natural rewarding stimuli: food and social companions. In a two-chambered apparatus, one cohort (n = 31, 16 high-ranging, and 15 low-ranging chickens) was conditioned to one chamber that always contained a cup with a food reward (mealworms), while the cup in the other chamber was always empty. The same design was also used with the second cohort (n = 31, 15 high-ranging and 16 low-ranging chickens), although instead of food, the reward was the physical presence of two conspecifics. During the testing trials, the animals had access to both empty chambers, and the time spent in each chamber was quantified. For the first day of the food CPP test, both the high- and low-ranging chickens spent significantly more time in the conditioned chamber, where they had previously found mealworms. During the following extinction days, the animals showed a gradual loss of their learned preference, increasing their immobility in the apparatus. High-ranging chickens were more immobile than low-ranging chickens, however, as their number of trials without moving was significantly higher. Unexpectedly, during the first day of the social CPP test, only high-ranging chickens showed a place preference. An overall place preference was observed only on the second day, with no chamber preference during the extinction days. Our results suggest that whether and how a stimulus-reward association occurs for free-range chickens may also be dependent on individual differences and the nature of the reward (food or social). Since associative learning occurs on a daily basis for farmed animals and the way individuals learn or value the reward varies, this research advanced our knowledge of animal behavior and individual cognitive differences that can be highly beneficial in improving animals' living conditions; this new understanding will allow for a more individualized approach to rearing broiler chickens in outdoor systems.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 22 Aug 2022
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03140110v1
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[hal-03140125] Social motivation and the use of distal, but not local, featural cues are related to ranging behavior in free-range chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Animals can navigate an environment relying on different sources of information, such as geometrical or featural cues. The favoring of one type of information over another depends on multiple factors, such as inter-individual differences in behavior and cognition. Free-range chickens present different range use patterns, which may be explained by behavioral and cognitive differences. However, how behavior, cognition, and range use intercorrelate is still poorly understood. In this work, we aimed to further understand possible differences in behavior and cognition between two groups of free-range broiler chickens: those who frequently explore their range ('high rangers') and those who prefer to stay in or near the barn ('low rangers'). Prior to range access, individual behavior was measured in open field-, emergence-, and social motivation tests. To investigate cognitive differences, we analyzed whether exploratory behavior was linked to different performances in the use of distal and local spatial cues during an orientation task. During the social motivation test, low rangers showed a higher inclination to be near conspecifics than did high rangers. Our orientation tests show that chickens preferred to orientate themselves using the local cues over the distal cues. Individual differences were only found for distal, but not for local, cue use suggesting that demanding tasks are more efficient in revealing individual cognitive differences. Our results suggest that considering variation in social motivation may allow a more comprehensive understanding of chicken range use. Our results also support the importance of incorporating multiple aspects of individual differences to understand individual reactions to its environment.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 12 Feb 2021
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03140125v1
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[hal-02622887] Uninhibited chickens: ranging behaviour impacts motor self-regulation in free-range broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Inhibiting impulsive, less flexible behaviours is of utmost importance for individual adaptation in an ever-changing environment. However, problem-solving tasks may be greatly impacted by individual differences in behaviour, since animals with distinct behavioural types perceive and interact with their environment differently, resulting in variable responses to the same stimuli. Here, we tested whether and how differences in ranging behaviour of free-range chickens affect motor self-regulation performance during a cylinder task. For this task, subjects must refrain from trying to reach a food reward through the walls of a transparent cylinder and detour to its open sides, as a sign of inhibition. Free-range chickens exhibited an overall low performance in the motor self-regulation task (31.33 +/- 13.55% of correct responses), however, high rangers showed significantly poorer performance than the low rangers (23.75 +/- 9.16% versus 40 +/- 12.90%, respectively). These results give further support to the impacts of individual behavioural differences on cognitive performances. This is the first demonstration to our knowledge of a relationship between exploratory tendencies and motor self-regulation for an avian species.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 26 May 2020
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02622887v1
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[hal-02629384] Relationship between ranging behavior and spatial memory of free-range chickens
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ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira) 26 Oct 2021
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02629384v1
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[hal-02675574] Humeral quality and adrenal responsiveness in laying hens reared in standard and furnished cages
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ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vanessa Guesdon) 31 May 2020
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02675574v1
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[hal-00889948] Humeral quality and adrenal responsiveness in laying hens reared in standard and furnished cages
In order to find out whether furnished cages contribute to improving the welfare of laying hens, humerus quality and adrenal responsiveness were evaluated in laying hens reared in standard (S) and furnished cages (F). Four cage models were used: S5, a standard cage model with 5 hens per cage; S6, a standard cage model with 6 hens per cage; F7, a furnished cage model with 7 hens per cage (with a nest, dust-bathing box, two perches, and claw-shortening) and F15, a furnished cage model with 15 hens per cage (with a nest, dust-bathing box, two perches, and claw-shortening). At 72 weeks of age, maximal adrenal responsiveness was evaluated by measuring the changes in blood corticosterone level induced by the i.m. injection of 10 µg per hen of 1-24 ACTH (n = 15 hens per cage model). Hens (n = 15 to 23 hens per cage model) were slaughtered and the left and right humeri were used for measurement of weight, biomechanical characteristics in a flexion test, dry matter and ash percentage. Basal corticosterone levels did not differ significantly while the injection of ACTH produced a significant rise in corticosterone levels (P < 0.001) of similar amplitude for all cage models. Humeri weights, biomechanical characteristics (elastic strain, bioyield point, stiffness and breaking strength), dry weight and percentage of dry matter were not significantly different between cage models. The humeri ash percentage was significantly (P = 0.03) lower in birds from the S6 cage model (57.4%) than in birds from other cage models (S5: 59.0%; F7: 58.9%; F15: 59.7%). Adrenal responsiveness and major humeral characteristics were not significantly improved in furnished compared to standard cages in our experimental conditions.
ano.nymous@ccsd.cnrs.fr.invalid (Vanessa Guesdon) 11 May 2020
https://hal.science/hal-00889948v1
