An adequate supply of dietary fibre is also important for pre- vention of cannibalism and maintenance of feather cover.
Dry, friable litter is essential for the health and development of a pullet flock. Wet litter can influence feathering as birds sit on the litter and can also lead to a build-up of microbiological contaminants and increased risk of bird illnesses. The litter material should be chosen so as to allow the foraging behav- iour of the bird. It was found that access to straw, a foraging substrate, did decrease feather pecking, but access to sand, a dust-bathing substrate, did not or only to a limited extent. In this latter case, however, the supply grain in the litter could be used to stimulate foraging and reduce feather pecking. Age of exposure seemed to influence feather pecking. It was found that pullets that had access to litter from one day after hatching showed less feather pecking compared to pullets that had access to litter from the age of 10 days. Early expo- sure to litter has probably allowed more time for the develop- ment of the foraging behaviour and hence reduced the feather pecking problem.
Key points to consider in relation to feather cover
1. Feather cover is influenced by a variety of factors such as flock management, nutrition, diseases, and external parasites.
2. Poor feather cover results in increased feed intake and reduced feed efficiency, and adversely affect mating behaviour and fertility of the flock. The bird also loses the physical ‘cushion’ which protects it from injury by the surroundings or other birds.
3. Proper management of house temperature, ventila- tion, lighting, stocking density, and litter material are essential for preventing feather wear and maintaining feather quality. An adequate supply of protein, fibre, minerals, and vitamins should also be given a prime consideration, along with strict control of disease and parasites.
38 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 1, 2019
Nutritional factors Dietary deficiency of crude protein and, more specifically, of the amino acids lysine and methionine + cysteine increased feather pecking behaviour, as indicated by a poorer plumage condition. Feather pecking increased when levels of crude protein, lysine, or methionine + cysteine were reduced below 125, 8.2 and 5.1 g/kg, respectively. Dietary recommendations to realise maximal egg performances for these nutrients are 150, 6.9, and 5.8 g/kg, respectively, indicating that feather pecking is not expected to increase if the diets fulfil the standard crude protein and methionine + cysteine require- ments. The desired dietary lysine content for realising optimal plumage condition, however, is higher than the lysine con- tent required for maximal egg performances. Likewise, feather pecking increases in case of dietary defi- ciencies of magnesium (about 0.5 g/kg), zinc (about 40 ppm), and sodium (about1.5 g/kg). The feather pecking problem also increases with an inadequate supply of some vitamins, particularly A, B, C, and D vitamins (Table 2). An adequate supply of dietary fibre is also important for pre- vention of cannibalism and maintenance of feather cover. A study was conducted to compare the incidence of cannibal- ism with rations containing 80% yellow corn, and with 8%, 13%, and 18% fibre rations produced by substituting oat mill feed for corn in the aforementioned ration. The percent body parts pecked, the severity of pecking as determined by the scoring system, and the cannibalism mortality are given in (Table 3). The relationship of fibre content of the ration and prevention of cannibalism is not fully understood. Conceiva- bly, it may be related to the increased consumption of feed and the time occupied in eating, or to the increased utilisa- tion of minerals with high fibre diets.
PHOTO: KOOS GROENEWOLD
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