Physical Health Problems and Environmental Challenges Influence Balancing Behaviour in Laying Hens

With rising public concern for animal welfare, many major food chains and restaurants are changing their policies, strictly buying their eggs from non-cage producers. However, with the additional space in these cage-free systems to perform natural behaviours and movements comes the risk of injury. We evaluated the ability to maintain balance in adult laying hens with health problems (footpad dermatitis, keel damage, poor wing feather cover; n = 15) using a series of environmental challenges and compared such abilities with those of healthy birds (n = 5). Environmental challenges consisted of visual and spatial constraints, created using a head mask, perch obstacles, and static and swaying perch states. We hypothesized that perch movement, environmental challenges, and diminished physical health would negatively impact perching performance demonstrated as balance (as measured by time spent on perch and by number of falls of the perch) and would require more exaggerated correctional movements.We measured perching stability whereby each bird underwent eight 30-second trials on a static and swaying perch: with and without disrupted vision (head mask), with and without space limitations (obstacles) and combinations thereof. Video recordings (600 Hz) and a three-axis accelerometer/gyroscope (100 Hz) were used to measure the number of jumps/falls, latencies to leave the perch, as well as magnitude and direction of both linear and rotational balance-correcting movements. Laying hens with and without physical health problems, in both challenged and unchallenged environments, managed to perch and remain off the ground. We attribute this capacity to our training of the birds. Environmental challenges and physical state had an effect on the use of accelerations and rotations to stabilize themselves on a perch. Birds with physical health problems performed a higher frequency of rotational corrections to keep the body centered over the perch, whereas, for both health categories, environmental challenges required more intense and variable movement corrections. Collectively, these results provide novel empirical support for the effectiveness of training, and highlight that overcrowding, visual constraints, and poor physical health all reduce perching performance.

The restaurant and food service industry in Puerto Rico : data pertinent to the establishment of minimum wage rates under the Fair labor standards act for employment newly covered by the amendments of 1966 /

"WH67-669."

Data pertinent to the review of minimum wage rates under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the restaurant and food service industry in Puerto Rico /

"September 1968."

Career opportunities in the hotel and restaurant industries.

Mode of access: Internet.

16th census of the United States: 1940. Census of business: 1939. Retail trade. Commodity sales. Eating places, drinking places, cigar stores, cigar stands, liquor stores (packaged goods)

At head of title: U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Jesse H. Jones, Secretary. Bureau of the Census. J.C. Capt, Director ..

Standards for cafeteria service /

Bibliography: leaf 67.

Manual for managers of rural and other small school lunchrooms /

"Recipes": p. 71-226.

Curious California customs,

Mode of access: Internet.

Handbook for workers in school-lunch programs, with special reference to volunteer service.

Mode of access: Internet.

Questions and answers illustrating restaurant operating costs /

Cover title: Restaurant operating costs

Gui a de co mo establecer un restaurante /

In Spanish.

Restaurant start-up profile /

"W.O. 990678. 2M. 5/99"--Colophon.

Restaurant start-up profile.

"This publication has been made available through a partnership of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Illinois Entrepreneurship Business Information Center, the Small Business Development Center Network and the U.S. Small Business Administration"--P. [4] of cover.

Restaurant start-up profile /

"This publication has been made available through a partnership of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's First Stop Business Information Center, the Small Business Development Center Network and the U.S. Small Business Administration"--P. [4] of cover.

My-T-Fine Cafe rear

101-105 S. Thayer. E.G. DeBarr proprietor. On verso: 273-57