The performance of nest building by domestic hens: is it more important than the construction of a nest?
1989
Hughes, B.O. | Duncan, I.J.H. | Brown, M.F.
Domestic hens were presented with three different types of littered nest: a flat litter surface (A), a preformed hollowed nest (B) and a preformed nest with an egg (C). Nests B and C had been previously constructed in both nest types A and B. Of the three nest-building behaviour patterns, gathering, in which the hen moved litter nearer to her body with head and beak movements, and litter-placing, in which she picked up particles of litter and dropped them over her shoulder, increased in the preformed nests compared with the control. Rotating, in which the hen crouched on the nest, rotated and scraped outwards with her feet, did not differ between treatments. Thus, nest-building behaviour was not inhibited by the existence of a preformed nest. This finding does not support the hypothesis that animal welfare in intensive housing can be safeguarded merely by providing that environment which would have been created by the animal's own activities. Rather, it suggests that performance of behaviour can in itself be reinforcing and that provision is required for such behaviour to be carried out. This finding may also have important implications for general motivational theory.
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