Publikationsdatenbank

How to see stress in chickens:
on the way to a stressed chicken scale (2024)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Schlegel, Larissa (WE 15)

Kleine, Anne S.

Doherr, Marcus G. (WE 16)

Fischer-Tenhagen, Carola

Quelle

Poultry Science

Seiten: Artikelnummer: 103875

ISSN: 0032-5791

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579124004541?via%3Dihub

DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103875

Kontakt

Nutztierklinik: Abteilung Geflügel

Königsweg 63
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62676
gefluegelkrankheiten@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

For many species, scales are used to classify discomfort and stress (e.g., facial expression / pain scales). Although a significant number of vertebrates used for scientific purposes are chickens, a corresponding scale for birds has not yet been established. We developed a Stressed Chicken Scale (SCS) to investigate whether it is possible to assess discomfort in a chicken by its body posture. A selective review with additional handsearch was conducted to find suitable parameters for visual stress assessment. Seven potential body signals were identified: Tail and head position, eye closure, beak opening, leg and wing position, and plumage fullness (ruffled or fluffed up feathers). The SCS was evaluated for interobserver reliability with veterinary students (n = 20), using randomized pictures of stressed and unstressed chickens in lateral view (n = 80). Observers were able to identify the body signals on the pictures after a brief training session. Agreement scores for interobserver agreement ranged from κ = 0.31 (fair agreement) for eye closure to κ = 0.78 (substantial agreement) for beak opening. We found that the number of body signals displayed in a stressed expression had an impact on observers' overall assessment of the chickens, e.g., chickens were more likely to be rated as stressed if more than four signals indicative of stress were present. We conclude that the 7 individual body signals can be used to identify discomfort in chickens.