Feather picking in layer hens can be reduced with 50% when a bitter substance is sprayed on their feathers. This is the conclusion of researcher Bas Rodenbrug from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. "Unfortunately it doesn't work to breaking the habit of feather picking", says Rodenburg.Education
According to Rodenburg, a negative aspect of the spray is that the farmer has to keep on using the product to reduce the feather picking. "It was an experimental study in which we wanted to see if we can educate chickens with the thought that feather taste bad when they are sprayed with a bitter substance, and in return that they remember this thought when spraying is stopped and thus stop the feather picking behaviour as well". Unfortunately this was not the case, the chickens don't remember and the spray has to be used all the time" says Rodenburg.
Less mortality
Nevertheless, this research can benefit poultry farmers. "If they have groups of chickens with a lot of feather picking problems, they could start spraying with quinine or another bitter substance to reduce the problems. If this leads to less mortality among the layer hens it can certainly be economically beneficial. In the study, white Leghorns were used. Rodenburg does not know whether the same results can be expected in other layer breeds.
This study will be published in the November edition of Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
