Effects of Dust Bath Design on Hen Behavior in New Aviary Systems in China.

Zhihao Zhang, Qian Zhang, Jianying Xu, Baoming Li, Weichao Zheng, Yang Wang

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Zhihao ZhangDepartment of Agricultural Structure and Environmental Engineering, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.

Qian ZhangDepartment of Agricultural Structure and Environmental Engineering, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.

Jianying XuDepartment of Agricultural Structure and Environmental Engineering, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.

Baoming LiDepartment of Agricultural Structure and Environmental Engineering, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5368-4969

Weichao ZhengDepartment of Agricultural Structure and Environmental Engineering, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.

Yang WangDepartment of Agricultural Structure and Environmental Engineering, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.

Funding

China Agricultural Research System CARS-40

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alternative housing systems for laying hens, such as the aviary, promote the expression of dustbathing behavior by providing substrate materials to improve their welfare. However, extensive litter areas in aviaries can lead to reduced air quality and increased incidence of diseases, making them unsuitable for deployment in new large cage aviary unit (LCAU) systems in China. Dust baths have advantages in terms of continuous availability, but their design lacks unified standards. This study explored the effects of different areas, shapes (circular and square), and substrate depths (1 cm, 5 cm, 9 cm) of dust baths on dustbathing behavior in LCAU systems by recording digital video. Each LCAU system was initially populated with 305 Jingfen No. 2 laying hens at 50 days of age. The dust baths were initially placed on the bottommost tier at 66 days of age. The results showed that after approximately 3 weeks of adaptation to dustbathing, the average daily proportion of dustbathing hens within the flock stabilized at approximately 10%. A 50 cm diameter circular dust bath could accommodate their dustbathing requirements. Increasing the number of circular dust baths to 2 did not significantly affect the daily proportion of dustbathing hens. Both the circular dust bath and a 5 cm depth substrate resulted in better expression of the hens' side rubbing behavior and the lower frequency of tossing behavior.

Indexed as

aviarydustbathingpoultrysubstrate depthwelfare

Identifiers

PMID41153874

DOI10.3390/ani15202946

PMCPMC12560925

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.