Taskin et al Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol. 4 (6), pp. 258-264, July 2014. ISSN: 2276-7770 Research Paper Manuscript Number: 063014284 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15580/GJAS.2014.6.063014284 The Effect of Nest Box Curtain Color on the Nest Box Choice of Brown and White Layer Hens Breed in a Free-Range System *1Atilla Taskin, 1Ufuk Karadavut, 2Omer Camci 1Ahi Evran University, Agricultural Faculty, Animal Science Department, Kirsehir, Turkey. 2Mustafa Kemal University, Agricultural Faculty, Animal Science Department, Hatay, Turkey. *Corresponding Author’s Email: taskinatilla@gmail.com Abstract: In this study, the effect of nest box curtain color on the complex behavior of nest box choice of brown and white layer hens bred in a free-range system, an alternative breeding system to battery cages, was analyzed. Yellow, blue, red, and green curtains were placed randomly in the entrance of the nest boxes, and the color of the nest box curtain was observed to affect the egg-laying choices of the hens (P<0.01), while the curtain color x genotype interaction was determined to bear no significance. According to the results, the nest box choices of white layer hens were 36.53%, 17.54%, 15.42%, and 23.64% for red, blue, green, and yellow, respectively; these percentages were 35.01%, 17.52%, 17.66%, and 23.43% for the brown layer hens in the respective order of the colors. On the other hand, the percentage of eggs laid on the ground was determined to be significantly lower in both white and brown layer hens, compared to the control group (P<0.01). Keywords: Layer hens, Free-range, nest box choice, behavior. Return to Content Views: [Full Article – PDF] [Full Article – HTML] [Full Article – EPUB] Reference: Brake N (1993). Influence of nest pad color on nest preference, percentage of flor eggs, and egg production of broiler breeder hens. Poultry Science., 72: 1663-1666. Cooper JJ and Appleby MC (1996). Demand for nest sites by laying hens. Behav. Proces., 36 (2): 171-182. Cooper JJ And MCAppleby (1997). Motivational aspects of individual variation in responset onestboxes by laying hens. Anim. Behav., 54 (5): 1245-1253. Duncan IJH, Savory CJ and Woodgush DGM (1978). Observations on reproductive behavior of domestic fowl in wild. Appl. Anim. Ethol., 4:29–42. Greg M Cronin JL Barnett and Hemsworth PH (2012). The importance of pre-laying behaviour and nest boxes for laying hen welfare: a review, Animal Production Science, 52(7): 398-405. Hurnik JF, Reinhart BS and Hurnik, GI (1973). The effect of coloured nests on the frequency of floor eggs. Poult. Sci., 52:389–391. Kathle J, Braastad BO and Langstrad H (1996). Non-beaked laying hens housed in aviaries. II. Behaviour of cockerel sand their effects on henperformance. Norw. J. Agric. Sci., 10: 425–436. Keeling L (2002). Behaviour of fow land other domesticated birds. In, Jensen P (Ed), The Ethology of Domestic Animals. An Introductory Text.,101-118, CABI Publishing., Wallingford. Lentfer TL, Gebhardt-Henrıch SG, Frohlıch EK and Borell FE (2011). Influence of nest site on the behaviour of laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science., 135 :70-77. Parrott PAW (2004). Hen welfare: the consumers’ perspective. In: Welfare of the Laying Hen. Ed: Perry, C., CAB International, Wallingford, United Kingdom. pp. 11-22. Petherick JC and Rushen J (1997). Behavioural restriction. In, Appleby MC, Hughes BO (Eds), Animal Welfare., 89-105, CAB International, Wallingford. Riber AB (2010). Development with age of nest box use and gregarious nesting in laying hens. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 123:24–31. Riber AB (2012). Nest Sharing under semi-natural conditions in laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science., 136 :44-49. Schmid I and Wechsler B (1998). Identification of key nest site stimuli for Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Applied Animal Behaviour Science., 57: 145-156 Sekeroglu A and Sarica M (2011). Influence of Nesting Litter Material on Nesting Preference of Native Brown and White Layer Strain Reared in Deep Litter and Free Range Systems. Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg., 17 (6): 1039-1042 Zupan M, Kruschwıtz A, Buchwalder T, Huber-Eıcher B and Štuhec I (2008). Comparison of the pre laying behavior of nest layer sand litter layers. Poult. Sci., 87 (3): 399-404. Zupan M, Kruschwıtz A, Huber-Eıcher B (2005). The influence of exposure to light and colour on the choice of nest colours in laying hens. Animal Science Papers and Reports. 23: 129-133.
