Effects of declawing and cage shape on productivity, feathering, and fearfulness of egg-type chickens.
Declawing day-old egg-type chicks did not significantly (P less than .05) alter 20-week body weight. However, declawed hens tended to mature earlier and lay more eggs than the intact hens. Hens housed in shallow cages tended to be better feathered than those housed in deep cages. Neither declawing nor cage shape had a significant effect on the time required for birds to return to feeding after exposure to a noise stimulus, which was used as an indicator of fearfulness.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear; D005241:Feathers / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000601:surgery*; D006799:Housing, Animal; D010058:Oviposition; D012741:Sexual Maturation