Tiered aviaries are intended to improve laying hen welfare by providing resources that enable them to perform essential behaviors. However, hens must be able to navigate these complex systems efficiently and safely. This study investigated the influence of providing perches and nests starting at 17 or 25 wk of age (WOA) on hens' use of vertical space in an aviary at 36 and 54 WOA. Three treatments were applied to pullets raised in floor pens until 17 WOA (4 units/treatment; 100 hens/unit). Control (CON) pullets were placed into aviaries at 17 WOA. Floor (FLR) pullets were placed into aviaries at 25 WOA. Perches and nests were placed in enriched (ENR) pullets' floor pens at 17 WOA prior to moving ENR birds to aviaries at 25 WOA. Five focal hens/unit (n = 20 total hens/treatment) were fitted with accelerometers, and their diurnal movement (g) and frequency (n) and acceleration (g) of falls at night were recorded. Direct observation of focal hens was conducted for 6 min/hen at morning, midday, and evening for 3 consecutive days at 36 and 54 WOA, and location and time spent on vertical tiers were recorded. At 36 WOA, FLR hens spent more time on litter than CON and ENR, which spent more time in the top tier (all P ≤ 0.05). ENR hens exhibited higher vertical movement than CON and FLR hens (0.8, 0.6, and 0.3 g; P = 0.003). CON hens fell most often at night (16 vs. 9 FLR and 5 ENR), whereas FLR hens had higher acceleration and calculated collision force than CON and ENR hens during falls (0.8, 0.5, 0.3 g and 15, 10, 5 N, respectively; P ≤ 0.05). At 54 WOA, hens' movement and vertical distribution were similar across treatments. Delaying birds' access to perches and nests until 25 WOA impacted their movement, vertical space use, and falls at night for at least 10 wk. However, providing perches and nests at 17 WOA, even in floor pens, considerably mitigated such impacts.

中文翻译：

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后来暴露在栖息地和巢穴中会减少个体母鸡对鸟舍垂直空间的占用，并增加夜间坠落的力量。

分层鸟舍旨在通过提供使蛋鸡能够进行基本行为的资源来改善蛋鸡的福利。然而，母鸡必须能够有效和安全地驾驭这些复杂的系统。本研究调查了在 17 或 25 周龄 (WOA) 开始提供栖息地和筑巢对母鸡在 36 和 54 WOA 时使用鸟舍垂直空间的影响。对在地板围栏中饲养的小母鸡进行了三种处理，直到 17 WOA（4 单位/处理；100 只母鸡/单位）。将对照 (CON) 小母鸡放入 17 WOA 的鸟舍。将地板 (FLR) 小母鸡放入 25 WOA 的鸟舍。在将 ENR 家禽转移到 25 WOA 的鸟舍之前，将栖息地和巢穴放置在 17 WOA 的富集（ENR）小母鸡的地板围栏中。五只焦点母鸡/单位（n = 20 只母鸡/治疗）装有加速度计，记录他们的昼夜运动（g）和夜间跌倒的频率（n）和加速度（g）。在 36 和 54 WOA 连续 3 天在早上、中午和晚上对焦点母鸡进行 6 分钟/只母鸡的直接观察，并记录在垂直层上花费的位置和时间。在 36 WOA 时，FLR 母鸡在垫料上花费的时间比 CON 和 ENR 更多，后者在顶层花费的时间更多（所有 P ≤ 0.05）。ENR 母鸡的垂直运动高于 CON 和 FLR 母鸡（0.8、0.6 和 0.3 g；P = 0.003）。CON 母鸡最常在夜间跌倒（16 对 9 FLR 和 5 ENR），而 FLR 母鸡在跌倒期间比 CON 和 ENR 母鸡具有更高的加速度和计算的碰撞力（0.8、0.5、0.3 g 和 15、10、5 N，分别；P≤0.05）。在 54 WOA 时，母鸡的运动和垂直分布在不同处理中是相似的。延迟鸟 直到 25 WOA 影响它们的移动、垂直空间使用和夜间跌倒至少 10 周之前，才能进入栖息地和巢穴。然而，在 17 WOA 中提供栖息地和巢穴，即使是在地板围栏中，也大大减轻了这种影响。