Northern fowl mite infestation affects the nocturnal behavior of laying hens

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dc.contributor.authorJacobs, Leonieen
dc.contributor.authorVezzoli, Giuseppeen
dc.contributor.authorBeerda, Bonneen
dc.contributor.authorMench, Joy A.en
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-16T18:58:27Zen
dc.date.available2020-01-16T18:58:27Zen
dc.date.issued2019-07-01en
dc.date.updated2020-01-16T18:58:24Zen
dc.description.abstractThe northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) is a key pest for caged laying hens. High infestation levels can lead to anemia, reduced production, and mortality. Although the mites cause skin irritation and thus likely affect resting behavior, the nocturnal behavior of infested chickens has not yet been studied. We investigated the impact of mite infestation on nighttime behavior of 16 beak-trimmed White Leghorn hens. The hens were housed individually in wire cages. They were experimentally inoculated with approximately 35 mites at 25 weeks of age and observed for the behaviors dozing, sleeping, preening and being active. Continuous observations were made from video recordings taken from 22:00 h until 06:00 h for two consecutive nights at pre-infestation week 0 and post-infestation weeks 3, 5 and 7. Mite infestation levels were measured weekly on an 8-point scale (0 (no mites) to 7 (≥10,000 mites per hen)). For statistical analyses with linear mixed models, mite infestation levels were categorized as score 0 (no mites), 3–4 (51–500), 5 (501–1000) and 6–7 (>1000). Higher levels of mite infestation were associated with hens spending less time dozing (P < 0.001) and more time preening (P < 0.001) and being active (P = 0.012). Dozing decreased from 90% of the observed time for mite score 0 to 76% for score 6–7. Preening increased from 2% (score 0) to 9% (6–7) and time spent being active increased from 1% (0) to 7% (6–7). Mite infestation increased the number of uninterrupted bouts of all behaviors (P ≤ 0.020), especially dozing and preening (P < 0.001), suggesting restlessness in the mite-infested hens due to irritation and itching. The mite-infested hens’ increased nocturnal activity, including preening, as well as the fragmentation of behavioral activities together with decreased dozing, indicate disturbed resting behavior and suggest a reduction in the welfare of mite-infested hens.en
dc.description.versionPublished (Publication status)en
dc.format.extentPages 33-37en
dc.format.extent5 page(s)en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.04.007en
dc.identifier.eissn1872-9045en
dc.identifier.issn0168-1591en
dc.identifier.orcidJacobs, Leonie [0000-0002-3799-5078]en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/96471en
dc.identifier.volume216en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.relation.urihttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000472689100006&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=930d57c9ac61a043676db62af60056c1en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectLife Sciences & Biomedicineen
dc.subjectAgriculture, Dairy & Animal Scienceen
dc.subjectBehavioral Sciencesen
dc.subjectVeterinary Sciencesen
dc.subjectAgricultureen
dc.subjectEctoparasiteen
dc.subjectLaying henen
dc.subjectNighttime behavioren
dc.subjectNorthern fowl miteen
dc.subjectSleepen
dc.subjectIrritationen
dc.subjectORNITHONYSSUS-SYLVIARUM ACARIen
dc.subjectBEAK CONDITIONen
dc.subjectSLEEPen
dc.subjectMACRONYSSIDAEen
dc.subjectRESISTANCEen
dc.subjectECOLOGYen
dc.subjectRESTen
dc.subject0608 Zoologyen
dc.subject0702 Animal Productionen
dc.subject0707 Veterinary Sciencesen
dc.subjectBehavioral Science & Comparative Psychologyen
dc.titleNorthern fowl mite infestation affects the nocturnal behavior of laying hensen
dc.title.serialApplied Animal Behaviour Scienceen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.otherArticleen
dc.type.otherJournalen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciencesen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciences/Animal and Poultry Sciencesen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciences/CALS T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Techen

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