Daily behavioral patterns of laying hens kept in a multi-tier system across different microclimatic conditions
Mattia Pravato, Francesco Bordignon, Gerolamo Xiccato, Giulia Zorzi, Andrea Pezzuolo, Francesco Marinello, Angela Trocino · 2026
Read Daily behavioral patterns of laying hens kept in a multi-tier system across different microclimatic conditions by Mattia Pravato, Francesco Bordignon, Gerolamo Xiccato, Giulia Zorzi, Andrea Pezzuolo, Francesco Marinello, Angela Trocino (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13594631.txt.
Description
Mattia Pravato and colleagues published a 2026 study of egg-laying hens in tiered housing. Four hundred fifty hens lived in two pens. Video recorded their behavior across three months. January, March, and June brought different indoor climates. Observers scored behavior every fifteen minutes.
Ground pecking dropped in January cold. Preening and scratching rose instead. Dust bathing and piling peaked in March. Perching on tiers was commonest in cold months. Resting patterns shifted modestly with season. Overall, hens used the tiers sensibly. Daily rhythms stayed consistent across climates. Housing design should protect this natural repertoire year-round.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mattia Pravato, Francesco Bordignon, Gerolamo Xiccato, Giulia Zorzi, Andrea Pezzuolo, Francesco Marinello, Angela Trocino |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 44 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |