From 2012 at 600 cm2 /hen, excluding 150 cm2 /hen for nest and litter facilities

(blockhuis)
Furnished canges contain the benefit , while reducting the advantages, of
keeping layers on the floor and in convensionnal cages. Their behavior is more
unrestricted and varied, and physical condition is better in furnished than in
conventional cages ( Appleby et al. 2012). The most developed model of furnished
cages provide similar production and feed convertion results and mortalty to
convensional canges ( e.g. Abrahams son et al. 1996) through cannibalisme has
been reported in studies of furnished cages.
Social relationships between members of a poultry group in which one
(subordinated) avoids of a poultry group in which one (subordinant) is called a
dominance hierarchy. Inj a small and stable poultry group, aggression is ussulay
reare because subordinates avoid dominants whenever possible. However, if
provoked by special circumstances, such as restricted feeding space, aggression is
frequent because of competition and it is defficult for the subordinates to approach
the feeder.
Providing additional resources, such as an anclosed nest site, a raised preach
and a dust bath to allow birds to scratch and dust- bath in the furnished cages may
reduce behavioral restrictions, but may lead to increased competition between
them for these resources. Many studies have been carried out regarding group size
in conventional battery cages, and repoted that an increase in group size leads to
higer mortality rates or a risk of cannibalism or feather pecking. The effect of group
size on performance, health, and behavior has also been studied in furnished cages.
However, these researchers have studied, not individual birds, but groups of bird in
the furnished cages there has been no study to ascertain competition and diference
between dominant and subordinate bird in furnished cages. Therefore, the objective
of the present study was to search for difference in behavior, use of resources and
physical condition with increased group size between dominant and subordinate
birds in furnished cages.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Animal and housing arrangements
In total, 60 commercial while leghorn layer (Julia) were used. All the bird were
raised in battery cages before introduction and were used in a previous study. At the
age of 54 weeks, the birds were randomly divided into two groups. The two groups
were allocated to a henhouse equipped with 12 furnished cages. Each group
consisted of six cages with four bird per cages and six cages with six birds per
cages.
The furnished cages were arranged in three tiers of cages. The house was
ventilated with six fans, four windows and entrance. The lighting provide by two
fluorescent light (37) gave an intensity of 70 lux at a height of 110 cm, which was
near the food troughs of the middle tier of the cages. The illumination cycle was 14
h of light and 10 h of darkness, with the light period lasting from 05.00 to 19.00

hours. The birds had ad libitum access to water and feed. The feed contained more
than 16%crude protein and 2900 kcal routine works were done from 08.00 to 09.00
and 16.00 to 17.30 hours. All the birds had their breaks trimmed once as chicks.
HOUSING SYISTEM
Standart laying 90 cm wide, 46 cm deep and 47 cm high at the reare
were used. The wire mesh of the cage floor was 2,5 x 5.0 cm. on the basis of the
report of Appleby and huges, each cages was equipped with a nest, a dust bath
(open in shape) and a perch. The furnished cages were the same as in the previous
study. At tone slide was the nest box, 25cm wide, 46 cm deep, and 21 cm high at
the rear. The nest was enclosed with a wooden board. Ecluding the floor lined with
artificial turf, with a space 8 cm under the front so that eggs would rool out of the
front of cage, an entrance 13 cm wide x 23 cm high that the hens readily stepped
through and entrance threshold 1.8 cm high so that eggs would not roll out of the
nest. The top of the nest box had a dust bath 4,5 cm deep, which was supplied with
fine and dry wood shaving that were changed every morning. The dust bath was
also made from wooden board and was enclosed along all side with wire mesh,
excluding the floor. One wooden perch ( 4cm deep and 3 cm high with a chamfered
top edge) was fitted across the width of the cage with its center 10 cm from the
cage floor and 18 cm from the rear of the cages. The number of bird per cage
varied, resulting in the allowences of area, feeder, nest, dust bath and prech per
bird shown in table 1. These allowences in the four hen cages complied with all EU
directives but those in the six hen cages did not.