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Environmental enrichment reduces behavioural alterations induced by chronic stress in Japanese quail

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2014

A. Laurence ,
C. Houdelier ,
L. Calandreau ,
C. Arnould ,
A. Favreau-Peigné ,
C. Leterrier ,
A. Boissy  and
S. Lumineau
A. Laurence
Affiliation:
UMR 6552 EthoS, Rennes University, CNRS, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France
C. Houdelier
Affiliation:
UMR 6552 EthoS, Rennes University, CNRS, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France
L. Calandreau
Affiliation:
UMR 85, INRA, CNRS, Tours University, 37380 Nouzilly, France
C. Arnould
Affiliation:
UMR 85, INRA, CNRS, Tours University, 37380 Nouzilly, France
A. Favreau-Peigné
Affiliation:
UMR 85, INRA, CNRS, Tours University, 37380 Nouzilly, France
C. Leterrier
Affiliation:
UMR 85, INRA, CNRS, Tours University, 37380 Nouzilly, France
A. Boissy
Affiliation:
UMR1213 Herbivores, INRA, 63122 Saint-Genès Champanelle, France
S. Lumineau*
Affiliation:
UMR 6552 EthoS, Rennes University, CNRS, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Animals perceiving repeated aversive events can become chronically stressed. Chronic activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis can have deleterious consequences on physiological parameters (e.g. BW, blood chemistry) and behaviour (e.g. emotional reactivity, stereotypies, cognition). Environmental enrichment (EE) can be a mean to reduce animal stress and to improve welfare. The aim of this study was first, to assess the effects of EE in battery cages on the behaviour of young Japanese quail and second, to evaluate the impact of EE on quail exposed to chronic stress. The experiment involved quail housed in EE cages and submitted or not to a chronic stress procedure (CSP) (EE cages, control quail: n=16, CSP quail: n=14) and quail housed in standard cages and exposed or not to the CSP (standard non-EE cages, control quail: n=12, CSP quail: n=16). Our procedure consisted of repeated aversive events (e.g. ventilators, delaying access to food, physical restraint, noise) presented two to five times per 24 h, randomly, for 15 days. During CSP, EE improved quail’s welfare as their stereotypic pacing decreased and they rested more. CSP decreased exploration in all quail. After the end of CSP, quail presented increased emotional reactivity in emergence test. However, the effect of EE varied with test. Finally, chronic stress effects on comfort behaviours in the emergence test were alleviated by EE. These results indicate that EE can alleviate some aspects of behavioural alterations induced by CSP.

Keywords

environmental enrichmentbehaviourdevelopmentquailwelfare
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , February 2015 , pp. 331 - 338
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2014 

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