Top of the pecking order

Posted June 27, 2013 09:48:17

Audio: Leadership spills on free range egg farms (ABC News)

Allowing animals to express their natural behaviour is a major benefit of free range systems.

But on free-range egg farms, a laying hen's natural tendency to form a pecking order often sees those at the bottom excluded from food and producing less eggs.

Mr Letton says it doesn't take long for a pecking order to be formed.

"It takes about a week, you can see the signs of it being formed, with the leaders going around bossing the other chooks."

But the pecking order isn't a permanent arrangement, with tussles and challenges for the top spot occurring daily.

"They'll be testing each other out every day," Mr Letton says.

"And they do it by fighting, they don't call it a pecking order for no reason."

And all of this shows up in the bottom line of egg farmers.

"The bullies will always pick on the weaker chooks.

"And that puts them off eating - so they don't eat and drink properly, and that can affect egg production."

Unfortunately, there's no cure for bullying in free range systems.

"The best way to deal with it is to take the weaker ones out, so you're not changing the status quo of the stronger chooks."

Mr Letton sees parallels between the behaviour of his chooks, and human psychology.

"They're the same as people really, someone's always going to want to be boss."

Topics: poultry-and-egg-production, animals, renmark-5341