BY SHEILA MILLER signs of extreme ner- an over-worked executive on
LANCASTER For any vousness it was found that 8 the brink of a nervous break
farmer who has witnessed a per cent of those birds that down because the boss is
house full of hysterical birds, were then caged on wire asking toi more production,
it’s a depressing sort of later became hysterical, while the production keeps
thing, commented H. B. while only 1 per cent of those dropping.
Graves, animal behavionst birds kept on litter because A combination of over-all
at Penn State. victims of hysteria. stress in high producmg
Graves was one of the key He pointed out that this flocks, high temperatures,
speakers at the Lancaster tendency for wire-raised bright lights which cast
County Farm and Home birds to become hysterical deep, dark shadows, poor or
Center last Thursday. The may be related Ur the birds non-working ventilation,
evenings topics centered not being able to ingest their large numbers of birds on
around the poultry industry, own feces, among other wire' floors—these factors
management and things. working together may
marketing. Fowl hysteria cannot be trigger an outbreak of
“There’s no one solution directly correlated to flock hysteria,
for the problem of hysteria, size, Graves said. “More “All of these things can be
which can occur in almost than half of the flocks that irritating to a birds that’s
any breed of birds,” Graves were studied and eventually walking a tight-rope,”
stated. became hysterical, were Graves commented.
However, he noted that judged to be very nervous by The thing that most
animal behaviorists have their owners, whether in a characterizes hysteria,
recognized in the animal flock of 1200 to 10,000,” he apart from the fact that the
kingdom that activity is said. birds are extremely excited,
inversely related to size. Fowl hysteria in the is that the birds tend to fly at
Therefore, the lighter birds poultry industry seems to be regular intervals, anywhere
would tend to be more the greatest or highest in from two to twenty-five
nervous and prone to frequency in' Denmark, minutes. The time between , , , , , ... , ~ , ~ . , .. , ..
hysteria, than would the according to Graves. This hysteria outbreaks is “ ° then featoers_ nabahsm if m their pecking the tree for the dome^c
heavier breeds. higher occurance of hysteria characteristic of each in- “ r "f birds to cousins of the jungle fowl
Graves also stated that he attributed to the fast that dividual flock. Graves noted on th® b® _ n t in ic
researchers, in then at- the animal welfare agency of that during the intervals, the irds ’ Where the flock is m the .domesticated P° ul y
tempts to unravel the that country does not allow birds may be clucking and heap and begin scratching state of hysteria for days or denved) where the natural
hysteria puzzle, have not animals to be kept in cages, appearing quite normal, but each other. weeks, there is a high habitat allows the jungle
been able to confirm, across Therefore, the birds are as the time nears it seems This loss of feathers may mortality. cousins to take flight to
the board, that an increase housed on wire floors, like the birds are all stan- lead to feather picking, Graves recommended that protecfave trees. This escape
in temperature in hot “That’s something to think ding around waiting to hit where the birds begin to one of the things a poultry for the birds some of
weather lends to increased about,” the animal the ceiling, then they all take peck each others feathers farmercando to essenthe the stress on the flock and
fowl hysteria, although this behavionst said. offflymg. out. This type of behavior is risk of hystena is to add lets the birds get up and out
may hold true for individual So what causes the Once a flock becomes generally noticed just prior perches and nests to of the way.
flocks. phenomena of hysteria in hystencal, it’s easy to pick to full-bloom hysteria, housing scheme. Graves said that genetics
He commented that if 6to 8 poultry? According to out the birds just by their Feather Picking may remventing (Turn to Page Al 6)
per cent of the flock show Graves, it can be likened to appearances. They are eventually lead to can- something like re ong
BIG FARM POWER AND EQUIPMENT
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STEIGER'S PANTHER
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COME IN AND SEE TOMORROW'S TRACTOR - TODAY!
Hysterical fowl: not a funny story
Speaking at last week’s seminar on poultry management and marketing were,
from left, H.B. Graves, professor, Penn State; Fred D. Pontz, vice-president of
marketing, Pennfield Farms Chicken; and William Patterson, genera! manager,
egg division. Weaver’s Quality Eggs, Inc.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 23,1980—A15
ffSTEIGER
Steiger puts an
Allison Automatic
Transmission in its
Panther 111 to give
Farming its First
Truly Automatic
Shifting 4WD Tractor.
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