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. 2019 Jan 29;9(2):40.
doi: 10.3390/ani9020040.

Differences in Pre-Laying Behavior between Floor-Laying and Nest-Laying Pekin Ducks

Lorelle Barrett  1   2 , Irek Malecki  3 , Dominique Blache  4
Affiliations

Differences in Pre-Laying Behavior between Floor-Laying and Nest-Laying Pekin Ducks

Lorelle Barrett et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Floor-laying in commercially farmed Pekin ducks is not well understood. This exploratory study aimed to determine if behavioral differences exist between floor-laying and nest-laying ducks. Retrospective analysis of video footage from a small commercial breeding flock (n = 60 birds) was used to quantify the behavior of floor-laying and nest-laying birds (n = 24 events per group) in the hour prior to oviposition site selection. The frequency, percentage of time spent, and duration of bouts were compared for nest box interactions, behaviors inside and outside of boxes and aggressive interactions. Some floor-laying birds did not enter or investigate nest boxes (FL-Out), whilst some floor-layers (FL-In) used nest boxes similarly to nest-laying birds (NL). Nest-building behavior differed only in location, with FL-Out performing the behavior on the shed floor and the other groups performing it primarily in boxes. FL-Out sat more, walked less, and engaged in less aggression (p < 0.05) than FL-In and NL. The occurrence of multiple birds in a nest box was strongly correlated with the number of aggressive interactions that occurred in the box (R = 0.81). Competition appears to contribute to floor-laying in Pekin ducks; FL-Out birds may not engage with nest boxes as a coping strategy to avoid agonistic behavior. These findings indicate that developing practical strategies to reduce nest box competition could help mitigate floor-laying. However, other factors such as nest design may also contribute to FL-Out birds' reluctance to use nest boxes and require further investigation.

Keywords: Pekin duck; competition; floor laying; nesting behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram of the pen layout used for video recording pre-laying behavior and the egg-laying locations of analyzed birds. Pen dimensions 5 m × 5 m. Black ovals = eggs laid in nest boxes; grey ovals = eggs laid on floor by ducks that used nest boxes; white ovals = eggs laid on the floor by ducks that did not use nest boxes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Still frame from video footage showing one group of 12 nest boxes used in the shed. A second group of the same layout and design is not pictured.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlation between the occurrences of multiple birds in the nest box and the number of aggressive encounters that occurred in nest boxes in all ducks that used nest boxes in the hour prior to oviposition site selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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