Effects of Swimming Pool Conditions and Floor Types on White Roman Geese's Physical Condition Scores and Behaviors in an Indoor Rearing System

Abstract

Biosecurity problems, including the continual risk of avian influenza spread by wild birds, have severely affected traditional free-range waterfowl production systems. Regulations and techniques for indoor goose production require more considerations for animal welfare. This study investigated the effects of swimming pool conditions and different floor types on the physical condition scores and behaviors of indoor-reared White Roman geese. A total of 48 male and 48 female White Roman geese reared from the age of 15 to 84 days were randomly allocated to pens with or without a swimming pool and with either mud or perforated plastic floors. Providing a swimming pool improved geese's eye and feather cleanliness and breast blister scores at the age of 84 days. Compared with geese reared on a mud floor, those reared on a perforated plastic floor had better feather cleanliness and higher breast blister scores at the age of 56 and 84 days. Providing a swimming pool to indoor-reared geese may reduce the proportion of abnormal behaviors, such as injurious feather pecking, by increasing water-related behaviors. This study suggests a more appropriate environment design for better balancing commercial goose production with animal welfare in an indoor rearing system.

Keywords: White Roman geese; behaviors; floor types; indoor rearing; physical condition score; swimming pool.

Figure 1

The indoor goose house set-up in this experiment. Water was provided by red narrow-lip bell drinkers. Pens were separated using wire meshes. A plastic greenhouse film was placed on top of the pool to provide natural light. The roof above the feeding and resting areas was also covered with polyurethane foam sandwich panels to prevent geese from interacting with wild birds.

Figure 2

The swimming pools of the pens in this experiment. The plastic greenhouse film was used at the top of the swimming pool to provide natural light. The pool measured 2.57 m long and 2.10 m wide, respectively. Its deepest point is 38 cm, and at its entrance there is a gentle slope so that the geese can enter slowly.

Figure 3

Effects of different swimming pool conditions and floor types on the number of geese affected by injurious pecking in each pen and the feather quality score (FQS) at the age of 28 (a), 56 (b), and 84 (c) days (n = 3). The number indicated under the X axis represents the pen number. N × M = no swimming pool and mud floor; N × P = no swimming pool and perforated plastic floor; S × M = with swimming pool and mud floor; S × P = with swimming pool and perforated plastic floor.