Use of nestboxes by caged Japanese Quail

Clare S. Knightly and Joy A. Mench, Univeristy of Maryland, College Park, MD

Japanese quail are used widely in biomedical and agricultural research as well as for the production of meat and eggs. Although behavioral problems are common in caged quail, there has been little research on either quail behavior or cage modifications to improve welfare. The objectives of this study were to determine if group- housed quail use nestboxes introduced into their cages, and to ascertain if there are box-type preferences. Seventy-two female Japanese quail were housed in groups of four in stainless steel cages measuring 1200 cm sq. Quail were provided with two 10 x 15 cm black plastic boxes that were either closed or open (O), and that contained wood shavings (W) or were empty (E), in one of six treatment combinations: WO-EO, EO-EC, EO-WC, WO-EC, WO-WC, EC-WC. There were three replicate cages per treatment. Behaviors in each cage were recorded for one minute at 12-minute intervals from 0800 to 1100 and 1300 to 1600 daily for ten days using a time-lapse video recorder. Boxes were used 24.4% of the day. Open boxes were strongly preferred to closed boxes (81% vs. 19% of box use), and boxes with shavings were preferred to empty boxes (59% vs. 41%). Behaviors performed most frequently in open boxes, regardless of whether or not the boxes contained shavings, were standing (28.6% of box time) and resting (45%). Open boxes with shaving were also used for dustbathing (3.4%), particularly in the afternoon. Behaviors occurring in closed boxes could not be (77% of box time), perching on them 3.3% of the day. The majority of eggs (65.8%) were laid outside of the boxes. Of the remaining eggs, 13.2% were laid in WC, 10.5% in EO, 9.8% in WO, and .07% in EC. These results demonstrate that even fairly rudimentary enclosures and perching surfaces are used extensively by caged Japanese quail, and their incorporation in cages might lead to improved welfare .