The absence of a relationship between egg production and dominance in caged laying hens

Abstract

The individual egg production of 2 strains of laying hen in colony battery cages was recorded from 20-72 wk of age by feeding a different fat-soluble dyestuff to each bird and then breaking open the eggs to determine the yolk color and hence the identity of the hen that laid the egg. Observations of agonistic behavior and other pecking were made and the combs were examined for pecking damage on 2 occasions; each group of hens was hierarchically arranged in terms of these 3 measures, which were then taken as an indication of each hen''s dominance. The 3 measures of dominance correlated fairly well with each other, but none showed any relationship with egg production.