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Abstract
1. The effects of sight barriers in the pens of breeding ring-necked pheasants were investigated on a commercial game farm over a 10-week laying season.
2. Reproductive performance was recorded as egg production, numbers of eggs rejected for hatching together with measures of fertility, embryonic mortality and hatchability for 11 pens with barriers and 11 pens that were left open and acted as controls.
3. Egg production per pen and the numbers of rejected eggs were not significantly affected by the presence of the barriers.
4. Fertility was significantly higher and persisted for longer in the barrier pens, particularly towards the end of the laying season.
5. Embryonic mortality was unaffected by the presence of the barriers but hatchability was significantly lower in the open pens, which was associated with lower levels of fertility.
6. Establishing sight barriers in breeder pens for commercial pheasants would appear not only to offer improved welfare but also significant commercial advantages.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded in part by the Marsden's Game Feeds, UK Game Farmers’ Association, the Universities’ Federation for Animal Welfare, and the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Animals Sciences, University of Lincoln. Many thanks to Bernard and Wayne Voce of Shelford Pheasantries for their enthusiasm for this project, for providing facilities, and for their invaluable assistance in establishing treatment pens. Many thanks go to John Flynn for statistical advice and to Oliver Burman and the anonymous referee who provided constructive criticism a of previous version of this manuscript.