Influence of sex hormones on the aggressive behavior during peck order establishment and stabilization in meat and egg type chickens

Jou-Ching Lin; Courtney Lynd Daigle; Pin-Chi Tang; Chien-Kai Wang

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2024.103669

Influence of sex hormones on the aggressive behavior during peck order establishment and stabilization in meat and egg type chickens

Poult Sci. 2024 Mar 20;103(6):103669. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103669. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jou-Ching Lin¹, Courtney Lynd Daigle², Pin-Chi Tang³, Chien-Kai Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.
² Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, Kleberg Center, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
³ Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan; The iEGG and Animal Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan. Electronic address: pctang@dragon.nchu.edu.tw.
⁴ Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan; The iEGG and Animal Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan. Electronic address: wcheinkai@dragon.nchu.edu.tw.

Abstract

In the poultry industry, broiler and layer strains are genetically selected for different purposes (e.g., high meat-yield and high egg-production). Genetic selection for productivity can have unintended consequences on the behavioral repertoire of the birds, including aggression. Alongside the increasing societal concern regarding the welfare of animal in agriculture, the number of countries that are advocating the prohibition of using battery cages for laying hens has resulted in the transition and adoption of cage-free or free-range systems. Thus, both broiler and layer chickens are housed in large flocks rather than housed individually in cages. Housing birds in groups increases the opportunity for birds to engage in social behaviors, including aggression, that are used to establish social status. Aggressive interactions are associated with the risk of injury and the potential for a subordinate animal to have unmet needs (e.g., access to feed). The aim of this study was to characterize the relationships among aggressive behavior, neurobiology, and hormones during peck order establishment and social hierarchy stabilization of 2 divergently selected strains (meat- and egg-type chicken). Meat-type strains performed more male on male (P < 0.001), male on female (P < 0.0001), and female on female (P < 0.0001) non-reciprocal aggression behavior (NRA) than egg-type strains. Greater serum testosterone and estradiol concentrations in the weeks after the peck order establishment were observed in meat-type birds compared those in egg-type birds for both males and females (all P < 0.05). Greater (P < 0.05) cellular densities of androgen receptors, but not estrogen receptors, were observed in the hypothalamus of meat-type birds compared to egg-type birds. These findings suggest that greater sex hormone concentrations in the meat-type birds may be a consequence of genetic selection for rapid growth resulting in more sex hormones-induced aggressive behavior.

Keywords: aggressive behavior; chicken; peck order; sex hormones.