Projects - AJW (Annemarie) Mens MSc

PhD Project: Relation between nutrition and the development of resilience 

In this project, the development of resilience of laying hens is studied as well as the role of nutrition in this development. Resilience is defined as: being able to deal with disruptions or stress. A healthy, resilient chicken may be startled by a new experience, but recovers quickly with no lasting effect. A less resilient chicken can experience permanent stress, which manifests itself in abnormal, injurious behaviour such as feather pecking and toe pecking. Early life experiences have a lasting impact on the behaviour of laying hens. But also on the physiology, negative experiences during rearing can cause disturbances in, among other things, hormone balances and the gut-brain axis. We will study the development of resilience in laying hens and investigate how rearing conditions and experiences in early life may influence this. We then want to look very specifically at how nutrition can play a supporting or steering role in the physiological mechanisms that determine behaviour.

This project will provide better insight into the development of resilience and behaviour in laying hens and the ability of a laying hen to respond to a stressful situation. Thanks to new insights into the physiology behind this behaviour, this knowledge can be used for further development of sustainable animal husbandry systems, and in this specific project, in particular, improving the resilience and welfare of laying hens. Results are published in international scientific literature.