Die Studie untersuchte, ob Mastschweine bereit sind, aktiv Aufwand zu betreiben, um Wasser aus einem selbstbedienbaren Tränkesystem zu erhalten, obwohl gleichzeitig frei zugängliche konventionelle Tränken verfügbar waren. Dazu wurden in einer strukturierten Mastbucht zwei durch die Tiere selbst aktivierbare Tränken mit handelsüblichen Trogtränken verglichen.

Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die Schweine die Selbstbedienungstränken intensiv nutzten und regelmäßig aktivierten. Der Großteil der Aktivierungen führte unmittelbar zu Trinkverhalten, was darauf hindeutet, dass die Nutzung nicht primär explorativ oder spielmotiviert war. Die Nutzungsmuster entsprachen zudem dem natürlichen zirkadianen Trinkrhythmus der Tiere mit einem deutlichen Nachmittagsmaximum. Insgesamt wurden die konventionellen Tränken zwar häufiger besucht, die hohe Anzahl an Aktivierungen der Selbstbedienungstränken zeigt jedoch, dass Schweine bereit sind, operante Handlungen auszuführen, um Zugang zu Wasser zu erhalten. Als möglicher Grund wird diskutiert, dass die bodennahe Wasseraufnahme dem natürlichen Trinkverhalten der Schweine stärker entspricht.

Der ZERN-Zwischenbericht 2026 dokumentiert die erste Hälfte des Verbund und Transferprojekts „ZERN - Zukunft Ernährung Niedersachsen".

Footpad dermatitis (FPD) is characterized by lesions on the plantar region of the footpad. It is one of the most common foot health problems and welfare issues mainly described for broilers and turkeys. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the presence of this footpad disorder in laying hens as well as to identify typical risk factors for FPD during the laying period. Data were collected from 39 German laying hen flocks visited up to 16 times during production, where the housing system, flock size, age of flock, season, litter type and quality as well as hens' foot health were recorded in 30–200 randomly selected animals/visit using a four-point scoring system (FPD-Score 0–3). In total, 15,448 randomly selected laying hens were scored and classified, recording the highest degree of FPD per animal as well as whether FPD was detected in one or both of its feet. Of the hens examined, 78.9% showed no alterations, 18.6% showed slight ones, 2.2% moderate alterations, and 0.3% showed severe FPD. In the animals related to FPD (n = 3253), 48.0% of the hens showed an alteration in one foot and 52.0% in both feet. While few animals showed FPD at the first two visits (AF0, AF1), the percentage of animals related to FPD increased at the laying peak (~28th week of life). At the end of the laying period, 34.4% of the hens showed at least slight alterations (n = 955/2776). The results of the statistical analysis showed that the FPD-Score was statistically affected by the type of litter, the season, and the age of flock (all P < .0001), while the quality of litter at the time of visit (P = .0940), the housing system (P = .2696), and flock size (P = .8776) were not related to FPD. In summary, this study detected that more than a third of the animals examined showed alterations in their footpads at the end of the laying period. Such changes in foot health occurred from the laying peak and increased to the end of the laying period. In addition to the age of the hens, the type of litter and the season were determined as potential risk factors. Moreover, this study shows how common this foot health problem is, not only in turkeys and broilers but also for laying hens.

The present study aimed to provide further insight on different pecking behavior of beak-trimmed and untrimmed turkey hens in proximity to the feeding pan. Investigations were carried out in 4 housing compartments with female fattening turkeys where video were recorded and evaluated with regard to 4 different types of (pecking-) behavior (feeding, pecking on the ground, pecking at conspecifics, being pecked) observed in 1 focal animal in proximity to each feeding pan. Concerning the median duration, there were only small differences between the animals with different beak conditions. Pecking behavior varied in how many animals exhibited 'pecking on the ground' with more turkeys with intact beaks showing this activity in proximity to the feeding pan with a slightly increased median duration (0:06 vs. 0:04 min). Further discrepancies were observed in the maximum duration of recorded behaviors, as there were animals with intact beaks that showed "pecking on the ground" (4:09 vs. 2:54 min), "pecking at conspecifics" (3:46 vs. 1:25 min), and were "being pecked" (0:52 vs. 0:35 min) for a longer period of time. Based on this result, however, it can be assumed that especially individual animals with an intact beak forage more intensively and perform some pecking behaviors, which include injurious pecking, with longer duration in proximity to the feeding pan.