Day 093 - 28 Feb 95 - Page 15


     
     1        grooming behaviour) and eat together"?
     2        A.  They like to eat together, yes.
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do they like to dust-bathe, because that is a
     5        specific topic which is being asked?
     6        A.  I do not know if they like it.  They do it for a
     7        reason, to get rid of some parasites.
     8
     9   MS. STEEL:   It is fairly natural behaviour for a chicken in a
    10        farmyard?
    11        A.  It is a protective behaviour, yes -- just like we do
    12        with scratching, when we feel the need to scratch.
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  May I just ask one matter about that?  Some
    15        protective behaviour in animals is purely instinctive?
    16        A.  Yes.
    17
    18   Q.   In other words, they will do it even though in their
    19        particular environment there is no need to do it for their
    20        own protection.  Do you have a view or any knowledge on
    21        whether chickens like to dust-bathe because it is part of
    22        their instinct because of the threat of parasites, whether
    23        or not they are suffering from parasites themselves?
    24        A.  No, I do not.
    25
    26   Q.   It is possible that they would like to dust-bathe just
    27        because it is part of them, even if they did not have
    28        parasites, is it not?
    29        A.  It is possible, yes.
    30
    31   MS. STEEL:   Would you accept:  "Chickens communicate with each
    32        other through visual displays and calls"?
    33        A.  Yes, they do.
    34
    35   Q.   And:  "The baby chick begins communicating whilst still
    36        inside the egg, responding with positive chirps to the
    37        mother's purring as she incubates the egg"?
    38        A.  Yes, they do.
    39
    40   Q.   And that:  "Once hatched, the chick 'imprints' on the
    41        mother hen, maintaining a permanent, close relationship
    42        with the hen as he/she matures"?
    43        A.  With the hen, if the hen happens to be there, and it
    44        happens to be the parent of that chick, yes.
    45
    46   Q.   Would you accept:  "Nesting is extremely important to
    47        laying hens"?
    48        A.  Yes.
    49
    50   Q.   "They prefer to lay their eggs in a private nest, and they 
    51        perform an elaborate sequence of behaviours while searching 
    52        for a nest site, building the nest, and laying eggs"? 
    53        A.  That depends on the conditions in which they are
    54        raised.
    55
    56   Q.   So if they were out in a farmyard with barns, I do not
    57        know, hen houses, whatever, then they do that kind of
    58        thing?
    59        A.  Yes.
    60

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