Sustainability & efficiency

Novel feed station behavioral traits as predictors for feed intake and efficiency in chickens

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Abstract

Behavioral traits play an increasingly recognized role in shaping production efficiency and welfare outcomes in chicken lines. Understanding how individual behavioral patterns relate to feed intake and feed conversion is essential for improving selection strategies. In this study, we defined three novel behavioral traits from data on patterns of feed station visits. We analyzed behavioral and production data from three cohorts, each corresponding to a separate performance trial, of birds belonging to the same D line of a traditional poultry breeding program. Our aim was to investigate relationships between feeding behavior and key performance traits, including total feed intake (TFI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and weight gain (WG). In total, we analyzed feed station data on 4,500 birds over a period ranging from 35 to 45 days, starting at age of 3 weeks .Behavioural and performance traits were derived from automated feeder data recording tag identity, body weight, and feed weight every two seconds. Behavioral traits included determination (DET), defined as the proportion of entries in which feed intake exceeded 1 g; shy entries (SHY), referring to entries when the feeder was unoccupied immediately beforehand, expressed as a percentage of all entries; and intrusive entry (INT), which occurred when the feeder was already occupied prior to a tag change, likewise expressed as a percentage of all entries. In addition, time represented the total daily duration spent inside the feed station (DUR), while entries denoted the total daily number of feeder visits (NFV). Although these traits were measured daily, they were subsequently aggregated as mean values over the final two weeks of the testing period, when behavioral patterns had stabilized.Trait DUR was strongly correlated with both TFI (r ≈ 0.75) and FCR (r ≈ 0.70) and showed no correlation with WG. Trait NFV was also positively correlated with TFI and FCR (r ≈ 0.45), although to a lesser degree, and showed a weak negative correlation with WG. DET was the only trait that correlated negatively with both TFI and FCR (r ≈ -0,25), while exhibiting some positive correlation with WG. Furthermore, DET was negatively correlated with NFV and SHY but positively correlated with INT. Neither SHY nor INT showed strong correlations with production traits, though in some cohorts, a slight positive correlation between SHY and FCR (r ≈ 0,26), was observed. The feeding behaviors exhibit morderate to high heritabilities.Overall, these first results suggest that novel behavioral traits like DUR and ENT may serve as useful indicators of feed efficiency in traditional poultry, yielding potential value of integrating behavioral metrics into commercial breeding programs.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Bink, M., Chaumont, S., Savchuk, a. & Toussaint, E., (2026) “Novel feed station behavioral traits as predictors for feed intake and efficiency in chickens”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2286567. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.24051

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