hanges in behaviour have long been used both scientific and clinical assessment of welfare in livestock. The aim of this study was to investigate diurnal time budgets and activity
วารสารวทยาศาสตรและเทคโนโลย ปท 22 ฉบับท 4
ตลาคม
-
ธันวาคม 2557
516
patterns of Thai fighting cocks (
Gallus domesticus
) before and after fighting. Six mature Thai native cocks were raised and trained for fighting competition at Thammasat University, Rangsit Centre, Pathum Thani Province from 1
April to 31
May 2013. Each cock was kept individually in a 80-cm diameter, bamboo coop in a semi-open barn. The behaviour of cocks was individually recorded using scan and behaviour sampling methods by two trained observers between 06:00 and 18:00 h on the day before and the day after fighting. Fights were conducted during the intermediate day between 07:00 and 09:30 h, within single bouts lasting 22 minutes, with the six subject cocks matched against cocks of similar weight. Both before and after fighting, cocks spent the majority of time alert or resting (>
60 %) following by preening (>
10 %). In the period after fighting, cocks spent less time alert, drinking, crowing, alarm calling, scratching, raising hackles and wing flapping (P
<
0.05), and spent more time resting and walking than in the period before fighting (P
<
0.05). Cocks also tended to spend more time eating (P
<
0.10) after fighting than before. These results
suggest that changes in fighting cocks’ behaviour, such as reduced alertness and frequency of
crowing, may be indicative of post-fighting stress.