Smothering
Floor-reared pullets sometimes have a tendency to crowd together. This natural behaviour can be
triggered by different situations:
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Reaction of panic : when birds are frightened, they try to avoid dangers
Attraction : when they are attracted by something, as they are curious and want to find
feed and discover their environment
Sleeping behaviour: it enables them to reduce the loss of body heat during the night, to
maintain social links between them and to protect against dangers.
Smothering during rearing
During the period around 6 to 12 weeks of age there is sometimes and increased tendency to crowd
together especially in the dark period.
There is an increased risk of smothering:
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when the night temperatures are too low
if the birds have not been able to eat enough feed before "lights out"
in case of parasites (coccidiosis) or vaccine reaction
when birds are reared at high stocking density