Fearfulness in laying hens causes chronic stress, reduces welfare, and increases risk of injurious pecking. Understanding and reducing fear through genetics and rearing improves flock welfare.
Fearfulness causes chronic welfare compromise in laying hens through the physiological effects of sustained stress responses and the behavioural consequences of living in an anxiety-provoking environment. Highly fearful birds spend more time in avoidance behaviour and less time in positive activities including foraging, dust bathing, and social grooming. The interaction between genetics, rearing environment, and ongoing housing conditions determines flock-level fearfulness. Welfare-conscious producers can reduce fearfulness through genetic selection for calmer strains, enriched rearing environments that habituate chicks to novel stimuli, and calm, predictable stockperson behaviour that avoids sudden movements or loud noises. Fearfulness is increasingly incorporated into welfare assessment frameworks as an indicator of the overall affective state of the flock.