Species : Quail

A critical review on the welfare of Japanese quail in cage-free housing: Current knowledge and future perspectives

Jansson DS, Hedman FL, Yngvesson J, Keeling L, Henriksen R

Published in 2025

Scientific synthesis highlighting the lack of knowledge and regulations on cage-free systems for Japanese quail. It reviews the essential behavioral needs of the species and identifies gaps in group management, equipment design and dealing with agonistic behaviors. Integration of AI and genomic selection is proposed to support an efficient and ethical transition to alternative breeding systems.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n°10089 : Garantir une transition pour un élevage sans cage

Question: Mrs Sandra Regol (Ecologist - NUPES - Bas-Rhin). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2024

Response from the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty to an MP's question on the EU's commitment to ban cage farming.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Pigs, Poultry

Key words:Adapting the environment to the animal, Livestock buildings, Housing, Restraint equipment

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Positive Welfare Indicators and Their Association with Sustainable Management Systems in Poultry

Maria Papageorgiou, Michael Goliomytis, Ouranios Tzamaloukas, Despoina Miltiadou, Panagiotis Simitzis

Published in 2023

Scientific review of positive welfare indicators in the main poultry species and their link with sustainable farm management. Indicators include exploration, dust baths, nest building, perching, and swimming (for waterfowl).

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurement, Enrichment, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Welfare indicators

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n° 3516 : Soutien du Gouvernement français à la fin de l’élevage en cage

Question: Sandra Regol (Ecologist - NUPES - Bas-Rhin). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on whether the government will support an end to cage farming as part of the revision of European regulations, and whether it intends to raise its ambitions at European level in order to play a leading role in promoting better animal welfare standards and improving European farming methods.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Living environment, Societal issues, Stress, Farming system

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Welfare of ducks, geese and quail on farm

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW Panel), Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortázar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

Scientific opinion identifying the most common farming systems in the European Union for each species and category of animal. It describes and assesses the welfare consequences for each species of the following factors: restriction of movement, injury, group stress, inability to adopt comfort behavior, inability to adopt exploratory or foraging behavior and inability to express maternal behavior. It provides recommendations on how to predict negative welfare consequences using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal adaptation, Animal-based measurements,Animal environmentadaptation, Consciousness, Pain, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock systems

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Welfare of domestic birds and rabbits transported in containers

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW): Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortázar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop, Christoph Winckler

Published in 2022

EFSA scientific opinion on the protection of domestic birds and rabbits during transport. The main welfare consequences during loading and unloading are handling stress, injury, restriction of movement and sensory hyperstimulation; those while travelling and on arrival are injury, restriction of movement, sensory hyperstimulation, movement stress, heat, cold, prolonged hunger and prolonged thirst. These welfare consequences and the indicators measured on the animals are described. The hazards that cause them, and recommendations on how to avoid such hazards and to correct or mitigate their effects on welfare  are presented.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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Environmental Enrichment as Part of the Improvement of the Welfare of Japanese Quails

Anastasiya Ramankevich, Karolina Wengerska, Kinga Rokicka, Kamil Drabik, Kornel Kasperek, Agnieszka Ziemiańska, Justyna Batkowska

Published in 2022

Scientific paper to measure indicators for behavioral and physiological welfare of farmed Japanese quails as a function of environmental enrichment. It shows that quails in enriched cages had lower stress levels and fewer abnormal behaviors than those in standard cages, and that the color and shape of an object were very important in arousing the birds' interest.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurement, Enrichment, Housing, Stress, Welfare indicators

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Impact of natural and artificial prenatal stimulation on the behavioural profile of Japanese quail

Nawel Mezrai, Cécilia Houdelier, Aline Bertin, Ludovic Calandreau, Cécile Arnould, Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, Ludovic Dickel, Sophie Lumineau

Published in 2022

Scientific paper demonstrating that the acoustic environment of Japanese quail embryos can influence how the young birds subsequently interact with their social and physical environment after hatching.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adapation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Maternity, Memory, Prenatal

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Stocking density: a clue for improving social behavior, welfare, health indices along with productivity performances of quail (Coturnix coturnix)

Mohamed I. El Sabry, Saber S. A. Hassan, Manal M. Zaki, Farid K. R. Stino

Published in 2022

Scientific review of the benefits of and global market for quail products, factors affecting the stocking density of quail on farms, and the effects of stocking density and housing systems on the social behaviour, welfare, physiological and performance indicators of broiler and layer quail.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measures, Housing, Living environment, Breeding and rearing systems, Welfare indicators

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Microbiota and stress: a loop that impacts memory

Narjis Kraimi, Flore Lormanta, Ludovic Calandreau, Florent Kempf, Olivier Zemb, Julie Lemarchand, Paul Constantin, Céline Parias, Karine Germain, Sylvie Rabot, Catherine Philippe, Aline Foury, Marie-Pierre Moisan, Anaïs Vitorino Carvalho, Vincent Coustham, Hugues Dardente, Philippe Velge, Thierry Chaumeil, Christine Leterrier

Published in 2021

Scientific paper showing that there is a feed-forward loop system in Japanese quail linking the microbiota-gut-brain axis to stress and memory function. It suggests that maintaining a healthy microbiota may help to alleviate memory problems associated with chronic stress.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Brain integration, Memory, Microbiota, Stress

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