The effect of cover on the behaviour of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Abstract Flying up vertically, a typical flight behaviour of Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica ), may result in head injuries and mortality caused by head-banging in caged quails. Given the fact that wild Japanese quail are usually found in dense vegetation, two experiments were carried out to quantify the use of different types of cover and to measure the effect of cover on the incidence of flight behaviour. In Experiment 1, 16 groups of ten female quails were provided with two qualitatively different types of cover in four successive preference tests. It was found that the quails preferred to stay in cover types that were partially or fully open to the sides compared with cover types that were partially or fully open to the top. For egg laying they preferentially used cover types with a small entrance but no other openings to the sides or on the top. In Experiment 2, 160 female quails were individually confronted with a flight inducing stimulus in an experimental pen. The birds showed flight behaviour significantly less often if they were in cover when exposed to the stimulus. Moreover, there were significantly more flight responses when the stimulus was presented above the pen than at the side. The results suggest that the welfare of Japanese quail could be improved by incorporating cover and nest boxes into alternatives to conventional battery cages.