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Validating owner-reporting of feather condition of pet Psittaciformes using photographs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

EL Mellor ,
M Mendl ,
G Mason ,
C Davison ,
Y van Zeeland  and
IC Cuthill
EL Mellor*
Affiliation:
Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
M Mendl
Affiliation:
Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK
G Mason
Affiliation:
College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
C Davison
Affiliation:
Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK
Y van Zeeland
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands
IC Cuthill
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence: emma.mellor@bristol.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Reporting of outcome variables by caregivers in welfare studies is commonplace but is open to subjective bias and so requires validation. Biases can occur in either direction: familiarity with an animal allows a deeper insight into welfare problems, but also can lead to reticence in admitting that an animal in one's care is experiencing problems. Here, we aim to validate owner-reporting of plumage condition of pet parrots, including those with self-inflicted feather-damaging behaviour (FDB), by comparing owners’ scores of feather condition with those of two independent raters, blind to the owners’ and each other's assessments. We surveyed pet parrot owners to collect data on basic demographics and feather condition, and requested four standardised photographs of birds. We received 259 responses (17% of the 1,521 people contacted); 78 sets of images of appropriate quality for assessment by raters were provided. Mean percentage agreement between owners’ and raters’ scores was mostly fair to substantial using Cohen's kappa; however, raters scored a greater proportion of feather damage than did owners. Overall, our results indicate owner-reporting of feather condition, including FDB, to be generally reliable and consistent with independent assessment of photographs. As the use of photographs can be limited by image quality, a failure to represent the long-term state of a parrot, and the potential for incorrect recording if assessed without relevant information (eg on moulting), this evidence that owner-reports can be reliable opens the door for larger-scale surveys of the extent of welfare-relevant problems.

Keywords

animal welfarefeather-damaging behaviourfeather pickingfeather pluckingplumagepsittacine
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 2022 , pp. 163 - 173
Copyright
© 2022 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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