Body weight sub-populations are associated with significant different welfare, health and egg production status in Australian commercial free-range laying hens in an aviary system

Article


Sibanda, T.Z., Kolakshyapati, M., Walkden-Brown, S.W., de Souza Vilela, J., Courtice J.M. and Ruhnke, I.. 2020. "Body weight sub-populations are associated with significant different welfare, health and egg production status in Australian commercial free-range laying hens in an aviary system ." European Poultry Science. 84. https://doi.org/10.1399/eps.2020.295
Article Title

Body weight sub-populations are associated with significant different welfare, health and egg production status in Australian commercial free-range laying hens in an aviary system

Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsSibanda, T.Z., Kolakshyapati, M., Walkden-Brown, S.W., de Souza Vilela, J., Courtice J.M. and Ruhnke, I.
Journal TitleEuropean Poultry Science
Journal Citation84
Number of Pages18
Year2020
PublisherEugen Ulmer
Place of PublicationGermany
ISSN1612-9199
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1399/eps.2020.295
Web Address (URL)https://www.european-poultry-science.com/body-weight-sub-populations-are-associated-with-significant-different-welfare-health-and-egg-production-status-in-australian-commercial-free-range-laying-hens-in-an-aviar,QUlEPTYzNjc3MjUmTUlEPTE2MTAxNA.html?UID=7EB1114B069DDE12CBFD1861BF694B9FFAC3137CE28C9056
Abstract

In order to assess the welfare and health status of commercial free-range laying hens of different body weight quantiles, a total of 7708 Lohmann Brown-classic hens at 74 weeks of age were obtained from 4 commercial free-range flocks housed on the same Australian farm under the same housing conditions. All hens were humanely killed and evaluated for body weight, feather cover, keel bone damage, gastrointestinal parasites, liver appearance, and egg follicle status. Hens were classified according to their body weight distribution percentile as light (bottom quartile, 1.65 ± 0.002 kg), medium (middle quartiles, 1.86 ± 0.010 kg), and heavy (top quartile, 2.08 ± 0.002 kg). All parameters were analysed using nominal regression models with flock, body weight, and their interactions as the predictors. In summary, 55.8% of heavy hens had a single or multiple keel bone damage compared to 48.9% and 50.7% of medium and light hens, respectively (P = 0.0001). Light hens had a significantly (P = 0.001) higher feather cover score on their breast (3.02 ± 0.018) than medium (2.96 ± 0.013) and heavy hens (2.87 ± 0.018) but significantly lower neck feather scores (P = 0.007). Light hens had the highest prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infection (P = 0.0001), compared to the medium and heavy hens. Heavy hens had the highest incidence of Fatty Liver Syndrome compared to medium and light hens. Heavy and medium hens were significantly (P = 0.0001), more often in full egg follicle production (95.3% and 94.8%, respectively) compared to the lighter hens (90.0%). There was a significant flock effect for all parameters investigated. In conclusion, heavy (2.06 ± 0.010 kg) and medium (1.85 ± 0.010 kg) hens appeared healthier, more resilient towards infectious diseases and persistent in their egg follicle production. However, heavier hens suffered significantly more often from Fatty Liver Syndrome. Hens in the lowest quartile with mean 1.65 kg were the least economic sub-population.

KeywordsCestodes; Chicken; Egg; Fatty Liver Syndrome; Feather cover; Helminths; Parasites; Poultry; Roundworm; Tapeworm
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of New England
School of Mathematics, Physics and Computing
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