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Effects of Dietary Macleaya cordata Extract on Growth Performance, Biochemical Indices, and Intestinal Microbiota of Yellow-Feathered Broilers Subjected to Chronic Heat Stress
| Contributor(s):: Wang, Mingcan, Zhang, Junkai, Huang, Xiuqiong, Liu, Yisong, Zeng, Jianguo
This study investigated the effect of dietary Macleaya cordata extract (MCE) supplementation on the growth performance, serum parameters, and intestinal microbiota of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress. A total of 216 yellow-feather broilers (28-days-old) were randomly allotted into...
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Perch use in commercial broiler breeders – Preference for perch material and effect of age
| Contributor(s):: Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Tahamtani, Fernanda, Kittelsen, K. E.
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Diet dilution and feeding frequency have only minor effects on the behaviour of broiler breeder pullets
| Contributor(s):: Mens, Annemarie J. W., de Jong, Ingrid C., van Riel, Johan W., Gunnink, Henk, van Hattum, Theo, van Emous, Rick A.
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Commercial broiler breeder pullet hens use perches but show no preference for perch type or height
| Contributor(s):: Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Kittelsen, K. E., Tahamtani, F. M.
An important behavioral need for laying hens is perching, but few studies have investigated perching behavior in commercial broiler breeder pullets. The aim of this study was to investigate perching behavior throughout the pullet period and preferences for different perch types and heights. We...
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Tracking performance in poultry is affected by data cleaning method and housing system
| Contributor(s):: Candelotto, Laura, Grethen, Klara J., Montalcini, Camille M., Toscano, Michael J., Gómez, Yamenah
Sensor-based behavioural observation methods improve our understanding of individual behaviour and welfare in large commercial groups, including poultry. Validating automatically generated data is essential to account for potential sources of error. Our study aimed to validate a sensor-based...
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Broiler breeders roosted more on slats than on perches during the laying period
| Contributor(s):: Mens, Annemarie J. W., van Emous, Rick A.
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Effects of qualitative feed restriction in broiler breeder pullets on behaviour in the home environment
| Contributor(s):: Riber, Anja B., Tahamtani, Fernanda M., Steenfeldt, Sanna
Conventional broiler breeders are severely feed restricted during the rearing period, resulting in an unfulfilled behavioural need for performing feeding behaviour and likely in a sensation of hunger. As a response to the feed restriction, behavioural changes have been observed, including...
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The effect of perches and aviary tiers on the mating behaviour of two hybrids of broiler breeders
| Contributor(s):: Gebhardt-Henrich, Sabine G., Jordan, Anja, Toscano, Michael J., Würbel, Hanno
Broiler breeders are kept for the production of fertile eggs. They face serious welfare problems like aggressive behaviour of the males towards females during mating. Furthermore, broiler breeders are usually kept without perches which are a highly valued resource in chickens. The aim of the...
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Comparative assessment of general behaviour and fear-related responses in hatchery-hatched and on-farm hatched broiler chickens
| Contributor(s):: Giersberg, Mona F., Poolen, Ilse, de Baere, Kris, Gunnink, Henk, van Hattum, Theo, van Riel, Johan W., de Jong, Ingrid C.
Traditionally, broiler chickens hatch in the hatchery and they are usually not provided with feed and water until placement at the farm. This can have negative effects on their health and welfare. Therefore, alternative systems providing early nutrition, for instance by hatching eggs in a poultry...
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Motivation for feeding in broiler breeder pullets fed different types of restricted high-fibre diets
| Contributor(s):: Riber, Anja B., Tahamtani, Fernanda M.
High-fibre diets have been suggested as alternative feeding strategies that potentially may alleviate the hunger felt by feed-restricted broiler breeders and fulfil their behavioural need for feeding behaviour. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of four dietary...
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The effect of qualitative feed restriction in broiler breeder pullets on fear and motivation to explore
| Contributor(s):: Tahamtani, Fernanda M., Riber, Anja B.
Restrictively fed broiler breeders are known to have increased motivation to explore and reduced fearfulness because hunger increases the motivation to search for and to acquire food, forcing the birds to face and engage with aversive stimuli that they would otherwise avoid. The aim of this study...
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Behavioral and hematological responses of broiler chickens administered with betaine and ascorbic acid during hot-dry season
| Contributor(s):: Egbuniwe, Ifeanyichukwu C., Ayo, Joseph O., Kawu, Mohammed U., Mohammed, Aliyu
Heat stress is a major problem in poultry production in tropical regions. Assessing the impact of thermally stressful environmental conditions on the welfare of broiler chickens is of great importance. Behavioral responses in a novel environment and hematology of broiler chickens administered...
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Effects of growth pattern and dietary protein level during rearing on feed intake, eating time, eating rate, behavior, plasma corticosterone concentration, and feather cover in broiler breeder females during the rearing and laying period
| Contributor(s):: van Emous, R. A., Kwakkel, René, van Krimpen, Marinus, Hendriks, Wouter
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of growth patterns (GP) and dietary crude protein levels (CP) during rearing (2–22 weeks of age) on feed intake, eating time, eating rate, behavior, plasma corticosterone concentration, and feather cover in broiler breeder females during the...
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Conditioned place preference or aversion as animal welfare assessment tools: Limitations in their application
| Contributor(s):: Dixon, Laura M., Sandilands, Vicky, Bateson, Melissa, Brocklehurst, Sarah, Tolkamp, Bert J., D’Eath, Rick B.
Conditioned place preference (CPP) or aversion (CPA) methods are potentially useful tools in animal welfare assessment because they permit measurement of the reinforcing properties of a stimulus in the absence of the stimulus itself. We used CPP/CPA techniques in a series of experiments to assess...
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Quantifying hungry broiler breeder dietary preferences using a closed economy T-maze task
| Contributor(s):: Buckley, Louise A., Sandilands, Victoria, Tolkamp, Bert J., D’Eath, Richard B.
This study aimed to identify hungry broiler breeders (n=12) preferences for quantitative (control) or qualitative dietary restriction (QDR) in a closed economy environment. The QDR option was either 3g calcium propionate/kg total feed (n=6) or 300g oat hulls/kg total feed (n=6). Quantitatively...
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Feeding, foraging, and feather pecking behaviours in precision-fed and skip-a-day-fed broiler breeder pullets
| Contributor(s):: Girard, Ms Teryn E., Zuidhof, Martin J., Bench, Clover J.
Broiler breeder chickens are feed-restricted to control growth and maximize chick production. Feed restriction creates welfare concerns as conventional skip-a-day feeding can increase activity levels and oral stereotypies during the rearing period. A precision feeding system has been developed to...
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Aggression and social rank fluctuations in precision-fed and skip-a-day-fed broiler breeder pullets
| Contributor(s):: Girard, Teryn E., Zuidhof, Martin J., Bench, Clover J.
In broiler breeders, conventional skip-a-day feeding leads to hunger-related aggression. As an alternative, a precision feeding system was developed to provide small meals to individual birds multiple times each day, sheltered from competition. Two objectives investigated whether: 1) aggression...
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Relative preference for wooden nests affects nesting behaviour of broiler breeders
| Contributor(s):: van den Oever, Anna C. M., Rodenburg, T. Bas, Bolhuis, J. Elizabeth, van de Ven, Lotte J. F., Hasan, Md Kamrul, van Aerle, Stephanie M. W., Kemp, Bas
Optimising nest design for broiler breeders has benefits for both the animals and the producers. The welfare of the hens will increase by providing preferred housing, while also reducing eggs laid outside the nests. These floor eggs cause economic losses by compromised automatic egg collection...
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Use of aerial perches and perches on aviary tiers by broiler breeders
| Contributor(s):: Gebhardt-Henrich, Sabine G., Toscano, Michael J., Würbel, Hanno
Perching, especially during the night, is an innate behaviour of chickens and the provision of perches is mandatory for laying hens in multiple countries. We examined whether broiler breeders of the fast (Ross 308) and relatively slow (Sasso) growing hybrids used aerial perches (P) and perches on...
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Effects of carprofen, meloxicam and butorphanol on broiler chickens' performance in mobility tests
| Contributor(s):: Hothersall, B., Caplen, G., Parker, R., Nicol, C. J., Waterman-Pearson, A. E., Weeks, C. A., Murrell, J. C.
Lame broiler chickens perform poorly in standardised mobility tests and have nociceptive thresholds that differ from those of non-lame birds, even when confounding factors such as differences in bodyweight are accounted for. This study investigated whether these altered responses could be due...
