Development of a Scoring System to Assess Feather Damage in Canadian Laying Hen Flocks

Decina, Caitlin; Berke, Olaf; Staaveren, Nienke van; Baes, C.F.; Harlander-Matauscheck, Alexandra

doi:10.3390/ani9070436

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Besides the proportions of affected LB+ hens, the severity of feather loss in individual animals also increased with increasing flock age, which has been reflected indirectly by previous studies [8,41]. However, most on-farm studies did not consider injuries as an indicator for prolonged injurious pecking at denuded body parts of conspecifics [8,25,41,42]. Under experimental conditions, Bilčík and Keeling [3] found the first skin lesions in birds of 22 weeks of age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Dual-Purpose Hen as a Chance: Avoiding Injurious Pecking in Modern Laying Hen Husbandry

Giersberg

Spindler

Rodenburg

et al. 2019

Animals

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Dual-purpose strains, with hens housed for egg laying and roosters kept for meat production are one alternative to the killing of male day-old chickens. However, dual-purpose hens seem to have additional advantages compared to conventional layers, for instance, a lower tendency to develop behavioral disorders, such as feather pecking and cannibalism. In the present study, three batches of about 1850 conventional layers (Lohmann Brown plus, LB+) and 1850 dual-purpose hens (Lohmann Dual, LD) each, all of them with untrimmed beaks, were observed during production (20–71 (56) weeks of life) in a semi-commercial aviary system. The aim was to investigate whether the hybrid and batch affected the occurrence of injurious pecking, and to identify a detailed time course of the damage caused by this behavior. Therefore, the hens’ plumage and skin condition were assessed as an indicator by means of a visual scoring method. The LB+ hens had higher production performances and higher mortality rates compared to the LD hens. Plumage loss in the LB+ flocks started at 23 to 25 weeks of age, and deteriorated continuously. The LD hens showed only moderate feather loss on the head/neck region, which started at 34 to 41 weeks and remained almost constant until the end of the observations. Compared to feather loss, injuries occurred in the LB+ hens with a delay of several weeks, with a maximum of 8% to 12% of hens affected. In contrast, skin injuries were observed only sporadically in single LD hens. In all batches, hybrid had an effect on the occurrence of feather loss (p < 0.05). Within the LB+ strain, the proportions of hens affected by plumage loss and injuries differed among batches (p < 0.05), whereas this was not the case in the LD flocks. Thus, severe feather pecking and cannibalism seemed to occur in the conventional layer hybrids but not in the dual-purpose hens, though both genetic strains were raised and managed under the same semi-commercial conditions. Therefore, keeping dual-purpose hens should also be considered as an alternative approach to avoid injurious pecking in laying hen husbandry.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Dual-Purpose Hen as a Chance: Avoiding Injurious Pecking in Modern Laying Hen Husbandry

Giersberg

Spindler

Rodenburg

et al. 2019

Animals

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“…6 ). Feather cover was assessed using a severity scale from 0 (no or slight wear, nearly intact feathering) to 2 (at least one featherless area ≥ $2 Canadian coin) on the neck, back or tail 102 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestion of Lactobacillus rhamnosus modulates chronic stress-induced feather pecking in chickens

Mindus

Staaveren

Bharwani

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Feather pecking (FP) is a stress-induced neuropsychological disorder of birds. Intestinal dysbiosis and inflammation are common traits of these disorders. FP is, therefore, proposed to be a behavioral consequence of dysregulated communication between the gut and the brain. Probiotic bacteria are known to favorably modulate the gut microbiome and hence the neurochemical and immune components of the gut-brain axis. Consequently, probiotic supplementation represents a promising new therapeutic to mitigate widespread FP in domestic chickens. We monitored FP, gut microbiota composition, immune markers, and amino acids related to the production of neurochemicals in chickens supplemented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus or a placebo. Data demonstrate that, when stressed, the incidence of FP increased significantly; however, L. rhamnosus prevented this increase. L. rhamnosus supplementation showed a strong immunological effect by increasing the regulatory T cell population of the spleen and the cecal tonsils, in addition to limiting cecal microbiota dysbiosis. Despite minimal changes in aromatic amino acid levels, data suggest that catecholaminergic circuits may be an interesting target for further studies. Overall, our findings provide the first data supporting the use of a single-strain probiotic to reduce stress-induced FP in chickens and promise to improve domestic birds' welfare.

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“…Farmers scored FD in their flock on a severity scale (Table 4) using a devised visual scoring system [24] adapted from previously validated scoring schemes [57–60]. Here, FD encompasses both the destruction of feathers and their loss, while the range of scores covered both good and poor feather condition along with an intermediate score for birds not severely affected by FD.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study was part of a project to investigate FD in the Canadian context where climate, feeding, and management practices can differ considerably from those in Europe and across regions within Canada. Previously, we presented the methodology used to assess FD by farmers [24] as well as research findings of the project in the context of furnished cage systems [25]. In this paper, we present associations between FD and different aspects of management, environment, health, and genetics, which were identified in an effort to provide farmers with strategies to prevent or control FD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-sectional study on feather cover damage in Canadian laying hens in non-cage housing systems

et al. 2019

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BackgroundFeather damage (FD) resulting from feather pecking remains a concern in non-cage housing systems for laying hens worldwide. This study aimed to identify bird-, housing-, and management-related factors associated with FD in non-cage housing systems as the egg production sector phases out the conventional cage system in Canada. A survey on housing and management practices was developed and distributed to 122 laying hen farms where 39 respondents provided information on non-cage flocks. Farmers visually assessed 50 birds throughout the barn for FD using a 0–2 scoring scale according to severity. Prevalence of FD was calculated as the percentage of birds with any form of FD (score > 0). Multivariable linear regression modeling was used to identify factors associated with FD prevalence.ResultsSix variables were included in the final model and accounted for 64% of the variation in FD between farms. FD prevalence was higher with increasing flock age (0.9% ± 0.29) and when birds were housed in all wire/slatted barns compared with all litter barns (37.6% ± 13.1). Additionally, FD prevalence tended to be higher in barns with manure removal only after depopulation (20.1% ± 10.70). Enrichment also tended to be associated with higher FD (19.1% ± 8.04), possibly indicating that it was provided after FD was observed as a control measure, or, was not efficient in reducing the development of FD.ConclusionsThese findings emphasize the role of litter provision and management (e.g., manure removal effects on air quality), and its potential impact on FD among laying hens in non-cage housing systems in Canada. Further longitudinal and/or intervention studies are needed to assess the potential of the identified factors to function as a management strategy to prevent or reduce FD in non-cage housed laying hens.

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Development of a Scoring System to Assess Feather Damage in Canadian Laying Hen Flocks

Cited by 18 publications

References 20 publications

The Dual-Purpose Hen as a Chance: Avoiding Injurious Pecking in Modern Laying Hen Husbandry

The Dual-Purpose Hen as a Chance: Avoiding Injurious Pecking in Modern Laying Hen Husbandry

Ingestion of Lactobacillus rhamnosus modulates chronic stress-induced feather pecking in chickens

A cross-sectional study on feather cover damage in Canadian laying hens in non-cage housing systems

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