End-of-Season Carcass and Reproductive Traits in Original and Replacement Male Broiler Breeders

Wolański, Napoleon; Renema, R. A.; Robinson, F. E.; Wilson, Jeffrey J.

doi:10.1093/japr/13.3.451

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These males thus responded as if reared on 16 h, while those photostimulated at 147 and 161 d initiated sexual development close to or before photostimulation. For male broiler breeders across all treatments, the left testis weight was heavier than the right in 75.6% of the cases (Figure 2), which concurs with most reports (Hocking, 1992;Wolanski et al, 2004) and shows directional asymmetry (Møller, 1994). Møller (1994) also showed that, in barn swallows and house sparrows, the greater the directional asymmetry, in the form of a higher volume of the left testis compared to the right, the greater the phenotypic quality, as measured by the expression of the secondary sexual characteristics.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

The effect of age at photostimulation of male broiler breeders on testes growth and the attainment of sexual maturity

Tyler

Gous

2009

SA J. An. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

________________________________________________________________________________ AbstractMale broiler breeders were photostimulated at different ages (56, 77, 98, 119, 147 and 161 d) during the period of growth prior to achieving sexual maturity to observe their response to photoperiod stimulation. Birds were sampled at regular intervals to measure the average testis weight -these values responding curvilinearly to the age at photostimulation, similar to the attainment of sexual maturity observed previously in females. However, males reached sexual maturity at an earlier age than females, as measured by the start of semen production. Based on the age at first semen production, no differences in the mean age at sexual maturity (ranging from 164 to 172 d) resulted from the different ages at photostimulation. Testis weights from males on different photostimulation treatments showed that some males respond to early stimulation, but from 189 d of age some of these early photostimulated males still had an average testis weight of less than 10 g, while males photostimulated 98 d and later all had an average testis weight over 10 g. Serum testosterone concentration measured at 351 d also showed that early photostimulation resulted in two groups of birds that either responded or not. At 351 d the serum testosterone concentration was more evenly distributed in males photostimulated after 98 d, while males photostimulated before 98 d had either high or low serum testosterone concentrations. Directional asymmetry was observed in testis weights, with the left testis being bigger than the right. Other bilateral traits measured also showed directional asymmetry, an indication of developmental instability. However, the degree of relative asymmetry was not related to treatment. All males should respond to photostimulation by 98 d but some respond earlier, and these could be used by broiler breeding companies to eliminate seasonality in these birds. ________________________________________________________________________________

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

The effect of age at photostimulation of male broiler breeders on testes growth and the attainment of sexual maturity

Tyler

Gous

2009

SA J. An. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Weight (Wolanski et al, 2004;Kjaer et al, 2006) and age (McIlroy et al, 1987;Bruce et al, 1989) are known to influence foot pad condition in broilers. As the growth rate of breeders is not as fast as that of broilers, it is obvious that the role of weight might be of less importance in the aetiology of foot pad dermatitis in breeders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, Wolanski et al (2004) studied broiler breeder males, and concluded that body weight, rather than age as such, might have a greater impact on foot pad condition. Thus, increasing body weight might explain part of the deterioration of foot pad scores of broiler breeders, as the body weight of breeders does increase throughout the production period, from on average 2.0 kg at 19 to 3.9 kg at 60 weeks of age (Aviagen, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of litter quality on foot pad dermatitis, hock burns and breast blisters in broiler breeders during the production period

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foot pad dermatitis and hock burn lesions are a form of contact dermatitis, a condition affecting skin areas in contact with unsuitable or irritating material. Contact dermatitis is a common problem, reducing the welfare of broilers, and is believed to also affect broiler breeders. However, there is very little research on contact dermatitis in breeders. This study followed the severity of foot pad lesions in broiler breeders throughout the production period. At slaughter the presence of hock burns and breast blisters was also determined. In addition, changes in litter condition over time and the impact of litter quality on foot pads were evaluated. The study was performed on 10 broiler breeder farms, including altogether 18 flocks. Foot pads of 100 hens per flock were assessed at the end of rearing period, three times during the production period, and at slaughter. Foot pad and hock lesions, as well as litter condition were scored on a 5-point scale. Litter quality was evaluated as pH, moisture and ammonia content. The condition of foot pads deteriorated towards slaughter age, with the occurrence of severe lesions reaching a maximum of 64% on average at slaughter. Hock lesions and breast blisters were rare. The litter layer became drier over time. Although poorer litter condition and wetness influenced foot pad health negatively, the effect on severe lesions was not significant. We also observed a negative effect on foot pad condition of larger slat areas. In conclusion, maintaining good litter quality alone is not enough to ensure healthy foot pads in broiler breeders.

show abstract

“…The multiple factors involved in fertility and in the change of fertility with age are expected to affect the effectiveness of spiking and could explain the differences between experiments. Wolanski et al (2004) studied the differences between carcass and reproductive morphology between original and spiked males at the end of the breeding period. They found that the ability of original males to successfully complete matings may have impeded because they had a higher body weight and were more heavily fleshed than replacement males, which is in agreement with the hypothesis of Hocking and Duff (1989) that male body weight gain and associated muscular-skeletal lesions are important causes of declining fertility with age in broiler breeder flocks.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Testosterone Administration and Spiking on Reproductive Success of Broiler Breeder Flocks

Ordás

Vahedi

Seidavi

et al. 2015

Reprod Domestic Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contents Age negatively affects reproductive success of broiler breeder flocks. One of the main hormones involved in the change of fertility with the age is testosterone (TT). The introduction of young males at later production stages of broiler flocks is known as spiking and is expected to reduce the fertility decline with age. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of injection of different levels of TT and the effect of spiking on reproductive fitness of broiler breeder flocks. Two experiments were conducted on Ross 308 breeder flocks for 10 weeks (41–50 weeks of age). The experiment 1 included a control and three treatments corresponding to three doses of TT (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 cc), while the experiment 2 included a control and one treatment corresponding to spiking. The lower dose of TT (0.1 cc) and the spiking clearly slowed down the decline in hatchability. Therefore, either the external administration of TT to the males when the natural concentration of TT starts to decline or spiking the breeder flock with young roosters could contribute to improve reproductive success in later stages of the production cycle in broiler breeder flocks.

show abstract

End-of-Season Carcass and Reproductive Traits in Original and Replacement Male Broiler Breeders

Cited by 15 publications

References 23 publications

The effect of age at photostimulation of male broiler breeders on testes growth and the attainment of sexual maturity

The effect of age at photostimulation of male broiler breeders on testes growth and the attainment of sexual maturity

Effect of litter quality on foot pad dermatitis, hock burns and breast blisters in broiler breeders during the production period

Effect of Testosterone Administration and Spiking on Reproductive Success of Broiler Breeder Flocks

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About