Evaluation of the Heterophil/Lymphocyte Ratio as a Measure of Stress in Chickens

Gross, W. B.; Siegel, H. S.

doi:10.2307/1590198

Cited by 1,257 publications

(710 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…El-Lethey et al, 2000;Wall et al, 2004;Shini et al, 2008). As suggested by Gross and Siegel (1983), H/L ratios of about 0.20, 0.50 and 0.80 are characteristic of low, optimal and high degrees of stress. Our results indicated that hens in this study did not experience severe stress.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Under practical farm conditions, higher antibody titres in response to vaccines are reported in laying hens placed in floor pens as compared with FC (Shini, 2003). Furthermore, heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratio has been widely used as a sensitive indicator of long-term stress related to immune function in laying hens (Gross and Siegel, 1983;Maxwell and Robertson, 1998), and has been employed as an index of hen welfare (Nicol et al, 2009). However, little is known about the longterm effects of early rearing environment on immune responses in hens housed in FC during the laying period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It appears that beak trimming alone may not explain the discrepancy in results. There are many other factors that influence the H/L ratio in hens, including age, infectious agents and hen-human relationships (Gross and Siegel, 1983). In this study, all birds were non-beak trimmed and the bird management was similar.…”

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confidence: 96%

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Effects of housing conditions during the rearing and laying period on adrenal reactivity, immune response and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratios in laying hens

Moe

Guemene

Bakken

et al. 2010

Animal

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of early rearing conditions on physiological, haematological and immunological responses relevant to adaptation and long-term stress in white Leghorn hens with intact beaks housed in furnished cages (FC) or conventional cages (CC) during the laying period. Pullets were cage reared (CR) or litter floor reared (FR). From 16 to 76 weeks of age, hens were housed in FC (eight hens per cage) or in CC (three hens per cage). As measures of long-term stress at the end of the laying period, adrenal reactivity was quantified by assessing corticosterone responses to adrenocorticotropin challenge, and immune response was assessed by measuring antibody responses after immunization with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH). Heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratio was employed as an indicator of stress. Rearing conditions significantly affected anti-SRBC titres ( P , 0.0001) and tended to affect H/L ratios ( P 5 0.07), with the highest values found in FR hens. Layer housing affected H/L ratio ( P , 0.01); the highest ratio was found in FR birds housed in FC during the laying period. This study shows that early rearing environment affects immunological indicators that are widely used to assess stress in laying hens. However, while results on H/L ratio indicated that FR birds experienced more stress particularly when they were housed in FC during the laying period, the immune responses to SRBC in FR hens was improved, indicating the opposite. This contradiction suggests that the effects on immune response may have been associated with pathogenic load due to environmental complexity in FR and FC hens rather than stress due to rearing system or housing system per se.Keywords: welfare, housing, rearing, laying hens, adaptation ImplicationsThis study was conducted to explore effects of early pullet rearing conditions on adaptation to furnished cages (FC) during the laying period, which may be a key issue for hen welfare. Physiological, haematological and immunological variables relevant to stress and welfare were measured in birds with intact beaks housed in cages or on the litter floor during rearing, and subsequently in conventional cages or FC during the laying period. Rearing conditions affected variables relevant for hen adaptation. However, it was not evident if the effects were associated with pathogenic load or stress and environmental conditions. IntroductionCurrently, the improvement of laying hen welfare is of great concern to the European Commission and EU egg industry (Council Directive, 1999; EFSA, 2005;Blokhuis et al., 2007). In recent times, there have been concerted research efforts focusing on modifying cage designs and improving hen welfare (Appleby et al., 2002;Blokhuis et al., 2007). A furnished cage system (FC) attempts to provide an enriched environment to meet the behavioural needs of hens while maintaining a small group size to minimize stress (Tauson, 1998). In contrast to the conventional cages (CC), FC are equipped with nesting ar...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of housing conditions during the rearing and laying period on adrenal reactivity, immune response and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratios in laying hens

Moe

Guemene

Bakken

et al. 2010

Animal

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“…Hematology values in nesting females from this study were similar to values in nesting females from Gabon (Deem et al, 2006). Leukocytosis characterized by heterophilia, lymphopenia, monocytosis, and an elevated heterophil to lymphocyte ratio can be an indicator of physiologic stress response in reptiles (Gross and Siegel, 1983), which could explain the elevations seen in captured foraging turtles relative to nesting turtles. Differences in hematology also might reflect variability in methods and laboratory personnel.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Health Assessment of Western Pacific Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys Coriacea) Foraging Off the Coast of California, 2005–2007

Harris

Benson

Gilardi

et al. 2011

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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“…Environmental contaminants, such as insecticides (Mandal et al 1986), crude oil (Leighton 1986), and some organochlorines (Grasman et al 2000), have been found to stimulate a relative heterophilia in birds, but findings are variable. Some studies report depressed (Gross and Siegel 1983) or no effect (Grasman et al 2000) on heterophil numbers in exposed birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thyroid Hormone Suppression and Cell-Mediated Immunomodulation in American Kestrels ( Falco sparverius ) Exposed to PCBs

Smits

Fernie

Bortolotti

et al. 2002

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

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Evaluation of the Heterophil/Lymphocyte Ratio as a Measure of Stress in Chickens

Cited by 1,257 publications

References 8 publications

Effects of housing conditions during the rearing and laying period on adrenal reactivity, immune response and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratios in laying hens

Effects of housing conditions during the rearing and laying period on adrenal reactivity, immune response and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratios in laying hens

Comparative Health Assessment of Western Pacific Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys Coriacea) Foraging Off the Coast of California, 2005–2007

Thyroid Hormone Suppression and Cell-Mediated Immunomodulation in American Kestrels ( Falco sparverius ) Exposed to PCBs

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