Feather corticosterone evaluated by ELISA in broilers: A potential tool to evaluate broiler welfare

Carbajal, Annaïs; Talló-Parra, Oriol; Sabés-Alsina, M.; Mular, I.; López-Béjar, Manel

doi:10.3382/ps.2014-04092

Cited by 36 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…CORT concentrations in breeding and non-breeding feathers (P1 and S13, respectively) were assessed through competitive EIA kits (Corticosterone ELISA kit; Neogen â Corporation, Ayr, UK), following an optimized protocol described elsewhere (Carbajal et al 2014). Briefly, after discarding the calamus (Bortolotti et al 2008), feathers were minced with a ball-mill (Retsch â , MM2 type, Haan, Germany) for 5 min at 25 Hz.…”

Section: Corticosterone Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Ramos

Llabrés

Monclús

et al. 2018

Ecology

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Life history theory states that individual fitness in one stage of life is conditioned by what occurred in previous stages. In migratory species, reproductive effort during breeding has often been found to influence body condition, molt schedule, self-provisioning and migration of individuals in subsequent seasons (i.e., carryover effects of breeding). However, there is a current uncertainty in understanding how long-distance migrants trade off among such energy-demanding activities (i.e., breeding, molting and migrating). To provide evidence to the field, we experimentally reduced the parental effort of a long-lived Procellariform, the Cory's shearwater (Calonectris borealis), by inducing failure at the incubation stage. Treatment and control birds were tracked during their subsequent migration by means of light-level and immersion loggers and sampled for six specific feathers (molted at different periods along the migratory cycle) upon the recovery of the loggers 1 yr later. Feathers were used to perform stable isotope analysis (SIA) and determine corticosterone levels (CORT). By these means, we evaluated the effect of breeding effort on migratory strategy, at-sea activity patterns, molt patterns, and levels of stress experienced by birds along the non-breeding period. We did not detect any difference between birds in the induced failure group and successful breeders in terms of spatio-temporal distribution: all birds shared common foraging areas throughout the study period and the timing of major phenological events did not differ. Failed birds significantly advanced their molt, as revealed by SIA and flying activity patterns. The stress levels of failed birds, inferred through CORT concentrations in feathers, were found to be consistently lower than in successful breeders, through the end of the breeding to the non-breeding period. Thus, we provide robust evidence that the costs of reproduction can be physiologically mediated from the breeding to the non-breeding period through molting schedules and CORT levels. However, we failed to detect clear effects on migratory behavior or subsequent breeding success, suggesting that costs of breeding in long-lived species may be rapidly buffered during the post-breeding period, as would be expected from life history theory.

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Section: Corticosterone Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Ramos

Llabrés

Monclús

et al. 2018

Ecology

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“…Previous studies have reported similar observations. Feather CORT concentrations were unrelated to sex in house sparrows (Passer domesticus; Koren et al, 2012), red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa; Bortolotti et al, 2008) or the broiler (Gallus gallus domesticus; Carbajal et al, 2014). The limited data available suggests that feather CORT concentrations discriminate or diverge most effectively when high, stress-or implant-induced, levels of CORT are present in the blood (Fairhurst et al, 2013;Lattin et al, 2011).…”

Section: Intra-specific Variation In Feather Corticosterone Concentramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bourgeon et al, 2014;Carbajal et al, 2014;Sepp et al, 2014) but these are in the minority. Concentrations of CORT in feathers have been shown to vary in response to life history events (Bortolotti et al, 2008;Crossin et al, 2013), sibling competition (Yosef et al, 2013), health status (Harriman et al, 2014;Meitern et al, 2013;Mougeot et al, 2010;Sild et al, 2014), overwinter survival (Koren et al, 2012), food limitation , reproductive investment (Fairhurst et al, 2012a;Kouwenberg et al, 2013), and with environmental conditions (Carrete et al, 2013;Fairhurst et al, 2011;Fairhurst et al, 2012b;Legagneux et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feather corticosterone content in predatory birds in relation to body condition and hepatic metal concentration

Strong

Pereira

Shore

et al. 2015

General and Comparative Endocrinology

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Article (refereed) -postprintStrong, Rebecca J.; Pereira, M. Gloria; Shore, Richard F.; Henrys, Peter A.; Pottinger, Tom G. 2015. Feather corticosterone content in predatory birds in relation to body condition and hepatic metal concentration.Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. feather CORT content and condition were observed in only tawny owl and kestrel. In sparrowhawks, feather CORT concentration was found to be positively related to the hepatic concentrations of five metals (Cd, Mn, Co, Cu, Mo) and the metalloid As. There was also a negative relationship between measures of condition and total hepatic metal concentration in males. The results suggest that some factors affecting CORT uptake by feathers remain to be resolved but feather CORT content from archived specimens has the potential to provide a simple effects biomarker for exposure to environmental contaminants.

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“…In laying hens, the condition of the plumage and the integument acts as an indicator for feather pecking and cannibalism, both being behavioral disorders caused by various challenges the birds had or have to cope with ( Sepeur et al., 2015 ; Giersberg et al., 2017 ). Recent studies showed that the evaluation of animal welfare in birds may be carried out objectively and noninvasively with the measurement of the stress-related hormone corticosterone in feathers ( Bortolotti et al., 2008 ; Bortolotti et al., 2009 ; Fairhurst et al., 2011 ; Carbajal et al., 2014 ; Ganz et al., 2018 ; Johns et al., 2018 ; Weimer et al., 2018 ; Alba et al., 2019 ; von Eugen et al., 2019 ; Nordquist et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corticosterone in feathers of laying hens: an assay validation for evidence-based assessment of animal welfare

et al. 2020

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Studies indicate that the evaluation of animal welfare in birds may be carried out with the measurement of the stress-related hormone corticosterone in feathers. However a standardized procedure for corticosterone measurements in feathers is lacking, a validation needs to be carried out for each new species before implementation. The aim of the present study was to establish a valid method to measure corticosterone concentrations in feathers of laying hens in a precise and repeatable manner using an established and commercially available ELISA. Validation was performed with feather pools of tail and interscapular feathers of commercial Lohmann Brown laying hens. Assessment groups, consisting of 5 replicates, were created. All replicates of an assessment group were processed at the same time. Each replicate was run in 4 repetitions by ELISA. Intra-assay and interassay CV was 7.5 and 6.4%, respectively. The serial dilution showed linearity and parallelism. Examining the hormone extraction efficiency by using different methanol volumes resulted in no statistical differences ( P > 0.05). Pulverized feathers showed higher corticosterone values than minced feathers ( P > 0.05). Differences were shown between 2 feather types (tail vs. interscapular feathers; P < 0.05), as well as between vane and rachis ( P < 0.05). Performance of a freeze–thaw cycle led to a decrease of corticosterone concentrations in the samples. A possible effect of UV-A radiation on the stability of corticosterone in the feathers was not found ( P > 0.05). With the present study, a valid protocol, feasible for analyzing feather pools of laying hens, was developed. It may provide fundamentals for further investigations on corticosterone in feathers as a noninvasive indicator to evaluate aspects of animal welfare.

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Feather corticosterone evaluated by ELISA in broilers: A potential tool to evaluate broiler welfare

Cited by 36 publications

References 12 publications

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Feather corticosterone content in predatory birds in relation to body condition and hepatic metal concentration

Corticosterone in feathers of laying hens: an assay validation for evidence-based assessment of animal welfare

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