Prevalence of nematode infection and faecal egg counts in free-range laying hens: relations to housing and husbandry

Sherwin, CM; Nasr, Maf; Gale, E.; Petek, Metin; Stafford, Kathryn; Turp, M.; Coles, Garill A.

doi:10.1080/00071668.2012.757577

Cited by 69 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Other studies report the percentages of the flocks in the study being infected (>80%; Pennycott and Steel, 2001;Sherwin et al, 2013;Bestman and Wagenaar, 2014). Prevalence of infected flocks and prevalence of infected hens are likely to be related but not directly comparable, as flock prevalence is the percentage of flocks that are infected based on the infection status of each of the flocks, while the prevalence of hens is the percentage of infected hens of the total hens investigated irrespectively of flock of origin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Compared with barn systems and conventional cages, the prevalence of helminth infections is higher in organic systems (Permin et al, 1999), and the most dominating helminth species are Ascaridia galli (roundworm) and Heterakis sp. (caecal worm; Permin et al, 1999;Sherwin et al, 2013). Clinical welfare problems often depend on the age of the hens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations between and development of welfare indicators in organic layers

Hinrichsen

Riber

Labouriau

2016

Animal

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The retail market share of organic eggs in Denmark is high, and the consumers expect high animal welfare standards in the organic production. Documentation of animal welfare is important, however, knowledge about the associations between animal-based welfare indicators is limited. The aims of the study were to investigate the associations between selected welfare indicators at two ages (peak and end of lay), and to examine the development with age of the chosen welfare indicators. The chosen welfare indicators were Ascaridia galli (roundworm) infection, Heterakis sp. (caecal worm) infection, keel bone damages, back feathering, body feathering, foot damages, comb colour and wounds on the body. An observational study with 12 organic egg farms was conducted in 2012 and 2013 with a total of 214 hens assessed individually at the peak and the end of lay. Insufficient data were obtained on helminth infection at the peak of lay. At the end of lay, all helminth infected hens were positive for A. galli, and only three of them had in addition a Heterakis sp. infection. Foot damages, pale combs and wounds on the body occurred at frequencies <5% and were therefore, together with the prevalence of Heterakis sp. infection, left out of the analysis of associations. A graphical model was used to analyse the associations between the remaining clinical welfare indicators, A. galli infection, housing systems and age of the hens at end of lay. A. galli infection was only directly associated with back feathering at end of lay (P = 0.011) with an increased incidence of A. galli infection in hens with good back feathering. Between the two visits, the prevalence of hens with keel bone damages increased (P < 0.001), and the plumage condition deteriorated (P < 0.001), whereas the number of hens with plantar abscess (P = 0.037) and pale combs (P = 0.020) decreased. No significant differences were found for other foot damages or for skin damage. In conclusion, back feathering at end of lay provided information about a possible helminth infection, but this is not a useful indicator in daily on-farm management. In addition, evidence was found that the deterioration of the plumage condition with age was not only due to accumulation of damage over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between and development of welfare indicators in organic layers

Hinrichsen

Riber

Labouriau

2016

Animal

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“…Alternatively, questionnaires were used to evaluate the association between variables and helminthic infection in free-land laying hens from England and Wales (SHERWIN et al, 2013); and blackhead disease in turkeys from France (CALLAIT-CARDINAL et al, 2010). Factors such as hygiene and density were associated with parasite infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of managerial systems on helminth infection in freerange chickens from northern Paraná, Brazil

Vieira

Yamamura

Freire

et al. 2015

SCA

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The effects of managerial systems on the occurrence of gastrointestinal helminths in Free-Range Chickens (FRCs) from northern Paraná, Brazil were investigated. The most predominant (23.3%; 61/262) cestode observed was Raillietina cesticillus; Heterakis gallinarum (71.4%; 187/262) and Ascaridia galli (45%; 118/262) were the predominant nematodes; Postharmostomum commutatum was the only trematode observed in 2.7% (7/262) of FRCs. The most elevated parasitic burdens were associated with Heterakis gallinarum, Ascaridia galli, and Raillietina cesticillus. Significant (p ≤ 0.05) associations were observed when the effects of the types of bedding, soil type, and fence restriction of FRCs were considered relative to the possibility of helminthiasis.

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“…Some scientific evidence suggests that feather pecking and cannibalism could be largely prevented by the use of appropriate husbandry techniques without the use of beak trimming (Savory, 1995;Morris, 2007;Picket, 2008;Petek, 2013). There have been some on-farm studies on pecking and the welfare of laying hens in the literature (Nicol et al, 2003;Sherwin et al, 2010Sherwin et al, , 2013Gilani et al, 2013). Recently, a set of husbandry advisory tools was developed to reduce injurious pecking in free-range layer chickens in the UK (Weeks et al, 2011;Lambton et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also a serious welfare concern because the pullingout of feathers causes pain, stress, injuries and increased susceptibility to disease (Petek and McKinstry, 2010). Injurious feather pecking can represent a big problem in all housing systems, even in free-range housing systems, with both economic implications for farmers and welfare implications for birds (Tauson et al, 2005;Sherwin et al, 2010Sherwin et al, , 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of age at first access to range area on pecking behaviour and plumage quality of free-range layer chickens

2015

Self Cite

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Abstract. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of age on pecking behaviour and plumage quality of free-range laying hens during first access to range. Six hundred 16-week-old layer pullets obtained from a commercial company were housed in a experimental free-range house. The experimental house consisted of a slat-and-litter floor with range area and was divided into three similar pens. The pullets were randomly assigned to a control and two experimental groups according to age at first access to range area. The birds were allowed into the range area for the first time at 18, 20 and 22 weeks of age in the groups of treatment I, treatment II and control, respectively. Pecking behaviour and plumage quality of the birds were measured for 8-week intervals from 24 to 48 weeks of age. Total feather damage significantly increased with age in all groups (P < 0.040, P < 0.006, P < 0.001). Compared to the control group, birds allowed into the range area earlier had less feather damage. The feather score of the tail body region in all groups was significantly greater (more damage) than in the others (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences for the total pecking behaviour of the birds in the groups at 24, 32, 40 and 48 weeks of age. Incidents of gentle feather pecking in every period were more frequent, while aggressive pecking was less frequent (P < 0.026, P < 0.007, P < 0.001). It can be said that access to range area as early as possible at the beginning of the laying period may be useful to reduce the negative effect of feather pecking in free-range layer chickens.

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Prevalence of nematode infection and faecal egg counts in free-range laying hens: relations to housing and husbandry

Cited by 69 publications

References 29 publications

Associations between and development of welfare indicators in organic layers

Associations between and development of welfare indicators in organic layers

The effects of managerial systems on helminth infection in freerange chickens from northern Paraná, Brazil

Effects of age at first access to range area on pecking behaviour and plumage quality of free-range layer chickens

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