Prevalence rates of health and welfare conditions in broiler chickens change with weather in a temperate climate

Abstract

Climate change impact assessment and adaptation research in agriculture has focused primarily on crop production, with less known about the potential impacts on livestock. We investigated how the prevalence of health and welfare conditions in broiler (meat) chickens changes with weather (temperature, rainfall, air frost) in a temperate climate. Cases of 16 conditions were recorded at approved slaughterhouses in Great Britain. National prevalence rates and distribution mapping were based on data from more than 2.4 billion individuals, collected between January 2011 and December 2013. Analysis of temporal distribution and associations with national weather were based on monthly data from more than 6.8 billion individuals, collected between January 2003 and December 2013. Ascites, bruising/fractures, hepatitis and abnormal colour/fever were most common, at annual average rates of 29.95, 28.00, 23.76 and 22.29 per 10 000, respectively. Ascites and abnormal colour/fever demonstrated clear annual cycles, with higher rates in winter than in summer. Ascites prevalence correlated strongly with maximum temperature at 0 and −1 month lags. Abnormal colour/fever correlated strongly with temperature at 0 lag. Maximum temperatures of approximately 8°C and approximately 19°C marked the turning points of curve in a U-shaped relationship with mortality during transportation and lairage. Future climate change research on broilers should focus on preslaughter mortality.

Supplementation of Bacillus subtilis-based probiotic reduces heat stress-related behaviors and inflammatory response in broiler chickens1

“…Wing spreading increases radiation heat loss, however, too frequent spreading, as one of the reasons, may cause pale, dry, and exudative meat in broilers (Sandercock et al, 2001;Spurio et al, 2016). Squatting closely to ground increases heat conduction (Li et al, 2017), but also increases the frequency of foot-pad dermatitis (Part et al, 2016). In the current study, the behavioral reactions of HS birds were far greater than TN birds, but the HS-PD birds exhibited significantly less panting than the HS-RD birds, which is consistent with the less time spent drinking water in the PD birds compared to RD birds under high temperature.…”

Comprehensive Longitudinal Microbiome Analysis of the Chicken Cecum Reveals a Shift From Competitive to Environmental Drivers and a Window of Opportunity for Campylobacter

“…Chickens ( Gallus gallus domesticus ) are an important food source for humans with over 50 billion reared annually for meat and eggs (Part et al, 2016 ). Feed conversion and the health of chickens is heavily dependent on the largely unexplored complex gut microbial community which plays a role in nutrient assimilation, vitamin and amino acid production and prevention of pathogen colonization (Józefiak et al, 2004 ; Apajalahti, 2005 ; Mcnab, 2007 ; Sergeant et al, 2014 ).…”

Origin of broiler carcass condemnations

“…Litter moisture, which causes ulcerative dermatitis and feet lesions, can affect other body parts in direct contact with the litter, such as the breast. The high content of contaminants can also cause cellulitis (Part et al, 2016), which is associated with serositis, airsaccullitis, pericarditis, perihepatitis, peritonitis, and salpingitis (Kasuya et al, 2017) and constitutes one of the main causes of condemnation in slaughterhouses, with implications for public health due to its principal etiologic agent, Escherichia coli Wijesurendra et al, 2017).…”