Effect of light sources with and without UVA on selected behavior and health indicators in commercial broiler breeder flocks.

As new light sources are being developed for poultry houses, systematic investigations on how these influence behavior and health in commercial broiler breeders are needed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 2 light sources (Evolys with UVA (LED) and Biolux 965 (CFL)) on the behavior and health of 2 broiler breeder hybrids during the production period. Eight commercial breeder flocks (Ross 308 n = 4, Hubbard JA757 n = 4) with Evolys (Ross n = 2, Hubbard n = 2) or Biolux (Ross n = 2, Hubbard n = 2) were visited at 25 and 50 wk of age to record behavior and health. Behaviors included resting, locomotion, exploration, comfort, feather pecking, aggression, and mating, while health was recorded by a transect walk, scoring the number of birds observed with: feather loss (FL) on head, back/wings, breast, and tail, wounds on head, back/wings, and tail, dirty plumage, lameness, sickness, and dead birds. The most common behaviors were resting, locomotion, comfort, and exploration, and these were influenced by a 3-way interaction between light source, hybrid, and age. Light source did not affect behavior in Hubbard birds at any age. In contrast, Ross birds housed in Evolys rested less at 50 wk compared to Biolux (P = 0.04) and showed more locomotion at 25 wk in Biolux compared to Evolys (P < 0.0001). Ross birds at 25 wk explored more in Biolux compared to Evolys (P = 0.0007). More comfort behavior was performed in Evolys in 25-wk-old Ross (P = 0.002), but not at 50 wk. These inconsistencies might be due to low sample size, which is a limitation in the study. The most common health indicators were FL on back/wings (mean 3.9%), wounds on back/wings (mean 0.22%), and FL head (mean 0.18%), with no effect of light source, hybrid, or age on FL back/wings, breast, or tail, but with increased FL on the head with increased age (P = 0.0008). In conclusion, the behavior of Ross birds seemed to be affected by light source, while the Hubbard birds were not. Light source had minor effects on the selected health indicators in the 2 hybrids.

Effect of perch access on perching, health and production outcomes in commercial broiler breeder flocks.

There is a need for more knowledge about perch use in broiler breeders and the potential effects of perches on health and production outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of perches by commercial broiler breeders, effect of perch access on keel bone fractures (KBF), footpad dermatitis (FPD) and number of floor eggs. Two commercial breeder flocks (Ross 308) reared at the same facility were observed during the production period. Half of each flock was provided with 15 cm perch/bird and the other half had no perches. The perch group had two types of perches; a steel plate mounted on the hen feeder lines "feeder perch" (15 cm high) and elevated plastic perches (5 cm high). Perching by hens and roosters was recorded during the dark period by counting birds on each of the two perch types in 10 sections and in the corresponding patches on the control side at 25, 35, and 45 wk of age (WOA). FPD was scored in 100 random hens in each group at 30 WOA and end of lay, KBF was scored by postmortem in 100 random hens in each group at end of lay, and number of floor eggs (n) in each treatment was scored daily. More hens perched on the feeder perch with the steel plate mounted, compared to the feeder line without the steel plate, but this difference decreased with age (P < 0.0001). Within the perch treatment, more hens perched on the feeder lines compared to the plastic perches at all ages (P < 0.0001). When combining number of hens on the plastic and feeder perches, on average 6.7 birds perched per meter perch, which is full capacity given an average shoulder width of 15 cm/bird. Perch use among the roosters was low overall, but more roosters perched in the perch group compared to the control group at 35 WOA (P = 0.007). Between 47 and 53% of the hens had KBF at the end of the lay. At 30 WOA, birds housed with perches were more likely to have lower FPD. Perch treatment did not affect number of floor eggs. In conclusion, broiler breeder hens perch when the perches are sufficiently high and allow all birds to perch simultaneously, and access to perches may have positive effects on FPD.

Comparison of flock characteristics, journey duration and pathology between flocks with a normal and a high percentage of broilers 'dead-on-arrival' at abattoirs.

This study investigated high mortality in broilers transported to slaughter in Norway by comparing data from flocks with normal and high mortality during transportation. The data sources consisted of necropsy findings in 535 broilers dead-on-arrival (DOA), production data and slaughterhouse data, along with average journey duration for the 61 associated flocks. The mean Norwegian DOA% for 2015 was 0.10. In this study, normal-mortality flocks were defined as flocks with a mean DOA% up to 0.30 and high mortality as flocks with a mean DOA% above 0.30. DOA% was calculated per flock. The most frequent pathological finding was lung congestion which was observed in 75.5% of the DOA broilers. This postmortem finding was significantly more common in broilers from high-mortality flocks (89.3%) than in DOA broilers from normal-mortality flocks (58%). The following variables had a significantly (P<0.05) higher median in the high-mortality flocks: flock size, 1st week mortality, foot pad lesion score, carcass rejection numbers and journey duration. The results indicate that high broiler mortality during transportation to the abattoir may be linked to several steps in the broiler production chain. The results suggest that preventive measures are to be considered in improvement of health and environmental factors during the production period and throughout the journey duration.

Associations among gait score, production data, abattoir registrations, and postmortem tibia measurements in broiler chickens.

Lameness and impaired walking ability in rapidly growing meat-type broiler chickens are major welfare issues that cause economic losses. This study analyzed the prevalence of impaired walking and its associations with production data, abattoir registrations, and postmortem tibia measurements in Norwegian broiler chickens. Gait score (GS) was used to assess walking ability in 59 different commercial broiler flocks (Ross 308) close to the slaughter d, 5,900 broilers in total, in 3 different geographical regions. In each flock, 100 arbitrary broilers were gait scored and 10 random broilers were culled to harvest tibias. Abattoir registrations on flock level were collected after slaughter. A total of 24.6% of the broilers had moderate to severe gait impairment. The broilers were sampled in 2 stages, first slaughterhouse/region, and then owner/flock. The final models showed that impaired gait is associated with first-week mortality (P < 0.05), region (P < 0.001), height of tibias mid-shaft (P < 0.05), and calcium content in the tibia ash (P < 0.05), and negatively associated with DOA (P < 0.05). The prevalence of impaired gait indicates that this is a common problem in the broiler industry in Norway, although the mean slaughter age is only 31 d and the maximum allowed animal density is relatively low. Impaired walking ability could not be predicted by the welfare indicators footpad lesion score, total on-farm mortality, and decreasing DOA prevalence. Further studies are needed to explore the relationship between first-week mortality and gait score.

A comparison of post-mortem findings in broilers dead-on-farm and broilers dead-on-arrival at the abattoir.

Broiler mortality during transport to abattoirs (dead-on-arrival/DOA) evokes concern due to compromised animal welfare and associated economic losses. The general aim of this study was to characterize pathological lesions associated with mortality in broilers close to slaughter. The specific aim was to investigate whether disease at the end of the growth period may be a predisposing factor for DOA by describing and comparing the pathological findings in broilers dead-on-farm (DOF) in the final days of the production cycle and in broilers DOA from the same flocks. Gross post-mortem examinations were performed on 607 broilers from 32 flocks, either DOF (371) or DOA (236). In DOF broilers, the most common pathological lesions were lung congestion (37.7%), endocarditis (29.4%), and ascites (24.0%), whereas the most common findings in broilers DOA were lung congestion (57.2%) and trauma (24.6%). Lung congestion was more prevalent among DOA broilers compared to DOF broilers (P-value of > 0.001). A possible cause behind the pathological finding lung congestion is sudden death syndrome (SDS). The study indicates that steps in the transportation process per se cause the majority of pathological lesions such as lung congestion and trauma that may have led to the mortalities registered. Pre-existing diseases such as ascites and osteomyelitis may also predispose for DOA. Thus, factors relating to on-farm health, catching, and transportation are all areas of future investigation in order to reduce transport mortalities and to enhance welfare in broilers.