Comparative Analysis of Broiler Housing Systems: Implications for Production and Wellbeing.

This study compares the effects of modern colony cage systems and traditional floor systems on the production and welfare of broiler chickens. Through two trials spanning 35 days each, we evaluated various physiological parameters, including growth performance, bone health, stress responses, and meat quality. Colony cages demonstrated superior thermal regulation and growth performance compared to traditional floor systems, but also exhibited higher frequencies of leg deformity and reduced standing ability.

Reduction in metabolic noise reveals rejuvenation following transient severe caloric restriction.

Among land vertebrates, the laying hen stands out due to its great reproductive efficiency: producing an egg daily all year long. This production rate makes the laying hen a special model animal to study the general process of reproduction and aging. One unique aspect of hens is their ability to undergo reproductive plasticity and to rejuvenate their reproductive tract during molting, a standard industrial feed restriction protocol for transiently pausing reproduction, followed by improved laying efficiency almost to peak production.

Effects of genetic selection for fast growth on the development of wooden breast myopathy in broilers.

1. This study investigated the physiological and molecular mechanisms leading to wooden breast (WB) by comparing growth parameters, oxygen consumption rate, thyroid hormone and gene expression patterns in fast- versus slow-growing broiler lines (Cobb500 and L1986, respectively).2.

A decline in avian cytokine expression with age revealed by commercially available cytokine array.

Cytokines are secreted immunomodulators that are key regulators of the avian immune response. Currently, the most commonly used method to follow cytokine expression is qPCR, which measures cellular levels of mRNA, rather their extracellular circulating levels. Here we present a commercially available cytokine array designed to assay circulating expression levels of multiple cytokines and immunomodulators simultaneously.

Post-Hatch Performance of Broilers Following Hypoxic Exposure During Incubation Under Suboptimal Environmental Temperature.

The modern broiler is selected to exploit its full genetic potential, to sustain a rapid growth rate, and to lower the feed conversion rate (FCR). Recently reported reductions in FCR have been associated with augmented tissue formation at the expense of physiological functions such as thermoregulation. In turn, modern broilers exhibit a relatively low capability to balance energy expenditure under suboptimal ambient temperature.