Keel bone fractures are a serious animal welfare problem in laying hens. The aim of the current study was to assess the influence of egg production, oestradiol-17ß, and selection for high laying performance on bone quality. Hens of two layer lines differing in laying performance (WLA: 320 eggs per year, G11: 200 eggs per year) were allocated to four treatment groups. Group S received a deslorelin acetate implant that suppressed egg production. Group E received an implant with the sexual steroid oestradiol-17ß. Group SE received both implants and group C did not receive any implant. In the 63rd week of age, composition and characteristics of the tibiotarsi were assessed using histological analysis, three-point bending test, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and two-dimensional X-ray diffraction, respectively. Non-egg-laying hens showed a higher total bone area and a higher relative amount of cortical bone compared to egg-laying hens. Hens of layer line G11 showed a higher relative amount of medullary bone and a higher degree of mineralization of the cortical bone compared to hens of layer line WLA. These differences in bone composition may explain different susceptibility to keel bone fractures in non-egg-laying compared to egg-laying hens as well as in hens of layer lines differing in laying performance. The effect of exogenous oestradiol-17ß on bone parameters varied between the layer lines indicating a genetic influence on bone physiology and the way it can be modulated by hormone substitution.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03079457.2022.2050671 | DOI Listing |
Poult Sci
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Sichuan Agricultural, University, Chengdu, 611130, China; Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China; Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-omics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal and Technology (Institute of Animal Genetics and Breeding), Chengdu, 611130, China. Electronic address:
Probiotics benefit the health and production performance of chickens, but their impact on egg and eggshell quality, particularly in the later stage, remains unclear. Here, 1-day-old Tianfu green shell-laying hens were fed either non-probiotics feed (n = 180) or feed supplemented with 100 mg / kg probiotics (n = 180). 16S rDNA sequencing indicated that dietary probiotics decreased the distribution of uterine p_Firmicutes, g_Fusobacterium, and s_Fusobacterium_unclassified, while increased p_Proteobacteria, g_Ralstonia, and s_Ralstonia_unclassified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl)
January 2025
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Braunschweig, Germany.
Bone damages in laying hens are of great concern in poultry farming. Besides various risk factors like housing systems or nutrient supply during egg production, it has often been hypothesized that genetically high-performing laying hens may be more prone to bone damages. The relevance of dietary support during the rearing period of pullets for optimal bone development has been little addressed so far.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoult Sci
January 2025
College of Animal Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. Electronic address:
This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplements of fermented mixed ingredient product (FMIP) on the growth performance, intestinal health, and immune performance of layer hens during the brooding period. Four hundred eighty healthy one-day-old layer chicks were randomly divided into four groups (six replicates/group, twenty hens/replicate) and were fed with different experimental diets for eight weeks (from day 1 to day 56): (1) Corn-soybean-base diet (CON); (2) Chlortetracycline group (CTC; CON diet supplemented with 0.5g/kg chlortetracycline); (3) 4 % fermented mixed ingredient product (4 % FMIP); (4) 8 % fermented mixed ingredient product (8 % FMIP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoult Sci
January 2025
Vetdiagnostica Sp. z o.o., 86-050 Otorowo, Poland.
The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of two systems of keeping Lohmann Brown laying hens in terms of carcass composition and meat quality assessment (chemical composition, physicochemical properties, texture, rheological properties, microstructure). The experimental material consisted of 30 carcasses (15 litter system - SS, 15 aviary system - SW) of Lohmann Brown laying hens after laying at 85 weeks of age. After slaughtering, the weight of the eviscerated carcass and the proportion of carcass elements, the weight of selected internal organs, acidity (pH), and electroconductivity (EC), color (L*, a*, b*), and the basic chemical composition of pectoral muscles and leg muscles were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoult Sci
December 2024
Postgraduate Program in Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Genetics and Biochemistry, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
One possible approach to selecting chicks based on quality involves identifying biomarkers in biological samples. Concurrently, understanding the metabolic profile of chicks from different-aged breeders is essential for developing strategies to mitigate the age-related effects on hatchability. This study investigated whether chick quality and breeder age influence the metabolic profile of layer chick meconium.
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