scholarly journals Physiological stress and welfare of broiler chickens in transit: solutions not problems!

1998 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
pp. 1803-1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Mitchell ◽  
P.J. Kettlewell
Keyword(s):  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
In Transit

Taking the stress out of transport - indices of physiological stress in transit

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 ◽  
pp. 42-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Mitchell ◽  
P.J. Kettlewell
Keyword(s):  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Processing Plants ◽  
Commercial Poultry ◽  
The Uk ◽  
In Transit

Currently, in excess of 650 million broiler chickens are produced per annum in the UK.The rearing of these animals on large numbers of geographically dispered sites necessitates their transportation to centralised processing plants for slaughter. Birds are transported in containers in which behaviour, including any thermoregulatory component, will be restricted. The design of the container and the vehicle and the external climatic conditions will have profound effects upon the immediate environment of the birds. In transit they may be exposed to a variety of potential stressors including the thermal demands of this transport microenvironment, motion, acceleration, vibration, impacts, fasting, withdrawal of water, social disruption and noise. The adverse effects of these factors and their combinations may range from discomfort and mild aversion to death. Mortalities in transit are generally 0.4% or less but this may represent approximately 2 million birds per annum in the UK. It is estimated that up to 40% of the mortalities observed at the processing plant are a consequence of “stress”. It is thus essential from the standpoints of both animal welfare and productivity to optimise commercial poultry transport conditions and to provide the sound scientific basis for legislation relating to vehicles and transport practices. Although examination of the existing literature reveals that thermal stress is acknowledged as a major hazard during animal transportation it has been poorly characterised under practical conditions and the interactions between the animals and the complex thermal microenvironments clearly require more rigorous analyses.

scholarly journals Comparison of the welfare of laying hens, broiler chickens and turkeys in terms of bird health as surveyed during inspection in slaughterhouses

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-248
Author(s):  
Lenka Večerková ◽  
Eva Voslářová ◽  
Vladimír Večerek
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Laying Hens ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
The State ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Acute Changes ◽  
In Transit ◽  
Total Ratio

During the period 2010–2017 we monitored 17 346 183 laying hens, 887 994 167 broiler chickens and 919 843 turkeys slaughtered at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic. In cooperation with the State Veterinary Administration, we recorded findings detected in slaughtered birds within the post mortem veterinary inspection. We analysed the total number of patho-anatomical findings (of intravital origin) and the number of findings divided into acute, chronic and traumatic diseases. In hens, the total ratio of the number of patho-anatomical intravital findings to the number of slaughtered birds (index) was found to be 0.378. This index of the incidence of patho-anatomical findings in hens was higher (P < 0.001) than that found in broilers (0.016) and turkeys (0.101). The prevailing findings in hens were chronic changes (26.32%), followed by acute changes (5.29%), but also notable were traumatic changes (3.90%). Compared to the findings in broilers which were divided into chronic (0.34%), acute (0.10%) and traumatic diseases (0.02%) and turkey findings which were broken down into chronic (7.60%), acute (0.16%) and traumatic diseases (0.33%), the findings of acute, chronic and traumatic diseases were higher (P < 0.001) in hens than in broilers and turkeys. These findings show that the health condition and hence the welfare of laying hens as reflected in the patho-anatomical findings during the veterinary inspection of slaughtered birds is significantly worse than the health condition of broilers and turkeys. This demonstrates the need for increased care for laying hens both on farms and in transit to the slaughterhouse.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the hematological and clinical biochemical markers of stress in broiler chickens

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2294-2300
Author(s):  
Chioma U. Nwaigwe ◽  
John I. Ihedioha ◽  
Shodeinde V. Shoyinka ◽  
Chukwuemeka O. Nwaigwe
Keyword(s):  
Biochemical Markers ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Plasma Fibrinogen ◽  
Blood Collection ◽  
Serum Albumins ◽  
Lymphocyte Ratio ◽  
Serum Biochemical ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Post Stress

Background and Aim: Stress significantly affects health and productivity of animals. There is need for affordable and easy-to-assay markers of physiological stress in broilers. This study evaluated hematological and serum biochemical markers of physiologic stress in broiler chickens. Materials and Methods: Thirty day-old broiler chickens were assigned to three groups of ten broilers each during the 56-day study. Group 1 broilers served as the control and were not exposed to any stressors; Group 2 broilers were stocked at the stress density of 50 kg BW m–2 from day 49 to 56 while Group 3 broilers had their feed withdrawn 36 h before blood collection on day 56. Blood samples were collected on day 49 (pre-stress sample) and day 56 (post-stress sample) from all the birds and subjected to hematological and serum biochemical analysis. Results: The parameters did not vary significantly (p>0.05) pre-stress. Post-stress, there were significant variations in the heterophil, lymphocyte, and eosinophil counts and in the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio across the three groups. The concentrations of the plasma fibrinogen and serum albumins, sodium, and sodium to potassium ratio of the broilers varied significantly across the groups. Conclusion: Heterophil, eosinophil, and lymphocyte counts, the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, plasma fibrinogen, serum albumin, sodium, and sodium to potassium ratio are significant markers of physiological stress in broilers.

scholarly journals Effects of Deoxynivalenol-Contaminated Diets on Metabolic and Immunological Parameters in Broiler Chickens

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Insaf Riahi ◽  
Virginie Marquis ◽  
Anna Maria Pérez-Vendrell ◽  
Joaquim Brufau ◽  
Enric Esteve-Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Corticosterone Level ◽  
Hemoglobin Concentration ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Immunological Parameters

The current study was conducted to examine the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) at different levels (5 and 15 mg/kg feed) on the metabolism, immune response and welfare parameters of male broiler chickens (Ross 308) at 42 days old. Forty-five 1 day-old broiler chickens were randomly distributed into three different dietary treatments: (1) control, (2) DON-contaminated diet with 5 mg DON/kg of feed (guidance level), and (3) DON-contaminated diet with 15 mg DON/kg of feed. Five replicated cages with three birds each were used for each treatment in a randomized complete block design. The results showed that DON was detected in excreta of birds fed contaminated diets compared with controls. The metabolite DON-3 sulphate (DON-3S) was detected in plasma and excreta in both treated groups, as well as in the liver (but only at 15 mg/kg feed). The increase in the level of DON decreased the hemoglobin concentration (p < 0.001), whereas the erythrocyte counts were only decreased at 15 mg DON/kg feed. No effect of DON on the responses to common vaccines was observed. In plasma, interleukin 8 levels in both contaminated groups were significantly higher than in the control group. The expression of interleukin 6, interleukin 1β and interferon-γ increased in jejunum tissues of broilers fed 5 mg/kg of DON compared with controls. The stress index (heterophil to lymphocyte ratio) was not affected by DON-contaminated diets compared with controls. The plasma corticosterone level was significantly lower in both DON groups compared with controls. In conclusion, DON-3S could be used as a specific biomarker of DON in different biological matrices, while the immune response in broiler chickens is stimulated by the presence of DON at the guidance level, but no adverse effect was observed on physiological stress parameters.

Emotions and health: The impact of emotions, emotions regulation, music, and acculturation on health

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Bongard ◽  
Volker Hodapp ◽  
Sonja Rohrmann
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Anger Expression ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cardiovascular Stress ◽  
Expression Behavior ◽  
Cardio Vascular ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Our unit investigates the relationship of emotional processes (experience, expression, and coping), their physiological correlates and possible health outcomes. We study domain specific anger expression behavior and associated cardio-vascular loads and found e.g. that particularly an open anger expression at work is associated with greater blood pressure. Furthermore, we demonstrated that women may be predisposed for the development of certain mental disorders because of their higher disgust sensitivity. We also pointed out that the suppression of negative emotions leads to increased physiological stress responses which results in a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases. We could show that relaxation as well as music activity like singing in a choir causes increases in the local immune parameter immunoglobuline A. Finally, we are investigating connections between migrants’ strategy of acculturation and health and found e.g. elevated cardiovascular stress responses in migrants when they where highly adapted to the German culture.

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