Comparison of Behavioral Time Budget and Welfare Indicators in Two Local Laying Hen Genotypes (Atak-S and Atabey) in a Free-Range System

Free-range systems are considered to improve bird health and welfare, thereby satisfying consumer demands. Behavioral time budget, fear level and clinical welfare indicators were compared for two Turkish laying hen genotypes, Atak-S (brown) and Atabey (white), reared in a free-range system. A total of 420 laying hens (210 Atak-S, 210 Atabey) were studied between 19 and 72 weeks of age. Higher percentages of eating and drinking behavior, feather pecking, and explorative pecking were observed for Atak-S hens, whereas Atabey hens were preening, walking–standing, and resting more. The duration of tonic immobility was longer, and the number of inductions was lower in Atabey compared with Atak-S hens. Atabey hens had less keel bone damages and better plumage conditions on the breast, wing, and tail at 56 and 72 weeks of age than Atak-S hens. Footpad dermatitis was more common in Atabey hens at 40 weeks, whereas Atak-S hens had a higher prevalence of footpad dermatitis with moderate lesions at 72 weeks of age. These findings indicate that free-range Atak-S hens may be more prone to keel bone damage and development of feather pecking, but they showed less foot lesions and were less fearful.

Network Analyses of the Symptoms in the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and its Associations with Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Alcohol Use

Background The Covid-19 Pandemic and subsequent actions taken by national/international organizations has generated a large amount of anxiety which may roam into the realm of pathology – COVID Anxiety. In order to measure this phenomenon, measures such as the CAS have been developed. The CAS being a self-report measure of anxiety-related physiologically symptoms that are aroused by information and thoughts related to COVID-19. However, as the CAS is fairly new tit requires validation and examination. This study fulfils this need through the use of Network Analysis. Methods The study used regularized partial correlation network analysis (EBICglasso) to examine the network structure of ratings of COVID anxiety symptoms as presented in the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and how these symptoms are related to distress (combination of depression, anxiety, stress) and alcohol use. A total of 968 adults from an Australian community sample completed the CAS, and measures of depression, anxiety, stress and alcohol use. Results The findings showed that the most central CAS symptom was abdominal distress, followed by tonic immobility. The symptom with the lowest strength centrality value was dizziness. Also, the network revealed at least moderate effect size connections for tonic immobility with dizziness, sleep disturbances abdominal distress, and for abdominal distress with appetite loss. Additionally, distress was associated positively with dizziness, tonic immobility and appetitive loss. Alcohol use was associated positively with dizziness and abdominal distress, and negatively with tonic immobility and appetitive loss. Conclusions Overall, the findings showed a novel understanding of the structure of the COVID anxiety symptoms in the CAS, and how these symptoms are associated with distress and alcohol use. The clinical implications of the findings for assessment and treatment of COVID anxiety and its comorbidity with distress and alcohol use are discussed.

Prenatal effects of red and blue light on physiological and behavioural parameters of broiler chickens

Light during incubation can influence embryonic and postembryonic development of chickens, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that red and blue lights during incubation had opposite effects on the development of embryonic melatonin biosynthesis; red light results in the highest and blue light in the lowest amplitude of the daily rhythm. Therefore, in this study, we investigated if exposure to monochromatic red (632 nm) and blue (463 nm) light during incubation can differently influence growth, selected biochemical (glucose, cholesterol, triacylglycerols) and endocrine (corticosterone and thyroid hormones) traits and behavioural parameters during postembryonic development in broiler chickens. For analysis, we used 10 and 11 hatchlings incubated in red and blue light, respectively and 10 birds per each group (six males and four females) in 3-weeks-old broilers. During the rapid growth phase (days 18, 20 and 21 of age), higher body weight was recorded in broilers incubated under red compared to blue light, whereas endocrine and metabolic traits did not differ between the treatments. The improved growth rate was related to behavioural traits, mainly because chickens incubated in red light exhibited more passive (resting, standing, preening, dust bathing) and less active behaviours (walking, foraging, fighting, wing-flapping) than the blue-light incubated birds. The time spent for eating and drinking and the results of the tonic immobility test did not differ between both groups. Our results suggest that red and blue monochromatic light during incubation can differently program the postembryonic development of broilers, with possible consequences for their growth and welfare.

A cerebellar-prepontine circuit for tonic immobility triggered by inescapable threat

Sudden changes in the sensory environment are frequently perceived as threats and may provoke defensive behavioral states. One such state is tonic immobility, a conserved defensive strategy characterized by a powerful suppression of movement and motor reflexes. Tonic immobility has been associated with multiple brainstem regions and cell types, but the underlying circuit is not known. Here, we demonstrate that a strong vibratory stimulus evokes tonic immobility in larval zebrafish defined by suppression of exploratory locomotion and sensorimotor responses. Using a circuit-breaking screen and targeted neuron ablations we show that cerebellar granule cells and a cluster of glutamatergic ventral prepontine neurons (vPPNs) that express key stress-associated neuropeptides are critical components of the circuit that suppresses movement. The complete sensorimotor circuit transmits information from primary sensory neurons through the cerebellum to vPPNs to regulate reticulospinal premotor neurons. These results show that cerebellar regulation of a neuropeptide-rich prepontine structure governs a conserved and ancestral defensive behavior that is triggered by inescapable threat.