Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens.
Directly upon hatching, laying hen chicks are exposed to multiple stressful events during large-scale hatchery processing, which may affect their later coping abilities. Commercial hatchery chicks (HC) were compared to chicks that were incubated and hatched simultaneously under calm conditions (CC)....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291324&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1797682715880849408 |
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| author | Enya Van Poucke Hedvika Suchánková Per Jensen |
| author_facet | Enya Van Poucke Hedvika Suchánková Per Jensen |
| author_sort | Enya Van Poucke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Directly upon hatching, laying hen chicks are exposed to multiple stressful events during large-scale hatchery processing, which may affect their later coping abilities. Commercial hatchery chicks (HC) were compared to chicks that were incubated and hatched simultaneously under calm conditions (CC). After being raised under similar, non-stressful conditions for 36 days, all chicks were exposed to a series of stressors: transportation and introduction into a novel environment followed by a regrouping event in order to characterize long-lasting consequences of hatchery treatment. Tonic immobility, corticosterone levels, and peripheral body temperature were used to assess reactions to the stress events. Tonic immobility was not affected by treatment but was significantly reduced in CC after transport. Corticosterone levels did not differ between treatments when assessed two days before and two days after regrouping. Comb temperature was significantly higher in HC following regrouping, indicating stress-induced hyperthermia. Furthermore, comb temperature dropped more following blood sampling in HC than in CC, indicating a stronger autonomic response to acute stress. In conclusion, the results suggest possible long-term negative effects of commercial hatchery processing, compared to hatching under silent and less stressful conditions, on the coping ability of laying hens to later stressful experiences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:04:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d0eb7b49b314e8694f4723687bc1430 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:04:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d0eb7b49b314e8694f4723687bc14302023-09-17T05:31:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01189e029132410.1371/journal.pone.0291324Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens.Enya Van PouckeHedvika SuchánkováPer JensenDirectly upon hatching, laying hen chicks are exposed to multiple stressful events during large-scale hatchery processing, which may affect their later coping abilities. Commercial hatchery chicks (HC) were compared to chicks that were incubated and hatched simultaneously under calm conditions (CC). After being raised under similar, non-stressful conditions for 36 days, all chicks were exposed to a series of stressors: transportation and introduction into a novel environment followed by a regrouping event in order to characterize long-lasting consequences of hatchery treatment. Tonic immobility, corticosterone levels, and peripheral body temperature were used to assess reactions to the stress events. Tonic immobility was not affected by treatment but was significantly reduced in CC after transport. Corticosterone levels did not differ between treatments when assessed two days before and two days after regrouping. Comb temperature was significantly higher in HC following regrouping, indicating stress-induced hyperthermia. Furthermore, comb temperature dropped more following blood sampling in HC than in CC, indicating a stronger autonomic response to acute stress. In conclusion, the results suggest possible long-term negative effects of commercial hatchery processing, compared to hatching under silent and less stressful conditions, on the coping ability of laying hens to later stressful experiences.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291324&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Enya Van Poucke Hedvika Suchánková Per Jensen Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens. PLoS ONE |
| title | Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens. |
| title_full | Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens. |
| title_fullStr | Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens. |
| title_short | Commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens. |
| title_sort | commercial hatchery processing may affect susceptibility to stress in laying hens |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291324&type=printable |
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