Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens
Under intensive rearing conditions, the welfare of broiler chickens may be at risk depending on genotype and sex, due to their different growth rates. The practice of quantitative feed restriction may also impact on welfare. This study aimed to evaluate behaviour and corticosterone content in plasma...
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MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/830 |
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| author | Angela Trocino Peter White Francesco Bordignon Valentina Ferrante Daniela Bertotto Marco Birolo Giulio Pillan Gerolamo Xiccato |
| author_facet | Angela Trocino Peter White Francesco Bordignon Valentina Ferrante Daniela Bertotto Marco Birolo Giulio Pillan Gerolamo Xiccato |
| author_sort | Angela Trocino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Under intensive rearing conditions, the welfare of broiler chickens may be at risk depending on genotype and sex, due to their different growth rates. The practice of quantitative feed restriction may also impact on welfare. This study aimed to evaluate behaviour and corticosterone content in plasma and faeces at different ages using 896 one-day-old chicks housed in 32 pens, allocated to 8 groups, i.e., 2 genotypes (standard vs. high breast yield) × 2 sex × 2 feeding plans (ad libitum vs. restricted, AL vs. FR). The feeding system affected the percentage of standing (9.84% vs. 11.7% in AL vs. FR; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001), feeding (7.51% vs. 8.17%; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.01) and sitting/lying (67.0% vs. 64.1%; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001), and the faeces corticosterone content (12.2 vs. 13.6 ng/g in AL vs. FR; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.10). Sex affected the percentage of pecking other chickens, standing and comfort behaviours. Changes in behaviour were recorded between high and standard breast yield genotypes with faeces corticosterone which tended to be higher in the former (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.10). Significant interactions between the main factors and age were observed. Major changes in behaviour were due to feed restriction, which stimulated activity during restriction. |
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| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:54:38Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b3a677459954989a924df1bcdfe96952023-11-20T00:03:23ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-05-0110583010.3390/ani10050830Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler ChickensAngela Trocino0Peter White1Francesco Bordignon2Valentina Ferrante3Daniela Bertotto4Marco Birolo5Giulio Pillan6Gerolamo Xiccato7Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalySydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, B19 R.M.C. Gunn Building, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy Food Natural resources Animal and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy Food Natural resources Animal and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalyUnder intensive rearing conditions, the welfare of broiler chickens may be at risk depending on genotype and sex, due to their different growth rates. The practice of quantitative feed restriction may also impact on welfare. This study aimed to evaluate behaviour and corticosterone content in plasma and faeces at different ages using 896 one-day-old chicks housed in 32 pens, allocated to 8 groups, i.e., 2 genotypes (standard vs. high breast yield) × 2 sex × 2 feeding plans (ad libitum vs. restricted, AL vs. FR). The feeding system affected the percentage of standing (9.84% vs. 11.7% in AL vs. FR; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001), feeding (7.51% vs. 8.17%; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.01) and sitting/lying (67.0% vs. 64.1%; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001), and the faeces corticosterone content (12.2 vs. 13.6 ng/g in AL vs. FR; <i>p</i> ≤ 0.10). Sex affected the percentage of pecking other chickens, standing and comfort behaviours. Changes in behaviour were recorded between high and standard breast yield genotypes with faeces corticosterone which tended to be higher in the former (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.10). Significant interactions between the main factors and age were observed. Major changes in behaviour were due to feed restriction, which stimulated activity during restriction.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/830genotypesexfeed restrictionagepoultry |
| spellingShingle | Angela Trocino Peter White Francesco Bordignon Valentina Ferrante Daniela Bertotto Marco Birolo Giulio Pillan Gerolamo Xiccato Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens Animals genotype sex feed restriction age poultry |
| title | Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens |
| title_full | Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens |
| title_short | Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens |
| title_sort | effect of feed restriction on the behaviour and welfare of broiler chickens |
| topic | genotype sex feed restriction age poultry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/5/830 |
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