Leone E H, Estévez I
Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Poult Sci. 2008 Jan;87(1):14-21. doi: 10.3382/ps.2007-00154.
Designs to enrich the environment are crucial in the effort to fully address the biological needs of domestic animals. Although enrichment programs have been shown to improve health and welfare, little is known of their potential for application to commercial broiler breeder environments. We investigated the potential benefits of cover panels for broiler breeder reproductive performance in a commercial setting. This demonstration trial occurred on 5 commercial broiler breeder farms, each with a control and panel treatment room containing approximately 7,000 females and 800 males. Reproductive performance was measured from 25 to 60 wk by the number of eggs laid per female per week as well as weekly fertility and hatchability rates. The location of marked males was recorded weekly to quantify male movement. Access to cover panels improved egg production by 2.1% and maintained better hatchability and fertility throughout the breeding cycle (significant interactions of age and panel treatment) leading to an additional 4.5 chicks/female. Male home ranges, based on minimum convex polygons, were larger in the enriched (259 +/- 24.4 m(2)) vs. control flocks (184 +/- 23.1 m(2)). Providing enrichment in the form of cover panels improved reproductive performance, most likely by increasing males' mating opportunities and reducing female stress. We found a clear economic benefit to providing enrichment, an estimated $3 million if all breeder houses within the participating company were outfitted with the panels. These results demonstrate that environmental enrichment is not only beneficial for broiler breeder welfare, but can also be economically advantageous, resulting in a win-win situation for poultry welfare and production.
旨在丰富环境的设计对于全面满足家畜的生物学需求至关重要。尽管已有研究表明丰富化方案可改善健康和福利，但对于其在商业肉鸡育种环境中的应用潜力却知之甚少。我们在商业环境中研究了覆盖板对肉鸡育种繁殖性能的潜在益处。该示范试验在5个商业肉鸡育种场进行，每个场都有一个对照室和一个覆盖板处理室，每个处理室大约有7000只母鸡和800只公鸡。从25周龄到60周龄，通过每周每只母鸡产蛋数量以及每周的受精率和孵化率来衡量繁殖性能。每周记录有标记公鸡的位置，以量化公鸡的活动情况。使用覆盖板使产蛋量提高了2.1%，并在整个繁殖周期内保持了更好的孵化率和受精率（年龄与覆盖板处理存在显著交互作用），每只母鸡额外多孵出4.5只雏鸡。基于最小凸多边形计算，富集组公鸡的活动范围（259±24.4平方米）大于对照组鸡群（184±23.1平方米）。以覆盖板形式提供富集环境可提高繁殖性能，很可能是通过增加公鸡的交配机会和减轻母鸡压力实现的。我们发现提供富集环境具有明显的经济效益，如果参与试验的公司内所有育种鸡舍都安装这种覆盖板，估计可带来300万美元的收益。这些结果表明，环境富集不仅有利于肉鸡育种福利，而且在经济上也具有优势，为家禽福利和生产带来双赢局面。
