USDA-ARS, Livestock Behavior Research Unit, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Poult Sci. 2010 Dec;89(12):2559-64. doi: 10.3382/ps.2010-00890.
This study examined the effects of infrared beak treatment (IR-BT) and hot blade beak trimming (HB-BT) on beak length and production in laying hen pullets. Seventy-two 1-d-old birds were randomly assigned to the HB-BT, IR-BT, or control group. Birds were pair housed by treatment, and beak images and production indices were obtained posttreatment at fixed intervals for 10 wk. Immediately after treatment, HB-BT beaks were shorter than control or IR-BT beaks (P < 0.01), whereas control and IR-BT beaks remained comparable in length until the onset of tissue degeneration and erosion of the IR-BT beaks at 1 to 2 wk posttreatment. At wk 2 posttreatment, beaks were longest in control birds, intermediate in IR-BT birds, and shortest in HB-BT birds (P < 0.01). Thereafter, an increase in beak length in all treatments was observed over time (P < 0.01), but HB-BT beaks had the greatest regrowth. The beak length of birds in the HB-BT group was similar to that of birds in the IR-BT group from wk 3 to 8, and then grew longer at wk 9 and 10 posttreatment (P < 0.01). The effects of treatments on BW emerged at d 5 posttreatment. The BW of birds in the HB-BT group was suppressed up to and including wk 9 posttreatment compared with that of control birds (P < 0.05) and was significantly lower than that of birds in the IR-BT group between 2 and 4 wk posttreatment (P < 0.05). Birds in the IR-BT group did not differ from control birds after wk 3 posttreatment (P < 0.05). By the final week of the study, differences in BW across treatments were no longer apparent (P > 0.05). For the most part, feed intake was higher in control birds, intermediate in birds in the IR-BT group, and lowest in birds in the HB-BT group until wk 9 posttreatment (P < 0.05). Similarly, feed waste was generally higher in control birds and least in birds in the HB-BT group (P < 0.05). The IR-BT treatment appeared to be more effective at inhibiting beak regrowth, with a less pronounced effect on feed intake than the HB-BT treatment in laying hen pullets.
本研究旨在探讨红外线喙处理（IR-BT）和热刀片喙修剪（HB-BT）对蛋鸡育雏期喙长和生产性能的影响。72 只 1 日龄的鸡被随机分为 HB-BT、IR-BT 和对照组。鸡按处理进行配对饲养，在处理后每隔固定时间间隔获得喙图像和生产指数，共 10 周。处理后即刻，HB-BT 喙比对照组或 IR-BT 喙短（P<0.01），而对照组和 IR-BT 喙的长度在 1 至 2 周后组织退化和 IR-BT 喙腐蚀开始时保持相当。在处理后 2 周时，对照组鸡的喙最长，IR-BT 鸡的喙中等，HB-BT 鸡的喙最短（P<0.01）。此后，所有处理组的喙长随时间增加（P<0.01），但 HB-BT 喙的再生量最大。HB-BT 组鸡的喙长从第 3 周到第 8 周与 IR-BT 组鸡的喙长相似，然后在处理后第 9 周和第 10 周时更长（P<0.01）。处理对 BW 的影响在处理后 5 天出现。与对照组相比，HB-BT 组鸡的 BW 受到抑制，直至第 9 周（P<0.05），并且在 2 至 4 周时明显低于 IR-BT 组（P<0.05）。处理后 3 周，IR-BT 组鸡与对照组鸡无差异（P<0.05）。在研究的最后一周，处理之间的 BW 差异不再明显（P>0.05）。在大多数情况下，对照组鸡的采食量较高，IR-BT 组鸡的采食量中等，HB-BT 组鸡的采食量最低，直至处理后第 9 周（P<0.05）。同样，对照组鸡的饲料浪费通常较高，HB-BT 组鸡的饲料浪费最低（P<0.05）。与 HB-BT 处理相比，IR-BT 处理在抑制喙再生方面似乎更有效，对采食量的影响较小。
