Abd El-Wahab A, Beineke A, Beyerbach M, Visscher C F, Kamphues J
Institute of Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
Avian Dis. 2011 Sep;55(3):429-34. doi: 10.1637/9684-021011-Reg.1.
Actions concerning animal health in turkey production are coming more and more to the fore. Litter quality has a great impact on the bird's health and welfare. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of using floor heating, different litter materials, and exposure to litter with a "critical moisture content" of 35% for 16 or 24 hr/day on the severity of foot pad dermatitis (FPD), a widespread disease in fattening turkeys. Four groups of 2-wk-old female turkeys, with 20 birds in each, were reared during 3 wk. All turkeys were fed a commercial pellet diet ad libitum. The first two groups were kept on wood shavings (35% moisture) without and with floor heating. The other two groups were housed on lignocellulose (Soft Cell) of 35% moisture without and with floor heating. In each group, half of the birds were housed for 8 hr/day in adjacent separate boxes where the litter was kept clean and dry throughout the experimental period. Foot pads were assessed weekly for external and at day 35 for histopathologic scoring (scores: 0 = healthy; 7 = ulcer). At day 14 each bird had normal and healthy foot pads. The results indicate that using floor heating resulted in significantly lower FPD scores (0.8 +/- 0.2) compared to groups without floor heating (2.0 +/- 0.8). Using lignocellulose as a litter material resulted in significantly lower histopathologic FPD scores (1.4 +/- 0.7) compared with wood shavings (1.7 +/- 0.8). In all birds housed on dry litter for 8 hr/day, significantly lower FPD scores were found compared to birds housed on wet litter for 24 hr. In conclusion, using floor heating, even with wet litter (35% moisture), independent of the litter type, resulted in reduced severity of FPD compared to those birds housed in pens without using floor heating. Additionally, using lignocellulose as a litter material resulted in lower FPD compared with wood shavings. Keeping litter dry and "warm" could be achieved by using floor heating, which is considered a practical step to enhance animal health and welfare.
火鸡生产中有关动物健康的措施越来越受到关注。垫料质量对火鸡的健康和福利有很大影响。本研究旨在评估使用地面加热、不同垫料材料以及每天16或24小时暴露于“临界水分含量”为35%的垫料对脚垫皮炎（FPD）严重程度的影响，脚垫皮炎是育肥火鸡中一种普遍的疾病。将四组2周龄的雌性火鸡，每组20只，饲养3周。所有火鸡自由采食商业颗粒饲料。前两组分别饲养在未使用和使用地面加热的木屑垫料（水分含量35%）上。另外两组饲养在水分含量35%的木质纤维素垫料（Soft Cell）上，同样分为未使用和使用地面加热两组。在每组中，一半的火鸡每天有8小时被安置在相邻的单独笼子里，在整个实验期间垫料保持清洁干燥。每周对脚垫进行外部评估，并在第35天进行组织病理学评分（评分：0 = 健康；7 = 溃疡）。在第14天，每只火鸡的脚垫正常且健康。结果表明，与未使用地面加热的组相比，使用地面加热的组FPD评分显著更低（0.8±0.2）。与木屑垫料相比，使用木质纤维素作为垫料材料导致组织病理学FPD评分显著更低（1.4±0.7）。与每天24小时饲养在潮湿垫料上的火鸡相比，所有每天8小时饲养在干燥垫料上的火鸡FPD评分显著更低。总之，与未使用地面加热的圈舍中的火鸡相比，使用地面加热（即使垫料潮湿，水分含量35%）且与垫料类型无关，可以降低FPD的严重程度。此外，与木屑垫料相比，使用木质纤维素作为垫料材料导致FPD更低。通过使用地面加热可以使垫料保持干燥和“温暖”，这被认为是提高动物健康和福利的一个实际措施。
