Cors J-C, Gruber A D, Günther R, Meyer-Kühling B, Esser K-H, Rautenschlein S
Clinic for Poultry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Germany.
Institute for Pathology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
Poult Sci. 2015 Feb;94(2):147-55. doi: 10.3382/ps/peu038. Epub 2015 Jan 20.
Euthanasia of small numbers of birds in case of injury or other illness directly on the farm may be necessary for welfare reasons. This should be done without transportation of the moribund animals in order to minimize pain and distress. Blood loss has to be avoided to minimize the risk of contaminating the environment. Cervical dislocation in combination with a blunt trauma may be an appropriate way to achieve this aim but the bird's age and body weight may influence the practicability of this method in the field. In this study, we evaluated broilers, broiler breeders, and turkeys of different age groups and weights up to nearly 16 kg for the efficacy of blunt trauma to induce unconsciousness, allowing subsequent killing of the bird without pain. The effect of blunt trauma on the brain was determined by electroencephalography (EEG). Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were recorded for each animal. Convulsions or tonic seizures were observed in all investigated animals after blunt trauma, including strong wing movements, torticollis, and stretching of legs. The EEG results demonstrate that the blunt trauma induced by a single, sufficiently strong hit placed in the frontoparietal region of the head led to a reduction or loss of the AEP in all groups of birds. These results clearly indicate a loss of sensibility and induction of unconsciousness, which would allow painless killing of the birds immediately after the induction of the blunt trauma.
出于福利原因，在农场中对少数受伤或患有其他疾病的鸟类实施安乐死可能是必要的。为了将痛苦和痛苦降至最低，不应运输濒死动物。必须避免失血，以尽量减少环境污染的风险。颈椎脱臼结合钝器创伤可能是实现这一目标的合适方法，但鸟类的年龄和体重可能会影响该方法在实际操作中的可行性。在本研究中，我们评估了不同年龄组和体重（最大接近16千克）的肉鸡、肉种鸡和火鸡，以确定钝器创伤诱导昏迷的效果，从而使随后对鸟类的宰杀无痛。通过脑电图（EEG）确定钝器创伤对大脑的影响。记录每只动物的听觉诱发电位（AEP）。在所有接受调查的动物遭受钝器创伤后，均观察到抽搐或强直性惊厥，包括强烈的翅膀运动、斜颈和腿部伸展。脑电图结果表明，在头部额顶区域单次施加足够强烈的打击所引起的钝器创伤导致所有鸟类组的听觉诱发电位降低或消失。这些结果清楚地表明失去了知觉并诱导了昏迷，这将使得在钝器创伤诱导后立即对鸟类进行无痛宰杀成为可能。
