Department and Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5A8, Canada.
Department of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5B4, Canada.
Poult Sci. 2019 Oct 1;98(10):4269-4281. doi: 10.3382/ps/pez274.
This research examined how infrared beak treatment (IRBT), sloughing of the treated beak tissue, and the variations in beak shape that can occur post-IRBT impact the welfare and mortality of Lohmann LSL-Lite (LW) and Lohmann Brown (LB) pullets and hens. Two experiments were conducted and birds for both experiments were treated on the day of hatch. IRBT equipment settings were adjusted to create 4 specific beak shapes: shovel (SHV), step (STP), standard (STAN), and an untreated sham control (C). Experiment 1 pullets (n = 80 per strain) were reared in bioassay cages from 1 to 29 D of age (4 replicates per treatment). Data collected included time and presence of beak sloughing, pecking force, behavioral expression, and mortality. Experiment 2 pullets (n = 320 per strain) were reared in floor pens from 1 D to 18 wk of age (2 replicates per treatment) and then conventional cages from 18 to 60 wk of age (6 replicates per treatment). Data collected for Experiment 2 included behavioral expression, feather cover, comb damage, and mortality. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED (SAS® 9.4) with Tukey's test to separate means. Differences were significant when P ≤ 0.05. IRBT and sloughing had no effect on pecking force or mortality throughout rearing. The variations in post-IRBT beak shape had minor effects on behavior. During rearing, STAN pullets were more active than C pullets but STP and STAN pullets performed less exploratory pecking. During the laying period, SHV and STP hens preened more than C hens. The IRBT treatments, regardless of beak shape, reduced feather loss, comb damage, and cannibalism-related mortality during the laying period. Overall, the results indicate that LW and LB pullets and hens can cope with the change in beak shape that occurs with IRBT, and that welfare is not negatively impacted if some variation in beak shape occurs.
本研究考察了红外线喙处理（IRBT）、处理过的喙组织的脱落以及处理后喙形状的变化如何影响 Lohmann LSL-Lite（LW）和 Lohmann Brown（LB）育雏鸡和母鸡的福利和死亡率。进行了两项实验，所有鸟类在孵化当天都接受了处理。IRBT 设备的设置进行了调整，以创建 4 种特定的喙形状：铲形（SHV）、台阶形（STP）、标准形（STAN）和未经处理的假对照（C）。实验 1 的育雏鸡（每品系 80 只）从 1 日龄到 29 日龄（每处理 4 个重复）在生物测定笼中饲养。收集的数据包括喙脱落的时间和存在、啄力、行为表现和死亡率。实验 2 的育雏鸡（每品系 320 只）从 1 日龄到 18 周龄（每处理 2 个重复）在地板围栏中饲养，然后从 18 周龄到 60 周龄（每处理 6 个重复）在常规笼中饲养。实验 2 收集的数据包括行为表现、羽毛覆盖率、鸡冠损伤和死亡率。使用 PROC MIXED（SAS®9.4）和 Tukey 检验进行数据分析，以分离平均值。当 P≤0.05 时，差异具有统计学意义。IRBT 和喙脱落对整个育雏期的啄力或死亡率没有影响。处理后喙形状的变化对行为的影响较小。在育雏期，STAN 育雏鸡比 C 育雏鸡更活跃，但 STP 和 STAN 育雏鸡的探索性啄食较少。在产蛋期，SHV 和 STP 母鸡比 C 母鸡更喜欢梳理羽毛。无论喙形状如何，IRBT 处理都减少了产蛋期的羽毛损失、鸡冠损伤和与同类相食相关的死亡率。总的来说，结果表明，LW 和 LB 育雏鸡和母鸡可以应对 IRBT 引起的喙形状变化，如果喙形状发生一些变化，福利不会受到负面影响。
