Hinz Katharina, Stracke Jenny, Schättler Jule Katrin, Kemper Nicole, Spindler Birgit
Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15 (Building 116), D-30173 Hannover, Germany.
Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony, Division Agriculture, Mars-la-Tour-Str. 6, D-26121 Oldenburg, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Aug 8;9(8):541. doi: 10.3390/ani9080541.
Wet litter is the most important cause of footpad dermatitis in poultry, this in turn being a highly relevant animal-related welfare indicator. This field study was subdivided into two experiments. In Experiment 1, the standard diet was supplemented by 0.2% enriched charcoal, being a non-specific absorber and therefore might be promising in reducing faecal moisture. In Experiment 2, the experimental group received a reduced crude protein diet during weeks 6-13, combined with a 0.2% enriched charcoal supplementation. The trials were each conducted with two batches on three farms under on-farm conditions. The animals were observed at 6, 10, 14 and 18 weeks of age to collect data on body weight and different health parameters. The mortality and litter samples were analysed after slaughtering. In Experiment 1, performance and health were not affected despite higher dry matter content of the litter. In Experiment 2, the weight of birds receiving the protein-reduced diet was decreased significantly throughout the experiment. However, the slaughter weight did not differ. The mortality was reduced by 0.5% in the experimental group. Therefore, it was concluded that 0.2% of enriched charcoal is not a valuable feed-additive regarding animal health, while temporary protein reduction might have positive effects.
潮湿垫料是家禽脚垫皮炎的最重要原因，而脚垫皮炎又是一个与动物福利高度相关的指标。这项田间研究分为两个实验。在实验1中，标准日粮添加了0.2%的强化木炭，强化木炭是一种非特异性吸附剂，因此在降低粪便水分方面可能很有前景。在实验2中，实验组在第6至13周接受低粗蛋白日粮，并添加0.2%的强化木炭。每个试验在三个农场的农场条件下分两批进行。在动物6、10、14和18周龄时进行观察，以收集体重和不同健康参数的数据。屠宰后分析死亡率和垫料样本。在实验1中，尽管垫料干物质含量较高，但生产性能和健康状况并未受到影响。在实验2中，整个实验期间，接受低蛋白日粮的鸡体重显著下降。然而，屠宰体重没有差异。实验组的死亡率降低了0.5%。因此，得出的结论是，就动物健康而言，0.2%的强化木炭不是一种有价值的饲料添加剂，而暂时降低蛋白质含量可能有积极效果。
