Jansen Simon, Baulain Ulrich, Habig Christin, Weigend Annett, Halle Ingrid, Scholz Armin Manfred, Simianer Henner, Sharifi Ahmad Reza, Weigend Steffen
Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, 31535 Neustadt, Germany.
Institute of Animal Nutrition, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2020 May 14;10(5):850. doi: 10.3390/ani10050850.
Impaired animal welfare due to skeletal disorders is likely one of the greatest issues currently facing the egg production industry. Reduced bone stability in laying hens is frequently attributed to long-term selection for increased egg production. The present study sought to analyse the relationship between bone stability traits and egg production. The study comprised four purebred layer lines, differing in their phylogenetic origin and performance level, providing extended insight into the phenotypic variability in bone characteristics in laying hens. Data collection included basic production parameters, bone morphometry, bone mineral density (BMD) and bone breaking strength (BBS) of the tibiotarsus and humerus. Using a multifactorial model and regression analyses, BMD proved to be of outstanding importance for bone stability. Only for the tibiotarsus were morphometric parameters and the bone weight associated with BBS. Within the chicken lines, no effect of total eggshell production on BBS or BMD could be detected, suggesting that a high egg yield itself is not necessarily a risk for poor bone health. Considering the complexity of osteoporosis, the estimated genetic parameters confirmed the importance of genetics in addressing the challenge of improving bone strength in layers.
骨骼疾病导致动物福利受损可能是目前蛋鸡生产行业面临的最大问题之一。蛋鸡骨骼稳定性降低通常归因于长期以来为提高产蛋量而进行的选育。本研究旨在分析骨骼稳定性性状与产蛋量之间的关系。该研究包括四个纯种蛋鸡品系，它们在系统发育起源和生产性能水平上存在差异，从而能够更深入地了解蛋鸡骨骼特征的表型变异性。数据收集包括基本生产参数、骨骼形态测量、胫跗骨和肱骨的骨矿物质密度（BMD）以及骨断裂强度（BBS）。通过多因素模型和回归分析，结果表明BMD对骨骼稳定性具有至关重要的意义。仅对于胫跗骨而言，形态测量参数和骨骼重量与BBS相关。在这些鸡品系中，未检测到总蛋壳产量对BBS或BMD有影响，这表明高产蛋量本身不一定会对骨骼健康构成风险。考虑到骨质疏松症的复杂性，估计的遗传参数证实了遗传学在应对提高蛋鸡骨骼强度这一挑战方面的重要性。
