Department of Animal Biosciences, Centre for the Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Department of Animal Biosciences, The Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
J Anim Sci. 2020 Dec 1;98(12). doi: 10.1093/jas/skaa373.
The use of feathers as noninvasive physiological measurements of biomarkers in poultry research is expanding. Feather molting patterns and growth rates, however, are not well described in domestic poultry. These parameters could influence the measurement of these biomarkers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the juvenile primary feather molting patterns and feather growth rates for domestic turkeys. The 10 primary wing feathers of 48 female turkeys were measured weekly from week 1 (0 d of age) to week 20. Feathers were manually measured, and the presence or absence of each primary feather was recorded weekly. Generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate if feather growth differed between the primary feathers. The molting of the juvenile primary feathers followed a typical descending pattern starting with P1 (5 wk of age), while P9 and P10 had not molted by the end of the study (20 wk of age). The average feather growth rate was 2.4 cm/wk, although there was a significant difference between the 10 primary feathers (P < 0.0001, 2.1 to 2.8 cm/wk). Over time, feather growth followed a pattern where the growth rate reaches a peak and then declines until the feather is molted. The results of this study provide a critical update of patterns of molting and feather growth in primary wing feathers of modern turkeys. This can have implications for the interpretation of physiological biomarkers, such as the longitudinal deposition of corticosterone, in the feathers of domestic turkeys.
羽毛作为家禽研究中生物标志物的非侵入性生理测量手段的应用正在不断扩大。然而，家禽的羽毛换羽模式和生长速度尚未得到很好的描述。这些参数可能会影响这些生物标志物的测量。因此，本研究的目的是描述家养火鸡幼羽的换羽模式和羽毛生长速度。每周从第 1 周（0 日龄）到第 20 周测量 48 只雌性火鸡的 10 根主翼羽。每周手动测量羽毛，并记录每根主羽的存在或缺失情况。使用广义线性混合模型来研究主羽的生长是否存在差异。幼羽的换羽遵循典型的下降模式，从 P1（5 周龄）开始，而 P9 和 P10 在研究结束时（20 周龄）尚未换羽。平均羽毛生长速度为 2.4cm/周，尽管 10 根主羽之间存在显著差异（P<0.0001，2.1 至 2.8cm/周）。随着时间的推移，羽毛生长遵循一个模式，即生长速度达到峰值，然后下降，直到羽毛换羽。本研究的结果为现代火鸡主翼羽的换羽和羽毛生长模式提供了重要的更新。这可能会影响到在家禽羽毛中皮质酮的纵向沉积等生理生物标志物的解释。
