Schreiter Ruben, Damme Klaus, Freick Markus
ZAFT e.V. Centre for Applied Research and Technology, D-01069 Dresden, Germany.
Bavarian State Farms, Research and Education Center for Poultry, D-97318 Kitzingen, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Dec 18;10(12):2434. doi: 10.3390/ani10122434.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of additional enrichment materials (EMs; pecking stones and alfalfa bales) on the occurrence of plumage damage, skin injuries, and toe injuries, with an emphasis on the possible differences between commercial hybrid strains of laying hens. During rearing (weeks 1-18, 16 compartments, 4000 pullets) and laying periods (weeks 21-72, 24 compartments, 2808 hens) in a littered housing system, EMs were permanently provided to the study groups (EXP), while control groups (CON) did not receive additional EM. In a two-factorial study design (two groups with four strains) with 351 hens per variant, the brown egg-laying Lohmann Brown classic (LB) and Bovans Brown (BB) strains as well as the white egg-laying Lohmann Selected Leghorn classic (LSL) and Dekalb White (DW) strains were investigated. Compared to the CON, the EXP showed reduced body mass during rearing ( < 0.001) and reduced albumen consistency in the laying period ( < 0.001). Regarding integument condition, the LSL in the EXP showed more toe injuries than in the CON ( = 0.018). Remarkably, genotype-environment interactions between strains and groups were evident ( < 0.001). In groups with an EM supply, plumage damage decreased in LB ( ≤ 0.033) and LSL ( ≤ 0.005) but increased in BB ( ≤ 0.003). Moreover, there were fewer skin injuries in LSL ( = 0.001) but more in BB ( = 0.001) in groups with access to EM. In view of the diverging effects between strains, future practical recommendations for laying hen husbandry should be strain-specific.
本研究的目的是调查额外的富集材料（EMs；啄石和苜蓿捆）对羽毛损伤、皮肤损伤和脚趾损伤发生率的影响，重点关注蛋鸡商业杂交品系之间可能存在的差异。在垫料饲养系统的育雏期（第1 - 18周，16个隔间，4000只小母鸡）和产蛋期（第21 - 72周，24个隔间，2808只母鸡），向研究组（EXP）长期提供EMs，而对照组（CON）不接受额外的EMs。在一个双因素研究设计（两组，每组四个品系）中，每个变体有351只母鸡，研究了褐壳蛋鸡罗曼褐经典品系（LB）和博万斯褐（BB）品系以及白壳蛋鸡罗曼精选来航经典品系（LSL）和迪卡白（DW）品系。与CON组相比，EXP组在育雏期体重降低（<0.001），在产蛋期蛋白稠度降低（<0.001）。关于体表状况，EXP组中的LSL品系比CON组有更多的脚趾损伤（=0.018）。值得注意的是，品系和组之间的基因型 - 环境相互作用很明显（<0.001）。在提供EMs的组中，LB品系（≤0.033）和LSL品系（≤0.005）的羽毛损伤减少，但BB品系（≤0.003）的羽毛损伤增加。此外，在可以使用EMs的组中，LSL品系的皮肤损伤较少（=0.001），而BB品系的皮肤损伤较多（=0.001）。鉴于品系之间的不同影响，未来针对蛋鸡饲养的实际建议应该是针对特定品系的。
