Wan Yi, Ma Ruiyu, Qi Renrong, Jiang Dawei, Guan Helong, Liu Wei, Li Junying, Li Yan, Zhan Kai
Anhui Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Product Safety Engineering, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Anhui Sundaily Village Ecological Food Co., Ltd., Huaining 246100, China.
Poult Sci. 2025 Jan;104(1):104647. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104647. Epub 2024 Dec 5.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of cage size on the natural behavior, serum biochemistry, production performance and hypothalamic transcriptome profiles of laying hens. A total of 360 79-week-old hens were selected and randomly assigned to three groups (with five replicates each) with different cage sizes: large cages (LCs), medium cages (MCs), and small cages (SCs). The stocking density remained consistent across all groups throughout the experimental period. Behavioral expression was evaluated through observation of only six birds per group on a weekly basis. Compared to the SC group, the average frequencies of walking, wing-flapping, feather-pecking and drinking significantly increased in the LC and MC groups (P <0.05), whereas the average frequency of stereotypic behavior significantly decreased (P <0.05), indicating that cage size has positive effects on natural behavior. The average daily step count (DSC) was in the order LC > MC > SC (P <0.05), which suggested an improvement in exercise ability in larger cages. The serum levels of MDA, CORT, AST and T-CH were significantly lower in the LC and MC groups than in the SC group (P <0.05), whereas the serum activities of SOD and GSH-Px were significantly greater (P <0.05). Additionally, compared to the SC group, the laying rates were increased by 1.61% and 2.20% (P <0.05), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were improved by 1.35% and 2.25%, respectively (P <0.05) in the LC and MC groups, respectively. In total, 437 and 81 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the hypothalamus of birds between the LC and SC groups and the MC and SC groups, respectively. A majority of these DEGs were involved primarily in neuroactive ligand‒receptor interactions, focal adhesion and calcium signaling pathways, which are associated with the regulation of behavioral patterns, the stress response and follicular development. Our results suggest that an appropriate increase in cage size is beneficial to the natural behavior expression, health status and production performance of laying hens.
本研究的目的是评估笼养面积对蛋鸡自然行为、血清生化指标、生产性能及下丘脑转录组图谱的影响。共选取360只79周龄的母鸡，随机分为三组（每组5个重复），笼养面积不同：大笼（LC）、中笼（MC）和小笼（SC）。在整个实验期间，所有组的饲养密度保持一致。每周仅观察每组6只鸡来评估行为表现。与SC组相比，LC组和MC组的行走、扑翅、啄羽和饮水平均频率显著增加（P<0.05），而刻板行为平均频率显著降低（P<0.05），表明笼养面积对自然行为有积极影响。平均每日步数（DSC）顺序为LC>MC>SC（P<0.05），这表明较大笼养面积可提高运动能力。LC组和MC组血清中MDA、CORT、AST和T-CH水平显著低于SC组（P<0.05），而血清中SOD和GSH-Px活性显著更高（P<0.05）。此外，与SC组相比，LC组和MC组的产蛋率分别提高了1.61%和2.20%（P<0.05），饲料转化率（FCR）分别提高了1.35%和2.25%（P<0.05）。分别在LC组与SC组以及MC组与SC组的鸡下丘脑中共鉴定出437个和81个差异表达基因（DEG）。这些DEG大多数主要参与神经活性配体-受体相互作用、粘着斑和钙信号通路，这些通路与行为模式调节、应激反应和卵泡发育相关。我们的结果表明，适当增加笼养面积有利于蛋鸡自然行为表达、健康状况和生产性能。
