A comparison of post-mortem findings in broilers dead-on-farm and broilers dead-on-arrival at the abattoir

Abstract

Broiler mortality during transport to abattoirs (dead-on-arrival/DOA) evokes concern due to compromised animal welfare and associated economic losses. The general aim of this study was to characterize pathological lesions associated with mortality in broilers close to slaughter. The specific aim was to investigate whether disease at the end of the growth period may be a predisposing factor for DOA by describing and comparing the pathological findings in broilers dead-on-farm (DOF) in the final days of the production cycle and in broilers DOA from the same flocks. Gross post-mortem examinations were performed on 607 broilers from 32 flocks, either DOF (371) or DOA (236). In DOF broilers, the most common pathological lesions were lung congestion (37.7%), endocarditis (29.4%), and ascites (24.0%), whereas the most common findings in broilers DOA were lung congestion (57.2%) and trauma (24.6%). Lung congestion was more prevalent among DOA broilers compared to DOF broilers (P-value of > 0.001). A possible cause behind the pathological finding lung congestion is sudden death syndrome (SDS). The study indicates that steps in the transportation process per se cause the majority of pathological lesions such as lung congestion and trauma that may have led to the mortalities registered. Pre-existing diseases such as ascites and osteomyelitis may also predispose for DOA. Thus, factors relating to on-farm health, catching, and transportation are all areas of future investigation in order to reduce transport mortalities and to enhance welfare in broilers.

Comparison of flock characteristics, journey duration and pathology between flocks with a normal and a high percentage of broilers ‘dead-on-arrival’ at abattoirs

“…For flocks with normal DOA %, the current study sampled post-mortem findings, 103 production data and journey characteristics from a database collected in a previous 104 study (Kittelsen et al, 2015). These data were collected from February 2012 to Table 210 1. more common in the normal-mortality DOA broilers than in the high-mortality group.…”

The challenge of incorporating animal welfare in a social life cycle assessment model of European chicken production

“…DOA refers to the percentage of the flock that died in transit between the farm and the slaughterhouse. This has been widely acknowledged as an important indicator of animal welfare in numerous studies (Kittelsen et al 2015;Nijdam et al 2006;Petracci et al 2006). It reflects the conditions experienced during transport, in combination with previous life factors affecting the stress-susceptibility of individual birds.…”

Treatment of thirst in broilers in a low‐throughput abattoir

“…The pathological studies on the causes of DOAs reported by Gregory and others4 showed 0.19 per cent DOA, of which 35 per cent died from trauma, whereas Nijdam and others5 found infectious disease was present in 64.9 per cent of DOAs, with heart and circulatory problems in 42.4 per cent and trauma responsible for 29.5 per cent 6. In the examination of the DOAs, lung congestion was found in 57.2 per cent and trauma in 24.6 per cent.…”