Corticosterone metabolites in laying hen droppings—Effects of fiber enrichment, genotype, and daily variations

Abstract

There is growing interest and concern for animal welfare in commercial poultry production. To evaluate stress and welfare in an objective and noninvasive way, fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM) in droppings can be analyzed. However, the influence of diet, genotype, and daily variations in FCM and production of droppings in laying hens has been poorly investigated. This study examined the effect of insoluble fiber by adding 3% ground straw pellets to the feed to Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL) and Lohmann Brown (LB) hens housed in furnished cages between 20 and 40 wk of age. In total, 960 hens were included in the study. Droppings were collected 4 times per day for 3 consecutive days and analyzed by corticosterone immunoassay. Biological validation confirmed the ability of the assay to detect changes in FCM levels. Inclusion of straw pellets in the feed increased FCM concentration in both hen genotypes and increased excretion rate of FCM in LB hens. The LB hens also produced greater amounts of droppings than LSL hens. Both FCM levels and production of droppings varied during the day, although no distinct diurnal rhythm was found. These findings demonstrate that when using FCM to evaluate stress and welfare in laying hens, many factors (e.g., diet, genotype used, and so on) need to be taken into account to allow accurate interpretation of the results. In addition, under certain conditions, excretion rate of FCM might be more appropriate to use compared with FCM concentration.

Egg production performance, egg yolk antioxidant profile and excreta concentration of corticosterone in golden pheasants (Chrysolophus pictus) fed diets containing different levels of green vegetables

“…In this experiment, basal excreta concentration of corticosterone was 37.8 ng/g faeces, which was marginally lower than the basal concentration of 44.6 ng/g reported in domestic fowl (Rettenbacher et al., ), but similar to the range of 28–36 ng/g reported in other avifauna (Herring and Gawlik, ). Other studies, however, report much higher concentration of corticosterone in excreta that ranged from 105 to 107 ng/g faeces (Janczak et al., ; Alm et al., ). Higher basal concentration in those studies could be attributed to different kind of handling stress (Janczak et al., ).…”

Effect of stocking density on behavioral pattern, growth performance, blood hormones, and carcass parameter of Sasso broiler chickens

“…There was high significance effect of stocking density on broilers feed consumption (p ≤ 0.001), from fourth week till 8 th week, the highest feed intake was observed in stocking density 10 and 13birds \m 2 while the lowest feed consumption was recorded in 15 birds \m 2 .…”

“…3 ml of blood was collected from each bird and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes then serum samples were collected and labeled. Samples were preserved at (-20 0 C) till analysis by using ELISA (Alm et al, 2014),to measure cortisol level as indicator for stress and thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) as indicator for metabolism.…”

Effect of Dietary Vitamin D3 and Ultraviolet B Light on Growth Performance, Blood Serum Parameters, Gut Histology, and Welfare Indicators of Broilers

“…Management-associated stressors and challenges include hatching without maternal contact, capturing, handling, transportation, extreme temperatures, social disruption, unfamiliar sounds and handlers, feed and water restriction (Zulkifli, 2013). These may cause stress (Frazer and Broom, 1990;Kannan and Mench, 1996;Bortolotti et al, 2008;Alm et al, 2014), leading to reduced performance and increased susceptibility to diseases (Goerlich et al, 2012) with secondary impacts on welfare (Carvalho et al, 2018).…”