Effect of rearing system and season on the performance and egg characteristics of Ancona laying hens

Abstract

Productive performance and egg characteristics of Ancona laying hens reared under three different rearing systems (conventional, organic and organic-plus) were compared during an experimental period of one year. Three-hundred-sixty Ancona female chicks at 28 days of age were divided in three groups and assigned to different rearing systems. The organic group had 4m 2 pasture/hen according to the requirements imposed by the EC Regulation 1804/99, whereas the organic-plus group had a larger grass paddock (10m 2 /hen). The Control group was reared in cages under standard housing conditions. The following egg characteristics were recorded and analysed during the year-long cycle: egg weight and egg mass laid/d, weight of egg components, shell thickness, Haugh index and yolk colour. Egg quality was affected by the pasture available. The hens that ingested grass (organic-plus), produced eggs with higher shell weight and percentage, darker yolk colour and higher α-tocopherol, carotenoid and polyphenol contents. The other egg traits were not affected by rearing system.

Feeding Forage in Poultry: A Promising Alternative for the Future of Production Systems

“…It was found that egg cholesterol decreased as alfalfa meal increased in a laying hen diet [62]. Studies demonstrated that hens with access to high-quality pasture had eggs with at least twice as much vitamins A and E and omega-3s, compared to hens having no access to different pastures [68][69][70][71]. Furthermore, it is well established that a large range of forages, such as alfalfa, perennial ryegrass, red clover, and grass meals, although containing significant fiber levels, are valuable sources of xanthophylls and can be successfully used in diets as natural pigmenting agents [72].…”

Comparison of the Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Two Slow-Growing Broiler Genotypes Fed Diets Supplemented with Dry Oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) or Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) Leaves under the Organic System

“…Slow-growing birds are more adapted to natural systems, and the quality of their meat is more appropriate for a specialty or gourmet market [6,7] . Thus, some researchers [3,8] stated that slow-growing chickens possess a good aptitude for pasture, which enhances the dietary intake of bioactive substances (i.e vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids) contained in the forage. In addition, the free-range chicken can consume young vegetative plant material and live protein sources, such as insects, worms, and grubs, which could reduce the feed cost that accounts for approximately 70% of the total variable costs [9,10] stated that compared with conventional free-range and organic systems, the pastured poultry is likely to induce considerably greater levels of pasture consumption, and thus it is an ideal system to evaluate the nutritional impact of pasture intake in broiler performance and carcass quality.…”

Effect of pasture availability and genotype on welfare, immune function, performance and meat characteristics of growing rabbits

“…In particular, linolenic acid is present in structural lipids in the esterified form, including galactolipids from chloroplasts (Gurr, 1984). Total tocopherol content was higher in pasture than in feed, confirming grass as a relevant source of vitamin E (Mugnai et al, 2009). …”

“…Grass pasture has to be considered an important source of energy, protein and vitamins able to reduce the consumption of concentrate in free range rabbits. Grass and standard feed had similar content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, but great differences were observed in linoleic and linolenic acid amounts (Mugnai et al, 2009). In particular, linolenic acid is present in structural lipids in the esterified form, including galactolipids from chloroplasts (Gurr, 1984).…”

“…Barren environments resulted in equipment gnawing (Gunn Dore and Morton, 1995), which may be considered indicative of behavioural abnormalities and a sign of stress . Pasture access, environmental enrichment or increasing cage size can reduce such stereotypies (Huls et al, 1991, Dal Bosco et al, 2002Mugnai et al, 2009). Eating behaviour was also affected by rearing system and genotype: caged animals ate only feed, whereas when pasture was available, rabbits ate mainly grass.…”