Effects of prenatal stress and genetics on embryonic survival and offspring growth of laying hens

Peixoto, Mariana R. L. V.; Karrow, Niel A.; Widowski, Tina M.

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2019.10.018

Cited by 18 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…Firstly, the actual concentration of corticosterone transferred from mother to egg remains unknown (52,64), may differ across strains (47), and can potentially overwhelm the embryo if outside of the physiological range of eggs. Indeed, as published in Peixoto et al (38), the average hatchability for the control treatment of this study was 83%, whereas hatchability for the vehicle and control treatments were 38 and 25%, respectively. The decrease in hatchability in the vehicle treatment suggests that mechanical damage such as puncturing and disrupting eggshell membranes (which might increase the chances of pushing eggshell particles into the albumen) or the chemical composition of the vehicle affected the progeny.…”

Section: Limitations and Effects Of The Stress Treatmentssupporting

confidence: 71%

“…To guarantee similar experiences, eggs from all strains were collected from grandparent hens that were between 40 and 50 weeks of age. Eggs and chicks were subjected to identical incubation and husbandry conditions, as previously described (38). Chicks were wing banded at hatch, and each strain was equally distributed into 4 parent flocks that were placed in 2 rooms containing 10 pens of 27 birds (24 females and 3 males) each (see Supplementary Figure 1).…”

Section: Parent Stock: Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, recent work has shown that even when more precise techniques such as Celite or HPLC are conducted, they may not be sufficient [reviewed in (16)]. Therefore, since the exact concentration of corticosterone in eggs remains unknown, we followed the methodology proposed by Janczak et al (32) and modified by Peixoto et al (38), which was based on plasma corticosterone concentration of hens. Injections of 10 ng/ml cortisol diluted in sesame (CORT treatment) or sesame oil alone (Vehicle treatment) were used.…”

Section: Parent Stock: Vehicle and Cort Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each pen (3.72 m 2 ) was enriched with a perch (length: 155 cm) and litter floor. Each replicate in time aimed to comprise two pens with 20 birds each (10 female: 10 male) per treatment and strain; however, final densities varied due to lower hatchability of injected eggs (38). The test orders for the procedures described below were balanced across the period of the day for all flocks, strains, and treatments to minimize the effects of time and circadian rhythm on the results.…”

Section: Offspring Stock: Management and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Maternal Stress on Measures of Anxiety and Fearfulness in Different Strains of Laying Hens

et al. 2020

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Maternal stress can affect the offspring of birds, possibly due to hormone deposition in the egg. Additionally, phenotypic diversity resulting from domestication and selection for productivity has created a variety of poultry lines that may cope with stress differently. In this study, we investigated the effects of maternal stress on the behavior of different strains of laying hens and the role of corticosterone as its mediator. For this, fertilized eggs of five genetic lines-two brown (Brown 1 and 2), two white (White 1 and 2), and one pure line White Leghorn-were reared identically as four flocks of 27 birds (24F: 3M) per strain. Each strain was equally separated into two groups: Maternal Stress ("MS"), where hens were subjected to a series of daily acute psychological stressors for 8 days before egg collection, and "Control," which received routine husbandry. Fertile eggs from both treatments were collected at three different ages forming different offspring groups that were treated as replicates; additional eggs from Control were injected either with corticosterone diluted in a vehicle solution ("CORT") or just "Vehicle." Eggs from each replicate were incubated and hatched, and offspring (N = 1,919) were brooded under identical conditions. To measure the effects of maternal stress on anxiety and fear-like behavior, offspring were subjected to a social isolation test (SI) between 5 and 10 days of age and a tonic immobility test (TI) at 9 weeks of age. Compared to Control, MS decreased the number of distress vocalizations emitted by White 2 in SI. No effects of MS were observed in TI, and no effects of CORT were observed in any tests. Overall, brown lines vocalized more in SI and remained in TI for a longer duration than white strains, suggesting genetic differences in fear behavior. Females vocalized more than males in TI and showed a trend toward significance for the same trait in SI. Overall, results suggest that the effects of maternal stress on fearfulness are not directly mediated by corticosterone. Moreover, it highlights behavioral differences across various strains of laying hens, suggesting that fear responses are highly dependent on genotype.

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Section: Limitations and Effects Of The Stress Treatmentssupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Parent Stock: Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Parent Stock: Vehicle and Cort Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Offspring Stock: Management and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Maternal Stress on Measures of Anxiety and Fearfulness in Different Strains of Laying Hens

et al. 2020

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“…To our knowledge, no research has yet investigated the combination of maternal age and maternal environment in laying hens. The current study -which is part of a more comprehensive research project on maternal effects 14,26,[29][30][31][32] -investigates how maternal age, maternal rearing experience and maternal adult housing system affect their offspring's behaviour and stress response. For this, we conducted two experiments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens

Peixoto

Cooley

Widowski

2021

Preprint

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Maternal effects can shape the phenotypes of offspring, but the extent to which a layer breeder’s experience can affect commercial laying hens remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal age and maternal environment on laying hens' behaviour and stress response. In our first experiment (E1), commercial hybrid hens were reared either in aviary or barren brooding cages, then housed in aviary, conventional cages or furnished (enriched) cages, thus forming different maternal housing treatments. Hens from each treatment were inseminated at three ages, and measures of response to manual restraint and social stress were assessed in offspring. In experiment 2 (E2), maternal age effects on offspring's stress response were further investigated using fertile eggs from commercial breeder flocks at three ages. In E1, maternal age affected struggling and corticosterone during manual restraint, feather pecking and pulling and comb wounds. Additionally, maternal rearing and housing in aviary systems showed positive effects on measures of behaviour and stress response in offspring. Effects of maternal age were not replicated in E2, possibly due to methodological differences or higher tolerance to maternal effects in commercial breeders. Overall, we recommend researchers start reporting parent stock's age to increase our understanding of the subject.

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Yolk corticosterone and progesterone levels in Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) eggs vary in a changing social environment

et al. 2022

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Maternal hormones in avian egg yolks may signal and prepare offspring for the prevailing conditions. However, this adjustment requires some degree of flexibility in regulating yolk hormone deposition. The Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) has a particular mating system that combines mixed polygyny and polyandry, communal nesting, and exclusive paternal care of chicks. In this species, we previously found that yolk hormone deposition varies among eggs of different captive populations and could influence chicks' physiology and behavior. However, it is still unknown whether females can modify yolk hormone deposition in a changing social environment. Using a captive population of Greater Rheas, in this study, we quantified yolk hormone levels before and after a reduction in the number of females present in the population. We found that females deposited on average higher yolk corticosterone and lower yolk progesterone after the change in their social environment. Since corticosterone deposited into the yolk comes exclusively from the female's plasma, our results suggest that females had, on average, higher plasma corticosterone levels. The change in the number of females may increase the events of male-male competitions, courtships, and matings, leading to an increase of corticosterone in the females' plasma and then into their eggs. Since we previously found that higher yolk corticosterone and lower yolk progesterone were associated with the production of chicks that have an attenuated stress response, the present study results suggest that yolk hormone deposition is mediated by flexible mechanisms that could adjust development to the prevailing conditions.

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Effects of prenatal stress and genetics on embryonic survival and offspring growth of laying hens

Cited by 18 publications

References 48 publications

Effects of Maternal Stress on Measures of Anxiety and Fearfulness in Different Strains of Laying Hens

Effects of Maternal Stress on Measures of Anxiety and Fearfulness in Different Strains of Laying Hens

Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens

Yolk corticosterone and progesterone levels in Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) eggs vary in a changing social environment

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