Feather growth, bodyweight and body temperature in broiler lines with different feathering rates

Abstract

Two early feathering sire lines (B1 and B2), two late feathering dam lines (A1 and A3), and an early feathering dam line were evaluated to determine differences in growth, in lengths of primary feathers, in under-wing and rectal temperatures, and in feed intake until the birds were 20 weeks old. The chicks were hatched from eggs collected from 35-week-old hens of pure line broiler flocks. Data were collected at hatch, and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 20 weeks old Thirty males and 30 females were evaluated for each line. The early feathering genotypes (A2, B1 and B2) had longer primary feathers until they were six weeks old. They also had higher under-wing and rectal temperatures and higher live weight compared with the late-feathering lines (A1 and A3) at one and two weeks old. The males were heavier than females at all ages. However, under-wing and rectal temperatures were similar in males and females at all ages. A positive correlation was observed between the length of primary feathers and live weight in A2, B1, and B2 at six weeks, whereas a negative correlation was observed between the rectal temperature and the length of primary feathers in A1 and A3 at 4 and 20 weeks old.

Effect of Genotype and Holding Duration on Some Post-Hatch Traits of Day-Old Broiler Pure Line Chicks

“…On the other hand, the higher absolute and percentage of residual yolk sac in A1 and A3 chicks indicates that these genetic lines may require less energy for metabolic functions. Noubandiguim et al (2021) reported that the A2 and B1 lines were fast-feathering, and this was also confirmed in our study. We speculate that these lines need more resources to support faster feather development in the early post-hatch (holding) period, which causes body reserves (yolk sac) to be depleted faster.…”

“…In this case, we may assume that A3 chicks are subjected to longer holding durations, which makes it difficult to get a good start for post-hatch life. Rectal temperature is a factor that affects post-hatch quality and early performance of chicks, and was between 39.4-40.5 °C in ROSS-308 hybrids (Aviagen, 2021;Özlü et al, 2022), and 37.1-37.8 °C in ANADOLU-T pure lines at d-old age (Noubandiguim et al, 2021). While our study results were similar to Noubandiguim et al (2021), because we used the same pure line material, they were lower than ROSS-308 hybrids, which could probably be attributed to differences in metabolic heat production, possibly due to the genetics of pure line chicks.…”

“…Rectal temperature is a factor that affects post-hatch quality and early performance of chicks, and was between 39.4-40.5 °C in ROSS-308 hybrids (Aviagen, 2021;Özlü et al, 2022), and 37.1-37.8 °C in ANADOLU-T pure lines at d-old age (Noubandiguim et al, 2021). While our study results were similar to Noubandiguim et al (2021), because we used the same pure line material, they were lower than ROSS-308 hybrids, which could probably be attributed to differences in metabolic heat production, possibly due to the genetics of pure line chicks. This is because selection for growth rate after hatching is likely to have altered embryonic metabolism and heat production by affecting the developmental pattern of the embryo (óDea et al, 2004;Janke, 2004).…”

“…Ten chicks of each genotype were treated with holding durations of 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48-h. All chicks were individually numbered at hatch and their initial weight (g) was recorded. At the end of each holding duration, individual chick weight (g), weight loss (g) and percentage (% of first hatch weight), chick length (mm, from beak to tip of middle finger), wing feather length (mm, from the 4th primary wing feather), rectal temperature (C, 2 cm into the cloaca for 30 sec) (Noubandiguim et al, 2021), yolk sac weight (g) and percentage (%, relative to chick weight) and yolk-free body mass (g) were determined. At each holding duration, ten individually numbered chicks were killed by cervical dislocation and the residual yolk sac weight and yolk-free body mass (chick weight -yolk sac weight) were determined (Özlü et al, 2018 and 2020).…”

The Effects of Intermittent Feeding And Cold Water On Welfare Status And Meat Quality In Broiler Chickens Reared Under Daily Heat Stress

“…Birds are under great challenge at high environmental temperatures due to the absence of sweat glands and the well-insulated feather coverage (Lara and Rostagno, 2013;Noubandiguim et al, 2021). High ambient temperatures in broiler production can cause detrimental effects on physiological, immunity, welfare, health, performance, meat quality, and serious economic losses (Hristov et al, 2018;Erensoy et al, 2020a).…”