Immobilization-induced Bone Alterations in Chickens

Nightingale, Thomas E.; Littlefield, L. H.; Merkley, J. W.; Richardi, J. C.

doi:10.1139/y74-120

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The reduction of the bone strength is caused by disuse atrophy. This was shown by Nightingale et al (1974) who, by immobilising one wing of broilers, provoked a reduction in the weight and breaking strength of the humerus on that site, compared to the free wing. Rowland and Harms (1972) reported that layers housed in cages from 20 weeks of age showed a significant reduction in bone strength after only 4 weeks, compared to controls on deep litter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Bone strength of laying hens kept in an alternative system, compared with hens in cages and on deep‐litter

Nørgaard-Nielsen

1990

British Poultry Science

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1. Observations of vigorous wing movements and measurements of bone strength were compared in two experiments with birds in three different housing systems: a semi-intensive alternative system under development, a battery cage system and a deep-litter system. 2. A significant effect of housing system on the frequency of vigorous wing movements was found. The highest frequency was seen in the deep-litter system, about half this number in the alternative system, while in the battery cages they were never observed. 3. Corresponding to this a reduction in humerus strength of 9% was found in hens from the alternative system and of 45% in hens from cages, compared with deep-litter. A reduction in tibial breaking strength was also found in caged hens, when compared to deep-litter hens. 4. Keeping hens in cages thus restricts their movements, especially wing movements, to the degree that bone strength is greatly reduced. 5. This has welfare implications, for hens with low bone breaking strength risk a possibility of breakage, especially when handled and transported. When alternative systems are designed opportunities for movement in the three dimensions should be considered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Bone strength of laying hens kept in an alternative system, compared with hens in cages and on deep‐litter

Nørgaard-Nielsen

1990

British Poultry Science

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“…However, the thickness of the contralateral pectoralis (not presented) did not differ from that of the controls in our study, suggesting it was not exercised any more than in the non-immobilized birds. Similarly, Nightingale et al [ 68 ] ruled out the presence of hypertrophy of non-immobilized wings in one-wing-splinted broiler chicks, as the humeral density of the non-immobilized wing did not differ from that of the control group. Additionally, no changes were observed in lower leg muscle thickness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It would have been interesting to investigate changes to the physical bone properties (e.g. bone breaking strength, bone ash content, bone mineral content, bone density) of the keel bone as a result of immobilization [68,[72][73][74], but this was not possible without sacrificing birds. Keel deviations did not change over the experiment and were not common.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does wing use and disuse cause behavioural and musculoskeletal changes in domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus domesticus )?

et al. 2023

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Domestic chickens may live in environments which restrict wing muscle usage. Notably, reduced wing activity and accompanying muscle weakness are hypothesized risk factors for keel bone fractures and deviations. We used radio-frequency identification (RFID) to measure duration spent at elevated resources (feeders, nest-boxes), ultrasonography to measure muscle thickness (breast and lower leg) changes, radiography and palpation to determine fractures and deviations, respectively, following no, partial (one-sided wing sling) and full (cage) immobilization in white- and brown-feathered birds. We hypothesized partially immobilized hens would reduce elevated resource usage and that both immobilization groups would show decreased pectoralis thickness (disuse) and increased prevalence of fractures and deviations. Elevated nest-box usage was 42% lower following five weeks of partial immobilization for brown-feathered hens but no change in resource usage in white-feathered birds was observed. Fully immobilized, white-feathered hens showed a 17% reduction in pectoralis thickness, while the brown-feathered counterparts showed no change. Lastly, fractures and deviations were not affected in either strain or form of wing immobilization; however, overall low numbers of birds presented with these issues. Altogether, this study shows a profound difference between white- and brown-feathered hens in response to wing immobilization and associated muscle physiology.

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“…A probable cause of the reduced strength of humeri is atrophy of bone tissue due to inactivity. Nightingale et al (1974) observed reduced breaking force, weight, and cortical thickness of humeri from broilers subjected to unilateral wing immobilization when compared with nontaped controls. 'Salaries and research support provided by State and Federal Funds appropriated to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Selection for Increased Humerus Strength of Cage-Reared Broilers

et al. 1989

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An experiment was designed to select broilers for increased humerus strength using a sample of the Athens-Canadian randombred control line as the base population in two trials. Trial 1 compared bone measurements of base population broilers reared in cages and floor pens. Trial 2 compared bone measurements of selected and control populations after three generations of selection for increased humerus strength. Selection was based on an index designed to discriminate among strong bones having high elastic force and average elastic energy, rubbery bones having low elastic force but high elastic energy, and weak bones having low elastic force and low elastic energy.Traits examined included elastic force and elastic energy of the humerus, radius, and ulna; stress, moment of inertia, and length of the humerus. In both trials, bone strength measurements of floor-reared birds exceeded those of cage-reared broilers with the exception that in Trial 2 humerus length of caged birds exceeded that of floor-reared birds. Selected broilers bad significantly greater humerus elastic force, humerus length, and ulna elastic energy than control broilers; differences between selected and control populations for other bone measurements were not significant (P>.05).The results of this study indicate that it is possible to increase humerus strength through selection in a relatively short time. However, after three generations of selection, bone strength measurements of floorreared broilers still exceeded those of cage-reared broilers. (

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Immobilization-induced Bone Alterations in Chickens

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Bone strength of laying hens kept in an alternative system, compared with hens in cages and on deep‐litter

Bone strength of laying hens kept in an alternative system, compared with hens in cages and on deep‐litter

Does wing use and disuse cause behavioural and musculoskeletal changes in domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus domesticus )?

Selection for Increased Humerus Strength of Cage-Reared Broilers

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