Review of litter turning during a grow-out as a litter management practice to achieve dry and friable litter in poultry production

Pepper, Claire-Marie; Dunlop, Mark W.

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2021.101071

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Proper litter management can positively influence bird health and behavior by contributing to excreta breakdown, aiding in moisture evaporation, and maintaining friable litter that birds can "work" (47). Subjective assessment of the litter condition indicated that litter that was too dusty or conversely too damp pointed toward issues with BT injuries, though this relationship was not significant in this study.…”

Section: Risk Factors Associated With Back/tail Injuriescontrasting

confidence: 65%

The Prevalence of Integument Injuries and Associated Risk Factors Among Canadian Turkeys

et al. 2022

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Injurious pecking can cause a wide range of damage and is an important welfare and economic issue in turkey production. Aggressive pecking typically targets the head/neck (HN) area, and feather pecking typically targets the back/tail (BT) area; injuries in these separate areas could be used as a proxy for the level of aggressive and feather pecking in a flock. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for integument injuries in Canadian turkey flocks. A survey containing a questionnaire about housing and management practices and a scoring guide was distributed to 500 turkey farmers across Canada. The farmer scored pecking injuries in two different body areas (HN and BT) on a 0–2 scale on a subset of birds within each flock. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to identify factors associated with the presence of HN and BT injuries. The prevalence of birds with integument injuries ranged widely between the flock subsets (HN = 0–40%, BT = 0–97%), however the mean prevalence was low (HN = 6%, BT = 10%). The presence of injuries for logistic regression was defined as flocks with an injury prevalence greater than the median level of injury prevalence in the dataset (3.3% HN and 6.6% BT). The final logistic regression model for HN injuries contained five variables: flock sex, flock age, number of daily inspections, number of different people during inspections, and picking up birds during inspections (N = 62, pR2 = 0.23, α = 0.05). The final logistic regression model for BT injuries contained six variables: flock sex, flock age, litter depth, litter condition, inspection duration, and use of hospital pens for sick/injured birds (N = 59, pR2 = 0.29, α = 0.05). Flock age, and to a lesser extent, sex was associated with both types of injuries. From a management perspective, aggressive pecking injuries appear to be influenced by variables related to human interaction, namely during inspections. On the other hand, the presence of feather pecking injuries, was associated with litter condition and other management factors like separating sick birds. Future research on injurious pecking in turkeys should focus on these aspects of housing and management to better describe the relationship between the identified variables and the prevalence and severity of these conditions.

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Section: Risk Factors Associated With Back/tail Injuriescontrasting

confidence: 65%

The Prevalence of Integument Injuries and Associated Risk Factors Among Canadian Turkeys

et al. 2022

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“…Comfort behaviour is highly correlated with appropriate stocking densities, which indirectly contribute to the litter quality and space allowance of an individual to perform stretching, dustbathing, etc. Therefore, a preventive measure will be to provide dry and friable litter from day one onwards and ensure that the litter will stay in the same condition until the end of rearing (Pepper and Dunlop, 2021 ). As stated in legislative acts across Europe, e.g.…”

Section: Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare of broilers on farm

Nielsen¹,

Álvarez²,

Bicout³

et al. 2023

EFS2

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This Scientific Opinion considers the welfare of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) related to the production of meat (broilers) and includes the keeping of day-old chicks, broiler breeders, and broiler chickens. Currently used husbandry systems in the EU are described. Overall, 19 highly relevant welfare consequences (WCs) were identified based on severity, duration and frequency of occurrence: 'bone lesions', 'cold stress', 'gastro-enteric disorders', 'group stress', 'handling stress', 'heat stress', 'isolation stress', 'inability to perform comfort behaviour', 'inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour', 'inability to avoid unwanted sexual behaviour', 'locomotory disorders', 'prolonged hunger', 'prolonged thirst', 'predation stress', 'restriction of movement', 'resting problems', 'sensory under-and overstimulation', 'soft tissue and integument damage' and 'umbilical disorders'. These WCs and their animal-based measures (ABMs) that can identify them are described in detail. A variety of hazards related to the different husbandry systems were identified as well as ABMs for assessing the different WCs. Measures to prevent or correct the hazards and/or mitigate each of the WCs are listed. Recommendations are provided on quantitative or qualitative criteria to answer specific questions on the welfare of broilers and related to genetic selection, temperature, feed and water restriction, use of cages, light, air quality and mutilations in breeders such as beak trimming, de-toeing and comb dubbing. In addition, minimal requirements (e.g. stocking density, group size, nests, provision of litter, perches and platforms, drinkers and feeders, of covered veranda and outdoor range) for an enclosure for keeping broiler chickens (fast-growing, slower-growing and broiler breeders) are recommended. Finally, 'total mortality', 'wounds', 'carcass condemnation' and 'footpad dermatitis' are proposed as indicators for monitoring at slaughter the welfare of broilers on-farm.

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“…Furthermore, Salmonella concentration was not normalized by the litter moisture content in the majority of studies reviewed. Moisture content of litter can range from 10 to 70% depending on a variety of factors: sample location within broiler house, number of flocks raised on litter, and if/how composted ( Martin et al, 1998 ; Furtula et al, 2010 ; Miles et al, 2011 ; Pepper and Dunlop, 2021 ). Salmonella numbers reported on a dry weight basis are higher than the same result when reported as wet weight or “as-is” basis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Detection and Recovery From Poultry Litter

2022

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The level of pathogens in poultry litter used for raising broiler chickens is critical to the overall health of a broiler chicken flock and food safety. Therefore, it is imperative that methods used for determining bacterial concentration in litter are accurate and reproducible across studies. In this perspective, we discuss the shortcomings associated with current methods used for bacterial quantification and detection from litter and assess the efficacy of one method for pathogen and commensal (Campylobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus spp.) recovery. The limit of quantitation and detection for this method differed between pathogens, and the recovery rate (∼138–208%) was higher for Salmonella, E. coli, and Enterococcus compared to Campylobacter (24%). Our results suggest that pathogen recovery from litter is highly variable and pathogen concentrations need to be reported in dry weight before comparisons can be made between studies.

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Review of litter turning during a grow-out as a litter management practice to achieve dry and friable litter in poultry production

Cited by 12 publications

References 63 publications

The Prevalence of Integument Injuries and Associated Risk Factors Among Canadian Turkeys

The Prevalence of Integument Injuries and Associated Risk Factors Among Canadian Turkeys

Welfare of broilers on farm

Bacterial Detection and Recovery From Poultry Litter

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