Road transportation of broiler chickens: induction of physiological stress

Mitchell, MA; Kettlewell, P.J.

doi:10.1079/wps19940006

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

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“…The birds are carried upside down by their legs and introduced in transport cages, which may cause bruising and dislocated and broken bones (Gregory and Wilkins, 1989;Kettlewell and Mitchell, 1994). In broilers, carrying the birds upside down caused an increase in plasma corticosterone (Kannan and Mench, 1996).…”

Section: Fowlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During bird transport, climatic microenvironments exist in the lorry. There is an accumulation of CO 2 and heat, especially at the core of the vehicle load (Mitchell and Kettlewell, 1994) and particularly increased temperature is considered one of the sources of transport stress (Mitchell et al, 1992). Thermal stress during transport or during lairage caused increased plasma creatine kinase and corticosterone levels in birds (Mitchell et al, 1992;Mitchell and Sandercock, 1995;Debut et al, 2005).…”

Section: Fowlmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pre-slaughter conditions, animal stress and welfare: current status and possible future research

Terlouw

Arnould

Aupérin³

et al. 2008

Animal

162

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The present paper describes the main procedures used to slaughter fowl, pigs, calves and adult cattle, sheep, and farmed fish, starting on the farm and ending with the death of the animal at the abattoir. It reviews the currently known causes of stress, indicated by behavioural and physiological measurements on the animal level, and by post-mortem muscle metabolism. During the pre-slaughter period, psychological stress is due to changes of environment, social disturbances and handling, and physical stress is due to food deprivation, climatic conditions, fatigue, and sometimes pain. The exact causes of stress depend, however, on the characteristics of each species, including the rearing system. For fowl, bird catching and crating, duration and climatic conditions of transport and of lairage and shackling are the main known pre-slaughter stress factors. For pigs, stress is caused by fighting during mixing of pens, loading and unloading conditions, and introduction in the restrainer. Handling and novelty of the situation contribute to the stress reactions. For veal calves and adult cattle, disruption of the social group, handling, loading and sometimes unloading conditions, fatigue, novelty of the situation and for calves mixing with unfamiliar animals are known stress factors. Gathering and yarding of extensively reared lambs and sheep causes stress, particularly when shepherd dogs are used. Subsequent transport may induce fatigue, especially if sheep are commercialised through auctions or markets. In farmed fish, stress is predominantly related to environmental aspects such as temperature, oxygen, cleanliness of the water and, to a certain extent, stocking density and removal of the fish from the water. If transport and lairage conditions are good and their durations not too long, they may allow pigs, calves and adult cattle, sheep, and fish to rest. For certain species, it was shown that genetic origin and earlier experience influence reactions to the slaughter procedure. Stunning techniques used depend on the species. Pigs and fowl are mostly electrically or gas-stunned, while most adult cattle are stunned with a captive bolt pistol. Calves and sheep may be electrically stunned or with a captive bolt pistol. Various stunning methods exist for the different farmed fish species. Potential causes of stress associated with the different stunning procedures are discussed. The paper addresses further consequences for meat quality and possible itineraries for future research. For all species, and most urgently for fish, more knowledge is needed on stunning and killing techniques, including gas-stunning techniques, to protect welfare.

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Section: Fowlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fowlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-slaughter conditions, animal stress and welfare: current status and possible future research

Terlouw

Arnould

Aupérin³

et al. 2008

Animal

162

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is explained by the production of metabolic heat by the birds during transport, which was also observed by Mitchell and Kettlewell (1994), creating thermal heterogeneity between the transport crates and the climatized shed. Table 2 lists the mean values of pH and color of the breast meat.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolism of broilers subjected to different lairage times at the abattoir and its relationship with broiler meat quality

Rodrigues

Café

Filho

et al. 2017

Arq. Bras. Med. Vet. Zootec.

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An investigation was made into the effects of different lairage times and the position of chicken crates during transport to the slaughterhouse on the biochemical and hematological profile and physical parameters of broilers, such as color and pH of their breast meat. The treatments were defined by the animals slaughtered after 0, 2, 4 and 6 hours of lairage time at the slaughterhouse, transported in crates located in the top and bottom layers of the truck. It was found that increasing the lairage time at the slaughterhouse to over two hours reduced the number of lymphocytes and increased the heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio and the basophil count in the hemogram. In addition, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and cholesterol levels increased and plasma triglyceride and glucose levels decreased. The position of the crates in the truck altered the creatine kinase (CK) activity, and the highest enzyme activity was found in birds transported in the top layer of crates in the truck. Furthermore, the long lairage time in the slaughterhouse increased the pH and the value of a* (redness value) and decreased the lightness value of breast fillets. The interaction significant between 4 and 6 hours of lairage time and the position of the crate in the top layer of the truck favored the development of dark, firm, dry (DFD) meat.Keywords: animal welfare, DFD meat, fasting, holding sheds, pre-slaughter Palavras-chave: bem-estar animal, carne DFD, galpão de espera, jejum, pré-abate RESUMO Este trabalho objetivou a avaliação dos efeitos dos diferentes tempos de espera e da posição das caixas

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Section: Citationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the administration of the antioxidants pre-transportation reduced the adverse effects of incremental THI or heat load experienced by the birds inside the vehicle during the transportation period. Such high THI has been reported to induce hyperthermia and increase morbidity and mortality in transported broilers [44,45], pullets [12,15] and goats [25] subjected to road transportation under high environmental conditions.The erythrocyte count and Hb concentrations, and the mean, minimum and maximum corpuscular fragility values recorded in quails before the transportation period were similar to the values recorded in healthy quails [30]. The AT and RH values recorded during the afternoon hours were considerably higher than the thermoneutral values.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Antioxidants Vitamin E and C on ErythrocyteFragility, HaemoglobinIndex and Colonic Temperature of Transported Japanese Quails (Coturnixcoturnix japonica)

Minka¹

2013

J Veterinar Sci Technolo

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The present study investigated the effects of antioxidants Vitamin E (VE) and C (ascorbic acid, AA) on erythrocytes osmotic fragility (EOF), haemoglobin index (HI), colonic temperature (CT) and recovery times of transported Japanese quails during the hot-dry conditions. Two hundred male Japanese quails were used. The birds were randomly and equally divided into four groups: VE and AA groups, administered with 0.5 mg/kg and 200 mg/ kg body weight of VE and AA, respectively, control transported group (control group), administered with 0.5 ml of sterile water, and sedentary non-transported group (S). One hour after the administration of the antioxidants, the birds were transported by road for 2 h. The EOF, HI and CT were recorded before transportation, immediately after transportation (0) and on 3 rd and 7 th day of post-transportation period. The results showed that transportation induced hyperthermia, increased EOF and hypochromic erythrocytes in the quails, the effects of which were mitigated by antioxidants VE and AA. Base-line values for EOF were returned to normal in the control, AA and VE quails on days 7, 3 and 0, respectively post-transportation. The findings showed that recovery time after transportation in quails should be 7 days; but the duration may be reduced to 3 days if treated with AA or eliminated completely if the quails are treated with VE before transportation. The ameliorating effect was more pronounced in quails administered with antioxidant VE. The EOF may be employed as a biomarker and additional diagnostic tool for the assessment of transport-induce oxidative stress in quails. [7,10].The use of EOF as a biomarker of road transport-induced stress in livestock is a new field of study that may add to the arsenals of tests, currently used in the diagnosis of stress due to road transportation [11][12][13]. Body temperature measurement is an important method of evaluation of physiological status. It is also an ideal indicator for the assessment of stress and adaptability of livestock, including poultry, to various environmental stress factors [14][15][16]. Effects of Antioxidants Vitamin E and C on ErythrocyteFragilitySeveral stress factors have been reported to decrease the level of body antioxidants, vitamin E (VE) and vitamin C, otherwise known as ascorbic acid (AA); resulting in increases in the body requirements in these vitamins [14,[17][18][19]. The administration of the vitamins exerts ameliorating effects which are well manifested; when the body AA and VE are either overwhelmed or exhausted as a result of increased ROS generation by stress factors that overtax the animal control systems [18,20]. Therefore, a decrease in the concentration of antioxidant vitamins causes an increase in lipid peroxidation in the plasma and tissues, leading to damage of cell membranes [21,22]. Previous reports have revealed the beneficial effects of supplementation of VE and AA on birds and animals, subjected to various oxidative stress factors [12,16,18,22].Several studies have evaluated the respon...

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Road transportation of broiler chickens: induction of physiological stress

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

Pre-slaughter conditions, animal stress and welfare: current status and possible future research

Pre-slaughter conditions, animal stress and welfare: current status and possible future research

Metabolism of broilers subjected to different lairage times at the abattoir and its relationship with broiler meat quality

Effects of Antioxidants Vitamin E and C on ErythrocyteFragility, HaemoglobinIndex and Colonic Temperature of Transported Japanese Quails (Coturnixcoturnix japonica)

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