Welfare of broiler chickens

Meluzzi, Adele; Sirri, Federico

doi:10.4081/ijas.2009.s1.161

Cited by 90 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Besides the negative effect on welfare, different forms of contact dermatitis affect farmer income, and in the future it is likely to have increasing importance in terms of legislation. Several major factors are associated with the occurrence of contact dermatitis including type, depth and condition of litter, stocking density, feed composition, light and climate (Meluzzi and Sirri, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of different litter materials on foot pad dermatitis, hock burn and feather coverage in broiler chickens

Terčič

Žolger²,

Pestotnik

2015

AAS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the feather coverage on breast and thighs in meat type chickens, reared on three different types of litter materials, including wood shavings, shredded paper and chopped wheat straw. The experiment lasted for 72 days. A total of 447 one-day-old meat type chickens were randomly allotted to the three litter materials, giving 149 birds per litter. On days 24, 47 and 72 of the experimental period, feathering on the breast and thighs was scored according to a 1–4 scale. In addition, the severity of foot pad dermatitis (FPD) and hock burn (HB) was evaluated at the same days by attributing scores from 1−3. Litter characteristics (moisture content, water absorbing capacity, bulk density, pH) were determined at the end of the experiment. Severity of FPD varied significantly (P < 0.016) among the litter materials with chopped straw showing the highest severity scores and wood shavings showing the lowest. Litter material had no effect (P > 0.016) on the severity of HB and on thigh feathering. Birds reared on chopped wheat straw presented the lowest breast feather coverage. Straw litter had the highest moisture content and pH value. In conclusion, wood shavings proved to be best litter material for meat type chickens rearing among the three tested litter materials.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of different litter materials on foot pad dermatitis, hock burn and feather coverage in broiler chickens

Terčič

Žolger²,

Pestotnik

2015

AAS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As a result, various factors, such as farm operational parameters (ventilation system, management), animal conditions (age, weight, health, diet), and litter management could influence the temperature and moisture inside the barns (Seedorf and Hartung, 2002;Mosquera et al, 2005;Bessei, 2006;Coufal et al, 2006). The emitted NH 3 may affect animal and human health (Ritz et al, 2004;Meluzzi and Sirri, 2009). However, NH 3 is a precursor for secondary particulate matter, which represents a critical air pollutant (Wu et al, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of nitrogen balance components in a commercial broiler barn

Bobrutzki¹,

Ammon²,

Berg³

et al. 2013

CZECH J ANIM SCI

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Characterizing the respective nitrogen (N) use efficiency requires understanding the N flow of inputs and outputs from a commercial broiler barn. In this study, an N mass balance was performed for one entire growing cycle. The objectives were to quantify, sample, and analyze all N components entering and leaving the barn. The N from feed, chickens, and bedding material was considered as inputs, the outputs included the N accretion in mature broilers, the total N emissions (N TNE ), the N accumulation in litter, and the N of mortality. Of particular relevance was the determination of an appropriate method to mirror the heterogenic texture of the litter. Litter samples were collected weekly according to a defined procedure. The major N input was feed N, accounting for 99% of the total N input. After the 36-day growing cycle, the N outputs were portioned as follows: 59% (1741.3 kg N) in mature broilers, 37% (1121.3 kg N) accumulated in litter, and 4% in NTNE (114.3 kg N). The N accumulations in broiler tissue and litter agree well with other studies. The measured emissions were consistently lower compared to other references, due to the fact that these references were mainly based on studies where broilers were raised on built-up litter. In contrast to in situ quantified N emissions in this study, other published values were assumed to be the difference of N between inputs and outputs. This study illustrates that extensive sampling of litter is a prerequisite for calculating litter masses. The accurate specification of the litter texture proved to be crucial within the mass balance approach. With this information, the feasible improvements within management practices can be identified.Keywords: ammonia; emissions; mass balance; litter sampling In Europe, the livestock sector strongly influences the nitrogen (N) cycle because large amounts of nutrients, water, and energy are related to the actions of that sector (Steinfeld and Wasenaar, 2007;Erisman et al., 2008). Broiler operations have become larger and more concentrated in recent years due to a growing demand for broiler meat, the production of which is the second largest worldwide (Niu et al., 2009). As a result, the concentration of nutrients in the form of waste products such as manure (litter) and gaseous emissions (Gous, 2010) has increased. The nutrient of the greatest concern in gaseous emissions is nitrogen (N) in the form of ammonia (NH 3 ). Ammonia is formed from the breakdown of nitrogenous waste products in broiler manure (undigested proteins and uric acid) by exogenous enzymes produced by microorganisms (Atapattu et al., 2008).One abatement strategy of NH 3 involves the optimization of dietary composition (protein level) by providing the best feed conversion ratio for broilers and minimizing the excretion of manure (Elwinger and Svensson, 1996;Ferguson et al., 1998;Robertson et al., 2002). Additionally, feeding additives can improve the feed conversion rate of broilers (Ritz et al., 2004;Schiavone et al., 2008). Ammonia is removed from the ...

show abstract

“…Ammonia is formed during the decomposition of uric acid and the efficiency of this conversion is directly related to the level of litter moisture [25] . Due to the similar moisture between the litter materials; there were no statistically significant in ammonia-N levels of wood shavings and rice hull at the 5 th week of production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Yucca schidigera Spraying in Different Litter Materials on Some Litter Traits and Breast Burn of Broilers at the Fifth Week of Production

Onbaşılar¹,

Erdem²,

Ünal³

et al. 2013

Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryThis study was carried out to determine the effects of different levels of Yucca schidigera spraying in different litter materials on some litter traits (moisture, pH, ammonia, total colony count, number of Enterobacteriaceae and number of yeast and mold) and breast burn of broilers at the 5 th week of production. A total of four hundred thirty two 1-d-old male broiler chicks (ROSS-308) were used. In this study 12 chicks were put in each pen having 170x94x90 cm (depth x length x height). Half of the litter was wood shavings, the other was rice hull. Yucca schidigera extract was pulverized weekly at the level of 0, 4% and 8% to each pen from the second week of the study. Litter materials and Yucca schidigera spraying at different level did not affect the examined litter traits and breast burns of broilers (P>0.05) at the 5 th week of production. Keywords: Broiler, Yucca schidigera, Litter traits, Breast burn Farklı Altlık Materyallerine Püskürtülen Yucca schidigera'nın Üretimin 5. Haftasında Bazı Altlık Özellikleri ile Etçi Piliçlerin Göğüs Yanıkları Üzerine Etkisi ÖzetBu çalışma farklı altlık materyallerine değişik dozlarda ilave edilen Yucca schidigera'nın üretimin 5. haftasında bazı altlık özellikleri (nem, pH, amonyak, toplam koloni sayısı, Enterobakteri ve maya-küf düzeyleri) ile etçi piliçlerde göğüs yanıkları üzerine etkisini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmada toplam 432 adet bir günlük yaşta erkek civciv (ROSS 308) kullanılmıştır. Çalışmada civcivler 170x94x90 cm (genişlik x uzunluk x yükseklik) boyutlarındaki bölmelerin her birinde 12 adet olacak şekilde yerleştirilmiştir. Altlık materyali olarak bölmelerin yarısında talaş diğer yarısında pirinç kavuzu kullanılmıştır. Her altlık grubu denemenin 2. haftasından itibaren her hafta altlığa 0, %4 ve %8 Yucca schidigera püskürtülecek şekilde 3 eşit alt gruba ayrılmıştır. Kullanılan altlık malzemelerinin ve altlığa değişik düzeylerde Yucca schidigera ilavesinin üretimin 5. haftasında incelenen altlık özellikleri ile etçi piliçlerde göğüs yanıklarını etkilemediği görülmüştür (P>0.05).

show abstract

Welfare of broiler chickens

Cited by 90 publications

References 28 publications

Effect of different litter materials on foot pad dermatitis, hock burn and feather coverage in broiler chickens

Effect of different litter materials on foot pad dermatitis, hock burn and feather coverage in broiler chickens

Quantification of nitrogen balance components in a commercial broiler barn

Effect of Yucca schidigera Spraying in Different Litter Materials on Some Litter Traits and Breast Burn of Broilers at the Fifth Week of Production

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About