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Patt A, Halle I, Dudde A, Olbrich A, Sieburg-Rockel J, Krause ET. Influence of different dietary fibre contents in the diet on feather pecking, locomotor activity and performance of laying hens. Br Poult Sci 2022; 63:571-580. [PMID: 35543708 DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2022.2076212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
1. This trial investigated the effects of three diets with increasing proportions of insoluble dietary fibre (3%, 6% and 9%) but with similar metabolisable energy on behaviour, plumage condition and laying performance of Lohmann Tradition hens.2. At 21 weeks of age, four groups of 20 hens each (= four replicates/treatment) were randomly assigned to one of the three feeding treatments and exclusively fed with their assigned feed until the end of the laying period.3. Severe feather pecking decreased with increasing fibre content (3%: 0.78 pecks/30min/hen, 6%: 0.31, 9%: 0.12; P<0.0001). In contrast, no effect of fibre was seen for gentle feather pecking (P=0.19) and aggressive pecking (P=0.84). The number of free feathers in the littered area increased with increasing fibre content (3%: 0.06 feathers/625cm2/hen, 6%: 0.09, 9%: 0.16; P=0.0074). Over time plumage quality worsened in all hens, but was consistently better with increasing fibre content (fibre content x sampling period; P<0.0001). Locomotor activity was similar across all treatments, except for a slight decrease in hens fed the 3% fibre diet at the end of the experimental period. No effect of fibre content on hens' weight (P=0.75) was detectable. Similarly, performance did not differ between hens fed varying dietary fibre.4. The results supported the assumption that increasing dietary fibre helps to reduce the risk for the occurrence of feather pecking in laying hens, i.e., improve well-being, while having no negative effects on performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Patt
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Dörnbergstr. 25/27, 29223 Celle, Germany
| | - Ingrid Halle
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Bundesallee 37, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Anissa Dudde
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Dörnbergstr. 25/27, 29223 Celle, Germany
| | - Andrea Olbrich
- Thünen Institut, Institute of Wood Research, Leuschnerstr. 91, 21031 Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany
| | - Jördis Sieburg-Rockel
- Thünen Institut, Institute of Wood Research, Leuschnerstr. 91, 21031 Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany
| | - E Tobias Krause
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Dörnbergstr. 25/27, 29223 Celle, Germany
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The Impact of Probiotic Bacillus subtilis on Injurious Behavior in Laying Hens. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12070870. [PMID: 35405859 PMCID: PMC8997090 DOI: 10.3390/ani12070870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Injurious behavior prevention is a critical issue in the poultry industry due to increasing social stress, leading to negative effects on bird production and survivability, consequently enhancing gut microbiota dysbiosis and neuroinflammation via the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Probiotics have been used as potential therapeutic psychobiotics to treat or improve neuropsychiatric disorders or symptoms by boosting cognitive and behavioral processes and reducing stress reactions in humans and various experimental animals. The current data will first report that probiotic Bacillus subtilis reduces stress-induced injurious behavior in laying hens via regulating microbiota–gut–brain function with the potential to be an alternative to beak trimming during poultry egg production. Abstract Intestinal microbiota functions such as an endocrine organ to regulate host physiological homeostasis and behavioral exhibition in stress responses via regulating the gut–brain axis in humans and other mammals. In humans, stress-induced dysbiosis of the gut microbiota leads to intestinal permeability, subsequently affecting the clinical course of neuropsychiatric disorders, increasing the frequency of aggression and related violent behaviors. Probiotics, as direct-fed microorganism, have been used as dietary supplements or functional foods to target gut microbiota (microbiome) for the prevention or therapeutic treatment of mental diseases including social stress-induced psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and schizophrenia. Similar function of the probiotics may present in laying hens due to the intestinal microbiota having a similar function between avian and mammals. In laying hens, some management practices such as hens reared in conventional cages or at a high stocking density may cause stress, leading to injurious behaviors such as aggressive pecking, severe feather pecking, and cannibalism, which is a critical issue facing the poultry industry due to negative effects on hen health and welfare with devastating economic consequences. We discuss the current development of using probiotic Bacillus subtilis to prevent or reduce injurious behavior in laying hens.
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Falker-Gieske C, Mott A, Preuß S, Franzenburg S, Bessei W, Bennewitz J, Tetens J. Analysis of the brain transcriptome in lines of laying hens divergently selected for feather pecking. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:595. [PMID: 32854615 PMCID: PMC7457272 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-07002-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Feather pecking (FP) in laying hens reduces animal welfare and leads to economic losses for the layer industry. FP is considered a heritable condition that is influenced by dysregulation of neurotransmitter homeostasis, the gut microbiome, and the immune system. To identify genes and biological pathways responsible for FP behavior we compared the brain transcriptomes of 48 hens divergently selected for FP. In addition, we tested if high feather peckers (HFP) and low feather peckers (LFP) respond differently to light since light has been shown to trigger FP behavior. Results Of approximately 48 million reads/sample an average of 98.4% were mapped to the chicken genome (GRCg6a). We found 13,070 expressed genes in the analyzed brains of which 423 showed differential expression between HFP and LFP. Genes of uncertain function and non-coding RNAs were overrepresented among those transcripts. Functional analyses revealed the involvement of cholinergic signaling, postsynaptic activity, membrane channels, and the immune system. After the light stimulus, 28 genes were found to be differentially expressed. These included an interaction cluster of core components of the circadian clock. However, differences in the response to light between HFP and LFP were not detectable. Conclusions Genes involved in cholinergic signaling, channel activity, synaptic transmission, and immune response were found to be involved in FP behavior. We propose a model in which the gut microbiota modulates the immune system, which in turn affects cholinergic signaling. This might have an influence on monoamine signaling with possible involvement of GABA or glutamate signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clemens Falker-Gieske
- Department of Animal Sciences, Georg-August-University, Burckhardtweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Andrea Mott
- Department of Animal Sciences, Georg-August-University, Burckhardtweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Siegfried Preuß
- Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 17, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Sören Franzenburg
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 12, 24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Werner Bessei
- Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 17, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Jörn Bennewitz
- Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 17, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Jens Tetens
- Department of Animal Sciences, Georg-August-University, Burckhardtweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.,Center for Integrated Breeding Research, Georg-August-University, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
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Mens A, van Krimpen M, Kwakkel R. Nutritional approaches to reduce or prevent feather pecking in laying hens: any potential to intervene during rearing? WORLD POULTRY SCI J 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/00439339.2020.1772024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A.J.W. Mens
- Wageningen Livestock Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - M.M. van Krimpen
- Wageningen Livestock Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - R.P. Kwakkel
- Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Effects of Management Strategies on Non-Beak-Trimmed Laying Hens in Furnished Cages that Were Reared in a Non-Cage System. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:ani10030399. [PMID: 32121241 PMCID: PMC7142790 DOI: 10.3390/ani10030399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Beak trimming in laying hens limits the negative consequences of injurious pecking, but could be prohibited by future regulations. This study assessed a combination of management strategies during the rearing period (objects, perches, music, human presence) and laying period (scratching mats, objects, feed fiber supplementation) to raise non-beak-trimmed animals. The welfare and laying performances of beak-trimmed (T) and non-beak-trimmed (NT) ISA Brown birds were compared between groups with (E) or without (NE) these strategies, with or without fiber supplementation in the diet during laying period. Fiber supplementation did not provide any benefit on pecking-related problems. In comparison with NT-NE birds, NT-E birds had lower mortality, were less fearful of a novel object, and had a better feather cover, without a negative impact on productivity (same laying rate and egg quality). Although this study showed advantages of beak trimming (T birds had higher body weights, laying rates and lower hen mortality than NT birds), it highlighted related problems (increasing pullet mortality, decreasing early weights and increasing beak defects). This study proposes practical solutions to limit the consequences of injurious pecking in non-beak-trimmed animals.
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Severe feather-pecking in non-cage laying hens and some associated and predisposing factors: a review. WORLD POULTRY SCI J 2019. [DOI: 10.1017/s0043933915002469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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de Haas EN, van der Eijk JA. Where in the serotonergic system does it go wrong? Unravelling the route by which the serotonergic system affects feather pecking in chickens. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 95:170-188. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Giersberg MF, Spindler B, Kemper N. Assessment of Plumage and Integument Condition in Dual-Purpose Breeds and Conventional Layers. Animals (Basel) 2017; 7:E97. [PMID: 29231892 PMCID: PMC5742791 DOI: 10.3390/ani7120097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2017] [Revised: 11/28/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The assessment of plumage and integument condition in laying hens provides useful information about the occurrence of feather pecking and cannibalism. Although feather loss and skin injuries can result from mechanical abrasion or clinical diseases, they are valid animal-based indicators for behavioural disorders. This particularly applies to damage on the back and tail region of the hens. The aim was to evaluate the behaviour of dual-purpose breeds (Lohmann Dual, LD) and conventional layer hybrids (Lohmann Brown plus, LB+), and to compare a mere visual assessment (Visual Scoring, VSc), with a method involving the handling of individual animals (Hands-on Scoring, HSc). During weekly VSc, the hens' plumage and integument were scored on five body parts. HSc was carried out on seven study days applying the same scoring scale as for VSc. In LB+ hens, minor plumage damage started at 25 weeks and increased to the 71st week. With 99.5% of LB+ showing feather loss to a different extent, the back was the most severely affected body part. In contrast, only between 4.5% and 7% of LD showed minor feather loss at the end of the study. Integument damage reached a peak, with 6% affected LB+ in week 66. Injuries were found only sporadically in LD hens. Spearman's rho for the comparison of plumages scores given in VSc and HSc was >0.90 (p < 0.01) in both hybrids for most of the tested body regions and weeks, except for the breast/belly region. However, VSc and HSc were equally valid for detecting skin injuries of all of the body regions (rs > 0.86, p < 0.01). Damaging behaviour only occurred in the LB+ flocks, though both of the genetic strains were kept under the same conditions. The visual scoring method was suitable for detecting both plumage and integument damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Franziska Giersberg
- Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30173 Hannover, Germany.
| | - Birgit Spindler
- Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30173 Hannover, Germany.
| | - Nicole Kemper
- Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30173 Hannover, Germany.
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Brunberg EI, Rodenburg TB, Rydhmer L, Kjaer JB, Jensen P, Keeling LJ. Omnivores Going Astray: A Review and New Synthesis of Abnormal Behavior in Pigs and Laying Hens. Front Vet Sci 2016; 3:57. [PMID: 27500137 PMCID: PMC4956668 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2016.00057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Pigs and poultry are by far the most omnivorous of the domesticated farm animals and it is in their nature to be highly explorative. In the barren production environments, this motivation to explore can be expressed as abnormal oral manipulation directed toward pen mates. Tail biting (TB) in pigs and feather pecking (FP) in laying hens are examples of unwanted behaviors that are detrimental to the welfare of the animals. The aim of this review is to draw these two seemingly similar abnormalities together in a common framework, in order to seek underlying mechanisms and principles. Both TB and FP are affected by the physical and social environment, but not all individuals in a group express these behaviors and individual genetic and neurobiological characteristics play an important role. By synthesizing what is known about environmental and individual influences, we suggest a novel possible mechanism, common for pigs and poultry, involving the brain-gut-microbiota axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma I. Brunberg
- NORSØK – Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture, Tingvoll, Norway
- NIBIO – Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, Tingvoll, Norway
| | - T. Bas Rodenburg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Lotta Rydhmer
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Joergen B. Kjaer
- Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Celle, Germany
| | - Per Jensen
- AVIAN Behaviour Genomics and Physiology Group, IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Linda J. Keeling
- Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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The association between plumage damage and feather-eating in free-range laying hens. Animal 2016; 10:854-62. [DOI: 10.1017/s1751731115002608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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Meyer B, Zentek J, Harlander-Matauschek A. Differences in intestinal microbial metabolites in laying hens with high and low levels of repetitive feather-pecking behavior. Physiol Behav 2013; 110-111:96-101. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2012] [Accepted: 12/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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