• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.43-49
• /
• 2010

The effect of sex ratio on behavior and welfare indexes in broiler chickens was investigated. Five variants of the sex ratio (male to female), namely, 100:0 (T1), 75:25 (T2), 50:50 (T3), 25:75 (T4) and 0:100 (T5) were tested in broilers between the ages of 7 to 35 days. It was found that the most common behavior in all sex ratios was resting behavior, ranging over 74.4 % of total behavioral frequency. The ranges of other behavior traits of total behavior traits were as follows: pecking, 5.4 to 23.1 %; standing, 1.8 to 24.8 %, and moving, 0.6 to 11.5 %. The behavioral frequency of resting, pecking, standing and moving were not affected by the sex ratio and between male and female. But the percentage of pecking, resting and moving behavioral frequency was significantly different by the age of birds (P<0.05). Age of birds had no effect on standing behavioral frequency. It seems that gait, food pad and hock burn score were no affect by sex ratio but tend to decreased in female than male. Claw length of 21 and 35 days was not affected by sex ratio and between male and female. The duration of tonic immobility (TI- reaction) was tend to decreased age of 21 than 35 days, and female than male. Both male and female of the study, hock burn score, claw length and TI-reaction were tend to lower in T4 than other treatments. The results suggest that, when male and female broilers are reared together, sex ratio can influence broiler welfare indexes in this study.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.536-546
• /
• 2024

Objective: This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of grain-based pecking blocks on productivity and welfare status at two commercial broiler welfare-certified farms. Methods: Production and welfare indicators were assessed at two farms (designated Farm A and B). Both farms had two windowless houses with forced tunnel-type ventilation and housed broilers at stocking densities of approximately 16.7 birds/m² (Farm A) and 16.8 birds/m² (Farm B). Each house was divided into two or three equal sections and was provided with or without pecking blocks. Grain-based pecking blocks, measuring 25 × 25 × 25 cm, were given to broilers in both farms at 1 block per 1,000 birds. Various parameters including productivity (body weight and flock uniformity), corticosterone levels (in fecal droppings and feathers), footpad dermatitis, hock burn, feather dirtiness, gait score, litter quality, body surface temperature, and volatile fatty acids in fecal samples were assessed at 26 days of age, whereas litter quality was analyzed at 13 and 26 days of age. Results: There were no significant effects of providing pecking blocks on productivity (body weight and uniformity), fecal and feather corticosterone, welfare indicators (i.e., footpad dermatitis, hock burn, feather cleanliness, and gait score), and litter quality (i.e., moisture, nitrogen, and pH). No differences in body surface temperature between the control and enrichment treatments were noted in Farm B, but body surface temperatures of the head (p = 0.029) and legs (p = 0.011) in the enrichment vs. control group were elevated in Farm A. Butyrate concentration in the enrichment vs control group was higher in Farm B (p = 0.023), but this effect was not detected in Farm A. Conclusion: It is concluded that grain-based pecking blocks did not affect performance and welfare indicators. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the potential impact of grain-based pecking blocks on gut health indicators.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.9.1-9.5
• /
• 2015

Background: A simple binary scoring system (SBSS) was developed and used to assess the welfare measures of commercial broiler chickens in South Korea. We also correlated welfare measures with environmental parameters of broiler house. Our measures of welfare included lameness, hock burn (HB) and foot pad dermatitis (FPD), whilst environmental parameters included air temperature, relative humidity, air speed, light intensity, air quality (in particular carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and ammonia ($NH_3$) concentrations) and airborne microbes. Results: The effect of environmental parameters on welfare measures was apparent even on 10-day-old broilers. A non-parametric correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between environmental parameters and welfare measures. The key environmental parameters were relative humidity and light intensity. The results indicate that there is a need for proper control of environmental conditions on poultry farms, which could reduce health problems and subsequently reduce disease and mortality. Conclusions: In conclusion, the simplicity of SBSS makes it preferable over more complex scoring systems and allows a farmer to more easily assess the welfare measures on their own farm.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.313-320
• /
• 2022

Brazil is considered as a great broiler feet exporter, especially for the Chinese trade. Contact lesions at the tibiotarsal region are responsible for economic losses and there is no model for its classification, thereby this study presents a fast and practical grade system to be used in the poultry industry and proposes these lesion characterizations into three different grades. For this, correlation was made between macroscopic, histological findings and microbiological quantification (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and sulphite-reducing clostridia) from contact lesions in the tibiotarsal region of 112 broiler carcasses, divided in four groups (n=28), accordingly to the lesion's intensity. There were no significant differences in microbiological quantification among the groups (p>0.05) except for the grade 3 group, as grade 1 and 2 lesions were in the early stages and histopathological changes such as ulceration were not observed. In grade 3 lesion group, it was observed bacterial cocci grume and ulceration at the articular region and significantly higher microbiological count (p<0.05) for E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. In conclusion, the visual standard proposed in this work, correlated and confirmed by the histopathologic, and microbiologic characterization, allows to precise and fast ascertainment of the contact lesion grade in the tibiotarsal regions of broiler carcasses. Moreover, it should be highlighted that grades 1 and 2 alterations are not caused by an inflammatory process caused by pathogenic agents and should not be considered a public health risk.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.329-335
• /
• 2009

The aim of the present study was to investigate the behavior and performance of male and female broiler chickens reared under three different colors of light (white, blue and red) in a 23L:1D of lighting program. Day-old broiler chicks were obtained and assigned to six pens (16 males and 16 females per pen). Two pens each were located in three different rooms in an environmentally controlled shed and received the different light colors. All birds received same husbandry conditions. After a 3-day adaptation to the light color, behavior observations (pecking, resting, standing and walking) were made on six focal birds per pen, representing the sex ratio, by direct visual scans for 120 minutes daily for five days a week throughout the 5-week study. Body weights and feed intake were recorded at weekly intervals. On days 19 and 33, welfare indicators (tonic immobility reaction on the 19 and 33 days old; gait scores, foot pad and hock burns scores on 33 days old) were determined. Light color had no significant effect (P>0.05) on the weight gain and feed intake of broilers, but significantly (P<0.05) influenced the feed conversion ratio. Birds receiving the blue light were more (P<0.05) efficient than those receiving white and red lights. Resting was observed to be the major behavior pattern, irrespective of sex or light color. During early growth, resting behavior tended to be lower in birds receiving red light. However, standing and walking behaviors tended to be higher in birds receiving red light in 4 to 18 day-old age and all of experimental periods, respectively. These data indicate that light color can influence broiler performance and behavior.