Poultry, Volume 3, Issue 4 (December 2024) – 4 articles

Laying hens usually have 16 h of light and 8 h of darkness during egg laying, with eggshell formation primarily occurring during darkness when dietary calcium is lacking, leading to bone calcium resorption and osteoporosis. This study examined how interrupting the dark phase affects bone health in 396 Hy-line W36 hens assigned to control (C) or treatment groups (W1 and W2). All hens received 16 h of light and 8 h of darkness daily in different variations of scotophase interruption. Blood samples were taken at weeks 20, 30, 50, and 70, serum calcium was measured during darkness at two timepoints (SRT and END), and bone demineralization markers were examined using enzyme concentrations (TRACP-5b and CTX-I). Across weeks, tibias were CT-scanned for density (mg/cm³) and area (mm²), then used for breakage strength analysis (N) and ash%. No SRT Ca level differences emerged, but C hens had lower END Ca levels compared to W1 and W2 hens across all weeks, while W1 and W2 hens showed no significant differences. C hens displayed higher TRACP-5b and CTX-I concentrations across all weeks compared to W1 and W2 (all p ≤ 0.05). At week 70, C hens had the lowest cortical bone cross-sectional area and mineral density compared to W1 and W2 (all p ≤ 0.05). Tibiotarsi bone breakage strength was lower in C hens compared to W1 and W2. C hens had significantly lower ash% than treatment birds. Interrupting the scotophase period improved overall bone health in Hy-line W36 laying hens. Full article

Currently, there are no guidelines on housing or recommendations for practical environmental enrichments for chickens used for research and teaching purposes. This study was conducted to identify optimal enrichment programs to improve the health and welfare of caged hens used for teaching and research purposes. The 24-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens (n = 168) were allocated at random to six enrichment programs/treatments with 14 replicate cages of two birds per cage during a 5-week experiment. Hens had physical access to the following treatments: no enrichment provided (control); round, wooden perches provided (perch); scratch pads made of wood and covered with sandpaper provided (scratch pad); hanging CDs provided (hanging CD); all three enrichment forms provided (complex environment); and each enrichment form provided on a 2-week rotation (novelty). While the egg quality was consistent, the complex group had a significantly lower feed intake (p < 0.001) but similar egg mass; thus, they also had a lower feed conversion ratio (p < 0.001). Additionally, hens in the complex treatment group had the leanest average body weight at week 5 (p < 0.01). It should be noted that while some measures of welfare did show significant differences, the biological or practical difference may be negligible, as in the case of the body condition score in this study. The results show that providing three different forms of environmental enrichment had positive effects on the welfare, health condition, and laying performance of laying hens relative to no enrichment or only one enrichment item. Full article

Subclinical necrotic enteritis (NE) is an enteric disease that inflicts significant economic losses in the poultry industry, primarily by reducing performance in commercial flocks but without significant mortality. This study evaluated the effects of a variety of phytogenic blends on broilers’ performance and carcass composition during an induced NE challenge. In this study, 1120 day (d)-old male broilers were allocated to four treatments groups (14 replicate floor pens, 20 birds/pen): the control (CONT) group, fed a basal corn-soybean diet, and three phytogenic blend dietary additives (PHYTO1, PHYTO2, and PHYTO3) added to the basal diet at 150, 250, and 500 mg/kg feed, respectively. Subclinical NE was induced by spraying a concentrated coccidiosis vaccine onto the feed and litter 24 h post-placement. On day 8, two birds/pen were necropsied for NE lesions. On days 8, 14, 28, and 42, the average daily gain (ADG), feed intake (ADFI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. On day 42, two birds/pen were euthanized to assess carcass composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Statistical analyses for all data were performed using the ANOVA procedure (JMP, Pro 16) and significance (p ≤ 0.05) between treatments was determined by the LSD test. There was no effect of treatment on NE lesions. PHYTO1, PHYTO2, and PHYTO3 significantly improved FCR from days 9 to 14, 0 to 14, and 0 to 42 and resulted in greater ADG from days 9 to 14, 29 to 42 and cumulatively on days 0 to 42. Carcass composition data revealed a numerically higher lean-to-fat ratio in the PHYTO groups compared to the CONT group. These results indicate that the dietary supplementation of phytogenic blends could alleviate the adverse effects of NE challenge on broilers’ performance and carcass composition. Full article

Poultry bio-mapping helps identify microbial contamination and process optimization opportunities such as sanitary dressing procedures, equipment adjustments, cross-contamination controls, and chemical intervention applications in commercial poultry processing operations. This study focuses on the development of a preliminary microbiological baseline of microbial indicators, including total viable counts (TVC), Enterobacteriaceae (EB), and the quantification and detection of pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. in four commercial broiler processing facilities in Honduras. Whole chicken and wing rinses were collected from four poultry processing plants at different locations: live receiving, rehanger, post-evisceration, post-chiller, and wings. The MicroSnap^® system was used for the enumeration of microbial indicators, the BAX^®-System-SalQuant^® was used for the quantification of Salmonella, and the BAX^®-System-CampyQuant™ was used for Campylobacter spp. Negative samples after enumeration were tested with BAX^®-System Salmonella and BAX^®-System Campylobacter for prevalence analysis, respectively. The TVC and EB counts were continuously reduced from the live receiving to the post-chiller location, presenting a statistically significant increase (p < 0.01) at the wings location. The Salmonella counts were significantly different between stages (p < 0.01). The prevalence of Salmonella was highest in the live receiving stage, with 92.50%, while that at the post-chiller stage was the lowest, at 15.38%. Campylobacter spp. counts were lower than that at the other stages at wings 1.61 Log CFU/sample; however, Campylobacter spp.’s prevalence was higher than 62.5% in all stages. Microbial bio-mapping using novel technologies suitable for mobile applications was conducted in this study to establish statistical process control parameters for microorganisms. A nationwide microbial baseline for commercial broiler processing facilities in Honduras was developed. In-country data serve as a benchmark for continuous improvement at each facility evaluated and can assist regulatory officers in the development of risk-based performance standards aimed at reducing the risk of exposure to consumers. Full article