Neonatal stimulation improves egg production in laying hens
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30972/vet.2218Abstract
The development of behavioral and endocrine responses to acute stress is greatly influenced by the early postnatal rearing environment. These environmental effects persist throughout life, resulting in stable individual differences in fearfulness. Early stimulation, such as neonatal novelty exposure decreases behavioral reactivity. Previous reports also show that early–life stimulation, such as neonatal exposure to novelty, reduces behavioural reactivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether early stimulation increases egg production in adult laying eggs. One–day–old laying hen chicks were exposed to a T–maze (Method A) or a test based on the latency to peck (Method B), and then reared in an industrial poultry farm until adults. A group of non–stimulated hens was used as a control group. Weekly egg production, individual egg weight and weekly feed intake were measured in laying hens under farm conditions for 25 weeks. An increase in egg number was observed in stimulated laying hens by Method A (5.22 ± 0.06, p < 0.01) and by Method B (5.33 ± 0.08, p < 0.001) compared to the controls (4.78 ± 0.24). Likewise, the food conversion index was also greater for stimulated hens by Method A (0.356 ± 0.042; p < 0.05) and Method B (0.363 ± 0.053; p < 0.01), compared to the control group (0.330 ± 0.085). These results indicate that early stimulation could help to improve the adaptation of laying hens in industrial poultry farms. Key words: chick, early stimulation, egg production, laying hen, stress.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Downloads
Published
2011-11-01
How to Cite
Cid, M. P., Kirkwood, C. A., Arce, A., & Salvatierra, N. A. (2011). Neonatal stimulation improves egg production in laying hens. Revista Veterinaria, 22(1), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.30972/vet.2218
Issue
Section
Trabajos de Investigación
License
Revista Veterinaria (Rev. Vet.) maintains a commitment to the policies of Open Access to scientific information, as it considers that both scientific publications as well as research investigations funded by public resources should circulate freely without restrictions. Revista Veterinaria (Rev. Vet.) ratifies the Open Access model in which scientific publications are made freely available at no cost online.