December 25, 2024 | 12:14 GMT +7

  • Click to copy
Monday- 09:07, 25/09/2023

Improving layer hen welfare with better keel bone health

(VAN) Keel bone damage, deviations, or fractures in a bird’s breastbone, is an ongoing and prevalent problem among conventional laying hens and can be linked to the number and quality of eggs produced.
Professor Dunn: 'For many decades, poultry breeders have chosen which birds to breed according to a mix of many factors, but it has not been possible to account for bone quality in live hens. Photo: Mark Pasveer

Professor Dunn: “For many decades, poultry breeders have chosen which birds to breed according to a mix of many factors, but it has not been possible to account for bone quality in live hens. Photo: Mark Pasveer

It is recognised as being a multifactor problem attributed to a combination of housing design, genetics, feed and nutrition, behaviour, rearing practices and other issues. And with a growing numbers of birds moving to cage-free housing by 2025 – up to 225 million alone in the US – there is a growing clamour for additional research.

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Open Philanthropy created the Laying Hen Keel Bone Health Programme to provide funds to support global, cross-disciplinary teams that use evidence-based approaches to measurably reduce the incidence of keel bone damage. It is awarding 2 grants, totalling just under US$3 million to researchers at The University of Edinburgh and University of California, Davis. Several matching funders, including Hy-Line International, have provided support of an investment of nearly US$7 million.

Digital x-rays and conventional imaging techniques

The grant is the second significant funding in this area in the past 5 years. The first grant enabled researchers at The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh has looked at how radiography can measure bone quality in live birds to help inform selection of laying hens. Scientists, led by Professor Ian Dunn, have developed a reliable digital x-ray procedure that takes around 45 seconds to conduct, making it practical for both hens and poultry workers.

The procedure offers a fast, practical alternative to conventional imaging techniques such as Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, Digitised Fluoroscopy and CT scans. This latest grant is enabling the team to examine if breeding programmes for improve keel health needs to vary depending on poultry housing design.

Live hen analysis of bone density could provide poultry breeders with a reliable and efficient way to inform the selection of laying hens. Read more…

Puberty, bone quality and breeding

Prior research highlighted the role of age at puberty on bone strength. The consortium’s work is further exploring this relationship by manipulating diet and light to delay puberty and measuring the resulting effects on bone quality. They are also determining whether a diet that produces lower homocysteine, an amino acid, increases collagen strength and improves keel quality.

Professor Dunn: “For many decades, poultry breeders have chosen which birds to breed according to a mix of many factors, but it has not been possible to account for bone quality in live hens, and a practical method of measuring bone quality in hens has been unavailable. Our method represents a major development to aid selection towards improving bone strength, and health and welfare, in laying hens.

“This project seeks to enable genetic selection directly for the keel bone itself, as well as novel nutritional approaches and the influence of the timing of when hens start to lay eggs on their bone quality,” he added.

Housing and genetics

The US research, led by Dr Huaijun Zhou, is aiming to decrease the occurrence of keel bone damage by examining the birds’ housing environments and assessing the key relation and role of genetics. They are identifying genetic markers associated with keel bone damage in breeding flocks raised under different housing environments and improving genetic selection to promote resistance to keel bone fractures.

They are also evaluating the effects of housing design interventions on the development, type and prevalence of keel bone damage as well as exploring alternative housing designs and conducting economic analyses to determine the costs and gains from the proposed adjustments to breeding and housing designs.

“Like many other economically important traits in poultry, keel bone damage is a complex issue affected by genetic and environmental factors, such as type of housing systems,” said Zhou, principal investigator for the UC Davis research and a professor of animal science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Early detection

Dr Danny Lubritz, Hy-Line International’s director of research and development, said the research should deliver tools for the early detection and genetic improvement of keel bone health in cage and cage free settings: “Hy-Line International can integrate this information into its genomic programme to simultaneously improve egg production, egg quality and bird welfare,” he added.

Nikki Dutta, FFAR scientific programme officer, said: “Improving the welfare of animals is a critical component of animal husbandry, and keel bone damage is a serious threat to the wellbeing of layer hens. These research projects are helping ensure humane treatment and a better quality of life for the animals that meet our food and nutrition needs.”

HD

(PW)

Food and nutrition crisis deepens across Sudan as famine identified in additional areas

Food and nutrition crisis deepens across Sudan as famine identified in additional areas

(VAN) FAO, WFP and UNICEF urge immediate humanitarian access and action to avert what could become the worst hunger crisis in recent history.

How to repair the planet? One answer might be hiding in plain sight

How to repair the planet? One answer might be hiding in plain sight

(VAN) We tend to look at environmental problems in isolation. A holistic approach would be more effective, a new report says.

Georgia farmers still grappling with $5.5 billion in Hurricane Helene storm losses

Georgia farmers still grappling with $5.5 billion in Hurricane Helene storm losses

(VAN) Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South.

US poultry sector prepares for mass deportations

US poultry sector prepares for mass deportations

(VAN) The US poultry processing industry has long relied on illegal workers, but huge adjustments are going to have to be made after President-elect Donald Trump takes power on 20 January 2025.

The future is dry: Why soil is the sexiest climate solution

The future is dry: Why soil is the sexiest climate solution

(VAN) Drought is projected to affect 75% of the world's population by 2050. Take that in.

Environmentalists call for a revision of poultry welfare standards

Environmentalists call for a revision of poultry welfare standards

(VAN) Voice of Animals, a Russian NGO, has prepared amendments to the draft veterinary regulation in the poultry industry, which is scheduled to come into force on 1 August 2025.

Hunger in the Arab region reaches a new height as challenges intensify

Hunger in the Arab region reaches a new height as challenges intensify

(VAN) From the FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa.

Read more