Haematology and behaviour of pullets transported by road and administered with ascorbic acid during the hot-dry season

The effects of ascorbic acid (AA) on pullets transported by road for 6h during the hot-dry season were investigated. Forty Shika Brown pullets administered orally with AA just before transportation served as experimental, while another 40 pullets given sterile water only served as control. Blood samples analyzed before and after transportation in control pullets showed a decrease (P<0.05) in packed cell volume and haemoglobin values, and a significant (P<0.05) increase in the values of heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, total protein and basophil counts post-transportation. In experimental pullets, the post-transportation values were not different (P>0.05) from those obtained pre-transportation. The result showed that the transportation was stressful in control pullets. The behavioural activities of the pullets' post-transportation period indicated that AA facilitated the transition of the state of depression that followed excitation back to excitation immediately after transportation. In conclusion, AA administration ameliorated the adverse effect of road transportation stress during the hot-dry season.     

Cage type and mineral nutrition had independent impact on skeletal development in Lohmann LSL-Lite pullets from hatch to 16 weeks of age

The effects of rearing cage type and dietary Ca, available P and vitamin D₃ (VitD₃) on body and skeletal development were studied. A total of 3,420 Lohmann LSL-Lite day-old chicks were reared in conventional (CON) or furnished cages (FUR) to 16 wk of age. Initially, 40 and 150 chicks/cage were placed in CON and FUR and transitioned to 20 and 75 chicks/cage at 8 wk of age, respectively. Three diets: Diet 1, Diet 1.5 and Diet 2 were formulated to meet nutrient specifications with Diet 1.5 and Diet 2 containing 1.5 and 2 times more Ca, P and VitD₃ than Diet 1, respectively. Diets were allocated within cage type to give 6 replicates and fed in 3 feeding programs: starter, grower and developer. At 4, 12 and 16 wk of age, BW was recorded, and femur, tibia and blood samples for bone quality and related parameters. There were no interactions (P > 0.05) of cage type, diet and pullet age on BW, plasma Ca and inorganic P, femur and tibia morphometry, mineral density (MD), breaking strength (BS) and ash concentration (AC). Concentration of Ca, P and VitD₃ linearly decreased BW (P < 0.001), relative femur (P = 0.010) and tibia weight (P = 0.013). A quadratic increase on femur MD (P = 0.03) and BS (P = 0.026) was observed with dietary concentration of Ca, P and VitD₃. Femur (P = 0.031) was longer for CON than FUR pullets, however, femur for FUR pullets had higher (P = 0.003) AC. Cage had no effect (P ≥ 0.415) femoral MD and BS. Pullets reared in FUR cages exhibited higher tibial MD (P = 0.015), BS (P = 0.071), AC (P < 0.01) and whole-body mineral content (P < 0.01). In conclusion, cage type and diets showed independent effect on femur and tibia quality with FUR pullets exhibiting enhanced indices of mineralization. Feeding pullets twice the recommended Ca, P and VitD₃ decreased BW, relative weight of leg bone but enhanced femoral strength with no effects on tibia attributes.     

密闭式鸡舍动物水平高度和人体水平高度环境状况对比

畜舍环境控制系统对畜禽的健康和生产有着重要的影响,一是可以使动物周围的空气维持合适的温度、湿度和风速,避免热应激和冷应激的出现。二是排出畜舍中的有害气体、灰尘和微生物,改善畜禽舍的空气环境质量。在畜禽环境设计、运行和环境管理中,一般都以畜舍内的空气环境为目标,而很少以动物真正感觉到的环境状况,即动物周围的环境情况为判定依据。为此,作者在北京某鸡场密闭式育雏育成平养鸡舍中进行了试验研究,分别在加热期间、离温初期和育雏育成末期三个阶段,对0.2m的动物水平和1.5m人体水平的环境参数进行了现场测试、分析和比较。