Inovação em produção animal tem sido cada vez mais exigido pelos consumidores. No ambito de produção de postura, a maior demanda é por ovos provenientes de sistemas alternativos às gaiolas tradicionais, majoritariamente pelas tendencias observadas na Europa, e dessa forma, pesquisas ressaltando a realidade brasileira estão sendo realizadas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar parametros produtivos e de bem-estar em dois contextos de sistemas produtivos, sob variadas densidades de alojamento. Para isso 250 aves Lohmann Brown® foram distribuídas em delineamento inteiramente casualizado (DIC) com os tratamentos organizados em esquema fatorial 2 x 4, sendo 2 sistemas de alojamento (convencional e cage-free) e 4 densidades (375,00; 450,00; 562,50 e 750,00 cm2/ave), com 6 repetições. O período experimental foi de 21 a 36 semanas de idade das poedeiras, totalizando 4 ciclos de 28 dias cada. Foram avaliados desempenho produtivo (produção de ovos, consumo de ração, conversão alimentar por kg de ovos), qualidade de ovos (peso, coloração de gema, índice gema, % de gema, % albumen, % casca, espessura e resistência a quebra, e unidade Haugh) e indicadores de bem-estar (frequência respiratória e cardíaca, temperatura clocal, escore de lesão corporal, concentração d eIgY na gema) Observou-se interação entre sistema de produção e densidade de alojamento para: % postura, consumo de ração, conversão alimentar por kg de ovos, peso do ovo, % de gema, % albúmen, espessura de casca. O aumento de densidade promoveu efeito significativo para % postura, consumo de ração, temperatura cloacal, lesão em quilha e em pés. O tipo de sistema de produção afetou consumo de ração, conversão alimentar por kg de ovos, peso do ovo, coloração de gema, índice gema, resistência à quebra, frequência cardíaca temperatura cloacal, lesões de quilha e pés e concentração de IgY na gema. Os resultados deste estudo demonstram que tanto o sistema de produção quanto a densidade de alojamento estão ligados a efeitos produtivos, de qualidade de ovos, e de bem-estar animal. / Innovation in animal production has been increasingly demanded by consumers. In the field of egg production, the greatest demand is for eggs coming from alternative systems to traditional cages, mostly from the trends observed in Europe, and thus, research highlighting the Brazilian reality is being carried out. The objective of this study was to evaluate productive and welfare parameters in two contexts of productive systems, under different stocking densities. For this purpose, 250 Lohmann Brown® birds were distributed in a completely randomized design with treatments arranged in a 2 x 4 factorial scheme, with 2 housing systems (conventional and cage-free) and 4 densities (375.00; 450.00, 562.50 and 750.00 cm2 / bird), with 6 replicates. The experimental period was 21 to 36 weeks of age, totalling 4 cycles of 28 days each. (Egg weight, feed intake, feed conversion per kg of egg), egg quality (weight, yolk color, yolk index, % yolk,% albumen,% shell, shell thickness and resistance to breakage, and Haugh unit) and indicators of welfare (respiratory rate and heart rate, body temperature, body lesion score, IgY concentration in the yolk). The interaction between production system and housing density was observed for: % laying, feed intake , feed conversion per kg of eggs, egg weight, % yolk, % albumen, shell thickness. The increase in density had a significant effect on % laying, feed intake, cloacal temperature, keel and foot injury. The type of production system affected feed intake, feed conversion per kg of egg, egg weight, yolk color, yolk index, breaking strength, cloacal temperature, keel and foot lesions, and IgY concentration in the yolk. The results of this study demonstrate that both the production system and housing density are linked to productive effects, egg quality, and animal welfare.

La forte demande sociétale pour un meilleur bien-être des poules a conduit l’industrie ovocole canadienne à remplacer progressivement les cages conventionnelles par des logements alternatifs tels que les cages enrichies (CE) et les volières (V). L’objectif de cette étude était de comparer les performances et la qualité des œufs dans 24 élevages commerciaux au Québec : 12 en CE et 12 en V. Le taux de ponte, la mortalité cumulative et la consommation alimentaire ont été choisis pour évaluer les performances des élevages entre 19 et 65 semaines d’âge. L’évaluation de la qualité des œufs a été réalisée à 35, 45, 55 et 65 semaines d’âge incluant la masse de l’œuf, la force et l’épaisseur de la coquille, l’unité Haugh, l’intensité de la couleur du jaune et la prévalence des œufs sales et fêlés. Aucune différence significative (P> 0,05) n’a été observée entre les CE et les V pour tous les paramètres de performance et de qualité étudiés. L’interaction entre le logement et l’âge a eu un effet significatif sur la mortalité (P< 0,05) qui a augmenté plus rapidement avec l’âge dans les V que dans les CE. L’âge a eu un effet significatif sur toutes les variables étudiées (P< 0,05) excepté la prévalence des œufs sales. Ces résultats sont encourageants pour les producteurs d’œufs québécois en pleine phase de transition. En conclusion, au Québec, durant le cycle de ponte les performances des oiseaux et la qualité des œufs sont similaires entre les CE et les V à l’échelle commerciale. / The strong societal demand for better hen welfare has led the Canadian egg industry to progressively replace conventional cages with alternative housing such as enriched cages (EC) and aviaries (A). The objective of this study was to compare the performance and quality of eggs from 24 commercial farms in Quebec: 12 in EC and 12 in A. Laying rate, cumulative mortality, and feed consumption were used to evaluate farm performance between 19 and 65 weeks of age while egg quality evaluation consisted of egg mass, strength and thickness shell, Haugh unit, yolk color intensity and prevalence of dirty and cracked eggs at 35, 45, 55 and 65 weeks of age. No significant differences (P> 0.05) were observed between EC and A for all performance and quality parameters studied. The interaction between housing and age had a significant effect on mortality (P< 0.05) which increased faster with age in A than in EC. Age had a significant effect (P< 0.05) on all variables studied except the prevalence of dirty eggs. These results are encouraging for Quebec egg producers in the midst of a transition phase. In conclusion, in Quebec, during the laying cycle the performance of the birds and egg quality are similar between the EC and the A on a commercial scale.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:54:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 278166 bytes, checksum: ac8bc005df1ef0e6da3abf17c619b10c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-07-27 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / An experiment was conducted in the poultry sector of aviculture of the animal Science department of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, aiming to establish the methionine plus cystine to lysine to Japanese quail in phase position. 480 female quails were used, with initial age of 65 days, distributed in a completely randomized blocks desing with six treatments, ten replicates and eight birds per experimental unit. Treatments consisted of a basal diet deficient in methionine plus cystine (0.65%), with 19.3% crude protein and 2800 kcal metabolizable energy/kg, supplemented with six levels of DL-Methionine 98% (0,116; 0,167; 0,218; 0,269; 0,320 e 0,371%), corresponding to the relationship methionine plus cystine to lysine of 0.65, 0.70, 0.75, 0.80, 0, 85 and 0.90, and the lysine set at 1.00%. The variables studied were: feed intake (g / bird / day), egg production per bird day (%), egg production per hen housed (%), production of commercial eggs (%), egg weight (g), egg mass (g / bird / day), feed conversion by egg mass (kg feed / kg egg), feed per dozen eggs (kg feed / dz of eggs), change in body weight (g), viability of the poultry (%), weight of egg components (yolk (g), albumen (g) and shell (g)), percentage of components of eggs (%) height and diameter of eggs (mm) and specific gravity (g/cm³). There was increasing linear effect for feed intake, diameter of eggs, weight of pods and percentage of egg yolk, while for percentage of bark was observed linear decreasing effect. For the parameter weight of the eggs the best adjustment of data was obtained using the Linear Response Plateau model (LRP). It was verified quadratic effect for egg mass, feed conversion by egg mass, egg production per bird days, egg productionper hen housed, weight of the yolk, the albumen weight and height of eggs. It was concluded that the relationship methionine plus cystine to lysine of 0.84 and the feed to a daily intake of 221.0 mg of this amino acid, corresponding to the. / Foi conduzido um experimento no Setor de Avicultura do Departamento de Zootecnia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa UFV, com o objetivo de estabelecer a relação de metionina mais cistina digestível com lisina digestível para codornas japonesas na fase de postura. Foram utilizadas 480 codornas fêmeas, com idade inicial de 65 dias, distribuídas em delineamento em blocos casualisados com seis tratamentos, dez repetições e oito aves porunidade experimental. Os tratamentos consistiam de uma ração basal deficiente em metionina mais cistina (0,65%), com 19,6% de proteína bruta e 2800 kcal de energia metabolizável/kg, suplementada com seis níveis de DL-Metionina 98% (0,116; 0,167; 0,218; 0,269; 0,320 e 0,371%), correspondendo à relação metionina mais cistina digestível com lisina digestível de 0,65; 0,70; 0,75; 0,80; 0,85 e 0,90, sendo a lisina digestível fixada em 1,00%. Os parâmetros estudados foram: consumo de ração (g/ave/dia), produção de ovos por ave dia (%), produção de ovos por ave alojada (%), produção de ovos comercializáveis (%), peso do ovo (g), massa de ovos (g/ave/dia), conversão alimentar por massa de ovos (kg de ração/kg de ovos), conversão alimentar por dúzia de ovos (kg de ração/dz de ovos), viabilidade das aves (%), variação do peso corporal (g), peso dos componentes dos ovos (gema (g), albúmen (g) e casca (g)), porcentagem dos componentes dos ovos (%), diâmetro dos ovos (mm) e altura e gravidade específica (g/cm3). Observou-se efeito linear crescente para consumo de ração, diâmetro dos ovos, peso da casca e porcentagem de gema.Para porcentagem de casca foi observado efeito linear decrescente. Para o peso dos ovos o melhor ajuste dos dados foi obtido com a utilização do modelo Linear Response Plateau (LRP). Foi verificado efeito quadrático para a massa de ovos, conversão alimentar por massa de ovos, produção de ovos por ave dia, produção de ovos por ave alojada, peso da gema, peso do albúmen e altura dos ovos. Concluiuse que a relação metionina mais cistina com lisina que proporcionou os melhores resultados de desempenho e satisfatória qualidade de ovo foi de 0,84.

Poultry provide affordable animal protein products compared to other animal products in agricultural industry. The demand of organic food by world health organisation and call for discard of conventional laying cage production method led to this research study. The aim of the study was to determine how (4 x 4) full diallel crossbreeding of the Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK), Naked neck (NN), Lohmann Brown (LB) and White Leghorn (WL) had an effect on production performance, egg parameters, genetic and phenotypic characteristics of F1 crossbreed offspring. The study was conducted at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Livestock Production Improvement at the Irene Campus, which is situated about 25 km south of Pretoria. The (4 x 4) full diallel crossbreeding design used on four chicken breeds to produce four pure breeds, six crossbreeds and six reciprocal crosses. The total number of 352 chickens with16 treatments (2 cocks and 20 hens) used in phase 1 and 384 chickens 16 F1-treatments (3 cocks + 21 hens) used in phase 2. Data was analysed by full factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA), General Linear Model procedures and Scheffe post-hoc for multiple comparison of the means of different variable data. The outcome had shown that crossbreeding had an effect on the production performance, genetic and phenotypic characteristics. The performed F1 crossbreeds emerge from crossbreeding between the local dual-purpose PK and commercial LB chicken breeds. PKLB dominated on growth and production performance traits compared to other crossbreeds. All set null hypothesis differ significantly at (p < 0.05), the outcome of all five hypothesis of this study were rejected. In conclusion PKLB was the best performing F1 crossbreed, based on its best performance on growth, FCR, cost of rearing, productive, high quality safe eggshell, economic efficiency and consumer preference (brown eggshell and yolk colour). / Dikgogo di neelana ka dikumo tsa poroteine ya diphologolo go tshwantshanngwa le dikumo tsa diphologolo tse dingwe mo intasetering ya temo. Tlhokego ya dijo tse di bolang mo mekgatlhong ya boitekanelo ya lefatshe le pitso ya go latlha mekgwa ya kumo ya dikgetshe tsa go beela tsa tlwaelo di ne tsa isa kwa thutong ya patlisiso eno. Maikaelelo a thuto eno ke go tlhomamisa gore tsadiso ya kgabaganyo ya dilo tse pedi kgotsa go feta go tshwantshanya kgolagano ya mofuta wa dijene le tikologo tse di tletseng tsa (4 x 4) tsa Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK), Naked Neck (NN), Lohmann Brown (LB) le White Leghorn (WL) di na le ponalo mo tiragatsong ya kumo, diparametera tsa mae, le dijene le diponagalo tsa kgolagano ya mofuta wa dijene le tikologo tsa ditsadiso tsa kgabaganyo tsa ngwana wa F1. Thuto e ne ya diragadiwa kwa Agricultural Research Council (ARC) le Tokafatso ya Kumo ya Diruiwa kwa khempaseng ya Irene, e e agilweng bokana ka 25 km jwa borwa jwa Pretoria. Ditsadiso tsa kgabaganyo tsa dilo tse pedi kgotsa go feta go tshwantshanya kgolagano ya mofuta wa dijene le tikologo tse di tletseng tsa (4 x 4) di ne tsa dirisiwa mo mefuteng ya ditsadiso tsa dikgogo go ntsha mefuta ya ditsadiso e e tletseng e mene, ditsadiso tsa kgabaganyo tse thataro le dikgabaganyo tse di tshwanang tse thataro. Palo e e tletseng ya dikgogo tse di 352 ka ditiragatso di le 16 (mekoko e le 2 le dithole di le 20) di ne tsa dirisiwa mo letlhakoreng la 1 le dikgogo di le 384 ka ditiragatso tsa F1 di le 16 (mekoko e le 3 + dithole di le 21) di ne tsa dirisiwa mo letlhakoreng la 2. Data e ne ya tshetshereganngwa ka tshetshereganyo ya dintlha tse di tletseng tsa pharologantsho (ANOVA), dikgato tsa General Linear Model le tshwantshanyo ya bontsintsi ya morago (ANOVA), dikgato tsa General Linear Model le tshwantshanyo ya bontsintsi ya morago ga tiragalo ya Scheffe ka mekgwa ya data ya pharologantsho e e farologaneng. Ditlamorago di ne tsa bontsha gore ditsadiso tsa kgabaganyo di na le ponalo mo tiragatsong ya kumo, ga mmogo le diponagalo tsa dijene le setlhopha sa kgolagano ya mofuta wa dijene le tikologo. Go ne ga diriswa mefuta ya ditsadiso tsa kgabaganyo ya F1 tse di tlhagelelang go tswa mo ditsadisong tsa kgabaganyo magareng ga mefuta ya ditsadiso tsa dikgogo tsa PK tsa lebaka la gabedi la selegae le LB ya kgwebo. PKLB e ne ya fekeetsa metlhala ya tiragatso ya kgolo le kumo go tshwantshanngwa le mefuta ya ditsadiso tsa kgabaganyo tse dingwe. Setlhopha sotlhe sa dikakanyo tsa lefela se x farologana mo go bonagalang ka (p < 0.05) le ditlamorago tsa dikakanyo tse tlhano tse tsotlhe tsa thuto eno di ne tsa kganediwa. Kwa bokhutlong, PKLB e ne ya nna mofuta wa ditsadiso tsa F1 o o diragatsang go gaisa, go ikaegilwe ka tiragatso mabapi le kgolo, FCR, tshenyegelo ya go tsadisa, kumo, boleng jo bo kwa godimo jwa dikgapetla tsa mae tse di babalesegileng, bokgoni jwa ikonomi le boikgethelo jwa modirisi (dikgapetla tsa mae tse di tshetlha le mmala wa tlhae). / Agriculture and  Animal Health / Ph. D. (Agriculture)

<p>  </p> <p>Heat stress affects breeder ducks raised in North America and other parts of the world, but the effects of such stress on the progenies is not known. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate: 1) The objectives of this thesis were to first investigate the effect of heat stress or exposure to exogenous glucocorticoid (GC) on fertility, production performance, egg biochemistry, egg quality, and welfare of breeder Pekin ducks. 2) the effects of maternal GC on phenotypic plasticity and behavior of the F1 generation. Three studies were carried out to investigate these objectives.</p> <p>The first experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that chronic treatment with low levels of either corticosterone or cortisol would alter heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (HLR) and immune organ morphometrics. Further, we wanted to determine if chronic treatment with either GC would elicit an increase in cortisol levels in egg albumen. To test our hypotheses, we implanted silastic capsules subcutaneously under the skin of the neck of adult ducks (n = 5/sex/dose) using propofol anesthesia. Capsules contained corticosterone, cortisol, or empty capsules as controls. Over the course of 2 weeks, blood serum, blood smears, body weights, and egg quality data were collected. After 2 weeks, ducks were euthanized using pentobarbital (FatalPlus, 396 mg/ml/kg) and body weight, weights of spleens, livers, and the number of active follicles were recorded. Blood smears were analyzed for HLR by a lab unaware of the treatment groups. Albumen GC levels were assessed using mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed using a 2- or 3-way ANOVA as appropriate and <em>post hoc </em>with Fishers protected least squares difference (PLSD). There were no treatment effects on egg quality measures or body weight. Corticosterone treatment did elicit an increase in serum corticosterone (p < 0.05), but not cortisol levels, compared to controls in both sexes. Both cortisol and corticosterone treatments increased (p < 0.05) serum levels of cortisol compared to controls. Relative spleen weights were higher (p < 0.05) in hens following corticosterone but not cortisol treatment. No other organs showed any differences among the treatment groups. Both GCs elicited an increase (p < 0.001) in HLR in hens at all time-points over the 2-week treatment period compared to controls. Cortisol, not corticosterone, elicited an increase in HLR for drakes (p < 0.05) compared to controls at day 1 after implants. Chronic treatment with cortisol, but not corticosterone, elicited an increase (p < 0.01) in egg albumen cortisol levels compared to other groups. Corticosterone was not detected in any albumen samples.</p> <p>The goal of our second experiment was to test the hypothesis that heat stress (HS) would alter welfare, egg quality, and morphometrics of breeder ducks. Furthermore, we wanted to test if HS would increase cortisol levels in egg albumen due to recent exciting findings that cortisol, not corticosterone, is isolated in egg albumen. To test our hypothesis, adult Pekin ducks were randomly assigned to two different rooms at 85% lay with 60 hens and 20 drakes per room. Baseline data including body weight, body condition scores (BCS) (such as footpad quality, eyes, nostrils, feather cleanliness, and feather quality scores), and egg production/quality were collected the week preceding heat treatment. Ducks were subjected to cyclic HS of 350C for 10h/day and to 29.50C for the remaining 14h/day for 3 weeks while the control room was maintained at 220C. Eggs were collected daily, and body weights were taken on days 0 and 21 relative to the onset of heat treatment. BCS were collected weekly. Eggs were collected weekly for quality assessment and albumen glucocorticoid (GCs) levels assessment using mass spectrometry. One week before the exposure to HS, 10 hens and 5 drakes were euthanized and the same number again after 3 weeks of HS or control exposures using pentobarbital and birds necropsied. Body weight, weights of the liver, spleen, and the number of maturing follicles were recorded. Data analyses were done by 2- or 3-way ANOVA as appropriate with a Tukey-Kramer post hoc test. BCS were analyzed using a chi-squared test. A p value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Circulating levels of corticosterone were significantly (p < 0.01) elevated at week 1 only in the HS hens while there was no significant difference in the circulating levels of corticosterone in drakes compared to the controls. The circulating levels of cortisol increased significantly at week 1 (p < 0.05), week 2 (p < 0.05), and week 3 (p < 0.01) in the hens and at week 2 and 3 only (p < 0.05) in the drakes compared to the controls. Feather quality scores (p < 0.01), feather cleanliness scores (p < 0.001) and footpad quality scores (p < 0.05) increased significantly in the HS group compared to controls, higher BCS indicate a decline in welfare. HS elicited a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in egg production at weeks 1 and 3 and a descriptive decrease in the number of fertile eggs upon candling at 10 days of incubation, numeric decrease hatchability and increase in the number of dead embryos in the HS group after the incubation period. Hens in the HS group showed a significantly decreased BW (p < 0.001), and number of ovarian follicles (p < 0.05) compared to controls. Shell weight decreased significantly at week 1 (p < 0.05) compared to controls. Yolk weight decreased significantly at week 3 (p < 0.01) compared to controls. HS elicited a significant increase in albumen cortisol levels at week 1 (p < 0.05) and week 3 (p < 0.05).</p> <p>The third experiment was conducted to determine if parental exposure to heat stress would impair performance, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis response, welfare, or behavior of their offspring. To achieve these goals, we treated adult drakes and hens at peak lay to heat stress or control temperature for 3 weeks and incubated eggs collected from the last 3 days of the experiment. A total of 76 ducklings were placed into pens from each parental treatment group: control (CON-F1) and heat stress (HS-F1) and raised as grow-out ducks. Weekly data for body weights, body condition scores (BCS), and novel object test (NOT) were collected weekly. At 3 weeks of age, ducks (n = 6 per treatment group) were subjected to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) (ACTH/cosyntropin, 0.0625 mg/kg) challenge or vehicle as control. Blood samples were collected from the metatarsal vein into serum-separator tubes at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours relative to treatment for the determination of serum glucocorticoids. Blood smears were also produced from these same samples to determine heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (HLR). All injected birds were euthanized with pentobarbital on the second day relative to ACTH administration, spleen and bursa were removed and weighed immediately. Duck level analyses were completed using 1-, or 2 -way ANOVA as appropriate. BCS were analyzed using a chi-squared test. We observed that HS-F1 had a lower hatch weight (p < 0.05) compared to CON-F1. However, growth rates during the 5-week grow-out period were not significantly different between the two flocks. NOT (N = 4) analyses showed that the HS-F1 had a greater fear response (P< 0.001) compared to CON-F1. Similarly, an ACTH stimulation test showed that the HS-F1 ducks had significantly heightened corticosterone and HLR responses compared to CON-F1 ducks (p < 0.05). The HS-F1 showed altered baseline and ACTH-stimulated levels of cortisol compared to controls.</p> <p>In conclusion, GC elicit differential effects and although corticosterone has been stated to be the predominant GC in avian species, cortisol may provide critical information to further understand and improve welfare. HS decreased performance, fertility, and productivity of breeder ducks. In addition, HS and exogenous GC elicited a selective deposition of cortisol, not corticosterone, in the egg albumen. The maternal cortisol deposited in eggs alter the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and behavioral responses of the F1 generation. This suggests that maternal hormones can alter the phenotypic plasticity of the offspring and can be used to produce offspring that have better adaptation to the rising temperatures as a result of climate change. Finally, the measure of cortisol in egg albumen can be used as a non-invasive marker of stress.</p>