Cargando…

Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens

Animal welfare concerns in laying-hen production facilities have necessitated research on alternative strategies for improving egg production and hen health. At present, most laying-hen facilities in China use the fasting method, but with international emphasis on animal welfare, scholars have begun...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lei, Meng, Shi, Lei, Huang, Chenxuan, Yang, Yawei, Zhang, Bo, Zhang, Jianshe, Chen, Yifan, Wang, Dehe, Hao, Erying, Xuan, Fengling, Chen, Hui
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10011624/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36925605
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1100152
_version_ 1784906436912873472
author Lei, Meng
Shi, Lei
Huang, Chenxuan
Yang, Yawei
Zhang, Bo
Zhang, Jianshe
Chen, Yifan
Wang, Dehe
Hao, Erying
Xuan, Fengling
Chen, Hui
author_facet Lei, Meng
Shi, Lei
Huang, Chenxuan
Yang, Yawei
Zhang, Bo
Zhang, Jianshe
Chen, Yifan
Wang, Dehe
Hao, Erying
Xuan, Fengling
Chen, Hui
author_sort Lei, Meng
collection PubMed
description Animal welfare concerns in laying-hen production facilities have necessitated research on alternative strategies for improving egg production and hen health. At present, most laying-hen facilities in China use the fasting method, but with international emphasis on animal welfare, scholars have begun to find ways to improve production efficiency while ensuring animal welfare standards are adhered to. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of non-fasting molting on production performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens. A total of 180 healthy 90-week-old Dawu Jinfeng laying hens with similar body weights and laying rates (76 ± 2%) were randomly divided into three groups, with five replicates per group and 12 hens per replicate. The hens in the experimental group (NF) were molted using the non-fasting method, the negative control group (C) was not treated with centralized molting, and the positive control group (F) was molted using the fasting method. The results showed that: (1) During the molting period, the laying rate in the NF group (10.58%) decreased and was significantly lower than that in the other two groups (P < 0.05). During the secondary laying peak period, the laying rate in the NF group was highest (89.71%); significantly higher than that in the C group (P < 0.05). (2) During the molting period, compared to the C group, the NF group showed a significant decrease and increase in the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity, respectively (P < 0.05). During the secondary laying peak period, the T-SOD activity of the NF group was significantly lower than that of the C group (P < 0.05). (3) During the molting period, the villus height (VH) and the ratios of VH to crypt depth (V/C) of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum in the NF group were significantly lower than those in the C group (P < 0.05). At the secondary laying peak period, the jejunum V/C was significantly higher than that in the C group (P < 0.05), whereas in the duodenum and ileum it increased but not significantly (P > 0.05). (4) During the molting period, serum glutathione transaminase (AST) and glutathione alanine transaminase (ALT) activities were significantly higher (P < 0.05), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) content and liver weight were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the non-fasted and fasted groups. However, there was a low degree of liver injury (cell boundary still visible) in the NF group. At the secondary laying peak period, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the indices among the three groups and the liver returned to normal. In summary, non-fasting molting can improve the production performance of laying hens in the later stages, ensure the welfare and health of animals, and provide a theoretical basis for the efficient production of laying hens.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10011624
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-100116242023-03-15 Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens Lei, Meng Shi, Lei Huang, Chenxuan Yang, Yawei Zhang, Bo Zhang, Jianshe Chen, Yifan Wang, Dehe Hao, Erying Xuan, Fengling Chen, Hui Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Animal welfare concerns in laying-hen production facilities have necessitated research on alternative strategies for improving egg production and hen health. At present, most laying-hen facilities in China use the fasting method, but with international emphasis on animal welfare, scholars have begun to find ways to improve production efficiency while ensuring animal welfare standards are adhered to. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of non-fasting molting on production performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens. A total of 180 healthy 90-week-old Dawu Jinfeng laying hens with similar body weights and laying rates (76 ± 2%) were randomly divided into three groups, with five replicates per group and 12 hens per replicate. The hens in the experimental group (NF) were molted using the non-fasting method, the negative control group (C) was not treated with centralized molting, and the positive control group (F) was molted using the fasting method. The results showed that: (1) During the molting period, the laying rate in the NF group (10.58%) decreased and was significantly lower than that in the other two groups (P < 0.05). During the secondary laying peak period, the laying rate in the NF group was highest (89.71%); significantly higher than that in the C group (P < 0.05). (2) During the molting period, compared to the C group, the NF group showed a significant decrease and increase in the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity, respectively (P < 0.05). During the secondary laying peak period, the T-SOD activity of the NF group was significantly lower than that of the C group (P < 0.05). (3) During the molting period, the villus height (VH) and the ratios of VH to crypt depth (V/C) of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum in the NF group were significantly lower than those in the C group (P < 0.05). At the secondary laying peak period, the jejunum V/C was significantly higher than that in the C group (P < 0.05), whereas in the duodenum and ileum it increased but not significantly (P > 0.05). (4) During the molting period, serum glutathione transaminase (AST) and glutathione alanine transaminase (ALT) activities were significantly higher (P < 0.05), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) content and liver weight were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the non-fasted and fasted groups. However, there was a low degree of liver injury (cell boundary still visible) in the NF group. At the secondary laying peak period, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the indices among the three groups and the liver returned to normal. In summary, non-fasting molting can improve the production performance of laying hens in the later stages, ensure the welfare and health of animals, and provide a theoretical basis for the efficient production of laying hens. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-02-28 /pmc/articles/PMC10011624/ /pubmed/36925605 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1100152 Text en Copyright © 2023 Lei, Shi, Huang, Yang, Zhang, Zhang, Chen, Wang, Hao, Xuan and Chen. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Lei, Meng
Shi, Lei
Huang, Chenxuan
Yang, Yawei
Zhang, Bo
Zhang, Jianshe
Chen, Yifan
Wang, Dehe
Hao, Erying
Xuan, Fengling
Chen, Hui
Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
title Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
title_full Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
title_fullStr Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
title_full_unstemmed Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
title_short Effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
title_sort effects of non-fasting molting on performance, oxidative stress, intestinal morphology, and liver health of laying hens
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10011624/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36925605
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1100152
work_keys_str_mv AT leimeng effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT shilei effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT huangchenxuan effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT yangyawei effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT zhangbo effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT zhangjianshe effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT chenyifan effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT wangdehe effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT haoerying effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT xuanfengling effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens
AT chenhui effectsofnonfastingmoltingonperformanceoxidativestressintestinalmorphologyandliverhealthoflayinghens