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Traditional Transportation Methods and Their Influence on Local Chicken Welfare, Behavior, and Blood Profiles: A Policy Considerations
by
, , , , , , and
Saber Y. Adam
1,2,
Abdelkareem A. Ahmed
2,
Mohammed H. Jammaa
3,
Mohammed Rashid AL Makhmari
3,
Hosameldeen Mohamed Husien
1,4,*
,
Mohamed Osman Abdalrahem Essa
4,
Hamada Elwan
5
,
Mohamed Shehab-El-Deen
6,
Shaaban S. Elnesr
7
,
Ahmed A. Saleh
1,8 and
Demin Cai
1,* 1
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
2
Biomedical Research Institute, Darfur University College, Nyala 155, Sudan
3
College of Law and Sharia, University of Nyala, Nyala 155, Sudan
4
College of Veterinary Medicine, Albutana University, Rufaa 22217, Sudan
5
Animal and Poultry Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, El-Minya 61519, Egypt
6
Department of Animal and Poultry Production, College of Agriculture and Food, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, AL-Qassim, Saudi Arabia
7
Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt
8
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vet. Sci. 2025, 12(9), 798; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12090798 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 4 August 2025
/
Revised: 21 August 2025
/
Accepted: 22 August 2025
/
Published: 23 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Farm Animal Health and Welfare Disorders: Recent Trends and Strategies of Prevention and Treatment)
Simple Summary
This study evaluated farmers’ perceptions of chicken welfare, as well as the effects of transportation, on Sudanese native chickens. The majority of farmers were found to be ignorant about animal rights and welfare. In addition to displaying decreased pecking behavior, particularly on the first day, transported chickens showed considerably longer tonic immobility, which suggests increased stress. In addition to higher oxidative stress markers and inflammatory cytokines, blood examinations of transported chickens showed raised levels of glucose, total white blood cells, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils, hemoglobin, MCHC, and platelets. On the other hand, oxidative stress and lack of energy were indicated by lower levels of ATP and antioxidant enzymes. Generally, traditional transportation practices negatively affected chicken welfare, correlating with farmers’ lack of awareness and leading to physiological stress responses.
Abstract
Indigenous chickens are raised in various rural areas in large quantities throughout Sudan. They must be transported over various distances to centralized slaughterhouses or for other purposes. In this study, we examined indigenous chicken farmers’ perceptions of chicken welfare during transportation. A total of 160 indigenous chickens (80 control + 80 transported with their owners) participated in this study. Our findings revealed that 69% and 88% of the farmers indicated that they were not knowledgeable about animal rights and animal welfare, respectively. The majority of the farmers (86%) reported that they were unaware of animal protection laws. Furthermore, the transported chickens showed a significantly long tonic immobility duration (p < 0.05) compared to the control chickens. Moreover, low pecking behavior was significant (p < 0.05) in transported chickens compared to control, particularly on day one of the experiment. In addition, the mean values of glucose, TWBCs, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils, H/L ratio, Hb, MCHC, and PLT were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in transported chickens compared to the controls. In addition, TNF-a, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-17, as well as ROS, MDA, cortisol, glucose, and total cholesterol were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in transportation chickens compared to control, while CAT, GSH, ATP, and SOD were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in transportation chickens compared to control. We conclude that the traditional transportation of indigenous Sudanese chickens affected their welfare, and this was associated with farmers’ low perceptions of chicken welfare, and stress-induced blood profile changes.
Keywords:
animal welfare; chicken transportation; farmers; oxidative stress
