152 Results Found

Animal and food sources are seen as a potential transmission pathway of multi-drug resistance (MDR) micro-organisms to humans. Escherichia. coli is frequently used as an indicator of fecal contamination in the food industry and known as a reservoir o...

Since the early 2000s, the poultry industry in our nation has steadily progressed towards a larger scale and increased intensification. However, the growing demand for animal-based protein, combined with significant increases in feed ingredient costs...

The food chain acts as an entry point for antibiotic resistance to reach humans and environment. Because of the importance of the poultry sector, we investigated the prevalence and evolution of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli isolates from...

The sustainability of agroecological systems, biodiversity protection, animal welfare, and consumer demand for higher quality products from alternative and extensive farming methods have reinforced interest in local breeds that are well adapted to lo...

Microbial safety is an important factor contributing to the egg quality. During egg acquisition, there is significant risk of contamination of the eggshell surface with microscopic fungi. Mycelial hyphae may grow on the eggshell surface and penetrate...

Damaging behaviors, like feather pecking (FP), have large economic and welfare consequences in the commercial laying hen industry. Selective breeding can be used to obtain animals that are less likely to perform damaging behavior on their pen-mates....

This study investigated the welfare of laying hens in different non-caged housing systems, namely a deep-litter barn system (BS), a free-range system (FRS) and an organic system (OS). The study was conducted on 270 hens of a native breed Green-legged...

Local chicken breeds are threatened with extinction. They must be preserved in order to maintain genetic diversity. The best strategy to preserve these breeds is to understand how they can be made interesting in production systems. With this strategy...

The conservation of threatened local livestock genetic resources involves characterising them to implement conservation strategies. The Utrerana is a Mediterranean-type chicken breed, included in the Official Catalogue of Livestock Breeds of Spain an...

According to research, egg quality and lysozyme content are influenced by a number of factors, which are mostly known in the case of commercial hybrids, while in breeds included in genetic resources conservation programmes, new research results in th...

The aim of this study was to compare yield performance (from 39 to 50 weeks of age) and egg physical characteristics (at 50 weeks of age) of eight autochthonous chicken breeds of the Veneto region (Italy). Four white eggshell breeds, namely Padovana...

With the aim to characterise the situation of the subsector, 25 poultry farms of the endangered native Utrerana chicken egg-laying-oriented breed (Gallus gallus Linnaeus, 1758) were surveyed in Andalusia (southern Spain) from 2021 to 2023 to investig...

The month of hatching and the rearing management, especially temperature and photoperiod, are important factors for pullets and hens reared outdoors. The yield performance and egg quality of dual-purpose chicken breeds from the Veneto region (Italy),...

The study covered a total of 810 hens in 3 groups (housing systems) of 270 hens each. The plumage condition of laying hens raised in various types of alternative housing systems, i.e., in deep litter (B), free-range (FR), and organic systems (O), was...

Promotion of the conservation and preservation of local breed’s biodiversity combined with the concept of sustainable agriculture and development of economically marginal areas are important policies to implement in modern society. The biometric char...

The aim of the study was to assess the behaviour of chicks of three different breeds of laying hens differing in the activity, emotional reactivity, and environmental preferences. Another objective was to answer the question whether the behavioural d...

The aims of the present study were to characterize egg composition and develop VIS-Near-infrared spectroscopy (VIS-NIR) models for its predictions in Italian local chicken breeds, namely Padovana Camosciata, Padovana Dorata, Polverara Bianca, Polvera...

This review explores sexual aggression in broiler breeder males, aiming to synthesize existing scientific evidence regarding its causes, behavioral manifestations, and consequences, while addressing the genetic, neuroendocrine, and environmental mech...

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a critical public health challenge requiring a coordinated One Health approach. Escherichia coli is a key indicator of AMR and fecal contamination, as well as a zoonotic pathogen transmissible from animals to humans,...

Eggs are a nutritious food, offering a balanced source of essential amino and fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins. Genetic and diet factors can modify hen egg traits. Thus, the effects of breed and feed on egg quality using two laying hens, Mos (auto...

To investigate the persistence risk of Campylobacter spp. in poultry farms, and to study the virulence and antimicrobial resistance characteristics in the recovered strains, we collected 362 samples from breeding hen flocks, before and after disinfec...

The presence of keel bone fractures (KBF) in laying hens has been documented and discussed by several authors, nevertheless the causative factors behind KBF remain uncertain. High prevalence of KBF have been reported in all commercial egg production...

Raptors usually show use for a particular habitat to settle during the breeding period. In this study, we aimed to study the habitat use of the breeding populations of Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) in Spain, which represents the southern distribution...

This study aimed to develop a tool to perform the morphological characterization of Sureña and Utrerana breeds, two endangered autochthonous breeds ascribed to the Mediterranean trunk of Spanish autochthonous hens and their varieties (n = 608; 473 fe...

One of the most important factors that determine feed utilization by chickens is the feed form. Although it is generally believed that pellet diets have a positive effect on chicken growth, there are some studies that have indicated no difference bet...

The selection and diffusion in the poultry sector of hybrid breeds able to produce higher amount of meat and eggs, led over time to the erosion of genetic resources. One of the strategies that can be applied in order to stem such phenomenon, concerns...

Despite Ecuador having a wide biodiversity of zootechnical species, characterization studies of these genetic resources are scarce. The objective of this research was to perform the biometric characterization of the Creole hen population through 14 q...

The study aimed to compare the physical-chemical attributes of table eggs from three laying hen breeds housed in the cage and cage-free conditions and to characterize the morphological characteristics of the eggshell interior. A morphological and ele...

The focus of this study was to compare the yolk flavor of eggs from laying hens of Chinese indigenous and commercial, based on detection of volatile compounds, fatty acids, and texture characteristics determination, using sensory evaluation, artifici...

Lactobacillus strains with fine probiotic properties are continuously needed in the laying hen industry to improve the animals’ gut health and production performance. In this study, we isolated 57 Lactobacillus strains from the gut microbiota o...

Sex determination is key to designing endangered poultry population conservation and breeding programs when sex distribution departs from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. A total of 112 Utrerana chickens (28 per variety, partridge, black, white, and...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the eggshell color parameters and its mineral composition as well as the internal quality of eggs derived from various breeds of hens, varied by eggshell color: seledine from Araucana, bro...

Tannins have shown numerous biological activities and are very appreciated in food animal production, especially for their antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antivirus effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluat...

In the European Union (EU), targets are being set for the reduction of certain zoonotic Salmonella serovars in different animal populations, including poultry populations, within the framework of Regulation (EC) No. 2160/2003 on the control of zoonos...

Crop–livestock integration fosters a holistic view of the agricultural system, which is nowadays particularly relevant due to the rising environmental concerns. Laying hens can contribute to improvement of soil chemical properties, but their effects...

Commercial laying hens are prone to injurious pecking (IP), a common multifactorial problem. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design assessed the effects of breed (Lohmann Brown Classic (L) or Hyline Brown (H)), beak treatment (infra-red treated (T) or not (NT)...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of two Italian slow-growing poultry breeds (namely, Bionda Piemontese, BP, and Bianca di Saluzzo, BS) to cope with a stressful event, such as collective grouping, using a multifactorial appr...

The egg production of laying hens is crucial to breeding enterprises in the laying hen breeding industry. However, there is currently no systematic or accurate method to identify low-egg-production-laying hens in commercial farms, and the majority of...

Introduction. The benefits or risks of egg consumption have been a challenge for researchers in identifying the most effective methods for evaluating micronutrients and, implicitly, the nutritional properties of eggs. The purpose of this work was to...

Both genetic background and maternal care can have a strong influence on cognitive and emotional development. To investigate these effects and their possible interaction, White Leghorn (LH) and Brown Nick (BN) chicks, two hybrid lines of layer hen co...

The feeding behavior of laying hens is closely related to their health and welfare status. In large-scale breeding farms, monitoring the feeding behavior of hens can effectively improve production management. However, manual monitoring is not only ti...

Biodiversity concerns and the sustainability of agroecological systems, together with consumer demand for higher quality products from alternative and extensive farming methods, have reinforced interest in local breeds that are well adapted to low-in...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of genotype on the productivity and egg quality of three hen strains included in the genetic resource protection program in Poland. The study encompassed populations of laying hens, i.e., Rhode Island R...

We tested the novel cross of the old local breed Deutsches Lachshuhn and the layer breed White Rock, as well as purebred Deutsches Lachshuhn, for their suitability as dual-purpose chickens under 100% organic husbandry conditions, and compared their p...

The present study was conducted on three commercial laying breeder strains to evaluate differences of sensory qualities, including texture, smell, and taste parameters. A total of 140 eggs for each breed were acquired from Beinong No.2 (B) laying hen...

Human salmonellosis incidence is increasing in the European Union (EU). Salmonellaenterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteriditis, Salmonellaenterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (including its monophasic variant) and Salmonellaenterica subsp. en...

In poultry production, the intensive use of high-performing hybrid animals led to loss of genetic variability and a consequent lower response to climatic change and disease. Poultry biodiversity is seriously threatened, and its safeguard is a strong...

This study aimed to develop a tool to validate multivariety breed egg quality classification depending on quality-related internal and external traits using a discriminant canonical analysis approach. A flock of 60 Utrerana hens (Franciscan, White, B...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a well-known pathogen with a serious impact on human and veterinary public health. To determine antibiotic resistance of MRSA in poultry, 4248 nasal swabs were collected from 840 poultry farms in...

Intense selective breeding of chickens has resulted in suboptimal egg production in broiler breeder hens. This reproductive phenotype is exacerbated by ad libitum feeding, which leads to excessive and disorganized follicular growth. One strategy used...