Publikationsdatenbank

Comparison of dual-purpose chicken and broilers at market body weight: a morphometric pilot study revealing anatomical differences (2016)

Art

Poster

Autoren

Al Masri, Salah (WE 1)

Alshamy, Z. (WE 1)

Hünigen, Hana (WE 1)

Zentek, Jürgen (WE 4)

Hafez, Hafez Mohamed (WE 15)

Plendl, Johanna (WE 1)

Kongress

31st Conference of the European Association of Veterinary Anatomists

Wien, 27. – 30.07.2016

Quelle

Anatomia, histologia, embryologia; 45(Suppl. 1) — S. 6–7

ISSN: 0340-2096

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ahe.12236/epdf

DOI: 10.1111/ahe.12236

Kontakt

Institut für Veterinär-Anatomie

Koserstr. 20
14195 Berlin
+49 30 838 53555
anatomie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Introduction: In Germany about 40 million one-day male chicks of laying hens are killed every year. An alternative to culling of males is the use of dual-purpose chicken. Objective of this study was to compare anatomical characteristics of dual-purpose chicken (Lohmann Dual, LD) with broiler chicken (Ross 308) under identical husbandry conditions. Materials and Methods: A total of 6 birds of each breed of comparable weight at different ages (Ross = 35 days; 1651.67  204 g body weight (BW) and LD = 63 days; 1491.17  73 g BW) were culled. Relative length of intestine, femur, and tibiotarsus, intestinal and bone density (g*cm 1) were calculated. Moreover, normalized mass [organ (g)/ BW (g)*100] of intestine, stomach complex (proventriculus, isthmus, and gizzard), liver, spleen, pancreas, Fabricius bursa, and heart were determined. Both data sets were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results: Normalized heart and pancreas mass and relative length of the entire intestine were significantly smaller in LD (P < 0.05) than in Ross 308. In contrast, results for normalized stomach complex, spleen, femur and tibiotarsus mass and also relative bone length were significantly larger in LD than in Ross 308. However, differences in bone and intestinal density were not significant.
Conclusion: Smaller intestines in LD birds suggest a smaller area for nutrient digestion and absorption than in Ross 308. However, a larger stomach complex in LD than in Ross 308 corresponds to an increased processing of food, which could influence intestinal peristaltic and morphology. The similar bone density of both breeds suggests an equivalent mechanical strength and quality of bones at these ages. Differences between the groups could also be due to age difference and reflect a faster growth rate of the broiler birds. Thus, further investigations are required to establish morphology and growth pattern of the organs in LD birds.