2026-04-14T08:37:31Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2072/4592962024-11-04T01:12:16Zcom_2072_98col_2072_378192

Assessment of laying-bird welfare following acaricidal treatment of a commercial flock naturally infested with the poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) Temple, Déborah Manteca Vilanova, Xavier Escribano Tortosa, Damián Salas, Marina Mainau, Eva Zschiesche, Eva Petersen, Ivo Dolz, Roser Thomas, Emmanuel The poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, a potential vector of pathogens to animals and humans, causes impaired bird welfare. A study investigated changes in behavioural variables, physiological biomarkers, and health parameters following acaricidal treatment of PRM infestation of laying hens on a commercial farm. Mite traps determined the challenge to 12,700 hens before and after drinking water administration of the acaricide, fluralaner (Exzolt ®, 0.5 mg/kg; Weeks 0 and 1). Weekly daytime direct observations and night-time video recordings monitored bird behaviours from Weeks -6 through +6. Blood samples were collected from randomly-selected birds (Weeks -6, -1, and +6). Following treatment, mite count reductions (>99%) were statistically significant (P < 0.0001), as were night-time reductions in the percent of hens showing activity, preening, head scratching (all P < 0.0001), and head shaking (P = 0.0007). Significant daytime reductions were observed in preening and head scratching (both P < 0.0001), head shaking (P = 0.0389), severe feather pecking (P = 0.0002), and aggressive behaviour (P = 0.0165). Post-treatment, comb wounds were significantly reduced (P = 0.0127), and comb colour was significantly improved (P < 0.0001). Heterophil/lymphocyte ratio was significantly reduced at Weeks 1 and 6 (P = 0.0009 and P < 0.0001, respectively). At Week 6, blood corticosterone (P = 0.0041) and total oxidant status (P < 0.0001) were significantly reduced, and haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin significantly increased (P < 0.0001). Farm production records indicated that those post-treatment improvements were accompanied by significant reductions in weekly mortality rate (P = 0.0169), and significant recovery in mean weekly egg weights (P < 0.0001) and laying rate (P < 0.0001). The improvements in behavioural variables, physiological biomarkers, and health parameters that were observed following the elimination of PRM on a commercial farm indicate that infestations can be a cause of reduced hen welfare. 2020 Article https://ddd.uab.cat/record/253108 urn:10.1371/journal.pone.0241608 urn:oai:ddd.uab.cat:253108 urn:pmcid:PMC7676655 urn:pmc-uid:7676655 urn:pmid:33211741 urn:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7676655 urn:oai:egreta.uab.cat:publications/52639b4a-e33f-44ab-8c6f-715fb4d26db0 http://hdl.handle.net/2072/459296 eng PloS one ; Vol. 15 (november 2020) open access Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf