CVCPW NEWSLETTER November 2013

CVCPW NEWSLETTER November 2013 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Welcome! Welcome to the first newsletter of the Canadian Virtual Centre for Poultry Welfare (PWC). The PWC was established in 2009, through the support of the Canadian Poultry Research Council, the Poultry Industry Council, the University of Guelph and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The goal of the PWC is to foster the exchange of ideas, techniques and experimental approaches in poultry welfare research in Canada. We also aim to transfer new and existing knowledge to the poultry industry to help maintain Canada s global competitiveness in poultry production. Towards that end, we have created a website with links to recent research and researchers and hope to hold the inaugural Poultry Welfare Research Symposium in the spring of 2014. Through this biannual newsletter, we aim to highlight current research, recent publications and graduate student achievements. This inaugural newsletter focuses on the 19 graduate students, from the Maritimes through the Rockies, working in the area of poultry welfare. We welcome your comments, suggestions and submissions to this newsletter and the website! Stephanie Torrey http://poultrywelfarecentre.ca/ 1 Welcome Greeting, Codes of Practice Updates 2 New Graduate Students, Available Scholarships, Research Highlight: Toe Trimming Turkey Toms 3 Research Highlights: Broiler Breeder Feeding Schedules & Competition for Nest Site in Enriched Cages 4 Research Highlights: Injurious Pecking in Turkeys, Beak Trimming in Furnished Cages 5 Scholarships Won by Current Students, Research Highlight: Impact of Daylength on Turkey Production and Welfare 6 Research Highlight: Keel Bone Fracture Rates Revisions to the Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farm Animals- Poultry Some Canadian poultry scientists are even busier than usual this year making recommendations as a part of the scientific committee revising the codes of practice for the two poultry categories of the codes of practice; layers as well as chickens, turkeys, and breeders. The priority welfare issues are species specific, manageable topics that are considered to be important for animal welfare and will particularly benefit from a review of the available scientific literature. For the layers, the priority welfare issues on the list for the update are: feather pecking and cannibalism, bone health, rearing methods, beak trimming, housing types (conventional, furnished, and non-cage systems), and space allowance and group sizes for all housing systems The Scientific Committee consists of Hank Classen, Ruth Newberry, Mike Petrik, Karen Schwean-Lardner, Tina Widowski (Chair), Stephanie Yue Cottee (research writer), and Bernadette Cox (ex-officio). For chickens, turkeys, and breeders, the priority welfare issues for this code revision are air and litter quality, lighting regimens (for broilers and turkeys), stocking density, lameness, methods of euthanasia (including unhatched eggs), aggression (in broiler breeder males), and feather pecking and cannibalism (in broiler breeders and turkeys). The Scientific Committee for these codes consists of, Derek Anderson, Mike Petrik, Karen Schwean-Lardner (Chair), Stephanie Torrey, Tina Widowski, and Brooke Aitkin (research writer). Newsletter 1

Welcoming New Poultry Welfare Students! With another new semester beginning, comes new graduate students studying poultry welfare. The University of Alberta and the University of Guelph both have new students joining their welfare research teams this year. At the University of Alberta, Teryn Gilmet, supervised by Drs Clover Bench and Martin Zuidhof has begun her MSc by thesis, examining precision broiler breeder feeding behaviour. The University of Guelph has seven new students in poultry welfare. Leanne Cooley has finished her MSc and is starting her PhD with Dr. Tina Widowski looking at epigenetics in laying hens. Madison Kozak and Chantal LeBlanc are both beginning their MSc by thesis with Dr. Alexandra Harlander- Matauscheck examining locomotion in laying hens, along with Stephanie LeBlanc who will be doing her MSc by coursework. Jennifer Proulx started her MSc by thesis with Drs. Stephanie Torrey and Ben Wood looking at genetics and welfare in turkeys. Helen Prinold and Elyse Germain are also working on their MSc by coursework under Dr. Tina Widowski with topics still to be determined. Available Scholarships There are many different scholarships available to graduate students studying poultry at the different research institutions. Scholarships and awards vary from travel grants to attend conferences and symposiums to specific awards for students studying a particular area of the poultry industry. There are many poultry specific awards available that can typically be found through the student financial services website of a university. Nationwide, there is an award available called the Canadian Poultry Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship supplement. This award is valued at $7500 per year for one year for a master s student and up to two years for PhD students. It is only available to students if they are awarded an Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS), Postgraduate Scholarship or an Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship. It is also available to Vanier CGS recipients who are Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents of Canada. To be eligible, students must be planning to study at a Canadian university in either agriculture or veterinary medicine, where they would be working on a research project encompassing some aspect of poultry science. The Effects of Toe Trimming in Heavy Turkey Toms J. Fournier, H. Classen University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK The use of toe trimming in the turkey industry has not been fully examined in recent years. There have been changes within the industry since the primary research, such as improved growth rate and the use of a Microwave Claw Processor (MCP) for trimming as opposed to a cauterizing hot-blade, which may impact the results of the procedure. A study examining the procedure in heavy toms was completed using 306 Hybrid converter toms grown to 20 weeks of age, half of which were toe trimmed using the MCP and the other half sham treated. The birds had feed consumption, body weight, mortality, toe length, stance, behaviour, and gait scores monitored throughout the trial with carcass damage assessed at processing. Toe trimming reduced both feed consumption and body weight, while feed efficiency was unaffected. Final weights for non-toe trimmed and toe trimmed toms were 21.70kgs and 21.15kgs, respectively. Mortality was also unaffected; however it was found that toe trimmed toms experienced higher levels of rotated tibia at 3.27% versus 0.65%. Toe length measurements found that trimmed toes were, on average, 90.3% the length of an intact toe, and that variability in length increased with trimming. The procedure was not found to impact stance or gait score. Behaviour at all ages measured demonstrated reduced mobility with trimming, especially at 1, 3, and 5 days with increased inactive resting and reductions observed in walking, running and time at feeder suggesting pain or discomfort due to trimming. The percentage of carcasses which had visible scratching showed no significant difference at 15.56% for the non-trimmed treatment and 13.33% for the trimmed. No significance was found in any other carcass damage category. As no gains were found in carcass quality and both production and welfare suffered negative impacts from toe trimming, the procedure should not recommended to turkey producers when raising heavy toms, based on the findings from this study. This research was supported by contributions from the Canadian Poultry Research Council, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, and Lilydale-Sofina Foods. Newsletter 2

C o m p e t i t i o n f o r a n e s t s i t e i n t w o s i z e s o f f u r n i s h e d c a g e s M. H u n n i f o r d *, S. Torrey *, G. Bedecarrats *, I.Duncan *, T. Widowski * * Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON Nesting behaviour has been shown to be a highly motivated behaviour where laying hens will work to gain access to nest sites, and especially those nest sites that are enclosed. This research explores the use of nest boxes in furnished cage housing systems, specifically focusing on behavioural differences between three treatments: bird density (high, low), cage size (large, small) and rearing environment (conventional, aviary). Changes in behaviour between cage size and density treatments will be compared to determine the availability of and competition for nest boxes during peak lay times. The two main behavioural sampling techniques used to investigate hen behaviour were scan samples to observe group behaviour and also focal bird observations to determine individual behaviour patterns. Thus far, this research has shown that hens in small cages are more aggressive than hens in large cages, especially during the period in the morning when most eggs are being laid. There are also more eggs laid in the nest boxes in small cages than large cages, with no effect of bird density. These preliminary results may demonstrate that the allotted nest space is insufficient, especially in small cages. Other possible explanations for this may be that hens in small cages are more aggressive because nest site options are limited, as is the overall space to search for nest sites in small cages. Conversely, hens in large cages are less aggressive because there is more of a choice between potential nest sites alternative locations may provide the enclosure stimulus normally provided by a nest box and are chosen because the nest box is full. Another explanation may be that there is a group size effect; hens in the larger groups are more tolerant of alternative locations or less willing to compete for space in the nest box. Contributions from Egg Farmers of Canada, OMAFRA, and Clark Ag Systems have made this research possible. Assessing the behaviour and welfare of broiler breeder pullets reared on different feeding schedules B. Lostracco 1, T. Widowski 1, A. Arnone 1,2 and S. Torrey 1,2 1 Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON 2 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON In today s poultry industry, broiler breeders are selected for extremely fast growth rates, which are accompanied by large appetites. Because feeding them to satiety leads to health problems and reproductive challenges, broiler breeders are feed restricted to maintain their health and performance. However, these severe feed restriction practices also lead to chronic hunger, an important animal welfare issue. In North America, feed restriction is often managed through skip-aday (SKIP) feeding regimens, where birds receive twice their daily allocation every other day because of the purported success of these regimens in improving flock uniformity. However, SKIP feeding regimens are banned in some European countries because of the perceived negative welfare implications. It is unknown how broiler breeders adapt behaviourally during the transition from daily to SKIP feeding regimes. The objective of this study was to compare the behaviour of broiler breeder pullets fed on daily, SKIP, or less predictable 5/2 (5 days on feed, 2 days off feed each week) feeding regimes. In this project, 75 Ross708 broiler breeder pullets were penned in groups of 5 from 1 day until 12 weeks of age. Beginning at 3 weeks of age, pullets were fed the same restricted amount of feed per week, but at one of the three feeding frequencies. Video cameras were used to record behaviour during and after feeding bouts two times per week, every other week. Birds were weighed bi-weekly beginning at 3 weeks of age. Feeding motivation was tested using feed intake motivation (FIM) tests at 6 and 12 weeks of age. Birds in the 5/2 treatment had the lightest average body weights and were closest to target from week 6 onward. SKIP birds had significantly greater average feed intake than other treatments after 48 hours of FIM testing at week 12. Frequencies of active and foraging behaviour were high in all treatment groups on both on- and off-feed days, suggesting that each feeding frequency may be ineffective at reducing signs of hunger. Overall, there was little evidence to support one feeding regime over the other in terms of reducing hunger. This research was supported by Canadian Poultry Research Council, Poultry Industry Council, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as well as in kind support from OMAFRA Newsletter 3

The development of injurious pecking in a commercial turkey facility G. Duggan, * T. Widowski,* M. Quinton * and S. Torrey * * Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON Injurious pecking is considered a major economic concern and affects all sectors of commercial poultry production. While extensive research has been performed looking at feather pecking in layer chickens, there is little information regarding feather or head pecking behaviour in domestic turkey flocks, and less still in commercial settings. The objective of this study was to examine the development of injurious feather and head pecking in tom turkeys raised in two different commercial environments with or without an environmental enrichment. At a commercial facility, 49,332 beak-trimmed tom turkeys were placed in one of two growing environments at 4.5 wks of age: environmentally controlled (artificial light and tunnel ventilation) or curtain-sided (natural light and ventilation) barns (5,000-7,500 turkeys/pen; n=8 pens) through 15 wks of age. Two pens from each environment were provided with multicoloured plastic balls as enrichment. Each housing and enrichment combination had two replicate barns. Behaviour, weights, and feather condition were assessed every 3 wk., Mortalities and culls were recorded as they occurred. Turkeys in curtain-sided barns had worse feather scores and more culls and mortalities with severe pecking injuries compared to those in environmentally controlled barns. In both environments, severe and gentle pecking was observed throughout production, and the majority of culls and mortalities had severe pecking injuries. Compared to the curtain-sided barn, the controlled barn reduced, but did not eliminate, injurious pecking and its consequences. This research was supported by Canadian Poultry Research Council, Poultry Industry Council, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and LEL Farms. Managing non-beak trimmed hens in furnished cages K. Morrissey 1,2, T.Widowski, 2 M. Guerin 2, A. Harlander- Matauschek 2, V.Sandilands 1 1 Scotland s Rural College (SRUC), West Mains Road, Edinburgh, UK, 2 Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON Currently, infrared beak trimming in laying hens is a routine procedure used to reduce feather damage and cannibalism associated with hens sharp beaks. This procedure is permitted under Scottish and UK law due to a derogation delaying the ban of all routine beak trimming, however, this is due to end on 1 Jan 2016. Some countries (e.g. Sweden, Switzerland, Finland) have already banned beak trimming with some success. Research at SRUC is now aiming to identify key features that may aid in the successful mangement of non-beak trimmed hens within the UK. We are currently collecting data from a group of laying hens (n = 5120) in a large commercial farm in Scotland, housing close to 500,000 hens. The effects of breed (Lohmann Classic or Hyline Brown), beak treatment (trimmed or not) and environment (extra environmental enrichments or not) are being assessed using mortality, behaviour, feather scoring and enrichment wear and tear data. Extra enrichment includes white polypropylene 8mm rope (40 cm long), pecking mats (crushed wood bits with biodegradeable glue on mesh backing), and beak blunting boards (abrasive paste on plastic backing). Enriched cages contain all three types of enrichment (vertically fixed to cage walls) plus standard furnishings (i.e. nest and scratch areas as well as perches), whereas non-enriched cages only contain standard furnishing. Extra enrichments were incorporated into the laying cages at 16 wks of age, just prior to hens entering cages. Data is being collected every 4 wk, from 19 wk onward. Subsequent projects will test the effects of dietary alterations (i.e. fibre inclusion) in combination with breed and extra enrichments. This research is made possible through contributions from the Scottish Government, SRUC s international engagement fund, as well as OMAFRA. Newsletter 4

Scholarships Won by Current Students Currently, at the University of Guelph, four of the PhD students have been very successful in obtaining scholarships and grants to assist them in the pursuit of their studies. Hillary Dalton who began her PhD at the start of 2012 has been awarded the HQP Scholarship for 3 years, and also won the Dean s scholarship for the current winter semester. Teresa Casey-Trott, who completed her MSc at U of G at the end of the summer semester in 2012, was awarded the HQP scholarship for the 2 nd time for her PhD studies, as she also held this scholarship for her MSc degree. Krysta Morrissey also recently completed her and was awarded the HQP scholarship as she pursues her PhD as a University of Guelph student while completing her research projects at the University of Edinburgh, Ayr Campus in Scotland. The HQP Scholarship stands for Highly Qualified Personnel and HQP scholarships are awarded to support future generations of researchers, policy-makers and innovators in agri-food. The program provides $5 million over five years for graduate scholarships in OMAFRA-U of G research theme and priority areas. Michelle Hunniford who recently transferred from her MSc program into a PhD during the summer semester of 2013 has obtained multiple grants and scholarships. In order to attend the 2012 ISAE regional conference in Banff, Michelle received the Robb Graduate Travel Grant. She also received the British Poultry Science travel grant along with the GGSF Travel scholarship from the University of Guelph to attend and present her work at the 2013 European Symposium on Poultry Welfare in Uppsala, Sweden. Michelle was awarded various other scholarships during her MSc degree such as the Dean s Scholarship, Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and technology, Thomas R. Graham Scholarship, and the Robert J. Hall Memorial Poultry Scholarship. Impact of Graded Levels of Day length on Turkey Production and Welfare C. Vermette, H. Classen University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK The first of two planned 18 week studies was completed to study the impact of graded levels of day length. Male and female turkeys were exposed to one of four light(l)-dark(d) cycles: 14L:10D(14L), 17L:7D(17L), 20L:4D(20L) and 23L:1D(23L). The trial consisted of two replications per lighting program. Nicholas turkeys (85 x 700) were randomly allocated to eight rooms, with six pens (3 male and 3 female) per room. A total of 1200 poults (720 hens and 480 toms) were placed with a targeted final stocking density of 35 kg/m 2 at 18 weeks. Data were collected for both production and welfare, which included body weight, feed consumption, feed efficiency, mortality, mobility (gait scoring, footpad scoring, breast blisters and buttons), ocular health (eye weight, eye dimensions and intraocular pressure), behavioural observations, melatonin and blood glucose. Body weight and feed consumption at 3 weeks were significantly higher for birds exposed to 17L, 20L and 23L in comparison to 14L, which can be explained due to increased light hours and thus increased access to feed. But the opposite is observed at 15 and 18 weeks with 23L birds weighing the least and 14L birds the most. These results may be related to birds adapting to lighting programs and/or decreased mobility. There was a significant interaction between light and gender at 18 weeks of age on body weight, with males having a more pronounced positive effect with darkness inclusion. Feed to gain when mortality was corrected was significantly higher for birds raised under 23L in comparison to other treatments, suggesting a better feed efficiency, but this may be due to decreased activity. Although not significant, overall mortality percentage was higher for 23L birds. Mobility was assessed using the Garner et al. 2002 gait scoring technique with slight modifications for turkeys. The percentage of birds falling into a score of 4 (severe impairment of function, but still capable of walking) at 11 weeks was significantly higher for 17L, 20L and 23L in comparison to 14L, which exhibited none. Higher gait scores exhibited a significant positive linear relationship with increased darkness at 17 weeks. The average gait score was significantly higher for 23L treatment at 11 weeks and was more pronounced in toms. Footpad scoring was assessed using the Hocking et al. 2008 technique, and no differences were found at either 11 or 17 weeks of age. The percentage of breast blisters and buttons displayed a significantly positive linear relationship at 11 weeks with darkness inclusion. Ocular dimensions (dorso-ventral and media-lateral diameters) were significantly larger for 23L birds compared to 14L, 17L and 20L at 12 and 18 weeks. Intraocular pressures (IOP) were taken using a Tonovet Tonometer and illustrated a positive linear relationship at 9, 12, 15 and 18 weeks with darkness inclusion. In conclusion, the first trial illustrates that increased hours of darkness are beneficial to turkey productivity and welfare. This research was made possible due to contributions from Canadian Poultry Research Council, NSERC, Aviagen, Charison s Hatchery, and Lilydale- Sofina Foods. Newsletter 5

Keel bone fracture rates and feather condition in conventional and cage free housing systems in Ontario M. Petrik, M. Guerin, T. Widowski Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON Keel bone fractures are a common occurrence in both conventional cages and non-cage housing systems, although for different reasons. Hens housed in conventional cages have very weak bones which is a symptom of not being able to perform weight bearing activities leading to osteoporosis, whereas hens in cage-free systems have stronger bones, but more opportunity to injure them due to the increased space and collisions with the potential furnishings their housing system includes (such as perches & nest boxes). Research in the EU has found keel bone fracture rates at the end of lay to be between 45%-97% in cage-free systems and 18% in conventional cages. The study reported here aimed to evaluate the prevalence of fractures across the two systems in Ontario. Canadian Virtual Centre for Poultry Welfare Steering Committee: Chair of Committee: Helen Anne Hudson (Burnbrae Farms, PIC representative) Bruce Roberts (Executive Director, CPRC) Tim Nelson (Executive Director, LRIC) Gabriel Piette (Science Director, AAFC) Andy Robinson (Department Chair, Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph) Stephanie Torrey (Research Scientist, AAFC) Tina Widowski (Professor, Chair in Animal Welfare, University of Guelph) Newsletter Editor: Ashleigh Waz (arnonea@uoguelph.ca) For more information: http://poultrywelfarecentre.ca/ First, a palpation technique used to detect fractures that was initially proposed by researchers at Bristol University in the UK was validated to ensure there was agreement on scores amongst multiple observers. Each observer scored the same 100 birds and then each bird was euthanized and dissected in order to confirm the correct keel score. The palpation technique was shown to be a reliable method of determining keel scores on live birds. Data was then collected from 20 farms using various strains of brown hens across Ontario, 10 with conventional cages and 10 with free-run systems. At each farm 50 randomly selected hens were palpated for keel fractures as well as weighed and feather scored. This was repeated in each barn four times to see how or if it changed during the lay cycle. Preliminary results indicate that the feather scores did not differ between the two housing systems, and the keel fracture rates in Ontario are very similar to the values reported by the EU. This research was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Egg Famers of Canada. Guelph Poultry Welfare Research Group 2012 Back Row: Michelle Hunniford, Colleen Roehrig, Stephanie Bourgon, Teresa Casey-Trott, Pollyanna Galdamez, Brittany Lostracco, Ashleigh Waz, Eugenia Herwig, Hillary Dalton, Leanne Cooley, Mike Petrik Front Row: Sophie Tayler, Stephanie Torrey, Tina Widowski, Alexandra Harlander-Matauschek, Linda Caston Newsletter 6