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Relationship of Mouth Lesions to Eggshell Quality of Commercial Laying Hens
RELATIONSHIP OF MOUTH LESIONS TO EGGSHELL QUALITY OF COMMERCIAL LAMNG HENS
~
Primary Audience: Flock Supervisors, Production Managers
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM The presence of oral lesions in poultry is associated with dietary mycotoxins [l,2, 31. Feeding T-2 toxin to layers decreases feed consumption, lowers egg production, and decreases eggshell thickness [2]. Because of the relationship between oral lesions, mycotoxins, and egg production and quality, the presence of oral lesions might indicate that egg quality has been compromised. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed
Quality control programs are recommended to monitor many aspects of feed quality,including mycotoxin levels. However, flock supervisors and (in some cases) production managers may have little control over such programs. In addition, regular analyses of feed for all possible mycotoxins are conducted rarely. Feed samples can be taken routinely and saved for future analysis, but the commit-
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
JESSE L. GRIMES' PouItv Science Department 131 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 Phone: (803) 6564029 FAX: (803) 656-1033 WILLIAM C. BRIDGES, JR. Depattment of Qverimental Statistics F-I48 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson Universiy, Clemson, SC 29634
Field Report 252
GRIMES and BRIDGES ment of producers to such programs is highly variable. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between oral lesion incidence and eggshell quality in layers under field conditions.
~MATER~ALs AND METHODS
FREQUENCY
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION LESION DISTRIBUTION The number of lesions per bird is presented in a frequency distribution in Figure 1. Most of the birds (1801 of 3OOO) had no lesions. Of the birds which had lesions, 73% (880 of 1199) had only 1 lesion. Very few birds had more than 2 lesions; 12birds with 3 lesions and 2 birds with 4 lesions were observed. The number of lesions per bird varied significantly with respect to age and strain (Table 1). A greater number of young birds displayed no lesions (1012) compared to the number of old birds with no lesions (789). Conversely, a greater number of old birds displayed 1 or 2 lesions (512, 193) compared to the number os young birds with 1or 2 lesions (368,112). Birdswithin the W-36 strain tended to have more individualswith 1or more lesions compared to birds within the W-77 strain. Only 2 birds out of 3OOO had 4 lesions. Both of these individuals were in the young age level, 1 of each strain. There was no effect of management level on the distribution of lesions.
W
AGE
N
Old
Young
W36
w77
0
789
1012
831
970
1
512
368
511
369
2
I
193
3
6
4
0
Chi Square Probability
I .OOO1
112
I
147
6
10
2
1
I
158
2 1
.OOO1
I
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
Hy-Line hens (strains W-36 and W-77) on eight contract layer farms in a commercial egg company were utilized for this study. The hens were categorized by age, (young: 40 to 48 weeks, vs old 62 to 70 weeks) and management (good vs poor). The average age for young birds was 44 weeks while the average age for old birds was 66 weeks. Management practices that normally impact bird performance were assessed by company service personnel and used to divide the farms into the two management levels. Therefore, each farm represented one strain x age x management category. Three different cage sizes were encountered during this study (12" x 20", 1 9 x 19.5", and 24" x 20'') containing 5,7, and 10 birds per cage, respectively. Five hens per cage regardless of cage size were examined for body weight and mouth lesion incidence. Five successive cages comprised one cage group (25 hens per group). Five different groups were examined per farm on three dates during a two week period. Date had no effect on parameters measured. Therefore, dates were combined to provide 15 replications within each farm, resulting in a 2 x 2 x 2 (strain x age x management) experimental design. Eggs were collected from the cage groups described above between 8:OO and 1O:OO a.m., before the collection systems were started. Eggs were cleared from each cage group the day before collection. Each hen was consid-
ered an observation in terms of body weight and mouth lesion incidence. Each group was considered an observation in terms of egg and shell quality parameters. Eggs were measured and evaluated for egg weight, shell weight, percent shell, and shell surface density. Shell surface density (SD) was estimated [4] using egg weight and shell surface area. Shell surface area was estimated using the method of Mueller and Scott [5]. Relationships among lesion counts and strain, age, and management were analyzed using the chi-square test. Relationships among mouth lesion incidence and selected parameters were analyzed using correlation and regression. Significance level was set at P105.
MOUTH LESIONS IN LAYERS
253
1801 n
2R
U
w
0
2
w
K pe
0
30 20
305
10
12
2
0
1
2
4
3
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 1. Frequency distribution of mouth lesions in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens (N=3000)
sented in Table 3. There was no correlation of
LESION INCIDENCE GENERAL The relationship of LI to selected parameters without regard to strain, age, or management are presented in Table 2. No significant relationship between LI and BW, % shell, or SD existed. However, egg weight and shell weight were each correlated negativelywith LI and had significant negative slopes when regressed on LI. Thus, it appears that the incidence of lesions in layers can be used to predict potential problems with egg quality.
LI with egg weight by strain or by good management. However, for both age groups and for poor management, LI and egg weight were correlated negatively. There was a negative regression slope for egg weight by strain, age, and management. However, for age only, there was a significant LI-age interaction, implying that the LI-egg weight relationship was not consistent for the two age groups. A steeper negative slope resulted when egg weight was regressed on LI €or young birds than when the same was done for old birds (Figure 2). This indicates that young birds are more affected by the presence of mycotoxins in feed (when assessed by LI) than are old birds.
LESION INCIDENCE IN RELATION TO EGG WEIGHT The relationship between LI and egg weight by strain, age, and management is pre-
REGRESSION
CORRELATION
I
I% Shell
I I
NS
I I
I
NS
I
r
NS
I
NS
I I
NS
I
NS
I
Interceot
SloDe
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
3 0 0
880
Field Report GRIMES and BRIDGES
254
CORRELATION Strain:
Age:
Slope
Interaction
W77
NS
8
NS
W36
NS
I
Young
Management:
I
-.a
Old
-59
Good
NS
Poor
-51
I NS
8
strain, age, and management. However, an interaction existed for age only. A steeper slope was again observed for hens in the young level of age versus hens in the old level of age when shell weight was regressed on LI by age (Figure 3). This relationship is expected: egg weight and shell weight are related directly; because egg weight is related to LI, it makes sense that shell weight is related in the same manner within the same category of birds.
YOUNG
- 701
I
8
OLD
m
U
0
(3
0
+
60
+
(3 (3
0.35
I
1
I
I
I
I
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 2. The relationship of lesion incidence to egg weight by age in a group of SCWL laying hens.
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
LESION INCIDENCE IN RELATION TO SHELL WEIGHT The results for shell weight by strain, age, and management were similar to those obtained for egg weight and are presented in Table 4. Shell weight and LI were negatively correlated for both age groups, poor management, and strain W-77. As observed for egg weight, a significant negative slope resulted when shell weight was regressed on LI by
+
REGRESSION
r
JAPR MOUTH LESIONS IN LAYERS
255
+
6.25
-
6.00
-
Young
0
Old
+
5.75
5.25 0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.65
0.60
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 3. The relationship of lesion incidence to egg shell weight by age in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens.
though there was no significant regression slope for management, there was a significant interaction within management: SD of eggs produced by birds in the good management category was not affect by LI, while SD of eggs produced by birds in the poor management category decreased as LI increased (Figure 4).
LESION INCIDENCE IN RELATION TO SHELL SURFACE DENSITY The effects of LI on SD are presented in Table 5. As stated previously, there were no overall effects of LI on SD. However, there was a significant negative correlation of LI with SD for poor management. Also, even
TABLE 4. Relationship of mouth lesion incidence by strain, age, and management on shell weight in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens. (Values given for r and regression slopes are significant at P < .05. The symbol under interaction indicatesthat the slopes were different with the two age levels.)
I Strain:
Age:
Management:
CORRELATION
REGRESSION
r
Slope
Interaction
Iwn
-.54
8
NS
W36
NS
Young
-.47
.
Old
-52
Good
NS
Poor
-.63
8
NS
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
5.50
Field Report GRIMES and BRIDGES
256
TABLE5 The relationship between lesion incidence and shell surface density by management practice in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens.
I Strain:
Age:
Management:
79
78
Slope
Interaction
wn
NS
NS
NS
W36
NS NS
NS
NS
Old
NS
Good
NS
NS
Poor
Good
E
0
77
76 75
r: I
74' 0.35
1
I
I
I
I
I
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
to
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 4. Relationship between lesion incidence and shell surface density by management level in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens.
CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS 1. Egg weight and shell weight decreased as mouth lesion incidence increased in a group of commercial layers. This decrease was affected by age, with a greater decrease in egg weight and shell weight for young hens. 2. Shell surface density decreased as mouth lesions increased for poor management only. 3. There was no relationship between lesion incidence and BW or % shell. 4. Mouth lesions in layers can be utilized as a predictor of hen performance before noticeable production problems occur: mouth lesions were observed during this study without any other noticeable bird health or production indicators. Because lesion incidence can be an indicator of the presence of mycotoxins in feed, and because lesion incidence is related to egg weight and shell weight in young layers, it is advised that flock supervisorsmonitor birds for mouth lesions. Monitoring birds for mouth lesions is a step that can be incorporated easily into a bird health and feed quality control program.
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
+
r
Young
I
REGRESSION
CORRELATION
REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Wyatt, RD., R A Weeks, P.B. IIamillon, and H.R Burmeistcr, 1972. Severe oral lesions in chickens caused by ingestion of dietary Fusariotoxin T-2. Applied Microbiology 24(2):251-257. 2. Wyatt, RD., J.A. Doerr, P.B. Hamillon, and H.R Burmeistcr, 1975. E a production, shell thickness, and otherphysiolo 'cal ;meters of la 'n hens affected by T-2 toxin. Appfed &%obiology 29&):f41-645.
3. Wyalt, RD., J.R Harris, P.B. Hamillon, and H.R. Burmelstcr, 1972. Possible field outbreaks of fusariotoxicosisin avians. Avian Dis. 161123-1129. 4. S h e l w s i t y m per cm2)= shell weight (4.67,~ egg weight ' )], x!hl where shell and egg weight IS
I
mms. - 5. Muekr, C.D., and H.M. Scott, 1940. The porosi of the egg-shell in relation to hatchability. Poult~ySci. 1x163-166.
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
~
Primary Audience: Flock Supervisors, Production Managers
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM The presence of oral lesions in poultry is associated with dietary mycotoxins [l,2, 31. Feeding T-2 toxin to layers decreases feed consumption, lowers egg production, and decreases eggshell thickness [2]. Because of the relationship between oral lesions, mycotoxins, and egg production and quality, the presence of oral lesions might indicate that egg quality has been compromised. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed
Quality control programs are recommended to monitor many aspects of feed quality,including mycotoxin levels. However, flock supervisors and (in some cases) production managers may have little control over such programs. In addition, regular analyses of feed for all possible mycotoxins are conducted rarely. Feed samples can be taken routinely and saved for future analysis, but the commit-
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
JESSE L. GRIMES' PouItv Science Department 131 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 Phone: (803) 6564029 FAX: (803) 656-1033 WILLIAM C. BRIDGES, JR. Depattment of Qverimental Statistics F-I48 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson Universiy, Clemson, SC 29634
Field Report 252
GRIMES and BRIDGES ment of producers to such programs is highly variable. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between oral lesion incidence and eggshell quality in layers under field conditions.
~MATER~ALs AND METHODS
FREQUENCY
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION LESION DISTRIBUTION The number of lesions per bird is presented in a frequency distribution in Figure 1. Most of the birds (1801 of 3OOO) had no lesions. Of the birds which had lesions, 73% (880 of 1199) had only 1 lesion. Very few birds had more than 2 lesions; 12birds with 3 lesions and 2 birds with 4 lesions were observed. The number of lesions per bird varied significantly with respect to age and strain (Table 1). A greater number of young birds displayed no lesions (1012) compared to the number of old birds with no lesions (789). Conversely, a greater number of old birds displayed 1 or 2 lesions (512, 193) compared to the number os young birds with 1or 2 lesions (368,112). Birdswithin the W-36 strain tended to have more individualswith 1or more lesions compared to birds within the W-77 strain. Only 2 birds out of 3OOO had 4 lesions. Both of these individuals were in the young age level, 1 of each strain. There was no effect of management level on the distribution of lesions.
W
AGE
N
Old
Young
W36
w77
0
789
1012
831
970
1
512
368
511
369
2
I
193
3
6
4
0
Chi Square Probability
I .OOO1
112
I
147
6
10
2
1
I
158
2 1
.OOO1
I
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
Hy-Line hens (strains W-36 and W-77) on eight contract layer farms in a commercial egg company were utilized for this study. The hens were categorized by age, (young: 40 to 48 weeks, vs old 62 to 70 weeks) and management (good vs poor). The average age for young birds was 44 weeks while the average age for old birds was 66 weeks. Management practices that normally impact bird performance were assessed by company service personnel and used to divide the farms into the two management levels. Therefore, each farm represented one strain x age x management category. Three different cage sizes were encountered during this study (12" x 20", 1 9 x 19.5", and 24" x 20'') containing 5,7, and 10 birds per cage, respectively. Five hens per cage regardless of cage size were examined for body weight and mouth lesion incidence. Five successive cages comprised one cage group (25 hens per group). Five different groups were examined per farm on three dates during a two week period. Date had no effect on parameters measured. Therefore, dates were combined to provide 15 replications within each farm, resulting in a 2 x 2 x 2 (strain x age x management) experimental design. Eggs were collected from the cage groups described above between 8:OO and 1O:OO a.m., before the collection systems were started. Eggs were cleared from each cage group the day before collection. Each hen was consid-
ered an observation in terms of body weight and mouth lesion incidence. Each group was considered an observation in terms of egg and shell quality parameters. Eggs were measured and evaluated for egg weight, shell weight, percent shell, and shell surface density. Shell surface density (SD) was estimated [4] using egg weight and shell surface area. Shell surface area was estimated using the method of Mueller and Scott [5]. Relationships among lesion counts and strain, age, and management were analyzed using the chi-square test. Relationships among mouth lesion incidence and selected parameters were analyzed using correlation and regression. Significance level was set at P105.
MOUTH LESIONS IN LAYERS
253
1801 n
2R
U
w
0
2
w
K pe
0
30 20
305
10
12
2
0
1
2
4
3
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 1. Frequency distribution of mouth lesions in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens (N=3000)
sented in Table 3. There was no correlation of
LESION INCIDENCE GENERAL The relationship of LI to selected parameters without regard to strain, age, or management are presented in Table 2. No significant relationship between LI and BW, % shell, or SD existed. However, egg weight and shell weight were each correlated negativelywith LI and had significant negative slopes when regressed on LI. Thus, it appears that the incidence of lesions in layers can be used to predict potential problems with egg quality.
LI with egg weight by strain or by good management. However, for both age groups and for poor management, LI and egg weight were correlated negatively. There was a negative regression slope for egg weight by strain, age, and management. However, for age only, there was a significant LI-age interaction, implying that the LI-egg weight relationship was not consistent for the two age groups. A steeper negative slope resulted when egg weight was regressed on LI €or young birds than when the same was done for old birds (Figure 2). This indicates that young birds are more affected by the presence of mycotoxins in feed (when assessed by LI) than are old birds.
LESION INCIDENCE IN RELATION TO EGG WEIGHT The relationship between LI and egg weight by strain, age, and management is pre-
REGRESSION
CORRELATION
I
I% Shell
I I
NS
I I
I
NS
I
r
NS
I
NS
I I
NS
I
NS
I
Interceot
SloDe
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
3 0 0
880
Field Report GRIMES and BRIDGES
254
CORRELATION Strain:
Age:
Slope
Interaction
W77
NS
8
NS
W36
NS
I
Young
Management:
I
-.a
Old
-59
Good
NS
Poor
-51
I NS
8
strain, age, and management. However, an interaction existed for age only. A steeper slope was again observed for hens in the young level of age versus hens in the old level of age when shell weight was regressed on LI by age (Figure 3). This relationship is expected: egg weight and shell weight are related directly; because egg weight is related to LI, it makes sense that shell weight is related in the same manner within the same category of birds.
YOUNG
- 701
I
8
OLD
m
U
0
(3
0
+
60
+
(3 (3
0.35
I
1
I
I
I
I
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 2. The relationship of lesion incidence to egg weight by age in a group of SCWL laying hens.
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
LESION INCIDENCE IN RELATION TO SHELL WEIGHT The results for shell weight by strain, age, and management were similar to those obtained for egg weight and are presented in Table 4. Shell weight and LI were negatively correlated for both age groups, poor management, and strain W-77. As observed for egg weight, a significant negative slope resulted when shell weight was regressed on LI by
+
REGRESSION
r
JAPR MOUTH LESIONS IN LAYERS
255
+
6.25
-
6.00
-
Young
0
Old
+
5.75
5.25 0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.65
0.60
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 3. The relationship of lesion incidence to egg shell weight by age in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens.
though there was no significant regression slope for management, there was a significant interaction within management: SD of eggs produced by birds in the good management category was not affect by LI, while SD of eggs produced by birds in the poor management category decreased as LI increased (Figure 4).
LESION INCIDENCE IN RELATION TO SHELL SURFACE DENSITY The effects of LI on SD are presented in Table 5. As stated previously, there were no overall effects of LI on SD. However, there was a significant negative correlation of LI with SD for poor management. Also, even
TABLE 4. Relationship of mouth lesion incidence by strain, age, and management on shell weight in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens. (Values given for r and regression slopes are significant at P < .05. The symbol under interaction indicatesthat the slopes were different with the two age levels.)
I Strain:
Age:
Management:
CORRELATION
REGRESSION
r
Slope
Interaction
Iwn
-.54
8
NS
W36
NS
Young
-.47
.
Old
-52
Good
NS
Poor
-.63
8
NS
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
5.50
Field Report GRIMES and BRIDGES
256
TABLE5 The relationship between lesion incidence and shell surface density by management practice in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens.
I Strain:
Age:
Management:
79
78
Slope
Interaction
wn
NS
NS
NS
W36
NS NS
NS
NS
Old
NS
Good
NS
NS
Poor
Good
E
0
77
76 75
r: I
74' 0.35
1
I
I
I
I
I
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
to
LESIONS (#/bird) FIGURE 4. Relationship between lesion incidence and shell surface density by management level in a group of commercial SCWL laying hens.
CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS 1. Egg weight and shell weight decreased as mouth lesion incidence increased in a group of commercial layers. This decrease was affected by age, with a greater decrease in egg weight and shell weight for young hens. 2. Shell surface density decreased as mouth lesions increased for poor management only. 3. There was no relationship between lesion incidence and BW or % shell. 4. Mouth lesions in layers can be utilized as a predictor of hen performance before noticeable production problems occur: mouth lesions were observed during this study without any other noticeable bird health or production indicators. Because lesion incidence can be an indicator of the presence of mycotoxins in feed, and because lesion incidence is related to egg weight and shell weight in young layers, it is advised that flock supervisorsmonitor birds for mouth lesions. Monitoring birds for mouth lesions is a step that can be incorporated easily into a bird health and feed quality control program.
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015
+
r
Young
I
REGRESSION
CORRELATION
REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Wyatt, RD., R A Weeks, P.B. IIamillon, and H.R Burmeistcr, 1972. Severe oral lesions in chickens caused by ingestion of dietary Fusariotoxin T-2. Applied Microbiology 24(2):251-257. 2. Wyatt, RD., J.A. Doerr, P.B. Hamillon, and H.R Burmeistcr, 1975. E a production, shell thickness, and otherphysiolo 'cal ;meters of la 'n hens affected by T-2 toxin. Appfed &%obiology 29&):f41-645.
3. Wyalt, RD., J.R Harris, P.B. Hamillon, and H.R. Burmelstcr, 1972. Possible field outbreaks of fusariotoxicosisin avians. Avian Dis. 161123-1129. 4. S h e l w s i t y m per cm2)= shell weight (4.67,~ egg weight ' )], x!hl where shell and egg weight IS
I
mms. - 5. Muekr, C.D., and H.M. Scott, 1940. The porosi of the egg-shell in relation to hatchability. Poult~ySci. 1x163-166.
Downloaded from http://japr.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 24, 2015