Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (6): 2680-2691.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2024.06.039

• Basic Veterinary Medicine • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Foot Pad Dermatitis on Production Performance, Egg Quality, Behavioral Responses, and Immune Levels of Laying Hens in Furnished Cages

Xiaoxu WANG(), Yanqing CHEN, Jiaqi ZHANG, Ye WANG, Rui WANG, Hanlin YU, Kaiqi YANG, Jun BAO, Runxiang ZHANG*()   

  1. Key Laboratory of Chicken Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
  • Received:2023-09-18 Online:2024-06-23 Published:2024-06-28
  • Contact: Runxiang ZHANG E-mail:1042599896@qq.com;zhangrunxiang@neau.edu.cn

Abstract:

Foot pad dermatitis (FPD) is a contact dermatitis affecting the claw and toe surfaces of poultry. FPD is one of the most common paw-toe health problems, with negative effects on the welfare and health of poultry. This study aimed to explore the effects of FPD on production performance, egg quality, behavioral responses, and immune levels of laying hens in the furnished cages. In this study, 60 Hyline Brown laying hens with 48 weeks of ages (WOA) were randomly selected. After four-point scoring, that score 0 for no lesions on the foot pads, score 1 for excessive keratosis, a small lesion of the foot pad epithelium with redness or discoloration, score 2 for foot pad dermatitis with epidermis discoloration, cutaneous lesions slight to erosion; score 3 for bumble foot with swelling of the foot pad visible from dorsal view. Bird was raised in furnished cage until 55 WOA. Performance and egg quality of laying hens were recorded and video-recorded for 2 consecutive days at 51 and 55 WOA. Then, the tonic immobility (TI) tests and open field tests (OFT) were carried out. Finally, the expression of immune-related factors in the skin, spleens, livers, small intestines, and serum of hens were detected. We found that FPD had no significant effect on the production performance (P>0.05), but improved the body weight compared with the score 0 group (P < 0.05), and the protein height and Haugh Units were significantly reduced for hens at 51 WOA (P < 0.05). Behavioral observations showed that FPD reduced the expression of preening behaviors in laying hens (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant effect on other event behaviors (object pecking, toe pecking, pacing, comfort behaviors) (P>0.05). The results of behavioral tests showed that FPD had no significant effect on responses of fear and anxiety in laying hens (P>0.05). The relative mRNA expressions of immune cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) and immunoglobulin IgA and IgG in foot, liver, and spleen tissues were significantly increased in hens with FPD (P < 0.05). The concentrations of IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α were also increased in the serum (P < 0.05). FPD had no significant effect on the production performance of laying hens. FPD decreased the expression of preening behavior and increased the expression of immune-related factors in the skin of the paw toe, which might lead to the chronic inflammation of laying hens.

Key words: foot pad dermatitis, laying hens, production performance, egg quality, behaviors, immune responses

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