Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens

Abstract Maternal effects can shape the phenotypes of offspring, but the extent to which a layer breeder’s experience can affect commercial laying hens remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal age and maternal environment on laying hens’ behaviour and stress response. In our...

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Autores principales: Mariana R. L. V. Peixoto, Leanne Cooley, Tina M. Widowski
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Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/26970388b8104bb38dcaeb88c1616026
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:26970388b8104bb38dcaeb88c16160262021-12-02T15:28:52ZMaternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens10.1038/s41598-021-96323-62045-2322https://doaj.org/article/26970388b8104bb38dcaeb88c16160262021-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96323-6https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Maternal effects can shape the phenotypes of offspring, but the extent to which a layer breeder’s experience can affect commercial laying hens remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal age and maternal environment on laying hens’ behaviour and stress response. In our first experiment (E1), commercial hybrid hens were reared either in aviary or barren brooding cages, then housed in aviary, conventional cages or furnished (enriched) cages, thus forming different maternal housing treatments. Hens from each treatment were inseminated at three ages, and measures of response to manual restraint and social stress were assessed in offspring. In experiment 2 (E2), maternal age effects on offsprings' stress response were further investigated using fertile eggs from commercial breeder flocks at three ages. In E1, maternal age affected struggling and corticosterone during manual restraint, feather pecking and pulling and comb wounds. Additionally, maternal rearing and housing in aviary systems showed positive effects on measures of behaviour and stress response in offspring. Effects of maternal age were not replicated in E2, possibly due to methodological differences or higher tolerance to maternal effects in commercial breeders. Overall, we recommend researchers report parent stock age to increase comparison across studies and thus our understanding of maternal age effects.Mariana R. L. V. PeixotoLeanne CooleyTina M. WidowskiNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Mariana R. L. V. Peixoto
Leanne Cooley
Tina M. Widowski
Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
description Abstract Maternal effects can shape the phenotypes of offspring, but the extent to which a layer breeder’s experience can affect commercial laying hens remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal age and maternal environment on laying hens’ behaviour and stress response. In our first experiment (E1), commercial hybrid hens were reared either in aviary or barren brooding cages, then housed in aviary, conventional cages or furnished (enriched) cages, thus forming different maternal housing treatments. Hens from each treatment were inseminated at three ages, and measures of response to manual restraint and social stress were assessed in offspring. In experiment 2 (E2), maternal age effects on offsprings' stress response were further investigated using fertile eggs from commercial breeder flocks at three ages. In E1, maternal age affected struggling and corticosterone during manual restraint, feather pecking and pulling and comb wounds. Additionally, maternal rearing and housing in aviary systems showed positive effects on measures of behaviour and stress response in offspring. Effects of maternal age were not replicated in E2, possibly due to methodological differences or higher tolerance to maternal effects in commercial breeders. Overall, we recommend researchers report parent stock age to increase comparison across studies and thus our understanding of maternal age effects.
format article
author Mariana R. L. V. Peixoto
Leanne Cooley
Tina M. Widowski
author_facet Mariana R. L. V. Peixoto
Leanne Cooley
Tina M. Widowski
author_sort Mariana R. L. V. Peixoto
title Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
title_short Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
title_full Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
title_fullStr Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
title_full_unstemmed Maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
title_sort maternal age and maternal environment affect stress reactivity and measures of social behaviour in laying hens
publisher Nature Portfolio
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/26970388b8104bb38dcaeb88c1616026
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AT leannecooley maternalageandmaternalenvironmentaffectstressreactivityandmeasuresofsocialbehaviourinlayinghens
AT tinamwidowski maternalageandmaternalenvironmentaffectstressreactivityandmeasuresofsocialbehaviourinlayinghens
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