Animal welfare in broiler chickens
The objective of this study was to assess broiler chickens welfare using transect and individualassessment methodologies, evaluating the robustness of the latter as an effective tool for welfare evaluationon poultry farms. Eight closed, tunnel-ventilated houses were studied, four fitted with blackou...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
| Publicado: |
Universidad Nacional del Nordeste
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/8511 |
| Aporte de: |
| Sumario: | The objective of this study was to assess broiler chickens welfare using transect and individualassessment methodologies, evaluating the robustness of the latter as an effective tool for welfare evaluationon poultry farms. Eight closed, tunnel-ventilated houses were studied, four fitted with blackout curtains andfour with translucent curtains. Along each transect, the number of immobile, lame, dirty, sick, dying, or deadchickens was recorded. In the individual assessment, variables such as body weight, presence of footpadlesions, tarsal burns, feather cleanliness, and gait were measured at each sampling point. Hierarchicalclustering analyses were performed using three aggregation methods: Complete, Average, and Ward.D,allowing grouping of farms based on similarity in these variables. Farm-level analysis produced stableclusters regardless of methodology. Dendrograms from the transect methodology were consistent acrossall three clustering methods, while individual assessment also yielded stable clustering independent of theclustering approach used. The findings suggest that both methodologies generate consistent and robustpatterns in the data, supporting their validity and applicability. Although minor differences between methodswere observed, their results were sufficiently congruent to recommend their combined use in future studies,expanding analytical capabilities in diverse poultry welfare assessments. |
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