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- Jensen, Per, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Feather pecking in chickens is genetically related to behavioural and developmental traits.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Physiology & behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 86:1-2, s. 52-60
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Feather pecking (FP) is a detrimental behaviour in chickens, which is performed by only some individuals in a flock. FP was studied in 54 red junglefowl (ancestor of domestic chickens), 36 White Leghorn laying hens, and 762 birds from an F(2)-intercross between these two lines. From all F(2)-birds, growth and feed consumption were measured. Age at sexual maturity and egg production in females, and corticosterone levels in males were also measured. From 333 F(2)-birds of both sexes, and 20 parental birds, body composition with respect to bone mineral content, muscle and fat was obtained by post-mortem examinations using Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). In femurs of the same birds, the bone density and structure were analysed using DXA and Peripheral Quantitative Computerized Tomography (pQCT), and a biomechanical analysis of bone strength was performed. Furthermore, plumage condition was determined in all birds as a measure of being exposed to feather pecking. Using 105 DNA-markers in all F(2)-birds, a genome-wide scan for Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), associated with the behaviour in the F(2)-generation was performed. FP was at least as frequent in the red junglefowl as in the White Leghorn strain studied here, and significantly more common among females both in the parental strains and in the F(2)-generation. In the F(2)-birds, FP was phenotypically linked to early sexual maturation, fast growth, weak bones, and, in males, also high fat accumulation, indicating that feather peckers have a different resource allocation pattern. Behaviourally, F(2) feather peckers were more active in an open field test, in a novel food/novel object test, and in a restraint test, indicating that feather pecking might be genetically linked to a proactive coping strategy. Only one suggestive QTL with a low explanatory value was found on chromosome 3, showing that many genes, each with a small effect, are probably involved in the causation of feather pecking. There were significant effects of sire and dam on the risk of being a victim of feather pecking, and victims grew faster pre- and post-hatching, had lower corticosterone levels and were less active in a restraint test. Hence, a wide array of behavioural and developmental traits were genetically linked to FP.
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| 3. |
- Jensen, Per, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Genetics and genomics of animal behaviour and welfare-Challenges and possibilities
- 2008
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Ingår i: Applied Animal Behaviour Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1591 .- 1872-9045. ; 113:4, s. 383-403
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Traditionally, the contribution of applied ethology to animal welfare science has concentrated on understanding the reactions of animals to their housing conditions. Domestication has had small effects on fundamental aspects of animal behaviour, and therefore, the needs of present day domesticated animals are closely related to the evolutionary history of the ancestors. However, the last decades have seen an unprecedented intensification of selection for increased production, which has significant side-effects on behaviour and welfare. Understanding the nature of such side-effects have therefore emerged as a central problem to animal welfare science. Modern genetics and genomics offer tools for such research, and this review outlines some of the available methods and how these have been, and could be, used to enrich animal welfare science. An outline is given on traditional genetic selection methods applied on behaviour and welfare related variables. Significant improvements in levels of fearfulness and abnormal behaviour have been achieved by selecting populations against these traits. As a next step, it is necessary to map the loci involved in affecting these traits, and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis have been used for this. An overview of QTL-analyses of welfare related traits in different species is given, including how this analysis has provided new insights into the genetic architecture of the stress response. Beyond allelic differences, which can be mapped with QTL-analysis, welfare related biological responses may be mediated by acquired modifications in expression levels of genes and gene complexes. This can be analysed with cDNA microarray technology, and a review of relevant work in this respect is given. Many of the changes in genetic control mechanisms observed during selection are results of evolutionary responses, for example related to sexual selection. An overview with a genetic perspective is provided of this often neglected aspect of domestication in relation to animal welfare problems. It is concluded that modern selection of farm animals pose a serious challenge to animal welfare, but also previously unknown possibilities to improve welfare by using high precision breeding techniques. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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