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- Lindholm, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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Growth heterogeneity in broiler breeder pullets is settled before the onset of feed restriction but is not predicted by size at hatch
- 2017
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In: Journal of Animal Science. - Champaign, IL, United States : American Society of Animal Science. - 0021-8812 .- 1525-3163. ; 95:1, s. 182-193
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Uniform growth is a desirable trait in all large-scale animal production systems because it simplifies animal management and increases profitability. In parental broiler flocks, so-called broiler breeders, low growth uniformity is largely attributed to the feed competition that arises from quantitatively restricted feeding. As feed restriction is crucial to maintaining healthy and fertile breeders, several practices for reducing feed competition and the associated growth heterogeneity have been suggested and range from nutrient dilution by increasing fiber content in feed to intermittent fasting with increased portion size (“skip a day”), but no practice appears to be entirely effective. The fact that a large part of the heterogeneity remains even when feed competition is minimized suggests that some growth variation is caused by other factors. We investigated whether this variation arises during embryonic development (as measured by size at hatch) or during posthatch development by following the growth and body composition of birds of varying hatch sizes. Our results support the posthatch alternative, with animals that later grow to be small or large (here defined as >1 SD lighter or heavier than mean BW of the flock) being significantly different in size as early as 1 d after gaining access to feed (P < 0.05). We then investigated 2 possible causes for different postnatal growth: that high growth performance is linked 1) to interindividual variations in metabolism (as measured by cloacal temperature and verified by respirometry) or 2) to higher levels of social motivation (as measured in a social reinstatement T-maze), which should reduce the stress of being reared in large-scale commercial flocks. Neither of these follow-up hypotheses could account for the observed heterogeneity in growth. We suggest that the basis of growth heterogeneity in broiler breeder pullets may already be determined at the time of hatch in the form of qualitatively different maternal investments or immediately thereafter as an indirect result of differences in incubation conditions, hatching time, and resulting fasting time. Although this potential difference in maternal investment is not seen in body mass, tarsometatarsal length, or full body length of day-old chicks arriving at the farm, it may influence the development of differential feed and water intake during the first day of feeding, which in turn has direct effects on growth heterogeneity.
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- Lindholm, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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Slow and steady wins the race? No signs of reduced welfare in smallerbroiler breeder hens at four weeks of age
- 2015
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In: Animal Welfare. - : Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. - 0962-7286 .- 2054-1538. ; 24:4, s. 447-454
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Broiler breeder chickens are commonly reared under strict feed-restriction regimes to reduce obesity-induced health and fertilityproblems during adult life, and are assumed to experience a reduced welfare due to the resulting hunger. In these conditions, feedcompetition could influence the growth rate, so that the individuals falling behind in growth would experience more stress and hunger.We hypothesised that these chickens are poor competitors due to a reactive coping style and experience a further reduced welfaresituation before size-sorting (‘grading’) at four weeks of age. Our results from open field, tonic immobility and home pen activity monitoringshow signs of lower fear and higher home-pen activity levels in smaller hens and do not support the idea of reactive coping.H/L ratios of smaller hens were also found to be lower, indicating less stress in these birds. Dissections of smaller and larger fourweekbreeder hens may offer an explanation in the form of a relatively larger gastrointestinal tract in smaller birds. We argue thatthis is a form of habituation to restricted feeding, offering these birds a physiological stress coping mechanism, and that low earlygrowth rate may not always be a sign of poorer welfare in broiler breeders.
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- Lindholm, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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The Quest for Welfare-Friendly Feeding of Broiler Breeders: Effects of Daily vs. 5:2 Feed Restriction Schedules
- 2018
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In: Poultry Science. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0032-5791 .- 1525-3171. ; 97:2, s. 368-377
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Restricted feeding of broiler breeders is required for improved long-term health and welfare. Because feeding frustration and hunger are major welfare concerns during rearing, many suggestions have been made to decrease the negative feelings of hunger while maintaining suitable growth rates and reproductive health. Non-daily ("skip-a-day") feeding schedules are commonly used around the world to increase portion sizes at meal times while restricting intake but these practices are prohibited in many countries due to welfare concerns on fasting days. We compared birds raised on a non-daily feeding schedule (2 non-consecutive fasting days per week, 5:2), previously suggested as a welfare-friendlier non-daily alternative, to birds raised on daily feed restriction. We found signs of increased physiological stress levels in 5:2 birds, including elevated heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (1.00 for 5:2 vs. 0.75 for daily fed at 12 weeks of age), increased adiposity (0.21% lean body weight [LBW] for 5:2 vs. 0.13% LBW for daily fed), and reduced muscle growth (pectoral muscle 5.94% LBW for 5: 2 vs. 6.52% LBW for daily fed). At the same time, 5:2 birds showed signs of lower anxiety before feeding times (activity was reduced from 10.30 in daily fed to 4.85) which may be a result of the lower feed competition associated with larger portion sizes. Although we found no difference in latency to first head movement in tonic immobility between the treatments (136.5 s on average for both groups), 5:2 birds generally showed more interest in a novel object in the home pen which indicated increased risk taking and reduced fear while fasting. The 5:2 birds in this study showed no signs of learning the feeding schedule, and this unpredictability may also increase stress. Taken together, the effects of 5:2 vs. daily feed restriction on the welfare of broiler breeder pullets remain inconclusive and differ between feeding and fasting days. In addition to reducing stress by minimizing the number of fasting days, we suggest that a shift to more predictable schedules may help improve the welfare of broiler breeder pullets.
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- Santoro, V., et al.
(author)
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HighNESS conceptual design report: Volume I
- 2024
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In: Journal of Neutron Research. - 1023-8166 .- 1477-2655. ; 25:3-4, s. 85-314
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The European Spallation Source, currently under construction in Lund, Sweden, is a multidisciplinary international laboratory. Once completed to full specifications, it will operate the world’s most powerful pulsed neutron source. Supported by a 3 million Euro Research and Innovation Action within the EU Horizon 2020 program, a design study (HighNESS) has been completed to develop a second neutron source located below the spallation target. Compared to the first source, designed for high cold and thermal brightness, the new source has been optimized to deliver higher intensity, and a shift to longer wavelengths in the spectral regions of cold (CN, 2–20 Å), very cold (VCN, 10–120 Å), and ultracold (UCN, >500 Å) neutrons. The second source comprises a large liquid deuterium moderator designed to produce CN and support secondary VCN and UCN sources. Various options have been explored in the proposed designs, aiming for world-leading performance in neutronics. These designs will enable the development of several new instrument concepts and facilitate the implementation of a high-sensitivity neutron-antineutron oscillation experiment (NNBAR). This document serves as the Conceptual Design Report for the HighNESS project, representing its final deliverable.
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- Santoro, V., et al.
(author)
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HighNESS conceptual design report: Volume II. the NNBAR experiment.
- 2024
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In: Journal of Neutron Research. - 1023-8166 .- 1477-2655. ; 25:3-4, s. 315-406
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A key aim of the HighNESS project for the European Spallation Source is to enable cutting-edge particle physics experiments. This volume presents a conceptual design report for the NNBAR experiment. NNBAR would exploit a new cold lower moderator to make the first search in over thirty years for free neutrons converting to anti-neutrons. The observation of such a baryon-number-violating signature would be of fundamental significance and tackle open questions in modern physics, including the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry. This report shows the design of the beamline, supermirror focusing system, magnetic and radiation shielding, and anti-neutron detector necessary for the experiment. A range of simulation programs are employed to quantify the performance of the experiment and show how background can be suppressed. For a search with full background suppression, a sensitivity improvement of three orders of magnitude is expected, as compared with the previous search. Civil engineering studies for the NNBAR beamline are also shown, as is a costing model for the experiment.
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