HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Xin, H. Articles by Lee, K. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Xin, H. Articles by Lee, K.

Physiological Evaluation of Chick Morbidity During Extended Posthatch Holding

Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3080; Phone: (515) 294-9778; FAX: (515) 294-9973

K. Lee

Biomedical Engineering Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3080

Correspondence: H. Xin, E-mail:hxin{at}iastate.edu

Dehydration or under-nutrition as the major cause of chick morbidity during prolonged posthatch deprivation of feed and water was evaluated by physiological responses. Leghorn breeder chicks were subjected for 3 days, to one of five regimens: feed and water (FW), feed and Aqua-Jel (FJ), water without feed (W), Aqua-Jel without feed (J), and neither feed nor water (N). body water content (WC) and packed cell volume (PCV) served as direct and indirect measures of dehydration, respectively.

The chicks had an average initial relative WC (RWC) of 70.9% and an initial PCV of 25.7%. At the end of the 3-day treatment, no significant differences were noted between N and FW or FJ regimens in RWC (75.2 vs. 76.0%) or in PCV (27.1 vs. 26.1%) (P>. 05). Although changes in RWC between Day 0 and Day 3 were significant (P<. 05), changes in PCV were not. Chicks under W regimen had a higher RWC (78.7%) and a lower PCV (20.3%) than chicks under FW or N regimen (P<. 05). Morbid chicks under W and N regimens had further lower PVC of 7.7 and 13.9%, respectively. Chicks under non-feed regimens had a similar body dry matter loss of 40 to 44%, but different absolute WC loss of 14 to 15% for W and J regimens and 25% for N regimen. The results suggest that under-nutrition plays a more important role than dehydration in causing chick morbidity under prolonged post-hatch holding. Supply of both feed and water is essential to sustain chick performance.

Key Words: Chicks • dehydration • malnutrition • mortality • transportation

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. D. Fairchild, J. K. Northcutt, J. M. Mauldin, R. J. Buhr, L. J. Richardson, and N. A. Cox Influence of Water Provision to Chicks Before Placement and Effects on Performance and Incidence of Unabsorbed Yolk Sacs J. Appl. Poult. Res., January 1, 2006; 15(4): 538 - 543. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]