J. Appl. Poult. Res.
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J APPL POULT RES 2007. 16:344-350
© 2007 Poultry Science Association
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Research Reports

Litter Moisture and Footpad Dermatitis as Affected by Diets Formulated on an All-Vegetable Basis or Having the Inclusion of Poultry By-Product

G. Eichner*, S. L. Vieira*,1, C. A. Torres*, J. L. B. Coneglian*, D. M. Freitas* and O. A. Oyarzabal{dagger}

* Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 7712, Porto Alegre, RS 91540-000; and {dagger} Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5416

Correspondence: 1 Corresponding author: slvieira{at}ufrgs.br


   SUMMARY
TOP
 SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
Chicken feet (paws) are valuable products in the Asian market. Foot dermatitis, mostly caused by litter condition, can affect the foot skin tissue leading to downgrades and reduced market value. In this study, a diet having animal by-products was compared with 2 all-vegetable diets formulated with corn, soybean meal, and toasted soybean with or without corn gluten meal. A total of 1,200 birds were placed in 24 pens with new pine shavings as litter. Each treatment had 8 replications. Birds were fed the experimental diets up to 40 d of age. Starting at 21 d of age, 10 birds per replication were labeled and submitted to weekly evaluations of foot dermatitis. Litter samples were also collected weekly to determine percentage of moisture. In general, litter moisture and incidence and severity of foot dermatitis increased as broilers aged. Inclusion of corn gluten meal consistently reduced the incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis, which occurred in parallel with the reduction in litter moisture. Litter moisture from birds fed a diet with the inclusion of poultry by-product was similar to that obtained with corn gluten meal; however, benefits from reductions in foot dermatitis were not seen. It is concluded that feed formulation can affect litter moisture and the incidence and severity of foot dermatitis. Birds fed all-vegetable diets based exclusively on corn and soybean meal have an increased potential to develop footpad dermatitis as well as to produce excreta with greater percentages of moisture when compared with those fed diets with inclusions of poultry by-product or corn gluten meal.

Key Words: all vegetable diet • foot dermatitis • litter moisture


   DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
Footpad dermatitis in broilers has gained great importance following increases in the export market of chicken paws. In the past, footpad dermatitis studies were mostly conducted with turkeys and involved vitamin deficiency experiments [1, 2, 3]. More recently, it has been shown that the most prevalent form of footpad dermatitis in turkeys and chickens is a type of dermatitis related to litter wetness and crustiness [4, 5], caused by a combination of moisture and chemical irritants in the litter [4, 5, 6, 7]. This condition is usually called contact dermatitis and may also affect breasts [5] and hocks [8]. Footpad dermatitis lesions vary from darkish spots, associated with mild lesions on the plantar side of the chicken feet that disappear after the scales are peeled through processing, to severe ulcers that cause inflammation that remains as reddish skin tissues after processing [6, 7]. In more severe cases, these dermatitis cases may be associated to bacterial infections, especially with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli that are commonly present in the litter and on birds [9, 10]. Visual tissue integrity, besides size, is a major characteristic in valuing chicken feet, and any visible dermatitis eventually leads to downgrading.

Major factors leading to footpad dermatitis seem to be related to litter moisture and excreta adhered to the skin [11, 12, 13]. The supplementation of corn-soy diets with biotin have also resulted in a decreased of foot contact dermatitis in poults housed on dry litter, but it had no effects on poults housed on wet litter [14]. Therefore, factors that increase bird water excretion and excreta viscosity are expected to increase the incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis. In addition, the excess of moisture will favor the growth of bacteria present in the environment and predispose the birds with contact dermatitis to develop more severe cases due to bacterial infections [9, 10].

Jensen et al. [11] reported that poults fed diets with increased amounts of soybean meal produced feces that apparently increased the incidence of foot dermatitis. Diets with a high inclusion of soybean meal are fed to broilers to comply with regulations of the European Union [15] or to supply niche markets. According to European Union regulations, animals grown for human consumption cannot be fed animal byproducts. Integrators producing broilers for these markets have been reporting reductions in the yields of grade A feet when compared with birds processed from flocks fed diets with animal by-products. Thus, dietary changes that reduce foot dermatitis are of importance for poultry processors.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different diet formulations, which varied in terms of protein ingredients, in the incidence and severity of foot dermatitis in broilers. Feeds were formulated with standards used by broiler integrators.


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
One thousand two hundred 1-d-old Ross vs. Ross 308 [16] male broiler chicks were placed in 24 pens (2.30 x 1.75 m), with 50 chicks in each pen. The experimental facility was an open-sided broiler house with plastic side curtains. All pens had a concrete floor and contained new pine shavings 20 cm deep. Butane gas heaters were individually placed in each pen to maintain a temperature of 32°C in the first 2 d, with a reduction of 1°C every 2 d to reach a final 25°C. Fan ventilation was used after 3 wk from placement every time the temperature surpassed 27°C. Mash feeds and water were provided ad libitum using tubular feeders and bell drinkers. Birds were managed based on standard commercial practices; however, litter was not tilled toward the end of the study.

Dietary treatments used in this study are presented in Table 1Go. All treatment feeds were formulated with same energy and nutrient composition and were based on average values used by integrators in south Brazil. Diets included corn, soybean meal, and toasted soybeans as major ingredients. A control diet contained poultry byproduct meal, whereas the other 2 diets were based on all-vegetable ingredients, exclusively with corn-soy ingredients (All Veg) or having corn gluten meal in addition to corn-soy (All Veg-CGM). For practical purposes, dietary inclusion of poultry by-product occurred at levels similar to the ones used for animal by-product. Corn gluten meal was added to the formulation to produce a diet with the same percentage of potassium as the control diet. Diets were provided in a feeding program involving a starter period from placement to 21 d and a grower period from 22 to 42 d of age. Each treatment had 8 replicates.


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  		Table 1. Composition of dietary treatments
 
At 21 d of age, 10 birds from each pen were randomly selected and labeled. These labeled birds were examined weekly for the presence of foot dermatitis and given a lesion score using the methodology described by Martrenchar et al. [8]. Briefly, the scores were 0: no lesion; 1: lesion on <25% of the pads; 2: lesion on 25 to 50% of the pads; 3: lesion on >50% of the pads. Evaluations were conducted independently by 2 individuals, and scores were not exchanged between them until the end of the study.

Litter samples were collected weekly from 21 to 42 d of age. Collection was performed by using an empty 200-mL beaker and consisted of a 10-cm core sample of litter taken from 3 different areas in each pen as described by Macklin et al. [17]. Samples included the litter from under the drinker, at the side of the entrance gate and the middle of the pen. The 3 collected samples were then thoroughly mixed in a plastic bag. Determination of litter dry matter was conducted in triplicate for each composite, averaging 100 g each. Samples were oven-dried at 105°C for the time needed to reach weight loss stability.

Data were evaluated by ANOVA in a completely randomized design. Statistical procedure was done using the GLM procedure of SAS [18]. Data analysis was conducted after arc sin transformation {surd}%. Mean differences representing statistical differences were separated using Tukey’s test (P <0.05).


   RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
Litter moisture and the incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis increased as broilers aged (Figures 1Go to 3GoGo). Litter moisture was lowest at 21 d of age in treatment All Veg-CGM (P ≤0.05) but did not differ from the poultry byproduct diet after that. The All Veg diet had the highest percentage of moisture (P ≤0.05) throughout the experiment. At 3 wk of age, the incidence and severity of foot dermatitis was different in all treatments, with the birds fed All Veg-CGM showing the lowest incidence of foot dermatitis (P ≤0.05). Lesion scores were generally low with the entire study population being below score (1), which translates into less than 25% of the pad surfaces being affected. Under the foot market grading point of view, however, differences between treatments were relevant because grade A feet are exempt of any scar. Higher values were observed for birds fed All Veg diets, intermediate for poultry by-product, and lower for All Veg-CGM diets (P ≤0.05). The correlation between litter moisture and incidence or severity of footpad dermatitis was non-significant (P >0.05).


Figure 1
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  		Figure 1. Litter moisture from broilers fed diets formulated with poultry by-product, or all vegetable with or without corn gluten meal. a,bMeans at each date with different superscripts differ significantly using Tukey (P <0.05). Sample size for each point = 8 collections per treatment of a total n = 32 for the entire experiment. Overall = 96 samples.

 

Figure 2
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  		Figure 2. Incidence of foot dermatitis in broilers fed diets formulated with poultry by-product, or all vegetable with or without corn gluten meal. a–cMeans at each date with different superscripts differ significantly using Tukey (P<0.05). Sample size for each point = 8 replications of 10 birds each per treatment of a total n = 32 for the entire experiment. Overall = 96 samples.

 

Figure 3
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  		Figure 3. Foot dermatitis lesion scores from broilers fed diets formulated with poultry by-product, or all vegetable with or without corn gluten meal. a–cMeans at each date with different superscripts differ significantly using Tukey (P <0.05). Sample size for each point = 8 replications of 10 birds each per treatment of a total n = 32 for the entire experiment. Overall = 96 samples.

 
Litter moisture is considered to be a leading factor predisposing to contact dermatitis [9, 10, 11]. Moisture affects the general condition of the litter and therefore is also expected to stimulate proliferation of bacteria, but its direct effects on foot dermatitis are more likely related to its impact on litter surface condition. Lynn and Spechter [19] showed that when litter moisture content exceeds 46%, the litter surface becomes wet and unfriable. Besides moisture, litter surface friability is also considered central to production of hock burn in broilers [20], a contact dermatitis on the hock. Similarly, Abott et al. [12] referred to damp, crusty, or both as a litter condition leading to the occurrence of foot dermatitis. They suggested that foot dermatitis can be kept at a minimum if proper litter management is practiced.

Increased incidence of foot dermatitis in birds fed diets with high inclusions of soybean meal has been reported [11, 12]. Within the present study treatments, the All Veg diet had the highest inclusion of soybean meal compared with the other 2 treatments.

Dietary changes leading to higher water intake by birds are expected to increase excreta and litter moisture. Many factors impact water intake in broilers, but for feed formulations based on common ingredients, electrolytes play a major role. Diets with increased Na and K result in an increased water intake [21] and litter moisture, whereas an increase in Cl does not have the same effect [22, 23, 24]. This principle supports the litter moisture responses obtained in this study. The 3 experimental diets used had the same formulated values for Na, whereas differences for Cl were very small and unlikely to have an impact on water intake. Therefore, the increased moisture in litter from birds fed the All Veg diet when compared with the other 2 diets may reflect an increase in water intake due to higher contents of K in these diets. Vieira and Lima [25] observed increased water intake and higher moisture in the excreta when broilers were fed a diet formulated exclusively with plant ingredients vs. a diet with up to 8% animal byproducts with less K. A corn-soybean meal diet with 10% fishmeal and 0.22% less K produced litter with less moisture than diets formulated exclusively with corn and soybean meal [25]. In the present study, the starter and grower feeds had 0.17 and 0.15% more K, respectively, in the All Veg diet when compared with the other treatments.

Adherence of excreta causes a prolonged contact with corrosive substances from the litter. In turn, these corrosive substances become aggravating factors that contribute to acute skin inflammation and necrosis [20]. Although litter moisture is a definite factor, excreta adherence may be dependent on other factors, such as excreta viscosity and litter friability. Adhesion of excreta to the feet was not directly evaluated in this study; however, former findings allow us to speculate its importance and relationship with the results presently obtained.

The diets formulated in this experiment had major differences in terms of components with potential to produce viscous excreta. Because of its comparatively higher inclusion of soybean meal, the All Veg diet had an increased amount of low digestible carbohydrates when compared with the other 2 treatments. The carbohydrate fraction of soybean meal is considerably high, about 30% of its dry matter. This type of diet tends to produce excreta with increased viscosity [26, 27, 28, 29, 30] and may also serve as a substrate for increased bacterial activity in the litter. When compared with diets having common inclusions of animal proteins, diets with a greater proportion of soybean meal are less digestible by chickens [25].


   CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
REFERENCES AND NOTES
 

  1. Litter moisture and the incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis increased as broilers aged to 40 d.
  2. Formulation of All Veg diets based exclusively on corn and soybean meal leads to increased litter moisture and incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis when compared with diets containing 10% poultry by-product meal or 6 to 7% corn gluten meal in the starter and grower diets, respectively.


   REFERENCES AND NOTES
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 

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