Immunological effects and productivity variation of red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) on laying hens- implications for egg production and quality

2006 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Arkle ◽  
J.H. Guy ◽  
O. Sparagano
2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Аleksandar Pavlicevic ◽  
Ivan Pavlovic ◽  
Radomir Ratajac ◽  
Danica Popovic ◽  
Branislav Davidovic ◽  
...  

Technological solutions and environmental conditions have a significant impact on infestation intensity and the problems around D. gallinae control. Changes in keeping laying hens in EU, in terms of D. gallinae influence, have not led to the welfare of the layers. On the contrary, they have contributed to the spreading of disease, have worsened conditions for control and accentuated harmful consequences. Apart from the poultry, these changes have also had a negative impact on the welfare of humans, through a toxicological and zootonic risk, and economic damages. Conventional cages so far provide the most appropriate environment for D. gallinae control. Opportunities for improving, even solving the problem of D. gallinae control in egg production do exist, however they require a changing the entire approach hitherto.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 ◽  
pp. 172-172
Author(s):  
S. Arkle ◽  
J. H. Guy ◽  
O. Sparagano

Red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae; De Geer, 1778) is currently the most economically deleterious ectoparasite of layer hens in several countries (Chauve, 1998). D. gallinae is an obligatory haematophagous ectoparasite of both domestic and wild birds (Bruneau et al., 2001), only found on the host during darkness when obtaining a blood meal. The remaining part of its lifecycle is spent concealed deep in the house substructure, in cracks and crevices, with control typically implemented via chemical spraying. Mite exposure in laying hens generally results in irritation, restlessness, anaemia, and occasionally death and may subsequently lead to decreased egg production, poor shell integrity, blood staining and egg size reductions (Chauve, 1998; Cosoroaba, 2001). Natural exposure to mite-antigens during feeding activates humoral immunity of the fowl, in the form of immunoglobulin production. However, the magnitude of this serological response over a prolonged infestation period and at different mite population levels is unclear. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine the levels of anti-mite immunoglobulin present in egg yolks of laying hens in flocks infested with differing population levels of red mite over a period of 16 weeks.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 987
Author(s):  
Sylwia Koziatek-Sadłowska ◽  
Rajmund Sokół

(1) Background: Dermanyssus gallinae, a hematophagous ectoparasite, adversely affects the health status of laying hens, leading to reduced egg production and significant economic losses in commercial farms. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of D. gallinae on the development of post-vaccination immune responses in layer hens. (2) Methods: A total of 80 blood samples were collected at four time-points (B1–B4) from 10 Hy-Line Brown hens, randomly selected from a commercial layer farm. The flock was naturally infested with D. gallinae and treated twice with Biobeck PA 910 (AI silicon dioxide). The samples were collected before and after each treatment. The percentages of IgM+ B cells, CD3+/CD4+ T cells and CD3+/CD8a+ T cells were determined by flow cytometry; the titres of antibodies against avian encephalomyelitis, infectious bronchitis virus, Newcastle disease virus, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, reticuloendotheliosis virus and avian reovirus were determined by the immunoenzymatic method. (3) Results: The percentage of Th cells and post-vaccination anti-IBV and anti-NDV antibodies decreased significantly at the second infestation peak when the number of parasites was twice higher than at the first infestation peak. Non-significant negative correlations were found between the number of mites and the percentage of B cells (R = −0.845, p > 0.05) and between the number of mites and the percentage of Th cells (R = −0.522, p > 0.05), and a significant positive correlation was noted between the number of mites and the percentage of Tc cells (R = −0.982, p < 0.05). There were non-significant correlations between the number of mites and antibody titres. (4) Conclusion: The present findings suggested that D. gallinae might inhibit immune responses since the percentages of B cells and Th cells were negatively correlated with the number of mites. The percentage of Tc cells was positively correlated with the number of mites, which indicated that D. gallinae could stimulate cellular immune responses in infested laying hens. However, further research is needed to determine whether D. gallinae suppresses the production of vaccine-induced antibodies.


Intermittent Lighting Improves the Efficiency of Artificial Insemination in Cage Housed Laying Hens Kavtarashvili A.Sh., Kolokolnikova T.N. Federal Scientific Center “All-Russian Research and Technological Poultry Institute” of Russian Academy of Sciences Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center Summary: The effects of different lighting regimes on the oviposition schedule, productive performance, and reproductive efficiency in cage housed laying hens of layer parental flock (Hisex White-R) were studied; the reasonable regime of artificial insemination (AI) under intermittent lighting is proposed. It was found that intermittent lighting regime 1L:4D:4L:1D:4L:10D compared to the constant lighting significantly alters oviposition schedule: under this regime 82.3% of all daily eggs were laid until 9 am (vs. 66.6% in control). This regime and AI at 10 am improved the productive and reproductive performance compared to control (constant lighting 16L:8D and AI at 12 am): mortality by 1.9%, egg production per initial hen by 3.8%, egg weight by 1.1%, percentage of eggs suitable for incubation by 1.9%, egg fertility by 0.9%, hatchability by 2.3%, hatch of chicks by 2.9%, feed conversion ratio (kg of feed per 10 eggs) by 5.3%, the expenses of electric energy for lighting (per 1000 eggs suitable for incubation) by 54.5%. Key words: INTERMITTENT LIGHTING, CAGE HOUSED LAYERS, ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION (AI), OVIPOSITION SCHEDULE, AI TIMING, PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE, REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1381
Author(s):  
Tzuen-Rong J Tzeng ◽  
Tzu-Yu Liu ◽  
Chiao-Wei Lin ◽  
Pei-En Chang ◽  
Pei-Xin Liao ◽  
...  

Alternative growth promoters are able to not only effectively replace the traditional use of antibiotics but also provide additional health benefits for livestock and reduce food safety concerns. This study investigated the effects of dry Hydrastis canadensis on the laying performance and fecal microbial community of laying hens. Twenty-four Lohmann (LSL, white layer strain) hens were reared from 40 to 48 weeks of age and randomly allotted to four dietary treatments (six birds/treatment). The dietary treatments comprised a basal diet with no treatment as control, a basal diet plus 0.6% powder of dry Hydrastis canadensis roots (R) or leaves (L), and a basal diet plus 0.6% powder of a mixture of dry Hydrastis canadensis roots and leaves (1:1, LR). No mortality was observed in the whole experimental period. The results indicated that albumen height in the LR group was significantly greater than that in the control group. The diet supplemented with Hydrastis canadensis had no significant effects on egg production rate, egg weight, eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, Haugh unit, or yolk height during the whole experimental phase. However, principal coordinate analysis, comparative heat map analysis, and cluster dendrogram analysis of cecal microbiota showed distinct clusters among the groups treated with Hydrastis canadensis and the control group. Regarding blood biochemical parameters, serum cholesterol levels were significantly lower in all Hydrastis canadensis-treated groups compared with those in the control group. Moreover, serum low-density lipoprotein levels were lower in hens supplemented with the leaf of Hydrastis canadensis. The abundances of the phyla Fusobacteria and Kiritimatiellaeota were increased (p < 0.05) in laying hens fed with 0.6% Hydrastis canadensis leaves, whereas the abundance of the phylum Firmicutes in cecum digesta decreased in response to treatment with Hydrastis canadensis roots and leaves. The relative abundance of the Fusobacterium genus was higher in the LR group compared with that in the control. On the contrary, we found a different trend in the Synergistes genus. The potential influences of these microbiota on the performance of laying hens were discussed. The results demonstrate that Hydrastis canadensis can improve the egg albumen height and modulate the cecum digesta microbiota composition of laying hens.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2041
Author(s):  
Xinyu Zou ◽  
Sha Jiang ◽  
Mi Zhang ◽  
Haiqiang Hu ◽  
Xiaoling Wu ◽  
...  

This study was to investigate the effects of Bacillus subtilis on production performance and bone pathophysiological characteristics of layers. Twenty-four 48-week-old Lohmann Pink-shell laying hens were randomly divided into two groups: a basic diet (control) and the basic diet mixed with Bacillus subtilis (0.5 g/kg) for a 60-day trial. Statistically, independent-sample t-test was used to assess the treatment differences. The results showed that Bacillus subtilis supplementation improved the percent of marketable eggs (p < 0.05) with reduced numbers of broken and soft-shelled eggs but had no effects on egg weight, height of albumen, yolk color, and Haugh unit (p > 0.05). Bacillus subtilis supplement also elevated maximum load (p = 0.06), maximum stress (p = 0.01), stiffness (p < 0.01), and Young’s modulus (p < 0.01) but suppressed maximum strain (p = 0.06) in the femur. In addition, compared with control birds, phosphorous concentration (p < 0.01) was reduced in serum at day 61 but increased in the femur (p < 0.05) in Bacillus subtilis fed birds. Bacillus subtilis fed birds also had lower magnesium concentrations in both femur (p = 0.04) and feces (p = 0.09). Furthermore, Bacillus subtilis increased plasma estrogen concentration (p = 0.01) and femur TNF receptor superfamily member 11b (OPG) expression (p < 0.05) but reduced plasma IL-1 (p < 0.01) and TNF-α (p < 0.01) concentrations. These results indicate that Bacillus subtilis could be used as a health promotor to reduce overproduction-induced inflammation and associated bone damage and to increase marketable egg production. The data provide evidence for developing a management strategy to use Bacillus subtilis as a feed additive to improve marketable egg production and health and welfare status of laying hens.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 360
Author(s):  
Georgi Yu. Laptev ◽  
Elena A. Yildirim ◽  
Larisa A. Ilina ◽  
Valentina A. Filippova ◽  
Ivan I. Kochish ◽  
...  

One of the main roles in poultry resistance to infections caused by Salmonella is attributed to host immunity and intestinal microbiota. We conducted an experiment that involved challenging Lohmann White laying hens with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), feeding them a diet supplemented with an EOs-based phytobiotic Intebio®. At 1 and 7 days post-inoculation, the expression profiles of eight genes related to immunity, transport of nutrients in the intestine, and metabolism were examined. Cecal microbiome composition and blood biochemical/immunological indices were also explored and egg production traits recorded. As a result, the SE challenge of laying hens and Intebio® administration had either a suppressive or activating effect on the expression level of the studied genes (e.g., IL6 and BPIFB3), the latter echoing mammalian/human tissue-specific expression. There were also effects of the pathogen challenge and phytobiotic intake on the cecal microbiome profiles and blood biochemical/immunological parameters, including those reflecting the activity of the birds’ immune systems (e.g., serum bactericidal activity, β-lysine content, and immunoglobulin levels). Significant differences between control and experimental subgroups in egg performance traits (i.e., egg weight/number/mass) were also found. The phytobiotic administration suggested a positive effect on the welfare and productivity of poultry.


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