The Effect of Egg Laying on Feather and Plasma Corticosterone Concentrations in Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Hens.

Leishman, Emily M; van Staaveren, Nienke; Mohr, Jeff; Wood, Benjamin J; Freeman, Nikole E; Newman, Amy E M; Harlander-Matauschek, Alexandra; Baes, Christine F (2021). The Effect of Egg Laying on Feather and Plasma Corticosterone Concentrations in Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Hens. Animals, 11(7) MDPI 10.3390/ani11071892

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Phenological differences in energy demand (i.e., reproductive status) might influence the measurement of corticosterone. The objective of this study was to compare corticosterone concentrations in feathers (FCORT) and plasma (PCORT) for turkey hens before and during egg laying. Secondary feathers 1 and 3, and a plasma sample were collected from 50 hens at 30 weeks (before egg laying) from two purebred lines. The hens were reexamined during lay (45 weeks) to collect regrown feathers and plasma samples. Corticosterone concentrations were measured using an ELISA. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of genetic line (A vs. B) and period (pre-lay vs. lay) on FCORT and PCORT levels. An increase in FCORT during lay was detected for line B (p < 0.0001), but not line A (p = 0.3076). An increase in FCORT during lay was detectable in both feather types, but there was a difference between secondary 1 and 3 in FCORT concentration within each line studied. Conversely, PCORT decreased between the pre-lay and lay periods for both lines, although the decrease was more substantial for line A (p < 0.0001). Differences in metabolic investment in egg production between the two genetic lines may explain the different FCORT response during lay. The results from this study provide insight into how periods of high energy demand may influence corticosterone which should be considered when interpreting results.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Institute of Genetics
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)

UniBE Contributor:

Baes, Christine Francoise

Subjects:

500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

2076-2615

Publisher:

MDPI

Language:

English

Submitter:

Christine Francoise Baes

Date Deposited:

13 Sep 2021 09:34

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:53

Publisher DOI:

10.3390/ani11071892

PubMed ID:

34202059

Uncontrolled Keywords:

avian biomarker breeding glucocorticoid poultry stress welfare

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/159200

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/159200

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