Leishman, Emily M; van Staaveren, Nienke; McIntyre, Don R; Mohr, Jeff; Wood, Benjamin J; Baes, Christine F; Harlander-Matauschek, Alexandra (2020). Describing the growth and molt of modern domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) primary wing feathers. Journal of animal science, 98(12) Oxford University Press 10.1093/jas/skaa373
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The use of feathers as noninvasive physiological measurements of biomarkers in poultry research is expanding. Feather molting patterns and growth rates, however, are not well described in domestic poultry. These parameters could influence the measurement of these biomarkers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the juvenile primary feather molting patterns and feather growth rates for domestic turkeys. The 10 primary wing feathers of 48 female turkeys were measured weekly from week 1 (0 d of age) to week 20. Feathers were manually measured, and the presence or absence of each primary feather was recorded weekly. Generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate if feather growth differed between the primary feathers. The molting of the juvenile primary feathers followed a typical descending pattern starting with P1 (5 wk of age), while P9 and P10 had not molted by the end of the study (20 wk of age). The average feather growth rate was 2.4 cm/wk, although there was a significant difference between the 10 primary feathers (P < 0.0001, 2.1 to 2.8 cm/wk). Over time, feather growth followed a pattern where the growth rate reaches a peak and then declines until the feather is molted. The results of this study provide a critical update of patterns of molting and feather growth in primary wing feathers of modern turkeys. This can have implications for the interpretation of physiological biomarkers, such as the longitudinal deposition of corticosterone, in the feathers of domestic turkeys.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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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: |
1525-3163 |
Publisher: |
Oxford University Press |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Christine Francoise Baes |
Date Deposited: |
13 Sep 2021 11:47 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 15:53 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1093/jas/skaa373 |
PubMed ID: |
33205202 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Meleagris gallopavo feather growth molting primary feathers |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/159201 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/159201 |
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