Environmental complexity impacts anxiety in broiler chickens depending on genetic strain and body weight

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dc.contributor.authorUlans, Alexandraen
dc.contributor.authorBrooks, George C.en
dc.contributor.authorJacobs, Leonieen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-15T13:50:17Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-15T13:50:17Zen
dc.date.issued2024-07-30en
dc.description.abstractThe objective was to assess the impact of environmental complexity on affective state (anxiety) in fast- and slow-growing broilers (Gallus gallus domesticus) as they gain weight. Six hundred fast-growing broilers (Ross 708; “fast-growers”) and 600 slow-growing broilers (Hubbard Redbro Mini; “slow-growers”) were raised in 24 pens with simple (standard; SE) or complex (permanent and temporary enrichments; CE) environments. Six birds/pen underwent the attention bias test on day 23 (fast-growers only), 28–29, 35–36, 42–43, and 56–57 (slow-growers only), with individuals only tested once (n = 576). Proportion of birds feeding, time spent vigilant and latencies to eat and step were recorded. Greater vigilance and longer latencies indicate more anxiety. Slow-growers fed more (p = 0.001), were less vigilant (p = 0.003), and stepped sooner than fast-growers (p = 0.007). For both strains, likelihood of feeding was unrelated to weight in SE, but decreased with increasing weight in CE (p = 0.048). Birds in CE stepped sooner than birds in SE (p = 0.030). Vigilance increased with body weight (p = 0.024). These results indicate that affective state (anxiety) can change as birds gain weight, depending on environmental complexity and genetic strain. Overall, slow-growers showed reduced anxiety compared to fast-growers, across housing treatments or weights.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extent12 page(s)en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifierARTN 17535 (Article number)en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67965-zen
dc.identifier.eissn2045-2322en
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.orcidJacobs, Leonie [0000-0002-3799-5078]en
dc.identifier.other10.1038/s41598-024-67965-z (PII)en
dc.identifier.pmid39080356en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/124200en
dc.identifier.volume14en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNature Portfolioen
dc.relation.urihttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39080356en
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subject.meshAnimalsen
dc.subject.meshChickensen
dc.subject.meshBody Weighten
dc.subject.meshWeight Gainen
dc.subject.meshBehavior, Animalen
dc.subject.meshAnxietyen
dc.subject.meshEnvironmenten
dc.subject.meshMaleen
dc.titleEnvironmental complexity impacts anxiety in broiler chickens depending on genetic strain and body weighten
dc.title.serialScientific Reportsen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.otherArticleen
dc.type.otherJournalen
dcterms.dateAccepted2024-07-18en
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Techen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciencesen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciences/School of Animal Sciencesen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciences/CALS T&R Facultyen

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