Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research was conducted to determine if vocalizations of chickens could be used to indicate if birds are straining under various types of environmental stressors such as heat, crowding and human presence. Habituation to stressors were also determined by vocalizations. Chickens of multiple ages and of either layer type or broiler type birds were used in the studies. Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were determined in chickens to determine the how the ABR waveforms change with age of the bird. LED lighting devices were analyzed with a spectroradiometer to determine their spectral quality and applicability for use with poultry. Therapeutic supplementation of Caprylic Acid in broiler feed was studied to determine if this naturally occurring organic acid could reduce Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis colonization in three- and six-week old commercial broiler chickens. The results of these projects were presented at the 2008 and 2009 annual meetings of the Poultry Science Association, Inc. and published in the Journal of Applied Poultry Research or Poultry Science. Vocalization data were also published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and presented at regional and national meetings of the Acoustical Society. Information on energy efficient lighting has been presented at regional extension conferences in New England and Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Michael J. Darre is the PI on the project and collaborated with several individuals including Dr. Kumar Venkitanarayanan, a food microbiologist, on use of natural antimicrobial agents to reduce Salmonella in chickens. Anup Kollanoor Johny is a Ph.D. candidate whose dissertation is on the use of various natural antimicrobial agents to reduce Salmonella in poultry. He performed the basic research and analyzed the data for the reports. Dr. Peter M. Scheifele,an animal audiologist at the University of Cincinnati, was the Co-Pi on the hearing and vocalization studies in poultry. Ebenezer Otu-Nyarko is a Ph.D. candidate working on vocalizations of poultry as a means of determining stress. He also performed Auditory Brainstem Response analysis on chickens of different ages, as part of his Ph.D. dissertation project. His research involved a great deal of specialized training on his part to learn the techniques involved in the use of a Hidden Markov Model to analyze vocalizations and the use of electrophysiological recording methods for hearing analysis. TARGET AUDIENCES: Persons rearing poultry for eggs or meat, either commercially or for their own use, can use the results of our research to improve the welfare and production of their birds. By incorporating natural antimicrobial agents into their management scheme organic poultry producers can reduce the incidence of Salmonella in their birds. Understanding how vocalizations can be used as indicators of stress is knowledge any poultry producer or researcher would find useful. Energy efficient lighting is of value to both commercial and non commercial poultry producers. This type of information is being disseminated at professional society meetings and extension type meetings for large and small flock producers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Vocalizations of chickens subjected to environmental stressors differ in waveform, amplitude and frequency from the same birds under non-stress conditions. Vocal patterns for different distress calls may be used to determine when birds are distressed due to a change in their environment. Habituation to human presence was occurring within 30 days of exposure to the same investigator as measured by stress vocalizations. The fear response appeared to return when an unfamiliar investigator entered the pen. Our data further validate that vocalizations can be used as an indicator of strain by the bird in response to a stressor. Reducing the population of Salmonella organisms in poultry is important to the reduction of human cases derived from poultry food products and Caprylic acid, along with other measures, may be used to successfully reduce Salmonella in live poultry. LED and Cold Cathode Tube lighting may help reduce the energy usage on farms since LED lamps use about 90% less energy to produce the same light output of standard incandescent lamps. CCT lamps may be used in some facilities and save 60 to 80% of the energy required of similar incandescent lamps.
Publications
- Kollanoor J.A., Mattson, T., Sangeetha, A.B., Amalaradjou, M.A.R., March, B., Valipe, S., Babapoor, S., Darre, M.J., Khan, M.A., Hoagland, T.A., Schreiber, D.T., Donoghue, A.M., Donoghue, D.J., Venkitanarayanan, K. 2009. Therapeutic supplementation of caprylic acid in feed reduces Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in three and six week old commercial broiler chickens. Poultry Sci. 88(Supplement 1):130 Abstract # 445P
- Johny, A.K., Baskaran, S.A., Charles, A.S., Amalaradjou, M.A.R., Darre, M.J., Khan, M.I., Hoagland, T.A., Schreiber, D.T., Donoghue, A.M., Donoghue, D.J., Venkitanarayanan, K. 2009. Prophylactic supplementation of caprylic acid in feed reduces Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in commercial broiler chicks. J. of Food Protection. 72, #4:722-727
- Otu-Nyarko, E., Scheifele, P., Miller, D., Darre, M. 2009. A comparative study of chickens auditory brainstem responses(ABR):The effect of age, sex and production type on the morphology of the waveforms. Poultry Sci. 88(Supplement 1):121 Abstract #413P
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: A three month experiment was conducted at the University of Connecticut Poultry Unit to investigate if habituation in laying hens to humans could be detected from their vocalizations using bioacoustical techniques. Twenty five (25) white leghorn hens were randomly selected from a flock of 450 for use in this experiment. The birds were housed in a floor pen. Two investigators (A and B) were involved in the study. Investigator A worked with the birds for the first two months. Investigator B worked with the birds for the last month of the study. Each investigator spent 30 min every other day disturbing the birds in the pen. This was accomplished by walking, waving arms, moving the feeder or water and making noise. Audio and Video recordings were made simultaneously. The analysis of the recordings was performed using a Power Spectrum Analysis and Hidden Markov Model. This data is being shared with others in this regional project at this time. When completed the data will be published and shared with a broader audience, including poultry producers and poultry researchers. One hundred day-old commercial broiler chicks (Pureline Genetics, Norwich, CT) were weighed, and randomly distributed into 5 groups of 20 birds each. The groups included: 1. Negative control - 0% CA and no SE; 2.CA control - 1% CA and no SE; 3.Positive control - 0% CA and 105CFU/mL SE; 4.High dose CA - 1% CA and 105CFU/mL SE; 5.Low dose CA - 0.7% CA and 105CFU/mL SE. A five strain mixture of SE isolates (4 chicken + 1 human) pre-induced for resistance to nalidixic acid (NA)(50 micro grams/ml) was used for infecting chicks. On day 8, the birds were challenged with SE. Six birds from each group were sacrificed by CO2 asphyxiation and dissected on days 1, 7 and 10 post infection (PI) to collect organ samples (cecum, cloaca, small intestine, crop, liver, and spleen). The experiment was replicated three times. Body weight of each group of birds and feed consumption were determined. The study was replicated three times. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS: PI - Michael J. Darre, Ph.D., P.A.S., Professor of Poultry Science, Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut. PI - Peter M. Scheifele, MDr, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Communications Disorders Department, Audiology, Neuroscience & Bioacoustics, University of Cincinnati. Collaborator - Michael T. Johnson, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Marquette University. Graduate Student - Ebenezer Otu-Nyarko, M.S. A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut. PI - Kumar Venkitanarayanan, Professor of Animal Science, University of Connecticut. Graduate Student Anup Koolanor Johny- Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Animal Science, University of Connecticut. TARGET AUDIENCES: TARGET AUDIENCES: Poultry producers, poultry researchers, audiologists, animal bioacousticians, and others interested in vocalizations of animals would be those primarily interested in the results of our research on animal audioloty. Poultry producers, poultry researchers, microbiologists and food safety researchers would be those primarily interested in the results of our research on Salmonella. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Our data indicate that habituation to human presence was occurring after 30 days of exposure to the same investigator as measured by stress vocalizations. The fear response appeared to return when an unfamiliar investigator entered the pen. The waveforms and spectrograms are very similar for months 1 and 3, indicating stress vocalizations, but were returning to unstressed levels for month two. Our results further validate that vocalizations can be used as an indicator of strain by the bird in response to a stressor. Non-invasive means of determining stress in animals is important for determining the health and welfare of poultry reared under commercial conditions. Continuous monitoring of poultry by acoustical methods appears to be successful in determining the presence of stressors in the environment of chickens. No Salmonella was detected from unchallenged control groups (negative and CA controls). SE counts in the cecum were reduced by ~2.5 log CFU/g compared to control by 10 d PI in 1% CA group. SE counts in the cloaca was reduced to 2 log CFU/g by 10 d PI in 1% CA-treated group. SE counts in the crop and intestinal samples were reduced to ~1.5 log CFU/g in both CA-treated groups. SE counts in the liver and spleen were reduced significantly on 7 and 10 d PI (P<0.05) in both CA groups. No apparent change was noticed for the cecal endogenous microflora counts (~7.5-8 log CFU/mL). No abnormalities were observed in the cecum and liver samples of CA-treated groups upon histologic examination. No significant difference was noticed for feed consumption or body weights among the five groups of birds. CA (0.7 and 1%) significantly reduced SE populations in 18-day old chicks. Therefore Caprylic acid could potentially be used commercially as an antimicrobial additive in feed to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis in chickens. Salmonella is a major food borne organism with potential to cause harm to humans. Reducing the population of Salmonella organisms in poultry is important to the reduction of human cases derived from poultry food products. Caprylic acid, along with other measures, may be used to successfully reduce Salmonella in live poultry.
Publications
- Anup, K.J, Darre, M.J., Hoagland, T.A., Schreiber, D.T., Donoghue A.M., Donoghue, D.J., Venkitanarayanan, K. 2008. Antibacterial Effect of Trans-cinnamaldehyde on Salmonella Enteritidis and Campylobacter jejuni in Chicken Drinking Water. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 17(4):490-497
- Anup, K.J., Baskaran, S.A., Charles, A.S., Amalaradjou, M.A.R., Darre, M.J., Khan, M.I., Hoagland, T.A., Schreiber, D.T., Donoghue, A.M., Donoghue, D.J., Venkitanarayanan, K. 2008 Prophylactic supplementation of caprylic acid in feed reduces Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in commercial broiler chicks. J. of Food Protection. (Accepted)
- Otu-Nyarko,E., Darre, M.J., Scheifele, P.M., Miller, D.B., Johnson, M.T. 2008. Classification of stressful vocalizations of captive laying chickens using the Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Poultry Sci. 87(Annual Meeting Abstracts)185 (p59-60)
- Anup,K.J., Sangeetha1, A.B., Anu, S.C., Amalaradjou, M.A.R., Darre, M.J., Khan, M.A., Hoagland, T.A., Schreiber, D.T., Donoghue, A.M., Donoghue, D.J., Venkitanarayanan, K. 2008. Prophylactic supplementation of caprylic acid in feed reduces Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in commercial broiler chicks. Poultry Sci. 87(Annual Meeting Abstracts)TP397 (p125-126)
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Vocal patterns between stressed and non-stressed chickens were determined using 36 week old Single Comb White Leghorn chickens exposed to seven environmental treatments. Birds were housed in a litter floor pen at 252 sq in/bird. The treatments were: control, heat stressed (90 to 100oF), crowding (144 sq in/bird), human presence (walking around the pen), heat stress and human presence, heat stress and crowding and heat stress and handling (physically catching and holding a bird). This data is being shared with others in this regional project at this time. When completed the data will be published and shared with a broader audience, including poultry producers and poultry researchers.
PARTICIPANTS: PI - Michael J. Darre, Ph.D., P.A.S., Professor of Poultry Science, Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut. PI - Peter M. Scheifele, MDr, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Communications Disorders Department, Audiology, Neuroscience & Bioacoustics, University of Cincinnati. Collaborator - Michael T. Johnson, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Marquette University. Graduate Student - Ebenezer Otu-Nyarko, M.S. A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut. As a result of this project the participants were trained by Dr. Johnson in the use of the Hidden Markhov statistical model to analyze complex vocalizations of poultry. The participants also learned more about the auditory and vocal apparatus of the chicken.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Poultry producers, poultry researchers, audiologists, animal bioacousticians, and others interested in vocalizations of animals would be those primarily interested in the results of our research.
Impacts
The results revealed that both the intensity and peak frequency of vocalizations of the chickens exposed to environmental stressors increased compared to the control birds. The combination of heat and handling resulted in the highest intensity vocalizations. The peak frequencies were not significantly different between the treatment groups, but were all significantly different from the control birds. Our increased understanding of the waveform, amplitude and frequency of vocalizations of chickens exposed to environmental stressors will help in identifying birds that are straining in response to environmental stressors. The use of the Hidden Markhov voice recognition computer model will help in classifying and identifying stress vocalizations in these birds.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Preliminary data indicate differences in vocal patterns between stressed and non-stressed chickens. This was determined on heat stressed 15 week old leghorns and social stressed seven week old leghorn chicks. It was found that there were differences in the waveform, amplitude and pitch (frequency) of vocalizations of seven week old SCWL chicks exposed to a social stress of human presence. The data on the seven and 15 week old chickens is preliminary and more data is being collected for analysis by the HMM (Hidden Markov Model) for acoustic differences. Research is being conducted on the use of light emitting diodes (LED) and cold cathode lamps for poultry production systems. Preliminary data indicate cost savings over incandescent and compact fluorescent lamps under poultry house conditions. Not all LED sources are of equal construction and will last as long as predicted. The use of LED for cage layer facilities is being studied.
Impacts
Although only preliminary in nature, the findings indicate that vocalizations of chickens subjected to environmental stressors differ in waveform, amplitude and frequency from the same birds under non-stress conditions. It is postulated that vocal patterns for different distress calls may be used to determine when birds are distressed due to a change in their environment. LED and Cold Cathode Tube lighting may help reduce the energy usage on farms since LED lamps use about 90% less energy to produce the same light output of standard incandescent lamps. CCT lamps may be used in some facilities and save 60 to 80% of the energy required of similar incandescent lamps.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Recordings of vocalizations of chickens under commercial environmental conditions have been made and have been sent to Dr. Michael Johnson at Marquette University for pattern analysis using the Hidden Markhov Model. These data, along with the ambient noise level in the buildings will be used to develop a distress vocalization pattern identification model for use in other poultry facilities. We have also obtained equipment to perform auditory brain stem responses (ABR) of chickens to sound. These ABR's will be used to develop a more accurate audiogram of the current genetic strains of commercial poultry.
Impacts
Preliminary findings indicate that noise may be an environmental factor of concern for poultry. Since OSHA has developed guidelines for workplace noise levels for humans, it may not be long before similar regulations are developed for domestic farm animal species. The NE-1022 group can establish leadership in the development of guidelines in this area. Vocalization analysis/monitoring may be a method of determining the welfare of poultry under commercial conditions. Isolating the vocal pattern for different distress calls may be used to monitor the level of distress the birds are demonstrating under various commercial conditions.
Publications
- Scheifele, P.M., Musiek, F.E., Max, L., Andrew, S., Cooper, R.A., Darre, M. 2005. Indication of a Lombard vocal response in the St. Lawrence River beluga. Journal Acous, Soc. Amer. 117(1):1-12
- Scheifele, P. M., Darre, M.J. 2005. Noise levels and sources in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the St. Lawrence River Estuary. Marine Conservation Series MSD-05-01. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospehric Administration, Marine Sanctuaries Division, Silver Spring, MD 26 pp.
- Vasudevan, P., Marek, P., Nair, M.K.M., Annamalai, T., Darre, M., Khan, M., Venkitanarayanan, K. 2005. In Vitro Inactivation of Salmonella Enteritidis in Autoclaved Chicken Cecal Contents by Caprylic Acid. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 14:122-125.
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