October 22, 2019

Hendrix Genetics part of network to explore factors affecting stress response in poultry
 

A multi-million European-wide project to improve the conditions of egg-laying chickens was launched in early-October, coinciding with World Animal Day, Hendrix Genetics said.

The company is one of the 20 partners working together as part of The ChickenStress European Training Network (ETN). This project will train future leaders in a range of scientific studies and help egg producers attain the best possible welfare standards for chickens. This project has received €3.9 million (US$4.3 million) investment from the EU Marie Curie Fund.

Over the course of four years, 14 international studies, under the supervision of world experts in their fields, will be conducted to learn more about factors that contribute to stress response and resilience in poultry. 

According to Hendrix Genetics, the main goal of the project is to understand the stress response of chickens in various environments. A number of factors will be examined, including the impact of their housing system and feed programme.

Dr. Tom Smulders from Newcastle University who is leading the project explained: "We will study how stress affects the brain and use this knowledge to identify best practice. We don't know, for example, how the environment in which they are reared affects how well they adapt to the free-range systems they will be housed in adulthood… These are the kind of welfare questions we want to answer with this project."

A variety of methods will be used over the projects to measure stress responses and responsivity in laying hens, including markers in the brain (neurogenesis, different neurotransmitters), stress hormones, behavioral tests and observations, and health parameters.

Each project will involve a PhD student as part of the initiative to develop future scientific leaders.

- Hendrix Genetics