A new study using radiography to examine the keel bone throughout the laying period has recently been published in PLOS ONE by researchers of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut. The aim was to compare the prevalence and severity of keel bone fractures and deviations between layer lines differing in phylogenetic background and laying performance and between single cages and a floor housing system. Hens were radiographed in the 35th, 51st and 72nd week of age. Each image was assessed for fracture yes / no and deviation yes / no. Furthermore, deviations were measured in order to estimate their severity. Fracture prevalence increased with age. The size of deviated keel bone area increased only for hens in cages of some layer lines. Significant differences between the two housing systems show that there seem to be different causes for fractures on one hand and deviations on the other hand. Furthermore, significant differences between the layer lines were found, confirming the role of genetics in and indicating a possible influence of high laying performance on keel bone damage. For more details please have a look at the publication which can be found here:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194974
Eusemann BK, Baulain U, Schrader L, Thöne-Reineke C, Patt A, Petow S (2018) Radiographic examination of keel bone damage in living laying hens of different strains kept in two housing systems. PLoS ONE 13(5): e0194974. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194974
Beryl Eusemann (left) and Stefanie Petow (right)
