Daily Chicken Feeding

Author: Abigail Fanous | Major: Biology

My name is Abigail Fanous and I am a part of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in biology. My research mentor is Dr. Adnan Alrubaye from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences. I began this research in Spring 2022 and it should be completed before the end of Summer 2022.

For this research we are conducting a study to see how well different feed additives are at preventing lameness in broiler chickens. This lameness is caused by bacteria from the respiratory system or gastrointestinal system which can leak into the bloodstream and cause Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis (BCO) lameness. This evaluation is important because BCO lameness is a huge animal welfare and food safety issue. We are testing three different types of feed additives and comparing them to the control for 56 days while counting the number of dead and lame chickens and analyzing their leg bones. Since the bacteria is spread respiratorily we are inducing lameness in the front two pens using wire flooring, which should then cause the bacteria to spread to the rest of the pens. Each day we check the temperature and feed each of the 26 pens. After day 21 we will “walk” the chickens every day to check for lameness and on the last day we will conduct further evaluations of their tibias and femurs as well as their overall weight. From this collected data we will be able to distinguish which diet(s) protected the chickens best against BCO lameness.

I chose my topic and research mentor when I received an email that Dr. Alrubaye was looking for undergraduate students to help with his research. I had been wanting to participate in research and after reading what the research was about, I thought it would be interesting to participate in. I have always been a huge advocate for animal welfare and have always disapproved of the way the poultry industry treats its animals. Lameness is the biggest factor of this because it causes great pain and suffering for the animal. Prior to doing this research I had thought that the only factor that caused lameness was due to the rapid growth of the chickens. This research taught me that this is only one of many factors that can be prevented.

I have the privilege of working with a supportive team of other undergraduate and graduate students. All the work that we do can not be accomplished without a team effort and I believe that all of us work very well together. We have faced some problems during our research thus far and have been able to learn and grow from them. At the very beginning of the trial there was an issue with one of the water lines being kinked meaning that the chicks did not have access to water and were dehydrated. Fortunately, we were able to catch this flaw before it became fatal. After this incident we made sure that all of the water lines to each pen were functioning properly at least three times a day.

This research has been a great experience for me because it is my first time working on a farm. It took a little while to get used to but I enjoy the work I get to do each day. I have learned how to analyze bones and distinguish between normal and abnormal femoral and tibial bones as well as how to take blood cultures. These are essential skills that I will be able to apply in a future lab setting. As we continue this research I am excited to see our findings and if these different additives cause a significant decrease in lameness.