Theethawat Uea-Anuwong , Yi Kei Lam , Denis Yau , Cheuk Ming Li , Chen Xin , Surya Paudel , Anne Conan , Dirk Udo Pfeiffer , Ákos Kenéz
{"title":"温湿指数对香港笼养黄羽肉鸡夏季热应激行为和福利的影响","authors":"Theethawat Uea-Anuwong , Yi Kei Lam , Denis Yau , Cheuk Ming Li , Chen Xin , Surya Paudel , Anne Conan , Dirk Udo Pfeiffer , Ákos Kenéz","doi":"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2025.104224","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This observational study investigated the effects of the temperature-humidity index (THI) on heat stress behavior, hormonal response, and body temperature of battery-caged yellow-feathered broilers on a Hong Kong poultry farm equipped with ventilation fans and foggers from August to September 2023. Twenty-six units distributed in the sidewall and inner zones of the chicken house were randomly selected for real-time THI measurement using data loggers. Each unit comprised six cages with three birds each. All chickens in the selected cages were scored for heat stress behaviors (n = 468). The body temperature and live weight of one randomly selected chicken per cage were measured on days 72 and 90 of age (n = 156). Two broilers per unit were randomly selected for blood corticosterone (n = 52). Although the sidewall zones were more exposed to sunlight than the inner zones, the data loggers showed no difference in the THI between these zones. Forty-five out of 468 chickens (9.6 %, 95 % CI 44.97–45.03) exhibited high heat stress behavior under high THI conditions. The THI and the zones showed no statistically significant associations with our observations of heat stress behavior and body weight change. The serum corticosterone levels of individual broilers measured in the afternoon were consistently lower than those measured in the morning; however, no significant difference was detected between the different zones of the house. In conclusion, the relatively small proportion of birds exhibiting heat stress behavior suggests that the native yellow-feathered broilers had considerable adaptive capacity to tolerate the hot and humid climate during summer in Hong Kong.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17428,"journal":{"name":"Journal of thermal biology","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 104224"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Impact of temperature-humidity index on heat stress behavior and welfare of battery-caged yellow-feathered native broilers during summertime in Hong Kong: An observational study\",\"authors\":\"Theethawat Uea-Anuwong , Yi Kei Lam , Denis Yau , Cheuk Ming Li , Chen Xin , Surya Paudel , Anne Conan , Dirk Udo Pfeiffer , Ákos Kenéz\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.jtherbio.2025.104224\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>This observational study investigated the effects of the temperature-humidity index (THI) on heat stress behavior, hormonal response, and body temperature of battery-caged yellow-feathered broilers on a Hong Kong poultry farm equipped with ventilation fans and foggers from August to September 2023. Twenty-six units distributed in the sidewall and inner zones of the chicken house were randomly selected for real-time THI measurement using data loggers. Each unit comprised six cages with three birds each. All chickens in the selected cages were scored for heat stress behaviors (n = 468). The body temperature and live weight of one randomly selected chicken per cage were measured on days 72 and 90 of age (n = 156). Two broilers per unit were randomly selected for blood corticosterone (n = 52). Although the sidewall zones were more exposed to sunlight than the inner zones, the data loggers showed no difference in the THI between these zones. Forty-five out of 468 chickens (9.6 %, 95 % CI 44.97–45.03) exhibited high heat stress behavior under high THI conditions. The THI and the zones showed no statistically significant associations with our observations of heat stress behavior and body weight change. The serum corticosterone levels of individual broilers measured in the afternoon were consistently lower than those measured in the morning; however, no significant difference was detected between the different zones of the house. In conclusion, the relatively small proportion of birds exhibiting heat stress behavior suggests that the native yellow-feathered broilers had considerable adaptive capacity to tolerate the hot and humid climate during summer in Hong Kong.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":17428,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of thermal biology\",\"volume\":\"132 \",\"pages\":\"Article 104224\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":2.9000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-08-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of thermal biology\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"99\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306456525001810\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"生物学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"BIOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of thermal biology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306456525001810","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Impact of temperature-humidity index on heat stress behavior and welfare of battery-caged yellow-feathered native broilers during summertime in Hong Kong: An observational study
This observational study investigated the effects of the temperature-humidity index (THI) on heat stress behavior, hormonal response, and body temperature of battery-caged yellow-feathered broilers on a Hong Kong poultry farm equipped with ventilation fans and foggers from August to September 2023. Twenty-six units distributed in the sidewall and inner zones of the chicken house were randomly selected for real-time THI measurement using data loggers. Each unit comprised six cages with three birds each. All chickens in the selected cages were scored for heat stress behaviors (n = 468). The body temperature and live weight of one randomly selected chicken per cage were measured on days 72 and 90 of age (n = 156). Two broilers per unit were randomly selected for blood corticosterone (n = 52). Although the sidewall zones were more exposed to sunlight than the inner zones, the data loggers showed no difference in the THI between these zones. Forty-five out of 468 chickens (9.6 %, 95 % CI 44.97–45.03) exhibited high heat stress behavior under high THI conditions. The THI and the zones showed no statistically significant associations with our observations of heat stress behavior and body weight change. The serum corticosterone levels of individual broilers measured in the afternoon were consistently lower than those measured in the morning; however, no significant difference was detected between the different zones of the house. In conclusion, the relatively small proportion of birds exhibiting heat stress behavior suggests that the native yellow-feathered broilers had considerable adaptive capacity to tolerate the hot and humid climate during summer in Hong Kong.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Thermal Biology publishes articles that advance our knowledge on the ways and mechanisms through which temperature affects man and animals. This includes studies of their responses to these effects and on the ecological consequences. Directly relevant to this theme are:
• The mechanisms of thermal limitation, heat and cold injury, and the resistance of organisms to extremes of temperature
• The mechanisms involved in acclimation, acclimatization and evolutionary adaptation to temperature
• Mechanisms underlying the patterns of hibernation, torpor, dormancy, aestivation and diapause
• Effects of temperature on reproduction and development, growth, ageing and life-span
• Studies on modelling heat transfer between organisms and their environment
• The contributions of temperature to effects of climate change on animal species and man
• Studies of conservation biology and physiology related to temperature
• Behavioural and physiological regulation of body temperature including its pathophysiology and fever
• Medical applications of hypo- and hyperthermia
Article types:
• Original articles
• Review articles