What is it about?
Cobb broiler chicks which hatched earlier and hence spent a longer sojourn in the hatcher incubator without access to food showed a predisposition to tibial dyschondroplasia under feed conditions that were unexpectedly conducive to this condition. Recommendations for this breed to decrease this predisposition would be to remove chicks from the incubator earlier or adjust incubation conditions to allow a later (more normal) hatching time.
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Why is it important?
This adds knowledge to the predisposing cause(s) of tibial dyschondroplasia in meat chickens and provides simple measures to improve this in the Cobb broiler.
Perspectives
Incubation conditions have been shown to affect many leg weakness problems in modern broiler chickens. It has been known for some time that the embryos of the major broiler breeds develop at different rates and not adjusting incubation programs to suit may have effects on subsequent broiler growth and development. While many factors may contribute to tibial dyschondroplasia in broilers, correct incubation for the breed can easily modify the outcome.
Dr Peter J Groves
University of Sydney
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Earlier hatching time predisposes Cobb broiler chickens to tibial dyschondroplasia, animal, June 2016, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s1751731116001105.
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