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Projecte llegit

Títol: Pododermatitis en ànecs de producció de foie gras: prevalença, factors de risc i estratègies de mitigació

Estudiant que ha llegit aquest projecte:

Tutor/Cotutor: FANLO GRASA, RAUL

Departament: DEAB

Títol: Pododermatitis en ànecs de producció de foie gras: prevalença, factors de risc i estratègies de mitigació

Data inici oferta: 20-01-2022      Data finalització oferta: 20-09-2022

Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    GR ENG CIEN AGRONOM

Lloc de realització:
EEABB

Segon tutor extern: alexandra contreras

Paraules clau:
pododermatitis anecs foie-gras

Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
La dermatitis de contacte és una lesió necròtica als coixinets plantars i els tarsos de les aus de corral causada per la descomposició del nitrogen de l'àcid úric excretat en amoníac. L¿amoníac al jaç és altament alcalí i crema químicament la superfície de la pell. Aquest problema no només provoca degradacions i condemnes de les potes de d'ànec vendibles, sinó que també és un indicador de benestar d¿aquests animals. El treball pretén: 1) avaluar la prevalença i severitat de pododermatitis d'ànecs destinats a producció de foie gras criats en condicions comercials en diferents etapes de la seva vida (cria, recria, engreix); 2) avaluar factors de risc (instal·lacions, tipus de sòl de la regió, estació de l'any) i 3) estimar la probabilitat de pododermatitis severa segons els paràmetres avaluats per 4) proposar estratègies de mitigació

Overview (resum en anglès): The controversy generated by the duck for foie production industry is mainly due to forced feeding during fattening. However, it should not be forgotten that ducks can also suffer from other welfare issues that may go unnoticed and that can be greatly alleviated in short or medium term. Footpad dermatitis (FPD) is a necrotic lesion on the footpad of poultry caused by the decomposition of excreted uric acid into ammonia. Ammonia in litter is highly alkaline and chemically burns the skin causing chronic pain in birds and therefore FPD is an indicator of poor animal welfare. In broilers, their mitigation strategies are well known and there are also official controls of the prevalence and severity of FPD through protocols that are reported to the competent authorities. Thus, a substantial improvement in the foot health of chickens in the European Union has been achieved. On the contrary, in ducks there is no control, no evaluation protocol and not even literature that reports the current prevalence of this problem. For this reason, it was proposed as a first approximation, to develop an adapted protocol of the Welfare Quality ® of broilers for ducks and thus be able to define the current prevalence and severity in commercial duck farms for foie production. Other indirect indicators of litter quality were also evaluated, such as the feather condition and lesions in the duck breast area at different time points. To achieve this goal, data from 19 flocks of Mulard ducks were compared. Additionally, correlations were made to find out the relationship among these indicators and the percentage of marketable duck breast losses by adding other batches evaluated under winter conditions but confined for the prevention of avian influenza. The results show that the percentage of more severe scores increases with age in all the indicators evaluated. At the end of fattening, severe FPD scores were always higher than 50% and, in some cases, exceeded 75% of the animals. The management of the bedding material (i.e. straw) by the farmer plays a very important role in the final prevalence. In addition, the higher the prevalence of severe FPD, the higher is the percentage of ducks with scorched feathers in the breast area and this, in turn, leads to a higher percentage of duck breast injuries and a greater loss of marketable duck breast. It conclusion, current levels of FPD are not acceptable in any case, and it is urgent to start a management program for these animals aimed at drastically reducing the prevalence of at least the most severe forms of these injuries.

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