Poult. Sci.
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Poult Sci 2009. 88:2052-2062. doi:10.3382/ps.2009-00113
© 2009 Poultry Science Association
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GENETICS

Analysis of severe feather pecking behavior in a high feather pecking selection line

R. Labouriau*, J. B. Kjaer{dagger}, G. C. G. Abreu*, J. Hedegaard* and A. J. Buitenhuis*,1

* Aarhus University, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark; and {dagger} Institute for Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, 29223 Celle, Germany

1 Corresponding author: bart.buitenhuis{at}agrsci.dk

Even though feather pecking (FP) in laying hens has been extensively studied, a good solution to prevent chickens from this behavior under commercial circumstances has not been found. Selection against FP behavior is possible, but for a more effective selection across different populations, it is necessary to characterize the genetic mechanism associated with this behavior. In this study, we use a high FP selection line, which has been selected for 8 generations. We present evidence of the presence of a major dominant allele affecting the FP behavior by using an argument based on the presence of mixture in the distribution of the observed FP and by studying the evolution of the proportion of very high FP along the sequence of 8 generations. This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that the gene transcription profile of the birds performing high FP differs from the profile of the other birds performing FP (456 genes differentially expressed from a total of 14,077 investigated genes).

Key Words: severe feather pecking • selection • modeling • inheritance pattern






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