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Several countries and regions have regulations in place to provide standards for the welfare of production animals, which have implications for breeding, management and trade. In the chicken egg production industry, the welfare impacts of this are not well understood. In the past decades, free-range systems were widely used for local chicken breeds in poultry industry in China, but their use has gradually declined due to the lower competitiveness compared to commercial cage systems. However, the practices of free-range systems for hens raising have gradually increased again over the past decade, as consumer individualized demand for higher food quality and animal welfare has increased. We recruited 14 free-range farms and 45 cage farms from Beijing, Shandong, Hebei, Anhui, Yunnan, Gansu and Jiangsu provinces in China, for an evaluation of hen welfare, production and economic outcomes from farm operations. This study provides data for the welfare outcomes of laying hens in China and preliminarily explored the relationship between welfare level and economic income within farming system types. The researchers visited the farms and used Welfare Quality measures to investigate the welfare, and farm self-reported profits. Nonparametric Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare the welfare scores between cage and free-range rearing farms. Correlation and regression are used for the analysis of the animal welfare scores, economic data, and production metrics. The general income from free-range farms was linearly correlated with red mite score and stocking density (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). The results showed less centimeters of feeder and drinker space per animal in the free-range system than in cage systems (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). Welfare scores for both the stocking density and beak condition were significantly better in the free-range systems than the cage systems (p < 0.001), as were qualitative behavior assessment scores (p < 0.05). The total egg production and peak egg production in cage farms were much higher than in free-range farms (p < 0.001), and egg loss rate was significantly lower (p < 0.001). While the production efficiency of free-range farms was lower than that of cage farms, general income per 10,000 hens was actually higher. Our results provide some evidence that some welfare indicators and general income (per 10,000 hens) in free-range farms in China were better than those of cage farms. The results indicate that better parasite control and lower stocking densities may result in improved hen welfare on free-range farms and potentially improve profitability. The level of welfare and economic benefits of free-range farms vary widely, and there was potential room for improvement in feeding space, drinking water space and human–animal relationship.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate qualitative traits of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) from two different rearing systems (land-based tank filled with geothermal water vs offshore sea cage) and after short-term storage at chilling temperature (1, 2, or 3 days). Fish originated from the same batch were fed the same diet. Morpho-biometric traits, L*, a*, and b* colour parameters, texture, free water, proximate composition, total lipids, fatty acids, iron, and selenium contents were analyzed in the fillets. Most parameters were affected by rearing system. Compared to tank-reared fish, caged fish were shorter, poorer in visceral fat, and had higher incidence in cavity content and liver, lower incidence in gonads and head. Caged fish also had softer fillets in the epaxial site, which showed a higher tendency towards greenish colour. Caged fish also showed higher lipid content but lower Fe and Se content. Tank-reared fish fillets were more abundant in PUFAn-3, mainly due to DHA (18.54 vs 12.95%; P<0.001) and consequently showed the best healthiness indexes. Minimal changes, mostly involving colour and texture, were detected during the first three days of refrigerated storage. During storage, no significant modification of the parameters investigated could be ascribed to the rearing system.

The objective of this work was to evaluate, under indoors and outdoors rearing, the effect of crossing Cinta Senese (CS) with Italian Large White (ILW) and Italian Duroc (ID) breeds. Starting from 72 d of age, 9 CS, 8 ILWxCS and 7 IDxCS were reared outdoors (OUT) in 3 paddocks of 2 ha and 8 CS, 10 ILWxCS and 8 IDxCS pigs were reared indoors (IN) in three pens of 20 m 2 . All pigs, fed the same commercial diets, were weighed and measured periodically and were slaughtered at a target live weight of 150 kg. Indoor-pigs grew faster than the outdoor ones and crossbred pigs showed higher average daily gain than CS breed (476, 437 and 387 g/d for IDxCS, ILWxCS and CS, respectively). Rearing system had moderate or null effect on carcass and sample cut composition whereas the OUT pigs, when compared to IN ones, showed higher moisture and lower IMF in Longissimus L. and Psoas M. muscles and higher cooking loss of meat (22.1 vs 18.4 %) that resulted also less red (a* 10.94 vs 12.04). CS had more fat in carcass and more bone in sample cut than the crossbreeds. ILWxCS showed lower IMF content and higher moisture in muscles and brighter and less red meat than the other breeds, while IDxCS produced the most tender meat after cooking. The use of Italian Duroc could be profitable on Cinta Senese to improve the farming performance without worsening the fresh meat quality.

The present study investigated the isotopic and elemental profile (by IRMS and ICP–MS) of edible egg parts (29 egg whites and 29 yolks) mainly collected from Romania. In order to differentiate the egg white and yolk coming from different hen rearing systems (backyard and barn), Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) models were developed. The models’ accuracies for the discrimination according to the hen growing system were 96% for egg white and 100% for egg yolk samples, respectively. Elements that proved to have the highest discrimination power for both egg white and yolk were the following: δ13C, Li, B, Mg, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ba, La, Ce, and Pb. Nevertheless, the important compositional differentiation, in terms of essential mineral content, between the edible egg parts (egg white and egg yolk) were also pointed out. The estimated daily intake (EDI), the target hazard quotient (THQ) for Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Cd, Pb, and As, as well as the hazard index (HI) were used to assess non-carcinogenic human health risks from egg consumption. The obtained results showed no noticeable health risks related to egg consumption for humans from the point of view of the potentially toxic metals.

The review provides an overview of research concerning the assessment of cattle welfare in different housing systems. Hence, it restricts its scope to factors known to have a particular influence on the expression of their natural behaviours. It analyses the impact of housing systems on social and maternal bonds, as well as on the health and productivity of animals and on the feeding behaviour and physical activity of animals. It also pays attention to the occurrence of stereotypies, indicating the quality of the environment in which animals live, and attempts to determine the extent to which environmental enrichment improves welfare. It can be seen that welfare can vary significantly depending on the cattle rearing system. In intensive rearing environments, weaning calves and limited space often result in stress and behavioural disorders (e.g., cross-sucking). Extensive systems, offering access to pasture and longer cow–calf contact, usually provide higher levels of welfare. A freestall system allows greater freedom of movement and social contact but requires appropriate management to prevent aggression; in contrast, the tethering system limits movement, which increases the risk of stress and health problems. It has also been shown that enriching the living space of animals can significantly improve their welfare, regardless of the housing system. By balancing productivity with ensuring that the cattle are able to express their natural behaviours and maintain good health, it is possible to benefit both the animals and the agricultural sector as a whole, increasing its profitability and gaining consumer confidence.

The development of artificial diets for the cocoa pod borer Conopomorpha cramerella, a major pest of cocoa plants, has undergone significant advancements. In this study, we present the success rates of two diet formulations, MM1 and MM4, which have been progressively improved. Nutritional composition analysis revealed that the MM1 diet differed from the natural host, cocoa pods, in several aspects, including protein, carbohydrate, and vitamin C content. To address these differences, modifications were made to the diet compositions, leading to the MM4 diet version. These modifications resulted in improved diet quality and reduced contamination, leading to enhanced success rates in all stages of C. cramerella development. Larval development, pupation success rates, and adult emergence rates were significantly higher in the MM4 diet compared with the MM1 diet. Moreover, the duration of larval development and pupal stage decreased, while adult longevity increased with the MM4 diet. The overall development success of diet-reared insects from egg to adult was comparable with that of insects reared on cocoa pods. However, the cocoon formation, body length and fresh weight of the adults reared on the artificial diets were lower than those reared on cocoa pods. This diet formulation provides a promising approach for laboratory rearing of C. cramerella and opens avenues for further research and mass-rearing initiatives to mitigate the impact of this pest on cocoa production.

Our aim was to evaluate a foster cow–calf rearing system on the adoption or acceptance of fostered calves, milk production and udder health, as well as calf health and weight gain, and to compare this fostering system to traditional rearing. The foster group (FG) consisted of 8 cows each suckling 3 fostered calves with continuous contact. The control group (CG) was a conventional milking system, whereby cows and control calves were kept separate. The duration of the experiment was 8 weeks. Behavioural observations were carried out after the calves were introduced to the FG to find out if and how many calves were adopted or accepted (complete or incomplete maternal behaviour expressed, respectively). Milk production (let down) was recorded daily for CG and once a week for FG (after 8-h of no suckling). Milk samples were collected once a week from both groups for California mastitis test, Wisconsin test, and somatic cell count. A daily record of the incidence of diarrhoea was made on the calves and they were weighed once a week. Results showed that six of the eight FC cows had adopted the three calves, whilst one adopted two calves and accepted one and one adopted one calf and accepted two. One other cow refused all three calves from the outset and was removed from the study. Milk production at a single milking was 2.52 ± 1.04 (mean ± sd) 10.07 ± 0.76 l for FG and CG, respectively. Udder health improved over time in FG as evidenced by a progressive reduction in SCC. The average weight gain for FG calves was higher than for CG (700.7 ± 97.7 vs. 471 ± 188.7 g/d). In conclusion, the foster-cow rearing system was well received by most cows, the udder health on FG showed an improvement in comparison to the CG, and a higher weight gain was found in FC compared to the CC in a traditional rearing system.

Background In China, cage systems with a high space utilization have gradually replaced ground litter systems, but the disease incidence of chickens in cages is higher. Broilers in the ground litter pens may be stimulated by more environmental microbes during the growth process and show strong immune function and status, but knowledge of which microbes and their metabolites play an immunomodulatory role is still limited. This study aimed to explore the differences and correlations in the immune function, gut microbiota and metabolites and the importance of gut microbiota of broilers raised in cages and ground litter pens. Methods The experiment involved a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with rearing systems (cages or ground litter pens) and antibiotic treatment (with or without broad-spectrum antibiotics in drinking water) as factors. Results The results showed that, compared with the cage group, the ground litter broilers had stronger nonspecific immune function (Macrophages% and NO in blood), humoral immune function (IgG in blood, LPS stimulation index in ileum) and cellular immune function (T%, Tc%, ConA stimulation index and cytokines in blood). Antibiotic (ABX) treatment significantly reduced nonspecific immune function (Macrophages% and NO in blood, iNOS and Mucin2 mRNA expression in ileum), humoral immune function (IgG in blood and sIgA in ileum) and cellular immune function (T% and cytokines in blood, Th and Tc ratio, TLRs and cytokines mRNA expression in ileum). Furthermore, the ground litter broilers had higher α diversity of microbiota in ileum. The relative abundance of Staphylococcus , Jeotgalicoccus , Jeotgalibaca and Pediococcus in the ileum of ground litter broilers were higher. ABX treatment significantly reduced the α diversity of ileal microbiota, with less Chloroplast and Mitochondria . In addition, the levels of acetic acid, isobutyric acid, kynurenic acid and allolithocholic acid in the ileum of ground litter broilers were higher. Spearman correlation analysis showed that Jeotgalibaca , Pediococcus , acetic acid, kynurenic acid and allolithocholic acid were related to the immune function. Conclusions There were more potential pathogens, litter breeding bacteria, short-chain fatty acids, kynurenine, allolithocholic acid and tryptophan metabolites in the ileum of broilers in ground litter pens, which may be the reason for its stronger immune function and status.

The demand for poultry meat, being cheaper than red meat, will drive worldwide production of this product. Accordingly, an increase in production up to 16% is expected in 2025, most of which will occur in developing countries. Most poultry meat production is realized with intensive production systems, and extensive rearing systems (ERS) of poultry (organic, free-range, and low-input) represent only a small portion of poultry production in the EU (about 5%). However, there is an increasing interest in such rearing systems to maintain the good image of product and environmental sustainability, improved animal welfare, and meat quality with an annual trend of growth of about 10%. The aims of this work were to summarize the activities and the viewpoint of the researchers of the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science of the University of Perugia (Italy). One of the most important goals of the research unit was the challenge of identifying the best poultry genotypes for ERS, which are important not only for the food industry but also for the improvement of human nutrition. Only the definition of the best genotypes adapted to ERS through the measurement of a wide panel of traits—genetic, physiologic, and behavior—and not only relying on daily weight gain will allow us to achieve this goal.

The quality of poultry products depends on genotype, rearing system, and environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different rearing systems on meat quality, amino acid composition, and breast muscle transcriptome from Lueyang black-bone chickens. Lueyang black-bone chickens (n = 900) were randomly divided into three groups (cage, flat-net, and free-range groups), with three replicates per group (100 chickens per replicate). At 16 weeks, a total of 36 healthy chickens (six males and six females per group) were collected, and their breast muscles were sampled to detect meat quality parameters, amino acid composition, and fatty acid contents. Furthermore, breast muscles from six random hens in each group were used for RNA-seq analysis. The results revealed that the values of pH, shear force, inosine monophosphate (IMP), palmitic acid, and linoleic acid in the free-range group were significantly higher than those in the caged group (p < 0.05). Fat content in the free-range group was significantly lower than in the caged and flat-net groups (p < 0.05). Glutamate (Glu) levels, the amino acid crucial for the umami taste, was significantly higher in the free-range group than in the caged group (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, there was no significant difference between the free-range and flat-net groups (p > 0.05). The breast muscle transcriptome results showed that there were 291, 131, and 387 differently expressed genes (DEGs) among the three comparison groups (caged vs. free-range, flat-net vs. caged, and flat-net vs. free-range, respectively) that were mainly related to muscle development and amino acid metabolism pathways. To validate the accuracy of the transcriptome data, eight genes (GOS2, ASNS, NMRK2, GADL1, SMTNL2, SLC7A5, AMPD1, and GLUL) which relate to fat deposition, skeletal muscle function, and flavor formation were selected for Real-time Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) verification. In conclusion, these results suggested that rearing systems significantly influenced the meat quality and gene expression of Lueyang black-bone chickens. All the data proved that free-range and flat-net systems may provide better flavor to consumers by affecting the deposition of flavor substances and the expression of related genes. These findings will provide a valuable theoretical basis for the rearing system selection in the poultry industry.