System for exposing chicks to experimental intermittent electric shock.
A system for imposing mild electric shock on chicks was developed to study effects on health, behavior, and performance. A floor of parallel steel rods was wired so that the chick's foot or feet completed an electric circuit. Droppings spanning the gap between energized rods and ground rods caused short-circuiting occasionally and temporarily, creating a random-interval/random-duration generator. In one 48-h period, on average, the floor remained electrified for 2.7 +/- .19 min (mean +/- SD) then off 4.5 +/- .64 min. Chicks seemed to habituate to the shock over time. Therefore, in one experiment, the current from one point on a foot to another was increased daily from an estimated 2.9 mA on Day 1 to 8.7 mA on Day 7. When exposed to this electric shock regimen between 10 and 17 days of age, chicks' weight gain was reduced by 12%, feed intake by 5%, and gain:feed by 8%.
McFarlane
J M
JM
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801.
Curtis
S E
SE
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D004597:Electroshock / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000662:veterinary*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*