title: The effects of claw removal on growth rate, gonadal steroids, and stress response in cage reared pullets.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of claw removal on young pullets grown in wire cages. Body weight, feed consumption, stress response, and gonadal steroid date were collected to assess the effects of claw removal and growing pullets. Claw removal posed an initial physiological insult upon chicks that resulted in a reduction in body weight gain and reduced feed consumption during the early grow-out period. However, by 20 weeks of age there were no significant differences between the body weights of intact and declawed pullets. No significant differences in plasma corticosterone, progesterone, or estradiol were observed, nor were there any significant differences in mortality or antibody response during the course of the 20-week study. Nevertheless, several declawed pullets demonstrated relatively precocious egg laying, suggesting that claw removal enhanced sexual maturity.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D004435:Eating; D004958:Estradiol / Q000032:analysis; D005528:Foot / Q000601:surgery*; D006066:Gonads / Q000737:chemistry; D006799:Housing, Animal; D011200:Poultry; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D011374:Progesterone / Q000032:analysis; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol