Infectious diseases are a major cause of high chicken morbidity and mortality rates, and subsequent use of antimicrobials thereby fostering the development of antimicrobial resistance. While vaccination is a key preventive measure which subsequently reduces reliance on antimicrobials, its implementation in low-income countries is often hindered by socioeconomic and farming challenges. This cross-sectional study evaluated vaccination uptake, completeness, timeliness and farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices across 200 commercial layer chicken farms in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, and Unguja from March to June 2023. Data analysis included ANOVA, t-tests, and multivariable logistic regression. The study revealed mean scores of 55.20% for vaccination knowledge, 81.65% for attitudes on vaccination, and 55.10% for practices related to vaccination among the farmers assessed. Vaccination uptake ranged from 1 to 9 vaccines (median: 3). While 74% of farms vaccinated against the three nationally recommended core diseases (Newcastle disease, infectious bursal disease, and fowl pox), only 5% vaccinated against bacterial diseases. Compliance was suboptimal, with 47.50% of farms having incomplete schedules and 93% reporting at least one untimely vaccination. Multivariable logistic regression identified several risk factors. Farmers in Unguja, small-scale producers, and younger farmers were significantly more likely to have incomplete schedules. Untimely vaccination was higher in deep-litter systems compared to battery cages. Furthermore, limited awareness of vaccine availability increased the odds of untimely vaccination sevenfold. These findings suggest that implementation of targeted interventions that account for farmer-level factors associated with vaccination and evidence-based policies are essential for improving chicken vaccination programs. This is necessary to enhance chicken health, productivity, and antimicrobial resistance control in commercial layer chicken farms.

Demand for slow-growing broilers in Europe is rising due to welfare concerns about rapid growth. First-week mortality (FWM), caused by infections and non-infectious factors, affects flock health. Data on slower-growing strains regarding FWM are limited. This study examined FWM, its causes, and pathology in Rustic Gold and Ross 308 broilers, including the effects of low versus high stocking densities (Ross 308-LD and Ross 308-HD). It also aimed to identify bacteria causing early mortality in Denmark. The study involved three rotations per farm/group (36 flocks, excluding three) and examined causes of death through necropsies of 2,022 dead chicks and analysis of 893 bacterial samples from 1069 infected chicks. Data showed that 47% died from non-infectious causes and 53% from infectious causes. The five most common causes of FWM, listed by frequency, were sepsis, cardiovascular collapse, renal disorders, leg disorders, and navel and yolk sac infection. There were no notable differences in FWM proportions among Ross 308-LD, Ross 308-HD, and Rustic Gold. No significant differences between Rustic Gold and Ross 308 for any cause of death or related lesions. Sepsis was strongly associated with polyserositis, omphalitis, and yolk sacculitis, while it showed a moderate association with osteomyelitis, nephropathy, and dehydration. The most common bacterial species isolated across all organs of broiler chicks were Escherichia coli (62.4%) and Enterococcus faecalis (22.8%).In conclusion, using slower-growing broilers (Rustic Gold) or reducing the stocking density of Ross 308 did not affect first-week mortality or the causes of death. No associations were found between septic birds and non-infectious causes of death or leg disorders, except osteomyelitis.

IntroductionIndiscriminate use of veterinary antibiotics significantly contributes to the current antibiotic resistance in the world. The primary objective of this study was to explore the factors that could influence knowledge, attitudes and practices of antibiotic use in commercial layer farms.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate antibiotic use patterns and their associated factors among layer chicken farmers in Tanzania. The study surveyed 205 farmers randomly selected from three regions: Unguja, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while negative binomial and multiple linear regression models were employed to identify factors influencing antibiotic usage patterns.ResultsA widespread use of antibiotics was revealed, with 97.1% of farmers using antibiotics for treatment, prophylaxis and/or increasing egg productivity. The most commonly used antibiotics were oxytetracycline (63%), doxycline-tylosin combination (29.8%) and enrofloxacin (22.4%). Notably, 95.6% of farmers reported that they do not observe withdrawal periods. Assessment of farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices yielded mean scores of 55.5%, 69.1% and 50.9% respectively. Furthermore, older adults and individuals with primary education were more likely to have higher attitude scores. Geographic location and flock size are among other factors that are likely to influence knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotic use. Higher frequency of antibiotic use was significantly associated with young adults, medium-scale farm operators, and farmers in Morogoro region (compared to the other two regions).ConclusionThe frequency, knowledge, attitude and practices related to the use of antibiotics were affected by scale of production, location, age, and education. These findings provide insights into antibiotic stewardship among layer farmers that could suggest future multifaceted interventions to promote prudent use of antibiotics, hence mitigating risk of antibiotic resistance.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:Five causes of mortality accounted for 71.1% of total mortality of laying hens.Non-infectious causes of mortality (63.9%) more prevalent than infectious (37.6%).Risk periods were inconclusive due to flock variation.Egg binding can cause mortality, and may be linked to above normal body condition.

Newcastle disease (ND) is a notifiable avian disease responsible for several panzootics, which has resulted in the establishment of mandatory vaccination programs against the virus in several countries including Denmark. This study compared the immune response elicited in layers by the standard vaccination program for ND of a Danish commercial egg production facility with a simplified version of the vaccination program. A commercial flock of layers was followed for 77 weeks from hatching to culling. The flock was divided into two groups according to vaccination program and housed separately. One group received the standard vaccination program consisting of a vector vaccine, a live vaccine (administered twice) and an inactivated vaccine (standard vaccination program). The other group received a newly marketed vector vaccine and the inactivated vaccine of the standard vaccination program (simplified vaccination program). Blood samples were collected at regular intervals from 30 randomly selected layers in each group until culling (77 weeks of age) and analysed for ND antibodies by ELISA assays, which measured antibodies against the nucleoprotein or fusion protein, and hemagglutination inhibition tests. Both vaccination programs provided lasting antibodies until 77 weeks. The simplified vaccination program showed significantly higher fusion protein antibodies and a markedly earlier onset of immunity at five weeks of age (97-100% seroprevalence) than the standard program. The standard vaccination program reached the same seroprevalence at 14 and 24 weeks of age based on fusion protein antibodies and HI titres, respectively. The inactivated vaccine elicited a boost in antibody titres in both groups, however, boosting with the live vaccine used in the standard vaccination program did not result in an increased antibody response. This might indicate that administering of a vector vaccine prior to a live vaccine inhibits the serological response to the live vaccine.

Biosecurity measures are crucial for controlling infectious diseases in poultry farms. It involves all measures aiming at preventing disease-causing agents from entering the farm (external biosecurity) and those measures practiced with the aim of preventing the spread of disease-causing organisms within the farm (internal biosecurity). However, their implementation is often limited in low-income countries due to various factors such as socioeconomic challenges, farming practices and limited resources. The aim of this study was to explore the current biosecurity levels and their related factors in commercial layer chicken farms. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 203 randomly selected commercial layer farms with ≥ 200 birds across Dar es Salaam (n = 154), Morogoro (n = 28), and Unguja (n = 21) regions from March-June 2023. Biosecurity practices were scored using an adapted Biocheck.UGent™ tool (0-100 scale). One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-tests were used for comparing biosecurity scores across groups when data met normality assumptions, while the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) H test and Mann-Whitney (M-W) test served as alternatives when the normality assumption was not met. Further, we used multiple linear regression to identify factors associated with biosecurity implementation; with results reported as standardized beta coefficients (β) and 95

Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum causes Fowl Typhoid in poultry, and it is host specific to avian species. The reasons why S. Gallinarum is restricted to avians, and at the same time predominately cause systemic infections in these hosts, are unknown. In the current study, we developed a surgical approach to study gene expression inside the peritoneal cavity of hens to shed light on this. Strains of the host specific S. Gallinarum, the cattle-adapted S. Dublin and the broad host range serovar, S. Enteritidis, were enclosed in semi-permeable tubes and surgically placed for 4 h in the peritoneal cavity of hens and for control in a minimal medium at 41.2 °C. Global gene-expression under these conditions was compared between serovars using tiled-micro arrays with probes representing the genome of S. Typhimurium, S. Dublin and S. Gallinarum. Among other genes, genes of SPI-13, SPI-14 and the macrophage survival gene mig-14 were specifically up-regulated in the host specific serovar, S. Gallinarum, and further studies into the role of these genes in host specific infection are highly indicated. Analysis of pathways and GO-terms, which were enriched in the host specific S. Gallinarum without being enriched in the two other serovars indicated that host specificity was characterized by a metabolic fine-tuning as well as unique expression of virulence associated pathways. The cattle adapted serovar S. Dublin differed from the two other serovars by a lack of up-regulation of genes encoded in the virulence associated pathogenicity island 2, and this may explain the inability of this serovar to cause disease in poultry.

Aeromonas veronii is a Gram-negative opportunistic bacterium found in fish, poultry and humans and has oc-casionally been associated with disease although not generally considered a poultry pathogen. A. veronii was recently isolated from both healthy and condemned broiler carcasses at a major Danish abattoir. In this study, we did a whole genomic analysis of 24A. veronii strains from the abattoir to determine their potential sources and relatedness as well as their pathogenic potential, antimicrobial resistance determinants and associated mobile elements. No strains were multi-drug resistant, but all strains carried the beta-lactam resistance genes cphA3 and blaOXA-12 without being phenotypically resistant to carbapenems. One strain carried an IncA plasmid with tet(A), tet(B) and tet(E) genes. A phylogenetic tree including public A. veronii sequences showed that our isolates were not clonal but were dispersed around the phylogenetic tree, suggesting a diffuse spread of A. veronii across human, aquatic and poultry samples. Strains carried different virulence factors known to be associated with pathogenesis and severity of disease in animals and humans, e.g. type II (aerolysin, amylases, proteases, and cytotoxic enterotoxin Act) and III secretion systems where the latter has been associated with mortality in hospitalized patients. Although our genomic analysis of A. veronii shows zoonotic potential, epidemiological studies of human gastro-enteritis cases of A. veronii associated with consumption of broiler meat are needed. It remains to be proven if A. veronii is a true poultry pathogen and part of the established microflora in abattoirs and the gut-intestinal microflora of poultry.

Meat inspection is important to ensure food safety and protect public health. Visual inspection of slaughtered carcasses for pathological changes should be supported by bacteriological analysis to determine whether the entire carcass or parts of it should be condemned. The aim of this study was to determine the bacterial species present in different sample types from condemned broiler carcasses. Furthermore, we investigated the genetic characteristics, zoonotic potential, and relatedness of Escherichia coli , the predominant bacterial species isolated from the carcasses. A total of 400 broiler carcasses condemned because of cellulitis (100), scratches (100), hepatitis (100), and healthy control carcasses (100) were selected. Samples of meat, pathological lesion, and bone marrow of each carcass were obtained for microbial analysis. From the analyzed samples, 469 bacterial isolates were recovered with E . coli accounting for 45.8%, followed by Aeromonas spp. (27.9%), in particular A . veronii . The highest rate of bacterial isolation was observed in carcasses condemned with cellulitis, whereas carcasses with hepatitis had the lowest rate of bacterial isolation. Forty-four E . coli isolates originating from different sample types were selected for whole genome sequencing. A clonal relationship was shown between E . coli from different sample types of the same carcass condemned with cellulitis and scratches. A major clade of E . coli was found in carcasses condemned with cellulitis with isolates containing mdf (A), tet (A), and bla TEM-1B genes that confer resistance to macrolides, tetracycline, and ampicillin, respectively. E . coli in this clade all belonged to ST117 and clustered with E . coli isolates previously collected from dead chickens and carcasses condemned due to cellulitis in Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Bacterial evaluation results of carcasses condemned with cellulitis, scratches (moderate to severe skin lesion), and acute hepatitis confirmed the need for total condemnation of carcasses with these pathological findings. A similar evaluation should be done for carcasses affected with chronic hepatitis, and minor scratches lesions.

Bacterial diseases comprise approximately half of the non–outbreak-related mortality in broiler breeders and commercial layers. During the first week of a broiler's life, approximately 50% of the mortality may be caused due to bacterial infections. Outbreaks due to bacterial infections may increase the mortality dramatically and in some cases almost eradicate flocks. E. coli and Gram-positive cocci infections are responsible for mortality and production losses in poultry of all age groups and in all production systems and may be regarded as multifactorial. Subsequently, efforts in understanding and controlling these infections are highly important. Although necrotic enteritis primarily is a disease affecting young chickens, this infection is of major significance in any production system. Besides increased mortality, the production losses observed in subclinical infections may be dramatic. Other classical bacterial infections such as erysipelas and fowl cholera have become more significant in many countries due to increased free-range and organic production. Consequently, this chapter will address these highly important infections.

This chapter focuses on the epidemiology, transmission routes, and biosecurity measures of bacterial diseases in pigs and poultry raised in intensive production systems. Bacterial pathogens are highly prevalent in these systems and cause major animal health, welfare, and production problems. There are numerous transmission routes by which bacterial pathogens may enter or spread within a pig or poultry farm. Many infections are subclinical but may result in overt clinical disease in the presence of risk factors. Typical examples are postweaning Escherichia coli infections, Brachyspira and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infections in pigs, and Clostridial- and E. coli infections in poultry. Proper biosecurity is of paramount importance to control or prevent bacterial infections. The biosecurity can be improved by taking further measures or adopting new habits; however, there might be limitations in farm infrastructures and a smaller impact of biosecurity regarding issues like mortality. Further research, e.g., by improved monitoring is needed to improve the biosecurity and reduce bacterial disease in pig and poultry farms.

Fractures and deviations to the keel bone are common in commercial laying hens, with reported variations in occurrence across strains and breeds. The aetiology is not fully understood, however, modern genetics and selection for efficient egg production has been claimed to be important factors for the keel bone fractures. To explore this further, we investigated keel bones from two different breeds, representing different degrees of selection for egg production: Red jungle fowl (n = 82), and White Leghorn (n = 32), where the latter is a selected laying breed which is the origin for many modern laying hen hybrids. Keel bones from a total of 116 birds, 53 hens and 63 roosters, were examined by necropsy at 80 weeks of age. All birds were raised in modified aviaries in the same holding facility. Overall, 24.5% of the hens had one or more fractures to the keel, with a difference in the prevalence between hens from the two breeds (p<0.01): 10% (95% CI: 3.7-24%) in the Red Jungle fowl hens and 69% (95% CI: 37-90%) in the White Leghorn hens. No roosters, regardless of breed, had keel bone fractures. Mild to moderate keel bone deviations were present in 54% (95% CI: 25-80%) of the hens and 4.7% (95% CI: 0.5-30%) of the roosters, all White Leghorns.

Keel bone fractures (KBF) in commercial poultry production systems are a major welfare problem with possible economic consequences for the poultry industry. Recent investigations suggest that the overall situation may be worsening. Depending on the housing system, fracture prevalences exceeding 80% have been reported from different countries. No specific causes have yet been identified and this has consequently hampered risk factor identification. The objective of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of KBF in Danish layer hens and to identify risk factors in relation to KBF in all major productions systems, including parent stock production. For risk factor identification, production data from the included flocks was used. In total, 4794 birds from 40 flocks were investigated at end-of-lay. All birds were euthanized on farm and underwent inspection and palpation followed by necropsy. All observations were recorded and subsequently analysed using the SAS statistical software package. In flocks from non-caged systems, fracture prevalence in the range 53%-100%, was observed whereas the prevalence in flocks from enriched cages ranged between 50-98%. Furthermore, often multiple fractures (≥4) were observed in individual birds (range 5-81% of the birds with fractures) depending on the flock. The localization of the fractures at the distal end of the keel bone is highly consistent in all flocks (>96%). Macroscopically the fractures varied morphologically from an appearance with an almost total absence of callus, most frequently observed in caged birds, to large callus formations in and around the fracture lines, which was a typical finding in non-caged birds. Despite being housed under cage-free conditions, parent birds had significantly fewer fractures (all flocks were 60 weeks old) per bird, than other birds from cage-free systems. The body weight at end-of-lay had an effect on the risk of having fractures, heavy hens have significantly fewer fractures at end-of-lay. The older the hens were at onset of lay, the lower was the flock prevalence at end-of-lay. Additionally, the daily egg size at onset of lay was of importance for the risk of developing fractures, the production of heavier eggs initially, resulted in higher fracture prevalence at depopulation. The odds ratio of body weight, (+100 g) was 0.97, age at onset of lay (+1 week) was 0.87 and daily egg weight at onset (+1 gram) was 1.03. In conclusion, the study demonstrated a very high prevalence of KBF in hens from all production systems and identified hen size, age at onset of lay and daily egg weight at onset of lay to be major risk factors for development of KBF in the modern laying hen. Further research regarding this is warranted to strengthen the longevity and enhance the welfare of laying hens.

The foundation of the condemnation practices in Post-Mortem Inspection (PMI) of poultry should be based on up-to-date scientific evidence about the cause of infection and hence whether the lesions observed are of food safety, animal health or welfare concerns. This study aimed to investigate the association between meat inspection codes, footpad lesions, and thinning of flocks in Danish broiler production. The data set was based on the delivery of chicken flocks to one of the two larger chicken slaughterhouses in Denmark, representing 71 farms, 174 houses, and 4,068 flocks over three years from January 2016 to December 2018. Post-mortem condemnation data of slaughtered chickens recorded and stored in the Danish Quality Assurance System (KIK) database was used in the study. Five potentially causal models were developed to investigate whether there was an association between dermatitis, arthritis, systemic infection, emaciation, mortality and possible explaining factors` (footpad lesion, age at slaughter, scratches, ascites, systemic infection and thinning of the flock). These five ecological logistic regression models were analyzed with the three levels: farm, house, and flock. Data from a total number of 126,137,002 (N) slaughtered chickens recorded in KIK databases were used for modeling and analyses. The prevalence of condemned carcasses was 1.1 % (n = 1,420,812). Overall, 12 individual reasons for condemnation of carcasses were recorded. The most frequently observed reason for condemnation was skin disease (scratches and dermatitis) with a prevalence of 0.5 %. Prevalence of ascites was 0.2 %, discoloration 0.09 %, emaciation 0.09 %, hepatitis 0.09 % and arthritis 0.07 %. In the first model, dermatitis was shown to be positively associated with age at slaughter with an OR = 1.04 (CI95 %: 1.02-1.05), while arthritis was considered an intervening variable. Moreover, there was a small protective effect of thinning of the flock for first and second delivery. There was a positive association between arthritis and age at the time of slaughter with an OR = 1.13 (CI95 %: 1.12-1.15). Systemic infections were associated with scratches with an OR = 24.5 (CI95 %: 16.6-36.3) and footpad lesions with an OR = 1.007 (CI95 %: 1.006-1.008). Further modelling of emaciation and mortality was not considered because of unbalanced groups in the data probably caused by the fact that some condemnation codes were rare. We observed that the most common causal factors of condemnation in the systemic infection models were scratches and footpad lesion, therefore preventing and controlling such lesions could reduce losses. Specific management and environmental etiological factors of the main infections causing condemnation in Danish broilers should be determined.

Background: Among the measures taken to preserve the clinical efficacy of highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HP-CIAs), the WHO has recommended avoiding their use in food-producing animals. Little is known regarding the indications for which different antimicrobial classes are used in animals, even in countries where data on antimicrobial use are available. Objectives: To outline, in a narrative review, the diseases for which HP-CIAs are used in veterinary medicine, highlighting incongruences with international guidelines and disease conditions where effective alternatives to HP-CIAs are missing. Methods: Scientific literature, national reports and expert opinion were used to describe the indications for the use of HP-CIAs in the main food-producing (pigs, cattle and poultry) and companion (horses, dogs and cats) animal species. Results: The most common indications for use of HP-CIAs are enteric and respiratory infections in pigs, cattle and poultry, urogenital infections in dogs and cats and respiratory infections in horses. In some instances, no valid and convenient alternatives to colistin and macrolides are available against certain porcine enteric and bovine respiratory pathogens. Effective, legal and convenient alternatives to HP-CIAs are also lacking for managing common infections in cats, for which oral administration is difficult, Rhodococcus equi infections in horses, some enteric and respiratory infections in poultry and MDR infections in all companion animal species. Conclusions: Future research and stewardship programmes should focus on the disease conditions identified by this review to reduce the use of HP-CIAs in the veterinary sector.

Keel bone fractures in laying hens have been described with increasing prevalence from several countries over the last twenty years and are considered one of the greatest welfare problems to the layer industry. In Denmark we have observed fracture prevalence in the range of 53% to 100% in flocks from cage-free systems whereas flock prevalences in birds from enriched cages ranged between 50-98%. Previous research have speculated that the underlying reason for the development of keel bone fractures is trauma in relation to impact of the bird with furniture, other equipment etc. However, little evidence of this theory has been provided. Predisposing factors have also been suggested including genetics of the bird, lack of specific feedstuff components, high egg production, management factors and layer fatigue. This study has addressed the possible pathogenesis of these fractures by pathological characterization of fractures in birds from different production systems. More than 60 keel bones with fractures have been characterized histo-pathologically and by CT scan. This included an assessment of damage to muscles and soft tissues, the bone and the healing process including callus formation. This investigation has shown that high energy collisions cannot be responsible for the majority of fractures, located at the caudal tip of the keel bone, observed in laying birds as markers associated trauma were not observed in the majority of the cases just as few recognized healing processes were observed. These results suggest an alternative pathogenesis to trauma.

BackgroundInfection in the oviduct (salpingitis) is the most common bacterial infection in egg laying hens and is mainly caused by Escherichia coli. The disease is responsible for decreased animal welfare, considerable economic loss as well as a risk of horizontal and vertical transmission of pathogenic E. coli. The outcome of salpingitis may be either acute or chronic. It has not yet been clarified whether the pathological manifestation is a result of the characteristics of the E. coli or whether the manifestation is associated with host factors such as host immunity.ResultsFrom the core- and accessory genome analysis and comparison of 62 E. coli no genetic markers were found to be associated to either acute or chronic infection. Twenty of the 62 genomes harboured at least one antimicrobial resistance gene with resistance against sulfonamides being the most common. The increased serum survival and iron chelating genes iss and iroN were highly prevalent in genomes from both acute and chronic salpingitis.ConclusionOur analysis revealed that no genetic markers could differentiate the E. coli isolated from acute versus chronic salpingitis in egg laying hens. The difference in pathological outcome may be related to other factors such as immunological status, genetics and health of the host. These data indicate that salpingitis is another manifestation of colibacillosis.

In this study, we analyzed biochemical parameters and the body masses of 14 incubating Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) breeding on Christiansø in the Baltic Sea from April to May 2015. The eiders were examined and sampled on days 4 and 24, corresponding to early and late incubation. In comparison to reference values, concentrations of alkaline phosphatase (161%), phosphorus (33%), and calcium (44%) were all significantly increased on day 4 by 33–161% due to egg production (p < 0.05). On day 24, we observed a significant loss of body mass (28%) compared to day 4 (p < 0.05). The average plasma concentrations of fructosamine (1-amino-1-deoxy-d-fructose, 21%), amylase (54%), albumin (30%), and total protein declined significantly (all p < 0.05). These declines resemble those seen for other avian species in which the female is the sole incubator, suggesting reduced food intake during the incubation period. A decline in total protein and albumin from day 4 to day 24 (18–30%) is indicative of stage III protein metabolism. Nonetheless, stable concentrations of urea, sodium, and potassium suggest that the incubating females were significantly hydrated. The change in the plasma albumin:globulin ratio from day 4 (0.82) to day 24 (0.57) may imply slight immune suppression, which is supported by the observation of a mass mortality incident shortly after the studied incubation period. These biochemical observations may add to our understanding of the recurrent mortality events that strike without warning in the declining Baltic eider population.

Keel bone damage (KBD) is a highly prevalent problem in commercial egg production. KBD consists of two different conditions affecting the keel: Keel bone deviation and keel bone fractures (KBF). Deviations are linked to pressure on the keel, e.g., from perching. The causative factors for KBF are not clear; however, selection for efficient egg production has been suggested as a major contributing factor. An important step to shed light on the role of selective breeding as an underlying cause of KBF in modern laying hens is to evaluate the keel bones of the ancestor, the red jungle fowl. To the authors' knowledge, this has never previously been published. The aim of this study was therefore to describe the prevalence of KBD in a study group of red jungle hens and roosters housed in an aviary system. The present study examined 29 red jungle fowls 112 weeks of age post-mortem; 12 hens and 17 roosters. Keel bones were evaluated by external palpation for deviations and fractures. Palpation was followed by autopsy. No fractures were detected in the 17 roosters; one had a very slight deviation. Of the 12 red jungle hens in this pilot study, one had a single fracture and 10 hens had a very slight deviation.