Table 3. The relative organ weights and A. galli worm counts of free-range hens.
The least squares means ± standard error of the mean of the percentages of relative organ weights and A. galli worm counts of free-range hens at 65 weeks of age from different rearing treatments (control, novelty, structural) and ranging patterns (indoor, low outdoor, high outdoor).
| Variable | Category | Liver weight (%) | Spleen weight (%) | Adrenal weight (%) | Gizzard weight (%) | A. galli in GI tract (N) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rearing enrichments | Control | 2.59 ± 0.04 | 0.097 ± 0.002a | 0.003 ± 0.01 | 1.72 ± 0.03 | 4.52 ± 0.84 |
| Novelty | 2.60 ± 0.04 | 0.089 ± 0.002b | 0.004 ± 0.01 | 1.67 ± 0.02 | 7.03 ± 0.79 | |
| Structural | 2.51 ± 0.04 | 0.092 ± 0.002a,b | 0.025 ± 0.01 | 1.69 ± 0.03 | 5.66 ± 0.80 | |
| Test statistics | F(2,301) = 2.23, P = 0.11 | F(2,301) = 4.82, P = 0.01 | F(2,301) = 1.82, P = 0.16 | F(2,301) = 0.85, P = 0.43 | F(2,301) = 2.30, P = 0.10 | |
| Ranging | Indoor | 2.58 ± 0.04 | 0.091 ± 0.002b | 0.004 ± 0.01 | 1.65 ± 0.03b | 4.88 ± 0.85 |
| Low outdoor | 2.53 ± 0.04 | 0.089 ± 0.002b | 0.024 ± 0.01 | 1.69 ± 0.02a,b | 5.59 ± 0.78 | |
| High outdoor | 2.60 ± 0.04 | 0.097 ± 0.002a | 0.003 ± 0.01 | 1.74 ± 0.03a | 6.74 ± 0.80 | |
| Test statistics | F(2,301) = 1.29, P = 0.28 | F(2,301) = 4.44, P = 0.01 | F(2,301) = 0.57, P = 0.57 | F(2,301) = 3.22, P = 0.04 | F(2,301) = 1.15, P = 0.32 |
Notes.
a,b
Dissimilar superscript letters indicate significant differences between rearing enrichments or ranging patterns (P < 0.05). Raw values are presented with the analyses conducted on transformed data.