SIGNS SecureChick Alerta

SPACE Hall 4 - Stand A34

The one day-old chick, a very vulnerable organism, is exposed to a succession of manipulations that includes vaccination, before being placed in a transport crate and finally introduced into the building where it will grow. This succession of distressing events has very well documented consequences: morbidity, mortality, and a difficult start of growth. In natural conditions of early life, the maternal pheromone released by the uropygial gland of the mother hen, promotes coping mechanisms, limits the effects of stress and allows an optimal development of the immune system especially the bursa Fabricius. The scientific investigations published by the scientists of the IRSEA (Institut de Recherche en Sémiochimie et Ethologie Appliquée), have disclosed the composition of this pheromone, making it possible to produce a synthetic copy of it and to develop a water soluble version of the synthetic pheromone. Sprayed at very low volume (20 microliters per chick), it persists for 5 days, reducing very significantly the sensitivity to stressors and the mortality. The bursae Fabricius of treated chicks are much larger and contain much more active lymphoid follicles, compared to reference chicks. Those chicks cope much faster to their new surrounding in farms, with a better fee intake and an optimal growth curve, compared to their reference conspecifics. The physical and chemical characteristics of this aqueous solution, allow administering the pheromone by mean of the same material used for the vaccination during the preparation of the chicks for transportation. After administration of the pheromone, observations report calmer chicks, that lay down gently on the ground of the transport crate, and  a very significant decrease in the intensity of calling vocalizations; a typical sign, with agitation, of the distress in chicks.