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The efficacy of litter management strategies to prevent morbidity and mortality in broiler chickens: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Animal Health Research Reviews
  • Jan M. Sargeant, University of Guelph
  • Michele D. Bergevin, University of Guelph
  • Katheryn Churchill, University of Guelph
  • Kaitlyn Dawkins, University of Guelph
  • Bhumika Deb, University of Guelph
  • Jennifer Dunn, University of Guelph
  • Dapeng Hu, Iowa State University
  • Catherine M. Logue, University of Georgia
  • Shannon Meadows, University of Guelph
  • Carly Moody, University of Guelph
  • Anastasia Novy, Guelph Poultry Veterinary Services
  • Annette M. O’Connor, Iowa State University
  • Mark Reist, University of Guelph
  • Yuko Sato, Iowa State University
  • Chong Wang, Iowa State University
  • Charlotte B. Winder, University of Guelph
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
12-1-2019
DOI
10.1017/S1466252319000227
Abstract

A systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) were conducted to address the question, ‘What is the efficacy of litter management strategies to reduce morbidity, mortality, condemnation at slaughter, or total antibiotic use in broilers?’ Eligible studies were clinical trials published in English evaluating the efficacy of litter management in broilers on morbidity, condemnations at slaughter, mortality, or total antibiotic use. Multiple databases and two conference proceedings were searched for relevant literature. After relevance screening and data extraction, there were 50 trials evaluating litter type, 22 trials evaluating litter additives, 10 trials comparing fresh to re-used litter, and six trials evaluating floor type. NMAs were conducted for mortality (61 trials) and for the presence or absence of footpad lesions (15 trials). There were no differences in mortality among the litter types, floor types, or additives. For footpad lesions, peat moss appeared beneficial compared to straw, based on a small number of comparisons. In a pairwise meta-analysis, there was no association between fresh versus used litter on the risk of mortality, although there was considerable heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 66%). There was poor reporting of key design features in many studies, and analyses rarely accounted for non-independence of observations within flocks.

Comments

This article is published as Sargeant, Jan M., Dapeng Hu, Annette M. O’Connor, Chong Wang et al. "The efficacy of litter management strategies to prevent morbidity and mortality in broiler chickens: a systematic review and network meta-analysis." Animal Health Research Reviews 20, no. 2 (2019): 247-262. DOI:10.1017/S1466252319000227. Posted with permission.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Copyright Owner
The Author(s)
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Jan M. Sargeant, Michele D. Bergevin, Katheryn Churchill, Kaitlyn Dawkins, et al.. "The efficacy of litter management strategies to prevent morbidity and mortality in broiler chickens: a systematic review and network meta-analysis" Animal Health Research Reviews Vol. 20 Iss. 2 (2019) p. 247 - 262
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/chong-wang/115/