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The University of Georgia maintains two meat-type chicken control strains: the Athens Random Bred (ARB) and the Athens Canadian Random Bred (ACRB). The Athens Random Bred was developed from colored plumage commercial meat chicken strains in 1956. The ACRB is a replicate population of the Ottawa Meat Control strain which was developed in 1955 from white plumage commercial meat-type chickens. These genetic lines have been extremely valuable research resources and have been used extensively to provide comparative context to modern meat-type strains. The ACRB may be the oldest pedigreed control commercial meat-type chicken still in existence today. This paper reviews the history of the breed backgrounds for both control populations and reviews research utilizing the ACRB.

A series of eight trials was conducted to determine the effect of transport cage height on broiler defecation patterns during holding. Prior to treatment, broilers were held in pens with free access to feed and water. In each trial, birds were randomly placed into nine experimental cages, allowing a bird density of 447 cm2/bird. Cages were constructed of wire with perforated wooden tops set at internal heights of 15.2 cm (short), 22.9 cm (normal), or 68.6 cm (tall). The “normal” height was determined as an average for commercial broiler transport cages. Cages with broilers inside were weighed, placed over preweighed manure catch pans, and held for 8 h at 26°C; the cages and the pans were reweighed to determine live shrink and excreta weight. In the first two trials, birds held in the short cages had a significantly greater live shrink than the broilers in the normal or tall cages. However, observations that the cage designs might have adversely affected ventilation led to a redesigning of the tops using wire fabric to improve ventilation. In the following six trials, cage height had no significant effect on live shrink (4.2%) or excreta (1.8%). These results indicate that transport cage height, relative to bird posture during transport, had no significant effects on live shrink or defecation patterns of broilers.

At the end of the growout phase of broiler production essentially all broilers are caught and loaded into coops or cages entirely by hand. The catching of broilers remains one of the few aspects of broiler production not yet automated. Vacuum systems, permanent conveyors recessed in the floors of growout facilities, collecting mats, scoops, and self-propelled, combine-type devices have been tried with little success over the past 30 yr. Renewed efforts at developing mechanical broiler harvesters have been encouraging in recent years. Several equipment companies in North America and Europe have developed prototype mechanical harvesters that appear to have promise. The benefits of mechanical harvesting as compared to hand catching include lower costs and improved working conditions. In addition, studies conducted thus far indicate that mechanical harvesting will improve bird welfare both from a stress and injury standpoint.

Two experiments were conducted to determine if food intake of free-feeding chickens could be affected by infusions of plasma from fasted fowl. In the first experiment, chickens from two lines genetically selected for high or low body weight were infused intrahepatically with plasma collected from free-fed and fasted individuals from each line. Food intake of low-weight line birds was increased significantly by infusions of plasma from fasted high-weight line chickens when compared to food intake of low-weight line birds receiving plasma from free-fed low-weight line chickens. Food consumption in high-weight line birds was unaffected by any of the plasma treatments. In the second experiment, plasma from free-fed and fasted high-weight line chickens was infused intrahepatically into Single Comb White Leghorn cockerels. Again the birds receiving the plasma from the fasted fowl consumed significantly more food than those infused with plasma from free-fed fowl. The results of these experiments suggest that some property of plasma from fasted birds stimulates appetite. Selection for increased body weight may have intensified this hunger factor in high weight fowl.

Plasma was collected from free-feeding Leghorn cockerels and partitioned by gel filtration into fractions of different molecular weight ranges. The individual fractions were then lyophilized and reconstituted to four times the original concentration. The plasma was administered to 10-week-old Leghorn cockerels via a stainless steel guide cannula, stereotaxically implanted into the lateral cerebral ventricle. Sated cockerels received 10 μl intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of one of the concentrated plasma fractions or of a control injection of artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Food and water intake were monitored following injection. Food intake was significantly decreased by the ICV injection of plasma fractions less than 1500 mol wt, whereas water consumption was not significantly different from that of the controls. The 1500 to 5000 mol wt fraction and the fraction above 5000 did not alter either food or water intake. These results suggest that the plasma of free-feeding domestic fowl contains a low molecular weight factor that is involved in the regulation of food intake.

The neurotransmitter, serotonin, has been implicated in both food intake and body temperature regulation. In this experiment, the effect of tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin, on food consumption and rectal temperature in the fowl was determined. Single Comb White Leghorn cockerels were intubated with a tryptophan solution or distilled water. Tryptophan significantly (P less than or equal to .05) decreased both food intake and body temperature of the birds. These results suggest that tryptophan may inhibit food intake via peripheral rather than central mechanisms.

The objective of this study was to determine if a factor(s) involved in the regulation of food intake exists in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of the domestic fowl. A technique was developed that allows blood-free CSF samples to be collected repeatedly from the cisterma magna for up to 6 weeks. Using this technique, CSF was collected from free-feeding and 24-hour fasted broiler cockerels and injected into the lateral cerebral ventricle of 8-week old Leghorn cockerels and 4-week old broiler cockerels. The free-feeding birds received 10 μl intracerebroventricular injections of CSF either at normal concentration (1 ×-CSF) (Experiments 1 and 3) or at four times normal concentration (4 ×-CSF) (Experiments 2 and 4). Artificial CSF served as the control. Food and water consumption were monitored following injection. The 1 ×- and 4 ×-CSF collected from both the free-feeding and 24-hour fasted donors did not affect the food intake of either the Leghorn or the broiler recipients. Water intake, however, was significantly increased in the Leghorns and broilers receiving the 4 ×-CSF collected from 24-hour fasted birds. Thus, there does not appear to be a factor(s) present in the CSF collected from the cisterna magna that alters food intake when injected into the lateral ventricle, but a factor may exist in the CSF collected from fasted donors that stimulates water intake.

A series of experiments was performed to examine the role of the duodenum in food intake regulation in the fowl. In each of the experiments, birds were surgically fitted with intraduodenal cannulae. In Experiments 1 to 6, Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) or Rock Cornish cockerels were infused with isosmotic glucose, urea, or saline solutions. Glucose had no effect on food intake as compared with the saline and urea control treatments. In the final experiment, food intake of splanchnicectomized SCWL cockerels was contrasted to that of sham-operated controls, following intraduodenal glucose infusions. No difference between the denerved and intact birds was observed. The duodenum of the fowl, unlike the mammal, does not appear to play a significant role in food intake regulation.

Although food intake regulation by the central nervous system in the fowl has received considerable attention, studies examining peripheral regulatory mechanisms are relatively few. The objective of these experiments was to determine the role of the liver in short-term regulation of feeding. Small volumes of isotonic glucose were infused into the hepatic circulation of undistrubed, unrestrained Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) and Rock-Cornish (RC) cockerels under both free-feeding and mildly-fasted conditions. Glucose infusions significantly decreased the food intake of free-feeding SCWL chicks but had no effect on mildly-fasted SCWL chicks. The RC chicks, whether free feeding or mildly fasted, were not influenced by the glucose infusions. These findings suggest that selection for increased growth rate has affected peripheral appetite regulatory mechanisms.

The food and water intake response of Leghorn chicks to intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of glucose was studied. Experiments were done in both free-feeding and 24-hr fasted birds. The ICV injection of 10 μl of glucose solutions ranging from 5.5 to 30% had no significant effect on food or water intake in free-feeding or in 24-hr fasted Leghorns. This suggests that glucose does not influence food or water intake when injected into the lateral cerebro-ventricle. This effect is discussed in relationship to recent findings showing that injection of glucose into the third ventricle decreases food intake.

The effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of the cholinomimetics, acetylcholine, methacholine, and carbachol on food and water intake in free-feeding broiler chicks were investigated. At 4 weeks of age, a 23-gauge, thin-walled stainless steel guide cannula was implanted stereotaxically into the right lateral ventricle of each bird. Following a minimum of 3 days to recover, the birds were injected with the various drugs. Acetylcholine and methacholine had no significant effect on food intake whereas carbachol significantly decreased food intake. Methacholine significantly increased water intake while acetylcholine and carbachol had no significant effect. These results suggest that cholinergic pathways within the central nervous system may be involved in the control of food and water intake in the domestic fowl.

The serotonergic and catecholaminergic systems have been shown to affect both tonic immobility and food intake in the domestic fowl. Tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin, has been demonstrated to influence tonic immobility and food intake when injected intraperitoneally. Tyrosine, amino acid precursor of the catecholamines, is also known to affect food intake when administered orally. In two experiments, tryptophan and tyrosine were intubated intragastrically into male chickens at levels known to affect food intake, and their effect on tonic immobility was measured. Tryptophan and tyrosine delivered intragastrically had no effect on either duration or susceptibility of tonic immobility. These data suggest that changes in appetite observed as a result of orally administered tyrosine and tryptophan were not due to a general inhibition or stimulation of the central nervous system.

The effects of intraperitoneal injections of tryptophan on food intake in the chicken were examined. Four levels of tryptophan (12.5, 25, 50, 100 mg), and a saline control were tested in birds that were ad libitum fed or fasted 24 hr. The tryptophan treatments decreased food intake in the ad libitum-fed chickens in a dose-dependent manner. Food intake of the 24-hr fasted chickens was not influenced by the tryptophan injections. It is not known whether tryptophan is acting centrally or peripherally to decrease food intake of ad libitum-fed chickens.