Role of socialization, stress and sex of chickens on response to anesthesia and on response to an organophosphate neurotoxicant
Odom, A.; Gross, W.B.; Ehrich, M.
Veterinary and Human Toxicology 34(2): 134-137
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0145-6296 PMID: 1509673 Document Number: 404480
The effect of socialization of chickens on response to exogenous substances in the presence and absence of stress was examined. Chickens of both sexes were habituated to man (socialized) by being talked to and offered food from the hand. After 19 weeks half the socialized group and half the unsocialized group were subjected to stress (loud noises for 120 sec twice daily) for 2 weeks. At the end of this period, response to 37 mg pentobarbital/kg i.v. was evaluated by sleeping time. Males slept longer than females, and males that were socialized but not stressed slept longer than other males. Stress and socialization did not affect pentobarbital sleeping time in females. This indicated that response to pentobarbital depended on sex and on socialization, with the most notable effects occurring in socialized males. Socialized and non-socialized, stressed and unstressed male and female chickens were also given a single oral dose of 360 mg tri-ortho-tolyl phosphate (TOTP)/kg. This organophosphorus ester induced a delayed neuropathy that caused ataxia in all the chickens. The ataxia was more pronounced earlier in males than in females, although the sex difference became insignificant 18 d after dosing. Socialized chickens were ultimately more affected. Noise stress did not affect TOTP-induced ataxia. This indicated that response to an organophosphate neurotoxicant also depended on sex and socialization, with the most notable effects again seen in socialized males. Response to endogenous substances in chickens depends both on sex and on familiarity to man.