{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:32:13Z","timestamp":1760236333069,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,13]],"date-time":"2021-11-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1636761600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food and Slovenian Research Agency","award":["V-4 1817"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["V-4 1817"]}]},{"name":"Slovenian Research Agency, research core funding","award":["P4-0092"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P4-0092"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The study was conducted between March and September 2019 in six meat-type turkey flocks with similar management standard procedures using the transect walk method. The concept of the method is based on visual observation of the birds while slowly walking across the entire farm in predetermined transects. Each flock was evaluated at three different times during the fattening cycle: at 3 to 4, 12 to 13, and 19 to 20 weeks of age, and total number of males and females that were immobile or lame, had visible head, vent, or back wounds, were small, featherless, dirty, or sick, had pendulous crop, or showed aggression toward birds or humans were recorded. At each visit, NH3 and CO2 were measured within the facilities. In the first assessment, the most frequently observed welfare indicators were small size (0.87%) and immobility (0.08%). Males showed a significantly higher prevalence of small size (p &lt; 0.01), sickness (p &lt; 0.05), and dirtiness (p &lt; 0.1) compared to females. In the second assessment, the most common findings in both sexes were dirtiness (1.65%) and poor feather condition (1.06%), followed by immobility (0.28%). Males were significantly dirtier (p &lt; 0.001), had more immobile birds (p &lt; 0.01) and birds with vent wounds (p &lt; 0.1), but had fewer sick birds (p &lt; 0.05). In the last assessment, an increase in immobile, lame, sick, and dead birds was recorded, indicating an increase in health problems. Higher CO2 (3000 and 4433 ppm) and NH3 (40 and 27.6 ppm) values were noted only at the first assessment in two facilities. Further analyses showed that slightly elevated NH3 and CO2 levels did not influence the occurrence of welfare indicators. This study is the first description of the welfare of commercial turkey flocks in Slovenia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11113253","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,14]],"date-time":"2021-11-14T20:48:36Z","timestamp":1636922916000},"page":"3253","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evaluation of Welfare in Commercial Turkey Flocks of Both Sexes Using the Transect Walk Method"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Nina Mlakar","family":"Hr\u017eenjak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5088-9747","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hristo","family":"Hristov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nutrition Institute, Tr\u017ea\u0161ka Cesta 40, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3264-1323","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alenka","family":"Dov\u010d","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jana Bergo\u010d","family":"Martinjak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Perutnina Ptuj, Perutnina Ptuj d.o.o., Potr\u010deva 10, 2250 Ptuj, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Manja Zupan","family":"\u0160emrov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Dom\u017eale, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3277-1788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zoran","family":"\u017dlabravec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jo\u017eko","family":"Ra\u010dnik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Uro\u0161","family":"Krape\u017e","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Brigita","family":"Slavec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Olga Zorman","family":"Rojs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbi\u010deva Ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1467","DOI":"10.3382\/ps.2012-02943","article-title":"Review of the social and environmental factors affecting the behavior and welfare of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo)","volume":"92","author":"Marchewka","year":"2013","journal-title":"Poult. 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