{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T20:47:08Z","timestamp":1789764428555,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,22]],"date-time":"2025-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1737504000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","award":["2023YFD1300305"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1300305"]}]},{"name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","award":["CARS-42-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-42-3"]}]},{"name":"Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System","award":["2023YFD1300305"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1300305"]}]},{"name":"Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System","award":["CARS-42-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-42-3"]}]},{"name":"Qinglan Project of Yangzhou University","award":["2023YFD1300305"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1300305"]}]},{"name":"Qinglan Project of Yangzhou University","award":["CARS-42-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-42-3"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recently, free-range poultry production has increased with notable benefits for animal welfare and meat quality traits. Geese, the third-most productive poultry species, have not been studied extensively. This study investigated the effects of different free-range systems on muscle fiber characteristics and welfare status (feather quality, walking ability, and behavioral changes) in Yangzhou geese. A total of 180 male geese, aged 28 days, were randomly assigned to either a long-distance pasture system (LDPS, approximately 200 m from the geese house) or a short-distance pasture system (SDPS, approximately 50 m from the geese house). The indoor system (IS) treatment was used as a control. And all geese were equipped with pedometers. Daily step counts revealed that the geese took an average of 5777 and 4520 steps in the LDPS and SDPS, respectively, whereas only 2736 steps in the IS. Although no significant differences were observed in the muscle fiber types among the three systems, free-range systems contributed to more developed muscle fibers than the IS. In addition, thicker muscle fibers in the extensor digitorum longus and gastrocnemius muscles were observed in the LDPS group than in the SDPS group. Additionally, feather cleanliness and damage were evaluated. LDPS resulted in significantly cleaner feathers on the chest, abdomen, and back than the IS. Furthermore, geese in the free-range systems had less feather damage than those in the IS. Notably, pasture systems allowed for natural behaviors, such as single-foot standing, feather pecking, and walking, regardless of grazing distance. Taken together, these results show that the muscle fibers of geese in the free-range system were more developed. Simultaneously, increasing the amount of exercise for geese will improve their welfare, which is beneficial to their health, growth, and development, and provides a technical reference for the free-range breeding system for geese.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15030304","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,22]],"date-time":"2025-01-22T05:50:53Z","timestamp":1737525053000},"page":"304","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Effects of Free-Range Systems on Muscle Fiber Characteristics and Welfare Indicators in Geese"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Guoyao","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianzhou","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yujiao","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaiqi","family":"Weng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory for Evaluation and Utilization of Poultry Genetic Resources of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory for Evaluation and Utilization of Poultry Genetic Resources of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guohong","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory for Evaluation and Utilization of Poultry Genetic Resources of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2791-0429","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qi","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory for Evaluation and Utilization of Poultry Genetic Resources of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100290","DOI":"10.1016\/j.animal.2021.100290","article-title":"Review: Management of livestock behavior to improve welfare and production","volume":"15","author":"Orihuela","year":"2021","journal-title":"Animal"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1016\/S0309-1740(99)00097-2","article-title":"Influence of feeding intensity, grazing and finishing feeding on muscle fibre characteristics and meat colour of semitendinosus, longissimus dorsi and supraspinatus muscles of young bulls","volume":"54","author":"Vestergaard","year":"2000","journal-title":"Meat Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Park, R.M., Foster, M., and Daigle, C.L. 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