Eleonora Erika Cappone
- 502306
- Phd: 38th cycle
- Dottorato in Scienze Veterinarie per la Salute Animale e la Sicurezza Alimentare
- Matriculation number: 813689
- ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0007-3839-2977
Phd thesis
Title
Valorisation of autochthonous chicken breeds: reviving and restoring the prominence of the Bionda Piemontese, Bianca di Saluzzo and Millefiori Piemontese
Scientific background/State of the art
Over the last decades, poultry biodiversity has faced drastic losses due to the increased interest in commercial hybrids[1], as demonstrated by a recent census on the three Piedmontese, slow-growing and dual-purpose chicken breeds[2]: the Bionda Piemontese (BP), Bianca di Saluzzo (BS) and Millefiori Piemontese (MP). Recently, the consumers growing demand for organic and alternative products led to the increased appreciation for autochthonous chicken breeds. Unlikely commercial hybrids, local breeds are highly suitable for alternative and extensive farming systems and are versatile: most of them are rustic and dual-purpose[3]. Regardless, the information about the growth and slaughter performance and the oviposition of the BP, BS and MP are insufficient, if not missing. In fact, the MP is currently lacking a breed standard, as it was considered as extinct in the ‘90s.
Aims of the project
The present PhD project aims at safeguarding and valorising autochthonous, endangered chicken breeds, while re-evaluating their productions. For this reason, the growth and slaughtering performance of the BP, BS and MP will be evaluated, as well as their oviposition and fertility.
Finally, to investigate the predilections of Italian consumers about eggs and chicken meat, as well as their knowledge of the Italian poultry heritage, the candidate analysed the results obtained from a recent survey that was developed by the poultry team of the DSV (University of Turin).
Main techniques
To assess the growth and productive performance of the three Piedmontese breeds, 569 BP and 460 BS eggs were collected from the previous generation housed at the poultry facility of the University of Turin and 134 MP eggs were collected from two breeders in Cuneo and Pinerolo (TO, Piedmont, Italy), for a total of 1,163 eggs, and hatched in a commercial hatchery. Among the 776 hatched chicks, 344 (128 BP, 128 BS and 88 MP) were reared at the poultry facility. At 29 d of age, the chicks were divided into pens, according to breed and sex (10 birds/pen; 6 replicates/sex for BP and BS, 4 replicates/sex for MP). In vivo evaluations included the recording of the individual live weight and feed consumption biweekly and the welfare evaluation (e.g.: tonic immobility test) once a month[4,5]. At 2.5 and 5 months, the phenotypic traits of each breed and sex were recorded (wingspan, body length, etc.).
The birds were fed ad libitum a commercial feed. At 172 d, to the same feed, an indigestible marker (TiO2) was added to determine ileal digestibility at slaughtering.
At 182 d of age, all male chickens were individually weighed, and 12 males/breed were selected for slaughtering, based on the average weight of the pen. Before being slaughtered, few feathers were collected from the scapular area of each bird for corticosterone evaluation and blood samples were collected for clinical chemistry analysis during exsanguination.
Post-mortem evaluations include:- carcass and organs weight
- anatomopathological sampling and examinations of spleen, liver, duodenum, and jejunum
- collection of ileal and caecal contents for the evaluation of volatile fatty acids, ammonia, microbiota, and digestibility
-> oxidative status (TBARS)
-> fatty acids profile
-> water holding capacity
-> shear force test
Expected results and possible developments
The obtained data will be statistically analysed using Gompertz model for the growth curves and ANOVA (one-way or two-way, depending on the data) for the slaughtering performance. The analysis on samples collected at slaughter are ongoing. The egg production and reproduction (fertility test) performance of the BP, BS and MP hens will be recorded in 2024. At least three samplings will be performed to evaluate the eggs quality (macroscopic and chemical traits). With all the data obtained, a breed standard and farming guidelines for the three breeds will be established.
Reference
[1] Franzoni A., Gariglio M., Castillo A., Soglia D., Sartore S., Buccioni A., Mannelli F., Cassandro M., Cendron F., Castellini C., Cartoni Mancinelli A., Cerolini S., Sayed A.A., Iaffaldano N., Di Iorio M., Marzoni M., Salvucci S., Schiavone A.; Overview of native chicken breeds in Italy: small scale production and marketing; Animals, 11; 2021.
[2] Castillo A., Gariglio M., Franzoni A., Soglia D., Sartore S., Buccioni A., Mannelli F., Cassandro M., Cendron F., Castellini C., Cartoni Mancinelli A., Iaffaldano N., Di Iorio M., Marzoni M., Salvucci S., Cerolini S., Zaniboni L., Schiavone A.; Overview of native chicken breeds in Italy: conservation status and rearing systems in use; Animals, 11; 2021.
[3] Soglia D., Sartore S., Maione S., Schiavone A., Dabbou S., Ney J., Zaniboni S., Marelli S., Sacchi P., Rasero R.; Growth performance analysis of two Italian slow-growing chicken breeds: Bianca di Saluzzo and Bionda Piemontese; Animals, 10; 2020.
[4] Aviagen Guidelines, Dec. 2014
[5] Welfare Quality ® Assessment Protocol for Poultry, 2009
Research activities
Co supervisor
Dominga Soglia
Publication list:
- Bongiorno V., Gariglio M., Zambotto V., Cappone E.E., Biasato I., Renna M., Forte C., Coudron C., Bergagna S., Gai F., Schiavone A.; Black soldier fly larvae used for environmental enrichment purposes: can they affect the growth, slaughter performance, and blood chemistry of medium-growing chickens?; Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9; 2022.
- Fiorilla E., Gariglio M., Martinez-Miro S., Rosique C., Madrid J., Montalban A., Biasato I., Bongiorno V., Cappone E.E., Soglia D., Schiavone A.; Improving sustainability in autochthonous slow-growing chicken farming: exploring new frontiers through the use of alternative dietary proteins; Journal of Cleaner Production, 434; 2024.
Abstracts:
- Bongiorno V., Gariglio M., Zambotto V., Cappone E.E., Biasato I., Bellezza Oddon S., Gaddés M., Soglia D., Forte C., Renna M., Gasco L., Gai F., Schiavone A. (2022). Blood chemistry of medium-growing male and female chickens fed Black Soldier Fly live larvae; In proceeding of the 7th Mediterranean Poultry Summit, Cordoba (Spain); 8-10/06/2022.
- Bongiorno V., Gariglio M., Zambotto V., Cappone E.E., Biasato I., Bellezza Oddon S., Soglia D., Forte C., Renna M., Gasco L., Gai F., Schiavone A. (2022). Slaughter performance of medium-growing chicken fed Black Soldier Fly live larvae; In proceeding of the 26th World’s Poultry Congress, Paris (France); 7-11/08/2022.
- Bongiorno V., Gariglio M., Zambotto V., Cappone E.E., Biasato I., Bellezza Oddon S., Soglia D., C Forte C., Renna M., Gasco L., Gai F., Schiavone A. (2022); Black Soldier Fly live larvae as environmental enrichment in medium-growing chicken diet; In proceeding of the 26th World’s Poultry Congress, Paris (France); 7-11/08/2022.
- Fiorilla E., Gariglio M., Bongiorno V., Cappone E.E., Zambotto V., Gai F., Cortes J., Coudron C., Biasato I., Schiavone A.; Growth and slaughtering performance of a local chicken breed fed dried and live Black soldier fly larvae as environmental enrichment. Poster contribution, European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition, Rimini (Italy), June 21-24 2023.
- Zambotto V., Fiorilla E., Bongiorno V., Cappone E.E., Gariglio M., Gasco L., Daniele G.M., Cianciabella M., Schiavone A., Gai F., Predieri S.; Sensory evaluation of breast meat from Bianca di Saluzzo chicken supplemented with live and dried Black soldier fly larvae. Poster contribution, 69th ICoMST Congress, Padova (Italy), August 20-25 2023.
Presentation of papers, posters, given speeches at conferences and seminars:
- Cappone E.E.; Presentation of the Master’s Degree in Animal Science to the new incoming students during the annual SAMEV Career Day (University of Turin, Italy); 24/03/2022.
- Cappone E.E.; Presentation of the first oviposition data of the Bianca di Saluzzo e Bionda Piemontese laying hens during the CoVaRAP seminar (Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Italy); 16/11/2022.
- Cappone E.E.; Presentation during the annual Game Of Research (Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin) entitled "Progetto CoVaRAP: conservazione e valorizzazione della Bionda Piemontese e Bianca di Saluzzo"; 15/12/2022.
- Cappone E.E., Soglia D., Sartore S., Zambotto V., Maione S., Profiti M., Bongiorno V., Gariglio M., Cerolini S., Schiavone A.; Millefiori Piemontese, genetic characterization of an endangered local chicken breed. Oral presentation, 25th ASPA Congress, Monopoli (Bari, Italy), June 13-16 2023.
- Cappone E.E., Gosso E., Schiavone A.; Italian market chicken breeds: exploring biodiversity through macroscopic analysis of colorful eggs. Oral presentation, Egg&Meat Congress, Krakow (Poland), September 7-9 2023.
Other training:
- 07/10/2021: Webinar “L’agronomo nelle aziende zootecniche per il benessere animale”, CONAF, Italy.
- 16/11/2022: Seminar – “EIT Food FEEL LOCAL ITALY”, Workshop per la filiera agro- alimentare"