Serum Corticosterone Concentrations and Granulocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratios in Slaughter Geese Across Transport-Distance Categories: An Exploratory Descriptive Field Study

Transport exposes poultry to multiple stressors. The declining number of slaughterhouses in the European Union can increase transport distances to slaughter facilities. Transport-related stress responses are documented in chickens and ducks but remain poorly characterized in geese. This exploratory descriptive field study characterized serum corticosterone (CORT) concentrations and the granulocyte-to-lymphocyte (G/L) ratio in pooled blood samples representing 292 slaughter geese from six flocks: one non-transported flock slaughtered on a farm and five commercial flocks transported 1–100, 101–200, 201–300, 301–400, or >400 km. Exploratory pool-level comparisons indicated overall differences in G/L ratios among the five evaluable flocks (p = 0.035), but no pairwise difference remained significant after Bonferroni adjustment. Corticosterone was lower in pooled serum samples from the non-transported flock than in those from the 1–100, 201–300, and >400 km flocks (p < 0.001). However, one flock and one journey per distance category prevented separation of distance effects from flock-, farm-, age- or journey-specific influences. These observations provide important descriptive field data but do not permit conclusions about an independent effect of transport distance. Studies with multiple independent flocks and journeys per distance category are required.