scholarly journals Effect of Different Dietary Betaine Fortifications on Performance, Carcass Traits, Meat Quality, Blood Biochemistry, and Hematology of Broilers Exposed to Various Temperature Patterns

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1555
Author(s):  
Ahmed A. Al-Sagan ◽  
Abdullah H. Al-Yemni ◽  
Alaeldein M. Abudabos ◽  
Abdulaziz A. Al-Abdullatif ◽  
Elsayed O. Hussein

Improving broilers’ production in the hot region is essential to overcome heat-stress challenges. The current experiment examined the effects of betaine’s fortification (0.0, 0.075, 0.10, and 0.15%) to broiler chickens during days 1–40 of age. The growth period was divided into the starter (1–18 d) and growing-finishing (19–40 d). During the starter period, there was no heat challenge, and all birds were kept under the same conditions. At 18 days of age, half of the birds were kept under thermos-neutral temperature (TN, 22–24 °C), while the other half were kept under high temperature (HT, 35 °C). However, the production efficiency factor (PEF) was the best (p < 0.05) for birds that received 0.10% betaine. Betaine fortification improved (p < 0.05 and 0.01) body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and production efficiency factor (PEF) in the cumulative finisher heat-stress challenge period (19–40 d). The best performance was achieved at 0.1% betaine fortification with 84 g gain, 4.6 points improvement in FCR, and 24 points improvements in PEF as compared to no betaine fortification. The heat-stressed group consumed less feed (239 g), gained less weight (179 g), converted feed less efficiently (2.6 points), and, as a result, had lower FEF (29 points) as compared to the TN group. Conclusively, heat challenge had a powerful effect on growth performance, meat characteristics, and blood parameters, especially during the grower-finisher period. Betaine fortification (0.1%) during heat stress reduced the negative impact on performance and improved production efficiency, suggesting that betaine is a useful nutritional tool under stress conditions that deserves further investigation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima K. Emami ◽  
Elizabeth S. Greene ◽  
Michael H. Kogut ◽  
Sami Dridi

This study was conducted to distinguish the effects of heat stress (HS) and feed intake (FI) on broiler chicken’s physiological responses. Day-old male Cobb 500 broilers (n = 672) were allocated to three treatments: (1) control (CTL): birds raised under normal temperature (23°C) from day 29 to 42; (2) cyclic heat stress (CHS): birds exposed to high temperatures (8 h/day at 35°C; from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm) from day 29 to 42; (3) pair-fed (PF): birds raised under thermoneutral condition but fed the same amount of feed as CHS from day 29 to 42. On day 42, 15 birds/pen were processed, to measure carcass and meat yields. To measure blood parameters and gut integrity (using fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran), on day 42, CHS birds were sampled before (Pre-CHS) and 2 h after (Post-CHS) the temperature increased. Furthermore, after sampling CTL birds, they were exposed to 2h heat and sampled (acute heat stress, AHS). Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA (JMP Pro15) and significance between treatments identified by LSD (P &lt; 0.05). BW and relative carcass yield were significantly higher in CTL compared to CHS and PF. Compared to CHS, PF had significantly higher BW and lower relative carcass yield. Breast yield was significantly higher for CTL and PF, while leg quarters and wings yield were significantly lower compared to CHS. Gut barrier integrity was significantly altered in Post-CHS and AHS compared to CTL. mRNA abundances of tumor necrosis factor-α, C-C motif chemokine ligand-20, heat shock protein (HSP)-27, and HSP70 were significantly higher in Post-CHS and AHS compared to CTL. AHS had significantly higher mRNA abundances of CARD domain containing (NLRC)-3 and NLRC5 inflammasomes, and lower superoxide dismutase (SOD)-1 and SOD2 abundance compared with CTL. PF had significantly higher liver weight (% BW) compared to all other groups; while abdominal fat was significantly higher in Pre-CHS compared to CTL, PF, and AHS. Together, these data indicate that the negative effects of HS are partially due to reduced FI. However, the negative effect of HS on gut integrity, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and meat yield are direct and independent of the reduced FI during the HS. Thus, warrant investigating the underlying mechanisms in future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Mohammad ◽  
G. Hasan ◽  
D. Mohsen

To investigate the efficiency of savory essential oil on performance, organs relative weight, some blood parameters, immune response and hepatic enzymes of broiler chickens, a total 320 male Ross 308 chicks were allocated to four treatments and four replicates of twenty birds as a completely randomized design from. The varidifferent levels savory oil. The body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded at continues weeks of the experiment. Relative weight of visceral organs was determined and blood serum glucose and activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured after blood sampling at 42 days old and plasma IgG immunoglobulin was quantified. Data showed that BW and FI increased with savory oil inclusion (p≤0.05). Besides, the savory oil decreased the plasma glucose, AST and ALT and serum blood Ig G of heat stressed broilers, increased significantly (p?0.05) instead. In conclusion we may suggested that, the savory oil at 0.4 ml/L could improve economic proficiency in broiler flocks due to accumulation of minute advantages in greater BWG, FI, and improved immune system and lowered hepatic enzymes under heat stress condition.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajjad Movahhedkhah ◽  
Behrouz Rasouli ◽  
Alireza Seidavi ◽  
Domenico Mazzei ◽  
Vito Laudadio ◽  
...  

This study investigated the effects of summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) extract (SSE) on growth, plasma constituents, immune response, and gut microbiota of broiler chickens. A total of 300 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments containing five replicates of 12 birds each. The treatments consisted of a controldiet without feed additive and experimental diets supplemented with four levels of SSE (100, 200, 300, and 400 mg/kg, respectively). Results showed no significant effect of SSE supplementation on broiler body weight gain (p > 0.05), but feed conversion ratio was significantly (p < 0.05) improved when fed 400 mg/kg SSE compared to control. Most of the blood parameters and immune response criteria studied were improved (p < 0.05) by SSE supplementation. There was no dietary effect on Lactobacilli count (p > 0.05); conversely, Escherichia coli count was reduced and the Lactobacilli/E. coli ratio improved with SSE (p < 0.05). Based on our findings, it was concluded that supplementation of the diet with SSE up to 400 mg/kg sustained growth traits and improved the feed efficiency and health status of broilers. However, more research is needed on this subject in order to better understand the mode of action of the extract used.


2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 384-391
Author(s):  
Hao Yang Sun ◽  
Santosh Laxman Ingale ◽  
Piyush Rathi ◽  
In Ho Kim

A total of 600 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chickens with an average body weight of 43.00 ± 0.42 g were used in a 35 d growth assay to investigate the supplemental effects of three levels (600, 1200, and 1800 β-glucanase units kg−1) of β-glucanase on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, and meat quality in wheat–barley–soybean-meal-based broiler diet. During days 19–35 and overall period, chickens’ body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly (P < 0.05) improved linearly following the levels of β-glucanase supplementation. The digestibility of crude protein and gross energy were significantly (P < 0.05) increased linearly with the levels of β-glucanase supplementation. Significant linear increase (P < 0.05) due to increasing β-glucanase supplementation was observed for blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration. Increasing β-glucanase supplementation did not influence (P > 0.05) the meat quality. In conclusion, broiler diets supplementation with increasing β-glucanase could improve the growth performance, enhance the digestibility, and modulate the concentrations of BUN linearly. Meat quality was not influenced.


Gut Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Ruhnau ◽  
Claudia Hess ◽  
Barbara Doupovec ◽  
Bertrand Grenier ◽  
Dian Schatzmayr ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Intestinal epithelial cells are challenged by mycotoxins and many bacterial pathogens. It was previously shown that the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) as well as Campylobacter (C.) jejuni have a negative impact on gut integrity. Recently, it was demonstrated that DON increased the load of C. jejuni in the gut and inner organs. Based on this finding, it was hypothesized the DON metabolite (deepoxy-deoxynivalenol, DOM-1) should be able to reduce the negative effects of DON on colonization and translocation of C. jejuni in broilers, since it lacks the epoxide ring, which is responsible for the toxicity of DON. Methods A total of 180 broiler chickens were housed in floor pens on wood shavings with feed and water provided ad libitum. Birds were divided into six groups (n = 30 with 5 replicates/group): 1. Control, 2. DOM-1, 3. DON, 4. DOM-1 + C. jejuni, 5. DON + C. jejuni, 6. C. jejuni. At day 14, birds of groups 4, 5 and 6 were orally inoculated via feeding tube (gavage) with 1-ml of a PBS suspension containing 1 × 108 CFU of C. jejuni NCTC 12744. The performance parameters: body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), and feed intake of the birds were determined. At 7, 14, and 21 days post infection, samples from liver, spleen, duodenum, jejunum and cecum were aseptically collected and processed for bacteriological investigations. Finally, at each killing time point, segments of duodenum, jejunum and cecum were harvested and prepared for Ussing chamber studies to measure the paracellular mannitol fluxes. Results A significant decrease in body weight was observed for chickens receiving the DON diet with or without C. jejuni compared to the other groups. Furthermore, it was found that the co-exposure of birds to DON and C. jejuni resulted in a higher C. jejuni load not only in the gut but also in liver and spleen due to increased paracellular permeability of the duodenum, jejunum and cecum. On the contrary, DOM-1 supplementation in the feed improved the birds’ performance and led to a better feed conversion ratio throughout the trial. Furthermore, DOM-1 did not negatively affect gut permeability and decreased the C. jejuni counts in the intestine and internal organs. Conclusion Altogether, the presence of DOM-1 in the feed as a result of the enzymatic biotransformation of DON leads to a lower C. jejuni count in the intestine and better feed conversion ratio. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the detoxification product of DON, DOM-1, does not have negative effects on the gastrointestinal tract and reduces the Campylobacter burden in chickens and also the risk for human infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-104
Author(s):  
P Azhahianambi ◽  
◽  
S Suganya ◽  
S Thiyagarajan ◽  
R Vijayashanthi ◽  
...  

The study was designed to investigate the comparative anti-coccidial efficacy of ZeeCox® (Phytogenic anti-coccidial formulation developed by Indian Herbs Specialities Ltd) at recommended dose levels, with commonly used ionophore anti-coccidial drugs such as salinomycin, lasolacid and anti-coccidial vaccine. A total of 324, day-old broiler chicks were reared under standard management practices. The chicks were randomly divided into nine groups with each group consisting of 36 birds. Body weight gain, Feed Conversion Ratio, intestine lesion score, oocyst per gram feces and European Performance Efficiency Factor (EPEF) of all experimental group birds were measured. All the chicks except Group 1 were inoculated orally with the total of 20,000 live sporulated oocysts of Eimeria species on 18th day of age. The overall performance such as Body weight gain, Feed Conversion Ratio and European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) of Group 5 (ZeeCox® 0.5g/kg treatment and Challenged) was better and comparable with Group 3 (Salinomycin treatment and Challenged) and Group 4 (Salinomycin & Lasalocid treatment and Challenged). It was concluded from the present study that ZeeCox® at 0.5g/kg of feed could be a potential alternative to the ionophore anticoccidial drugs used in the control of coccidiosis in broiler chicken.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Olfati ◽  
Ali Mojtahedin ◽  
Tayebeh Sadeghi ◽  
Mohsen Akbari ◽  
Felipe Martínez-Pastor

This study was conducted to compare the effects of thermal stress on growth performance and some immunity variables of broiler chickens. Birds were randomly assigned to one of three thermal treatments as follows: cold stress (CS, 12±1°C), (b) heat stress (HS, 33±3 °C) and (c) thermoneutral (TN, 24±2 °C). Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), water intake (WI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. In order to evaluate the primary and secondary humoral immune responses, two birds per replicate were intravenously administrated with a suspension of 7% sheep red blood cell (SRBC) at 28 and 35 days. The heat-stressed broiler chickens had lower FI (-14.90%), BWG (-25.71%) and higher FCR (+13.06%) in comparison to broiler chickens reared under TN condition (p<0.001) from 1 to 42 days of age. The cold-stressed broiler chickens showed lower FI (-22.05%), BWG (-38.32%) and higher FCR (+22.47%) in comparison to birds reared under TN conditions (p<0.001). Stressed birds (CS and HS) showed decreased antibody titer against SRBC, lymphocyte count and the relative weights of lymphoid organs and increased heterophil count, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio and the serum concentration of corticosterone, in comparison to birds in TN group (p<0.001). In conclusion, HS and CS conditions have similar negative effects on performance and immunity of broiler chickens.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Ruhnau ◽  
Claudia Hess ◽  
Barbara Doupovic ◽  
Bertrand Grenier ◽  
Dian Schatzmayr ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Intestinal epithelial cells are challenged by mycotoxins and many bacterial pathogens. It was previously shown that the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) as well as Campylobacter (C.) jejuni have a negative impact on gut integrity. Recently it was demonstrated that DON increased the load of C. jejuni in the gut and inner organs. Based on this finding, it was hypothesized the DON metabolite (deepoxy-deoxynivalenol, DOM-1), which is produced during the biotransformation of DON and is less toxic than DON itself should be able to reduce the negative effects of DON on colonization and translocation of C. jejuni in broilers because it lacks the epoxide ring responsible for the toxicity of DON. Methods: A total of 180 broiler chickens were housed in floor pens on wood shavings with feed and water provided ad libitum. Birds were divided into six groups (n = 30 with 5 replicates/group): 1. Control, 2. DOM-1, 3. DON, 4. DOM-1 + C. jejuni, 5. DON + C. jejuni, 6. C. jejuni. At day 14, birds of groups 4, 5 and 6 were orally inoculated via feeding tube (gavage) with 1-ml of a PBS suspension containing 1x108 CFU of C. jejuni NCTC 12744. The performance parameters: body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), and feed intake of the birds were determined. At 7, 14, and 21 days post infection, samples from liver, spleen, duodenum, jejunum and cecum were aseptically collected and processed for bacteriological investigations. Finally, at each killing time point, segments of duodenum, jejunum and cecum were harvested and prepared for Ussing chamber studies to measure the paracellular mannitol fluxes. Results: A significant decrease in body weight was observed for chickens receiving the DON diet with or without C. jejuni compared to the other groups. Furthermore, it was found that the co-exposure of birds to DON and C. jejuni resulted in a higher C. jejuni load not only in the gut but also in liver and spleen due to increased paracellular permeability of the duodenum, jejunum and cecum. On the contrary, DOM-1 supplementation in the feed improved the birds’ performance and led to a better feed conversion ratio throughout the trial. Furthermore, DOM-1 did not negatively affect gut permeability and decreased the C. jejuni counts in the intestine and internal organs. Conclusion: Altogether, the dietary inclusion of DOM-1 had a positive effect on performance, did not negatively affect gut paracellular permeability and reduced the C. jejuni load in the intestine, indicating that this mycotoxin metabolite could exert beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal tract by biotransformation, including minimizing the Campylobacter burden in chickens and also the risk for human infection.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2027
Author(s):  
Doaa Ibrahim ◽  
Tamer Ahmed Ismail ◽  
Eman Khalifa ◽  
Shaimaa A. Abd El-Kader ◽  
Dalia Ibrahim Mohamed ◽  
...  

Necrotic enteritis (NE) caused by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) results in impaired bird growth performance and increased production costs. Nanotechnology application in the poultry industry to control NE outbreaks is still not completely clarified. Therefore, the efficacy of dietary garlic nano-hydrogel (G-NHG) on broilers growth performance, intestinal integrity, economic returns and its potency to alleviate C. perfringens levels using NE challenge model were addressed. A total of 1200 male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were assigned into six groups; four supplemented with 100, 200, 300 or 400 mg of G-NHG/kg diet and co-challenged with C. perfringens at 21, 22 and 23 d of age and two control groups fed basal diet with or without C. perfringens challenge. Over the total growing period, the 400 mg/kg G-NHG group had the most improved body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency regardless of challenge. Parallel with these results, the mRNA expression of genes encoding digestive enzymes (alpha 2A amylase (AMY2A), pancreatic lipase (PNLIP) and cholecystokinin (CCK)) and intestinal barriers (junctional adhesion molecule-2 (JAM-2), occludin and mucin-2 (Muc-2)) were increased in groups fed G-NHG at higher levels to be nearly similar to those in the unchallenged group. At 14 d post challenge, real-time PCR results revealed that inclusion of G-NHG led to a dose-dependently decrease in the C. perfringens population, thereby decreasing the birds’ intestinal lesion score and mortality rates. Using 400 mg/kg of G-NHG remarkably ameliorated the adverse effects of NE caused by C. perfringens challenge, which contributed to better growth performance of challenged birds with rational economic benefits.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1341
Author(s):  
Sarayu Bhogoju ◽  
Collins N. Khwatenge ◽  
Thyneice Taylor-Bowden ◽  
Gabriel Akerele ◽  
Boniface M. Kimathi ◽  
...  

There are well documented complications associated with the continuous use of antibiotics in the poultry industry. Over the past few decades, probiotics have emerged as viable alternatives to antibiotics; however, most of these candidate probiotic microorganisms have not been fully evaluated for their effectiveness as potential probiotics for poultry. Recent evaluation of a metagenome of broiler chickens in our laboratory revealed a prevalence of Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) and Actinobacteria class of bacteria in their gastrointestinal tract. In this study Lactobacillus reuteri and Streptomyces coelicolor (S. coelicolor) were selected as probiotic bacteria, encapsulated, and added into broiler feed at a concentration of 100 mg/kg of feed. In an 8-week study, 240 one day-old chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. Three dietary treatments contained two probiotic bacteria in three different proportions (L. reuteri and S. coelicolor individually at 100 ppm, and mixture of L. reuteri and S. coelicolor at 50 ppm each). The fourth treatment had no probiotic bacteria and it functioned as the control diet. L. reuteri and S. coelicolor were added to the feed by using wheat middlings as a carrier at a concentration of 100 ppm (100 mg/kg). Chickens fed diets containing L. reuteri and S. coelicolor mixture showed 2% improvement in body weight gain, 7% decrease in feed consumption, and 6–7% decrease in feed conversion ratios. This research suggests that L. reuteri and S. coelicolor have the potential to constitute probiotics in chickens combined or separately, depending on the desired selection of performance index.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document