A Review of the Emerging White Chick Hatchery Disease

White chick hatchery disease is an emerging disease of broiler chicks with which the virus, chicken astrovirus, has been associated. Adult birds typically show no obvious clinical signs of infection, although some broiler breeder flocks have experienced slight egg drops. Substantial decreases in hatching are experienced over a two-week period, with an increase in mid-to-late embryo deaths, chicks too weak to hatch and pale, runted chicks with high mortality. Chicken astrovirus is an enteric virus, and strains are typically transmitted horizontally within flocks via the faecal–oral route; however, dead-in-shell embryos and weak, pale hatchlings indicate vertical transmission of the strains associated with white chick hatchery disease. Hatch levels are typically restored after two weeks when seroconversion of the hens to chicken astrovirus has occurred. Currently, there are no commercial vaccines available for the virus; therefore, the only means of protection is by good levels of biosecurity. This review aims to outline the current understanding regarding white chick hatchery disease in broiler chick flocks suffering from severe early mortality and increased embryo death in countries worldwide.

Polymelia, vent duplex, cloacal bursa duplex and triple caeca in a broiler chick

Congenital abnormalities are common among avian and mammalian species. They could be partial or total drift from the normal structural organization of the organ-systems. This article is aimed at reporting the occurrence of multiple abnormalities in a 3-week-old broiler chick. Ante mortem, post-mortem, radiological and osteological investigations were carried out, to ascertain the number and form of abnormalities present in the chick. A total of four different congenital abnormalities were discovered in this chick. These include: polymelia (presence of supernumerary or accessory limb which is usually malformed); double vents (vent duplex); double cloacal bursae (bursa duplex) and triple caeca. Radiological and postmortem examinations revealed the attachment of the accessory limb to the caudal depressor muscle as a form of synsarcosis, via a tendon that originated from the deep fossa of the modified femoral head of the accessory limb. The right vent was patent whereas the left was not. The two cloacal bursae were almost the same size, while the three caeca showed slight variation in length but typical features of the avian caecum (base, middle (body) and apex) were clearly visible. However, most cases of congenital anomalies in the avian species occur as multiple defects, with the most common being polymelia. The latest finding in this report is the discovery of double cloacal bursae (bursae of Fabricius), which has not been reported in the avian species.

Effect of exposure to different light colors on embryonic development and neurophysiological traits in the chick embryo

Background and Aim: Many environmental factors exist that influence embryonic development which is missing in the poultry industry, such as light in incubation facilities or hatcheries. Light plays an important role in the growth and development of chick embryos, whereas dark environments can lead to hatching failure or embryo distortion. Therefore, this study aimed to demonstrate the importance of light and its various colors on the growth and development of broiler chick embryos. Materials and Methods: Four treatments were used to study the impact of various light colors on the growth of embryos and their neurophysiological traits: Dark without light (D), red light (RL), blue light (BL), and green light (GL), with three replicates per treatment (25 eggs/replicate) for a total of 300 fertile Ross 308 eggs. Each treatment was assigned to one incubator (75 eggs/incubator), whereas all other conditions were kept the same. Results: The results showed a significant increase (p<0.01) in embryonic development for embryo weight, chick body weight, hatchability, and embryo index for RL, BL, and especially GL. RL, BL, and especially GL significantly increased (p<0.01) neurophysiological traits of the neurons, brain weight, and brain index. Conclusion: The use of light during the embryonic period affects the development of the embryo and its neurophysiological traits.

Comparative Effects of Copper and Terramycin on Performance of Broiler Chicks and Growers

BROILER chicks were divided into twelve groups each of which had either the basal ration, the basal ration, and terramycin, the basal ration and graded levels of copper, or the basal ration and both the antibiotic and copper. Broiler growers were fed similarly. High level of dietary copper [300 ppm] depressed growth. A range of 100 to 200 ppm dietary copper produced liveweight gain as much as terramycin. No additional advantage was gained by combining both copper and terramycin. Either terramycin or 100 ppm copper gave equivalent body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion in the broiler chick starters and growers. Lack of either dietary copper or terramycin resulted in high mortality. Combinations of dietary copper and terramycin stimulated abdominal fat deposition. It is concluded that either terramycin or 100 ppm dietary could be used for stimulating growth and for preventing enteritis in broilers and the choice of either would depend on availability and cost.

Response of starter broilers to diets containing graded levels of rice bran with or without palm oil

One hundred and forty four(144) day old broiler chicks of hubbard breed from a commercial hatchery were used to investigate the response of broiler chick to 0, 10 and 20% dietary rice bran with or without palm oil in a 5 week feeding trial. Significant interaction between dietary levels of rice bran and palm oil were observed on feed intake, weight gain and feedgain ratio (P>0.05). Increase in dietary levels of rice bran deduced feed transit time in the GIT (P>0.05) while supplementary palm oil had the opposite effect (P>0.05). There was a tendency for dietary supplementation of palm oil to increase protein or fat retention (P>0.05) but had no significant effect on crude fibre retention (P>0.05) but had no significant effect of crude fibre retention (P>0.05). It was concluded that broiler chicks could tolerate up to 10% dietary levels of rice bran without detrimental effects on performance and nutrients retention. With supplementary 5% palm oil added to such a diet, performance was comparable to that of birds fed a standard diet with money saved in the process

Phosphorus bioavailability, amino acid digestibility and metabolizable energy of broiler chick diets supplemented with low-oil distiller’s dried grains with solubles

Phosphorus (P) bioavailability, crude protein (CP), amino acid (AA) digestibility, and apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) were determined in broiler chick diets, supplemented with one of two low-oil distiller´s dried grains with solubles (oil contents 6.54% and 5.35% for DDGS A and B, respectively). Diets were provided ad libitum in a mash form, from days 8 to 21 of age. In Experiment 1, one day old male broiler chicks (n=210) were assigned to one of 7 treatments, with 3 replicates of 10 birds each. Animals in treatment 1 (T1) were fed a basal diet formulated to be deficient in nonphytate P (0.14%). Birds in T2 and T3 received the basal diet supplemented with 0.05% or 0.10% of P from monodicalcium phosphate (MCP), respectively. Phosphorus from DDGS was added to diets in T4 (0.05% from DDGS A), T5 (0.1% from DDGS A), T6 (0.05% from DDGS B) and T7 (0.1% from DDGS B). Percent of inclusion of DDGS was dictated by total P content as determined by chemical analyses. Growth performance and P intake were assessed in all birds. Phosphorus bioavailability was determined using the slope ratio assay, with tibia ash as the response variable. For Experiment 2, one-day-old male broiler chicks (n=200), were assigned to 5 treatments with 4 replicates of 10 birds each. A sorghum-soya control diet was given to animals in T1. Treatments 2 and 3 included this same diet supplemented with either 5% or 10% of DDGS A. Birds in T4 and 5 received the control diet with either- 5% or 10% of DDGS B. Amino acid digestibility was measured from ileal contents in 7 euthanized birds from each group at day 21. Apparent metabolizable energy was determined in oven dried feces from all animals during the last 3 days of the experiment. Weight gain and feed consumption increased (P <0.001) with larger inclusion of dietary P in birds from experiment 1. Relative P bioavailability for DDGS A and B was 72% and 86% respectively, from a P total content of 0.85% and 0.94%.,. Growth performance was similar for all treatment groups in experiment 2 (P >0.05). The average apparent ileal amino acid digestibility coefficient for DDGS A 76.5% and B was 76.4%. No differences were found for essential AA coefficients between the two DDGS (P >0.05). The AMEn values on a dry matter basis were 2828 and 2854 kcal/kg for DDGS A and B, respectively.