Effects on egg production and quality of supplementing drinking water with calcium and magnesium

This study was conducted to appraise the effects on egg quality and production performance of laying hens when drinking water was supplemented with calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). A total of 384 (64-week-old) Hy-line Brown laying hens were assigned at random to four treatments, which consisted of CON: unsupplemented drinking water; T1: drinking water + 2 mg/L Ca + 250 mg/L Mg; T2: drinking water + 4 mg/L Ca + 510 mg/L Mg /10 L; and T3: drinking water + 5 mg/L Ca and 760 mg/L Mg. The experiment lasted six weeks. Water intake increased linearly in week 1 with the rising levels of Ca and Mg in the drinking water. Increasing the Ca and Mg levels improved eggshell strength (week 2 (P =0.01), week 5 (P =0.01), and week 6 (P = 0.03), and eggshell thickness (week 6) (P =0.02) and reduced the rate at which eggs were broken (week 4) (P =0.01). The supplemental Ca and Mg did not affect egg production, egg weight, Haugh unit, albumen height, eggshell colour, and yolk colour compared with CON. Nor did they influence the Haugh unit and albumen height after storing for 1, 5, 10 and 15 days. In conclusion, adding Ca and Mg to the drinking water increased the thickness and strength of the eggshells.

Propolis supplementation affects performance, intestinal morphology, and bacterial population of broiler chickens

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effect of supplementing the diet of broiler chickens with propolis on growth, bacterial population of the intestine, antiviral serum concentration, intestinal morphology, and digestive enzyme activities in broiler chickens. Forty peer-reviewed articles that had been published between 2003 and 2019 were identified using the PRISMA protocol and included in the study. Data were analysed with mixed model methodology, in which the studies were considered random effects, whereas the level of supplemental propolis was considered a fixed effect. Responses to propolis supplementation in bodyweight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) were quadratic, but average daily feed intake (ADFI) was not affected. Propolis supplementation improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) significantly as a linear function of the level of supplement. The optimum level of supplementation was between 256 and 262 mg/kg feed and produced maximum ADG and final BW. There was a tendency for mortality to decrease because of propolis supplementation. Propolis had no detectable effect on serum antiviral concentration, intestinal bacterial population or intestinal morphology. Among digestive enzymes, only sucrase increased linearly as propolis was increased. Thus, supplementation with propolis increased the growth performance of broiler chickens positively and the effect was dose dependent. This may have been partly because of an improvement in sucrase activity and other factors related to the nutritional content of propolis. Future study to evaluate specific bioactive compounds of propolis is therefore warranted.

Dietary Catharanthus roseus modulates intestinal microarchitecture in broilers

The study evaluated the efficacy of ethanolic extracts of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) in altering growth performance, viscera development and intestinal microarchitecture in broilers. Day-old broiler chicks (n = 175) were randomly divided into seven groups (n = 25/group) with 5 replicates (n = 5). The chicks in the control groups were fed a corn-soya-based basal diet, whereas groups 2 - 4 had the same basal diets supplemented with 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% ethanolic leaf extracts (ELE), respectively. Chicks in groups 5 - 7 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% ethanolic root extracts (ERE) of C. roseus, respectively. The growth performance and feed conversion ratio remained unchanged, but feed consumption of birds supplemented with 0.1% ERE increased in weeks 1 and 3. The relative length of the small intestine was lower in the 0.05% ERE group compared with the control. Villus height, width, surface area, and lamina propria thickness were higher in the 0.1% ERE group in all three segments of the small intestine than in the control. Broilers supplemented with 0.1% ERE performed better in terms of feed consumption and improved intestinal microarchitecture of the small intestine.

Use of Lactobacillus farciminis to improve antioxidant status of Tuj lambs

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus farciminis on growth traits and antioxidant status in preweaning and postweaning Tuj lambs. Twenty lambs were divided into four groups, regardless of gender, with a mean live weight of 7.81 ± 0.50 kg. At the start of the experiment, the average age of the lambs was seven days. During the six-week preweaning period, control (C) lambs were fed with colostrum only, and Lactobacillus farciminis was given orally to the treated lambs at 1 g/day/lamb (L1), 2 g/day/lamb (L2) or 4 g/day/lamb (L3). The experiment continued for a total of 22 weeks. During the first six weeks, bodyweight (BW) increased significantly in L1 at the sixth week. Also during this period, bodyweight gain (BWG) in L2 at 2 - 3 weeks and in L3 at 5 - 6 weeks differed from C. In the subsequent period, BW and BWG were not affected by probiotic supplementation. The effects of probiotic supplementation on malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) were significant throughout the experiment, with the effect on glutathione (GSH) also being important in the first six weeks. Thus, Lactobacillus farciminis provided orally to Tuj breed lambs could be used to improve their antioxidant status without compromising growth.

Associative effects in diets composed of alfalfa and corn soybean concentrate fed to growing cashmere goats

The associative effects resulting from the proportions of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and non fibre carbohydrate (NFC) were explored and assessed by in vitro gas production . Total mixed rations (TMR) composed primarily of alf a lfa and corn soybean concentrate were fed to growing cashmere goats. Treatments were defined by three proportions of NFC and NDF namely 2.00 ( TMR1), 2.35 ( TMR2), and 3.00 ( that were used to grow cashmere goats , and these TRMs were incubated for 48 h ours to evaluate their influence on associative effects. The results indicated that the associative influences of these treatments on gas production occurred within the cultures predominantly at 2 8 hours, and disappeared gradually as culture time was ex tended . TMR 2 and TMR3 incubation increased gas production compared with that observed in the other groups at all incubation times P > 0.05), and these groups exhibited positive associative effects, particularly during the early hours of incubation P <0.05 )). TMR 3 displayed the best associative effect.

Nutritional valorisation of cane (Arundo donax) by treatment with sodium hydroxide

This study evaluated the effects of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment on the nutritional value of Arundo donax (A. donax). Its ultimate goal was to develop an environmentally friendly animal feed alternative that could be produced sustainably while combatting the spread of A. donax. Plants were collected and dried at 60 °C in an oven with controlled air circulation to determine the dry matter (DM) content. The dry plant material was then sprinkled with an NaOH solution of 2%, 4%, 6%, or 8% and placed in leak-proof containers for four weeks. The chemical and in vitro digestibility properties of treated and untreated A. donax samples were analysed in triplicate. The treatment led to significant decreases in neutral detergent fibre (NDF) from 81.06% DM to 69.39% DM, acid detergent fibre (ADF) from 46.99% DM to 43.19% DM, and ether extract (EE) from 2.06% DM to 1.39% DM, in the untreated samples compared with those treated with 8% NaOH, respectively. In addition, DM digestibility increased from 24.61% to 33.78%, ash content from 11.75% DM to 19.92% DM, and ADL from 7.43% M to 15.38% DM. Thus, treatment of A. donax with an 8% solution of NaOH concentration improved its nutritional value.

Nutritive value of full-fat dehulled sunflower seeds in diets for broiler chickens

The goal of this research was to evaluate the nutritive value of full-fat de-hulled sunflower seeds (DHSS) in feeding broiler chickens. Three experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 determined the proximal analysis of DHSS, the essential amino acid content, and apparent metabolizable energy (AME). In experiment 2, two diets were formulated, namely a control and a diet containing 10% DHSS. Apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and ether extract (EE) were calculated. In experiment 3, the performances of broilers fed the two diets were evaluated in terms of the relative weights of digestive system organs, breast meat colour, growth and feed consumption. Full-fat de-hulled sunflower seeds were characterized as having 507.9 g/kg EE, 282.1 g/kg CP, 21.02 MJ/kg AME and 9.3 g/16 g N arginine. Apparent ileal digestibility of DM in the 10% DHSS diet was 658.0 g/kg, similar to that of the control diet (643.0 g/kg). Partial substitution of DHSS for soybean meal (SBM) did not affect the relative weight of digestive system organs, except for the liver. The relative weights of the liver were 17.90 g/kg bodyweight in birds fed the DHSS diet and 16.37 g/kg bodyweight (P <0.05) in the control. The colour of the breast meat was 3.5% darker and 13.8% less yellow for DHSS birds compared with the control. Growth and feed consumption were unaffected by the dietary treatments. Therefore, 10% DHSS can partially replace SBM in broiler finisher diets.

Effects of thermal stress on physiological state and hormone concentrations in Holstein cows under arid climatic conditions

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of heat stress on the physiology of dairy cows and to detect the relationship between rectal temperature (RT) and respiration rate (RR), heart rate (HR), and plasma concentrations of cortisol, thyroxine, and prolactin. During the experiment, 44 Holstein cows were allocated to two groups for each season. The average temperature-humidity index (THI) values were 55 ± 2.31 in winter and 78 ± 1.9 in summer. As the THI values increased from 55 to 78, RR rose by 35 inspirations per minute, HR by 3 beats per minute, and RT by 1.2 °C. In addition, the average concentration of cortisol increased from 19.30 to 21.04 nmol/L, and prolactin from 58.52 to 129.79 ngm/L, whereas free thyroxine decreased from 15.43 to 14.01 pmol/L. Plasma sodium and potassium concentrations were similar in the two seasons. These results confirmed that RT is an indicator of the response in dairy cows to hot environmental temperatures. However, they also showed signs of stress, which were reflected in higher levels of cortisol and in certain physiological responses.

Fractionation of carbohydrates and proteins and in vitro rumen kinetics of corn silage under various storage durations

The experiment evaluated the effects on the chemical composition (fermentation, kinetic parameters, and protein and carbohydrate fractions) of corn silage after various storage durations (45, 90, 180, and 360 days). Experimental mini silos of the corn plants were made and opened after various storage periods. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and four replications per treatment. Variables such as pH, lactic acid and acetic acid showed a quadratic effect, whereas effluent and gas losses increased linearly with prolonged storage. Proteolysis was observed with an increase in storage, resulting in a rise in ammonia-N, soluble N, and non-protein N concentration and reduction in true protein. The soluble carbohydrate fractions were reduced, and digestible and indigestible fibre were increased. For the kinetic degradation parameters of the silages obtained through in vitro gas methodology, the highest fermentation rate occurred in the first 12 hours of incubation, and the highest volume of gas produced within 96 hours was obtained for silages with shorter storage (45 days). The increase in storage resulted in greater losses and lower ruminal degradability in vitro, causing a decrease in protein quality and nutritional value.

Effect of garlic supplementation on zootechnical performance and hepato-renal functions in nitrate-treated rabbits

The effect of garlic supplementation on zootechnical performance and hepato-renal functions of rabbits exposed to experimental nitrate poisoning was evaluated. Adult male 6-8 week-old albino rabbits (n= 24) were randomly divided into four groups (A - D) and subjected to nitrate intoxication through the oral administration of sodium nitrate solution at 2 ml/kg bodyweight per day for 40 days. Group A was a control that received no treatment except sodium nitrate. Rabbits in groups B and C were treated with 1% methylene blue solution (2 mg/kg bodyweight per day) and aqueous garlic extract (500 mg/kg bodyweight per day) through intraperitoneal and oral routes, respectively. Rabbits in group D were treated with both 1% methylene blue solution (2 mg/kg bodyweight per day, intraperitoneally) and aqueous garlic extract (500 mg/kg bodyweight per day, orally). On completion of the treatment period, the groups were compared in growth performance, biochemical profile and histopathological changes of hepato-renal tissues. Although the total feed consumption of the groups remained comparable, Group C showed relatively better weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Likewise, garlic extract significantly increased the serum bilirubin concentration and reduced the level of other biochemical attributes in comparison with control animals. The hepatic and renal tissues of Groups C and D remained normal, whereas those of the control group exhibited distinct histopathological alterations. It was concluded that garlic supplementation ameliorated the deleterious effects of nitrate intoxication on production performance and hepato-renal functions of rabbits.