Effects of housing systems and feed additive on growth, carcass traits, liver function, oxidative status, thyroid function, and immune parameters of broilers

Nanotechnological Plastic Flooring: Implications for Broiler Chicken Performance, Health, and Carcass Quality

This study evaluated the effects of two types of plastic flooring-one with and one without nanotechnological antimicrobial additives-used as complete or partial replacements for wood shavings on broiler chicken performance, yield, meat quality, and litter microbiology over 42 days. A total of 1500 Ross 408® male broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: wood shavings (WS), plastic flooring (PF), a 50/50 mix of plastic flooring and wood shavings (PF + WS), plastic flooring with antimicrobial additives (PFA), and a 50/50 mix of antimicrobial plastic flooring and wood shavings (PFA + WS). This study evaluated organ biometrics (liver, heart, spleen, and gizzard), the severity of Eimeria lesions, microbiological profiles, performance indices, and meat quality. The results indicated that plastic flooring, particularly when used alone, presented challenges such as increased intestinal lesions related to coccidiosis and a higher prevalence of Salmonella. Moreover, broilers raised on plastic flooring presented worse feed conversion and lower body weights and carcass yields than those raised on wood shavings. The meat quality was also negatively affected, with plastic flooring leading to less favorable fillet characteristics. Overall, the use of plastic flooring reduced the performance and health parameters of broiler chickens.

Leverage of Salvadora persica and Pulicaria undulata extracts in Escherichia coli-challenged broiler chickens

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a significant challenge in the poultry industry due to their related use of antimicrobial compounds and the drastic losses in production and livability. This study investigated the preventive impacts of dietary supplementation of Salvadora persica (SP) and/or Pulicaria undulata (PU) extracts on growth traits, biochemical and immune parameters, and related gene expression of E. coli-infected broilers. A total of 120 one-day-old Cobb broilers were used. The chicks were allocated into eight equal groups (3 replicates/ group; 5 chicks per each replicate) as follows: G1; control negative, G2; SP-treated, G3; PU-treated, G4; SP/PU-treated, G5; E. coli infected, G6; E. coli infected and SP-treated, G7; E. coli infected and PU-treated, G8; E. coli infected and SP/PU-treated groups. Results revealed significant improvement in average body weight (ABW), average weight gain (AWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in broilers fed diets supplemented with SP and/or PU compared to control and E. coli infected groups. Moreover, significant (P < 0.05) reduction in ALT, AST, creatinine, and uric acid was reported in other treated groups compared to the single E. coli-infected broilers. On the contrary, a significant increase (P < 0.05) in serum immunoglobulin and protein concentration was also reported in treated groups when compared to E. coli-infected untreated group. In addition, feeding broilers with SP and/or PU significantly improved (P < 0.05) the relative weight of immune-related organs and gene expression of TLR-15, with subsequent down-regulation of IL-1β and TNF-α mRNA transcripts. Supplementing broilers with dietary SP and/or PU could be promising in the prevention of E. coli infection via stimulating significant improvement of immune-related gene expression, immune-related organ weight, and down-regulation of inflammatory-related genes, with subsequent enhancement of the growth performance of broiler chickens.

Growth performance, carcass, and meat quality traits in broiler chickens reared on plastic-grid flooring, wood shavings, and zeolite-supplemented wood shavings

This study aimed to assess the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality traits of broiler chickens raised on plastic-grid floors, traditional wood shavings, and wood shavings enriched with zeolite. The experimental design included the allocation of 504-day-old chicks to three different bedding materials, namely wood shavings, plastic-grid floors, and zeolite litter, each with four replications (42 birds per replicate). The chicks were individually weighed at birth and grouped according to their average body weights. An experiment involving 504 chicks was conducted, with each replicate consisting of 42 male chicks of similar body weight. At the end of the experiment, a total of 120 chickens were slaughtered with 10 chickens selected from each replicate for processing carcass and meat quality traits. The effects of different bedding materials on mortality (P = 0.812), body weight (P = 0.565), and body weight gain (P = 0.569) were not significant. The ANOVA test was conducted to compare the main effects of performance, carcass, and meat quality characteristics. The feed intake was significantly affected in the 2nd, and 3rd weeks (P = 0.001; 0.023); in addition, the feed conversion ratio was significant in the 2nd, 4th, and overall period (P = 0.003; P = 0.026; P = 0.038) by the bedding materials. The breast yield (P = 0.001), thigh yield (P = 0.028), and wing yield (P = 0.023) were significant. The type of bedding material used in broiler production significantly influenced the pH24 (P = 0.030), L* (P = 0.037), a* (P = 0.000), and CL (P = 0.028). It was concluded that both a plastic-grid floor and zeolite supplementation to wood shaving litter did not significantly affect overall growth performance in broiler chickens. However, the plastic-grid floor showed superior effects on breast meat yield and quality characteristics, particularly reducing cooking loss, when compared to zeolite supplementation in wood shaving litter. The plastic-grid floor led to a slight increase in the feed conversion ratio. Consequently, adopting a plastic grid floor emerges as a viable alternative to traditional wood shavings in broiler farming.