Effect of sulfur-containing dietary supplements on gizzard lining erosions

Nutrients central to maintaining intestinal absorptive efficiency and barrier integrity with fowl

The small intestinal mucosa acts to recover nutrients from the lumen while providing a barrier against potential hazards. Its unstirred water layer (USWL) at the lumen interface involves membrane associated mucin linearly protruding from underlying microvilli that entangles secretory mucin released from local goblet cells. Both mucin sources are dominated by repetitive O-glycosylated areas dependant on threonine, serine, glycine, and proline. Secretory mucin differs from membrane attached mucin by further employing multiple cystines that interconnect these areas into a net-like molecular sieve. All of the glycosylated areas have ionizable acidic groups credited with reducing pH from that in the lumen to create a micro environment favoring enzymes finalizing digestion while optimizing nutrient terms for absorption. Erosion of the USWL and/or abuse of the membrane due to lumen threats require continuous repair. The aforementioned amino acids are necessary in substantial amounts while vitamin B6 collaborates with vitamin A as meaningful cofactors for mucin synthesis. Marginal inadequacies of these nutrients during inordinate demand are expected to impair mucin replacement. In turn, marginal increases in feed conversion likely occur while fostering the probability of necrotic enteritis together with gizzard erosions. Abuse of the absorptive membrane is of particular concern from fatty acid hydroperoxides because of their continual presence in feed and inability of the USWL to provide protection. These hydroperoxides threaten membrane integrity by their inclusion in micelles during digestive events with fat thereby permitting transit through the USWL. Once coalesced with membrane phospholipids, structural aberrations are visualized as interfering with nutrient recovery while enabling leakage of cell contents to potentiate wet excreta. Inclusion of dietary vitamin E along with vitamin A into micelles with fatty acid hydroperoxides provides relief by quenching further peroxidation. Assuring cystine, threonine, glycine, and serine that are directly available as such together with vitamins A, E, and B6 represents one approach toward optimizing maintenance of the intestinal mucosa.

Gizzard erosion and ulceration syndrome in chickens and turkeys: a review of causal or predisposing factors

Gizzard erosion and ulceration syndrome (GEU) was described for the first time in the 1930s. The main focus of early studies was on nutritional deficiencies and peroxidation of highly polyunsaturated fatty acids as causative factors. During the 1970s and 1980s the focus was moved towards toxic substances in the feed. Scott's review in 1985 concluded that overproduction of gastric acid induced by gizzerosine was a major cause of GEU. During the last decades, serotype 1 of fowl adenovirus A and Clostridium perfringens have been implicated as important pathogenic agents in the development of GEU in chickens. Although GEU is globally distributed and its subclinical form appears to be common in commercial poultry flocks, the condition is rarely mentioned in standard textbooks on poultry health. This regrettable fact is probably due in part to the lack of one definitive cause of the syndrome.

Enzootic outbreak of necrotic gastritis associated with Clostridium perfringens in broiler chickens

Clinical morphological investigations were carried out in a flock of 22,000 Ross 308 broiler chickens at the age of 38 days that experienced a sudden increase in mortality rates. Morbidity and mortality rates were followed and gross anatomical examination of 150 bodies (7%) of all 1541 dead chickens was performed. In all necropsied birds, without exception, the typical macroscopic lesions were observed only in the gizzard. Focal or diffuse pseudomembranous deposits were found subcuticularly and on the gizzard mucous coat. Microscopically, hyalinization, desquamated epithelial cells and single foci of microorganisms were present among the formed pseudomembranes. Among the fibrin networks of coagulated exudate, a single bacilli were detected. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from all gastric samples investigated. Polymerase chain reactions were positive for alpha-toxin and negative for beta-toxin and beta(2)-toxin.

Association between gizzard lesions and increased caecal Clostridium perfringens counts in broiler chickens

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mucosal gizzard lesions and caecal Clostridium perfringens counts. Gross pathological changes in the gizzard and small intestine, and caecal C. perfringens counts from 1217 meat-type chickens were recorded during the course of six experiments and were statistically analysed. C. perfringens counts increased significantly (P < 0.001) with the severity of mucosal gizzard lesions. Mucosal gizzard lesions were more prevalent than necrotic enteritis. Correcting for the pen and necrotic enteritis within experiment, mucosal gizzard lesions explained 31.8% of the variation in C. perfringens counts. Mucosal gizzard lesions and age together explained 59.1% of the variation in C. perfringens counts. The mean ages of birds with moderate and severe mucosal gizzard lesions were 1.7 and 0.8 days lower than the mean age of birds with necrotic enteritis, respectively. The association between mucosal gizzard lesions and high C. perfringens counts might be of importance when attempting to improve production efficiency, health and the welfare of the chickens.

Stress induced gizzard erosion in chicks. I. Gross and histopathological findings

A model of stress induced gizzard erosions is described. Three day old chickens were deprived of food for 24 h, and after that they were immersed in tap water (17 degrees C) for five seconds. Group A was sacrificed immediately before being subjected to stress, group B one hour, group C two hours and group D three hours after water immersion stress. Each group consisted of 10 animals. Gizzard lesions in group A were very mild and the main feature was discoloration of the gizzard lining. In groups B, C, and D the lesions were more severe and they were characterised by gizzard erosions, ulcerations and hemorrhages especially pronounced in group D. This model produced lesions in all stressed animals.

Vitamin B6 in the etiology of gizzard erosion in growing chickens

Six experiments have been completed on day-old male cross-bred chicks for periods of up to 2 and 4 weeks to learn more about the role of pyridoxine in the etiology of gizzard erosion. At the end of each experiment, chicks were sacrificed and their gizzards removed and scored for the severity and incidence of erosion. The results of these experiments confirm the previous finding that the severity and incidence of gizzard erosion is increased by B6 deficiency. They further show that taurocholic acid, at 1% of the diet, had a protective effect against this erosion. Feeding B6-adequate rations to chicks that previously had been fed a B6-deficient diet led to partial healing of gizzard erosions. Results also indicate that the feeding of purified diets to growing chickens produces a higher incidence of erosion than that of practical-type diets. Texture of the diet did nt influence the incidence of the erosion, because grinding a practical diet to the same fineness as a purified diet did not increase gizzard erosion. Pair-feeding experiments showed that gizzard erosion in partially starved chicks was not a specific result of anorexia but of deficiencies in certain nutrients, one of which is vitamin B6.

Response from menhaden fish meal in diets of young turkeys

Diets involving three or five fish meal treatments and two zinc bacitracin treatments were fed to 5410 poults. The poults were divided into 552 pens and raised to two, three or four weeks of age in five series of 3 X 2 or 5 X 2 factorial experiments. Body weights increased 9.0 to 31.3% from the addition of 5% menhaden fish meal and 5.4 to 11.9% from the addition of 44 ppm bacitracin. No interaction existed between fish meal and bacitracin. Residues derived from either water or petroleum ether extraction of fish meal, when added to diets at levels equivalent to those in 5% fish meal, produced body weight gains nearly equal to those obtained from 5% fish meal. Body weights were not increased by the addition of either water or petroleum soluble extracts or by charred or ashed fish meal. The addition of a mixture of crystalline amino acids, defluorinated phosphate, and fat equivalent to 5% fish meal produced only a 4.4% increase in body weight. An unidentified growth factor which is non-lipid, non-mineral, and non-water soluble appears to be present in menhaden fish meal when added to well foritified po