The Effect of Clove and Oregano on Economic Value of Broiler The Effect of Clove and Oregano on Economic Value of Broiler Chickens Diet under Hot Weather of Khuzestan

Effective microorganisms, turmeric (Curcuma longa), and their combination on performance and economic benefits in broilers

The effects of effective microorganisms (EM), turmeric powder (TP), and their combination (EM-TP) on broiler performance, carcass characteristics, and economic benefit were studied in broilers fed a concentrate-based diet. A total of 192 chicks were assigned to four dietary treatments having CTL = control, EM = CTL+1 ml/lit effective microorganisms, TP = CTL+1%TP, EM-TP = CTL+0.5 ​ml/litEM+0.5%TP following a completely randomized design of 3 replications for each treatment. Concentrate was fed ad-libitum to all treatment groups. The feeding experiment lasted 42 days, 21 days for the starter and finisher phases each. The highest (P < 0.001) feed intake was observed when EM was fed as the sole additive and EM-TP during the starter period while the lowest (P > 0.05) value was for TP alone. There was no significant difference in feed intake during the finisher and the entire experimental period. The average daily gain for EM was higher (P < 0.05) than that of CTL and TP during the starter phase. However, during the finisher phase the average daily gain for EM-TP was greater (P < 0.05) than for TP and CTL. The greatest (P < 0.05) average daily gain was for EM-TP and EM during the entire period. The feed conversion ratio, performance index, mortality, and carcass characteristics were similar (P > 0.05) among treatments. The highest (P < 0.05) abdominal fat was observed in the control group. The finding indicates that a greater net return was earned from EM-TP while a lower net return was observed for TP. In conclusion, supplementation of EM (1 ​ml/lit) and the combination (EM-TP) at 0.5% each are better in terms of average body weight gain, the net return, and in decreasing abdominal fat.

Effect of in ovo feeding of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic to Broiler embryos on growth performance, Mucin-2 gene expression and gut colonization of microbiota

Supplementation of antibiotics in poultry diet was banned in several countries due to development of antibiotic resistance. In ovo feeding of prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics have gained more attention recently. The present study was carried out in 2018 to investigate the effect of in-ovo feeding of probiotic, prebiotic and symbiotic on growth performance and gut microbiome of broiler chicken. On 18th day of incubation, 600 eggs were randomly divided into five treatments each with four replicates of 30 eggs each and were injected with different bio-active compounds, viz. 0.2 ml of Lactobacillus acidophilus 3×107 cfu, 0.5% Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS), synbiotic (0.1 ml each of Lactobacillus acidophilus 3×107 cfu and 0.5% MOS) along with injected and non-injected controls. After hatch, 400 chicks were sorted out as per treatment with four replicates of 20 chicks each. Birds were reared under deep litter system and fed with experimental diet ad lib. In ovo feeding of Lactobacillus acidophilus, MOS either separately or in combination significantly improved hatch weight, fifth week body weight and gain. However, hatchability, cumulative feed intake, cumulative FCR and cumulative livability were not affected. Improved colonization of Lactobacillus acidophilus and suppressed colonization of Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus in all intra-amniotic groups was noticed. Ileal Mucin-2 gene was significantly up-regulated in the order of MOS, L. acidophilus and synbiotic injected broilers. The results concluded that the in ovo delivery of Lactobacillus acidophilus and MOS either separately or in combination had beneficial effect on growth and gut health of broiler chicken.

Thymol as natural antioxidant additive for poultry feed: oxidative stability improvement

Antioxidant are regularly included in poultry feed as protection from deterioration during storage. Recently the interest for the use of natural phytochemicals in animal diets has been increased. Thymol (THY) has been proven to be an effective antioxidant for extending broiler meat quality during storage with similar action to the widely used butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). This study evaluates whether THY can also have a protective effect on the feed mash by assessing its antioxidant potential and related changes in fatty acid (FA) balance. Feed mash was assigned to 1 of 4 treatments, control (CON, no additive), vehicle (VEH, ethanol 96%), BHT (400 mg BHT /kg feed) and THY (400 mg THY /kg feed). Three replicates of each treatment were taken after 0, 30, and 60 d of storage at room temperature (23 ± 3°C) and relative humidity (40 ± 5%). Peroxide value (PV), titratable acidity (TA) and FA relative composition were determined. As expected, there were no treatment effects on those variables at 0 d of storage. However, higher PV values were detected in the CON and VEH groups after 30 and 60 d of storage in comparison to the THY and BHT treated samples (CON = VEH > THY = BHT). While a slight increase was also observed in TA through storage time, no particular treatment effects were detected. Relative FA composition changed with storage time only in the CON and VEH group which had a decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acids and an increase in saturated FA. No changes were detected in the Thy and BHT treated feeds. The results suggest a similar THY and BHT protective effect on feed mash lipid oxidation. Thus, THY could be considered as a useful natural alternative to help sustain quality of poultry feed.

Thymol detection and quantitation by solid-phase microextraction in faeces and egg yolk of Japanese quail

To measure bioavailability of the active ingredients of phytogenic feed additives in poultry products and subproducts is a key element for developing a rational understanding of its mode of action and biological effects. Hence, we validated a headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as an analytical extraction procedure and as method for detection and quantitation of 2-Isopropyl-5-methylphenol (thymol) in faeces and egg yolk of quail. The suitability of this method for thymol analysis in both matrices was first proved via linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and recovery using m-cresol as internal standard. The optimal HS-SPME extraction conditions were obtained at 40°C for 5min in faeces and 60°C for 30min in egg yolk. This procedure was found to be precise, sensitive and linear in the range of 2.5-100ng/gr for faeces and 20-800ng/gr for the egg yolk. Limits of detection were 0.5ng/g and 5ng/g for faeces and yolk, respectively, and the limits of quantitation were 1ng/g and 10ng/g for faeces and yolk, respectively. The method was successfully used for measuring thymol in fecal and egg yolk samples, from quails supplemented with thymol in their diets. Thus, in fresh faeces and egg yolk samples obtained from a supplemented group (80mg thymol per bird per day) were determined as 31.51ng/g for faeces and 11.83ng/g for the egg yolk.

Effect of dietary supplementation of garlic, ginger and their combination on feed intake, growth performance and economics in commercial broilers

Aim:

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of supplementation of garlic, ginger and their combination in the diets of broiler chickens and assessment in terms of feed intake, growth performance and economics of feeding.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 240 1-day-old Cobb-400 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments each with three replicates of 20 chicks per replicate (n=60). Four experimental diets were formulated in such a way that control diet (T₁) contained neither ginger nor garlic. While, birds in group T₂ and T₃ were fed with diets containing 1% garlic and ginger, respectively. Diet 4 (T₄ group) contained a combination of 1% of garlic and ginger. The feeding experiment was carried out for 42 days, and different parameters evaluated includes feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, gut morphometry, and economics of feeding in terms of return over feed cost (ROFC) and European Performance Efficiency Index.

Results:

Feed intake of experimental birds in ginger and mixture of garlic and ginger supplemented groups, i.e., T₃ and T₄ groups have significantly (p<0.05) higher feed intake as compared to control. While, feeding of garlic have non-significant effect on feed intake as compared to other groups. A body weight gain (g/bird) was found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher in garlic (T₂ group) and ginger (T₃ group) supplemented group as compare to control and garlic and ginger mixture supplemented group (T₄ group). Feed conversion ratio was significantly (p<0.05) lower in ginger (T₃ group) supplemented group as compare to other groups. Mean villi length, villi width and cryptal depth were significantly (p<0.05) higher in T₃ group than rest of all three groups, indicating increased absorptive surface area. ROFC was significantly (p<0.05) lower in T₃ and T₄ groups as compare to control. However, it was not significantly different between control and T₂ group.

Conclusion:

On the basis of the results of the study, it is concluded that supplementation of garlic improves the performance of broilers when added at the rate of 1% of broiler ration and can be a viable alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in the feeding of broiler chicken.