Effect of paddy rice diets on performance in chickens under thermoneutral and heat stress conditions

Abstract

The global demand for corn to be used in the production of feed and fuel is increasing at a rapid rate. Many types of grain have been proposed as substitutes for corn in broiler chicken diets, thereby serving as alternative sources of dietary carbohydrates. We have already demonstrated that paddy rice show some potential for use as a substitute for corn in poultry feed under thermoneutral conditions (Nanto et al., 2012). To the authors’ knowledge, virtually no information is available to confirm a direct effect of the rice feeding on performance on chickens exposed to heat stress. Heat stress is a major issue for the poultry industry because of the growth retardation and high mortality. We have previously found that heat stress induces oxidative damage, resulting in growth performance in birds (Azad et al., 2010). Furthermore, it has been reported that intestinal morphology was altered by heat stress (Quinteiro-Filho et al., 2010). From these findings, we could hypothesize that oxidative stress and intestinal morphology might be factor responsible for growth retardation under heat stress conditions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to not only determine the effects of whole-grain paddy rice-based diets on growth performance in birds under heat stress conditions, but also to clarify the involvement of intestinal morphological alterations and oxidative stress in the performance under chronic heat stress conditions.