Intestinal mucosa development and blood profile of broiler chickens administered bovine testicular fluid

Abstract

A seven-week experiment was carried out to determine the effect of bovine testicular fluid on intestinal mucosa development, haematological variables and serum biochemical indices of broiler chickens. A total of 125 unsexed day-old Abor acre chicks were randomly allotted into five treatments, with each treatment having five replicates with five birds per replicate. They were fed a commercial broiler diet for seven weeks of the experiment. Different concentrations of the bovine testicular fluid per liter of drinking water were offered to the experimental birds at free choice, the birds in treatment 1 served as the control and they were offered ordinary drinking water while birds in treatments 2, 3, 4 and 5 were offered 25, 50, 75 and 100 ml of bovine testicular fluid per liter of water, respectively. The feed and water intake of each bird were measured on daily basis, while the average weight of the birds was measured on weekly basis. On day 21 and 49, blood samples were collected from the birds to determine the haematological and serum biochemical indices. Two birds from each replicate were sacrificed on day 49 and sample of ileum were taken for intestinal mucosal examination after processed into permanent slides. The results of the blood indices obtained on days 21 and 49 indicated that the blood parameters were within the normal physiological range for chickens and without evidence of organ damage. The villus height, villus width, crypt depth, crypt height, and mucosa thickness showed that the bovine testicular fluid increased the absorptive capacity of the intestinal mucosa surface area and their growth. It is recommended that bovine testicular fluid at 100 ml/L improved intestinal mucosa development and absorption capacity of broiler chickens and enhanced their growth without deleterious effect on their health status.