Apparent Metabolizable Energy Research Articles

Integrating dietary supplementation with poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) seed meal: effects on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and faecal microbiota in broilers

Abstract. The study investigated the effects of supplementing broiler diets with poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) seed meal (PSM) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, faecal microbiota, and blood profiles. A total of 250 unsexed 1 d old broilers were allocated to five distinct treatment groups. PSM was incorporated into the diets at varying levels: 0 % (PSM0), 5 % (PSM5), 10 % (PSM10), 15 % (PSM15), and 20 % (PSM20). The findings indicated that growth performance, including weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR), was significantly improved (P<0.05) in the PSM20 group compared to the control. However, carcass weight experienced a notable decrease (P<0.05) in the PSM20 group. Regarding nutrient digestibility, PSM supplementation led to reduced crude protein digestibility. Nevertheless, apparent metabolizable energy and ash content were significantly enhanced (P<0.05) in the PSM15 and PSM20 groups. Notably, faecal microbiota also experienced substantial improvement (P<0.05) in the PSM20 group. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that incorporating poppy seed meal at a rate of 20 % in broiler diets enhances growth performance, improves nutrient digestibility, and positively influences faecal microbiota composition.

Age-Related Variations in the Apparent Metabolizable Energy of Meat and Bone Meal for Broilers.

The influence of broiler age on the apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn) of meat and bone meal (MBM) was investigated. A corn-soy basal diet and an experimental diet wherein 300 g/kg of the basal diet was replaced (w/w) with MBM were developed. The diets, in pellet form, were fed to six replicate cages across six age groups, namely d 1 to 7, 8 to 14, 15 to 21, 22 to 28, 29 to 35 or 36 to 42 d post-hatch. Birds were fed either a starter diet from d 1-21 or a finisher diet from d 22-35. Basal and experimental diets were introduced on d 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and 36 with 10 (d 1-7), 8 (d 8-14) and 6 (d 15-42) birds per replicate. Total collection of excreta was carried out during the last 4 d of each age period. A linear decrease (p < 0.001) in the retention of dry matter and nitrogen was observed with advancing age. The AMEn of MBM showed a linear increase (p < 0.05), rising from 12.56 MJ/kg during d 1-7 to 13.90 MJ/kg during d 29-35, followed by a decline to 13.41 MJ/kg during d 36-42. The current findings showed that the energy utilization of MBM increased with the advancing age of broilers. Age-dependent AMEn values of MBM may need to be considered when MBM is included in feed formulations.

Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae meal improves quail growth performance.

The aim of the present study was to determine the nutritional value of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae meal for quail (experiment I) and the dose-response effects of BSF levels on growth performance, relative organ weight, and body composition of growing quails (experiment II). In experiment I, 100 35-day-old quail were distributed in a completely randomized design, with two treatments (reference and test diet) and 10 replicates. The experimental period consisted of 5days of adaptation, followed by 5days of total excreta collection. The experimental feed consisted of a reference diet and a test diet formulated with 850g/kg reference diet and 150g/kg BSF. In experiment II, 1000 1-day-old quail were distributed in a completely randomized design, with five dietary levels of BSF (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100g/kg). At 42days of age, birds were slaughtered, and the relative organ weight and body composition were determined. Apparent metabolizable energy values corrected for nitrogen retention of BSF meal were 13.8MJ/kg. Across the starter (1-14days) and overall period (1-42days), increasing BSF levels had a quadratic effect on body weight and body weight gain. Feed conversion ratio was quadratically affected during the starter phase and linearly reduced over the overall period. Additionally, the BSF levels linearly decreased the small intestine's relative weight at 42days and had a quadratic effect on the rate of protein deposition. We concluded that the inclusion of 100g/kg BSF meal improves feed conversion ratio for growing quail.

Enhancing the Production Performance and Nutrient Utilization of Laying Hens by Augmenting Energy, Phosphorous and Calcium Deficient Diets with Fungal Phytase (Trichoderma reesei) Supplementation

A ten-week trial was conducted to evaluate the enhancement of production performance and nutrient utilization of laying hens through augmenting energy, phosphorous, and calcium deficient diets with fungal phytase (Trichoderma reesei) supplementation. 720 Hy-line Brown hens aged 28 weeks were randomly divided into 5 groups; each group had 8 replicates of 18 hens. Five experimental diets were prepared and fed to corresponding groups. A positive control (PC) diet contained 3.50% of calcium (Ca), 0.32% of non-phytate phosphorus (NPP), and apparent metabolic energy (AME) of 11.29MJ/kg, while a negative control (NC) diet contained 3.30% of Ca, 0.12% of NPP, and lower AME of 300 kJ/kg. The other three diets were supplemented with 250 FTU/kg phytase (PHY-250), 1000 FTU/kg phytase (PHY-1000), and 2000 FTU/kg phytase (PHY-2000) in addition to a regular NC diet. Results indicated that the positive control (PC) diet group had higher body weight gain, egg weight, and average daily feed intake. However, laying rate, egg mass, and FCR were most improved in the PHY-2000 group, followed by the PHY-1000 and PHY-250 groups (p &lt; 0.05). Improved yolk color was most notable in laying hens fed the diet with PHY-1000 as opposed to the PC and NC groups (p &lt; 0.05), but no overall difference was found among all of the phytase treated groups. The apparent availability of dry matter, energy, phosphorus, and phytate P was significantly higher in the PHY-2000 group than in the PC and NC groups (p &lt; 0.05). Compared to the PC group, nitrogen retention was significantly higher in the PHY-1000 group, while calcium availability was higher in the PHY-250 group. The results suggested that the addition of phytase to diets with low P, Ca, and AME improved laying performance and apparent availability of dietary nutrients. Thus, it was concluded that the laying hen diet could be supplemented with 1000–2000 FTU/kg phytase for improving laying production and nutrient availability and mitigating the negative impact of reduced nutrient density in laying hen diets.

The effect of increasing the level of oat hulls, extent of grinding and their interaction on the performance, gizzard characteristics and gut health of broiler chickens fed oat-based pelleted diets

The effect of ratio of oats with hulls (OWH) to dehulled oats (DO), extent of grinding, and their interaction on the performance, gizzard characteristics and intestinal health of broilers chickens were studied in this experiment. A total of 2860 one-day-old male broilers were allocated to 130 floor pens bedded with wood shavings and fed a starter diet until day 10. On day 11, the birds were randomly distributed among ten dietary treatments (13 replicates each), consisting of five oat-based pelleted diets with different proportion of OWH and DO, and with main ingredients either finely- (2 mm) or coarsely-ground (6 mm). Half of a batch of oats was thoroughly dehulled and half kept as is. The content of hulls (OH) in the DO and OWH was 1 and 224 g/kg, respectively. Using different OWH:DO ratios, the diets were formulated to contain 0, 29.5, 65.0, 96.0 and 114.0 g/kg OH. The ratio of ingredients to DO, and apparent metabolisable energy to protein (AME:CP) were kept constant for all diets. Birds and feed were weighed on day 11 and at termination on day 32. Increasing OH level did not affect weight gain (WG) from 11 to 32 days, but increased FCR linearly (P < 0.001). Although FI was not affected by the extent of grinding, FCR was significantly improved with fine grinding. Birds fed diets with highest OH level had a lower AME:WG compared to those given diets with DO only. Coarse grinding significantly increased gizzard dry matter (DM) weight which also increased linearly (P < 0.001) with increasing OH level. Coarse grinding as well as increasing OH level significantly improved gizzard and pancreas relative weights and decreased gizzard contents pH. Excreta DM contents and litter score were significantly improved with increasing OH level. Coarse grinding tended to (P = 0.069) reduce total eubacteria density in the ileum only at the highest OH level and tended to (P = 0.080) reduce Lactobacillus spp. density compared to fine grinding. Increasing OH level had no impact on caecal short chain fatty acids or lactic acid production, but it decreased indole concentration linearly (P = 0.026). Coarse grinding tended to increase (P = 0.053) caecal propionic acid production. Importantly, broiler chickens were able to handle an OWH-based diet and still maintained a similar WG compared to diets with DO only. A larger gizzard holding capacity and a faster passage of excess OH may explain the ability to increase FI in response to high OH dilution. The positive effect of OH on performance was more obvious when finely ground, but coarse components in the diets induce beneficial effects on intestinal microbiota.

Effects of dietary multienzymes on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, nutrient digestibility, excreta noxious gas emission, and nutrient transporter gene expression in white feather broilers.

Adding multienzymes to poultry feed rations is recognized as a nutritional strategy aimed at improving poultry performance and health status. Nonetheless, some literatures present an ongoing debate about the extent of multienzymes beneficial impact on poultry growth performance. This study aimed to explore the impacts of dietary multienzyme supplementation on broilers, focusing specifically on growth performance, carcass characteristics, apparent nutrient digestibility, excreta noxious gas emission, and intestinal nutrient transporter gene expression. A total of 3,200 broilers were randomly assigned to five groups (eight replicates per treatment group) and treated with the following: normal control (CON), CON + 100g/t multienzyme (ME100), CON + 150g/t multienzyme (ME150), CON + 200g/t multienzyme (ME200), and CON + 250g/t multienzyme (ME250). Supplementing with multienzymes significantly influenced the feed conversion rate (linear, P = 0.007; quadratic, P = 0.024) and the European broiler index (linear, P = 0.004; quadratic, P = 0.016) in broilers. Dietary multienzymes significantly influenced apparent metabolizable energy (quadratic, P = 0.015) and neutral detergent fiber (quadratic, P < 0.001). Moreover, multienzyme supplementation in the diet also decreased the emission of ammonia (linear, P = 0.001; quadratic, P = 0.006) and hydrogen sulfide (quadratic, P = 0.006) in the excreta. In addition, dietary multi-enzyme notably elevated (P < 0.05) the mRNA expression of nutrient transporter genes, including peptide transporter 1 (PePT1), Na-dependent neutral amino acid transporter (B0AT), glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), and fatty acid binding protein1 (FABP1). These findings suggest that dietary supplementation with multienzymes can improve the efficiency of feed utilization, and the digestion and absorption of nutrients and reduce excreta gas emission. Furthermore, this study provides a theoretical basis for advancing the use of multienzymes in broiler production.

Valores de energia metabolizável e coeficientes de metabolizabilidade do extrato etéreo de diferentes tipos de óleo de milho para frangos de corte

Abstract This study aims to determine and compare the metabolizable energy values and metabolizability coefficients of three types of corn oil (crude, semi-refined, and acid) for broiler chickens. 240 Cobb500™ chickens were randomly allocated into metabolic cages, resulting in four treatments, ten replicates, and six birds per experimental unit. The birds fed on diets specific to each treatment. Total excreta was collected from the day 23rd to the 27th. Gross energy (GE), apparent metabolizable energy (AME), and nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) were calculated for each oil type. The metabolizability coefficient values of ether extracts (MCEE) were also determined. Statistical analysis was performed using Tukey test at a 5% probability. There was a significant difference in AME and MCEE values (P&lt;0.05). Crude corn oil showed higher AME and MCEE values than acid corn oil. The findings are crude corn oil - GE: 9,330 kcal/kg, AME: 8,916.84 kcal/kg, AMEn: 8,905.60 kcal/kg, MCEE: 97.14%; semi-refined corn oil - GE: 9,480 kcal/kg, AME: 8,547.99 kcal/kg, AMEn: 8,303.46 kcal/kg, MCEE: 96.64%; acid corn oil - GE: 9,114 kcal/kg, AME: 7,197.73 kcal/kg, AMEn: 7,515.68 kcal/kg, MCEE: 96.17%.

Farinha de folhas de moringa em dietas de frangos de crescimento lento sobre metabolizabilidade, rendimento, carcaça, biometria de órgãos e colorimetria da carne

ABSTRACT Two investigations were developed. The first experiment was to determine the metabolizability of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf meal. 120 slow-growing, 21-day-old chickens were used. The experimental period was seven days, four for adaptation to diets and three for collection of excreta. The Moringa leaf presented values for apparent metabolizability coefficients of dry matter, crude protein, crude energy and neutral detergent fiber, as well as apparent metabolizable energy and corrected metabolizable energy for a nitrogen balance, of 49.77%, 44.48%, 46.26% and 53.02%, and 2,334 kcal/kg, 2,159 kcal/kg respectively. The second experiment was to evaluate the inclusion of Moringa leaf meal in the diets of two hundred and forty slow-growing chickens from one to 80 days of age on performance, carcass characteristics, biometrics of digestive organs and meat color. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments (0.75%; 1.50%; 2.25% and 3.00% inclusion of the Moringa leaf), six repetitions and ten chickens per experimental unit; the inclusion levels of the Moringa leaf did not influence (p&gt; 0.05) feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion, final weight at 30, 60 and 80 days, carcass, noble cut yields and meat color. The inclusion of Moringa leaf meal can be used up to the 3% level in slow-growing chicken diets, without affecting the productive performance of these animals.

Influence of extruded soybean meal with varying fat and oleic acid content on nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy in broilers

High oleic (HO) soybeans may serve as a value-added feed ingredient; providing amino acids and estimating their dietary energy value for broilers is essential. In this study, we determined the apparent metabolizable energy (AME), AME corrected for zero nitrogen retention (AMEn), digestibility, and nitrogen (N) retention of HO full-fat (HO-FF) soybean as compared to solvent-extracted soybean meal (SE-SBM), normal oleic full-fat (NO-FF) and extruded expeller (NO-EE) soybean. A total of 240 Ross-708 male broilers were selected, with eight replicates per treatment and six chicks per cage. The AME and AMEn were estimated using the difference method with a 30% inclusion of test ingredients using a corn-soy reference diet with partial and total excreta collection. The index method with partial excreta collection used titanium dioxide as an inert marker. The same starter diet was provided for all birds for 14 days, followed by the reference and assay diets for the next six adaptation days. Total excreta was collected twice a day for three days. The AME and AMEn values determined for the HO-FF and NO-FF were higher (P < 0.001) than the NO-EE and SE-SBM. The AME of SE-SBM and NO-EE were similar with both methods, but the AMEn of SE-SBM was lower than the NO-EE only with the partial collection method. The agreement between AME and AMEn values determined by partial and total excreta collection analysis was 98%. Data from the total excreta collection method yielded higher AME and AMEn values (P < 0.001) than those from the partial collection method. In summary, HO-FF and NO-FF soybean meals had similar AME and AMEn values. The HO-FF soybean had 39 and 24% higher AME and AMEn than SE-SBM. Hence, high oleic full-fat soybean meal could serve as a valuable alternative feed ingredient to conventional SE-SBM meals in broiler diets, providing additional energy while providing amino acids and more oleic acid to enrich poultry meat products.

Using in feed xylanase or stimbiotic to reduce the variability in corn nutritive value for broiler chickens

This study investigated the effects of xylanase and stimbiotic (fiber fermentation enhancer) on the response of broiler chickens fed different corn varieties and determine correlations between variables of interest. Four corn genetic varieties were selected based on their range in nutrient composition. Diets containing 600 g/kg of each corn were supplemented with 0 or 100 g/ton of xylanase or stimbiotic. A total of 1,152 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were divided into 12 treatments, each with 8 pens and 12 birds per pen, for a 21-day study. On d 21, performance parameters were measured, and the ileal energy and organic matter (OM) digestibility and cecal xylanase activity determined. Stimbiotic supplementation improved mFCR compared with all other treatments. There was a treatment by corn variety interaction for body weight (BW), BW gain and coefficient of variation (CV) of BW (P ≤ 0.05). Birds fed corn Variety 1 (highest neutral dietary fiber, protein and soluble arabinoxylan content) supplemented with stimbiotic had the highest BW, while Variety 2 control diet had the lowest. The BW CV in corn Variety 2 was the highest, which improved with stimbiotic supplementation. The BW CV in corn Variety 1 responded better to stimbiotic than xylanase. There were no treatment differences on BW CV in corn Varieties 3 and 4. The lowest OM digestibility was observed in birds fed corn Variety 1 with xylanase, and the highest value was associated with corn Variety 3 with xylanase (highest total arabinoxylan). Xylanase and stimbiotic supplementation increased the endogenous xylanase activity regardless of the corn variety (P ≤ 0.05). Positive correlations between corn fiber contents and phytic acid and the arabinose:xylose ratio were seen, while nonstarch polysaccharide content was negatively correlated with apparent metabolizable energy. In conclusion, corn variety influenced nutrient digestibility and broiler chicken growth. The response to supplementation with xylanase or stimbiotic varied based on the nutritional profile of corn with regards to improvements in digestibility and performance in broiler chickens.

Prediction of net energy of feeds for broiler chickens

Net energy (NE) enables the prediction of more accurate feed energy values by taking into account the heat increment which is approximately 25% of apparent metabolizable energy (AME) in poultry. Nevertheless, application of NE in poultry industry has not been practiced widely. To predict the NE values of broiler diets, 23 diets were prepared by using 13 major ingredients (wheat, corn, paddy rice, broken rice, cassava pellets, full-fat soybean, soybean meal, canola meal, animal protein, rice bran, wheat bran, palm kernel meal and palm kernel oil). The diets were formulated in order to meet the birds' requirements and get a wide range of chemical compositions (on DM basis; 33.6% to 55.3% for starch; 20.8% to 28.4% for CP, 2.7% to 10.6% for ether extract [EE] and 7.0% to 17.2% for NDF), with low correlations between these nutrients and low correlations between the inclusion levels of ingredients allowing for the calculation of robust prediction equations of energy values of diets or ingredients. These diets were fed to Ross 308 broilers raised in 12 open-circuit respiratory chambers from 18 to 23 d of age (4 birds per cage) and growth performance, diet AME content and heat production were measured, and dietary NE values were calculated. The trial was conducted on a weekly basis with 12 diets measured each week (1 per chamber), 1 of the 23 diets (reference diet) being measured each week. Each diet was tested at least 8 times. In total, 235 energy balance data values were available for the final calculations. Growth performance, AME (15.3 MJ/kg DM on average) and AME/GE (79.4% on average) values were as expected. The NE/AME value averaged 76.6% and was negatively influenced by CP and NDF and positively by EE in connection with efficiencies of AME provided by CP, EE and starch for NE of 73%, 87% and 81%, respectively. The best prediction equation was: NE = (0.815 × AME) – (0.026 × CP) + (0.020 × EE) – (0.024 × NDF) with NE and AME as MJ/kg DM, and CP, EE and NDF as % of DM. The NE prediction equations from this study agree with other recently reported equations in poultry and are suitable for both ingredients and complete feeds.

Apparent digestibility of fish waste oil in diets for laying hens

This study aimed to assess the impact of incorporating fish waste oil into laying hens' diets on apparent nutrient digestibility and apparent metabolizable energy. A total of 72 Hisex White laying hens (25 weeks old) were employed in a completely randomized design, with treatments consisting of a control diet and an experimental diet (containing 3.5% fish oil), each with six replicates of six birds. The collected data underwent polynomial regression analysis at a 5% significance level. No significant differences (p &gt; 0.05) were observed in the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, mineral matter, crude fiber, and non-nitrogenous extract between the reference diet and the experimental diet containing fish waste oil. However, there were significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) in the digestibility of ethereal extract (fat). Despite this, values for apparent metabolizable energy and apparent metabolizable energy corrected by nitrogen balance did not exhibit significant differences (p &gt; 0.05) between the reference and experimental diets. In conclusion, the incorporation of 3.5% fish waste oil in laying hens' diets led to satisfactory nutrient digestibility and enhanced fat digestibility. Importantly, this inclusion did not adversely impact energy metabolism.

Effect of day-old chick weight on the response of broilers to high doses of exogenous phytase

A total of 360 Ross 708 male broiler chicks were used in an 8 treatment and 9 replicate cage study to explore the influence of day-old chick weight on the efficacy of exogenous phytase. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 4 factorial with the factors being diet (a positive (PC) and negative control (NC) varying in nutrient density fed without or with 2 concentrations of exogenous phytase) and chick weight (light; <38.5 g or heavy; >42 g). Chicks were sourced from the same breeder flock, with light and heavy chicks being selected from the naturally occurring heterogeneity in the population. The diets were corn-soybean meal based and the PC was formulated to meet the nutrient requirements of male broiler chicks. The NC was formulated to contain 120 kcal/kg, 0.5, 0.18, and 0.18% less apparent metabolizable energy (AME), crude protein (CP), calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P), respectively, than the PC. Amino acid (AA) density in the NC was also reduced in line with the reduction in CP and the manufacturers' recommendations for the effect of phytase on amino acid digestibility. Phytase at either 1,000 FYT/kg or 3,000 FYT/kg was added only to the NC to create a total of 4 diets. Water and mash feed were available ad libitum and were offered to 8 replicate cages, each containing 5 chicks. The experiment was conducted over a period of 3 wk and diets were offered in 2 phases (starter from d 1 to 10 and grower from d 11 to 21). Growth performance was monitored at the end of each diet phase and on d 21 ileal digesta were collected for estimation of apparent digestibility of energy (DE), nitrogen (N), Ca, P, dry matter (DM), and AA. There were no statistically significant interactions between diet and day-old chick weight for any of the measured parameters. Light chicks had significantly lower weight gain (approx. 5%) at both d 10 and d 21 compared with heavy chicks. This effect was principally associated with reduced feed intake and there was no significant effect of chick weight on feed conversion ratio (FCR). Chick weight had no effect on ileal nutrient digestibility. The reduction in nutrient density from the PC to the NC generated a significant reduction in weight gain (around 12%) and a significant increase in FCR (1.68 vs. 1.83). This effect was associated with a significant reduction in ileal DE (approximately 150 kcal/kg) and in the digestibility of several AA. Exogenous phytase significantly increased weight gain, reduced FCR and generated a significant increase in the ileal digestibility of energy, N, P, and several AA. Although chick weight and diet did not interact statistically, heavy chicks benefited more than light chicks from high doses of exogenous phytase across almost all measured end points which was confirmed by regression analysis. In conclusion, light chicks have inferior performance outcomes than heavy chicks principally because of reduced feed intake, but putatively not in digestive capacity per se. Exogenous phytase is effective in improving performance and nutrient digestibility in nutrient deficient diets. The effect of chick weight per se, and also breeder flock age, on the utility of supra-nutritional inclusion concentrations of exogenous phytase warrants further study.

Nutritional, Productive, and Qualitative Characteristics of European Quails Fed with Diets Containing Lipid Sources of Plant and Animal Origin.

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of alternative lipid sources on nutrient metabolism, performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality in European quails. Trial 1 determined the energy values and nutrient metabolizability of non-conventional lipid sources. Six treatments (control, soybean oil, conventional corn oil, distilled corn oil, poultry fat, and beef tallow) were randomly assigned with 10 replicates per treatment. Trial 2 evaluated animal performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality using a randomized design with five treatments and 10 replicates each. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in apparent metabolizable energy corrected by nitrogen (AMEn) and coefficients of metabolizability (CM%) among the lipid sources. The AMEn values found were 8554 for soybean oil, 7701 for corn, 7937 for distilled corn oil, 7906 for poultry fat, and 7776 for beef tallow (kcal/kg). The CM values were 88.01% for soybean oil, 79.01% for corn oil, 84.10% for distilled corn oil, 81.43% for poultry fat, and 79.28% for beef tallow. The inclusion of lipid sources of plant and animal origin in the diet of 7-35-day old meat quails did not influence performance or carcass and cut characteristics. The inclusion of distilled corn oil increased carcass yield and influenced skin and meat color parameters. AMEn values varied for each lipid source. The inclusion of distilled corn oil positively influenced skin and meat color as well as carcass yield in quails.

271 Effect of Different Inclusions of a Multi-Component Enzyme on Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, and Ileal Amino Acid Digestibility of Young Broiler Chickens

Abstract Previous studies demonstrated that dietary carbohydrases maintain optimal broiler performance. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of a commercial carbohydrase (ENZ) at 4 concentrations on growth performance, nutrient, and amino acid digestibility of 22-d-old broilers. The 10 experimental corn and soybean meal-based treatments were: 1) a positive control diet (PC) with phytase at 500 FTU/kg of feed (PHY), 2) a mid-control diet (MC) with a 115 kcal/kg reduction in energy + PHY, 3) a negative control diet (NC1) with a 223 kcal/kg reduction in metabolizable energy, 4-5) NC1 + ENZ at 1,000 or 3,000 xylanase units (XU)/kg (NC1A and NC1B, respectively), 6) NC1 + PHY (NC2), and 7-10) NC2 + ENZ at 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 XU/kg (ENZ1, ENZ2, ENZ3, and ENZ4, respectively). Day-old chicks (n = 1,000) were randomly allotted to raised floor pens with 5 birds/pen and 20 replicate pens/treatment. Pens had perforated metal platforms to allow excreta collection. On day 22, broilers were euthanized, and ileal digesta samples were collected from the entire ileum. Protein retention, nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn), and ileal digestibility of protein and amino acids (AA) were determined. Performance data were calculated from d 6 to 22. Means were separated with the PDIFF option of SAS V9.4 PROC GLIMMIX at P ≤ 0.05. On d 22, broilers from PC and MC treatments had greater body weight (BW) than all other treatments (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). The least feed intake was reported in birds fed ENZ1 diet, but it was similar to NC1, NC1B, and ENZ3-fed broilers (P &amp;lt; 0.0472). Broilers fed PC and MC had the greatest BW gain; however, ENZ2-fed broilers were able to gain similarly as MC treatment (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Broilers fed PC diet had the best feed efficiency, followed by MC-fed broilers, but these were similar to ENZ3 (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Protein retention was the greatest for MC-fed broilers but was similar for NC1B and ENZ3 (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). AMEn was greatest for broilers fed PC and MC diets, followed by both diets that included 3,000 XU/kg (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Protein digestibility was greatest for ENZ2-fed broilers (P &amp;lt; 0.0001) but similar to MC, NC1B, NC2, ENZ3, and ENZ3. Treatments with added PHY, excluding ENZ1, had greater lysine digestibility compared with all other treatments (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Apart from threonine, ENZ4-fed broilers exhibited the greatest AA digestibility but were similar to broilers fed 2,000 or 3,000 XU/kg of ENZ (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Therefore, ENZ inclusion above 1,000 XU/kg supported AA digestibility. Overall, broilers fed diets with 223 kcal/kg energy reduction and supplemented with 2,000 and 3,000 XU/kg outperformed the negative controls, which could be partially due to the utilization of dietary energy and nutrients.

Effects of Jujube Powder on Growth Performance, Blood Biochemical Indices, and Intestinal Microbiota of Broiler.

In total, 576 Cobb broilers were randomized into 6 treatment groups, with 8 replicates in each treatment group and 12 broilers in each replicate. Each treatment group was fed six different experimental diets containing 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% jujube powder. The group receiving 0% jujube powder was considered the blank control group. The experimental period was 42 days and was divided into two periods: starter (0-21 days) and finisher (22-42 days). Compared with the control group, the addition of 8% jujube powder significantly improved the ADG of broilers (p < 0.05), and 8% and 10% jujube powder significantly improved the total tract apparent digestibility of organic matter in broilers (p < 0.05). Adding 10% jujube powder significantly improved the apparent metabolic energy of broilers (p < 0.05). Compared with the control group, 4-10% jujube powder significantly increased IgA, IgG, IgM, and sCD4 levels (p < 0.05) and T-AOC and SOD contents, and it reduced the MDA content in the serum of broilers (p < 0.05). In addition, the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Lactobacillus, and Romboutsia significantly increased in the broiler ileum, whereas that of Proteobacteria and Enterobacter decreased significantly (p < 0.05) when 8% jujube powder was added to the diet. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium in the cecum increased significantly (p < 0.05), whereas that of Bacteroidetes decreased significantly (p < 0.05).

Nutritional Composition and Apparent Metabolizable Energy (AME) Value of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) Full-Fat Meal for Broiler Chickens

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL; Hermetia illucens L.) is a proven high-cost protein source replacer and could be grown in a range of bio-degradable waste materials where hardly incorporated into broiler diets locally. The present study was aimed to assess the nutritional composition of BSFL, and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) value of BSFL meal provided to broiler chickens. BSFL full-fat meal produced from kitchen waste as a substrate were examined for their proximate composition, minerals and fatty acid profile. Eighty, 21-d old unsexed Cobb-500 broiler chickens (BW±SD: 665.8 ±14.3 g) were assigned randomly into 16 battery cages (04 replicates, five birds/replicate). A maize-soybean meal-based diet was used as the basal diet which was partially substituted by pre-analyzed BSFL meal at the rates of 5%, 10%, and 15% to produce three test diets. Birds were fed in a completely randomized design for 7-d with a 4-d adaptation period. Excreta were collected for three days from day 25 to 28. The results envisaged that the crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE) contents of the kitchen waste were 12.3%, and 10.5%, respectively. BSFL meal when analyzed had 34.4% CP and 47.3%, EE. The fatty acid (FA) profile of the kitchen waste was more or less similar to that of BSFL‘s meal. The estimated AME of the BSFL full-fat meal fed for broilers was estimated to be 15.7 MJ/kg. The BSFL full-fat meal can be utilized sustainably in feed formulation and has a high potential to replace costlier feed ingredients.

Partial and total replacement of soybean meal with maggot larvae meal in broiler chicken diets: Impact on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, haemotological parameters and intestinal histomorphology

Current study was carried out to investigate the effect of replacing soybean meal with maggot meal in broilers ration (Ross-308, n = 200) for 1–28 days. Five isocaloric and isonitrogenic broiler rations were prepared comprising of control diet-1 (Mag-0) having 100 % soybean meal and 0 % maggot meal, Diet-2 (Mag-70) having 30 % soy bean meal and 70 % maggot meal, Diet-3 (Mag-80) having 20 % soybean meal and 80 % maggot meal, Diet-4 (Mag-90) 10 % soybean meal and 90 % maggot meal and Diet-5 (Mag-100) containing 0 % soybean meal and 100 % maggot meal. The results showed that weekly as well as overall body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was found similar (P>0.05) for all the chicks fed with different replacement diets. Protein efficiency ratio, dressing percentage, apparent metabolizable energy and antibody titer observed showed no significant (P>0.05) differences at the end of the experiment among the different substituted and control groups. Similarly, no significant (p>0.05) effect was observed on the digestibility of amino acids for different replacement diets of soybean meal with maggot meal. Statistically similar effects were also observed for organoleptic study, intestinal morphometry, hematological and serum parameters. It was concluded from the current study that up to 100 % soybean meal can be substituted with maggot meal in poultry ration without any adverse effects on the health and performance parameters of the broiler chicks.

Apparent Metabolizable Energy and Amino Acid Digestibility of Corn of Different Origin Fed to Male Broilers from 12 to 18 Days of Age.

Apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility (AIAAD) of corn samples from the United States (USA), Argentina (ARG), and Brazil (BRA) fed to 432 and 324 YPM × Ross 708 male broilers from 12 to 18 d of age were evaluated using the total collection method (experiment 1) and index method (experiment 2), respectively. In experiment 1, broilers were fed either a basal diet with 30% dextrose inclusion, or a test diet obtained by the replacement of dextrose with corn from each origin. In experiment 2, broilers were fed one of three test diets in which corn from each origin was the only source of AA. All dietary treatments had 12 replicate cages. Similar (p > 0.05) AME (dry-matter basis) values were observed between corn samples. The highest gap in AME (43 kcal/kg) was found between corn from BRA (3694 kcal/kg) and corn from the USA (3651 kcal/kg). Likewise, similar (p > 0.05) AIAAD values were observed for all AA apart from tryptophan (Trp), as corn from BRA (77.45%) had a higher (p = 0.024) Trp digestibility than corn from the USA (72.53%). Overall, a similar nutrient utilization by the birds was observed for the corn samples, regardless of origin.

Effect of Cyberlindnera jadinii yeast on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and gut health of broiler chickens from 1 to 34 d of age

The effect of dietary graded levels of Cyberlindnera jadinii yeast (C. jadinii) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and gut health of broilers was evaluated from 1 to 34 d of age. A total of 360 male broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (6 replicate pens each) consisting of a wheat-soybean meal-based pelleted diet (Control or CJ0), and 3 diets in which 10% (CJ10), 20% (CJ20), and 30% (CJ30) of the crude protein were supplied by C. jadinii, by gradually replacing protein-rich ingredients. Body weight and feed intake were measured at d 1, 11, 22, and 32. Pellet temperature, durability, and hardness increased linearly (P < 0.05) with C. jadinii inclusion, with highest (P < 0.05) values for CJ30. Up until d 22, feed conversion ratio (FCR) was similar between treatments (P=0.169). Overall, increasing C. jadinii inclusion linearly increased (P=0.047) feed intake but had no effect on weight gain or mortality. FCR increased (P < 0.05) linearly with increasing C. jadinii inclusion but only birds fed CJ30 had a significantly poorer FCR compared to the Control. Ileal digestibility was not affected by C. jadinii inclusion, however, there was a significant linear decrease in crude protein and phosphorus, and a tendency for a decrease in fat digestibility. Apparent metabolizable energy (AME) decreased (P < 0.001) quadratically with increasing C. jadinii and was significantly lower in CJ30 compared to the Control. Ileal concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were not affected by C. jadinii inclusion, but butyric acid and total VFAs were linearly and quadratically increased and were significantly higher in cecal digesta of birds fed CJ20 and CJ30. Increasing C. jadinii inclusion was associated with an increase (P < 0.05) in the relative abundance of lactobacillus in the ileum and cecum. In conclusion, C. jadinii yeast can supply up to 20% of the total dietary protein without negatively affecting performance, digestibility, or gut health of broilers. The potential confounding role of feed processing and C. jadinii cell wall components on broiler performance is discussed.