Arian Broiler Research Articles

Effect of advanced chelate technology-based trace minerals on growth performance, mineral digestibility, tibia properties, and antioxidant status in two broiler strains

This research aimed to assess the impact of diet supplementation of Advanced Chelate Technology-based Mineral (ACTMS), on the Ross and Arian broilers performance. 520 broilers, of two strains, were allocated to 8 treatments (4 for each strain), 5 replicates, (13 chicks/replicate) and reared for 42 days. The treatments include 0 (CONT), 250 (SBC250), 1000 (SBC1000), and 2000 (SBC2000) of ACTMS. Feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were recorded, and the European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) was also calculated. Serum antibody was measured in response to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) to evaluate humoral immune response. Blood sample and tibia were used to measure the bone composition of Ca and P. No significant difference was obtained in feed intake (P >0.05), however, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and EPEF showed significant differences (P˂0.05). The results showed that the interaction effect of Ross× SBC250 had the highest average daily feed intake during 25-42 and 0-42 days of age, but Ross×CONT group provided the lowest average daily feed intake (P˂0.05). Furthermore, the Ross×CONT group had the highest average daily gain during 0-10, 25-42, and 0-42 days of age (P<0.05). The Ross×CONT group also provided the best feed conversion ratio during 0-10 days of rearing period compared to other treatments (P<0.05). Various levels of ACTMS, significantly (P˂0.05) enhanced the antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. No significant differences were obtained in blood parameter (P>0.05), though, SBC2000 exhibited the greatest numerical phosphorus content. There was no significant impact of strain effects on blood metabolites, however, the Ross strain exhibited higher values. The results indicated that the Arian× SBC250 group had the largest tibia diameter which had a significant difference from the Arian×CONT group (P<0.05). In conclusion, ACTMS inclusion in the ration (either replacement or on top) led to the significant improvement of FCR and ADWG (SBC250 as on top) and EPEF (SBC2000 replacement) in the Ross strain and some parameters in Arian strains (mostly numerically).

Relative bioavailability of L-methionine and DL-methionine in growing broilers

Two separate studies were conducted in growing broiler chickens to examine the relative bioavailability (RBA) of L-smethionine (L-Met) vs. DL-methionine (DL-Met) in the starter (0-10 d, Experiment 1) and grower (11-24 d, Experiment 2) periods. In each experiment, 540 male Arian broilers were weighed and randomly allocated to nine dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with 6 replicates: basal diet (BD) with no methionine (Met) supplementation and eight diets supplemented with incremental levels (0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 g/kg) of DL-methionine (DL-Met) or L-methionine (L-Met). Supplementation of the BD with either DL-Met or L-Met improved growth performance (P < 0.05), breast percentage (P < 0.05), and antioxidant status (P < 0.05) of broilers in both experiments. Orthogonal contrasts showed that L-Met supplementation compared to DL-Met (specifically at levels 0.8 and 1.6 g/kg) improved average daily gain (ADG, P < 0.05), average daily feed intake (ADFI, P < 0.01), and feed to gain ratio (F:G, P < 0.01) in the starter phase. In the grower phase, L-Met supplementation (specifically at levels 0.8 and 1.6 g/kg) only improved F:G (P < 0.05) compared to DL-Met, with no significant differences in the other performance parameters. Nonlinear regression analysis showed that RBA of L-Met based on carcass percentage was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of DL-Met in the starter phase. Based on the findings of this study, it seems that using L-Met compared to DL-Met may improve the feed efficiency and carcass percentage of young growing broiler chickens.

Copy number variations affecting growth curve parameters in a crossbred chicken population

Copy number variations (CNVs) are key structural variations in the genome and may contribute to phenotypic differences. In this study, we used a F2 chicken population created from reciprocal crossing between fast-growing Arian broiler line and Urmia native chickens. The chickens were genotyped by 60 K SNP BeadChip, and PennCNV algorithm was used to detect genome-wide CNVs. The growth curve parameters of W0, k, L, Wf, Wi, ti and average GR were used as phenotypic data. The association between CNV and growth curve parameters was carried out using the CNVRanger R/Bioconductor package. Five CNV regions (CNVRs) were chosen for the validation experiment using qPCR. Gene enrichment analysis was done using WebGestalt. The STRING database was used to search for significant pathways. The results identified 966 CNVs and 600 CNVRs including 468 gains, 67 losses, and 65 both events on autosomal chromosomes. Validation of the CNVRs obtained from the qPCR assay were 79 % consistent with the prediction by PennCNV. A total of 43 significant CNVs were obtained for the seven growth curve parameters. The 416 genes annotated for significant CNVs. Six genes out of 416 genes were most related to growth curve parameters. These genes were LCP2, Dock2, CD80, CYFIP1, NIPA1 and NIPA2. Some of these genes in their biological process were associated with the growth, reproduction and development of cells or organs that ultimately lead to the growth of the body. The results of the study could pave the way for better understanding the molecular process of CNVs and growth curve parameters in birds.

A Comparison between Performance, Tibia Bone Characteristics and Intestinal Morphology in Ross 308 and Arian Broilers

A Comparison between Performance, Tibia Bone Characteristics and Intestinal Morphology in Ross 308 and Arian Broilers

Effect of food restriction on growth and response to vaccination in Arian broilers

Due to the increase in the price of inputs and the necessity of nutrition management; the effect of food restriction on performance, growth and immune response was investigated in 960 Arian breed broiler chickens (480 male &amp; 480 female). Therefore, two periods of food restriction were considered separately in two treatment groups (at the second week and the sixth week) using four diluted rations (0, 20, 30 and 40%) in three replications in a completely randomized design. After analyzing the data, the average traits were compared with Duncan's multiple range test, the effect of food restriction on the immune response to ND, AI, IB and IBD vaccines was also investigated with serology on the 20th and 42nd days of rearing, According to the results , the broilers in the first group with 20% dilution diet reached the weight of the control group (p &lt; 0.05) at the age of 42 days, also the corrected food conversion coefficient was improved and had compensatory growth; In the second group, the chicks could not reach the control group at the age of 42 days (p &lt; 0.05) and the improvement percentage index (weight gain) was not favorable, and more time was needed to reach the appropriate improvement index, and the same time the ability to compensate for the delay in growth and improvement. The response of the immune system to vaccination against ND, AI, IB and IBD in both treatment groups with low food restriction (20%), improved and significantly differen from the control group (p &lt; 0.05), the titers of the first group treatments it was better than the second group and it was lower in male than female chickens.

Comparison of different mathematical functions for fitting growth curves of ascitic and healthy broiler chickens

Ascites syndrome (AS) causes major economic losses in commercial meat-type chickens. The objectives of the current study were to select the best non-linear growth curve functions (GCFs) of the ascitic and healthy chickens, and to investigate the association of ascites incidence with the growth pattern. A total of 5584 body weight (BW) records belonging to 823 chickens (381 male and 442 female) from a paternal pure Arian broiler line were used. The birds were categorized into; healthy male and female, ascitic male and female. Five GCFs including Logistic, Gompertz, Lopez, Richards, and Von baretanalffy were fitted to the BW records of all groups, separately. After the estimation of growth curve parameters for all the chicks individually, the effect of sex and health status on the growth curve parameters were assessed. The results revealed that the Richards function is the best for all the groups. Comparison of the growth curves showed that the ascitic chickens reach the inflection point of the curve earlier than their healthy counterparts (P&amp;lt;0.05). The average growth rate of the healthy birds in the rearing period was significantly higher than that of the ascitic birds (P&amp;lt;0.05), thereby suggesting that there is no direct relationship between the rapid growth rate and the incidence of ascites. Therefore, genetic improvement of the used population for both rapid growth rate and reduced ascites incidence may be possible and the utilization of growth curve parameters in the selection index might be beneficial.

The Effect of Different Energy Level on Blood Metabolites, Bacterial Population of Small Intestine and Performance of Arian Broiler Chickens

The Effect of Different Energy Level on Blood Metabolites, Bacterial Population of Small Intestine and Performance of Arian Broiler Chickens

Performance, Immune Responses, and Blood Biochemistry of Broiler Chickens Fed with Plant Growth Compound

Today, medicinal plants and prebiotics are known as growth stimulants and can have beneficial effects on health and performance. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of plant growth promoters and a prebiotic (lactose) on growth performance, immune responses, and blood biochemical parameters in broiler chicks. Seven hundred and fifty Arian broiler chicks (mixed-sex) were allocated to six treatments and five replicates at one day of age. Three plant-based growth promoters (ASRI1, ASRI2, and commercial supplement (Optifeed)) and two dietary prebiotic levels (0 and 1 kg/ton) were evaluated in a completely randomized design with 3×2 factorial arrangements. The results showed that growth performance and humoral and cellular immunities did not differ among experimental treatments; therefore, the herbal compounds ASRI1 and ASRI2 can be used as growth promoters equivalent to the commercial products currently used in the broiler chicken industry. An interaction effect of growth promoter × prebiotic was detected for concentrations of calcium in the serum. Serum calcium concentrations of birds fed ASRI2 and 1 kg/ton prebiotic were greater than those of chickens receiving the commercial growth promoter. Serum triglycerides and VLDL-C concentrations were significantly lower in birds treated with ASRI1 growth promoter compared to those fed with a commercial growth promoter. In conclusion, there was no difference between ASRI1, ASRI2, and Optifeed growth promoters in their effectiveness as promoters of growth and immunity of broiler chicks.

Effect of Calcium and Phosphorus Levels (With and Without Phytase Enzymes) on Liver Enzymes and Blood Parameters in Arian Broiler Chickens

Effect of Calcium and Phosphorus Levels (With and Without Phytase Enzymes) on Liver Enzymes and Blood Parameters in Arian Broiler Chickens

Identification of candidate genes for blood metabolites in Iranian chickens using a genome-wide association study

ABSTRACT1. In order to identify loci associated with metabolic traits, a genome-wide association study was carried out in a chicken F2 population derived from a reciprocal cross between Iranian Urmia indigenous chickens and Arian broiler line using Illumina 60K Chicken single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) BeadChip.2. Six traits including plasma level of triglycerides (TGs), cholesterol (Chol), glucose (Glu), total protein, albumin (Alb) and globulin (Glo) were recorded. The association between the identified SNPs and metabolic traits was estimated by general linear model (GLM) and compressed mixed linear model (CMLM).3. A total of 38 SNPs were identified at the genome-wide significant and suggestive levels, of which 5 SNPs reached a 5% Bonferroni genome-wide significance (P < 2.58E-6) for TG, Alb and Glo through CMLM, and 21 SNPs were significantly associated with TG, Chol, Glu, Alb and Glo through GLM.4. Gene ontology showed that these SNPs were located within or near the candidate genes responsible for metabolic traits.5. In conclusion, the identified candidate genes provided novel information for molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic traits. These findings are important in marker-assisted selection in the chicken breeding scheme.

Effect of Feedingarginine on the Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Relative Expression of Lipogenic Genes, and Blood Parametersof Arian Broilers

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different dietary levels of L-arginine on the growth performance, blood parameters, and lipogenic gene expression of Arian broiler chickens. For this purpose, 168 Arian broiler chicks (40.33±1.7 g) were assigned to four treatments with three replicates of14 birds each, according to completely randomized design. The experimental treatments consisted of 100, 124, 139, and 154% dietary arginine levels relative to the published requirements of Arian broilers. On 42 d of the experiment, blood samples were collected from two birds (six birds per treatment) for blood metabolite measurements. These birds were then euthanized for carcass evaluation and collection of tissue samples. Increasing dietary arginine levels reduced (p<0.05) the gene expression of fatty acid synthase, acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase, and malic enzyme in the liver and lipoprotein lipase in the abdominal fat tissue, as well as abdominal fat relative weight. Increasing dietary arginine levels significantly increased (p<0.05) body weight, feed efficiency, carcass yield, breast and thigh relative weights, and glucose and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) blood levels, and reduced cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) blood levels. Since almost similar performance and carcass trait results were obtained both with 124 and 139% arginine levels, supplying Arian broiler diets with 124% arginine is suggested.

Effects of Energy and Digestible Methionine Level in Diet on Performance and Reproductive Traits of Arian Broiler Breeder Hens during Production Period

Effects of Energy and Digestible Methionine Level in Diet on Performance and Reproductive Traits of Arian Broiler Breeder Hens during Production Period

Longitudinal analysis of body weight, feed intake and residual feed intake in F2 chickens

The aim of this study was to estimate covariance functions, using B-spline random regression models for body weight (BW), feed intake (FI) and residual feed intake (RFI) in F2 chickens. Feed intake and body weight were recorded on each bird every week from 2 to 10 weeks of age. The F2 population was derived from a cross between a fast growing Arian broiler line and Iranian native fowl. Sex, hatch and age in week were fitted as fixed effects and additive genetic and permanent environment as random effects. Variance components were estimated by the means of a Bayesian analysis, using Gibbs sampling. Covariance components for cumulative FI and RFI were obtained as a function of week on test. The heritability estimates for BW ranged from 0.19 to 0.34 and were high at the early ages, decreases with age to a moderate value. A similar pattern was observed for FI, where the heritabilities decreased from 0.29 to 0.12 from the second week to 10th week of age. Estimates of heritabilities for RFI along the growth trajectory ranged from 0.10 to 0.29 and increased over the time. Cumulative FI and RFI had medium to high heritability (0.24 and 0.41, respectively). The posterior means of genetic correlations between BW at different age were moderate to high from 2 to 10 weeks of age, ranging from 0.26 to 0.99. These estimates for phenotypic correlations were lower than the corresponding genetic correlations for all the weeks. The posterior means of genetic correlations between different weeks of age ranged from 0.10 to 0.99 for FI and −0.15 to 0.96 for RFI. The genetic and phenotypic correlations consistently decreased as the time interval increased for all traits. However, for the cumulative FI and RFI traits were increased with increasing the age interval from 2 to 9 weeks of age. The genetic correlations and expected response to indirect selection showed that the optimum test length for FI and RFI can be reduced to 2 weeks without a large loss in overall genetic gain in FI or RFI. In general, spline model showed that there was genetic variation in the BW, FI and RFI curve of individual chicken. The results indicated that random regression models can provide a good description of the data and is recommended for genetic selection in chickens.

Comparison of the effects of basil (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Ocimum basilicum&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;) essential oil, avilamycin and protexin on broiler performance, blood biochemistry and carcass characteristics

Abstract. The effects of a probiotic (protexin), a medicinal plant (basil essential oil) and an antibiotic growth promoter (avilamycin) as broiler feed additives on performance, carcass characteristics and some blood parameters of broilers were studied. A total of 600 Arian broilers were divided into six treatments, with four replicates of 25 birds. Treatments were a plant essential oil in three levels (200, 400 and 600 ppm), the probiotic (150 ppm), the antibiotic (150 ppm) and a control group with no additives. Birds in different treatments received the same diets during the experimental period. Growth performance, blood biochemical parameters and carcass traits were measured. There were no effects of dietary treatment on body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of the broilers. Internal organ weights and carcass characteristics were not influenced by treatments; however, 200 ppm basil essential oil supplementation decreased abdominal fat (P &lt; 0.05). Biochemical parameters including serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total cholesterol were not statistically influenced. However, addition of 400 ppm basil essential oil into diet increased serum triglyceride as compared to the control (P &lt; 0.05). Results of this experiment demonstrated that the herbal natural feed additives such as basil may be used as alternatives to an antibiotic growth promoter without any adverse effects on broiler production.

Mortality, production performance, water intake and organ weight of the heat stressed broiler chicken given savory (Satureja khuzistanica) essential oils through drinking water

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects on mortality, production performance, water intake (WI) and organ weight of Satureja khuzistanica essential oil (SkEO) using 720 one-day-old Arian broiler chicks in a 42-day trial. Experimental treatments were addition of 0 (control−), 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/L SkEO or 500 mg/L polysorbate-80 (control+) into drinking water. The birds were kept under natural ambient temperatures 4–6°C above standard recommendation from days 22 to 42 of age. Addition of SkEO into drinking water at 200 and 500 mg/L decreased weight gain (P < 0.05) of the birds from days 29 to 35 of age with no differences in feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to control groups (P > 0.05). Addition of 300 and 500 mg/L SkEO into water increased mortality rate of the birds mainly from days 29 to 42 of age. The calculated European broiler index was greater for the birds receiving drinking water supplemented with 400 mg/L of SkEO compared with the other birds. In conclusion, administration of SkEO at 400 mg/L through drinking water to heat stressed broiler chickens may result in improved production performance efficiency.

The effects of the avilamycin, Protexin® and basil essential oil supplements on ileal bacteria of broiler chickens

The effects of probiotic (Protexin®, Protexin Veterinary, Somerset, UK), medicinal plant (basil essential oil) and an antibiotic growth promoter (avilamycin) as broiler feed additives on ileal bacteria of broilers were studied. A total of 600 Arian broilers were divided into 6 treatments, with 4 replicates of 25 birds. Treatments were a plant essential oil in 3 level (200, 400 and 600 ppm), the probiotic (150 ppm), an antibiotic (150 ppm) and a control group with no additives. Birds in different treatments received the same diets during the experimental period. The results showed that probiotic treatment significantly decreased total bacteria counts (P&amp;lt;0.05). Any of the supplements did not affect colony-forming units of lactobacilli (P&amp;gt;0.05). The lowest and highest lactic acid bacteria in ileum were obtained by the control group and in birds receiving 400 ppm basil essential oil, respectively. Moreover, addition of 600 ppm of basil essential oil into diet decreased the number of &lt;em&gt;E.coli&lt;/em&gt; colonies as compared to other treatments (P&amp;lt;0.05). Our results suggest that basil essential oil and Protexin could be of value to replace the antibiotics that have been banned as growth promoter in animal feeds.

Effects of Satureja khuzistanica essential oils in drinking water on mortality, production performance, water intake, and organ weights in broiler chickens reared under heat stress condition.

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects on mortality, production performance, water intake (WI), and organ weight of Satureja khuzistanica essential oil (SkEO) using 720 1-day-old Arian broiler chicks in a 42-day trial. Experimental treatments were addition of 0 (control−), 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg/L SkEO or 500 mg/L polysorbate 80 (control+) into drinking water. The birds were kept under natural ambient temperatures 4 to 6 °C above standard recommendation from days 22 to 42 of age. Addition of SkEO into drinking water at 200 and 500 mg/L decreased weight gain (P < 0.05) of the birds from days 29 to 35 of age with no differences in feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to control groups (P > 0.05). Supplementation of drinking water with 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg/L SkEO resulted in a 0.47, 4.40, 8.60, and 12.93 % decrease in WI, respectively, from days 1 to 42 of age. The calculated European broiler index was greater for the birds received 400 mg/L of SkEO in their drinking water compared with that of the other birds (P < 0.05). Pancreas percentage was increased for the birds received 200 to 500 mg/L SkEO at days 21 and 42 of age compared with that of the control− birds (P < 0.05). The gall bladder weight was 17.56, 40.50, 12.16, and 38.73 % greater for the birds received 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg/L SkEO compared with that of the control− birds, respectively. The results showed that an addition of 400 mg/L SkEO into drinking water for heat-stressed broiler chickens improves economic efficiency possibly by promoting digestion process, creating miniscule improvement in FCR and lowered mortality rate.

Effects of substituting fish meal with poultry by-product meal in broiler diets on blood urea and uric acid concentrations and nitrogen content of litter

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of dietary substitution of fish meal (FM) with poultry by-product meal (PBM) at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% using 360, 1-day-old Arian broiler chicken. The birds were randomly allocated to 30 pens (at density of 0.08 m2/bird) in an open system partially controlled house. The chicks were raised under a photo regimen of 23:1h light to darkness up to 42 days. The five dietary treatments were offered to six replicates of 12 chicks each. Data on productive performance, serum concentrations of urea and uric acid and pH, moisture and nitrogen content of litter were collected at different ages. The mean weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly decreased in the birds fed on diets containing more than 50% PBM compared to the control birds during days 1–21 of age (P < 0.01). Replacement of FM at different levels with PBM significantly affected either serum urea or uric acid concentrations (P < 0.05). The serum urea and uric acid concentrations was lower in the birds that received 100%-PBM containing diets. The mean nitrogen content of litter was similar among the experimental diets while the moisture content of litter tended to be lower for the birds fed on diets containing 25% PBM compared to the other birds (P < 0.10). No differences in litter pH were pointed out for dietary treatments. Treating the litter samples by Alum significantly increased their pH values (P < 0.01). The results suggest that, substitution of FM with PBM at different levels had no considerable impact on nitrogen contents of litter.

English

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of dietary replacment of fish meal (FM) with poultry by-product meal (PBM) at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% using 360 one day-old Arian broiler chicken. The mean weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly decreased in the birds fed on diets containing greater levels of PBM as compared to the control birds during 1 to 21 days of age (P&lt;0.01). Replacement of FM at different levels with PBM significantly affected serum concentrations of urea and uric acid (P&lt;0.05). The serum concentrations of urea and uric acid were lower in the birds that received 100%-PBM containing diets. The mean nitrogen content of litter was similar among the experimental diets, while the moisture content of litter tended to be lower for the birds fed on diets containing 25% PBM as compared to the other birds (P&lt;0.10). Litter pH was similar among the dietary. Treating the litter samples by alum significantly decreased their pH values (P&lt;0.01). The results suggest that, substitution of FM with PBM at different levels had no impact on nitrogen contents of litter. &nbsp; Key words: Nitrogen excretion, broiler chicken, poultry by-product meal.

Association of growth hormone gene polymorphism with growth and fatness traits in Arian broilers

The aim of the study was to investigate the associations of HG gene polymorphism on chicken growth and body composition traits in Arian broilers. Blood samples randomly collected before slaughter from four different commercial Arian broiler lines (A, B, C and D; 400 samples) at 6 weeks of age. Genomic DNA was extracted and a fragment of 776 bp in size amplified using PCR-RFLP method. To determine the restriction site in intron 1 of GH gene of the animals, the MspI endonuclease and the resultant digested products were run on 2% agarose gel studied. Birds were slaughtered at 6 weeks of age and body composition was determined. The treatment of the fragment at GH loci with MspI restriction enzyme was revealed A1, A2 and A3 alleles. According to the results, recorded allele was: A1 allele (414, 217, 125 bp); A2 allele (125, 147, 237, 267 bp) and for allele A3 (237, 539 bp), respectively. The comparison of least square means of different genotypes indicated that polymorphism in the GH gene was significantly associated with body weight, tsmurd kci weight and percentage of drumstick weight at 6 weeks of age (P<0.05). According to the results, HG genes could be candidate gene that can affect some body composition traits in Arian broiler chickens.