Excreta pH Research Articles

Dietary supplementation of Spirulina platensis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on egg quality, physiological condition and ammonia emission of hens at the late laying period

The study was aimed to evaluate the effect of Spirulina platensis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae or its combination on egg quality, physiological condition and ammonia excretion of hens at the late lay-ing period. At 81 weeks old, 144 Lohmann Brown layer chickens were divided into four treatment groups included CON (hens fed basal feed), SP (basal feed + 0.3% S. platensis), SC (basal feed + 0.2% S. cerevisiae), and SPSC (basal feed + 0.3% S. platensis + 0.2% S. cerevisiae). At the end of the study, eggs, intestinal mucosa, digesta, excreta and blood sample were collected. Results showed that albumin index was higher (P<0.05) in SPSC group than in CON, SP and SC. The yolk index and yolk colour were greater (P<0.05) in SP and SPSC groups than in CON and SC. The erythrocyte values were high-er (P<0.05) in SP group compared to CON, SC and SPSC groups. The ileum pH was higher (P<0.05) in SP than in CON, SC and SPSC. Lactic acid bacteria counts were lower (P<0.05) in the caecum of SC and SPSC than in CON and SP groups. The lower (P<0.05) counts of lactose-negative Enterobacte-riaceae were shown in SC and SPSC than in CON. The excreta pH was lower (P<0.05) in SC group compared to CON, SP and SPSC groups. There were better (P<0.05) protein digestibility coefficient and nitrogen retention in SPSC group than others. Faecal ammonia decreased (P<0.05) in SP, SC and SPSC groups. In conclusion, S. platensis improved egg yolk index and colour, increased erythrocyte counts and played an important role in maintaining the balance of bacteria in the intestine resulting in reduced ammonia excretion. Dietary inclusion of S. cerevisiae reduced ammonia excretion of laying hens during the late laying period.

English

An experiment was conducted to evaluate fat sources on growth performance, excreta microbiology and noxious gas emissions in broilers. Experimental birds were reared for 5 weeks and divided into two periods: Starter (0 to 3 weeks) and finisher (4 to 5 weeks). A total of 150 one day old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated into five treatments with five replications (six birds per replicate) following a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments included FT1 (corn-soybean meal based basal diet with soybean oil), FT2 (corn-soybean meal based basal diet with chicken fat), FT3 (corn-soybean meal based basal diet with tallow), FT4 (corn-soybean meal based basal diet with tallow and lard) and FT5 (corn-soybean meal based basal diet with pork fat/lard). Overall body weight gain and feed intake did not differ due to addition of different dietary fat sources in broiler diet; however, feed conversion ratio was better in FT1 fed group in comparison to other fat groups (P<0.10). The result of the serum immunoglobulins data indicated that, a significant elevation of serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) was observed after dietary addition of FT1, FT2 and FT5 relative to FT4 (P<0.05) Excreta pH did not differ, however, yeast and mold count was highest in FT4 and FT5 relative to FT1 and FT3 (P<0.05). Excreta noxious gas emissions (NH3, H2S and SO2) were lower in FT1 and FT2 in comparison to other fat groups (P<0.05). Overall, the results of the present study suggested that FT1 and FT2 can be prioritized in the diet of broilers with positive influence on body weight gain and feed efficiency, and substantial reduction of noxious gas emissions. Further detail study could be conducted to investigate the single and combination of different dietary fats (with different ratio) on performance and meat quality indices. Key words: Broilers, growth performance, immunity, noxious gas emissions.

Dietary habits of urban pigeons (Columba livia) and implications of excreta pH – a review

AbstractPigeons are considered to be urban pests, causing untold damage to buildings and potentially impacting the health of humans who come into contact with them or their faeces. Pigeon faecal matter has been implicated in both health impacts and building damage, with the acidity of the excreta playing an important role. Purpose of the Review. This paper is a wide-ranging review of the chemical processes of excreta in the pigeon to aid our understanding of the potential problems of pigeons to buildings and human amenity in the urban space. The natural pH of pigeons is shown to vary based on the bird’s and age as well as reproductive stage. Key findings of the review. The influences of the altered diet between the rock dove (the wild progenitor of the feral pigeon) and the feral pigeon are detailed, indicating that the human-based diet of urban pigeons most likely causes the feral pigeon excreta to be more acidic than the rock dove excreta. This higher acidity is due in part to diet, but also to potential increases in faecal and/or uric acid volumes due to the low quality of human-based diets. Again, this area of interest is highly data deficient due to the few number of studies and unspecified dietary intake before pH measurement. Implications of the review. Humans are increasingly concerned about pigeon populations (and presumably their accumulated faeces) in the urban space, and control comprises a large part of the interaction between humans and feral pigeons. This review provides a greater understanding of feral pigeons and the true effects of their excreta.

Comparison of growth performance and excreta composition in broiler chickens when ranked according to various feed efficiency metrics.

Several feed efficiency (FE) metrics are currently used in livestock production to select for improved FE. Whether or not different FE metrics similarly estimate physiological characteristics in chickens of diverging FE has not been reported so far. This study aimed to assess potential differences in feed intake (FI), performance, and nutrient excretion in broiler chickens of diverging FE when ranked according to their residual FI (RFI), residual BW gain (RBG), RFI and BW gain (RIG), and G:F between d 7 and 35 of life. The FI was determined daily and BW was recorded once a week. The ranking of chickens into good, medium, and poor FE groups was completed separately for each FE metric. Freshly dropped excreta were collected for pH and DM measurements on d 30 to 32 of life and total excreta for determination of nutrient excretion was collected on d 34 to 36 of life. Relationships among FE metrics were evaluated using regression analysis showing that RFI, RIG, and G:F were more related to each other than to RBG. The FE values greatly varied among chickens for all FE metrics and chickens did not always cluster within the same FE group when using RFI, RIG, RBG, and G:F as the FE metrics because of the calculation approaches. Due to sex-related differences in performance, data of male and female chickens were analyzed separately. The RFI and RIG metrics showed a linear increase ( < 0.01) in total FI from good to poor FE in male and female chickens, whereas G:F showed this effect ( ≤ 0.011) only when BW gain was standardized to 1,500 g. The RBG did not clearly select chickens of enhanced total BW gain and only tended ( < 0.1) to select for greater BW gain from good to poor FE in female chickens. Excreta pH linearly decreased by 0.7 log units and DM content increased in males from good to poor FE when using RFI and RIG, respectively ( < 0.01). In both sexes, RFI ( < 0.05) and RIG metrics ( ≤ 0.06) showed a linear increase in daily nitrogen excretion from good to poor FE. In conclusion, results demonstrate that selection of the metric used to determine the FE of chickens modified the results obtained for comparison of production parameters and nutrient excretion among FE groups. Thereby, the RFI, RIG, and G:F metrics were beneficial in selecting the most feed efficient chickens to reduce feed costs, whereas the use of RFI and RIG may be better to select chickens with improved nitrogen retention and thus reduced excretion of an environmental pollutant.

Effects of dietary chlorine dioxide on growth performance, intestinal and excreta microbiology, and odorous gas emissions from broiler excreta

Summary Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is a powerful biocide that has long been used commercially to control microbial activity in various sectors. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of dietary ClO2 on growth performance, intestinal and excreta microorganisms, and the emission of odorous gas from broiler excreta. A total of 120 one-day-old broiler chicks were provided with experimental diets including ClO2 at 0, 0.05, or 0.1% of the diet at random. Dietary ClO2 (0.05 and 0.1%) resulted in a significant reduction in feed intake and feed conversion ratio without affecting the growth rate of the broilers. Dietary ClO2 (0.05 and 0.1%) did not affect the Lactobacillus, Bacillus, and Salmonella concentrations in the ileal digesta; however, it significantly increased the level of yeast and mold. In contrast, dietary ClO2 at 0.1% significantly decreased the number of ileal E. coli. In the cecal digesta, the Bacillus, E. coli and Salmonella CFUs were reduced significantly in response to 0.05 and 0.1% ClO2. Both levels of ClO2 significantly reduced the concentrations of E. coli and Salmonella in broiler excreta by d 21, whereas significant reduction was observed only in response to 0.1% ClO2 supplementation by d 35. Dietary supplementation with 0.1% ClO2 resulted in significant reductions in excreta pH at 6, 12, and 48 h of incubation relative to the non-supplemented group. Fecal ammonia emission was significantly higher at 48 h in response to 0.1% ClO2 supplementation. In contrast, significantly lower emissions of hydrogen sulfide (3, 6, 12, and 24 h), sulfur dioxide (24 and 48 h), and mercaptans (0, 3, and 48 h) were recorded in response to dietary ClO2 supplementation. Overall, reduction of intestinal and excreta pathogenic microorganisms together with lower emissions of sulfur-containing odorous gas from broiler excreta were observed in response to dietary supplementation with 0.1% ClO2 without affecting the growth rate.

Response of laying hens to feeding low-protein amino acid-supplemented diets under high ambient temperature: performance, egg quality, leukocyte profile, blood lipids, and excreta pH.

An experiment was conducted to determine whether, by using a low-protein amino acid-supplemented diet, the health status, stress response, and excreta quality could be improved without affecting the productive performance of heat-stressed laying hens. The requirements for egg production, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio were also estimated using second-order equations and broken-line regression. A total of 150 Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL-Lite) hens were divided randomly into five groups of 30 with five replicates of six hens. The hens were raised for an 8-week period (52 to 60 weeks) in wire cages situated in high ambient temperature in an open-sided housing system. The five experimental diets (ME; 2,720 kcal/kg) varied according to five crude protein (CP) levels: normal-CP diet (control, 16.5 % CP) and low-CP diets containing 15.0, 13.5, 12.0, or 10.5 % CP. All experimental diets were supplemented with crystalline amino acids at the levels sufficient to meet their requirements. The results showed that under high temperature conditions, all productive performance and egg quality parameters in the birds fed with 15.0, 13.5, and 12.0 % CP diets were similar to those of birds fed with control diet (16.5 % CP), whereas feeding 10.5 % CP diet significantly decreased egg production and egg mass. Estimations of requirements were of 13.93 and 12.77 % CP for egg production, 14.62 and 13.22 % CP for egg mass, and 12.93 and 12.26 % CP for feed conversion ratio using quadratic and broken-line models, respectively. Egg yolk color index, blood triglyceride level, and excreta acidity were also significantly higher in birds fed with 12.0 and 10.5 % CP diets compared with those of control birds. The heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, as a stress indicator, was significantly decreased by 15.0, 13.5, and 12 % CP diets. On the basis of our findings, reducing dietary CP from 16.5 to 12.0 % and supplementing the diets with the essential amino acids showed merit for improving the stress response and excreta quality while maintaining acceptable production performance from laying hens under high ambient temperature conditions.

Growth responses, excreta quality, nutrient digestibility, bone development and meat yield traits of broiler chickens fed vegetable or animal protein diets

This study was carried out to compare the performance of broilers fed diets containing only vegetable protein (VP) with birds that received an animal protein (AP) in their diets. Cobb 500 day-old male broiler chicks (n = 256) were randomly divided into four experimental groups. The two AP diets contained fish meal and soybean (SBF) and fish meal with canola (CMF); while the two VP diets contained predominantly soybean (SBM) or canola (CAN) meals. All diets were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous, and were pelleted, but amino acid levels were formulated on a total and not digestible basis. Feed intake up to 21 days was highest on the AP diets, and the lowest in the SBM treatment. Birds in the AP diet groups were significantly heavier at 21 days and 35 days than those on the VP diets. Up to 35 days, birds on AP diets had superior feed conversion ratio, while the CAN treatment was the poorest. Excreta moisture level was significantly higher in birds fed the VP diets than those on AP diets. Excreta pH and ammonia concentration were similar between treatments. Protein digestibility was higher in the AP than in the VP diets. Birds raised on VP diets had a significantly lower abdominal fat content than birds on the AP diets. Other meat characteristics measured in this experiment did not differ significantly. Bone development, in terms of breaking strength and latency-to-sit time, was significantly better on the AP diets than that of birds on the VP diets. The birds on the CMF diet had the longest tibia bone, while birds on SBM diet, the shortest. Total tibia ash content on the CMF diet was significantly increased, along with its iron and copper concentration, which were also significantly higher in birds on the same diet than the others. The responses of birds generally indicated that the AP diets were superior to the VP diets.Keywords: Growth, digestibility, fish meal, bone growth, meat quality, soybean meal, canola meal

Effect of a partial replacement of limestone by a CaSO4-zeolite mixture combined with a slight protein reduction on production indices, egg quality, and excreta pH in laying hens

SUMMARY A control diet (CN diet; 17.4% CP and 4.37% Ca) was compared with an experimental diet with a 0.4-percentage-unit reduction in protein content and a 35% replacement of limestone by a CaSO4-zeolite mixture [5.76% CaSO4 and 1.18% zeolite; reduced-emission diet (RE diet)] in laying hens to evaluate the effects on apparent N retention, egg production, egg composition, and excreta pH measured at excreta collection or after 7 d of storage. In previous studies, it was demonstrated that the RE diet reduced NH3 emissions by 48%. Laying hens (192 total; 48 replicate cages per diet, with 2 hens per cage) were fed experimental diets from 33 to 49 wk of age. Apparent N retention (48.2%), egg production (83.6%), and number of shell-less eggs (0.18%) were not affected by the diet. Eggs tended to be heavier (59.4 vs. 58.8 g/egg, P = 0.06), and yolk percentage (29.7 vs. 29.0%, P = 0.013) was greater with the RE diet. At 48 wk of age, the total solids content per egg was also greater from hens fed the RE diet (13.2 vs. 12.6 g/egg, P = 0.032). Other egg components were not influenced by diet. Thus, a slight reduction in dietary CP content and replacing a portion of the Ca from CaCO3 with CaSO4 did not affect egg production nor did it impair shell quality. At the end of the experiment, excreta were collected from all cages (excreta from 3 cages were mixed and pooled; 16 pools of excreta per diet). At collection, excreta of hens fed the RE diet had lower pH (5.89 vs. 6.54, P

Effect of dietary adipic acid and corn dried distillers grains with solubles on laying hen performance and nitrogen loss from stored excreta with or without sodium bisulfate

Effects of dietary adipic acid (0 vs. 1%) and corn dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS; 0 vs. 20%) were evaluated on hen performance and egg characteristics from 26 to 34 wk of age. Four isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were randomly assigned to blocks of 6 consecutive cages (36 cages per diet; 2 hens per cage). On wk 2 and 7 of the experiment, excreta were collected by cage block, mixed, and equally split into 2 containers. Sodium bisulfate (SBS) was spread (8.8 kg/100 m(2)) on the top surface of half of the containers. All containers were stored uncovered for 14 d at room temperature. Excreta pH, DM, and N content were measured on d 0, 7, and 14 of storage. Feed intake (112 g/d per hen), egg production (96.1%), and egg specific gravity (1.079 g/g) were not affected by diet. On excreta collection day, a synergy (P = 0.014) between dietary adipic acid and DDGS was detected, as the lowest excreta pH was obtained with the diet including both adipic acid and DDGS. On d 7 of storage, excreta pH was still reduced by dietary adipic acid (P = 0.046) and DDGS (P < 0.001), but a week later, only dietary DDGS decreased excreta pH (8.91 vs. 9.21; P < 0.001). Whereas dietary adipic acid had no influence on excreta N loss, excreta from hens fed 20% DDGS lost 19.7% more N (P = 0.039) during storage than hens not eating DDGS. Surface amendment of excreta with SBS increased excreta DM content, with the effect being even more marked on d 14 of storage (increase of 6.7 percentage units; P < 0.001), consistently decreased excreta pH during storage (P < 0.001) and reduced N loss by 26.1% for the 14 d of storage period.

Indirect evidence for microbiota reduction through dietary mannanoligosaccharides in the pigeon, an avian species without functional caeca

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) on nutrient digestibility, intestinal pH, gut morphology and faecal bacteriology of pigeons, as model for birds without functional caeca. Sixteen adult pigeons (Columba livia domestica) were randomly allotted to either an extruded pellet diet with or without 0.4% MOS. After an adaptation period of 24 days, excreta were collected during 4 days. Apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients were determined using total collection method. Further, excreta pH was measured and percentage of uric acid determined. Fresh excreta were cultured for measurement of colony-forming units for Escherichia coli. At the end, the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was excised and pH measurements performed on the separate GIT sections. Finally, pancreas, liver, gizzard and abdominal fat pad were weighed, and standardised segments of duodenum and jejunum were removed for microscopic measurement of crypt depth, villus height and muscularis thickness. Feed intake and water intake were similar between control diet and MOS diet. Intestinal pH was unaffected by MOS supplementation; however, excreta pH was significantly lower in pigeons on the MOS diet. Although nutrient digestibility was similar between treatments, uric acid content of excreta was significantly higher in the MOS group in relation to the control group. Further, duodenal crypt depth, villus height and muscularis thickness, as well as jejunal muscularis thickness were all significantly reduced by MOS supplementation. No effect of MOS supplementation was seen on the counts of E.coli. Furthermore, despite marked differences on both GIT morphology and uric acid content of excreta, apparent digestibility coefficients, and organ weights, were similar between treatments. It is suggested that the MOS-induced changes on gut morphology and the reduced excreta pH reflect a reduced bacterial challenge in the intestine of pigeons. Supplementation of MOS, therefore, has potential as prebiotic strategy in birds without functional caeca.

Effects of benzoic acid and inulin on ammonia–nitrogen excretion, plasma urea levels, and the pH in faeces and urine of weaner pigs

The present experiment tested the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with BA and IN would reduce total ammonia–N (NH 3–N) excretion. Ninety-six female pigs (Large White × Landrace) aged 21 ± 3 days and weighing 5.87 ± 0.077 kg (mean ± S .E .) were used in a 2 × 3 factorial experiment, with the respective factors being benzoic acid (BA; 0 and 5 g/kg) and inulin (IN; 0, 40 and 80 g/kg) in the diets. Pigs were housed individually and fed their respective diet for 3 weeks. Blood samples from 6 focus pigs per diet were collected on days 14 and 21, and digesta, urine and faecal samples were collected at slaughter on day 21. Feeding only BA decreased (P = 0.050) the combined faecal and urinary NH 3–N concentration while IN increased (P = 0.001) the NH 3–N proportion in faeces and proportionally decreased (P = 0.001) the NH 3–N proportion in urine. Additionally, dietary BA reduced the pH level in urine (P = 0.001) and faeces (P = 0.033), and plasma urea levels were decreased with both BA (P = 0.010) and IN (P = 0.008). No significant BA × IN interactions were noted. These data suggest that BA and IN can reduce NH 3–N excretion by different mechanisms, possibly by reducing excreta pH and bacterial populations (BA), as well as changing bacterial metabolic activities (BA and IN).

Apparent nutrient digestibility and excreta quality in African grey parrots fed two pelleted diets based on coarsely or finely ground ingredients

A feeding trial was performed to study the influence of particle size in extruded parrot pellets on apparent digestibility and excreta consistency and pH. Two test diets were alternately provided to eight African grey parrots according to a 2 x 2 cross-over design. Both diets were similar in nutrient content and ingredient composition but differed in particle size of the composing particles of individual pellets. Apparent digestibility of macronutrients was studied using the total collection method. Next, the appearance of the excreta was studied by calculation of weight-surface ratio of individual excrements as an objective measurement of consistency. Last, excreta pH was measured directly on fresh excrements and on homogenized 10% excreta solutions. Neither apparent digestibility coefficients nor excreta pH values were significantly different in parrots fed the two diets. However, excreta consistency was significantly (p < 0.05) more solid when fed the coarse diet than when fed with the finely ground diet. The results of this study suggest that excreta consistency can be improved through larger particle size, without adverse effects on nutritive value of the diet.

The incorporation of whole grain into pelleted broiler chicken diets. II. Gastrointestinal and digesta characteristics

1. Pelleted diets, incorporating whole or ground wheat or barley in the pellets, were fed to broiler chickens and the performance, gastrointestinal development and digesta characteristics of those chickens recorded. 2. Body weight was similar with whole grain incorporation or enzyme application. Food conversion efficiency was improved by addition of enzyme to a full wheat diet. 3. Whole grain inclusion in pellets reduced proventriculus proportional mass and increased gizzard proportional mass with no apparent effects of exogenous feed enzyme addition. 4. Relative ileal mass was reduced by enzyme inclusion in a wheat diet and by inclusion of whole barley in the pellets. 5. Digesta viscosity was increased by whole wheat inclusion but reduced by enzyme inclusion irrespective of grain processing. Inclusion of 200 g/kg of barley did not alter viscosity of digesta beyond the duodenum. 6. Fresh excreta pH was higher with both cereals in the grower phase when whole grain was fed. On the barley diet, this was affected by enzyme addition, which created higher pH from a point earlier in the grower phase than when no enzyme was employed. 7. Evidence of a complex interaction between higher viscosity and pH being involved in differences in ileal relative mass was found through significant relationships being produced by enzyme use on the wheat diet alone.

Behaviour of Hens Fed a Glycanase Enzyme in a Wheat and Triticale Diet

Caged laying hens (26-38 weeks-of-age) were fed a wheat and triticale diet with and without a commercia l glycanase enzyme. Various pecking and behavioural activities of hens were monitored at 28 and 36 weeks, including the measurement of excreta pH, dry matter and moisture content. There was little influence of enzyme supplementation on he n behaviour, although there was a significant reduction (P<0.05) of trampling and increase (P<0.05) in stereotype head flicking observed in hens fed enzymes. A stepwise procedure indicated 38% of the variation associated with excreta pH was explained by excreta dry matter, excreta moisture, light intensity, receiving tail and body pecks. Receiving body pecks, giving vent pecks, excreta moisture, trampling, excreta pH, receiving tail pecks and head flicks were the variables most closely associated with light intensity. This study only identified a few changes in hen behaviour from feeding enzymes. More comprehensive investigations are required.