Health Status Of Chickens Research Articles

The effect of sodium butyrate administered in ovo on the health status and intestinal response in broiler chicken

A healthy gut is one of the main factors influencing bird response. Over the years, efforts have been made to improve intestinal health. One of the supporting methods may be enriching the diet with bioactive ingredients, including sodium butyrate (SB). One of the possible ways of administering such supplementation is in ovo technology. Over the years, research has shown that administering bioactive substances this way has a positive effect on the health status of chickens. The current study aimed to modify the gut microbiota of broiler chickens by in ovo stimulation on d 12 of egg incubation with SB and to determine the changes occurring in intestines. One thousand eggs were incubated and injected with 0.1, 0.3, or 0.5% SB on d 12 of incubation. The control group was injected with physiological saline. Samples collected for analysis were obtained postmortem from 42-day-old ROSS 308 broiler chickens. Growth performance parameters were also monitored during broiler rearing. Gene expression analysis showed significant changes in the levels of IL4, IFNγ, AvBD1, TJAP and MUC6 genes in the ileum. However, the IL8, MUC2 and MUC6 genes were significantly expressed in the cecal mucosa. These changes depended on the administered dose of butyrate. There was no effect of in ovo administration of various doses of SB on digesta pH, SCFA level and histological parameters. However, a significant increase in Bifidobacterium bacteria was detected in the ileum after administration of a dose of 0.5% SB and in the cecum after administration of a dose of 0.3%. Administration of SB in ovo has the potential to support intestinal health in poultry. The effects depend on the administered dose, while the results indicate a dose of 0.3% as the most optimal.

Bioactive Lipid Compounds as Eco-Friendly Agents in the Diets of Broiler Chicks for Sustainable Production and Health Status.

Phytogenic compounds can improve feed efficiency, meat quality, and the health status of chickens under hot climatic conditions. The current study investigated the impact of the bioactive lipid compounds of oregano and peppermint and their combination on the sustainability of meat production and the health of broiler chicks in hot climatic conditions. Two hundred and fifty-six one-day-old broiler chicks were distributed into four treatment groups. The birds were fed a control diet, bioactive lipid compounds of oregano (BLCO, 150 mg/kg), bioactive lipid compounds of peppermint (BLCP, 150 mg/kg), or a combination of BLCO and BLCP at 150 mg/kg each for 35 days. Each treatment included 8 replicates, each with 8 birds. The results showed that adding BLCO and BLCP separately or in combination to broiler diets improved body weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio. BLCO, BLCP, or their combination increased the percentages of the dressing and gizzard and lowered the percentage of abdominal fat as compared to the control. Supplementation of BLCO, BLCP, or their combination decreased serum cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, creatinine, and urea compared to control. BLCO, BLCP, or their combination reduced cook and drip loss in the meat of broilers. In conclusion, birds fed diets containing BLCO and BLCP, either independently or in combination, showed improvements in performance, blood biochemistry, and meat quality in hot climatic conditions.

Impact of Arabic gum powder on the growth performance and health status of Chickens

Impact of Arabic gum powder on the growth performance and health status of Chickens

Nano-Sized Selenium Maintains Performance and Improves Health Status and Antioxidant Potential While Not Compromising Ultrastructure of Breast Muscle and Liver in Chickens.

The poultry industry is looking for the most effective sources of selenium (Se) for commercial use. Over the past five years, nano-Se has attracted a great deal of attention in terms of its production, characterisation and possible application in poultry production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary levels of inorganic and organic Se, selenised yeast and nano forms of selenium on breast meat quality, liver and blood markers of antioxidants, the ultrastructure of tissue and the health status of chickens. A total of 300 one-day-old chicks Ross 308 were divided into 4 experimental groups, in 5 replications, with 15 birds per replication. Birds were fed the following treatments: a standard commercial diet containing inorganic Se in the form of inorganic Se at the level of 0.3 mg/kg diet and an experimental diet with an increased level of Se (0.5 mg/kg diet). The use of other forms of Se (nano-Se) versus sodium selenate significantly influences (p ≤ 0.05) a higher collagen content and does not impair physico-chemical properties in the breast muscle or the growth performance of the chickens. In addition, the use of other forms of selenium at an increased dose versus sodium selenate affected (p ≤ 0.01) the elongation of sarcomeres in the pectoral muscle while reducing (p ≤ 0.01) mitochondrial damage in hepatocytes and improving (p ≤ 0.05) oxidative indices. The use of nano-Se at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg feed has high bioavailability and low toxicity without negatively affecting the growth performance and while improving breast muscle quality parameters and the health status of the chickens.

Occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella species from poultry farms in Ibadan, Nigeria.

BackgroundSalmonella species are among the major foodborne pathogens causing diseases of economic and public health implications in poultry and humans globally.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella isolates from chickens in poultry farms in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.MethodsCloacal swab samples (n = 360) were obtained from chickens randomly selected from 10 poultry farms in five local government areas of Ibadan, Oyo State, from 04 April 2018 to 20 November 2018. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed using established protocols. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-squared test at P ≤ 0.05 significance level.ResultsThe overall prevalence of Salmonella was 21.4%. There were statistically significant associations between Salmonella prevalence and the farm location (p = 0.003), age of chickens (p < 0.001), and health status of chickens (p < 0.001). All Salmonella isolates (n = 77; 100.0%) were resistant to cefuroxime. The isolates were also highly resistant to cotrimoxazole (n = 74; 96.1%), chloramphenicol (n = 73; 94.8%), meropenem (n = 72; 93.5%), gentamicin (n = 69; 89.6%), and tetracycline (n = 64; 83.1%).ConclusionThe presence of drug-resistant Salmonella in commercial layer chickens in Ibadan is a potential threat to consumer health as it increases the risk of carcass contamination and pathogen propagation, and limits the options to control and treat infections in humans and animals. Well-integrated national surveillance systems for monitoring Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance in poultry are critical.

Evaluation of haematological and blood serum indices of broiler starter fed varying levels of sun dried cassava peels meal as partial replacement for wheat bran

This study was carried out to examine the effect of sun dried cassava peels meal on haematological and blood serum indices of broiler starter chicks. Atotal of 150 unsexed, day old broiler chickens (Arbor acre) were randomly allotted into 5 dietary treatments (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) containing 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% sun dried cassava peal meal (SDCPM), respectively as replacement for wheat bran. Each treatment consisted of 3 replicates of 10 birds each in a Completely Randomized Designed (CRD). At four (4) weeks of age, experimental birds were starved overnight, and blood was harvested for hematological and serum assays. The results showed no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) among parameters examined except globulin and albumin globulin ratio that were significantly (p&lt;0.0) different. Globulin ranged between 5.43g/dl (T1, 0%) to 7.04g/dl (T5, 40%). Albumin globulin ratio ranged from 0.50in T4 and T5 to 0.63 in T2. It could be concluded that SDCPM performed favourably with control at all levels of inclusions (10,20, 30 and 40%SDCPM), therefore, it could be used to replace wheat bran in the diet of broiler starter without any deleterious effect on health status of chickens.

Application of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) as Natural Feed Supplement in Poultry Diets.

Simple SummaryThe wide application of in-feed antibiotics in poultry production has created public health hazards. A driving force for the interest of using natural herbs is to establish the antibiotics alternative in poultry production that has been reported in the literature. Therefore, the objective of the current review is to determine the effects of moringa (Moringa oleifera) tree leaves, seeds and their extracts on chickens’ performance and health status. Based on previous findings, M. oleifera as natural feed supplement has sustained the production performance and improved the health status in chickens.Application of natural herbs with a view to enhancing production performance and health status has created an important demand in poultry production. With the increasing concerns on this issue, greater attention paid to alternatives to antibiotics for organic meat and egg production has led to a great demand. This study was conducted with view to assessing the possible role of M. oleifera as a natural feed supplement in poultry ration. Various scientific findings and published research articles were considered concerning issues including the study background, objectives, major findings, and conclusions of the review. M oleifera is known as a miracle tree because of its wealthy resource of various nutrients with high biological values. M. oleifera has been used as a growth promoter, immune enhancer, antioxidant, and has a hypo-cholesterol effect on chickens. It has both nutritional and therapeutic values. However, there is still much confusion in past published articles involving the major roles of M. oleifera in production performance and health status of chickens. Taking this into account, the present study highlights an outline of the experimental uses of M. oleifera on growth performance, egg production performance, egg quality, and health status in broilers and laying hens justified with the past findings to the present. The knowledge gaps from the past studies are considered, and the feasibility of M. oleifera in poultry ration is suggested. The findings have motivated further study on M. oleifera to find out the most active ingredients and their optimal doses in both broiler and laying hen rations. Finally, the present study highlights that supplementation of M. oleifera may play a role in the immunity, sound health, and production performance in poultry.

Pengaruh Suplementasi Minyak Ikan Lemuru Terhadap Status Kesehatan Ayam Petelur yang Diimunisasi Berulang

The experiment was carried out to observe the effect of adding lemuru fish oil in immunized laying hens diet on the health status of chicken through leucocyte profile, stress index, erythrocyte profile, and malonildehyde concentration in liver and spleen. The research design was completely randomized and the obtained data was analized with analysis of variance and continued with Tukey’s Post Hoc test for differences. The experiment used thirty 18 weeks hens ISA brown strain and were divided into five groups. The groups were: A (immunization with lipase and control diet); B (immunization with lipase, control diet + 1% lemuru fish oil); C (immunization with lipase, control diet + 2% lemuru fish oil); D (immunization with lipase, control diet + 3% lemuru fish oil); and E (unimmunized and control diet). The immunization was repeated three times with four weeks interval, blood was collected and analyzed two weeks after immunization and the malonyldehyde concentration in liver and spleen was measured two weeks after third immunization. The results showed that there was no significant difference (P&gt;0.05) on all variables. The conclusion of this research that lemuru fish oil supplementation did not affect the health status of immunized hens

An update on direct-fed microbials in broiler chickens in post-antibiotic era

In a post-antibiotic era, applying dietary alternatives to antibiotics into diets of chickens has become a common practice to improve the productivity and health status of chickens. It is generally accepted that direct-fed microbials (DFMs), defined as a source of viable, naturally occurring microorganisms, as an alternative to antibiotics, have a long history for their safe use and health benefit and are generally regarded for therapeutic, prophylactic and growth-promotion uses in poultry industry. It has been suggested that two primary modes of action by DFMs are balancing gut microbiota and modulating host immunity. Recent findings have suggested that gut microbiota plays an important role in developing immune system and maintaining the homeostasis of mature immune system in mammals and chickens. With the help of molecular and bioinformatics tools, it is now scientifically proven that gut microbiota is diverse, dynamic, and varies according to age, breed, diet composition, environment and feed additives. Broiler chickens are commonly raised on the floor with bedding materials, which facilitates the acquisition of microorganisms present in the bedding materials. Thus, it is expected that environmental factors, including the type of litter, influence host immunity in a positive or negative way. In this regard, adding DFMs into diets of chickens will affect host–microbe interaction, shaping host immunity towards increasing resistance of chickens to enteric diseases.

Plant-Based Diets Containing Ca-Salts of Fatty Acids and Their Influence on Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Health Status of Broiler Chickens

Mala S., I. Slezaakova, E. Strakova, P. Such˘, V. Veaerek: Plant-Based Diets Containing Ca-Salts of Fatty Acids and Their Influence on Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Health Status of Broiler Chickens. Acta Vet. Brno 2004, 73: 321-328. The main goal of the study was to test two plant-based diets designed according to our own procedure and to compare their production efficiency. Furthermore, the effect of both diets on the carcass parameters and chickens’ state of health was evaluated in order to explore the possibility of replacing vegetable oils by Ca-salts of fatty acids. The experiment was carried out with 140 chickens divided into 2 groups each consisting of 70 chickens (35 males and 35 females). As the source of energy specially treated oils - Ca-salts of fatty acids - were used in diet of experimental group while the soy oil was used in control group. The experiment was terminated on the 42nd day of the fattening. The mean live weight of female and male chickens in the experimental group on the 42 nd day was 2.11 kg and 2.20 kg, respectively; the weight of control females and males was 2.18 kg and 2.50 kg, respectively. Significantly lower live weight of males (p ≤ 0.01) was also reflected in the carcass yield 1448.70 g ( p ≤ 0.05), in the weight of skinned thighs 444.01 g (p ≤ 0.01) and thighs without skin 395,68 g ( p ≤ 0.01), and in the weight of upper thighs 204.54 (p ≤ 0.01) and lower thighs 191.14 g (p ≤ 0.05). No significant differences were found in the weight of breast muscles and abdominal fat. Despite the above differences in weights, no conclusive differences between the experimental and control groups of chickens were found in the yield of carcass and the yield of individual parts of carcass. Chickens’ state of health examined on the basis of haematological and biochemical analyses of blood plasma were also evaluated in this study. The results of these analyses showed that either diet had no negative effect on chickens’ metabolism and that both plant-based diets were suitable for the feeding of chickens. It was also found that the substitution of vegetable oils with Ca-salts of fatty acids in a feeding mixture produced no negative effects on the carcass characteristics or health status of chickens. However, the composition of a diet must reflect the difference between the energy values of oils and Ca-salts of fatty acids. Chickens, fattening, carcass yield, haematology, blood biochemistry