Journal of Applied Poultry Research最新文献

A variety of milling conditions can impact the physical quality (pellet durability index (PDI) and feed form (FF) composition) of broiler diets. Likewise, FF composition has been observed to affect broiler prehension and feed consumption patterns. Numerical differences in nutrient composition between pellets and fines have also been reported. Therefore, feeding diets with poor physical quality may lead to variations in nutrient intake among broilers. Reductions in the physical quality of feed could be partially related to frictional die wear. However, no research has indirectly evaluated the effects of die wear (i.e., production time) on the physical quality of finished feed from commercial feed mills. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to quantify the effects of production time, die condition (new or reconditioned), and feed mill on PDI and FF composition of finisher 1 broiler diets from 4 commercial feed mills over a 12-wk production period. Production time (P > 0.05) did not affect dietary PDI and FF composition during each production period. Die condition and feed mill interacted (P < 0.05) to affect FF composition at one feed mill with the new die producing a higher and lower concentration of pellets and crumbles, respectively, than the reconditioned die. However, feed mill (P < 0.05) affected all measures. Thus, the physical quality of broiler diets is not affected by production time but die condition may influence FF composition. However, this effect was feed mill dependent. Overall, feed mill was most responsible for the physical quality of broiler diets.

Nutritional content of egg can be manipulated by altering hen feed. Developing an economical fowl feed supplement to produce omega-3 enriched egg from purified fish oil, produced using a proprietary method, leads to a value-added product. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of feeding an omega-3 enriched fowl feed supplement on the concentration and/or levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and omega-3 content in eggs obtained thereafter. Thirty BV-380 strain hens were divided into 5 groups and fed varying doses of the omega-3 supplement along with their regular feed. Eggs collected over 180 days were analyzed for EPA, DHA, and omega-3 content. Results showed that as the supplement dose increased, so did the EPA, DHA, and omega-3 concentrations in the eggs, with significant differences compared to the control group. Specifically, after 180 days, the EPA, DHA, and omega-3 content in eggs ranged from 11.4 to 28.71 mg/100 g, 116.41 to 206.62 mg/100 g, and 172.03 to 327.78 mg/100 g, respectively, depending on the supplement dose. This research demonstrates the feasibility of enhancing the nutritional value of eggs through dietary manipulation, offering a practical method for producing omega-3 enriched eggs.

The emergence of uncommon Salmonella serotypes with the potential to cause foodborne outbreaks linked to turkeys demands sustainable broad-spectrum preharvest safety approaches. We investigated the effects of 3 preharvest interventions [turkey-origin probiotic, Lactobacillus salivarius UMNPBX2 (LS), dairy-origin probiotic, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. freudenreichii (PF), and a live, attenuated S. Typhimurium vaccine (VC)] against a cluster of 3 emerging commercial turkey-sourced Salmonella serotypes (S. Reading, S. Saintpaul, and S. Agona) in 6-wk-old growing turkeys. Two experiments were conducted. In each experiment, 42, one-day-old turkey poults were randomly distributed into 2 control groups [Negative control (NC) and Positive control (PC) groups], LS group, PF group, VC group, and 2 combinations (LSVC = LS+VC and PFVC = PF+VC) groups with ad libitum access to feed and water. Poults in the probiotic-supplemented groups (LS, PF, LSVC, PFVC) received 10⁵ CFU/mL through drinking water until 6 wk of age. Poults in the vaccination groups (VC, LSVC, PFVC) received the Salmonella vaccine on day 1 and 2 boosters. At week 5, all birds except the NC group were inoculated with 6 log₁₀ CFU/bird Salmonella (3-serotype mixture) by crop gavage. Salmonella was recovered from the cecum, liver, spleen, and crop 7 d after inoculation. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA, and a significant difference was determined at P < 0.05. All treatments significantly reduced Salmonella colonization in the cecum of growing turkeys by 1.4 to 2 log₁₀ CFU/g compared to PC (P < 0.05). Treatments also effectively reduced Salmonella dissemination to the liver and spleen and crop recolonization. No pathological differences between the treatment groups were apparent in histopathology and immunohistochemistry analyses of liver samples. This study indicates the potential of novel preharvest approaches against multiple serotypes of Salmonella colonizing in tandem in commercial growing turkeys.

Adjustments in dietary amino acid density, CP levels, and feed scheduling influence broiler performance, carcass traits, and integrator profitability. Therefore, 2 experiments were conducted to assess the former factors on the live performance and carcass traits of female Ross 708 broilers grown for a high-value bone-in market (36 d processing). Experiment 1 evaluated 4 amino acid densities while Experiment 2 was arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial evaluating dietary CP and feed scheduling. Amino acid density in Experiment 1 had no effect on any performance or processing parameter except feed conversion which was decreased for birds fed the Medium diet. The lack of substantial improvement in live performance resulted in increased feed, live BW, and carcass costs per kg. Neither feed scheduling nor dietary CP had an effect on live performance in Experiment 2. However, feeding low CP diets resulted in increased total breast meat yield, whereas increasing the number of feeding phases decreased total breast meat yield. In conclusion, dietary alterations in amino acid density in female broiler broilers warrants further attention.

Spirulina platensis is an emerging poultry diet source due to its essential nutrition and bioactive ingredients. Spirulina microalgae confers beneficial effects on broiler's growth performance, immune response, and antioxidant activity. We investigated the effect of Spirulina platensis on BCO lameness, one of the most driving factors for economic and animal well-being concerns in the poultry industry. Additionally, supplementation of Availa ZMC containing organic trace minerals – zinc, manganese, and copper – was shown to alleviate lameness by 20 to 25%. We hypothesized that pairing microalgae and organic trace minerals might confer a synergistic effect in reducing BCO. A 2 × 2 factorial study, with microalgae (5% Spirulina platensis and 5% Spirulina platensis plus 0.15% Availa ZMC) and without microalgae (0.15% Availa ZMC and a negative control diet), plus one BCO source group were applied to 1,320 one-day-old chicks with 5 replicates of 60 chicks per treatment for lameness assessment. No significant difference in lameness was observed between the negative control and BCO source group (60.0% vs. 54.5%, P = 0.56). Compared to the negative control, Availa ZMC significantly reduced lameness by 51.2% (60.0% vs. 29.3%, P < 0.001), while microalgae slightly increased lameness by 6.3% (60.0% vs. 63.8%, P = 0.1). Availa ZMC plus microalgae alleviated lameness by 16.7% (50.0% vs. 60.0%, P = 0.005) compared to the negative control, which was statistically lower than microalgae alone and higher than Availa ZMC alone. These findings suggested the inclusion of 5% Spirulina platensis did not reduce BCO lameness, while Availa ZMC significantly alleviated lameness. When combined, there was no significant interaction between Availa ZMC and microalgae in mitigating broiler lameness.

The microbial water quality of poultry water supplies can be correlated to bird health, livability, overall performance, and human food safety. On-farm microbial evaluations were conducted to understand microbial hygiene of poultry waterlines based on water sanitation practices. With on-farm study I, 2 farms were selected: Farm A and Farm B; that did not practice water sanitation consistently during the flock grow-out period. Prevalence tests for specific pathogens- Salmonella, E coli, Campylobacter, Listeria, and Staphylococcus were performed for both farms by collecting swab samples post bird harvest from waterlines and plating in specific growth media. With the on-farm study II, 1 broiler farm with 4 barn units that treated water (Chlorine [Cl]= ∼ 1 ppm) during the flock grow-out period and flushed waterlines between flocks using concentrated chlorine solution (>1,000 ppm) was selected. Swab samples (1 from each barn, n = 4; each sampling occasion) were collected on 3 occasions-before flushing, after flushing, and at the end of the grow-out period (d 42) to understand biofilm growth nature in poultry waterlines. Additionally, a separate in-vitro study was conducted to understand the efficacy of a commonly used poultry drinking water sanitizer product (sodium hypochlorite, 8.25%) against specific foodborne pathogens: Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), E. coli and Listeria. Results from the on-farm study I showed that Farm A and Farm B were positive for Listeria and Staphylococcus, whereas these farms were found negative for other species tested. The findings from on-farm study II showed that biofilm reestablished (>4 log₁₀ cfu/mL) in waterlines by the end of grow-out cycle despite waterline cleaning and consistent water sanitation during flock grow-out period. The in-vitro test showed that the efficacy of chlorine-based water sanitizer at the field application dose rates was affected by pathogen load in water and pathogen types. The overall results from on-farm or in-vitro studies indicated that poultry growers need to emphasize consistent and robust poultry drinking water sanitation practice in their farms to keep the acceptable bacterial levels in poultry water supplies or water systems.

Identifying chick's sex as early and as accurately as possible is a vital task in chicken farming. The prominent methods are feather, color, and vent sexing, in 1-day old chicks, but these tasks require a skilled examiner. Alternatively, gonad inspection is also adopted, but it is more invasive and usually involves anesthetic and surgical procedures. To resolve their shortcomings, in ovo sex determination was recently proposed. Some techniques relied on analyzing biochemical contents (hormone) or spectroscopic patterns (feather pigment) in a developing embryo. The others need to precisely make a small hole on an eggshell, while keeping the inner membrane intact. Furthermore, advanced and costly equipment involved has impeded wider adoption in most smaller farm settings. To address both issues, this paper proposes a noninvasive in ovo sexing technique that focuses on the phenotypic differences. Particularly, chorioallantoic maturation and vascular anastomosis at days 10 and 12 of incubation were characterized and hence discerned between sexes. The appearance of embryologic vasculature was represented by the entropy of its multiband visual features, extracted from a candled egg. These features were then used to identify their sexes by a supervised classifier. The experiments showed that, as early as day 12, the method could predict embryo's sex from its candled image with accuracy, precision, recall, and balanced accuracy of 83.33, 84.62, 73.33, and 81.90%, respectively. Moreover, false discovery and false omission rates, which reflect practical errors, were 15.38 and 17.39%, respectively.

Although several studies have explored the influence of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and exogenous phytase (EP) on growth performance and bone mineralization responses to dietary nonphytate P (nPP) levels in broilers, there remains a gap in meta-analytical research focusing on these factors under Eimeria or necrotic enteritis (NE) infections. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relevant literature to shed light on this issue. We found that regardless of infection status, reducing Ca and nPP levels in broiler diets led to decreased body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and bone ash percentage. Eimeria vaccination reduced BWG and bone ash weight, whereas Eimeria infection severely impacted BWG, FI, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and bone ash weight. However, phytase supplementation increased BWG, bone ash percentage and ash weight. Notably, the efficacy of phytase on bone ash percentage and ash weight were compromised when broilers were infected with Eimeria or necrotic enteritis. Our findings suggest that Ca, nPP, phytase, and infection conditions significantly influence the growth performance and bone mineralization of broilers. The effects of phytase on bone ash weight and ash percentage vary depending on different infection status. Given the complexity of these interrelationships, further research is warranted to deepen our understanding of their combined effects on broiler growth and bone mineralization under Eimeria infections.

The ongoing industry trend towards less intensive management systems is of interest to table egg producers, with antibiotic usage and stocking density being of primary concern. The present trial evaluated the effect of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product and stocking density on hen production performance and egg quality. Eleven white egg layer strains were equally represented in cages at either high (471 cm² per bird, HD) or low (497 cm² per bird, LD) stocking densities. Hens were fed either a control diet (CN) or one supplemented with S. cerevisiae (Original XPC included at 0.68 kg/T, SC) from 17 to 41 wk on a commercially relevant scale (70 replicates for each of the 4 treatments and a total of 5,740 hens). Data were collected every 4 wk and analyzed in a 2 × 2 factorial design, with stocking density and diet being the main effects. Feed intake and egg production were increased in both the LD and SC groups. Improvements in egg size were also noted for SC hens, concurrent with a reduction in cracks, leaks, and vitelline elasticity. The combination of SC-LD resulted in improved hen day production, shorter time to 50% production, and increased percentage of large eggs. Overall, the main effects of SC and LD were associated with improved production performance, with larger egg size also being noted for the SC hens. The combination of SC and LD may benefit producers in achieving both production and egg size performance targets, providing an economic incentive to transition to alternative management systems.

Mushroom cultivation in the United States generates a considerable waste stream of inutile mushroom stumps. Stumps were dried and ground to create the current study's mushroom stump waste (MSW) product. This study aimed to determine the energy and amino acid profile of MSW and the optimal inclusion of MSW in broiler diets based on performance measurables and amino acid digestibility. The TME_n of MSW (1,173 kcal/kg) and proximate analysis results were used to formulate broiler diets containing 0% and 5% MSW which were blended to create experimental diets containing 1, 2, 3, and 4% MSW. Day 21 performance results indicate birds consuming 1% MSW improved LWG by 57.6 g per bird compared to birds fed 5% MSW. Birds fed 0, 2, 3 or 4% MSW were intermediate for LWG (P = 0.024). Broilers provided 1% MSW improved average body weight (BW) compared to those fed 4 or 5% MSW. Birds consuming 0, 2, or 3% were intermediate for BW (P = 0.026). Birds fed 1% MSW improved FCR by 0.105 compared to those fed 5% MSW. Broilers consuming 0, 2, 3 or 4% MSW were intermediate for FCR (P = 0.0002). Neither mortality nor feed intake were affected by MSW inclusion (P > 0.05). Although 16 of the 19 reported AA had reduced AIAAD when MSW was included (P < 0.05), amino acid digestibility coefficients were not affected by MSW inclusion (P > 0.05). These data support MSW inclusion in broiler diets up to 3% without detriment to performance or amino acid digestibility coefficients.