Journal of World's Poultry Research

01-07

Authors: Setta A, Salem HM, Elhady M, El-Hussieny A and Arafa AS.

Infectious Bronchitis is one of the major viral diseases affecting poultry causing severe economic losses. The prevalence of Infectious Bronchitis viruses was studied in commercial chicken farms in Egypt between 2014 and 2016. A total of 1722 organ samples (trachea, kidney, caecal tonsils and lungs) were collected from 246 problematic flocks, showing respiratory signs and considerable mortalities, from 13 governorates throughout the examination period and were then subjected to molecular analysis using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Data from this study have shown a high prevalence (75.6%) of Infectious Bronchitis virus in Egyptian farms. Infections mixed with other respiratory viruses were frequently observed, including very virulent Newcastle disease, Low pathogenic avian influenza, H9N2 and High pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 with 27.9%, 25.7% and 17.1%, respectively with higher detection percentages observed in the winter season. Phylogenetic analysis of 19 selected positive Infectious Bronchitis virus has revealed Infectious Bronchitis virus genotypes closely related to variant II strains Eg/12120S/2012, IS/885, IS/1494, with 4 isolates was clustered in a new group. In conclusion, the present study provides further updates on the circulation and co-circulation of Infectious Bronchitis virus in commercial Egyptian flocks. The continuous existence of field variant Infectious Bronchitis virus in commercial chicken's farms in Egypt emphasizes the need for regular monitoring of Infectious Bronchitis with updating the control and vaccination strategies.

18-24

Authors: Keambou TC, Vukiesu TC, Toukala JP, Tedongmo AMY, Soares RJ, Lisita F, Hako TBA , Kana JR, Defang FH and Ndamunkong KN

The continuous rising price of maize due to an increasing competition between humans and livestock requires palliative measures to sustain animal production. cassava-sweet potato meal combination can be used as a substitute for maize in feeding chicken. This study aimed at improving poultry productivity through the enhancement of the reproductive performances of Cameroon Kabir chickens fed pelleted diets of graded levels inclusion of cassava-sweet potato meal as an energy substitute for maize.315 Kabir chickens (270 hens and 45 rosters) of 23 weeks of age, were randomly allocated to five treatments T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 with graded levels of cassava-sweet potato meal as energy substitute for maize, and eggs were collected for the evaluation of laying performances and characteristics. Fertility and hatchability were also evaluated across four successive batches of incubations. The eggs’ weight was significantly (P < 0.05) different between treatments at weeks 2, 4, 5 and 12, highly significant (P < 0.01) at week 9, and very highly significant (P < 0.001) at week 6, 7, 8 and 10. The highest number of eggs laid, egg weight and mass were recorded in chicken receiving 25% (T2) replacement of maize with cassava and sweet potato meal, followed by T4 (75%), T5 (100%), T3 (50%) while T1, receiving control diet without cassava and sweet potato meal performed less for all the parameters. Generally, the trend of the feed conversion ratio was decreasing with increasing the inclusion level of cassava and sweet potato meal. The egg index showed significant differences in weeks 6 and 12, while week 2 showed high significant difference between the treatments. T2 (25%) recorded the highest fertility, while animals receiving control ration without maize substitution recorded the highest hatchability. In general, incorporation of 25% of fifty-fifty percent weight to weight of cassava and sweet potato meal can be recommended for reproduction in chicken without affecting neither the hatchability nor the physical characteristics of the eggs, though hatchability will require better attention.

154-158

Authors: Jabbar A and Allah Ditta Y.

A chicken with high quality resulted from a clean egg, not broken, and not containing cracks. This experiment was performed with the goal to evaluate the effect of contaminated eggs on hatchability, egg water loss, chick weight, chick yield, DIS, A grade and B grade chicks. Eggs (Cobb 300, Ross 308, Hubbard classic n=8616960) from six different farms were collected and divided into two groups. Group A containing good quality eggs and group B contaminated eggs or floor eggs. Each farm participated (n=1436160) eggs for sixteen replicates. Candling was significantly better (P < 0.001) in all flocks of group A as compared to B regardless of the age and breed of broiler eggs. The eggs from group B presented significantly less water loss as compared to group A. Chick yield was significantly better for group A than group B. Similarly, Chick weight, quantity of A grade chicks was significantly better for group A than group B. In short floor or contaminated eggs negatively affects the hatchery parameters and becomes a source of contamination for chicks in the hatchery and farms.

94-103

Authors: Saeed M, Ahmad F, Asif Arain M, Abd El-Hack M-E, Emam M and Ahmed Bhutto Z

The European Union banned using all prophylactic antibiotics as growth promoters in poultry nutrition. As a result, the poultry nutritionist is now forced to look for growth promoting antibiotic alternatives, or at least considerably demote the amount of antibiotics used to sustain efficient broiler meat production and to be able to produce safe poultry egg and meat products. The Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), is a type of probiotics originated from the yeast cell wall (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has gained more prominent attention, mainly due to its ability to bind the threadlike fimbriae on pathogenic bacteria preventing them from attaching to the gut wall, thereby averting their stabilization and the resulting colonization and multiplication, up to the disease level, so it had been showed to be a most capable solution for antibiotic-free diets, as well as furnishing effective support for digestion and immunity in poultry. Several investigations confirmed that using MOS as a feed supplement in poultry diets allowed birds to achieve a similar trend as when they were fed a diet enriched with antibiotic growth promoters. In addition, MOS has also shown to have a positive affection on bodyweight gain, feed conversion ratio, egg weight, egg production, fertility, and hatchability thus ameliorating well-being, energy levels and performance of avian species. Furthermore, it is also thought that it plays a role as an antioxidant, helping with mineral retention, improving bone mineralization and subsequently the overall improvement the performance of poultry birds. This review article has aimed to illuminate its sources, mode of action and beneficial applications of MOS in poultry diet for improving, production, immunity, safeguarding health among consumers and it ought to be used as a natural growth promoter on a commercial level in order to replace synthetic antibiotics in the poultry industry.

114-122

Authors: Parveen A, Khan SH, Khawaja T, Iftikhar N and Khan S.

A total of 2000 un-sexed day-old-chicks of each Desi, Fayoumi and Rhode Island Red (RIR) breeds were reared and maintained on deep litter system for a period of 20 weeks. In floor pens, each breed was reared separately in a single pen until 7 weeks of age when the 2000 birds had been randomly distributed between pens, with 21 to 24 birds of the same breed per pen (2.00 to 2.50 ft2/bird). The results had revealed that the average day old weight was the highest in RIR, intermediate in Desi and lowest in Fayoumi. The RIR breed had consumed more feed and therefore, gained the highest weight gain than as compared to those of Desi and Fayoumi breeds at all ages of growing phase. The feed conversion was best in RIR and lowest in Desi breed. Desi and Fayoumi chicks had a lower mortality than the RIR breed chicks. The meat composition was found to be insignificant amongst the three breeds. There was no significant difference in blood glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, calcium, protein, uric acid and alkaline phosphatase values amongst the three breeds. There was also no significant difference in hematological values among all breeds. The total erythrocyte count, hemoglobin and packed cell volume increased with the advancement of age. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that overall, RIR chickens had performed better than Fayoumi and Desi chickens. However, a lower mortality rate had been observed in Desi chickens.

129-133

Authors: Abbass W, Jabbar A, Riaz A, Akram M and Allah Ditta Y.

The low fertility of local chicken breeds is a major issue in backyard poultry system. The fertility rate varies among different males due to their difference in semen quality. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of plumage color and body weight on the semen quality of Naked Neck chicken. The Naked Neck males (n=18) vary in three plumage colors (black=6, brown=6, white=6) and each color contains two body weight sub groups (heavy= >1600gm n=3 and light= 1600 gm) contained significantly more semen volume (0.21±0.02 ml) and sperm concentration (1.88±0.06×109 ml) than the lightweight group (light = < 1600 gm). So, black plumage color roosters of can be use to enhance fertility rate of naked neck chickens.

145-153

Authors: Ibrahim HM, Abd El-Aziz WR, El Sawy H, Sayed RH and Mohammed GM

In the present study, efficacy of two prepared combined vaccines against salmonellosis and infectious coryza in poultry has been studied. Two vaccines were prepared using Salmonella Typhimurium and Enteritidis combined with Avibacterium paragallinarum serovars A, B, and C. one vaccine was adjuvanated with aluminium hydroxide gel and the other adjuvanated with montanide ISA71. The two vaccines were assayed in six weeks old Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) white Lohman layer chickens by injecting two doses of each vaccine 3 weeks apart. These chickens were challenged with either Salmonella virulent strains or Avibacterium paragallinarum different serovars 3 weeks post second dose. Antibody titers in sera of chickens against different antigens were higher in groups vaccinated with montanide oil vaccine than those vaccinated with aluminium hydroxide gel vaccine as detected by different serological tests; ELISA, micro-agglutination test and haem-agglutination inhibition test. Protection rate against challenge test were 80% and 85% for Salmonella and (80%; 90%, and 70%) and (90%; 100%, and 90%) to Avibacterium paragallinarum serovars A, B, and C respectively for combined vaccine adjuvanated by aluminum hydroxide gel and montanide ISA71. The protection rate was 15% against Salmonella Typhimurium and Enteritidis and 0% against infectious coryza among the unvaccinated chicken group.it could be concluded that producing a vaccine from locally isolated Salmonella and Avibacterium (Haemophilus) paragallinarum strains adjuvanated with montanide ISA71 is recommended to aid in controlling avian salmonellosis and Infectious coryza at the same time.

35-47

Authors: Lee SA, Wiseman J, O’Neill HVM, Scholey DV, Burton EJ and Hill SE.

The objective of the current study was to investigate the mechanisms of xylanase action in a maize-soya diet and its effect on starch digestion. A total of 60 broilers were divided into 6 treatment groups; a control group without xylanase, and five other groups supplemented with xylanase (Econase XT 25; 100 g/t) from 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 weeks before slaughter. At the end of the experiment, digesta was collected from the gizzard, upper and lower small intestine, and both caeca. Digesta pH ranged from pH 2.2-4.4, 5.9-6.6, 6.7-7.8 and 5.7-7.3 in the gizzard, upper small intestine, lower small intestine, and both caeca, respectively, with no effect of xylanase (P > 0.05). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images along with total starch measurements showed the progression of starch digestion through the tract. The SEM did not show any greater disruption to cell wall material with xylanase supplementation. This suggests that xylanase was not working directly on the cell wall and provides evidence for the hypothesis that xylanase works through an indirect mechanism. Peptide YY (PYY) concentration in the blood was higher during the first few weeks of supplementation, with longer periods of supplementation nulling this effect, implying that xylanase may be acting through a prebiotic mechanism. The RT-q PCR results revealed a numerical increase in glucose transporter (GLUT2 and SGLT1) expression at 2 and 3 weeks of xylanase supplementation, respectively, which might suggest a greater absorption capacity of birds. From these results, a potential mechanism of xylanase action in maize-based diets has been proposed.

57-71

Authors: Youssef IMI, Mostafa AS and Abdel-Wahab MA

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of probiotics and organic acids, as alternative feed additives to antibiotics, on productive performance of broilers. Two different types of probiotics varying in the microbial content were tested and organic acids blend was compared against a single organic acid (lactic acid). One hundred and ninety eight broiler chicks were randomly allocated into six treatments, each with 33 chicks. Every treatment consisted of 3 replicates with 11 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments were a control diet without any feed additives or the same control diet supplemented either with a commercial antibiotic (Maxus®G200), probiotics (Bactocell® or Biopellet-S®) or acidifiers (Salmo-Nil Dry® or lactic acid). The antibiotic was added to the diet at the rate of 0.005%, whereas the probiotics were used at 0.01%. The product Salmo-Nil Dry® was provided to the diet at a level of 0.4%, whereas the lactic acid was used at 0.20 %. It was found that the antibiotic, probiotics and lactic acid increased the body weight. All dietary supplements improved the FCR compared to the control. The additives reduced the serum cholesterol level and the pH of small intestine but did not affect the carcass yield, breast or organ weights. The feed supplements showed a numerical decrease in intestinal aerobes, fecal coliforms and E. coli counts. In addition, all additives significantly reduced total aerobic and staphylococcus counts in the carcass meat, with a numerical decrease in E. coli count. In conclusions, probiotics and acidifiers can be used as potential alternatives to antibiotics in broiler diets. No difference between the used types of probiotics was detected. Lactic acid alone seems to produce better performance results than the organic acid mixture. The effect of lactic acid produced by bacteria might be similar to that of the chemical one.

79-87

Authors: B Ngouana Tadjong R, Kana JR, Tsafack Necdem B, Yemdjie Mane DD, Mube Kuietche H, Kuiede S, Teguia A and Meimandipour A.

This study was designed to mitigate the volatile and oxidative ability of essential oils (EOs) in poultry feed using natural plant charcoal. The dietary treatments consisted of supplementing control diet (R0) with 0.01% of the mixture (1/1) of thyme and oregano EOs (RTh+or), 0.2% of Canarium charcoal without EO (R0C), 0.2% charcoal respectively enriched with 0.01% of thyme EO (R0C+Th), oregano EO (R0C+Or) and the mixture of EOs (R0C+Th+Or). Results revealed a non-significant increase in weight gain for about 5 and 6%, respectively with the mixture of the EOs without charcoal and charcoal enriched with the mixture of the EOs compared to the control (R0). The carcass yield was higher with oregano EO and the mixture of EOs compared to the other treatments. Intestinal density was lower (P < 0.05) with the mixture of the EOs compared to thyme EO alone and the control ration. Charcoal containing EOs significantly increased (P < 0.05) total protein in serum content, triglycerides, albumin, globulin and decreased serum content in creatinin, ASAT, ALAT and cholesterol. Hematological parameters were not significantly affected by the treatments. The blend of EOs associated or not to charcoal increased lactic acid bacteria count in both the ileum and the cæcum as compared to E. coli and salmonella. It was concluded that Canarium charcoal can be used to stabilize EOs in the feed for gut microbiota modulation and better growth performances of broiler chickens.

01-07

Authors: Pirgozliev V.R., Bedford M.R., Rose S.P., Whiting I.M., Oluwatosin, O.O. Oso A.O., Oke F.O., Ivanova S.G., Staykova G.P.

A total of 80 male Ross 308 broiler chickens were used in this study to quantify the response and inter-relationship of bird growth performance, dietary nitrogen corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn), and nutrient digestibility as a result of feeding graded levels of supplementary myo-inositol (MYO) with and without exogenous phytase (PHY). Supplementation of diet that was formulated to be insufficient in available Phosphorus (P) with graded levels of MYO improved daily weigh gain (WG) and AMEn intake (P < 0.05; quadratic) and linearly reduced (P < 0.05) the concentration and the secretion of sialic acid (SA) in excreta. Supplementation with PHY improved (P < 0.05) dietary dry matter (DMD) and nitrogen (ND) digestibility coefficients. Dietary phosphorus digestibility (PD) increased with PHY addition as expected but the effect was much more pronounced in the low MYO group compared with high MYO diets as described by the interaction (P < 0.05). The interaction showed that increasing MYO content had no effect in the absence of PHY but it depressed P digestibility in the diets containing PHY. It can be concluded that dietary MYO improves bird growth and possibly intestinal health of broiler chickens. Dietary supplementation with either MYO or PHY may improve growth of chickens although these effects may not always be additive.

15-22

Authors: Mukhtar N, Mehmood R, Hassan Khan S, Mehmood Ashrif N and Waseem Mirza M.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of cholesterol lowering effect of Psyllium husk in egg yolk cholesterol through dietary supplementation in white Leghorn layers. A total of 180 commercial layer hens were randomly divided into four equal groups of 45 birds each to be allocated to four dietary regimes, consist of 0, 5, 10 and 20 g of Psyllium per kg diet, each group was subdivided into three replicate containing 15 layers per replicate. Dietary treatments had a non-significant effect on weight gain, egg production, feed intake and mortality. There was a positive impact of dietary Psyllium levels on egg mass and shell thickness, however, haugh unit and egg shape index deteriorated with higher dietary inclusion of Psyllium. Cholesterol levels in yolk and blood reduced significantly (P < 0.05) with an increasing level of dietary Psyllium. The results from present study suggested that dietary inclusion of Psyllium can be an effective tool for the reduction of blood and egg yolk cholesterol levels.

27-34

Authors: Kana JR, Mube KH, Ngouana Tadjong R, Tsafong F, Komguep R, Yangoue A and Teguia A.

There is a growing interest in plant feed additives as a consequence of the antibiotics growth promoters restriction in livestock farming all over the world. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of Dichrostachys glomerata fruit powder on the growth performances of broiler chickens. A group of chickens fed on a basal diet without any supplementation (negative control R0-) was compared to three other groups fed on diets supplemented by 0.1% of antibiotic (positive control R0+), 0.2% (R0.2) and 0.4% (R0.4) D. glomerata fruit powder respectively. The results revealed a significant decrease in feed intake as compared to the negative and the positive control. The lowest Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) was recorded with diet supplemented with antibiotic and 0.2% D. glomerata. The Body Weight (BW) and the Body Weight Gain (BWG) of chickens fed on diets supplemented with D. glomerata had an upward trend as compared to negative control diet. Apart from the relative weight of the head which tended to increase in coordination with increasing levels of D. glomerata in feed, this phytobiotic had no significant effect (P>0.05) on carcass characteristics. The increasing level of this phytobiotic tended to decrease serum content of creatinine as compared to the negative and positive control diets. The serum content in ASpartate AminoTransferase (ASAT) tended to increase with the increasing levels of this phytobiotic mean while no significant effect (P>0.05) was recorded on the serum contents of urea, total proteins and ALanine AminoTransferase (ALAT). In conclusion, 0.2% of D. glomerata fruit powder can be used to replace antibiotic, for a better growth performances and to produce antibiotics residues free chicken meat.