Effects of whole-grain paddy rice replacement with or without enzyme addition on broiler performance and intestinal morphology

Effects of dietary paddy rice on growth performance, carcass traits, bare skin color, and nutrient digestibility in geese

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary paddy rice on growth performance, carcass traits, bare skin color, and nutrient digestibility in geese. A total of 300 twenty-eight-day-old male goslings were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups with 6 pens containing 10 goslings each. The geese were raised for 42 d on feed with 0% (control), 13, 26, 39, or 52% dietary paddy rice inclusion. Body weight and feed intake per pen were recorded from the arrival of goslings to the end of the trial. On d 70, two goslings were selected from each pen, one of which was used to measure slaughter performance, meat quality, meat proximate composition, and bare skin color, and one was used to determine nutrient utilization. The results showed that goslings fed a diet containing 26, 39, and 52% paddy rice had a higher final body weight, average daily feed intake, and average daily gain than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The abdominal fat yield in dietary paddy rice groups was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). There were no effects on the moisture, protein, and fat contents of breast and thigh muscle among the five treatments (P > 0.05). Compared to the control group, the breast muscle of geese fed the paddy rice had a lower L* value and a higher a* value (P < 0.05). Dietary paddy rice decreased the bill score of geese (P < 0.05). Geese in the paddy rice groups exhibited higher total starch digestibility than geese in the control group (P < 0.05). The digestibility of energy, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, NDF, and ADF did not differ between groups (P > 0.05). In conclusion, paddy rice is an excellent energy source in geese diets and could improve the growth performance, breast muscle color, and utilization of total starch but increase the abdominal fat yield and decrease the bill color of geese.

Bark charcoal powder containing wood vinegar liquid can shorten the time to shipping of broilers raised in tropical areas by activating performance and intestinal function

The effect of dietary bark charcoal containing vinegar liquid (BCV) on the growth performance, carcass and visceral organs, intestinal histology, fecal ammonia nitrogen, and nutrient digestibility were investigated in a total of 350 one-day-old unsexed Ross 308 broilers raised under a high environmental temperature (heat stress) from 0 to 42 d of age. They were divided into 0% (control group), 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4% dietary BCV groups. Compared with the control group, the body weight gain (BWG) of the 1% dietary BCV group at 21–42 d of age and the feed efficiency of the 2% dietary BCV group at 0–42 d of age increased (P < 0.05). The carcasses of the 1% and 3% dietary BCV groups significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The digestibility of dry matter and gross energy of the 4% dietary BCV group improved at 21 d (P < 0.05). The duodenum of the 3% and 4% dietary BCV groups was significantly heavier than those in the control groups (P < 0.05). This result suggests that BCV can shorten the time to shipping date for broilers to before 42 d of age and can contribute to the development of poultry production in tropical regions.

Ingestion of paddy rice increases intestinal mucin secretion and goblet cell number and prevents dextran sodium sulfate-induced intestinal barrier defect in chickens

Paddy rice is a potential feed grain for chickens, whose strong gizzards can crush the hull. Here, we investigated whether paddy rice rich in hull-derived water-insoluble dietary fiber stimulates intestinal mucin secretion and production, as well as the possible involvement of paddy rice in intestinal barrier function. Layer male chicks at 7 d of age were divided into four groups according to the diet: corn, polished rice, brown rice, or paddy rice (650 g/kg diet), which they ate for 14 consecutive days. At 21 d of age, the birds were refed their experimental diets, and small intestinal mucin fractions were collected to determine intestinal mucin content. Small intestinal mucin secretion was induced most strongly in the paddy rice group (Experiment 1). The rank order of diet-induced mucin secretion was paddy rice > corn = brown rice > polished rice. Ileal MUC2 gene expression and ileal number of goblet cells were highest in the paddy rice group (Experiment 1). A study of bromodeoxy-U uptake into ileal epithelial cells indicated the increase in goblet cells in the paddy rice group was related to accelerate epithelial cell migration (Experiment 2). A single supplementation of isolated rice hulls without kernels increased MUC2 gene expression and goblet cell numbers (Experiment 3), suggesting the importance of the hull's bulk-forming capacity on mucin production. Finally, chicks fed corn or paddy rice were orally administered dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to disrupt intestinal barrier function. In the DSS-treated birds, the intestinal permeability of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran in the everted gut sacs was much lower in the paddy rice group than in the corn group (Experiment 4), showing that paddy rice protects against mucosal disruption. In conclusion, ingestion of paddy rice increases intestinal mucin secretion and production through enhanced MUC2 gene expression and epithelial turnover and prevents DSS-induced intestinal barrier defects in chickens.