Productive and Economic Performance of Broiler Chickens Subjected to Different Nutritional Plans

Management factors associated with the survival and market weight of broiler chickens among small-scale farmers in the Dodoma City of Tanzania

Broiler chickens have the genetic potential for significant weight gain over a very short period of time. As a result, they account for over 92 % of the world's poultry meat production in different parts of the world. Yet, to fully realise their growth potential, effective management practices are crucial, encompassing aspects like nutritious feeds, disease control, optimal temperature, and adequate housing. The purpose of the study was to determine the management practices associated with the survival and market weight of broiler chickens in small-scale production. Small-scale poultry production plays a significant role in poverty reduction and household nutrition in developing countries. One hundred and forty small-scale broiler farmers were visited for interviews in the Dodoma City. Employing a structured questionnaire, data on management practices was gathered, while past production records determined market weight and survival rates. Most chickens weighed 1.8-2.3 kg at the end of the production cycle, with a mean live weight of 2.0 kg. Heat provision to chick housing in the early growth stages increased both survival and market weight. Conversely, chicken vaccination and the farmer's experiences were correlated with an increased survival rate. Furthermore, higher feed quantities offered to growers and finishers were linked to greater market weight. It was concluded that enhancing knowledge among small-scale farmers through training and extension services has the potential to increase broiler productivity.

Assessment of the inclusion of a feed additive of sodium humate derived from freshwater sapropel in diets for broiler chickens

Background and Aim

Poultry production is the fastest growing livestock industry in the world, as the rapid growth of and efficient absorption of feed by poultry ensure the production of poultry meat with a relatively low carbon footprint. Seeking new ways to increase livestock productivity as well as poultry product quality, the number of research studies on the use of humic substances of various origins in livestock farming has increased significantly, emphasizing the role of feed additives derived from local resources. The unique capability of humic substances to improve metabolic processes allows the immune protection of the bird body to be strengthened and production efficiency to be increased. This study aimed to identify the effects of sodium humate (NaHum) on the growth performance of broiler chickens and selected blood and ileum microbiota parameters.

Materials and Methods

Dietary research was conducted 2 times under production conditions in a poultry facility of a commercial company, with 210 1-day-old, unsorted broiler chickens of both sexes (Ross 308). The broiler chickens were fed with standard commercial feed, the rearing period of 35 days, and slaughtered on day 36. Sodium humate additive was added to drinking water for the research groups of broilers in period from 8th to 35th day of life, 25 mL (Group 1, n = 2 × 35) and 50 mL (Group 2, n = 2 × 35) per liter of drinking water. Sodium humate contained an average of 4.48% dry matter, a kilogram of dry matter containing 104.3 g of crude protein, 3.6 g of crude fiber and 0.9 g of crude fat, 14.3 MJ of metabolic energy, and 5.8 MJ of energy for live weight gain, as well as a very high content of crude ash -759.8 g, including 4.2 g Ca, 4.2 g Na, and 4.81 g Fe, the dry matter digestibility of NaHum was 87.0%, and the absorption capacity of dry matter was 113.2%., the pH level was 13.0, i.e., alkaline. At the end of the dietary research, the productivity and economic efficiency of the research groups of broilers were calculated by live weight gain, carcass weight, feed conversation ratio, and blood and intestinal samples of broilers were analyzed to identify the effects of NaHum on the growth performance and health status of broilers.

Results

Dietary research found that adding 25 mL/L and 50 mL/L of NaHum to drinking water for the broiler chickens increased their live weights at the selling age, average live weight gains by 3.06-3.93%, and carcass weights by 5.07-6.06%, while feed conversion increased in terms of both live weight (1.5 and 1.51) and carcass weight (1.84 and 1.86) compared with the control group. The best economic performance in terms of the economic efficiency index and the cost index (CI) was found in Group 1, which was fed with the NaHum additive at an intake rate of 25 mL/L. The NaHum additive modulated the ileal microbiota and metabolic processes in the broiler body. At the same time, a significant decrease in the levels of total protein, alkaline phosphatase and phosphorus (P) in blood was found in the research groups.

Conclusion

Considering the positive effects of NaHum derived from freshwater sapropel on the productivity and economic efficiency of broiler chickens, the NaHum feed additive should be further investigated on a larger scale to obtain results that could reasonably be used in practice. This study concluded that a decrease in P levels in the blood was observed when NaHum was added to the drinking water; therefore, it is important to continue the research to draw reasonable conclusions on the effects of NaHum in liquid form on the health performance of farm animals.

The effect of dietary supplementation of mucuna leaf meal on the growth performance, blood parameters, and carcass quality of broiler

Three hundred 1-day old broiler chickens were used to assess the effects of Mucuna leaf meal (MLM) dietary supplementation on the performance, haemato-biochemical indices, oxidative status and meat of broiler chickens. Five experimental supplemented diets were formulated: diets: 1 (0% supplement), 2 (1.1 % OXYT), 3 (0.5% MLM), 4 (1.0 % MLM) and 5 (1.5% MLM). The final weight gain of the birds fed diets 2 and 5 was higher (p < 0.05) than those birds fed the control and other diets. The relative weights of the lung were affected (p < 0.05) by dietary supplementation. Serum cholesterol concentration reduces (p < 0.05) with increased dietary MLM supplementation levels from 1.0% to 1.5%. Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels increased (p < 0.05) in the broiler chickens fed a 1.5% MLM supplemented diet, compared to those fed the control and other diets. Meat cholesterol of the chickens fed 1.0%, and 1.5% MLM supplemented diets were lower (p < 0.05) than the experimental birds fed the rest diets. In conclusion, the 1.5 % MLM dietary supplementation improves body weight gain, reduces the serum cholesterol concentration, increases the serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities of the chickens and reduced the meat cholesterol.

Effect of supplemental glycerol monolaurate and oregano essential oil blend on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, and amino acid digestibility of broiler chickens

Background

This experiment tested the impact of the combined supplementation of glycerol monolaurate (GLM) and oregano essential oil (EO) to broiler diets. Growth performance, metabolic response, immune status, apparent ileal digestibility coefficient (AID%), and intestinal histomorphology were assessed. Three-day-old Ross-308 broilers (76.62 g ± 0.50, n = 240) were randomly allocated into 4 experimental groups (6 replicates/group and 10 chicks/replicate). Birds were fed corn-soybean meal basal diets supplemented with four levels of GLM and oregano EO blend: 0, 0.15, 0.45, and 0.75% for 35 days.

Results

During the starter period, dietary GLM and oregano EO did not show significant (P > 0.05) changes in growth performance. During the grower period, GLM and oregano EO supplemented groups showed a linear and quadratic decline in FCR. During the finisher and overall performance, a linear increase in the body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), the protein efficiency ratio (PER), and relative growth rate (RGR), and a linear decrease in the FCR at 0.75% dietary level of GLM and oregano EO compared to the control. The broken-line regression model showed that the optimum dietary level of GLM and oregano EO blend was 0.58% based on final BW and FCR. The 0.45% or 0.15% dietary level of supplemented additives lowered (P < 0.05) the AID% of threonine and arginine, respectively, with no change in the AID% of other assessed amino acids at all dietary levels. Muscle thickness in jejunum and ileum in all dietary supplemented groups was increased (P < 0.05); however, such increase (P < 0.05) in the duodenum was shown at 0.45 and 0.75% dietary levels. All GLM and oregano EO supplemented groups showed increased (P < 0.05) duodenal, jejunal, and ileal villus height. The 0.15 and/or 0.75% dietary levels of supplemented additives increased (P < 0.05) the ileal and duodenal crypt depth, respectively, with a decreased (P < 0.05) duodenal crypt depth at 0.15% dietary level. The goblet cell count in ileum decreased (P < 0.05) in all GLM and oregano EO supplemented groups, but this decreased count (P < 0.05) was detected in jejunum at 0.45 and 0.75% dietary levels. The GLM and oregano EO supplemented groups did not show significant (P > 0.05) changes in the assessed metabolic and immune status parameters. Economically, the total return and performance index was increased at 0.75% dietary level.

Conclusion

Better growth performance was achieved at a 0.75 % dietary level of GLM and oregano EO by improving most intestinal morphometric measures. The optimum dietary level detected was 0.58%. The lack of influence of supplemented additives on chickens' immune and metabolic responses could indicate a lack of synergy between GLM and oregano EO.

A study on citric acid by-product as an energy source for Japanese quail

The increasing worldwide production of citric acid by the fermentation of substrates for use as a flavoring and a preservative in foods has resulted in the generation of large amounts of waste and by-products from fermented. There is a challenge to reduce the waste from these products by using them as animal feed. An experiment was conducted to study the utilization of citric acid by-products (CABP) as a feed ingredient in Japanese quail diets. A total of 560 1-day-old quail chicks were randomly distributed into five groups, with CABP included at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12% of the diets. Each treatment had four replicate pens of 28 birds per pen throughout the 42-day trial period. CABP inclusion at 9 or 12% of the diet, respectively, resulted in a decrease in feed intake of 5.90 and 9.52%, body weight of 5.67 and 9.16%, and body weight gain of 5.44 and 9.97%, compared with the control diet (p < 0.05). Carcass traits and relative organ weights were not significantly different among the treatments (p > 0.05). The 12% CABP group showed a decrease in the digestibility of crude protein and apparent metabolizable energy, but there was an increase in the amount of crude fiber compared with the control diet (p < 0.05). The utilization of CABP in diets can reduce feed costs leading to increased investment returns. In conclusion, CABP can be included at up to 6% of quail diets without significant effects on growth performance or nutrient digestibility.

Highly effective dietary inclusion of laurel (Laurus nobilis) leaves on productive traits of broiler chickens

Laurel leaves characterized with interesting antioxidant effects, which have often used to improve the immunity with positive consequences on growth and performance This study was conducted to assess the effect of adding crushed laurel leaves to the diet on the productive traits of broiler chickens. A total of 180 broiler chickens, were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, with a rate of 45 birds per treatment; each treatment consisted of three replicates. The first treatment, or control, was generated without adding laurel leaves to the diet, second, third, and fourth treatments were generated by adding laurel leaves with amounts of 1, 2, and 3 g kg-1 feed, respectively. Nine productive traits were evaluated in this study, including the average of live body weight, weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, percentage of mortality, productive index, length of the villus, depth of crypts, and villus length/crypts length ratio. Results indicated that the addition of laurel leaves led to a significant improvement in all productive traits, signifying highly essential participation of laurel leaves to enhance growth and performance. In conclusion, it can be stated that adding 3 g kg-1 of crushed laurel leaves to the diet can improve the productive traits of broiler chickens.