Effect of free-choice feeding on the performance and ileal digestibility of nutrients in broilers

Expression of nutrient transporter genes in response to dietary rice gluten meal and protease enzyme supplementation and the consequent effects on growth, nutrient digestibility, immunity and jejunum histomorphometry in chicken

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of feeding rice gluten meal (RGM) as an alternative protein source along with protease enzyme supplementation on growth performance, expression of nutrient transporter genes, nutrient digestibility, immune response and gut histomorphometry of broiler chicken. Proximate analysis of RGM revealed 923 g dry matter (DM), 500 g crude protein (CP), 69.2 g ether extract, 94.7 g crude fiber, 215.4 g nitrogen-free extract, 43.7 g ash, 6.20 g calcium, 7.80 g total phosphorus, 18.99 MJ gross energy and 12.68 MJ metabolizable energy per kg diet. Significant upregulation of nutrient transporter genes (PepT1, EAAT3 and mucin) and better growth performance was observed in the birds fed control diet which was statistically similar to the birds fed 150 g RGM compared to birds fed higher RGM levels. Histomorphometry of jejunum, nutrient digestibility, and immune response of birds did not reveal any significant effect of RGM or protease enzyme supplementation. However, the inclusion of RGM up to 150 g/kg diet resulted in significant decline of feed cost/kg live weight gain, dressed meat yield and eviscerated meat yield by 13.13%, 12.99% and 13.36%, respectively compared to control. Thus, it was concluded that the inclusion of 150 g RGM/kg diet in broiler chicken ration has no adverse effects on the growth pattern of birds and can be used for least-cost feed formulation for chicken.

Cafeteria-Type Feeding of Chickens Indicates a Preference for Insect (Tenebrio molitor) Larvae Meal

This study aimed to determine whether broiler chickens display a preference for Tenebrio molitor larvae (TM) meal by evaluating ingredient acceptability and birds' performance. Sixty 14-day-old male chickens were assigned into two treatment groups (5 birds/pen, n = 6) in a cafeteria-type study: the control (C) group, and the TM group. Each pen was equipped with one bell drinker and four through feeders allocated side by side; all feeders of the C group contained a complete standard diet whereas each feeder of the TM group contained one of the following ingredients: ground corn, extruded semi-whole soybean, vitamin-mineral supplement mixture, and TM meal. Feed intake was recorded daily and growth was monitored periodically up to day 32. Chickens which had access to individual feed components showed a delay to display preference for TM, but consumed, overall, up to 50% of the total intake as TM meal. Feed intake and growth performance were lower in all periods for TM group (p < 0.02), whereas feed conversion ratio was improved on days 22-28 and days 29-32 of age (p < 0.01). Data from bivariate and multidimensional analysis indicate that birds started to reach a balance of ingredient intake at 25 days of age, showing a high correlation between consumption of each ingredient and the day of the experiment. Chickens exhibited a preference for T. molitor meal, resulting in improved feed efficiency, which allows us to conclude that it can be a suitable feed alternative for poultry.

Effect of production phase on growth, enzyme activities and feed selection of broilers raised on vegetable protein diet

This study consisted of two experiments, conducted to assess the impact of phase at which vegetable protein (VP) diets are introduced to broiler chicks, and preference of birds for diets based on soybean or canola meal (CM). Two hundred and ten day-old Cobb 500 chicks were randomly distributed into five dietary groups in the main experiment. One group was fed on animal protein (AP) diet all through to 21 days of age; two other groups were started on AP diet for 7 days and then switched to diets containing soybean meal (AP-SBM) or AP-CM, while two other diets (SBM-AP and CM-AP) were started on one of the VP diets for 7 days and then switched to AP diet. A sub-experiment on thirty birds raised on a commercial diet to 7 days was used in a feed selection test to quantify the preference of birds for the diets containing mainly CM or SBM. Chicks were reared under similar care and management conditions and the diets were iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. Results of the main experiment showed that chicks on CM-AP diet ate more (p<0.05) than those on the other diets up to day 7. Body weight gain was highest (p<0.001) on the AP-SBM diet while birds on the CM-AP diet weighed the least at 7 d. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, mortality, bone growth, visceral organ development, and activities of digestive enzymes were similar between the groups from hatch to 21 days of age. Results of the second sub-experiment showed that chicks preferred the CM-based diets to the SBM-based diets at 8 to 14 d (p<0.001) and 15 to 21 d (p<0.01) when given a choice. Overall, the birds were not affected by the nature of the starter diet although they tended to prefer the canola to soybean diets.

Dietary protein quality and feed restriction influence abundance of nutrient transporter mRNA in the small intestine of broiler chicks

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary protein quality on intestinal peptide transporter (PepT1), amino acid transporter [Na+-independent cationic and zwitterionic amino acid transporter (b(o,+)AT), excitatory amino acid transporter 3 (EAAT3), Na+-independent cationic and Na+-dependent neutral amino acid transporter (y+ LAT2), and Na+-independent cationic amino acid transporter 2 (CAT2)], glucose transporter [Na+-dependent glucose and galactose transporter 1 (SGLT1) and Na+-independent glucose, galactose, and fructose transporter 2 (GLUT2)], and digestive enzyme [aminopeptidase N (APN)] mRNA abundance in 2 lines of broilers (A and B). At day of hatch (doh), chicks from both lines were randomly assigned to corn-based diets containing 24% crude protein with either soybean meal (SBM) or corn gluten meal (CGM) as the supplemental protein source. Chicks were given unlimited access to feed and water. Groups of chicks from both lines were also assigned to the SBM diet at a quantity restricted to that consumed by the CGM group (SBM-RT). Intestinal transporter and enzyme mRNA abundance was assayed by real-time PCR using the absolute quantification method. Abundance of PepT1, EAAT3, and GLUT2 mRNA was greater in Line B (P < 0.03), whereas APN and SGLT1 were greater in Line A (P < 0.04). When feed intake was equal (CGM vs. restricted SBM), a greater abundance of PepT1 and b(o,+)AT mRNA was associated with the higher quality SBM (P < 0.04), whereas a greater abundance of EAAT3 and GLUT2 mRNA was associated with the lower quality CGM (P < 0.01). When feed intake was restricted (SBM vs. SBM-RT), a greater abundance of PepT1 mRNA was associated with the restricted intake (P < 0.04). These data demonstrate that both dietary protein quality and feed restriction influence expression of nutrient transporter mRNA in the small intestine of broiler chicks.