Low dietary oyster mushroom spent substrate limitedly ameliorates detrimental effects of feeding combined marula seed cake and mucuna seed meal as soya bean replacements in broiler chickens

This study investigated ameliorative effects of dietary oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) spent substrate (OMSS) in broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with combined marula seed cake (MSC) and mucuna seed meal (MSM) replacing soya bean meal (SBM). In a completely randomised design (CRD), 400 day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly allocated to 5 iso-nitrogenous-energetic diets (control with 100% SBM, control with 60% MSC and 40% MSM replacing SBM (MSC + MSM), MSC + MSM with 1.25% OMSS, MSC + MSM with 2.5% OMSS, and MSC + MSM with 5% OMSS) each with 8 replicate pens of 10 during starter, grower and finisher phases. Dietary MSC + MSM decreased (P < 0.001) feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE); slaughter weight, hot carcass weight (HCW), cold carcass weight (CCW), breast weight, and back lengths (P < 0.001); serum SDMA and alanine transaminase (P < 0.05). In contrast, it increased the weights of the thigh (P < 0.001), wing (P < 0.01), liver (P < 0.001), proventriculus (P < 0.001), gizzard (P < 0.001), duodenum (P < 0.001), jejunum (P < 0.001), ileum (P < 0.001), and caecum (P < 0.01) and serum alkaline phosphatase (P < 0.05) and cholesterol (P < 0.01). Further, it increased meat redness and decreased its hue angle at 45 min post-slaughter (P < 0.01) whilst it decreased its pH (P < 0.01) and increased its shear force (P < 0.05) at 24 h post-slaughter. Compared to higher levels, low (1.25%) dietary OMSS improved, though limitedly, FI, BWG, and FCE at grower and finisher phases only (P < 0.001) whilst it reversed MSC plus MSM-induced deleterious effects on slaughter weight, HCW, and CCW (P < 0.001) and increases in gizzard weight (P < 0.001) and meat shear force at 24 h post-slaughter (P < 0.05). Otherwise, OMSS generally decreased (P < 0.05) serum SDMA and alanine transaminase whilst it abrogated and augmented increases in serum alkaline phosphatase (P < 0.05) and cholesterol (P < 0.01), respectively, and reversed the increase and decrease in meat redness (P < 0.01) and hue angle (P < 0.05), respectively. In conclusion, dietary replacement of SBM with combined MSC plus MSM induced deleterious effects in broiler chickens that were limitedly abrogated by low (1.25%) inclusion level of OMSS.

Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant state, ileal histomorphometry, and cecal ecology of broilers fed on fermented canola meal with and without exogenous enzymes

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of exogenous enzymes in broiler diets that includes fermented canola meal on performance, nutrient digestibility, biochemical indication, antioxidative capacity, digestive enzyme activity, immune responses, and gut health. Five hundred 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated into five experimental groups (5 replicate/group), the first group: a control (CON) contained a basal diet, and the second to the fifth groups were fed diets as follows: containing 20% canola meal (CM), contains 20% fermented canola meal (FCM), contains 20% canola meal and exogenous enzymes at 0.02%/kg feed (ECM), and contains 20% fermented canola meal and exogenous enzymes at 0.02%/kg feed (EFC), respectively. At the finisher phase, the best body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and nutrient utilization were associated with chickens fed EFC compared to other groups (P < 0.05). Total protein, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, and superoxide dismutase levels increased (P < 0.05), while cholesterol and malondialdehyde levels decreased in chickens fed on EFC. Likewise, there was a significant increase in the relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius and antibody titer against Newcastle disease, whereas the weight of abdominal fat decreased in the EFC group compared to other groups. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in the activity of lipase and amylase enzymes (P < 0.05) in the EFC group. Fermented canola meal addition improved gut health (decreased Escherichia coli, increased Lactobacillus, and the highest values of villus height). Overall, these results confirmed that supplementing a fermented canola meal diet with exogenous enzymes improved growth performance through enhancing nutrient digestibility, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and gut health. Thus, adding enzymes to a diet containing fermented canola meal can be recommended as an alternative protein source that could be safely used to replace up to 20% soybean meal in broiler diets.

Effect of phytase supplementation to diets varying in chloride level on performance, litter moisture, foot pad score, and gait score of growing turkeys

Phytase was examined as a means to improve turkey performance in diets with high Cl by modifying dietary electrolyte balance. Nicholas turkey toms (10 poults/pen; 10 replicates per pen) were fed corn-soy-distillers dried grains with solubles-canola meal-based diets (DDGS/CM) with varying Cl (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5%) and phytase (0 or 500 phytase units/kg of diet), making 8 treatments (4 × 2 factorial). A ninth treatment was a corn-soy based diet (CS) with 0.3% Cl and without phytase (positive control). The diets were formulated to contain similar AMEn and digestible amino acid levels for each of 5 feeding periods (2 to 5, 5 to 8, 8 to 11, 11 to 14, and 14 to 17 wk of age) and fed in mash form. Turkey BW, ADG, ADFI, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined for each pen along with litter moisture, foot pad, and gait scores. An ANOVA was conducted to determine the effects of Cl, phytase, and their interaction. Turkey BW, ADG, and ADFI decreased in a linear or curvilinear manner with increasing diet Cl (P < 05). At 17 wk of age, litter moisture and foot pad score showed a cubic trend with diet Cl (P < 0.05). Phytase improved FCR during 8 to 11 wk and increased litter moisture at 11 wk of age (P < 0.003). Phytase modified the FCR response to Cl during 2 to 5 and 14 to 17 wk of age at the 2 lowest levels of dietary Cl (P < 0.05). Turkeys fed CS had better BW and FCR through 17 wk of age compared with those receiving DDGS/CM at 0.3% Cl. Based on BW, minimum dietary electrolyte balance based on Na, K, and Cl was found to be 247, 217, 200, and 171 mEq/kg during 5 to 8, 8 to 11, 11 to 14, and 14 to 17 wk of age, respectively. The present findings emphasized the importance of considering Cl, phytase, and associated dietary electrolyte balance in turkey diets containing high levels of alternative byproducts.

Effects of feeding distillers dried grains with solubles to broilers from 0 to 28 days posthatch on broiler performance, feed manufacturing efficiency, and selected intestinal characteristics

This study evaluated the effect of 2 levels (0 vs. 8%) of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in a starter broiler diet (0 to 14 d; 45 replicates/treatment) after these same birds were subsequently fed a grower diet (14 to 28 d) with either 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5, or 30% DDGS (9 replicates/treatment). Ross×Ross 308 male broilers were used in this experiment, and evaluation criteria consisted of feed mill parameters, broiler growth, relative liver weight, ileal viscosity, and cecal content count of Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli analyzed by both selective media and real-time PCR. Increased inclusion of DDGS resulted in a nonlinear response for production rate (P<0.05), conditioner energy usage (P<0.01), and pellet mill energy usage (P<0.05). Increasing DDGS resulted in a linear decrease in pellet quality (P<0.001) and an increase (P<0.001) in total fines. Inclusion of DDGS decreased (P<0.001) energy usage at the pellet mill and decreased (P<0.05) bulk density of the diets. The DDGS levels fed during the starter phase (0 vs. 8%) had no effect on the broilers at 14 or at 28 d of age. Increasing DDGS inclusion levels during the grower phase resulted in a linear decrease (P<0.001) in BW gain and liver relative weight (P<0.001). A DDGS starter×grower interaction (P<0.05) was observed for feed consumption, in which birds that consumed no DDGS during the starter phase exhibited a decrease in feed consumption with the higher inclusion levels of DDGS during the grower phase, whereas birds that received 8% DDGS during the starter phase were unaffected by DDGS inclusion level in the grower phase. Feed conversion, mortality, ileal viscosity, and cecal C. perfringens and E. coli concentrations were unaffected by DDGS level in the grower diet. The feed intake response suggests a beneficial effect of exposing broiler chicks to DDGS if inclusion levels of 22.5% or higher are to be fed after 14 d of age. However, the data suggest that the young broiler can be negatively affected with inclusion levels of 15% DDGS or higher up to 28 d of age.