Orange corn diets associated with lower severity of footpad dermatitis in broilers

Footpad dermatitis (FPD), damage and inflammation of the plantar surface of the foot, is of concern for poultry because FPD affects the birds' welfare and production value. Footpad dermatitis is painful and causes costly chicken paw downgrades, carcass condemnations, and reduced live weights. However, a universal preventative has not been found. The hypothesis was that diets containing orange corn, when compared with diets containing yellow or white corn, would reduce the severity of footpad dermatitis in broiler chickens on wet litter. When compared with yellow and white corn, orange corn contains higher quantities of carotenoids, antioxidant pigments, believed to play a role in skin and feather health. This experiment was a randomized block, 3 × 2 factorial design: orange, yellow, and white corn diets with birds raised on wet or dry litter (control group). Female Ross 708 broilers (n = 960) were used to create 4 replicates of each diet x litter treatment combination. Footpads were scored at day 19, 27, 35, and 42, following the Global Animal Partnership standard's 0-2 scale of visual increasing severity: 0 indicates minimal damage and 1 and 2 indicate mild to severe lesions and ulceration, dark papillae, and/or bumble foot. At 42 d of age, birds on the wet litter had greater severity of FPD, scores 1 and 2, compared with the control group (88 vs. 13% respectively; P < 0.0001). At 42 d of age, prevalence of more severe footpad scores, 1 or 2, was lowest on the orange corn diet (33%), followed by white corn (56%) and yellow corn (63%). Birds fed the orange corn diet had higher BW throughout the study (P = 0.004) and had fat pads and livers with higher yellow pigment deposition (P < 0.005). Litter moisture content altered microbiome composition but corn type did not. In conclusion, the main determinant of FPD in this study was exposure to wet litter. When compared with yellow and white corn, orange corn was associated with improved bird growth and reduced severity of footpad dermatitis, especially at later time points.

Interactive effect of corn particle size and insoluble fiber source on performance, nutrient utilization and intestine morphology in broilers fed pelleted diets

The effects of corn particle size and dietary fibre on the performance, coefficient of apparent ileal digestibility (CAID) and intestinal characteristics in broiler starters fed pelleted diets were studied. The experiment included 10 treatments arranged as a 2 × 5 factorial with two corn particle sizes (GMD of 1071 [CGC] vs. 534 [FGC]) and five diets that consisted in a low-fibre diet and four extra diets resulting from the inclusion of insoluble fibre sources (10 g/kg of lignocellulose (LC), and 30 g/kg of oat hulls; OH, rice hulls; RH, and sunflower hulls; SFH). In coarse grinding, all-fibre sources improved body weight gain and feed intake compared to the control diet (p < 0.01). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved with fibre supplementation (p < 0.01) and fine grinding of corn (FGC) (p < 0.01). Coarse grinding of corn (CGC) and inclusion of RH, SFH and OH reduced gizzard pH (p < 0.01). Fibre inclusion increased ileal fat and Ca digestibility (p < 0.01), gizzard weight (p < 0.01), digesta transit time (p < 0.01) and length of duodenum and small intestine (p < 0.01). The CAID of phosphorus increased in CGC fed birds and inclusion of RH, SFH and OH (p < 0.05). The weight of gizzard, proventriculus and pancreas (p < 0.01) was greater in CGC fed birds. Feeding SFH, RH and OH (p < 0.01), and CGC (p < 0.01) increased the villus height (VH) of the duodenum. The OH, RH and SFH supplementation increased the caecal population of Lactobacillus spp. and total anaerobic bacteria (p < 0.01) only in FGC fed birds. Overall, birds fed pelleted diets containing RH, OH and SFH (3%) exhibited improved performance, and increased nutrient digestibility, which may be caused by developed gizzards and intestine. Furthermore, coarse grinding of corn is beneficial to gizzard development.

Effect of particle size of insoluble fibre on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility and caecal microbial population in broiler chickens fed barley-containing diets

1. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of particle size of insoluble fibre on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and caecal microbial population in broiler chickens fed barley-containing diets. 2. The dietary treatments included: a barley-based diet (control, CTL) or test diets which contained high-fibre ingredients, either sunflower hulls (SFH), sugarcane bagasse (SB) or wheat bran (WB) ground through a 1.0 (fine) or 3.0 mm (coarse) screen that were added to the control diet at 30 g/kg. 3. For the entire experimental period, insoluble fibre inclusion improved ADG (P < 0.05) and FCR (P < 0.05) compared to the CTL group. Broilers fed SFH had higher (P < 0.05) ADG and better (P < 0.05) FCR than broilers fed SB. 4. Fibre inclusion increased the relative weight of breast and thigh and decreased relative weight of liver compared to the CTL group, but coarse grinding of the SB decreased relative weight of abdominal fat (P < 0.05). 5. The digestibility of nutrients increased with dietary inclusion of insoluble fibre compared to the CTL group. Coarse grinding of SFH increased AID of crude protein compared to the coarse grinding of WB or SB. Fine grinding of various types of fibre improved the AID of fat (as ether extract) and organic matter (P < 0.05). 6. Fine grinding of the WB decreased caecal populations of E. coli. The inclusion of SFH increased caecal populations of Lactobacillus spp. (P < 0.05). Coarse grinding of various types of fibre decreased the caecal population of coliforms (P < 0.05). 7. The inclusion of WB increased digesta viscosity in the ileum compared to samples from the SB and SFH groups (P < 0.05). Coarse grinding of various types of fibre decreased the digesta viscosity in the ileum (P < 0.05). 8. Overall, the data showed that dietary inclusion of insoluble fibre improved growth performance, increased AID of nutrients and decreased ileal viscosity in the birds fed diets containing barley.

The efficacy of litter management strategies to prevent morbidity and mortality in broiler chickens: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

A systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) were conducted to address the question, 'What is the efficacy of litter management strategies to reduce morbidity, mortality, condemnation at slaughter, or total antibiotic use in broilers?' Eligible studies were clinical trials published in English evaluating the efficacy of litter management in broilers on morbidity, condemnations at slaughter, mortality, or total antibiotic use. Multiple databases and two conference proceedings were searched for relevant literature. After relevance screening and data extraction, there were 50 trials evaluating litter type, 22 trials evaluating litter additives, 10 trials comparing fresh to re-used litter, and six trials evaluating floor type. NMAs were conducted for mortality (61 trials) and for the presence or absence of footpad lesions (15 trials). There were no differences in mortality among the litter types, floor types, or additives. For footpad lesions, peat moss appeared beneficial compared to straw, based on a small number of comparisons. In a pairwise meta-analysis, there was no association between fresh versus used litter on the risk of mortality, although there was considerable heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 66%). There was poor reporting of key design features in many studies, and analyses rarely accounted for non-independence of observations within flocks.

Effect of dietary coarse corn inclusion on broiler live performance, litter characteristics, and ammonia emission

Ammonia (NH3) emission from nondigested nutrients in poultry creates additional adverse environmental impacts on soil, water, air, and health. Mitigating NH3 emission has become vital for the poultry industry to remain sustainable. As the presence of large particles in the feed stimulates the broiler gizzard to retain ingesta in the gastrointestinal tract longer and improve digestive efficiency, the inclusion of large particles in feed may lead to less nitrogen (N) and moisture content (MC) in feces such that lower NH3 production would be expected. This chamber study investigated the effects of dietary coarse corn (CC) inclusion on broiler live performance, litter characteristics, and NH3 emission. One hundred eighty female broilers (Ross 344 × 708 strains) at day 21 were randomly placed in 6 chambers with 2 dietary treatments (0% CC and 50% CC), with 3 chambers per treatment and 30 birds per chamber for 3 wks. The results showed that the 50% CC inclusion (1) decreased broiler feed intake and BW without affecting mortality-adjusted feed conversion ratio from day 21 to 42; (2) increased gizzard weight and decreased proventriculus weight; (3) decreased N content and MC in litter; and (4) decreased NH3 concentrations in the chambers, as well as NH3 emission from the chambers. Dietary CC inclusion could be an effective way to mitigate broiler litter N content and MC as well as NH3 emission.