Production Performance, Egg Quality and Intestinal Histology in Laying Hens Fed Dietary Dried Fermented Ginger

The incorporation of sumac seed powder (Rhus coriaria L.) into the diet of quail breeders as a novel feed additive

A total of 150 adult quails, aged 8 wk, were divided into 5 groups to study the effect of sumac seed powder on reproductive and productive parameters, egg quality, digestive enzymes, and quail breeders' blood profiles. Dietary supplements containing sumac powder were formulated as follows: group 1 (G1) (control, only basal diet); group 2 (G2) (basal diet + 1 g sumac powder/kg diet); group 3 (G3) (basal diet + 2 g sumac powder/kg diet); group 4 (G4) (basal diet + 3 g sumac powder/kg diet); and group 5 (G5) (basal diet + 4 g sumac powder/kg diet). The feed conversion ratio was significantly higher at all levels of sumac powder (P < 0.05) compared to the control group (G1). Overall, during the study (8-16 wk), quail-fed 3 g sumac powder/kg diet (G4) showed no significant increase (P > 0.05) in the feed intake compared to the control group. Sumac powder supplementation significantly (P < 0.05) increased egg number, egg weight, egg mass, fertility, and hatchability. While supplementing with sumac powder did not impact other egg quality parameters, it did significantly (P < 0.05) increase yolk percentage, Haugh unit, and unit surface shell weight. Furthermore, when compared to the control group (G1), birds given 2, 3, or 4 g of sumac powder/kg diet showed a significant improvement (P < 0.05) in hematological parameters such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and hemoglobin, as well as a decrease in glucose levels. Feeding quail with a 3 g sumac powder/kg diet (G4) resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) higher globulin levels and improved albumin/globulin ratio compared to other treatments and control (G1). Sumac powder intake significantly (P < 0.05) reduced plasma lipid profile, liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase), and kidney functions (creatinine, and urea). Furthermore, the supplementation of sumac powder resulted in a substantial increase (P < 0.05) in the levels of amylase, lipase, and protease. Sumac powder administration also significantly (P < 0.05) improves immunity by boosting IgM, IgG, IgA, and lysozyme levels in quail breeders' plasma. Supplementing with sumac powder, on the other hand, increased levels of reduced glutathione, total antioxidant capacity, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. The results of the current study indicated that the addition of 1, 2, 3, and 4 g of sumac powder to the diet of Japanese quail breeders led to improvements in egg quality, digestive enzymes, reproductive and productive performances, and most blood hematological and biochemical parameters.

The role of phytogenic feed additives in stress mitigation in broiler chickens

The increase in global temperature and consumers' welfare has increased the use of phytogenic feed additives (PFA) to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on chickens in recent years. Various bioactive compounds capable of improving the thermotolerance of broiler chickens during exposure to thermal challenges have been identified in different plant species and parts. This review is an overview of the roles of bioactive compounds of different PFA, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidants, growth-promoting and immune-modulating agents, in heat stress management in broiler chickens. Common PFA in use, particularly in tropical environments, are also discussed. An understanding of the roles of the PFA in chickens' thermotolerance could further stimulate interest in their use, thereby improving the birds' productivity and addressing consumers' concerns. This review collates the existing data on the roles of herbs in mitigating heat stress on chickens and highlights future research perspectives.

Enhancement of tibia bone and eggshell hardness through the supplementation of bio-calcium derived from fish bone mixed with chelated trace minerals and vitamin D3 in laying duck diet

Cracked eggs cause great economic losses in duck egg production. The use of eggshell-related vitamins and minerals is one of the most suitable approaches for solving this problem. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary bio-calcium derived from fish bone mixed with chelated trace minerals and vitamin D3 (BCD) on egg performance, egg quality and the hardness of the tibia bone and the eggshell in laying ducks. A total of eighty 30-week-old Khaki Campbell laying ducks were assigned to 4 groups. Experimental birds were provided a basal diet supplemented with 0.0 (T1), 0.5 (T2), 1.0 (T3), or 2.0 (T4) g/kg BCD. Our results indicated that a negative impact on egg performance was not observed (P > 0.05) in any dietary BCD groups. The different BCD levels had no significant effects on yolk color, yolk ratio, albumen ratio, eggshell ratio or eggshell thickness. Similarly, the calcium and phosphorus contents of the eggshell and tibia bone were not influenced (P > 0.05) by the dietary BCD. Tibia bone weight and length did not differ (P > 0.05) among the 4 treatments. However, tibia bone (P = 0.006) and eggshell hardness (P = 0.025) significantly increased and correlated with increasing BCD levels. The strongest tibia bone and eggshell were found in the 2.0 g/kg BCD group when compared to the control group (P < 0.01). Thus, the study concluded that the inclusion of 2.0 g/kg BCD mixture in laying duck diets can be a potential approach to improve tibia bone and eggshell hardness, without detrimental effect on egg performance.

Exploration of Zingiber officinale effects on growth performance, immunity and gut morphology in broilers

The current study aimed to determine the effects of different levels of Zingiber officinale as a herbal feed additive on growth performance, carcass characteristic, serum biochemistry, total bacterial count (TBC), gut morphology, and immunological parameters of broilers. A total of 1500, day-old broiler chicks (Hubbard) were equally accredited to five treatment groups, each with six replicates (50 birds/replicate). Five experimental diets were prepared using basal diet i.e. with antibiotics positive control (PC), 3 g/kg ginger (group A), 6 g/kg ginger (group B), 9 g/kg ginger (group C) and without antibiotics negative control (NC). Group A and C showed significantly (p<0.05) higher feed intake (FI) as compared to other groups. Group C showed significantly (p<0.05) lower Total bacterial count (TBC) followed by group B as compared to NC. Carcass characteristics showed non-significant effects among different treatments. Mean villi length and width were significantly (p <0.05) higher in all ginger supplemented groups as compared to the control groups. Blood serum parameters including cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were significantly (p<0.05) lower in groups B and C in comparison with the control groups. Whereas high-density lipoproteins (HDL) was significantly higher in group B as compared to the others. In conclusion, ginger supplementation @0.6% in the basal diet significantly improved growth performance and gut morphometry of broilers. It also showed a positive impact on cholesterol, triglycerides and gut microbes. Therefore, ginger could be a better substitute for antibiotic growth promoters.

Impact of Ginger Root Powder Dietary Supplement on Productive Performance, Egg Quality, Antioxidant Status and Blood Parameters in Laying Japanese Quails

Medicinal plants with antibacterial effects have been used by humans for centuries. In the recent decade, due to the development of antibiotic resistant strains, many studies have focused on the use of natural compounds as feed additives in livestock. Ginger, among all, have repetitively shown numerous biological activities, antibacterial, and antibiotic properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of ginger root powder (GP) on the performance, egg quality, and blood parameters of Japanese quail. A total of 240 10-weeks old female quails were used in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments, 4 replicates, and 15 birds per replicate. Dietary treatment were basal diet (control) and basal diet containing 0.5, 1, and 1.5 g/kg of ginger root powder. Growth performance and exterior and interior quality of egg were measured biweekly over eight-week period. At the end of experiment blood parameters were evaluated. The results showed that diet supplementation with different levels of GP had no significant effect on egg production, egg mass weight, and egg weight (p > 0.05). However, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly lower in the treatment group than the control in the whole period (p < 0.05). Egg Quality traits (shape index, albumen index, the percentage of albumen, yolk and shell, yolk pH, and shell thickness and strength) were not affected by the supplements in the whole trial period. Addition of GP significantly increased the albumen height, Haugh unit, and albumen pH in comparison with the control treatment (p < 0.05). GP reduced blood triglyceride level yet was ineffective on blood total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with GP, could improve productive performance and the egg quality of Japanese quails. Nonetheless a comprehensive study needs to be performed in order to evaluate the impact of quail dietary ginger supplementation on productive performance and egg quality and their stability during storage time for commercial use.

Herbs as thermoregulatory agents in poultry: An overview

The adverse effect of increased environmental temperature during summer season on avian industry has received great global concern. High temperature leads to severe economic loss in poultry production, because it is considered as valuable stress factor. Several practical methods were used to alleviate the adverse impact of increased temperature; among them were dietary modifications. So, several types of herbs are supplemented to reduce the deleterious influences of thermal stress altitudes in various animals, and even to prevent their adverse impacts. Therefore, sustainable supports for dietary modification based on herbs supplementations are largely needed, particularly when consider the additional advantages of herbs such as availability, actual efficiency, low cost, as well as their free from residual impact and antibiotic resistance. Numerous types of herbs were concluded to their efficient properties by poultry breeders to overcome a variety of the harmful effects of high ambient temperature. The present article deliberates the different practical applications of several members of the traditional herbal wealth to improve the general health state of poultry particularly as thermoregulatory and immunomodulatory agents, and for countering the heat stress-associated immunosuppressive effects. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of herbal growth promoters and their influence on improvement of production performances were a special aim of this review. The reported information will be helpful for improvement of general production and health status of birds reared under the heat stress via enhancement of immune response and stress tolerance, and popularizes usage of herbs amongst poultry producers.

Ginger extract enhances antioxidant ability and immunity of layers

This experiment was to investigate ginger extract on production performance, antioxidant ability and immunity of laying hens. A total of 600 Hy-Line brown laying hens aged at 25 wk old were randomly divided into 2 treatments, 4 replicates per treatment, 75 layers each replicate. The control group hens were fed a basal diet; the experimental group hens were fed basal diets with 0.1% ginger extract. The results were shown as follows: 1) ginger extract significantly enhanced laying rates (P < 0.05) and daily egg weight (P < 0.05), substantially reduced the ratio of feed to egg (P < 0.05) of the hens; 2) ginger extract did not change the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) but significantly improved plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (P < 0.05), reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content (P < 0.05) of the birds; 3) ginger extract did not affect the contents of serum total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB), but significantly increased lysozyme (LZM) activity (P < 0.05); 4) ginger extract also significantly reduced plasma prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) content (P < 0.05). This study shows that ginger extract not only can improve the birds' antioxidant capacity, enhance immune function, but also has a potential of reducing inflammatory response.

Effects of fumonisin B1 and mycotoxin binders on growth performance, tibia characteristics, gut physiology, and stress indicators in broiler chickens raised in different stocking densities

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of stocking density, fumonisin B1 (FB), and mycotoxin binder (TB) on growth performance, bone quality, physiological stress indicators, and gut health in broiler chickens. Day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks (n = 1,440/experiment) were randomly allocated to 72 floor pens in a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, using 3 stocking densities (12.5 birds/m2 [HSD], 10 birds/m2 [MSD], or 7.5 birds/m2 [LSD]), 2 levels of purified FB (0 or 10 ppm), and 2 levels of TB (0 or 0.2%). Each treatment had 6 replicates (n = 6/treatment) and experiments lasted 34 days. All data were analyzed using 3-way ANOVA with stocking density level, FB, and TB as main factors. Body weight gain and feed intake were lower (P < 0.05) in broilers kept at HSD and MSD compared to LSD-housed counterparts. Birds fed an FB-contaminated diet exhibited a higher feed-to-gain ratio compared with those fed an FB-free diet (P < 0.05). None of the treatments affected intestinal morphology or ileal secretory immunoglobulin A levels. Stocking density affected tibia breaking strength (P < 0.05), which was lower in chickens housed at HSD compared with LSD-housed chickens. The heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio) was elevated (P < 0.05) in HSD and MSD groups compared with the LSD group. Serum nitric oxide (NO) levels were elevated (P < 0.05) in chickens fed the FB-contaminated diet compared with the control diet-fed counterparts. Significant interaction (P < 0.05) between FB and TB on serum NO levels was noted. In summary, increasing stocking density lowered growth performance and bone quality, but increased the H/L ratio. Dietary TB did not affect FB-induced increases in the feed-to-gain ratio. No interaction was observed between stocking density and FB for the measured variables.

Effects of dietary dried fermented ginger on growth performance, carcass quality, and intestinal histology of heat-stressed broilers

Khonyoung, D., Yamauchi, K., Buwjoom, T., Maneewan, B. and Thongwittaya, N. 2012. Effects of dietary dried fermented ginger on growth performance, carcass quality, and intestinal histology of heat- stressed broilers. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 92: 307–317. To investigate the effects of a dried fermented ginger product (DFG) on growth performance, carcass quality, and intestinal histology of heat-stressed broiler, at 7 d of age, 200 male broilers were divided into 0% (control), 0.25% (0.25 S+F), 0.5% (0.5 S+F) and 1% (1 S+F) dietary DFG groups fed from 7 to 49 d of age (starter+finisher groups, S+F). Another group of chicks was fed the basal diet until 21 d of age. At 22 d of age, 150 birds from this group showing almost similar body weight were divided into 0.25% (0.25 F), 0.5% (0.5 F) and 1% (1 F) dietary DFG groups fed from 22 to 49 d of age (finisher groups, F); the control group was common for the S+F and F groups. The average temperature was around 31°C (23.2–38.6°C) throughout the trial. Compared with the control, the experimental DFG groups were not different in feed intake, body weight gain, feed efficiency and carcass quality. However, abdominal fat of the 1 S+F, 0.5 F, and 1 F groups decreased (P<0.05). Cell mitosis numbers in the duodenum tended to increase in the 1 S+F group (P<0.1). Epithelial cells on the jejunal villus apical surface of the control were mainly flat, and desquamations were observed. Desquamation was reduced with increasing DFG, and in the 1% DFG groups, many protuberant cells and cell clusters were present. The present results suggest that under high ambient temperature 1% dietary DFG from 7 to 49 d of age can decrease abdominal fat, and that jejunal villus apex was desquamated with heat stress, but desquamations were reduced with increasing DFG, and disappeared in 1% DFG groups.

Effects of ginger root (Zingiber officinale) on laying performance and antioxidant status of laying hens and on dietary oxidation stability

To investigate the effects of ginger root (Zingiber officinale) on laying performance and antioxidant status of laying hens and on dietary oxidation stability, 675 Hy-Line brown laying hens at 27 wk of age were randomly allocated to 5 treatments with 5 replicates in a complete randomized design. Laying hens were fed corn-soybean meal based diets and supplemented with 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20 g of ginger powder/kg of diet for 10 wk. The ADFI, laying rate, average egg weight, egg mass, and feed conversion of each replicate were measured weekly. Blood samples from 10 laying hens and 15 egg samples/treatment were obtained on d 35 and 70 of the experiment to determine the serum or egg yolk antioxidant enzymatic activities. Three separate batches of each treatment diet were also made at the beginning of the experiment and stored at 20°C. Subsamples were taken at 10-d intervals to determine the dietary oxidation stability over a 60-d period. All laying hens had similar ADFI, laying rate, average egg weight, and feed conversion. However, laying hens supplemented with ginger powder had higher (P = 0.024) egg mass than the control group. Supplementation of ginger powder increased (P < 0.05) the serum and egg yolk antioxidant enzymatic activities of laying hens on d 35 and 70. Increasing ginger powder from 0 to 20 g/kg of diet linearly increased (P < 0.05) the peroxide value but linearly reduced (P < 0.05) the acid value of lipid extracted from stored diets for the first 30 d, but not for the second 30 d. Dietary supplementation of ginger powder improved laying performance and serum and egg yolk antioxidant status and enhanced dietary oxidation stability in a dose-dependent manner. The optimum supplementation rate of ginger powder in the diet of laying hens appeared to be between 10 and 15 g/kg of diet.