Intoxication Induced by Urea Containing Diets in Broiler Chickens: Effect on Weight Gain, Feed Conversion Ratio, Hematological and Biochemical Profiles

Urea as a source of cheap non-protein nitrogen is used to adulterate fish and meat meals which are basic components of broiler diets. The present study was carried out to elucidate the effects of urea on weight gain, and hematological and biochemical profiles. A total of 48 broiler chicks were randomly allotted into 4 groups, designated Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 of 12 birds each. Birds in Groups 2, 3 and 4 were fed on diets containing urea at the levels of 1%, 2.5% and 4%, respectively. Birds in Group 1 served as control and were not exposed to urea. Experimentation period was for 3 weeks and experiment was terminated when birds were 42 days of age. Body weight of all intoxicated birds at the various intervals was significantly decreased in comparison with that of the untreated control. Compared with control, all intoxicated broilers manifested significant (P ≤ 0.05) decrease in all hematological parameters involving erythrocytic and total leucocytic counts, Hemoglobin (Hb) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) on a dose- and time-pattern. In comparison with the control levels, biochemical profile of the intoxicated birds disclosed significant decrease in blood glucose level and significant increase in serum uric acid, urea, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Based upon the present data, it was concluded that the addition of urea to broiler diets bears serious sequences concerning the general health condition, performance, weight gain, and hematological and biochemical profiles.

Analysis of York Pigs Feeding Behavior Using Stepwise Regression and Principal Component Regression

A statistical analysis was conducted on the feeding behavior of 106 York breeding pigs.Pearson correlation analysis,principal component correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression equation methods were applied to establish regression equations of the York breeding pigs total feed intake per time and average feed intake per time with corrected fat thickness,feed conversion rate,and corrected daily gain.The results showed that:①there were three peak feed intake periods for the pigs,and the correlation coefficient between the feed intake and the corrected fat thickness of the pigs in the 24 h period was positive or negative,that is,increasing the number of feeding times and the feed intake was not necessarily conducive to the fat thickness accumulation,but the breeding goal of fat thickness could be achieved by controlling the feeding times and feed intake;②the average feed intake of pigs in the 60-90 kg body weight stage was 30%-50%higher than that of the 30-60 kg body weight stage,but the number of feeding times decreased,the peak feeding time was more concentrated,and the feeding duration per time was 3.0 min longer,indicating that as the weight of pigs increased,the feed intake increased significantly;and③the stepwise regression equations and the principal component equations showed that the feeding behavior of York pigs in the 30-90 kg growth stage was not only affected by the feeding time within 24 h,but also by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.The feeding behavior of York pigs is a complex process of interaction between environmental factors and animal factors.

The Effect of Quantitative Feed Restriction Duration on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chickens

The growth productivity of broilers is influenced by improving growth performance through improving body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of quantitative feed restriction duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. A total of 144 day-old broiler chicks were reared in a deep litter system until slaughter at 42 days. Chicks were randomly allocated to three treatments which were replicated three times with 16 birds per replicate. The three treatments were the control (T1), one week of feed restriction (T2), and two weeks of feed restriction (T3). Birds were fed with starter, grower and finisher diets. The average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were computed for each week. Carcass weight and internal organs weights were measured. The body weight gained by the birds in T1 was similar to the birds that were restricted for a week. The treatments had a significant effect on the average daily gain in weeks 4, 5, and 6. The ADG for T2 was higher (P < 0.05) at week 5 after 1 week of restriction, than T1 and T3. The feed conversion ratio was significantly higher in T3 after 2 weeks of restriction. In T2 and T3, feed intake was significantly lower than in birds fed ad libitum at week 4 at the start of the treatment. There was no significant effect on the relative weights of heart weights, liver, gizzard, feet, and heads among the treatment groups except for intestine weight which was lower (P < 0.05) in T1 than T2 and T3. It was concluded that broilers that were restricted for one week had a positive result in growth performance. Feed restriction had minimal effect on the organ weights of broiler chickens.

Feeding Effect of Growing-Finishing Pigs under Fine Division of Feeding Stages

In order to study the feeding effect of fine division of feeding stages on the growing-finishing pigs,96 healthy Duroc × Landrace ×Yorkshire hybrid commercial pigs with similar age in days,size,and body weight about 15 kg,half boars and half sows,randomly divided into3 treatments( each treatment repeated 4 times,and each repetition 8 pigs). According to the body weight division standard,three stages,four stages,and five stages of feeding were adopted separately. The daily ration of with different nutrition levels was used,body weight and feed consumption were measured,and effects of different feeding methods on body weight increase,feed utilization,and economic benefits of growing-finishing pigs. The results showed that compared with the three-stage feeding,the body weight of five-stage and four-stage feeding increased by 4. 18%( P < 0. 01) and 2. 41%( P < 0. 05),respectively,and the body weight of five-stage feeding increased by 1. 74%( P < 0. 05) compared with that of four-stage feeding; the daily feed consumption of five-stage and four-stage feeding increased 3. 10%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 70%(P <0. 01),respectively,and the daily feed consumption of five-stage feeding was 1. 37% higher than that of four-stage feeding. The feed cost of five-stage feeding and four-stage feeding increased 3. 32%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 61%( P < 0. 05) separately,and the feed cost of five-stage feeding was 1. 69% higher than that of four-stage feeding( P < 0. 01). The income from average body weight increase of five-stage and fourstage feeding increased by 5. 47%( P < 0. 01) and 3. 59%( P < 0. 01) respectively,and the benefit of average body weight increase of fivestage feeding was 1. 81% higher than that of four-stage feeding( P > 0. 05). The crude protein consumption from average body weight increase of five-stage and four-stage feeding decreased by 2. 28%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 68%( P < 0. 01),respectively; the crude protein consumption from average body weight increase of five-stage feeding was 0. 67% lower than that of four-stage feeding; the feed conversion ratio of five-stage feeding,four-stage feeding,and three-stage feeding was 2. 92,2. 93,and 2. 95 respectively. The results showed that compared with the threestage feeding,the four-stage and five-stage feeding could significantly increase the body weight of the growing-finishing pigs,improve the feed utilization level and improve the economic benefits,and the effect of five-stage feeding was better than the four-stage feeding.

Linkage between the intestinal microbiota and residual feed intake in broiler chickens

Background:Intestinal microbiota plays a key role in nutrient digestion and utilization with a profound impact on feed efficiency of livestock animals.However,the intestinal microbes that are critically involved in feed efficiency remain elusive.Methods:To identify intestinal bacteria associated with residual feed intake(RFI)in chickens,male Cobb broiler chicks were individually housed from day 14 to day 35.Individual RFI values were calculated for 56 chickens.Luminal contents were collected from the ileum,cecum,and cloaca of each animal on day 35.Bacterial DNA was isolated and subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Intestinal microbiota was classified to the feature level using Deblur and QIIME 2.High and low RFI groups were formed by selecting 15 and 17 chickens with the most extreme RFI values for subsequent LEfSe comparison of the difference in the microbiota.Spearman correlation analysis was further performed to identify correlations between the intestinal microbiota composition and RFI.Results:No significant difference in evenness,richness,and overall diversity of the microbiota in the ileum,cecum,or cloaca was observed between high and low RFI chickens.However,LEfSe analysis revealed a number of bacterial features being differentially enriched in either high or low RFI chickens.Spearman correlation analysis further identified many differentially enriched bacterial features to be significantly correlated with RFI(P<0.05).Importantly,not all short-chain fatty acid(SCFA)producers showed a positive association with RFI.While two novel members of Oscillibacter and Butyricicoccus were more abundant in low-RFI,high-efficiency chickens,several other SCFA producers such as Subdoligranulum variabile and two related Peptostreptococcaceae members were negatively associated with feed efficiency.Moreover,a few closely-related Lachnospiraceae family members showed a positive correlation with feed efficiency,while others of the same family displayed an opposite relationship.Conclusions:Our results highlight the complexity of the intestinal microbiota and a need to differentiate the bacteria to the species,subspecies,and even strain levels in order to reveal their true association with feed efficiency.Identification of RFI-associated bacteria provides important leads to manipulate the intestinal microbiota for improving production efficiency,profitability,and sustainability of poultry production.

Optimal Supplement Dosage of Double-Low Rapeseed Meal in Concentrated Feed of Fattening Lambs

[ Objective] To determine the optimal supplement dosage of double-low rapeseed meal in concentrated feed of fattening lambs. [ Method] A total of 120 Tibetan lambs at the age of 50 d were selected and divided randomly into four groups. The lambs in these four groups were fed with diets respectively supplemented the double-low rapeseed meal of 50,100,150 and 200 g/kg. Their diets had the same nutritional levels of energy and protein. The experimental period was 120 d. [ Result] Daily gain, feed conservation ratio and economic benefits were largely increased in the lambs fed with the diets supplemented the double-low rapeseed meal of 150 g/kg （Daily gain, P 〈 0.01 ）. However, the daily gain and feed conservation ratio were largely decreased in the lambs fed with the diets supplemented the double-low rapeseed meal of 200 g/kg. Moreover, serum levels of transaminase and thyroxine were not significantly different between the four groups. [ Conclusion] The optimal supplement dosage of the double-low rapeseed meal is 150 g/kg in fattening lambs.

Effect of Enteromorpha from Qingdao Coasts on Weight Gain Perform ance of Broilers

This study was to investigate the effect of enteromorpha from Qingdao coasts on weight gain of Arbor Acres broilers. Four thousands of 1-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four groups （1 000 for each）, i. e., one group was fed with basal diet as the control, and the other three were fed with basal diet added with 1.0%, 2.0% or 3.0% of enteromorpha as treatment groups. After 42 days of feeding trial, broilers in three treatment groups all gave a significantly increased average daily weight gain and feed to gain ratio in comparison with the control group （P 〈0. O1 ） ; within treatment groups, those added with 3.0% enteromorpha assumed a significantly higher average daily gain and feed to gain than with 3.0% enteromorpha （P 〈0.05）, while an insignificantly difference with 2.0% enteromorpha group （ P 〉 0.05 ）. The results indicated that adding appropriate amount of enteromorpha can facilitate the improvement of broiler performance.

Performance of Broilers Supplemented with Natural Herb Extract

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of a natural herb extract on the general performance, carcass parameters and mortality of broiler chicks. A total of 720 one-day old chicks (Cobb 500) were used in the experiment and randomly partitioned into nine pens (80 chicks per pen). Three experimental diets (C: regular starter feed;CC plus: regular starter feed supplemented with chicken plus herbal extract;AFC plus: antibiotic-free diet supplemented with chicken plus) were assigned each to three randomly selected pens. The herbal extract was supplemented in drinking water at rate of 300 ml/cubic meter. Results showed that weights, feed conversion ratios (FCR) and dressing percentages (DP) increased (P < 0.05) in birds supplemented with herb extract compared to control birds. Mortalities and sudden deaths were minimized via herbal supplementation. However, herbal supplementation had no significant effects on carcass cuts and some visceral organs. The relative economic efficiency (REE) was up to 13% improved by the herb supplementation. It can be concluded that feeding the herbal extract has significant positive effects on broilers general performance as feed efficiency is increased by 11% and on mortality and sudden death cases.

Ascertaining the potential effects of temperature on growth,survival and feeding of different juvenile clown fish

Objective:To determine the physiological and ecological responses of marine ornamental fishes to the change of water temperature with its potential effects on the growth,survival and feeding in clown fish.Methods:Three different sea anemone fish(Premnas biaculeatus,Amphiprion clarkii,Amphiprion akallopisos)were reared in confinement at water temperatures of 26,28,30,32,and 34℃using thermostat and they were maintained up to the marketable size,and growth,survival and feeding were evaluated during the experimental period.Results:The results illustrated that water temperature influenced the physiological performance of juveniles of three different sea anemone fish significantly.The growth and survival rates of juveniles of three different clown fish significantly increased with the increase of water temperature from 26℃to 34℃(P<0.05).Water temperature also influenced the feeding of three different clown fish significantly with feed conversion ratio increased from(0.071±0.020),(0.075±0.030)and(0.079±0.028)to(0.057±0.040),(0.047±0.030)and(0.045±0.028)for Premnas biaculeatus,Amphiprion clarkii and Amphiprion akallopisos respectively with increase of water temperature from 26℃to 34℃(P<0.05).Specific growth rates(P<0.05)increased significantly with increase of water temperature and positively correlated with the feed conversion ratio,indicating that growth rates are significantly increased with increase of temperature.Conclusions:This study deliberately reveals that the physiological response of juveniles of clown fish as the change of water temperature and substantiated that water temperature influenced juvenile growth,survival and feeding significantly.This study also put forward that the reduced growth,survival and feeding of juveniles at lower temperature which have ecological impacts on clown fish juveniles in settlement and population replacement in the wild.

Effects of different levels of urea supplementation on nutrient intake and growth performance in growing camels fed roughage based complete pellet diets

The utilization of urea in camels has beneficial and negative effects. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of different levels of urea supplementation on nutrients intake, digestibility,growth performance, feed efficiency and economics in growing camels fed roughage based complete pellet diets. In the present study, eighteen growing camels with an average live body weight of306.17 ± 2.05 kg were randomly assigned in three treatments: T1 = roughage complete pellet diet without urea,T2 = T1 plus 1% urea,and T3 = T1 plus 2% urea. The results showed that the urea supplementation significantly affected average daily feed and nutrient intake of dry matter(DM), organic matter(OM), crude protein(CP), neutral detergent fiber(NDF), and acid detergent fiber(ADF)(P < 0.05).On the contrary, the average daily intake of nitrogen free extract(NFE) and water were not influenced by increasing urea supplementation(P > 0.05). Similarly, digestion coefficient of DM, CP, ether extract(EE),crude fiber(CF) and ADF was influenced by increasing urea level(P < 0.05), while the digestion coefficient of OM, NFE and NDF was not affected by increasing urea level(P > 0.05). The intake of digestive nutrients was similar among all treatment groups. Total body live weight gain and average daily gain were significantly higher in urea supplemented groups(P < 0.05) than in the control group. The supplementation of urea at 1% in low quality roughage complete pellet diets significantly improved(P < 0.05) the feed efficiency. In conclusion,these results indicated that the incorporation of urea at 1% in roughage based complete pellet diets could positively improve nutrients intake, digestibility, growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of growing camels.

Growth performance of nursery and grower-finisher pigs fed diets supplemented with benzoic acid

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the efficacy of benzoic acid on the growth performance of nursery and grower-finisher pigs. A randomized complete block design was used in both experiments with the initial body weight as the blocking factor. There were 3 treatments corresponding to 3 dietary levels of benzoic acid: 0, 0.3%, and 0.5%. In experiment 1, a total of 144 PIC L1050 barrows(initial body weight 7.1 ± 0.6 kg) were used with each treatment replicated 8 times. In experiment 2, a total of 288 PIC L1050 barrows(initial body weight 36.1 ± 3.6 kg) were used with each treatment replicated 16 times.There were 6 barrows in each replicate pen for both experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 lasted 28 and 70 days, respectively. In experiment 1, average daily gain(ADG) of all growth phases increased linearly(P < 0.05) with increasing supplementation of benzoic acid, which led to a linear improvement in average body weight on d 28(P < 0.05). There was also an improvement in feed conversion ratio(FCR) of d 0 to 14(linear effect: P < 0.05) and in average daily feed intake(ADFI) of d 14 to 28 and d 0 to 28(linear effect:P < 0.01). In experiment 2, ADG during d 0 to 35 and d 35 to 70 and average body weight on d 35 improved linearly(P < 0.05) with increasing supplementation of benzoic acid. Average daily gain of d 0 to70 and average body weight on d 70 increased significantly in a both linear and quadratic manner. There was a linear improvement in FCR in all growth phases(P < 0.05). In conclusion, the dietary inclusion of benzoic acid at the supplementation levels of 0.3% and 0.5% significantly improved the growth performance of nursery and grower-finisher pigs in the current study; the nursery pigs responded to the dietary supplementation of benzoic acid up to 0.5% linearly while the grower-finisher pigs achieved the optimal ADG at the calculated supplementation level of 0.36%.

The effects of Lippia javanica dietary inclusion on growth performance,carcass characteristics and fatty acid profiles of broiler chickens

This study was conducted to determine the effect of inclusion of fever tea(Lippia javanica) leaf meal in broiler diets on growth performance, carcass characteristics and fatty acid(FA) profiles over a 42-day feeding period. One hundred and eighty, one-day-old, broiler chicks were randomly allocated to the following four treatments: 1) negative control(commercial broiler diet only [Negcontrol]); 2) positive control(commercial broiler diet + prophylactic antibiotics [Poscontrol]); 3) commercial broiler diet without prophylactic antibiotics + 5 g of L. javanica per kg of feed(Ljav5) and 4) commercial broiler diet without prophylactic antibiotics + 12 g of L. javanica per kg of feed(Ljav12). Body weights(BW) and feed intake(FI) were recorded weekly and used to calculate feed conversion ratio(FCR) and average daily weight gain(ADG). At the end of the trial(day 42),all chickens were slaughtered at a local commercial abattoir for assessment of carcass characteristics and FA profiles of meat. The broilers fed L. javanica had significantly(P < 0.05) lower FI compared with the other two groups. However,the broilers in the Poscontrol and Ljav5 treatment groups had higher(P < 0.05) ADG, lower FCR and higher slaughter weights. L. javanica inclusion had no effect on the breast weight, thigh weight, carcass weight, and dressing percentage of the broilers. Most of the n-3 FA were not affected by diets except for the docosapentaenoic, which was found to be higher(P < 0.05) in the Ljav12 treatment group and the lowest in the Negcontrol. The broilers in the Negcontrol and Poscontrol groups had higher(P < 0.05) total saturated fatty acids(SFA). On the contrary, the L. javanica fed broilers had higher(P < 0.05) total polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA), total n-3 FA and PUFA:SFA ratio and also had significantly lower n-6:n-3 ratios compared with the other two treatment groups. No differences were observed with regards to total monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA) and total n-6 FA. Overall, the findings from the study showed that inclusion of L. javanica in broiler diets at 5 g/kg feed has positive influences on growth performance,carcass characteristics and FA profiles of broiler meat.