Search

This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary n-3 fatty acids and ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation on semen quality, sperm fatty acids, and reproductive performance of roosters. Seventy-two roosters (30 weeks old) were randomly allocated into 4 dietary treatments including 1) basal diet as the control group (F0G0), 2) basal diet supplemented with 20 g/kg fish oil (F2G0), 3) basal diet supplemented with 30 g/kg ginger powder (PG) (F0G3), and 4) basal diet supplemented with 20 g/kg fish oil and 30 g/kg ginger powder (F2G3) for 10 consecutive weeks. The levels of sperm linolenic acid, EPA, and DHA were higher in fish oil-fed roosters (P<0.05). A lower percentage of sperm linoleic and arachidonic acids were recorded in F2G0 and F2G3 groups (P<0.05). At 38 weeks of age, a higher sperm volume was found in F0G3 roosters than in the F0G0 and F2G0 groups. From week 34 to the end of the experiment, sperm viability, sperm abnormality, and sperm motility were significantly improved in the GP-fed roosters (F0G3 and F2G3 groups) (P<0.05). Significantly lowest sperm concentration overall the experiment was observed in the F2G0 group (P<0.05). Higher testosterone levels and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content were recorded in F0G3 and F2G3 groups in comparison to the F2G0 (P<0.05). Also, the fertility rate of collected eggs from F0G3 and F2G3 groups was higher compared to F2G0 group (P<0.05). In conclusion, although the use of fish oil in roosters’ diets alone had a negative effect on some parameters related to reproductive performance, the use of ginger powder alone or along with fish oil improved semen quality and fertility potential.

Two separate studies were conducted in growing broiler chickens to examine the relative bioavailability (RBA) of L-smethionine (L-Met) vs. DL-methionine (DL-Met) in the starter (0–10 d, Experiment 1) and grower (11–24 d, Experiment 2) periods. In each experiment, 540 male Arian broilers were weighed and randomly allocated to nine dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with 6 replicates: basal diet (BD) with no methionine (Met) supplementation and eight diets supplemented with incremental levels (0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 g/kg) of DL-methionine (DL-Met) or L-methionine (L-Met). Supplementation of the BD with either DL-Met or L-Met improved growth performance (P< 0.05), breast percentage (P< 0.05), and antioxidant status (P< 0.05) of broilers in both experiments. Orthogonal contrasts showed that L-Met supplementation compared to DL-Met (specifically at levels 0.8 and 1.6 g/kg) improved average daily gain (ADG, P< 0.05), average daily feed intake (ADFI, P< 0.01), and feed to gain ratio (F:G, P< 0.01) in the starter phase. In the grower phase, L-Met supplementation (specifically at levels 0.8 and 1.6 g/kg) only improved F:G (P< 0.05) compared to DL-Met, with no significant differences in the other performance parameters. Nonlinear regression analysis showed that RBA of L-Met based on carcass percentage was significantly (P< 0.05) higher than that of DL-Met in the starter phase. Based on the findings of this study, it seems that using L-Met compared to DL-Met may improve the feed efficiency and carcass percentage of young growing broiler chickens.

This investigation was aimed to evaluate the effects of Silybum marianumseed, Thymus vulgaris, and Rosmarinus officinalispowders and their combination in alleviating the risks of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in young broiler chicks. One-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were allocated to 6 experimental groups from d 1 to 21. The experimental dietary groups included: Negative control (NC) received the basal diet, Positive control (PC) containing 2 mg AFB1/kg diet; Positive control + 10 g/kg diet of Silybum marianumseed (SMS); Positive control + 10 g/kg diet of Thymus vulgaris(TV); Positive control + 5 g/kg diet of Rosmarinus officinalis(RO); Positive control + 10 g/kg diet of SMS + 10 g/kg diet of TV + 5 g/kg diet of RO as a blend of herbs (BH). There was no difference between feed intake and body weight gain among the experimental groups (P>0.05). In contrast, the feed conversion rate (FCR) in NC and SMS groups was lower than in other groups (P<0.05). Calcium levels and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) were lower in serum samples, but the activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were higher in PC chickens (P<0.05). Increase in the thigh muscle malondialdehyde (MDA) in chickens fed AFB1 was significantly reduced in the NC, SMS, and BH chickens (P<0.05). Chickens of NC and SMS groups showed the highest response to respiratory burst of heterophil (NBT assay) and lymphocyte proliferation assays (MTT assay) (P<0.05). In conclusion, the addition of studied herbs, especially SMS, to the AFB1 contaminated diet could have a protective effect against aflatoxicosis in broiler chickens.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of an anti-coccidiosis drug, vaccine, probiotic, symbiotic, and phytochemicals in the prevention and control of coccidia infection in broilers. A total of 525 one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly allocated to seven experimental diets with five replicates of 15 birds each in a completely randomized design. Experimental diets consisted of negative control (NC) without any additives and not challenged. The other 6 groups were challenged with mixed Eimeriaand fed the basal diet with no additives (Positive Control, PC) or supplemented with Coxidine 250, probiotic, synbiotic, Livacox T vaccine and phytobiotic additives based on the manufacturer's recommended dose. Body weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded weekly. Oocysts per gram of excreta (OPG) were determined on days 25 to 33 and 42. One bird per cage was euthanized to analyze lesion score and jejunum and ileum inflammatory genes expression. Coccidial challenge reduced WG (P <0.05) during 15 to 28 days and vaccine treatment was more effective in improving WG and FCR on days 29-42 and 1-42 (P <0.05) than other treatments. Birds in the PC group had higher (P <0.05) OPG than NC group for all days and the vaccine treatment resulted in the lowest rate of OPG compared to other treatments (P<0.05) at 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33 d of age and overall average. Relative mRNA levels of IFN-γ, IL-1β and IL-10 were significantly upregulated among treatments under coccidiosis challenge in jejunum and ileum except for IL-1β expression in the ileum. In conclusion, based on the results of this study the individual characteristics of feed additives for the prevention of coccidiosis can be different depending on the type and source of feed additives, duration, and amount used, levels of oocyst inoculation and Eimeriatypes.

We examined the effect of the Persian Gulf algae derivates, phycocyanin (PC) and fucoidan (FUC), on production performance, egg quality, intestinal histomorphology, ileal microflora, and egg yolk biochemistry of laying Japanese quail. A total of 200 six-week-old Japanese quails with an average body weight of 215 ± 10 g were allocated to five treatments, four replicates and 10 birds in each replicate in a completely randomized design. The treatment groups received PC (from Spirulina platensis) and FUC (from brown seaweed) in their drinking water while control groups did not. Treatment groups received PC and FUC at 20 or 40 mg/L levels (denoted as PC20, PC40, FUC20, and FUC40, respectively). All birds were fed the same diet. All treatments significantly improved the percentage of hen day egg production (HDEP) (P = 0.002), egg mass (P = 0.002), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P = 0.022) but no difference was noted in egg weight (EW) and feed intake (FI). Different levels of PC and FUC significantly increased the thickness of eggshells (P = 0.022); however, the weight of the digestive tract (liver, spleen, proventriculus, gizzard and pancreas) and oviduct was not affected. Algal derivates improved the villus height (P = 0.007) and crypt depth (P = 0.007) of the duodenum, as well as, the villus height (P = 0.005) and crypt depth (P = 0.026) of the jejunum. Both algal derivates positively affected the intestinal microflora (populations of Lactobacillus(P = 0.017), Coliform(P = 0.005), and Clostridium(P = 0.000)) whereas aerobic bacteria were unaffected. Yolk cholesterol P = 0.012) and yolk malondialdehyde P = 0.050) content were significantly reduced in experimental treatments compared to the control group. In conclusion, our results showed that the treatment of laying Japanese quails with algal derivates positively affects quail performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microflora, and yolk cholesterol and malondialdehyde. Additional studies exploring optimal dosages and mechanisms of action is warranted to fully understand the scope of the algae derivates in poultry production.

The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis comparing the biological efficiency of DL-methionine and L-methionine (DL-Metand L-Met) in broiler nutrition. This analysis was based on a dataset comprising experiment results published in peer-reviewed papers since 2007. All experiments investigated the response of broilers (aged 0–21 d) to different dietary concentrations of DL- and L-Met, achieved by supplementing crystalline Met. A graphical analysis was conducted on the database using ellipses coverage and nonparametric density techniques. Two methods of linear and nonlinear exponential meta-regression analysis were used to determine relative bioavailability based on average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) responses to dietary Met sources. The analyses of ADG and FCR obtained from both linear and exponential models showed a relative difference between the tested methionine sources. The results showed that both ADG and FCR were improved in L-Met compared to DL-Met supplemented diets. Linear regression analysis revealed that DL-Met was 94.97% (for ADG) and 95.63% (for FCR) as efficacious as L-Met (P< 0.01). In contrast, the analysis of the fitted nonlinear exponential model showed that the biological efficiencies of DL-Met were 91.33% and 76.57% of the values for L-Met for ADG (P = 0.01) and FCR (P = 0.09), respectively. Based on the meta-analytical results, an equivalence of relative biological efficiency of DL-Met in comparison with L-Met for young broilers could not be confirmed.

Genetic selection based on the high growth rate and consequently high slaughter weight in broiler chickens has caused many problems in broiler breeders. A negative correlation between growth and reproductive traits has declined semen quality and fertility in roosters. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of camphor levels on some reproductive parameters included semen parameters, antioxidant status, and testicular development in broiler breeder roosters. Thirty-five ROSS 308 broiler breeder roosters were divided into five groups to receive camphor (C) levels: C0, C50, C250, C750, and C1000 ppm for 12 consecutive weeks (31-43 weeks). Body weight, seminal volume, sperm concentration, and percentage of live and morphologically normal sperm were not affected by diets (P > 0.05), however significantly were changed by bird age over the experiment (P < 0.05). Semen quality factor (SQF) significantly was affected by both diets and age (P < 0.05). Mitochondrial activity, apoptotic-like changes, and DNA fragmentation were improved in the groups fed camphor levels compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Testes weight (left, right, and combined weights) and gonadosomatic index were increased linearly by the camphor supplementation (P < 0.05). The serum activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) was not affected by treatments, however superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity were significantly higher in C50, C250, and C750, respectively (P < 0.05). The lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the testes and liver samples was observed in C750 (P < 0.05). Excluding the number of Sertoli cells and blood vessels, other histomorphological traits of testes showed one of the linear or quadratic responses to the camphor levels (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that camphor as an antioxidant source may improve reproduction performance in roosters.

Fertility potential in roosters is a crucial topic in broiler breeder reproduction which though to be associated with age. This study aims to investigate effects of 2 levels of pioglitazone (PIO) supplementation on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) expression, semen quality, and fertility parameters of aged broiler breeder roosters. The efficacy of PIO was divided into 2 sections: receptor-dependent and receptor-independent. Expression of PPAR-γ mRNA and protein was assessed in sperm to monitor receptor-dependent actions. Sperm motility, velocity parameters, viability, mitochondrial activity, and apoptosis were assessed for the receptor-independent actions. Broiler breeder roosters were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 1) control received a basal diet (CTRL); 2) PIO-5 received a basal diet supplemented with 5 mg PIO/bird/day, and 3) PIO-10 received a basal diet supplemented with 10 mg PIO/bird/day. In addition, semen samples were collected from 24 Ross broiler breeder roosters at 30, 43, and 53 wk of age. Effects of PIO were significant in terms of total motility, straight-line velocity, mitochondrial activity, and apoptosis (P≤ 0.05). Total motility, straight-line velocity and mitochondrial activity improved in both PIO groups (P≤ 0.05) along with a significant reduction in early and late apoptosis in the PIO groups (P≤ 0.05). Pioglitazone addition affected total motility, mitochondrial activity, early apoptosis and late apoptosis in a linearly and quadratically manner (P< 0.05). PPAR-γ mRNA and protein expression were not significantly upregulated by the different doses of PIO (P> 0.05). Similarly, fertility performance was not significantly changed in the PIO groups (P> 0.05). Moreover, PIO improved mitochondrial activity and decreased the apoptosis rate in the sperm of aged broiler breeder roosters. These improvements were associated with the receptor-independent actions of PIO and the mechanism of action of PIO did not appear to be affected by the PPAR-γ receptor in broiler breeder roosters.