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In Egypt, ostrich farming has had a great increase during the last few years. The most common problems facing ostrich farmers are a high percentage of late embryonic mortality and low hatchability. This study was designed to survey the main causes of late in-shell ostrich embryonic death. A total of 100 freshly dead inshell ostrich embryos, all of them were in the second half of the incubation period with different ages ranging from 25 to 39 days old, were received during the breeding seasons of the period from October 2018- October 2021, from different ostrich farms in Egypt, suffered from late-stage embryonic death during artificial incubation, respiratory signs and diarrhea in breeders, moreover, the surveyed ostrich farms were near to chicken farms suffered from Newcastle Disease outbreaks. Gross findings in all embryos were recorded as anasarca, severe general congestion, and hemorrhages. In this study, 66 dead shell ostrich embryos out of 100 (66%) were immunohistochemically positive for Newcastle Disease Virus. Four Velogenic Newcastle Disease Virus strains (genotype VIIb) were molecularly characterized in 4 immune-positive ND embryos (from 4 different ostrich farms in 4 different Egyptian governorates) by RT-PCR and F gene sequencing. In addition, all embryos were negative for bacterial isolation except for one vNDV positive embryo (1%) (25 days old) that was superinfected by Citrobacter spp. The main histopathological lesions of vNDV-positive ostrich embryos were general edema, extensive congested blood vessels, hemorrhages, necrosis, syncytial cells formation in the upper respiratory tract, and leukocytic cells infiltrations. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report of the Velogenic Newcastle Disease Virus that immunohistochemically and molecularly characterized in dead ostrich embryos in Egypt, therefore, Newcastle Disease Virus vaccination of ostrich breeders is strongly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of induced urolithiasis by high dietary calcium (Ca) or protein levels on biochemical analyte levels, redox status, selected inflammatory cytokines and histopathology in chickens. A total of 90 one‐day‐old white Hy‐Line chicks were fed basal control diets containing 20% crude protein (CP) and 1% Ca until they reached 44 days of age. After that, the birds were divided into three groups (30 birds per group). All management factors (light, temperature, ventilation, stock density and diet) were identical among the three groups throughout the study except for the dietary Ca and protein percentages. Group I was fed a control diet containing 20% CP and 1% Ca, group II was fed a high‐Ca diet containing 5% Ca, and group III was fed a high‐protein diet containing 25% CP. Our findings clearly demonstrated that dietary imbalance (caused by high‐Ca or high‐CP levels) per se in chickens was physiologically harmful, as it was accompanied by post‐mortem lesions; biochemical, redox status and histopathological alterations; and upregulation of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)‐1β and IL‐6). In particular, the birds fed the high‐Ca diet clearly exhibited the most obvious alterations in most of the endpoints. In conclusion, this study constitutes the first extensive investigation of the effects of high‐Ca or high‐protein diets induced urolithiasis on growth performance, redox status, inflammatory cytokine levels and pathological characterization in chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out on six laying hen farms, three mite-infested and three mite-free at Dakahlia and Damietta governorates in Egypt to demonstrate: (i) prevalence of different species of mites on laying hen farms; (ii) effects of mite infestation on chicken health and production; (iii) efficacy of deltamethrin (DMT) on treatment of mite infestation and (iv) residues of DMT in eggs and meat. The results showed that 12 mite species were detected in the mite-infested farms, this is the first record in Egypt, and thatDermanyssus gallinaewas the highest identified species from 295 (40.9%) of 720 samples. There was a significant effect (P ≤ 0.05) of mites on the mortality %, feed consumption, egg production % and the tested haematological parameters. DMT had no impact on production performance, while transient respiratory signs post-spraying were recorded. The mites induced severe skin lesions. Egg samples showed the highest residue levels of DMT, followed by muscle and skin atP ≤ 0.05. It can be concluded that the mite species, as a first record, had a deleterious impact on the performance of the Egyptian laying hen farm facilities. Moreover, that DMT (Butox®50 EC, Intervet Co., France) spraying was ineffective by one-time application, every 1 or 2 months in mite-infested laying hen farms, particularly when heavily infested. Furthermore, DMT residues in laying hen eggs and tissue should be considered to avoid the potential risk for humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]