Alex Martins Varela de Arruda

Retraction Note: Regional differences in the surface temperature of naked neck laying hens in a semi-arid environment

The aim of this study was to evaluate the regional differences in the surface temperature of Naked Neck hens that were subjected to different temperatures in a semi-arid environment. The surface temperature was measured in four body regions (face, neck, legs and feathered area) of 60 Naked Neck hens. The following environmental variables were measured at the center of the shed: the black globe temperature (T G ), air temperature (T A ), wind speed (U) and relative humidity (R H ). The T A was divided into three classes: 1 (24.0–26.0 °C), 2 (26.1–28.9 °C) and 3 (29.0–31.0 °C). An analysis of variance was performed by the least squares method and a comparison of the means by the Tukey-Kramer test. The results showed a significant effect of T A class, the body region and the interaction between these two effects on the surface temperature. There was no significant difference between the T A classes for the face and neck. The legs and feathered area showed significant differences between the T A classes. Regarding the effect of body regions within each T A class, there was a significant difference among all regions in the three T A classes. In all T A classes the neck had the highest average followed by the face and legs. The feathered area showed the lowest average of the different T A classes. In conclusion, this study showed that there are regional differences in the surface temperature of Naked Neck hens, with the legs acting as thermal windows.

Physicochemical and microbiological parameters of frozen and chilled chicken meat

With this study we aimed to evaluate and compare physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of frozen and chilled chicken meat. Only the prime cuts (breast, thighs, and drumsticks) were considered for the analysis of chemical composition, pH, color, water-holding capacity (WHC), thawing-cooking loss (TCL), and shear force (SF). For microbiological analysis, mesophilic bacteria, thermotolerant coliforms, and Salmonella spp. were considered. The frozen and chilled chicken meat showed no PSE (pale, soft, and exudative) or DFD (dark, firm, and dry) type of anomalies. The chromaticity showed higher redness in the breast (a* = 0.23) and yellowness in the thigh (b* = 5.64) for the frozen meat. The chilled meat showed better values for water-holding capacity in the thigh (69.19%) and thawing-cooking loss in the breast meat (18.84%). Samples of frozen and chilled chicken meat showed unconformities as to the percentage of occurrence of Salmonella spp., since the Brazilian legislation determines the absence of these pathogens. Both forms of preservation by freezing and chilling are recommended to maintain the physicochemical characteristics. In turn, we observed that the microbiological patterns can be maintained by the both forms of meat preservation by cold, mainly by freezing, provided there are satisfactory sanitary conditions in handling pre and post-slaughter of poultry.

Digestibilidade in vitro de leguminosas do semiárido com inóculo cecal de avestruzes

To evaluate the in vitro digestibility of forage legume from semi-arid northeast region using caecal inoculum liquor of ostriches with Reverse Tilley and Terry technique, the alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa) was used as reference food for comparison between hays of canephori (Senna multijuga), clitoria (Clitoria ternatea), leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), kills pasture (Senna obtusifolia) and thrush (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia). There was, by Duncan test (P<0.05), significant difference to in vitro digestibility of the nutritional fractions among the legume hays resulting in general mean value of 49.62% for dry matter (DIVMS), of 23.38% for crude protein (DIVPB), of 17.88% for insoluble protein in neutral detergent fiber (DIVPIDN), of 34.52% for neutral detergent fiber (DIVFDN) and of 42.07% for neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein (DIVFDNcp). The nutritional composition of feedstuffs influenced the fermentative activity of microorganisms from cecum-colon of ostriches in these in vitro incubations, and the better digestibility values were observed for alfalfa hay, followed by kills pasture and leucaena hays, wich were higher than other legumes from semi-arid.

Caldo de cana desidratado na ração de codornas de corte

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of dehydrated cane juice (DCJ) on the performance, carcass quality, and economic index of European quails ( Coturnix coturnix), during the period from 22 to 42 days of age. One hundred and ninety-two quails with 22 days of age were distributed in a completely randomized design, with four treatments and six replicates of eight birds each. DCJ was added at 0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5% in the feed. The economic feasibility of including DCJ levels in the feed was evaluated through relative gross margin. In the period from 29 to 35 days of age, there was increased linear effect of feed intake with the increase of DCJ in the feed. However, there was a quadratic effect of DCJ levels on carcass, drumstick+thigh, and abdominal fat weights, and the estimated optimum levels were 1.69, 2.50, and 2.34%, respectively. There was a decreasing linear effect of DCJ levels on breast weight with and without skin. Economic analysis showed higher profits to the producer with the use of conventional feed. However, among the DCJ levels of inclusion, the level of 1.5% showed the best results, with a difference of 0.47% in relative gross margin when compared to the conventional feed. The addition of 1.69 and 2.50% of dehydrated cane juice in the feed is recommended to achieve higher carcass and drumstick+thigh weights in meat quails, respectively.