M. T. Farran

Soil Solarization: A Sustainable Agriculture Approach to Reduce Microorganisms in Chicken Manure-Treated Soil

ABSTRACT The common practice in many countries of using chicken manure in soil as a source of nutrients to plants is of paramount importance in sustainable agriculture. However, the application of non-composted manure on soil could contribute to contamination of the environment by fecal microorganisms. This creates a health hazard to humans, domestic animals, and to wildlife. The impact of soil solarization on reduction of microorganism-indicators of fecal contamination in chicken manure-treated soils has not been evaluated. In this study, 1.5 kg/m2 of chicken manure was applied to 40 cm deeply-ploughed clayish calcareous soils of four greenhouses. The soils of four other greenhouses were left as control-untreated with manure. Litter incorporation in the soil was performed by a harrow with 20 cm penetration depth. Irrigation was applied to soil of the eight greenhouses to obtain an average humidity at 40 cm-soil depth equivalent to 92.9%. Soil solarization of the chicken manure-treated soils with a 50 µm thick-polyethylene film for a period of six weeks resulted in an average 20 cm-soil depth temperature at 15 hr of 40°C in comparison to 28.3°C obtained in soil with no polyethylene film application. Solarization resulted in reduction in different microorganism-indicators per gram of chicken manure-treated soil collected at 20 cm depth in comparison to the count in the same soil before solarization. The percent reduction in counts in increasing order was: Staphylococcus aureus (26.3), total bacteria (45.5), fungi (71.3), Clostridium perfringes (81.8), fecal coliform (92.6), and non-lactose fermenting bacteria (100.0).

Metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility of decorticated extruded safflower meal

An experiment was conducted to determine TME and amino acid digestibility of several dehulled extruded safflower meals. Finely ground partially dehulled extruded (ESM), partially dehulled solvent-extracted (SESM), extensively cleaned dehulled and extruded safflower meal (CSM), or soybean meal 44 (SBM 44) was intubated to 9 fasted mature roosters with 40 g per rooster and total excreta was collected.The concentrations of all essential amino acids in CSM were higher than those in ESM and SESM. Also, compared with SBM 44, CSM was deficient in lysine, slightly higher in TSAA and tryptophan, but much higher in arginine. The AME(n) and TME(n) of CSM were 2,413 and 2,832 kcal/kg, respectively, and were higher than those of SBM 44 (P < 0.01). The true lysine digestibilities of CSM and SBM 44 were similar but were higher than those of ESM and SESM (P < 0.05). However, ESM, SESM, and CSM had similar true tryptophan and threonine digestibilities that were lower than that of SBM 44 (P < 0.05). With respect to TSAA, all feed ingredients under investigation had similar apparent and true digestibilities. In conclusion, extensive hull removal of safflower seeds followed by cold extrusion produced a low-fiber CSM rich in both energy and protein that makes it a promising feed ingredient for poultry.

Evaluation of 12 stabilizers in a developed attenuated Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine.

The development of a stable live attenuated Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) vaccine, resisting heat stress during transportation and storage in unequipped tropical and subtropical zones of the world, is highly recommended. Twelve stabilizers were individually supplemented into a 9 ml volume of sterile distilled water resulting in concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%. A volume of 1 ml of attenuated live SE vaccine is added over the 9 ml of each concentration of the stabilizers. The differently stabilized SE vaccines were stressed at 55 degrees C for 48 h. The lowest percent reductions in SE cell viability by specified level of each stabilizer in ascending order were: 22.3% by 2% skim milk, 55.1% by 5% bovine serum albumin (BSA), 59.2% by 4% sorbitol, 74.4% by 3% maltose, 75% by 2% honey, 91.3% by 3% histidine, 96.9% by 1% heparin, 97.5% by 4% dextrose, 97.9% by 5% lactose, 99.4% by 5% sucrose, 99.5% by 2% gelatin, and 100% by 1-5% glycerol. In narrowing the concentration levels of skim milk to include 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50, 2.75, and 3.00%, the 2.50% was the optimum level resulting in minimal percent reduction in SE cell viability of 18.9% after exposure to the defined heat stress.

Nutritional value, performance, carcass quality, visceral organ size, and blood clinical chemistry of broiler chicks fed 30% tannin-free fava bean diets

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the chemical and nutritional values of 5 tannin-free fava bean (FB) cultivars (FB9, FB10, FB13, FB17, and FB24) on growth, visceral organ size, and blood clinical chemistry of broiler chicks fed a corn-soybean meal 48 (SBM48) diet containing 30% tannin-free FB. In the first experiment, 49 Hy-line roosters, 55 wk of age, were individually precision-fed 30 g of each FB cultivar and soybean meal 44 (SBM44). Protein, methionine, and lysine contents of the FB seeds (0.005% tannin) were 27.7, 0.23, and 1.98% of DM, respectively. The AMEn of all FB cultivars was 2,839 kcal/kg and higher (P < 0.05) than SBM44. The true lysine digestibility of FB10 (94.1) was higher (P < 0.05) than FB9 (89.0%) and FB24 (89.2%), but comparable with the other fava beans. The FB cultivars true methionine digestibilities were similar among each other and to SBM44. In a battery feeding trial, 6 corn-SBM48 diets containing 0 (control) or 30% of FB9, FB10, FB13, FB17, or FB24 seeds were each fed to Ross 308 1-wk-old male broiler chicks for 14 d. The determined FB nutrient values were used in formulating FB-containing diets. Birds fed FB-containing diets had better (P < 0.05) weight gain and feed conversion than those of the control. When compared with the control birds, relative weights of abdominal fat pad and liver were reduced (P < 0.05) by 30% inclusion of all dietary FB varieties, except for FB17 and FB13, respectively. Broiler chicks fed the FB13 diet had plasma thrombocyte and white blood cell (WBC) differential counts higher (P < 0.05) than those fed the FB10 diet and WBC count higher (P < 0.05) than the birds fed the FB17 diet. In conclusion, tannin-free FB was lower in protein, methionine, and lysine, but higher in AMEn, compared with SBM44. Moreover, FB seeds, especially FB10, can be included in a broiler chick diet with no adverse effects on performance, but FB13 increased WBC count.

Comparative impact of live chicken infectious anaemia virus vaccine versus natural exposure in meat chicken breeders on immunity to infectivity by CIA and inclusion body hepatitis viruses in their offspring

The immunology and histopathology and the distribution of viral antigen in infections with chicken infectious anaemia virus (CIAV) and inclusion body hepatitis virus (IBHV) were compared in the broiler offspring of CIAV-vaccinated meat chicken breeders versus those in the offspring of breeders naturally exposed to field CIAV. No significant difference in the humoral antibody level specific for CIAV was observed between 5 and 33 weeks of age in the two breeder groups (p>0.05). The maternal humoral immunity to CIAV in the day-old offspring of the groups did not differ significantly (p>0.05). The humoral immunity to CIAV at 40 days of age indicated an absence of clinical signs of CIAV in the broiler offspring of both groups of breeders and this was associated with mean serum thymulin levels in offspring of both groups not differing significantly at 1 or 40 days of age. Histopathological and immunofluorescence observations did not differ significantly in the offspring of either group by CIAV or IBHV.

Comparison of phenotypic and virulence genes characteristics in human and chicken isolates of Proteus mirabilis

Abstract The objective of this work is to compare the phenotypic and virulence genes characteristics in human and chicken isolates of Proteus mirabilis. The bacterial examination of 50 livers of individual broilers, marketed by four major outlets, revealed a high recovery of P. mirabilis (66%), and a low recovery frequency of Salmonella spp. (4%), Serratia odorifera (2%), Citrobacter brakii (2%), and Providencia stuartii (2%). The phenotypic biochemical characterization of the recovered 33 chicken isolates of P. mirabilis were compared to 30 human isolates (23 urinary and six respiratory isolates). The comparison revealed significant differences in the presence of gelatinase enzyme (100% presence in chicken isolates versus 91·3 and 83·3% presence in human urinary and respiratory isolates, respectively, P<0·05). The H2S production occurred in 100% of chicken isolates versus 95·6 and 66·7% presence in human urinary and respiratory isolates, respectively, P<0·05). The other 17 biochemical characteristics did not differ significantly among the three groups of isolates (P>0·05). Two virulence genes, the mrpA and FliL, were having a typical 100% presence in randomly selected isolates of P. mirabilis recovered from chicken livers (N = 10) versus isolates recovered from urinary (N = 5) and respiratory specimens of humans (N = 5) (P>0·05). The average percentage similarity of mrpA gene nucleotide sequence of poultry isolates to human urinary and respiratory isolates was 93·2 and 97·5-%, respectively. The high similarity in phenotypic characteristics, associated with typical frequency of presence of two virulence genes, and high similarity in sequences of mrpA gene among poultry versus human P. mirabilis isolates justifies future investigations targeting the evaluation of adaptable pathogenicity of avian Proteus mirabilis isolates to mammalian hosts.

Evaluation of Antibiotics to Control Mycoplasma gallisepticum in Broiler Breeder Chickens

This study aims at the evaluation of the efficacy of Pulmotil and Denagard in comparison to the generic tylosin against Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) infection in broiler breeders. A total of 600 twenty four-week old broiler breeder pullets along with their 60 roosters of the Ross 308 strain, were equally subdivided into four treatments of 150 birds each with 3 replicates per treatment (50 pullets and 5 roosters/pen). The MG-free birds of Group 1, the Control, were kept in a separate house and left with no MG-challenge or drug administration while those of groups 2, 3, and 4 were raised in another house and previously challenged with MG at 2 and 24 weeks of age respectively. Every 4 weeks and for 3 consecutive days, birds of group 3 were administered Pulmotil (3–21 Weeks) and Denagard (25–44 weeks), whereas those of Group 4 were treated throughout the trial with generic Tylosin. Production performance parameters were not significantly different among the differently treated birds. At 30 weeks of age, Pulmotil-Denagard treatment significantly reduced the tracheal MG counts to a similar level to that of the controls and restored the fertility of the MG challenged birds at 39 weeks of age. At 35 weeks of age, Pulmotil-Denagard treatment significantly reduced the frequency of day-old progeny with positive airsac lesions. It also reduced MG colonization in the airsacs of the day-old offsprings of the 35 and 39 week old breeders. As the Pulmotil-Denagard treatment significantly reduced the MG colonization of bird tissues, it reduced MG sera titers at 12, 20 and 30 weeks of age, and increased titers against IB, IBD and ND at later stages. In conclusion, the use of Pulmotil/Denagard program is highly recommended in MG-infected breeder farms, and protects against any potential MG endemic infection.

Dietary Hemicell® Improved Reproductive Performance of Broiler Breeders under Commercial Settings

The objective of this work is to study the effect of dietary Hemicell®, a fermentation product that contains high amount of β-mannanase, on performance and health parameters of broiler breeders grown under commercial settings. Twenty six thousand broiler breeders of Ross 308 strain with an average egg production of 35% and 2600 roosters aged 26.5 weeks were used in this study and were subdivided equally into six individual environmentally controlled houses with 4333 hens per house and 10% roosters. Birds in three houses were fed regular diet provided by the Ross Company while those in the remaining three other houses were fed rations containing 250 g of Hemicell® per ton of finished feed for a period of 8.6 months. Hemicell® in breeder diets reduced feed cost and numerically improved number of total and hatching eggs per hen housed. It also increased hatchability by 0.32% during the 8.6 months trial period. Although Hemicell® improved yolk colour, it had no effect on other egg quality parameters such as egg weight and shell thickness. Regarding health parameters, Hemicell® reduced the incidence of pododermatitis in hens and increased the serum titer for NDV towards the end of the trial. Along with the little saving in feed cost, Hemicell® resulted in a gain of around 1.20 US dollar per hen housed. These results indicate that Hemicell® inclusion in the diets of broiler breeders is beneficial to parent flock growers and makes their operations more profitable.