Savaram V. Rama Rao

Laying performance of broiler breeder chickens fed various millets or broken rice as a source of energy at a constant nutrient intake.

Laying performance, egg quality and carcase traits were recorded in broiler breeders (29–48 weeks of age) fed diets in which pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) or broken rice fully replaced yellow maize (50% of the diet) from the reference diet. Constant ratios of metabolizable energy to other nutrients were maintained in all the diets. Each diet provided 1.38 MJ metabolizable energy (ME)/bird per day to 8 replicate groups of 10 layers each, maintained in deep litter pens.The hen-day egg production and the ME required to produce 12 eggs in birds fed pearl millet or broken rice were similar (p>0.05) to those fed on the maize diet, while birds fed foxtail millet or finger millet required more energy to produce the same number of eggs. The egg production and the efficiency of energy utilization were significantly (p<0.05) reduced in the birds fed these two cereals. Egg quality was not affected by replacing maize with the different cereals. However, the yolk colour index was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in the cereal-fed groups in comparison to the maize-fed birds. The gizzard and giblet weights were heavier (p<0.05) in the birds fed foxtail millet or finger millet than in those fed broken rice. Deposition of abdominal fat and the liver fat content were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the birds fed pearl millet than in the other groups. Depending on the local prices, the cost of feeding may be reduced considerably by using any of the cereals tested as the principal energy source in place of maize in broiler breeder diets.

Effect of Supplementing Organic Selenium on Performance, Carcass Traits, Oxidative Parameters and Immune Responses in Commercial Broiler Chickens

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing various concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, or 400 μg/kg diet) of organic Se on growth performance, carcass traits, oxidative stress, and immune responses in commercial broiler chickens reared in open-sided poultry house under tropical climatic conditions. Each diet was fed ad libitum to eight replicates consisting of six birds in each pen from 1 to 42 d of age. Body weight gain and feed efficiency, and relative weight of liver, abdominal fat and ready to cook yields were not affected (p>0.05) by organic Se supplementation to broiler diets. Lipid peroxidation in plasma decreased, while activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase in plasma increased (p<0.01) linearly with Se concentration in diet. The ratios between heterophyls and lymphocytes and relative weight of lymphoid organs (bursa, spleen, and thymus), and antibody production to Newcastle disease vaccination were not affected (p>0.05) by Se supplementation to broiler diets. However, the cell-mediated immunity (lymphocyte proliferation ratio) increased (p<0.01) linearly with dietary Se concentration. The results of the present study indicate that the supplementation of Se did not influence body weight and feed efficiency. However, supplementation of Se increased antioxidant status and lymphocyte proliferation in broiler chickens.

Effect of dietary inclusion of toasted guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) meal as a source of protein on performance of White Leghorn layers.

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of including toasted (120°C/35 min) guar meal (GM, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) in the diet on performance and egg shell quality of White Leghorn (WL) layers. Totals of 2376 and 2816 layer chickens (Babcock, BV 300) were randomly distributed into 27 and 32 replicates with 88 birds each in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Three diets in Experiment 1 (0, 50 and 100 g GM) and 4 diets in Experiment 2 (0, 50, 100 and 150 g GM/kg) were prepared having similar concentrations of energy and protein. Each diet was fed ad libitum to 9 and 8 replicates, respectively, in Experiments 1 (from 53 to 68 weeks) and 2 (35 to 46 weeks of age). Compared to soya bean meal (SBM) GM contained similar concentrations of protein, but was deficient in all essential amino acids except arginine, which was 70% higher than in SBM. Total non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content in GM (166 g/kg) was lower than that of SBM (179 g/kg). Amongst different NSP fractions, GM contained higher levels of arabans, xylans, mannans and glucans compared to SBM. The galactomannan gum content in GM was 46 g/kg. Egg production (EP), body weight (BW), food intake (FI), food efficiency (FE) and egg quality (shell weight, shell per cent, shell thickness, Haugh unit score, egg density and egg breaking strength) parameters were not affected by incorporating GM up to 100 g/kg diet in Experiment 1. However, egg weight (EW) and egg mass (EM) were reduced significantly in groups fed on 100 g/kg diet. In Experiment 2, EP and FE were not affected by incorporating GM up to 100 g/kg, but were reduced at 150 g/kg diet. FI, EW, BW and egg quality parameters were not affected by incorporating toasted GM up to 150 g/kg diet. Based on the results of both experiments, it is concluded that toasted GM can be included in WL layer diets up to 100 g/kg without affecting EP, FE, EW, EM, Haugh unit score, BW and egg shell quality parameters.

Effect of phytase superdosing, myo-inositol and available phosphorus concentrations on performance and bone mineralisation in broilers

A total of 2,376 one-day-old Ross broiler chickens were used to investigate the effect of myo-inositol (MYO) and phytase supplementation on performance and bone mineralization variables in broilers fed diets formulated to have varying concentrations of available phosphorus (P). The trial was designed as a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial; with and without phytase superdosing (0 or 1,500 FTU/kg), MYO (0 or 3 g/kg), and dietary P (low, moderate or high). At 21 d, dietary phytase and MYO had no consistent benefit on bone mineralization variables. Bone ash reduced by 4.7% from the medium to low P diet (P < 0.01), with no effect of phytase supplementation. Superdosing improved bone P content by 6% in birds fed the low P diet, signifying an interaction between dietary P concentrations and phytase (P < 0.05). Dietary MYO addition resulted in a numerical reduction in bone ash and a significant reduction in bone strength (P < 0.05). At 42 d, the beneficial effect of phytase superdosing on feed intake and body weight gain was evident in the low P diet. Superdosing reduced feed conversion rate (FCR) at all P levels (P < 0.05), although this effect was more pronounced on the low P diet, suggesting that sufficient P being released from the phytase itself to re-phosphorylate MYO and hence improve FCR. The significant improvement in FCR was greater with superdosing than with MYO alone, and the combination led to no further improvement in FCR compared with superdosing alone, signifying a phytase and MYO interaction (P < 0.05). From these results, it can be estimated that MYO is providing around 30% to 35% of the total response to superdosing.