Effects of synbiotic on growth,digestibility, immune and antioxidant performance in broilers

The overuse of in-feed antibiotics has been associated with serious issues, including the developing of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and causing drug residues in poultry products. To date, many countries have restricted the use of growth-promoting antibiotics in food animals, resulting in the increased need for effective alternatives to in-feed antibiotic. Synbiotics, which are composed of probiotics and prebiotics, have been shown to act synergistically when applied simultaneously. Thus, this study investigated the effects of a synbiotic, composed of microencapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum (MLP) and fructooligosaccharide (FOS), on growth, immune and antioxidant parameters, and digestibility of calcium and phosphorus in broilers. A total of 168 newly hatched male broilers were randomly allotted to three dietary groups (n = 7): (1) a corn-soybean meal basal diet (CON); (2) basal diet + synbiotic (SYN); and (3) basal diet + aureomycin (ANT). Compared with the CON, chickens had greater average daily gain and digestibility of calcium and phosphorus in the SYN group (P < 0.05). In the SYN and ANT group, serum IgA, IgG, and IL-10 levels were higher, while the serum TNF-α, IL-2, and IL-6 levels were reduced (P < 0.05) compared to CON. Compared with CON, the level of serum malondialdehyde was lower (P < 0.05) and SOD level was higher (P < 0.05) in either SYN or ANT group. No significant differences in populations of Escherichia coli were seen in chickens among the three groups, whereas, the populations of Lactobacillus were higher (P < 0.05) in chickens in the SYN group compared with those in CON and ANT groups. Taken together, the addition of SYN, consisting of MLP and FOS, had benefits on growth, immune and antioxidant parameters, and digestibility of calcium and phosphorus, indicating its potential to serve as a substitute for antibiotics in broiler feeding.     

Response of growth,essential oil composition,endogenous hormones and microbial activity of Mentha piperita to some organic and biofertilizers agents

The effect of organic (poultry and cattle manures) and biological (effective microorganisms, EM) fertilizers on growth, essential oil yield and its compositions, endogenous phytohormones content and antibacterial activity of peppermint plants grown in pot over 12 weeks was studied. Application of organo- and bio-fertilizers greatly affected on growth, essential oil production and other estimated parameters of peppermint plants. Slight stimulation effect was happened due to soil application of organic manures. Soil application of EM alone or in combination with organic fertilizers significantly increased growth, yield and components of essential oils, endogenous hormones of peppermint as compared to other treatments. Using disc diffusion method, the extracted oil of peppermint plants amended with organic and biofertilizers recorded the highest antibacterial activity against tested pathogenic bacteria like Klebsiella pneuumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus.     

Effects of the inclusion of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) meal on growth performance and blood plasma constituents in broiler chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) production

The aim of this study was to identify the effect of inclusion of defatted black soldier fly larvae (Def-BSFL) meal as a protein source on the performance and blood plasma constituents of broiler chickens. A total of 360-day-old chicks were assigned into four dietary groups, which included four different levels of Def-BSFL meal namely control (0% BSFL), T1(4% BSFL), T2 (8% BSFL) and T3 (12% BSFL) for six weeks experimental feeding period. At the end of the experiment, the blood samples of three birds from each treatment were collected to measure plasma constituents. Birds fed control and T1 diets demonstrated higher feed intake during the finisher stage compared with T2 and T3 diets. The heaviest weight for the 6-week feeding trial was recorded at T1 (1043.8 ± 65.9 g). Birds fed T1 (1.1 ± 0.0) and T3 (0.9 ± 0.1) diets displayed lower feed conversion ratio during the finisher stage than those fed control (1.7 ± 0.1) and T2 (1.8 ± 0.3) diets. Birds fed the control diet demonstrated the highest red blood cell with mean and standard deviation of 7.5 ± 0.34, whereas those fed the T2 diet showed the highest haemoglobin levels with mean and standard deviation of 15.8 ± 0.24. Birds fed T1, T2, and T3 diets exhibited a higher number (P < 0.05) of monocytes than those fed a control diet. There were no differences in white blood cell count across all the groups. In addition, birds fed the T2 diet showed higher (P < 0.05) blood urea nitrogen followed by the T3, control, and T1 diets. As a conclusion, the 4% Def-BSFL in the broiler chicken diet could be used to replace fish meal (FM) and soybean meal (SBM) without compromising bird performance and blood traits.     

Pretreatment of turkey fat-containing wastewater in coarse sand and gravel/coarse sand bioreactors

Fat, oil and grease in wastewater can be difficult to treat because of their slow decomposition. Traditional pretreatment facilities to remove fat, oil and grease from wastewater are increasingly costly. The hypothesis in this study was that pretreatment of animal fat-containing wastewater in sand and sand/gravel filters facilitates the conversion of slowly degradable organic matter measured as the difference between chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) for subsequent biological treatment. The pretreatment was evaluated using simulated turkey-processing wastewater and coarse sand and sand/gravel filters at a constant hydraulic loading rate of 132 L/m²/day. Two types of fixed media reactors were employed: (i) one set with a varying depth of coarse sand, and (ii) the second was similar but with an additional pea gravel cap. The results indicated that the relative removal of COD was slightly improved in the sand bioreactors with a pea gravel cap irrespective of the depth of coarse sand, but partial conversion to BOD₅ was not consistently demonstrated. Pea gravel may act as a sieve to entrap organic matter including fat globules from the wastewater. Multiple dosing at the same daily loading rate slightly improved the treatment efficiency of the sand bioreactors. The ratios of influent-COD/effluent-COD were always greater than 1.0 following a change in the dosing frequency after a rest period, suggesting that organic matter, specifically fat globules in this case, was retained by the column matrix.     

An investigation into the ecological niches and seasonal nature of Clostridium estertheticum and Clostridium gasigenes in the Irish beef farm environment

Blown pack spoilage (BPS) of vacuum packaged beef is caused by psychrotolerant and psychrophilic Clostridium species, primarily Clostridium estertheticum and Clostridium gasigenes. The aim of this study was to investigate the environmental niches and impact of season on these BPS Clostridium spp. on Irish beef farms. On each of five different beef farms, faecal (10), soil (5), silage (5), air (5), bedding straw (5), drinking water (5) and puddle/ditch water (5) samples were collected during Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and tested for C. estertheticum and C. gasigenes using culture (direct plating and enrichment) and molecular (conventional PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR)) based techniques. C. estertheticum and C. gasigenes were detected in all sample types, with qPCR detection rates ranging from 4% to 50% and at concentrations of up to 1·5 log₁₀ CFU per g and 3·5 log₁₀ CFU per g, respectively. The impact of season was not clear as the results were mixed depending on the detection method used. It was concluded that BPS-causing C. estertheticum and C. gasigenes are widely distributed in the beef farm environment.     

Classification of broiler behaviours using triaxial accelerometer and machine learning

Understanding broiler behaviours provides important implications for animal well-being and farm management. The objectives of this study were to classify specific broiler behaviours by analysing data from wearable accelerometers using two machine learning models, K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Lightweight triaxial accelerometers were used to record accelerations of nine 7-week-old broilers at a sampling frequency of 40 Hz. A total of 261.6-min data were labelled for four behaviours – walking, resting, feeding and drinking. Instantaneous motion features including magnitude area, vector magnitude, movement variation, energy, and entropy were extracted and stored in a dataset which was then segmented by one of the six window lengths (1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 20 s) with 50% overlap between consecutive windows. The mean, variation, SD, minimum and maximum of each instantaneous motion feature and two-way correlations of acceleration data were calculated within each window, yielding a total of 43 statistic features for training and testing of machine learning models. Performance of the models was evaluated using pure behaviour datasets (single behaviour type per dataset) and continuous behaviour datasets (continuous recording that involved multiple behaviour types per dataset). For pure behaviour datasets, both KNN and SVM models showed high sensitivities in classifying broiler resting (87% and 85%, respectively) and walking (99% and 99%, respectively). The accuracies of SVM were higher than KNN in differentiating feeding (88% and 75%, respectively) and drinking (83% and 62%, respectively) behaviours. Sliding window with 1-s length yielded the best performance for classifying continuous behaviour datasets. The performance of classification model generally improved as more birds were included for training. In conclusion, classification of specific broiler behaviours can be achieved by recording bird triaxial accelerations and analysing acceleration data through machine learning. Performances of different machine learning models differ in classifying specific broiler behaviours.     

Loss of genetic diversity in farmed populations of Colossoma macropomum estimated by microsatellites

The genetic variability of four Colossoma macropomum broodstocks, three from fish farms in different regions and one from the natural environment in Brazil, was analyzed using microsatellite markers. The wild progeny (n = 30) were caught in the Solimões–Amazonas River, at the varzea lakes; this location is used to mature the fish from larvae to juveniles. The three fish farms were selected according to the age of their lineages and broodstock availability: DNOCS (n = 21) is located in the Ceará State, representing the oldest lineage of cultivated tambaqui in Brazil; Balbina (n = 30) is located in the Amazonas State, representing the youngest stocks of tambaqui farmed in Brazil (approximately 15 years); and UFRPE (n = 30) is located in the Pernambuco State and is considered to be a mixed stock formed from the DNOCS and Balbina lineages. The analysis of 13 microsatellite loci indicated the occurrence of a variability reduction in the farmed populations; the UFRPE stock was the population with the highest diversity level. Low values of molecular coancestry were found in these populations. Additionally, significant differences in the R_ST values among the populations were detected, as was the occurrence of genetic structure. The genetic loss found in these populations may have been influenced by the founder effect. Because no breeding programs were during the entire production period and no pedigree records were kept for these broodstocks, we suggest that a wild population might be used as an important genetic resource to increase the genetic diversity of renewal stock lineages.     

Avoidance of atmospheric ammonia by domestic fowl and the effect of early experience

An experiment was carried out to determine if broiler fowl, when given a free choice, would avoid ammoniated environments. The effect of rearing aerial environment on these preferences was tested subsequently during a similar free choice experiment.

Firstly, each of four flocks of twelve 26-day-old female Ross broiler fowl, reared in fresh air, was placed in a preference chamber with access to four compartments. After an initial 4-day acclimatisation period, where no ammonia was provided, birds were given a free choice of 4, 11, 20 and 37 ppm atmospheric ammonia over a period of 16 days. Coloured panels in each of the compartments provided the birds with a secondary cue to associate with aerial environment. Ammonia/colour cue treatment was relocated to a different compartment every 4 days. Data collection occurred during two periods that differed in light level: bright (100 lx) and dim (10 lx). The birds avoided the two higher ammonia concentrations, choosing to spend equal amounts of their time in 4 and 11 ppm during the bright phase. During the dim period, broiler fowl spent significantly more time in 4 ppm (light intensity and ammonia occupancy interaction: F_3,60 = 5.40; P = 0.002). Ammonia significantly affected compartment visit duration with back transformed mean visits of 37, 28, 20 and 15 min for 4, 11, 20 and 37 ppm, respectively (Wald statistic = 29.07; d.f. = 3; P < 0.001).

Secondly, eight flocks of 12 female broiler fowl were exposed to either 2 or 19 ppm ammonia from 1 to 26 days of age. At 26 days, each flocks, was placed in a preference chamber with access to four compartments and kept at the same atmospheric ammonia concentration (2 or 19 ppm) during an acclimatisation periods of 4 days. Following acclimatisation, a 4-day test was conducted in which the birds were given a choice of compartments containing 4, 12, 20 and 37 ppm ammonia with colour cues. Birds again avoided the two higher ammonia concentrations (F_3,15 = 8.54; P = 0.002) and there was no significant interaction between ammonia and previous exposure. Again there was an effect of ammonia on compartment visit duration (Wald statistic = 15.94; d.f. = 3; P = 0.001) but there was no significant interaction between ammonia and previous exposure. Broiler fowl avoid ammonia at concentrations commonly found on poultry units regardless of previous experience, suggesting it to be aversive at concentrations above approximately 10 ppm.