IRANIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL SCIENCE
Year:2015 | Volume:5 | Issue:1|Papers Count:30

Camels have been regarded as the desert ship and they play multi-utility role in the world. Estimation of genetic parameters is foremost step towards managing the genetic resources for their conservation and sustainable utilization. Microsatellite markers have been extensively used in cattle, sheep, goat and camels. However, genetic characterization studies on camels has been poorly recorded. There has been a rapid in-crease in amount of molecular data produced from indigenous camel populations, which clearly shows awareness among the scientific community. Based on the studies carried out in Australia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Canary Islands, India, Egypt and Tunisia the camels have shown very wide genetic diversity via the predefined microsatellite markers. It is highly recommended that to use following microsatellite markers to find the highly informative heterozygosity data: YWLL08, YWLL09, YWLL38, YWLL44, YWLL59, VOLP03, VOLP08, VOLP10, VOLP32, VOLP67, LCA66, CVRL01, CVRL05, CVRL06, CVRL07 and CMS50. These markers have shown a high level of allelic richness and polymorphic information content. Therefore, future genetic diversity analysis on camel can be based on these highly useful markers.

Production of chicken meat is an important branch of food industry. Generally, poultry meat farmers aim to pro-duce birds with superior body weight and feed conversion ratio. However, in line with current developments, there are other parameters that must to be taken into account such as lower body fat deposition and improvement in the nutrient composition of products corresponding to consumer requirements. Nowadays, extra focus has been given to designing and enrichment foods as functional foods, with components that have beneficial effects on human wellbeing. In definition, functional foods contain particular nutrients and / or non-nutrients that have an effect on human health, beyond what is usually known as nutritional effects. There are several compounds in foods that improve consumer’s health status. Among them the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs, n-6 and n-3 series) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) are the most functional and bioactives components of lipids. Chicken meat has been a common objective of nutritional modification because the absorbed dietary fatty acids from the small intestine directly enter into the chicken tissue lipids. This paper tries to review the recent findings in the area of chicken meat enrichment using dietary fats.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of replacing progesterone injections by progesterone vaginal inserts on productive and reproductive parameters of lactating cows with reproductive problems after prolonged periods of heat stress. Fifteen Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) treated with two progesterone vaginal inserts (P4-INS); 2) treated with progesterone and estradiol via injections (P4-INJ) and 3) control, cows with gestation and parturition normally. All cows were subjected to a Presynch-Co-Synch timed artificial insemination protocol and then inseminated at 71 d in milk. Concentration of P4 in (P4-INS) and (P4-INJ) cows during the first 7 d of induction of lactation was similar (P>0.05) and then increased linearly in both groups. Adjusted milk yield, total milk yield, and average daily milk yield were similar (P>0.05) in treated cows, but cows from (P4-INJ) group produced less milk (P<0.05) than control cows. Days in milk and peak milk yield were similar (P>0.05) among all groups. Per-centage of milk fat and protein, as well as days to peak milk yield were higher (P<0.05) in both treated groups compared to control. Body condition score, service per conception, conception to first service, total conception, days open and culling rate at the end of lactation were similar (P>0.05) among treatments. Progesterone administration by injection or by vaginal insertion resulted in similar production and reproduction parameters of dairy cattle with induced lactation.

This research was performed to compare electron beam (EB) and gamma ray (GR) treatments at doses of 25, 50 and 75 kilo Gray (kGy) on ruminal degradation kinetics and in vitro digestibility of sunflower meal (SFM). Ionizing radiations of EB and GR had significant effects (P<0.05) on dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and amino acid (AA) degradability parameters of SFM. Effective ruminal degradability (ERD) of DM was lower in EB and GR irradiated SFM than in unirradiated SFM (P<0.05). GR treatment at a dose of 75 kGy decreased ERD of CP compared to control (P<0.05). ERD of CP was not affected by EB (P>0.05). Irradiation processing caused a decrease in AA degradation after 16 h of ruminal incubation significantly (P<0.05). GR irradiation was more effective than EB irradiation in lessening the ruminal degradability of AA. In vitro CP digestibility of EB and GR irradiated SFM was improved (P<0.05). This study, based on in situ and in vitro measures, showed that EB and GR processing can be used as an efficient method in improving nutritional value of SFM.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of weaning age on dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency (FE), feed cost (FC) and benefit index (BI) of Holstein calves reared un-der organic farming system. Thirty two Holstein calves were divided into two treatments: early weaning (EW) vs. late weaning (LW). Calves in the both groups were provided with whole milk at the rate of 10% body weight (BW). Calves had free access to leafy alfalfa hay from birth until the end of the experiment. Also, the EW group was provided with starter diet after weaning till 90 days of age. The daily DMI and BW at 15-day intervals were measured and FE and FC were calculated for periods. The DMI of LW and EW calves was significantly different from third period to end of experiment. Moreover, ADG of EW was higher than LW in all of periods. Except for first and second, FE was significantly different between the groups in other periods. Also, due to an increase FC for calves reared on LW compared to EW-calves group, the BI was higher in EW-calves.

The study was carried out at Agarfa ATVET College dairy farm to evaluate the reproductive performance of Holstein Friesian×Arsi and Holstein Friesian×Boran cattle. For the study, records compiled from 1983 to 2012 at the Agarfa dairy farm were used as original data. The effects of breed, bloodlines, season and parity on the reproductive traits were evaluated. Data were analyzed using the general model of the SAS program. The overall mean±SE of age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), days open (DO), calving interval (CI), number of service per conception (NSPC), breeding efficiency (BE) and longevity were 32.05±0.57 months, 41.16±0.56 months, 194.62±3.42 days, 475.92±3.44 days, 1.35±0.03 service, 68.67±0.01% and 7.77±0.25 years, respectively. Breed had significant effect (P<0.05) on AFS and AFC. Bloodlines, season and parity had significant effect (P<0.01) on DO and CI. Breed, bloodlines, season and parity had significant effect (P<0.01) on breeding efficiency. Season of insemination significantly affect NSPC (P<0.01). Longevity was only affected by bloodlines. Generally reproductive performances found in this study were lower than the performance reported in many tropical regions. Therefore, due consideration should be given in calf and heifer management, heat detection, accuracy of artificial insemination, feeding and health care.

using two diverse approaches, GBLUP and BayesC, using simulated data under different quantitative trait locus (QTL) effect distributions. Data were simulated with three different distributions for the QTL effect which were uniform, normal and gamma (1.66, 0.4). The number of QTL was assumed to be either 5, 10 or 20. In total, 9 different scenarios were generated to compare the markers estimated breeding values obtained from these scenarios using t-tests. In comparisons between GBLUP and BayesC within different scenarios for a trait of interest, the genomic estimated breeding values produced and the true breeding values in a training set were highly correlated (r>0.80), despite diverse assumptions and distributions. BayesC produced more accurate estimations than GBLUP in most simulated traits. In all scenarios, GBLUP had a consistently high accuracy independent of different distributions of QTL effects and at all numbers of QTL. BayesC produced estimates with higher accuracies in traits influenced by a low number of QTL and with gamma QTL effects distribution. In conclusion, GBLUP and BayesC had persistent high accuracies in all scenarios, al-though BayesC performed better in traits with low numbers of QTL and a Gamma effect distribution.

In India, Holstein and its crosses are being used extensively in breeding programmes and all these breeding bulls are screened for autosomal recessive genes. Blood samples are collected in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) coated tubes and DNA was isolated by using phenol-chloroform method. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were performed by using bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) specific primers and TaqI restriction enzyme for diagnosis of bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) syndrome. The bull was found to be heterozygous for BLAD allele. The PCR product was sequenced by automated sequencer using the ABI big dye Ver 3.1 for detection of mutation at position 383 bp (A/G). Sequence analysis comparison was performed using the codon code aligner 4.0.4 software. The sequence of carrier animal confirmed polymorphism at 383 bp position. The sequence was also compared with sequence of normal Holstein as a control and the sequence available with NCBI (accession No. NC-007299). The comparison of sequences revealed a heterozygous polymorphism at 348 position (T>C) in a carrier animal whereas in homozygous in a control Holstein which was normal for BLAD. The new polymorphism at 348 position was found to be silent as it does not change amino acid (asparagine, AAT>AAC) within exon 4 of CD18 gene. The partial sequence of new polymorphism / silent mutation has already been submitted to NCBI (accession No. KF840683). Further studies have to be carried out to elucidate the possible association of the CD18 silent point mutation at 348 bp position as a potential molecular marker for milk production traits.

The aim of this study was using Bayesian approach via Gibbs sampling (GS) for estimating genetic parameters of production, reproduction and health traits in Iranian Holstein cows. Data consisted of 320666 first- lactation records of Holstein cows from 7696 sires and 260302 dams collected by the animal breeding center of Iran from year 1991 to 2010. (Co) variance components were estimated using a multi-trait animal model analyzed via Gibbs sampling. After convergence, the highest posterior density region of heritability for milk (MY305), fat (FY305), protein (PY305), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI) and somatic cell score (SCS) were 0.255-0.275, 0.195-0.215, 0.195-0.225, 0.260-0.275, 0.065-0.080 and 0.055-0.075, respectively. Genetic correlations ranged from -0.121 (between FY305 and AFC) to 0.914 (between MY305 and PY305) and for phonotypic correlations, it was from -0.083 (between MY305 and SCS) to 0.929 (between MY305 and PY305. The result of this study showed that production traits and AFC have enough genetic variation to develop breeding programs. The estimated genetic correlations suggest that milk production traits and CI would be affected if increasing milk production is the selection goal. The high genetic correlation between CI with SCS suggests that increasing calving interval trait result in an increased SCS.

The objective of this study was to estimates the genetic and environmental components for the lactation curve parameters, milk yield, age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI) and somatic cell count (SCC) in Iranian Holstein cows. The dataset consisted of 210625 test day records from 25883 cows with milk yield in the first parity recorded from July 2002 to September 2007 in a total of 97 herds in Iran. The lactation curve and the selected lactation parameters were the scaling factor to represent yield at the beginning of lactation (a), the factor associated with the inclining (b) and declining (c) slopes of the lactation curves and the first 100-day milk yield, second 100-day milk yield, third 100-day milk yield, peak yield (Ymax), days in milk at peak yield (b/c), persistency (s), lactation length (LL) and the 305-day milk yield. The incomplete gamma function (Wood function) was used to estimate lactation curve and lactation parameters from daily milk records. Among the 100-day milk yield periods, the second 100-day milk yield had the highest herita-bility (0.29±0.024) and the highest genetic correlation with the 305-day milk yield (0.996±0.00). Lactation curve parameters had low h2 (0.017±0.007 to 0.051±0.011). The b / c had a relatively high genetic correla-tion with the 305-day milk yield (0.52±0.08), a moderate genetic correlation with CI (0.32±0.14) and nega-tive genetic correlations with measures of somatic cell count. This suggested that b / c could be used as a criterion to improve 305-day milk yield and resistance to subclinical mastitis.

In the present research, molecular detection of bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD) and complex vertebral malformation (CVM) in a population of Iranian Holstein cows has been carried outusing milk somatic cells by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The BLAD and CVM are monogenic and autosomal recessive heredity lethal syndrome in Holstein-Friesian cattle. BLAD characterized by affecting the haematopoietic system via reduced expression of the adhesion molecules on neutrophils. CVM characterized by intra-uterine mortality with disorders such as short neck, curved legs, abnormality of ribs and some certain heart abnormalities. In the first step of our research program, tank milk samples from 50 herds were collected. PCR-RFLP was performed to detect a point mutation of both CVM and BLAD genes. After DNA extraction, PCR was amplified using specific primers for 136 bp DNA (CD18 gene) and 233 bp DNA (SLC35A3 gene). TaqI and EcoT22I enzymes were used to identify both BLAD and CVM alleles of both genes by digestion of PCR products. In these herds, we did not find any affected herd with the mutant allele of BLAD comparing with a positive evidence but the mutation of SLC35A3 gene found in 17 different herds. In the next step of our study a herd with 120 cows was randomly selected for individual test using blood samples. We showed two cows out of 120 were identified as carriers of this gene. In this herd, the total number of dominant homozygote (AA), heterozygote (Aa) and recessive homozygote (aa) genotypes for CVM were 118, 2 and 0, respectively and the frequency of A and a alleles were 0.992 and 0.008, respectively. The other affected herds will be tested in the next step of our research program.

The objective of the present study was to determine factors affecting body condition score (BCS) and its association with productive and reproductive performances in Holstein cows. Mixed model analysis was performed on monthly records of BCS from April 2006 to July 2012 comprising 34666 records from 3134 dairy cows in a large commercial dairy herd under arid climatic conditions of Isfahan in Iran. Body condition scores were recorded on a scale of 1 to 5. Fixed factors included in the final mixed model of analysis were evaluation year, parity and evaluation season and also year by parity, season by parity and year by season interaction effects. Average BCS in the dairy herd was 3.06±0.77. The results showed that there was an increasing trend for BCS over the years from 2006 to 2012 (P<0.001). Also, the recording season of winter provided greater BCS than other seasons (P<0.001). Mean BCS increased from first to third parity but then declined thereafter (P<0.05). The correlation between BCS and milk yield was negative and varied from -0.23 to -0.13 over the parities. The correlation between BCS and fat percentage was low and changed from 0 (fourth and greater parities) to 0.08 (first and second parities). There were low to medium correlations (0.14 to 0.29) between BCS and protein percentage over the parities. The correlation estimates be-tween BCS and days open, calving interval and number of inseminations per conception were low and positive, but the correlation between BCS and conception rate was negative over the parities.

In this research, 272977 test day records collected from 659 herds during years 2001 to 2011 by the Iranian animal breeding center were used. In the first section the ability of different models to predict daily milk yield from alternative milk recording was tested. The result showed that a complex model including noon milking time plus the effect of lactation curve of Ali and Schaeffer function is the best equation for prediction of daily milk yield. The highest correlation between true and estimated daily milk yield (0.892) and the lowest bias (2.391) were obtained using this method. Of the four models, the Ali and Schaeffer and the Wood models resulted in the best goodness of fit and gave a good description of the lactation curve (milk and fat yield) for dairy herds when test-day yield is used. Lastly, the most appropriate models for prediction of 305 d milk and fat yields were Ali and Schaeffer and Wood respectively. These models were able to pre-dict milk and fat yields with the lowest residual mean square errors. Thus, the performance of models based on lactation curve functions were better than the test-interval method and the centering date method for prediction of 305-d milk and fat yield in Iranian primiparous Holstein cows.

The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate the effects of dietary protein supplementation in lactating dairy ewe’s diets on milk coagulation properties. Milk samples (n=126) were analyzed to assess the source of variation for rennet coagulation ability at the 6th (RCA6) and 12th hour (RCA12), milk clotting time (MCT, s) and an index of milk clotting time (IMCT, %). In addition, data were used to determine the influence of dietary protein source (sunflower meal (SFM) vs. rapeseed meal (RSM)) and lactating day (27, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63 and 70) on RCA6, RCA12 and MCT. Eighteen early lactation (4-10 weeks) dairy ewes from the synthetic Bulgarian dairy population breed (SBDP) were allocated into two isonitrogenous (crude protein (CP)=18%, dry matter (DM) basis) dietary treatments (n=9 per diet) formulated to contain equal amounts of fibre, energy, protein digestible in small intestines (PDI) and Ca: P ratio. The rates of MCT (s) were measured as time from rennet addition to onset of rennet-induced gel. RCA values were measured subjectively based on a scale of coagulum characteristics (score 1-3). Results showed a significant effect (P<0.05) of supplement (RSM vs. SFM) on RCA6 and a tendency at RCA12 (p=0.10). The influence on MCT and IMCT also showed such a tendency (p=0.11). Studied correlations between RCA6, RCA12 and MCT values to diet supplements at different lactation stages (days) showed no strong relationships, but the directions and strengths were permanent over the evaluated periods. We can conclude, that the investigated parameters (RCA6, RCA12, MCT and IMCT) were affected by dietary protein source (SFM vs. RSM) in regards to firmer coagulum (RCA6 and RCA12) and shorter MCT for milk collected from ewes fed SFM vs. RSM based diets.

The effect of grape pomace (Vitis vinifera) and in oak leaf (Quercus libani) tannins by three runs of in vitro gas production on the organic matter digestibility (OMD) and in situ dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) disappearance were studied in four sheeps. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used to deactivate the tannins. In vitro gas production was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h of incubation. The chemical composition (g/kg DM) of grape pomace and oak leaf were 940, 940 organic matter (OM); 94, 116 crude protein (CP); 568, 515 neutral detergent fiber (NDFom); 467, 316 acid detergent fiber (ADFom); 242, 93; (lignin (sa)); 70.5, 82 total phenols (TP); 49.7, 73 total tannins (TT); 79, 5.4 condensed tannin (CT) and 40, 70 hydrolysable tannin (HT). Using grape pomace and oak leaf decreased OMD, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), insoluble but fermentable fraction (b) and fermentation rate (c) comparing to control (P<0.05). The addition of PEG increased in vitro gas production (IVGP) at all times of incubation. Kinetics of gas production, OMD and SCFA were also increased by PEG incorporation (P<0.05). The increase in gas production (%) (IGP) in grape pomace (GP) diet was higher than those in oak leaf (OL) diet. The amounts of total protozoa, Isotricha, Dasytricha, subfamily of Entodiniinae, Diplodiniinae and Ophrioscolecinae were decreased by addition of grape pomace and oak leaf. The addition of PEG increased total protozoa, subfamily of Entodiniinae, Diplodiniinae and Ophrioscolecinae populations in grape pomace diet (P<0.05), but increased Isotricha, Dasytricha and subfamily of Diplodiniinae in oak leaf diet (P<0.05). The effective de-gradability (ED) (g/kg DM) of DM and CP for alfalfa, grape pomace and oak leaf were (646.6, 357.7 and 362.3) and (821, 227.3 and 202), respectively based on in situ fermentation. In conclusion, using grape pomace and oak leaf have positively modified NH3-N concentration and protozoa population. Diet containing grape pomace and oak leaf had lower fermentability than the diet containing alfalfa. Supplementation of PEG in GP and OL diets improved the fermentability of these diets.

Determination of milk yield potential using an accurate method is essential for assessing nutritional requirements, evaluation of genetic potential, lamb growth and survival, management decisions and improving performance traits of sheep flocks. Exogenous oxytocin injection is applied to estimate milk secretion rate in sheep. Oxytocin is a neurohormone produced in the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system, which is released into the blood in response to teat stimulation. It has a galactopoietic effect and plays an important role in lactation acting on milk ejection via the secretory activity and contraction of myoepithelial cells. One hundred singleton-bearing and rearing Makui breed ewes were assigned into two treatments: group I (hand milking and stripping following the intramuscular injection of 2.5 IU of oxytocin) and group II (hand milking and stripping). The study aimed to examine the effect of exogenous oxytocin injection on milk yield, milk composition and lactation length of ewes during the entire lactation period. Data were recorded at fortnightly intervals from post-partum day 14 onward. Oxytocin treatment group produced significantly more average daily milk yield (562.3 vs. 301.4 g) and total milk yield (93.6 vs. 38.5 kg) compared with non-treated animals (P<0.05). Lactation length was 145.7 days and 115.2 days for the oxytocin and the control group, respectively (P=0.038). Oxytocin injection increased milk peak yield and lactation persistency (P<0.05) while shorter peak time (34.1 vs. 39.2 days) was observed for oxytocin group (P=0.043). Oxytocin administration increased milk fat percentage (6.73 vs. 5.86) in treated compared to control ewes (P=0.029). However, no difference was detected in the percentage of protein and lactose associated to the oxytocin injection (P>0.05). The development of milk ejection inhibition throughout lactation during the exclusively suckling period, followed by hand-stripping, entails the need for oxytocin to sustain mammary cells and lactation persistency in ewes. It further confirms that oxytocin allows overcoming the negative feedback mechanisms exerted on milk ejection, enhancing the intracellular transfer of secretory vesicles and contraction of myoepithelial cells and thereby increasing milk production and lactation length, which is a useful technique to ensure complete alveolar milk let-down and optimum milk withdrawal from the cistern.

This study compared the use of five different models to describe the growth from birth to 20 weeks of age of kids from both genders of nondescript goats. Fifty nine (59) nondescript kids were weighed weekly at the university of Maiduguri livestock teaching and research farm, Nigeria and the live weights were modeled. Biologically relevant variables were estimated for each kid from the Logistic, Gompertz, Richards, Mono-molecular and Weibull models. Models were compared using the following goodness of fit criteria: coefficient of determination (R2), mean square error (MSE), standard deviation (SD) and Akaike information criteria (AIC). In both genders, all nonlinear models fitted the data well, with high R2 ranging from 0.911 to 0.943 and 0.923 to 0.95 for male and female, respectively. In addition, the males had higher asymptotic weight than females while the reverse was observed with regards to maturing rate. Male kids had heavier inflexion weight and higher age than females for all the models. These values were however higher for Logistic than Gompertz model. The monomolecular model had higher R2 and lower MSE, SD and AIC in both male and female kids. It can be concluded that the nonlinear growth models were suitable for estimating live weight as a function of age for both male and female of nondescript kids in Nigeria. However, the best model was the monomolecular based on model parameters and goodness of fit criteria.

Molecular genetics selection on individual genes is a promising method to genetically improve economically important traits in livestock. The insulin like growth factor-I (IGF-I) gene may play important roles in growth of multiple tissues, including muscle cells, cartilage and bone. The objectives of the present study were the estimate the haplotype frequencies of the IGF-I gene polymorphisms in Iranian Mehraban sheep and to determine associations between polymorphisms and carcass traits in 439 individuals. Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing methods were employed in screening for genetic variation. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (C114G and G116A) and two amino acid exchange (S5T and G6S) with three patterns were found in IGF-I gene fragment. Associations of IGF-I patterns with blood cholesterol and blood triglycerides were significant (P<0.05) and tended to be significant (P<0.1) for dorsal fat thick and carcass weight. The other studied traits were not significantly affected by different patterns of IGF-I. This finding indicates that IGF-I polymorphisms may be used as DNA markers for selection in the breeding process of Mehraban sheep.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of exogenous enzymes supplementation (ES) on performance, carcass traits and some blood parameters of broilers chickens. One hundred and eighty day old chicks with 40±2 g initial body weight in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 4 replications were fed experimental diets included, 1) basal diet no enzymes (control), 2) basal diet+RovabioÒ multi enzymes and 3) basal diet+KeminÒ multi enzyme. The diets of all groups were formulated in an isonitrogeous and isoenergetic diet based on corn and soybean. Data on feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, carcass characters, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol and triglyceride levels were collected for 3 periods starter (1-21 d), grower (22-42 d), finisher (43-49 d) and total (1-49 d). Results showed significant differences (P<0.05) among different experimental diets for weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. The lowest feed consumption and weight gain were observed in control group while the highest were obtained in groups that fed with multi enzyme supplementation. Also, poor feed conversion ratio (FCR) was observed in control group and best FCR (lowest) were in groups that were fed multi enzymes. In carcass traits no differences (P>0.05) between groups were observed. Adding enzyme significantly increased the concentration of blood HDL and decreased triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL at 21, 42 and 49 d of age (P<0.05). Results from this experiment suggest that multi enzyme supplementation can improve broiler performance.

This experiment was conducted to evaluation the effects of different levels of untreated and treated green grape leaf with urea on performance, egg quality traits and blood parameters of laying hens. In this experiment 192 Hy-Line (w-36) laying hens, 35 to 46 wk of age were divided in to 4 treatments with 4 replicates (12 birds per replicate) in a completely randomized design experiment. The treatments included: 1) control group, 2) group with 3% untreated green grape leaf, 3) group with 3% green grape leaf treated with 0.5% urea and 4) group treated with 3% green grape leaf treated with 1% urea. The best values for egg weight, egg production percentage, egg mass, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, feed price for per kilogram of egg production, eggshell weight, yolk weight and Haugh unit were in group 3. Using green grape leaf in diets reduced the levels of blood high density lipoprotein (HDL) and the lowest amount was obtained with 3% green grape leaf treated with 0.5% urea. The lowest count of white blood cells, heterophil and highest lymphocyte percentage and the low heterophil to lymphocyte ratio were noted in group 4. The overall results indicated that in laying hens, using 3% green grape leaf treated with urea in diets significantly improved their performance, egg traits and production cost, blood parameters.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary artichoke supplementation on performance, carcass traits and some blood parameters of broiler chickens. A total of 300, one day old broiler chicks (Ross-308) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments including: basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with 1.5 or 3 percent of Artichoke powder and also with 300 mg/kg diet vitamin E. Each diet was offered to 5 replicates of 15 birds each for 42 days. Supplementation of 3 percent artichoke powder significantly (P<0.05) decreased body weight compared to control. A higher (P<0.05) feed intake was observed in group fed 1.5 percent artichoke powder resulted in higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to control. The blood plasma concentrations of total protein and globulin were lower (P<0.05) in 1.5 percent artichoke treated group and higher (P<0.05) in control group on the 21st day of trial. The blood plasma albumin concentration remained non significant throughout the experiment. However, the blood plasma total protein, albumin and globulin concentrations remained non significant between experimental groups on the 42nd day of trial. Significant differences in heterophil and lymphocytes percentage and H:L ratio were observed between dietary treatments at 28 days of age, showing that the birds fed a diet supplemented with artichoke powder had higher heterophil and lower lymphocytes percentage and consequently a higher H:L ratio than control. Artichoke supplemented birds showed significantly (P<0.05) lower breast and thigh weight. Pancreases weight was higher and lower in 1.5 percent artichoke and 300 mg vitamin E treated groups, respectively. The weight of heart, abdominal fat, gizzard and proventriculus were non significant between dietary treatments. In general, this study revealed that artichoke powder as natural antioxidant may have beneficial effects on chicken growth performance and carcass traits, but further research is needed.

This study investigated the effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on hematological, enzymes activities and biochemical parameters in broilers with pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS). Two hundred and forty 1-d-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were randomly allocated into 3 groups with 4 replicates. From d 14, the diets were supplemented with CoQ10 at levels of 0, 20 and 40 mg/kg, respectively, while exposing them to low ambient temperature (10 to 15 oC) to induce PHS until d 42. Mortality was inspected to determine cause of death and diagnose of PHS. Hematological, biochemical and pathological tests were used to determine the incidence of PHS: total red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), plasma protein and glucose, activity of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Blood samples were taken at d 21 and 42. At the end of the experiment (wk 6), 2 chicks from each replicate were randomly selected and slaughtered. The heart was re-moved; the right ventricle was dissected away from the left ventricle and septum and the ratio of right ventricle weight to total ventricle weight (RV/TV) was calculated. Average BW gain and average feed intake were measured weekly from d 15 and average feed conversion ratio was calculated and reported weekly. The results showed that 40 mg/kg CoQ10 supplementation improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P<0.05). Moreover, RBC count and plasma protein and glucose level were significantly decreased by 40 mg/kg CoQ10 compared to the other groups, but no significant changes were observed in HGB and HCT. The LDH activity decreased by CoQ10 supplementation (P<0.05). Measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA) content in plasma, RV / TV and mortality due to PHS decreased by 40 mg/kg CoQ10 supplementation (P<0.05). In conclusion, CoQ10 exerted preventive roles in PHS, possible through delivering antioxidant effect of cardiac myocytes an erythrocytes.

The effects of dietary supplementation of grape seed extract (GSE) and vitamin C on carcass characteristics, gut morphology and ileal microflora in broiler chickens exposed to chronic heat stress were examined. Experimental diets included a control diet (without additive), 3 levels of GSE (150, 300, 450 mg/kg of diet), and vitamin C (300 mg/kg of diet). Each of the five diets was fed to 5 replicates of 12 male Cobb-500 chicks, from 1 to 42 d of age. The birds were exposed to chronic daily heat stress of 34±1 oC with 65-70% relative humidity for 5 hours per day from 29 to 42 d of age. Addition of GSE or vitamin C to the basal diet did not affect the percentage by weight of the edible carcass, breast, drumstick+thighs, liver, empty gizzard, or abdominal fat. Furthermore, in heat-exposed broiler chickens the relative length of duodenum, jejunum and ileum did not show significant alteration when compared to the control group before and after chronic heat stress. Dietary GSE and vitamin C caused differences in jejunum muscle layer thickness, villus height, villus width and crypt depth of birds before heat stress. Addition of the GSE or vitamin C did not affect the jejunum muscle layer thickness, villus width, crypt depth and villus: crypt ratio of broilers under heat stress (42 d). However, broilers fed a diet containing GSE had higher villus compared to the control group at 42 d (P<0.05). Adding GSE or vitamin C reduced ileal coliforms and the Escherichia coli population of broilers before heat stress condition (28 d). Under chronic heat stress conditions, broilers fed diet supplemented with GSE had lower ileal coliforms and Escherichia coli populations compared to control birds (P<0.05). Thus, GSE can be recommended as a new herbal extract supplement to the diet of broiler chickens in order to improve jejunum villus height and decrease detrimental bacteria in the ileum of birds before and during chronic heat stress condition.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of different sources of natural pigments on yolk color and laying hen performance. A completely randomized design with six treatments and six replicates was used. The six experimental treatments were: a control diet containing yellow corn grain, a reference diet containing wheat and barley grain instead of corn; a red pepper diet composed of reference diet and 2% red pepper; a dried carrot diet containing the reference diet and 5% dried carrot meal; a dried tomato pulp diet composed of the reference diet and 5% dried tomato pulp and an alfalfa meal diet containing the reference diet and 5% alfalfa meal. Results indicated that egg weight, daily egg mass, feed conversion ratio and egg yolk color were not affected by treatments. In conclusion, if the goal of producers is an acceptable level of egg yolk color and performance is not under consideration, then the use of a 5% alfalfa meal in a wheat-barley based diet is suggested.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementing black cumin (Nigella sativa) seeds (BCS) in diet on performance, liver weight and enzymes of broilers. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design. Two hundred forty day-old unsexed broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were divided into four groups and assigned to four feeding treatments, with four replicates of 15 birds each. Group 1 was considered as a control group where they are given unsupplemented diets. Group 2, 3 and 4 were given diets supplemented with 5, 10 and 15 g/kg of BCS respectively. Birds fed diets not supple-mented with BCS showed no significant effect (P>0.05) on live weight, feed consumption and organs weight, except to liver followed by 0 g/kg treatment (P<0.05). Diets supplemented with BCS increased glucose and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) compared with control group as significantly (P<0.05). Also, plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from broilers fed diets sup-plemented with5 and 10 g/kg BCS was lower than control (P<0.05). Feed conversion ratio of bird fed to 5 g/kg BCS in 42 days old was the lowest amount (P<0.05). The highest and the lowest liver weight percent were also depending to 15 g/kg BCS and control respectively. Overall, this research showed that BCS supplemented at the varying levels did not have any negative or positive influences on the growth performance of broiler chickens, although it affected some of the blood parameters.

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different levels of synthetic lysine (sLys) on dry matter intake (DMI), average daily weight gain (ADG), dry matter conversion ratio (DMCR), carcass characteris-tics and economics of production of finisher broiler chicks. As 240 day-old broiler chicks were randomly distributed to 12 pens of 20 chicks each and assigned to four treatment rations in a completely randomized design. Six broilers (3 males and 3 females) from each replication were starved for 16 hours and slaughtered to evaluate carcass characteristics. Control diet had a lysine content of 0.9 and 0.8% of the ration, which was 0.3 and 0.2% of the ration below the recommended level. The four rations were formulated by including sLys at levels of 0, 50, 100 and 150% of the deficient amount of lysine. No sLys in the ration (T1) and rations to which 50% (T2), 100% (T3) and 150% (T4) of the deficient amount of lysine being added as sLys. No significance difference (P>0.05) was observed among treatments in total and daily DMI, meta-bolic energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) intakes and DMCR at all phases of the experiment. Final body weight (1665, 1672, 1707 and 1786 g (standard error of the means (SEM)=18.04)) and ADG during the entire period (33.0, 33.1, 33.9 and 35.5 g/day (SEM=0.36) for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively) was significantly higher (P<0.05) for birds kept on T4 diets. No significant difference (P>0.05) existed in mortality percentage among treatments. Dressed carcass weight (1407, 1426, 1461 and 1510 g (SEM=15.07)), breast weight (329, 334, 338 and 365 g (SEM=5.09)) and drumstick weight (134, 137, 135 and 150 g (SEM=2.3) for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively) were greater for T4 than other treatments. In conclusion, 12.5% extra addition of sLys above the level recommended by NRC to the commercial diets, as in T4, improved broiler performance and profitability.

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of bitter vetch. Experiment 1 was conducted to determine the metabolisable energy content of bitter vetch. Sixteen adult Leghorn roosters were used. Forty grams of bitter vetch were precision-fed individually to 12 roosters. In addition, 4 birds were not fed and served as a control treatment in the measurement of metabolic fecal and endogenous urinary energy output. Experiment 2 was a broiler chick bioassay carried out with 24 male boiler chickens (21-d-old) to determine apparent amino acid digestibilities of bitter vetch. Experiment 3 was conducted to evaluate the effect of bitter vetch on performance and egg quality of two strains of laying hens. A control diet based on corn and soybean meal and diets containing 50, 100 and 150 g kg-1 bitter vetch were fed to the Leghorn layers, ISA-Babcock strain, and the native strain. All eggs produced during the last 3 d of each month were collected to evaluate egg quality. True metabolisable energy (TME) and nitrogen-corrected true metabolisable energy (TMEn) values of bitter vetch were 3396 and 3852 kcal/kg DM, respectively. Second experiment showed that the average amino acid digestibility of bitter vetch (12 amino acids) was 66.65%. Feed intake, egg weight, egg production, and egg mass, were higher and feed conversion ratio was lower in the Leghorn than the native strain. Feed intake and egg production were lower and feed conversion ratio was higher by all bitter vetch diets compared with the control diet. Haugh unit and yolk color were lower (P<0.001) in the Leghorn than the native strain and vice versa in egg shell weight (P<0.001). Eggshell thickness and shape index were not affected by strain (P>0.05). It was concluded that 5% of bitter vetch can be used in laying hen diets without any adverse effect.

To evaluatethe effects of supplementing diets of growing Japanese quails (n=450; 7 days old) with chromium (Cr) yeast and / or mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) on productive performance, carcass traits and the immune system are reported. Diets were a basal diet (control) or the basal diet supplemented with 600 mg Cr-yeast/kg (Cr 1), 1200 mg Cr-yeast/kg (Cr 2), 1.0 g MOS/kg, Cr 1+MOS or Cr 2+MOS. Quails fed Cr 1, MOS or Cr 1+MOS diets had similar final live body weight and weight gain, with both groups being higher than the control. Feed conversion tended to be improved with dietary supplements. Carcass traits did not differ among treatments. Primary and secondary humoral immune responses of quails fed the supplemented diets were higher than the control. Plasma total proteins and triiodothyronine were increased, while plasma total lipids and cholesterol were decreased by the supplements. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with Cr yeast (600 mg/kg) and / or mannan oligosaccharides (1.0 g) improved productive performance and immunity and reduced total cholesterol of growing Japanese quails.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of supplemented curcumin (CMN), derived from plant Curcuma longa, extract on performance and blood parameters of acetaminophen (ACT) induced quail hepatic injury. 240 quails from 0-37 days of age were used in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments of 4 replicates each and 15 chickens per replicate. All groups received 750 mg/kg body weight oral doses of ACT at 12 days of age. Japanese quails were divided into four groups: control (no CMN), commercial diet with 20 g CMN per ton, commercial diet with 40 g CMN per ton and commercial diet with 60 g CMN per ton. Feed intake and body weight gain were recorded weekly. Blood albumin, glucose, total protein, triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, uric acid and creatinine were determined at 28 and 35 days of age. Adding curcumin to the diets significantly increased serum aspartate aminotransferase at 28 days of age (P<0.05) and decreased triglyceride and bilirubin at 35 days of age (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in performance and other blood parameters among the treatment groups at 28 and 35 days of age. The data indicated that curcumin is a natural antioxidant hepatoprotective agent against hepatotoxicity induced by acetaminophen model. Thus, curcumin may have a therapeutic value in drug-induced hepatotoxicity as well as in acetaminophen therapy.

The scope for using sunflower cake in ration formulation was tested in 6 horses employed for equine tour-ism. Three experimental diets providing the same amount of proteins and energy as the control diet were formulated using rising doses of sunflower cake (SD3: 0.3 kg; SD6: 0.6 kg and SD10: 1.0 kg). Digestibility evaluation using internal markers showed that rising sunflower cake doses reduced digestibility of nutrients. Statistical analysis using the diet effect demonstrated a significant reduction in dry matter (DM) (P=0.0006), ether extract (EE) (P=0.0001), crude fibre (CP) (P=0.0279), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (P=0.0247) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (P=0.0269) digestibility. Comparison of the two internal markers acid insoluble ash (AIA) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) showed better digestibility values for all measures using ADL. Also glucose and urea showed statistical differences due to diet effect.