Search

The objective of this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of phytase alone and in combination with multi-carbohydrase in available phosphorus (AP) and energy-deficient diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, tibia traits, and carcass quality of broilers. A total of 288 1-d-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of 6 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design, with each treatment having 6 replicates and 8 birds per cage. The treatments were as follows: 1) positive control with adequate nutrition (PC); 2) 0.20% AP-deficient diet without phytase (NC-1); 3) 0.25% AP-deficient diet without phytase (NC-2); 4) NC-1 diet plus 500 FTU/kg phytase (NCP-1); 5) NC-2 diet plus 750 FTU/kg phytase (NCP-2); and 6) NC-2 with 100 kcal/kg ME deficient diet plus 1,000 FTU/kg phytase and multi-carbohydrase: 2,200 U/kg galactomannanase, 30,000 U/kg xylanase, 22,000 U/kg β-glucanase, and 700 U/kg α-galactosidase (NCPM). Broilers in the PC group and those fed enzyme-supplemented diets exhibited greater (P  < 0.05) growth performance in terms of body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio, along with enhanced tibia mineralization through the ash, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) composition, and tibia breaking strength compared to NC diets throughout the study. Among the treatments, broilers assigned to the NCPM group showed greater (P  < 0.05) levels of energy and P digestibility on days 21 and 35. Concerning carcass characteristics, the leg meat yield was greater (P  < 0.05) in broilers fed the NCP-2 diet compared to all other treatments on days 21 and 35. Supplementation of phytase at doses of 500 FTU/kg and 750 FTU/kg effectively recovers AP deficiencies of 0.20% and 0.25%, respectively, in broiler diets without compromising the growth performance of broilers. Additionally, combining multi-carbohydrase and phytase led to AP and energy loss recovery, which improved tibia mineralization and nutrient digestibility through their synergistic interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Continuous concerns persist regarding skeletal disorders and their associated welfare issues in modern fast-growing broiler chickens. As an essential and the third most expensive nutrient in the poultry diet, phosphorus plays a crucial role in bone growth, and the strength and rigidity of the skeleton. About 60% of dietary phosphorus is utilized by poultry, with the remaining portion being excreted and potentially contributing to pollution when released into the environment. Hence, it was postulated that a multi-phased approach involving the reduction in phosphorus content in the feed, coupled with increased phosphorus utilization through phytase supplementation, could alleviate the economic burden associated with both phosphorus excretion and feed costs. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the efficacy of phytase on the performance, carcass traits, nutrient digestibility, tibia characteristics, and inositol phosphorus degradation in broiler chickens fed an available phosphorus-deficient diet. The results indicate that a reduction in the available phosphorus to 0.20% with phytase inclusion initiated phytate degradation and, as a result, improved the productive performance, nutrient digestibility, and tibia traits of the broilers. These findings support the application of low-phosphorus diets with phytase supplementation in the poultry industry. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of phytase on the performance, carcass traits, nutrient digestibility, tibia characteristics, and inositol phosphorus (IP) degradation in broiler chickens. Additionally, the available phosphorus (AP) equivalency of phytase in AP-deficient diets was estimated for 35 days after hatching. A total of 336 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were allocated to one of seven dietary treatments with six replications with eight birds per cage. The dietary treatments were as follows: (1) positive control containing 0.45% AP of the starter and 0.42% AP of the grower diet (PC), (2) 0.10% AP deficiency from the PC (NC-1), (3) 0.15% AP deficiency from the PC (NC-2), (4) 0.20% AP deficiency from the PC (NC-3), (5) NC-3 +phytase (500 FTU/kg; NC-3-500), (6) NC-3 + phytase (1000 FTU/kg; NC-3-1000), and (7) NC-3 + phytase (1500 FTU/kg; NC-3-1500). On d 35, the NC-3 diet exhibited lower tibia weight compared to the other treatments (p < 0.001). The NC-3-1500 group had higher calcium and phosphorus contents in the tibia than the other treatments on d 35 (p < 0.01). Phytase supplementation led to a reduced IP6 concentration and increased IP3 concentrations in different sections of the gastrointestinal tract on d 21 and 35 compared to the control diet (p < 0.05). In conclusion, based on the tibia phosphorus content, this study determined that 500 FTU/kg phytase was equivalent to 0.377% and 0.383% AP in the diet on d 21, and 0.317% and 0.307% AP in the diet on d 35, respectively. Likewise, 1000 FTU/kg was determined to be equivalent to 0.476% and 0.448% AP on d 21, and 0.437% and 0.403% AP on d 35, respectively. Furthermore, 1500 FTU/kg was determined to be equivalent to 0.574% and 0.504% AP on d 21, and 0.557% and 0.500 AP on d 35, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of crating density and prevailing weather conditions during transit on preslaughter losses, physiological characteristics, and meat quality in broilers was investigated. A total of 900 35-day-old Ross 308 male broilers with an average body weight of 1,860 ± 17.458 g (mean ± SEM) in summer and 1,864 ± 17.454 g in winter were allotted to one of six groups arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement according to the three different crating densities (low: 0.039 m 2 /bird; medium: 0.031 m 2 /bird; high: 0.026 m 2 /bird) and two different weather conditions (low: -1°C and high: 30°C). Birds stocked at medium density recorded lower ( p < 0.05) body weight loss compared to the low density group; and demonstrated higher ( p < 0.05) lactate levels along with lower ( p < 0.05) respiration rates when compared to the high crating density group. Extreme conditions of low crating density under low air temperature and high crating density under high air temperature led to higher ( p < 0.001) body weight loss and glucose concentration compared to low crating density under high air temperature. In conclusion, both excessively high and low crating densities are not conducive to reducing preslaughter losses and blood stress indicators. Broiler transportation under high crating density in low air temperatures and low crating density in high air temperatures is recommended., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (© Copyright 2024 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology.)

Objective: Pre-slaughter transportation adversely impacts the welfare, meat yield, and quality of broilers, yet the effects of different crate types on broiler chickens during winter remain underexplored. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of plastic and iron crates in transit on meat quality, carcass, and physiological traits of broiler chickens during winter., Methods: A total of 175, 35-day-old Ross 308 male broilers with an average body weight of about 1,708 ± 33.3 g (mean ± standard error of the mean) were picked after 4 hours of feed withdrawal before transport. The control group comprises birds in the farm (n = 15) without transportation at 173 cm2/kg density. The birds were transported into fixed iron (25 birds per crate) and plastic crates (15 birds per crate) with four replicates per crate type at the same 173 cm2/kg densities. The transportation distance was 20 km for 40 min at an average speed of 30-50 km/h early morning at 8:00 am under - 1 ℃ and 47% relative humidity., Results: There was no difference (p>0.05) in carcass traits among the treatments. Concerning meat quality, broilers transported in both crate types exhibited lower (p<0.01) a* values compared to the control group. Additionally, the iron crate group demonstrated higher (p<0.05) b* values for the breast meat compared to the other groups. In terms of blood metabolites, the iron crate group had higher (p<0.05) cortisol, glucose, and lactate levels compared to the control group that did not transport., Conclusion: Broilers transported in the iron crates increase stress levels in terms of higher cortisol, glucose, and lactate contents in the blood plasma compared to untransported broilers during the winter. Therefore, employing plastic crates, which induce significantly reduced cortisol and numerically lower glucose levels compared to iron crates, appears more favorable for animal welfare by mitigating stress.