بهنام احمدی پور

This experiment was conducted for 10 weeks (40 to 52 weeks old) to investigate the effect of different sources and levels of zinc on the immune and antioxidant performance of laying hens. For this purpose, 240 high-line laying hens (36-W) were used in a completely randomized design, with 8 treatments and 5 replications (6 birds per replication). The experimental treatments include 1- control (without zinc supplement), treatment 2, 3, and 4, respectively, including the control diet + 80, 120, and 160 mg/kg of zinc sulfate with a purity of 34%, and treatment 5, 6 and 7, respectively The control diet included 50, 75 and 100 mg/kg zinc hydroxy chloride with 55% purity, and treatment 8 included the control diet + 124 mg/kg zinc-methionine complex. The findings showed that, in general, different levels of zinc supplementation in organic and hydroxy form caused significant improvement in feed conversion ratio, shell weight, Haugh unit, and blood glucose reduction compared to other treatments. During the test, organic and hydroxy sources increased antibodies against the influenza vaccine (P<0.05). Also, treatments containing zinc supplements increased superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity (P<0.05). This increase was associated with a decrease in serum malondialdehyde (P<0.05). Different levels and sources of zinc had no significant effect on shape index, yolk color, and glutathione peroxidase level (P<0.05). The results show that adding hydroxy chloride at 100 mg/kg can improve the antioxidant and safety indicators of eggs.

In this study, the effects of different levels of barley malt extract (BME) in the diet of ostrich chicks (one to 120 days old) on growth performance, some blood and serum parameters and bacterial population of feces were investigated. A total number of 48 day-old ostrich chicks were randomly assigned to four treatments including different levels of barley malt extract (0, 5, 10, and 15 g/kg of basal diet) in a 120-day trial. The results showed that the use of malt extract increased weight gain and improved feed conversion ratio in the final period (P <0.05). Also, the number of heterophils and the ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes were decreased in the treatments containing BME. The levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL, HDL and VLDL were significantly (P <0.05) increased. The concentration of malondialdehyde was significantly decreased whereas the total antioxidant capacity showed a significant increase (P <0.05). The number of coliforms and Escherichia coli bacterial population was significantly reduced in the treatments containing BME compared to the control treatment (P <0.05). It can be concluded that the use of BME in the diet of ostrich chicks improved immune function, antioxidant capacity and reduced the population of harmful bacteria. In general, the results of this study showed that the use of 10 g of BME per kg of diet shows the best performance in ostrich.

In this study, the effect of Securigera securidaca (Securigera S.) seed powders on growth performance, relative weight of some organs, serum and blood parameters, expression of Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and Fatty acid synthase (FAS) genes in the liver and antihyperlipidemic properties of this seed in feeding broilers were investigated. A total of ??? day-old broilers (Ross???) were used in a completely randomized design with ? treatments, ? repetitions (?? pieces per pen) for ?? days. The experimental diets included a control group (without Securigera S. seed powder) with four levels of ?.?, ?, ?.? and ?? g/kg of Securigera S. seeds. The results showed that the dietary inclusion of Securigera S. improvement in body weight gain and reduced feed conversion ratio (P

This study was conducted to investigate the weight changes, age and weight at first laying, the outer and inner egg characteristics of breeding stationof Isfahan native chickens. Three hundred-day old native chickens were used in this survey. The experiment was started from the first day to the endof the 12 weeks of egg production (32 wks. of age). The results indicated that average age and weight of the first laying hens were 152.6 days and2061.46 g, respectively. The overall average of the egg weight was 45.47 g in whole production period. The average number of eggs produced byeach hen in 12 weeks of production period was 42. The range of hen production percentage in each week was 5.83 to 61.99 with an average of 45.44.The regression curves of height and diameter of yolk with production weeks were in order of second; with the weight of the hen's body, the white andyolk weight, and the shell thickness were of third order and with the rest of the traits were in forth order. Correlation of age at first egg with shellweight was high (r =0.99) and highly significant (P <0.001), but with total egg weight, the length and weight of the egg, and the height of yolk wasnegative and significant (P <0.05). The results of this experiment indicated the good production potential in some of these birds which proper breedingprograms may led to improve their productivity.

Native chickens are playing an important role in rural economy in most of the developing and underdeveloped countries. One of the sources that provides protein in developing countries, is native chicken. So, they should be taken in to consideration in poultry improvement programs. Mathematical functions called ‘growth functions’ have been used to relate body weight to age or cumulative feed intake. Growth models summarize information needed to understand the biological phenomenon of growth; an important component in livestock production systems. They are used to determine the age-live weight relationship of animals and each its own characteristics and mathematical limitation.
Little is known about the productive performance of native chickens, so the objective of the present study was to characterize growth performance and growth curve of Isfahan native chickens under a confined system.  The chickens of this study included 230 of Isfahan native chickens which were reared for 12 weeks. The birds were raised under the same condition in the rearing period. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Temperature and air humidity in the hall were measured and controlled automatically day and night. The average temperature was 25°C (max 32°, min 18°) and air humidity was 60-65%. During raising period, chickens were vaccinated and dewormed following the sanitary program of the region. The lighting program consisted of 24 h from 1 day to 12 weeks of age. At 1-day of age, each chick was weighed and marked with color plastic tags attached on the on the right leg. The chickens were individually weighed weekly until the end of the experiment. Some morphometric traits were measured at weeks 3, 6, 9 and 12. Morphometric traits were included breast width, breast length, thigh diameter, thigh length, shank diameter and shank length. Those measurements were done on day 84 with the help of a field assistant, so the birds each time were held in comfortable position and measurements taken in particular order for above mentioned times for accuracy. The chickens were slaughtered and after determining their sex, divided into economics parts. The carcass traits evaluated included live-weight at 12 weeks of age, carcass weight, carcass yield, and primal cuts (breast, thighs, wings and back and neck) weight. Flexible growth and fixed point of inflection functions were evaluated for their ability to describe the relationship between live-weight and age. For Three non-linear growth functions (Gompertz, Logestic and Richard), were used for this purpose. The accuracy of the used functions was determined by determination coefficient (R2), root mean square error (RMSE) and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC). Statistical analysis of data collected in this study was performed using the SAS statistical program v9.1.  Based on goodness of fit criteria and statistical analysis, the flexible growth functions fit the data better than the functions with a fixed point of inflection. Richard’s function gave the best fit to the data with r2adj= 0.96 for both sexes. The results indicated that male broilers had a higher final body weight than the female broilers. Sex had significant influence on live weight from the second week until the last week and no significant influence on live weight of first week. Chicken sex had significant influence on carcass and abdominal fat weight, yields of thighs, breast and wings and no significant influence on carcass yield. Male chickens were found to have higher live body weight, carcass weight, yields of thighs, whereas yields of breast and wings were higher in female chickens. Breast width of males in every week numerically was higher than females, but this difference was statistically significant at weeks of 6 and 9. Length of the breast at weeks 6, 9 and 12 was significantly higher than females. Thigh diameter of males numerically was higher than females but this difference was statistically significant at weeks 6, 9 and 12 only. Length and diameter of the shank in males was significantly higher than females in each week.  The male chickens had superior growth performance and higher potential for selection and breeding. Comparison of tree growth functions in terms of goodness of fit criteria revealed that the Richard’s function was the most appropriate function for describing the age-related changes in body weight of native chickens. Special attention should be paid to characterization of the growth pattern of birds under different environmental conditions. The development of growth curves for native chickens may be useful in selecting chickens that have rapid growth at early ages.

Modern strains of broiler chickens are susceptible to pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS) because of the mismatch between oxygen demanding muscles and oxygen-supplying organs (i.e. heart and lungs). Intensive genetic selection for rapid growth over the past several decades has reduced allometric growth of the heart and lungs in modern broiler chickens compared with their chronological counterparts. The susceptibility of broilers to PHS is exacerbated whenever they are raised at high altitudes where the availability of atmospheric oxygen is limited. Pulmonary arterioles in broilers respond to hypoxia by vasoconstriction and if the situation sustains, broiler develop pulmonary hypertension with subsequent right ventricular failure that finally leads to ascites. Research has addressed the impact of nutritional factors including energy, protein, electrolytes and feed restriction on the development of PHS. However, the effects of herbal medicine in the prevention and control of PHS in broiler chickens have not been adequately studied. Urtica dioica is a medicinal herb that belongs to the family of Urticacea and it grows in most parts of the world. Urtica dioica is used because of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds for the treatment of cardiovascular, respiratory, cancerous and allergic diseases. One of the important effects of this plant is the reduction of blood pressure. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of different levels of this medicinal plant in preventing pulmonary PHS in broiler chickens.

The experiment was conducted in the experimental facility of Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran, which had an altitude of 2100 m above sea level. A total of 240 day-old broilers (Ross308) were randomized across16 floor pens (15 birds per pen). A control diet based on corn and soybean meal were formulated for the starting (1–3 weeks of age) and growing (4–6 weeks of age) stages according to NRC (1994) recommendations. Three additional diets were prepared by substituting 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% Urtica dioica for wheat bran in the control diet. At 42 days of age, 8 birds per treatment were selected for blood collection and then killed by decapitation. Blood samples (3mL) were collected from the brachial vein. Serum samples were used for the determination of nitricoxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), urea, albumin, alkalin phosphatas (ALP), alanine amino transaminase(ALT) and aspartat amino transaminase(AST). To measure the expression of the gene, the heart and lung samples were harvested and the right ventricles dissected and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70°C for subsequent RNA analysis. The levels of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), Endothelin 1 (ET-1) and β-actin transcripts were determined by real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR. Results were compared by GLM using SAS (2007) software in a completely randomized design. Means were separated by Duncan's multiple range test.

The results of the experiment showed that broiler chickens fed a diet containing 0.5 to 1.5% Urtica dioica leaves, the efficiency of heart and liver weight relative to the live weight of the chickens and right ventricular ratio to total ventricles showed a significant decrease compared to control group (P<0.05). Birds received Urtica dioica at 1 and 1.5% had significantly (P<0.05) higher circulatory concentrations of nitric oxide, protein and albumin though significantly (P<0.05) lower serum concentrations of malondialdehyde, alkaline phosphatase, alanine amino transaminase and aspartate amino transaminase when compared to the birds fed the control diet. The expression of endothelin 1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) genes in the heart and lung of broiler chickens has been affected by feeding Urtica dioica to broiler chickens. NOS gene has been highly over expressed in the heart and lung of broilers fed Urtica dioica from 1 to 1.5 % increase relative to the control. On the other hand, Urtica dioica significantly suppressed the expression of ET-1 in the heart and lung (P<0.05). The Urtica dioica contains polyphenolic compounds, including phthalides and flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties. This compound can prevent oxidative stress by scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), activation of antioxidant enzymes, metal chelating activity. It also causes more nitric oxide secretion from vascular endothelial cells and opening of potassium channels. The Urtica dioica extract prevents the destruction and necrosis of the liver cells and maintains the consistency of the liver tissue and has a stabilizing effect on hepatocytes.

In conclusion, levels of 1 to 1.5% Urtica dioica in the diet can significantly prevent PHS in broiler chickens reared at high altitudes. Beneficial effects of this medicinal plant are attributed to vasorelaxant and antioxidant actions that mediated through polyphenolic compounds Therefore, Urtica dioica is a promising medicinal herb to prevent pulmonary hypertension in broiler chickens reared at high altitude.

The influence of three dietary doses of finely ground powder of mountain celery (Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf) (0.25, 0.5, and 0,75%) were evaluated on growth, serological variables and ascites prevalence in broiler chickens. A group run without mountain celery and served as a control. Each experimental diet was fed to four groups of day-old broiler chicks (15 chicks per group) on litter flooring. The experiment lasted for 42 days. The results indicated a significant impact of mountain celery on growth (P

The present study was conducted to evaluate the beneficial effects of Kelussia odoratisma on the wave amplitudes of ECG in Lead II, right ventricular hypertrophy, and the occurrence of broiler pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS). A six-week trial was conducted with 208 five-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments included four levels of 0 (control), 2.5, 5, and 7.5 g/kg of Kelussia odoratisma. Variables tested were wave amplitudes of ECG in Lead II, right ventricular hypertrophy and mortality from PHS. Dietary inclusion of Kelussia odoratisma significantly (P<0.05) increased T wave amplitudes though decreased S wave amplitudes in Lead II of ECG. Feeding Kelussia odoratisma at 5 and 7.5 g/kg improved cardiopulmonary function as reflected in significant (P<0.05) declines in right ventricular hypertrophy index and mortality from PHS. The use of Kelussia odoratisma at 5 and 7.5 g/kg is beneficial in prevention of PHS in broiler chickens reared at high altitude.