فهرست مطالب حیدر زرقی

The hypothesis of this study was to investigate how Japanese quail chicks in post-hatching period can response to delayed feeding through their growth performance and gastrointestinal tract development. One hundred and twenty as hatch Japanese quail chicks were randomly assigned to 12 pens. Four replicate groups of 10 chicks were randomly assigned to each of the three treatments. Experimental treatments included; chicks early feeding (EF) for 3h, and delayed feeding (DF) for 24 and 48h after hatching. After that, all birds were fed a mash diet ad-libitum until 15 days of age. At 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15d of ages, one bird of each replicate (four birds of each treatment) was randomly selected, weighted and euthanized. Samples from the middle part of jejunum dissected free and fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution. Sections were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, Alcian blue-van Gieson and Periodic acid-Schiff stain. Morphometric indices were included villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), villus width (VW), tunica muscular thickness (MT) and villus surface area (VSA). Birds subjected to treatments showed no significant differences in feed intake and residual yolk weight. In the EF birds the 15d live body weight and weight gain during the 1-15d of ages were significantly higher, but feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly lower than DF birds. Similarly, in the EF birds, the VH and VSA were significantly higher than DF birds. In conclusion, delayed access to feed after hatch has adverse effects on Japanese quail chick growth and gastrointestinal tract development.

This study was conducted to evaluate antibacterial properties of Optocid acidifier against pathogenic bacteria, growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood calcium and phosphorus concentrations, and intestinal histology of broiler chickens. In vitro coundition the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Optocid against pathogenic bacteria of poultry (Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens) were evaluated. In vivo stage, a total of 100 one-day-old male Ross-308 broiler chicks were allotted to a complete randomized design with 2 treatments, fed non-supplemented diet and fed diet containing 0.1% Optocid with 5 replications and 10 birds each. The results of MIC and MBC revealed that this product was effective against all three pathogenic bacteria. Dietary Optocid supplementation significantly decrease 10d live weight and daily feed intake in 2-10 day of age period. Dietary Optocid supplementation was not affect on growth performance traits in 11-23 day of age. During the finisher (24-42d) and the whole experimental (2-42d) periods the final live body weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, European production efficiency factor and economic performance improved as diet supplement by Optocid. Dietary Optocid supplementation increase protein digestibility, and intestinal villi height. It is concluded, dietary Optocid supplementation (0.1%) can be effective on growth performance, health and development of the digestive system in broiler chickens.

During the past decades, rapeseed production, including canola varieties, has surpassed peanut, sunflower, and even cottonseed in production, and ranks second among oilseed crops worldwide. Due to its drought endurance, canola may be the preferable grain for cultivation in several locations of Iran. Canola seed (CS) is an economic feed ingredient containing well-balanced protein (19 to 22%) and a high oil content, up to 45% in some cases. Apart from the oil content of CS, its concentration of dietary fiber, glucosinolates, and tannins are of concern. Canola has less glucosinolates and erucic acid than rapeseed. It, resulting in a higher level of vital nutrients and higher nutrient density. The nutrient composition and presence of anti-nutritional factors in CS may also affect its quality and feeding value for poultry. However, the presence of some glucosinolates, erucic acid, and other undesirable compounds such as phytates, polyphenols, and soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) may reduce nutrient digestibility and performance of the chickens. Heat process affects the rate of protein denaturation, starch gelatinization, digestive enzymes accessibility, bacterial counts and toxin degradation of feed. On the other hand, starch gelatinization by heat processing may increase amylase effects to break the chains of amylose and amylopectin, which in turn increases the digestibility of less digestible carbohydrates, improves metabolizable energy and digestibility of amino acids in beans, soybeans, peas and canola. Some concerns have been raised about the inclusion levels of CS in broiler diets. This experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of processing method on apparent metabolizable energy (AME), apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn), apparent dry matter digestibility (ADMD), and apparent nutrients digestibility (and) of CS (Nafis variety) in broiler chickens.
This study was designed to determine the nutrient digestibility and, AMEn value of crud and heat processed CS. The CS used in this research was of the Nafis variety, which was sourced from the Astan Quds Razavi farm, Mashhad, Iran. The obtained CS sample was divided to three equal subsamples. One part was unprocessed, second part was micronized; one hour before processing CS was moistened by 20% of the weight, and then placed in a single layer on a vibrating conveyor belt under the infrared emission source at a speed of 6.25 cm/s until the surface temperature of the grain should reach 130○C, and third part super-conditioned under humidity of 16% and temperature of 75-85○C for 3-4 minutes. A total of 48, day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks was obtained from a commercial hatchery. Chicks were reared and housed in battery brooders in a room. From day one to 10 and 11 to 15, chicks had ad libitum access to conventional corn-soybean meal starter and grower diets, respectively, to meet the nutrient specification of the strain as recommended by Ross 308 manual. A common corn-soybean meal diet was formulated to serve as the reference diet to meet or exceed the nutrient requirements of broiler chicks as described for the Ross 308. The CS samples (row, micronized, and super-conditioning) were incorporated into the reference diet at a 40% inclusion rate (60% reference diet and 40% CS). The digestion trial included a 4-day preliminary period in 16–19d of age, followed by 4 days of recorded total feed consumption and excreta collection. The feed was provided ad libitum during the preliminary and the collection period. During the collection period (20-23d of age) total feed intake was measured, and excreta from each cage were collected twice a day, pooled, and kept frozen at -20oC until subsequent analyses. The excreta samples were oven-dried at 60○C for 72 hours to determine dry matter content. The dried excreta and diet samples were ground through 20 mesh screens, and nutrient content was determined according to (AOAC, 2000). The gross energy of the dried excreta and diet samples was measured with Bomb-calorimeter (Model 1266, PARR). The apparent nutrients digestibility, AME and AMEn of the reference and test diets were determined. Accordingly, apparent nutrients digestibility, AME and AMEn of the CS was calculated as: ”.
The average of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, fiber, ash, and gross energy for CS were 96.20, 17.70, 46.60, 6.00, 4.11%, and 7137 kcal/kg, respectively. The apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fat and AMEn for raw CS in broiler chickens were 54.28±1.19%, 69.42±1.13%, 77.1±1.32%, and 4673±268 kcal/kg of dry matter. Processing of canola by micronization and super-conditioning method numerically increased the dry matter content of CS by 2.46% and 0.88%, respectively. Crude fat and crude protein content also changed with a similar trend to dry matter content. The effect of canola processing on AME and AMEn in broilers was not significantly (P> 0.05). Micronizing process of CS increased ADMD and AMEn values of 7.47% and 117 kcal/kg than non-processed seed, respectively. Super-conditioning process was less effective than micronization on improving CS nutrient digestibility and AMEn values.
The outcomes of the present study showed that spit non-significant effect of heat processing on energy value and nutrients digestibility of CS (Nafis variety) that might be due to better tolerance of chickens fed recent varieties of CS. However, the change in nutrients digestibility and AMEn values of CS with processing by super- conditioning method was poor, a trend of improving nutrient digestibility and AMEn values were seen in micronize process. More research is needed to clarify the response of the chickens when CS in the raw, micronized or conditioned forms.

This study was done to investigate the effect of different levels of garlic powder on performance, relative weight of carcass components and blood metabolites of Japanese quail. One hundred 21-day male Japanese quails were randomly assigned to 5 treatments, 4 replicates and 5 birds in each replicate. The experimental treatment included: control diet without garlic powder, diets supplemented by 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% garlic powder. Quails fed for 21 days. Quails access to water and feed freely. Results showed that feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio of quails were not affected by different levels of garlic powder. The effect of adding garlic powder to the diet on carcass efficiency, ventricular fat, total cholesterol and low-density-lipoproteins was significant (p <0.05). The birds fed diets containing 1% garlic powder had the highest carcass efficiency and the difference with birds fed diets without herbal medicine supplementation was significant (P <0.05). As increased garlic powder level in the diet, the blood total cholesterol and lipoproteins linearly decreased. According to the results obtained from this experiment, dietary supplementation by 1% garlic powder has a positive effect on carcass efficiency and decline undesirable blood metabolites.

 Modern layer strains have high genetic potential for egg production, and may produce eggs for more than one laying cycle by inducing molting. Good egg production is obtained when adequate nutrition is provided, one of the most important nutrients is protein, particularly limited nutritional essential amino acid. Additionally, in layer flocks feed represents more than 70% of the cost of production. In this context, protein is one of the most costly nutrients and therefore there is a benefit in reducing any excess protein in the feed by making use of synthetic amino acids wherever feasible to reduce both the excess waste of nitrogen and the production cost. Synthetic amino acids such as methionine, lysine and threonine are commonly used in the poultry industry because those are limiting in diets based on cereal and soybean meal and are now readily available at a competitive cost. The essential amino acid, threonine, is the third limiting amino acid. Most of the previous research has been done on determining the amino acids requirements of laying hens in the first production cycle, and information on laying hens requirements in the second production cycle is very limited. As a result, the nutrient requirements of second-cycle hens are assumed to be similar to those observed in hens during the first laying cycle in the strain booklet guide and or NRC, 1994. The objective of this study was to determine the digestible Threonine (dig Thr) requirement of laying hen during the second production cycle fed wheat-soy diet as measured by laying performance.

 The birds that used for this experiment were selected from a flock that were molted at the 80wk of age on a non-fasting feeding program according to the molting recommendation by Hy-line W36 laying hens guide and had 103wk age. Hens were selected according to body weight and egg production. The pre-experimental period was two weeks for acclimatization. Basal diet were formulated according to the guidelines in the Hy-Line W-36 Commercial Management Guide (2016) according to the average pre-experimental period data; egg production less than of 80% and feed intake 98 g/b/d. Three hundred and eighty four layers were distributed to the 6 increasing levels of dig Thr 0.44, 0.46, 0.48, 0.50, 0.52 and 0.54%, with Thr-to-Lys ratio of 60, 63, 66, 69, 72 and 75%, respectively in a completely randomized design, with 8 replicates and 8 birds per experimental unit. The experiment lasted from 105 to 116 weeks of ages. All hens were weighed at the beginning and at the end of the experimental period. Birds were given artificial light (16L: 8D). Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Egg production (number and weight) and mortality were recorded daily, whereas feed consumption was measured every 4wks as feed disappearance. The daily intakes of Thr were calculated by multiplying the concentration of each in the experimental diet by feed conception. Digestible threonine requirement for optimal laying performance response parameters such as egg production (EP), egg mass (EM) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) to the daily dig Thr consumption by using NLIN procedure, through linear and quadratic broken-lines and quadratic polynomial regression fit models.

 The increasing dig Thr levels showed linear effect on egg weight, and quadratic effect on egg production (EP), egg mass (EM), and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The EP and EM increased and FCR improved linearly as dietary dig Thr levels increasing up to 0.48% (Thr-to-Lys ratio of 66%), and then EP and EM decreased and FCR deteriorate. The dig Thr requirements for the optimization of laying performance was depends on what parameter is taken into consideration for optimization and it is possible to compare models by their R2 and MAE. In this study, the model that provided the best fit was the quadratic polynomial regression model for EP, EM and FCR. The predicted dig Thr requirements with quadratic polynomial regression model for optimal EP, EM and FCR were 502, 505 and 517 mg/b/d, respectively. The dig Thr requirement to produce 1 g of EM was 9.57 mg. The optimum values estimated for FCR was slightly higher compared to those estimated for EP and EM.

 The outcomes of the present study showed that, in the wheat-soy based diet formulated for second cycle of laying hen the threonine is a limited amino acid. The dig Thr requirements vary according on what parameter is taken into consideration for optimization. The dig Thr requirement for optimized FCR is higher than EP and EM. In the wheat-soy based diet formulated for second cycle of laying hen the level of digestible Thr 0.48% (Thr-to-Lys ratio of 66%) were recommended.

[1] Increasing feed costs are significant issues in the poultry industry. Therefore, poultry producers often interested to feed low energy and nutrient dense diets to reduce production cost, while low energy and nutrients dense diets may not appear to supply sufficient energy for laying hens. Hens can regulate their feed intake to maintain energy and nutrient intake in accordance with their requirements. In this way, hens will consume more of a low energy and nutrients dense diet than of a high energy and nutrients dense diet, ensuring the calories and nutrient consumed be sufficient. However, some studies have shown that hens especially the modern ones are not precise in adjusting their feed intakes, such as the Hy-Line W-36, since they only have a limited capability to increase their feed intake to ensure adequate energy and nutrients intake. While low energy and nutrient dense diets are less expensive to purchase, they may not ensure optimal egg production if hens are unable to adjust their feed intake. On the other hand, the purchase price of low energy and nutrient dense diets can be substantially lower than high-density diets, if they are effective in maintaining long-term egg production performance, so that can result in increased returns for the producer. Thus, feeding low energy and nutrient dense diets to laying hens may result to improve returns due to a lower cost of diets. However, it has been shown that the increased efficiency of birds fed on high energy and nutrient dense diets can offset the higher cost of feed. The hypothesis of this study was to investigate how Hy-Line W-36 laying hens in post molting period can respond to lower energy and nutrients dense diets, through their increase in feed intake to maintain energy and nutrient consumption to support egg production.

The birds that used for this experiment were molted at the 70wk of age on a non-fasting feeding program according to the molting recommendation by Hy-line W36 laying hens guide. Three hundred twenty 78wk Hy-Line W36 hens were individually weighed and randomly assigned to 80 cages of four birds each. Eight replicate groups of 8 hens each (two adjacent cages) were randomly assigned to each of the 5 treatment diets with location within house as blocking criteria. The pre-experimental period was two weeks for acclimatization, and the experimental period was from 92-103 weeks of age (three 28d periods; 92-95, 96-99, 100-103wk of age). Experimental diets were formulated according to the guidelines in the Hy-Line W-36 Commercial Management Guide (2015) for 104g feed intake according to the average pre-experimental period egg production and feed intake data. Thus the control diet (100% of recommendation) was formulated to contain 2845 kcal/kg AMEn; 14.42% CP; 4.14% calcium; 0.48% available phosphorus; 0.17% sodium; 0.67% digestible lysine; 0.36 digestible methionine; 0.56 digestible methionine + cysteine; and 0.47 digestible threonine. Four other dietary concentrations of energy and nutrients density were formulated to provide 91, 94, 97, and 103% and one diet with the 100% of recommendations stated in the 2015 Hy-Line W36 commercial management guide. Egg production (number and weight) and mortality were recorded daily, whereas feed consumption was measured every 4wks as feed disappearance. Six eggs/replicate (48 eggs/treatment) laid in the last 72 h of each 28d period were collected and transported to Egg Quality Laboratory at the Ferdowsi University for of egg weight, albumen, yolk and shell relative weight, Haugh units, egg shape index, egg special gravity, and shell thickness determination. The feed cost/kg egg production was calculated by feed costs time feed conversion ratio. Data were analyzed by ANOVA using the GLM procedure of SAS 9.1 (2003), with dietary treatment and block as independent variables. Diet effects were evaluated using linear and quadratic orthogonal polynomial contrasts. The linear broken-line (LBL) and quadratic-broken line (QBL) regression models were used to estimate the dietary energy and nutrient density ratios for optimization of egg mass and feed conversion ratio.

Previous research showed that hens would linearly adjust their feed intake in response to diet nutrient density by eating significantly more feed that was low in energy and less feed that was high in energy. These changes in feed intake were not in agreement with the results of the current study showed that egg production, and egg mass were increased and feed conversion ratio (FCR) decreased significantly and linearly, with the increase in dietary energy and nutrients density. There was not any significant difference in the egg production, egg mass and feed conversion ratio in birds fed diet containing three percent (103%) more nutrient density than that of strain recommendation. Whereas, feed intake, egg weight, white yolk and shell relative weight, egg shape index, specific gravity, egg shell thickness as well as Haugh unit were not significantly affected by dietary energy and nutrients density. Significant linear increase due to increase in energy and nutrients density were observed for most measured parameters, including hen-day egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed efficiency, energy intake, and body weight gain. The hen-day egg production showed that hens fed diets containing 91% of control diet laid fewer eggs than those fed diets with 100 or 103% of nutrients recommendation. The energy and nutrient requirement for optimal egg mass (g/b/d) and FCR during the post molting period (92-103Wk) by LBL model were 94.96 and 97.02%, and by QBL model 95.71 and 95.95% of strain recommended, respectively.

In summary, the increase in energy and nutrients density in diet of Hy-Line W-36 laying hens increased egg production, egg weight, egg mass, energy intake as well as decreased body weight losses and feed conversion ratio. The regression analyses of data showed that, laying hens diet formulated at the 95-97% of nutrients recommendation had the optimal egg production and economic performance during the second egg production cycle. Furthermore, hens were unable to adjust their feed intakes since the lowest energy and nutrients density diet deteriorate egg production performance.

Cereals are the main sources of calorie in poultry diets and corn is the most common cereal in poultry feed formulations; however, in some countries such as Iran, corn is mainly imported from other countries. In addition to import-associated problems, high volatility of corn price has recently resulted in a marked tendency between Iranian poultry producers to use other alternative grains in their formulations. Among the other cereals, wheat, rye, and barley are the most frequently used grains in poultry diets from which, barley is
believed to be a great alternative for corn due to its high productivity and good compatibility to the climatic conditions of the country. Barley is one of the most abundant grains raised in various areas of Iran and could be included in the formulations instead of corn. However, the extreme variability in nutrient contents observed within and between different barley varieties makes it difficult to achieve a good nutrient balance in barleycontaining diets. The energy content of feedstuffs is a topic of high importance for poultry nutritionists since birds regulate their feed intake based on dietary energy concentration. There are different methods to determine metabolizable energy (AME) content of feedstuffs including energy balance bioassay (excreta or ileal digestabased methods), referring to the standard tables describing feedstuff compositions (NRC and FEEDSTUFF tables), indirect AME determination using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique and the use of multivariate prediction equations. Energy balance bioassay is the most reliable but time-consuming and expensive method while nutritionists need relatively simpler and faster methods for accurate feed AME estimation. On the other hand, contents of standard feed-describing tables are mean values obtained in a variety of previous studies performed under climatic conditions differing fairly from those of Iran. Most researchers agree that the values presented in the tables are not reliable and generalizable due to the extensive variability of feed types and varieties. During the last decades, various AME-predicting regression equations have been suggested for different feedstuffs but the data used for exploiting the equations have been obtained from animals and feeds genetically different from the modern commercial strains and varieties. Therefore, updating the equations using animals and feeds of today seems to be necessary. This study aimed at developing prediction equations for AME of the most producing Iranian barley varieties.

Three trials were conducted to develop regression predictive equations for apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of some of the most producing Iranian barley varieties in broiler chicken diets and to compare the outputs of the equations with the AMEn values estimated by infra-red spectrophotometry (NIRS) method as well as with the values published by the national research council (NRC, 1994). In the first experiment, 10 different barley varieties were analyzed for proximate composition. Then, in the second experiment, total tract AMEn values were determined for all of the barley varieties using 10 or 24-d-old broiler chickens and chromium oxide as an indigestible marker. Results of the two first trials were used to develop AMEn-predicting equations using SPSS software and "enter" procedure. To verify the accuracies of the predictive equations, the third trial was conducted using 400 broiler chicks in a completely randomized design consisting of five treatments with four replicates of 20 birds each. The AMEn content of the barley variety used in the third experiment was estimated according to the following five procedures: 1) The AMEn recommended by NRC (1994); 2) The AMEn predicted using the equation suggested by NRC (1994); 3) The AMEn values directly estimated in the balance trial (trial 2); 4) The AMEn values predicted by the equations developed in the 2nd trial; and 5) The AMEn estimated using NIRS method.

The equations obtained for 10 and 24-d-old broilers were: AMEn= 407.87*EE+27.27*NFE and AMEn= 271*EE + 33*NFE, respectively. The results showed that the AMEn values
exploited from the equations developed in the energy balance assay produced the closest performance to that of the AMEn values estimated directly during the same trial.

According to our findings, predictive equations can be used for accurate estimating of barley AMEn value for broiler diets formulation. In addition, our results showed that the old AMEn values and AMEnpredicting equations published by NRC (1994) and FEEDSTUFF (2014) are not accurate at least for Iranian barley varieties evaluated in the present study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of finisher diet nutrient density and slaughter age on energy and protein retention efficiency of broiler chickens. Three hundred 23-day-old Cobb-500 male broiler chickens were assigned in a 5×2 factorial arrangement of completely randomize design with 10 treatments, 6 replicates and 5 birds each. The experimental treatments included five nutrient levels of finisher diets (102.5, 100, 97.5, 95, and 92.5% levels of nutrient composition recommendations stated by the Cobb-500 Commercial Management Guide) and two slaughtered ages (38 and 46 days of age). As increased dietary nutrient density significantly and l inearlyincreased weight gain, feed efficiency, energy and protein retention efficiency and decreased maintenance energy requirements per unit of weight gain (P<0.05). By increasing slaughter age from d38 to d46, above indices significantly deteriorated (P<0.05). The highest residual feed intake belonged to birds fed the finisher diet with 97.5% of strain recommendation nutrients level. Dietary nutrient density level for optimal weight gain, feed efficiency, and energy and protein retention efficiency by linear broken line models were estimated 101.7, 98.7, 97.7 and 99.5% of strain recommendation, respectively. Whereas, these values were 2.3-5.5 percent less than those estimated by the quadratic broken-line model. As a conclusion, residual feed intake methodology can be a viable alternative to measure dietary energy efficiency. Formulation broiler finisher diet with nutrients concentration lowers than 97.5% of strain recommendation is not suitable.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with different levels of dried oregano leaves (DOL) on growth performance, carcass traits, blood metabolites and immune response of broiler chickens fed wheat-based diet. One hundred sixty day-old female broiler chicks (Ross- 308) were used in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 treatments, 5 replicates, and 10 chicks each. The treatments included four levels of dietary supplementation of DOL (0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2%). The experiment lasted up to 42d of ages and performance indexes calculated during 1-18, 19-30, 31-42, and 1-42d of ages. With increasing in dietary DOL levels, feed intake (FI) during 19-30d of ages and feed conversion ratio (FCR) during 31-42 and 1-42d of ages were changed as a significant quadratic polynomial curve. Feed conversion ratio was the optimum in the birds fed the diet supplemented with 0.4% DOL. The dietary supplementation of DOL did not significantly affect on weight gain. As increased dietary DOL levels, the gastrointestinal intestinal tract (GIT) organs relative weight, blood serum triglyceride (TG) concentration linearly decreased, and carcass yield, humoral immune response to SRBC inoculation, thymus organ relative weight, and blood serum low-density lipoproteins (LDL) concentration decreased (P<0.05). This study revealed that wheat-based diets supplemented with 0.4% DOL can improve feed efficiency, carcass yield, and health status of broiler chickens.

Cereal grains are the major source of energy for commercial poultry nutrition and incorporate about 60-70% of the diet volume. Corn is mainly used in the production of poultry feed mixtures, but the amount of corn production in Iran is not sufficient and more than 50% of corn requirement for poultry production is provided via import, therefore, for economic reasons its content in poultry diets might reduce. Barley can be the preferred grain for cultivation in many areas in Iran due to its resistance to drought region. Hull-less barley (HLB) differs from conventional barley in that the hulls firmly attached to the kernel and consequently is detached after thrashing, leading to a higher level of valuable nutrients and increased nutrient density. Reported that the HLB has a higher AME and protein content than hulled barley because of diluting effect of the fibrous hulls. The high protein content in HLB compared to corn grain and its considerable AMEn make it a potentially good ingredient for poultry diet formulation. However, since the high content of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) probably decrease nutrient digestibility and performance due to the lack of an appropriate enzyme in the digestive tract of chickens, some concern has been expressed in relation to the inclusion levels of HLB in broiler diets. This experiment was carried out to study the influence of enzyme supplementation on the apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn), apparent digestibility of dry matter (DMD), and crude protein (ACD) of two varieties of HLB by using the total excreta collection method in broiler chickens. Sixty-four male broiler chicks "Ross-308", 16d of age, assigned to 16 metabolic cages in a completely randomized design (CRD) experiment with a factorial arrangement (2×2), 4 treatments with 4 replicates/treatment and 4 birds/replicate. The factors included two varieties of HLB (HMB-83-7 and native of Tabas, Iran) and two levels of enzyme cocktail (was a blend of 3500 U/g β-glucanase, 1600 U/g xylanase, 25 U/g cellulase and 1000 U/g phytase activity obtained from Phileo-Lesaffre-Animal-Care, Co. "Marcq-en- Baroeul-France") supplementation (0 and 0.5 g/kg of diet). The experimental diets were made so that the HLB barley was the sole source of energy and nitrogen supply. The digestion trial included a 4-day preliminary period in 16–19d of age, followed by 4 days of total excreta collection. The feed was provided ad libitum during the preliminary and the collection period. During the collection period (20-23d of age) total feed intake was measured, and excreta from each cage were collected twice a day, pooled, and kept frozen at -18oC until subsequent analyses. The excreta samples were freeze-dried to determine DM content. The dried excreta and diet samples were ground through 20 mesh screens, and nutrient content was determined according to AOAC (2000). The gross energy of the dried excreta and diet samples was measured. The apparent digestibility of crude protein (CPD) and dry matter (DMD) of HLB was calculated. The apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn), of HLB was calculated. The average DMD, CPD and AMEn of HLB were obtained 64.39±2.80%, 59.50±7.66% and 3034±212 kcal/kg as-fed basis, respectively. The DMD, CPD and AMEn of HLB in Tabas native variety were 67.45, 67.41% and 3189 kcal/kg as-fed basis respectively, which were significantly more than HMB-83-7 variety (Vs 64.67, 55.1% and 2961 kcal/kg for DMD, CPD and AMEn). Dietary enzyme supplementation increased the hull-less barley DMD (64.39% Vs 67.73%, 5.18% improvement compared to basal content), as well as increasing the CPD (50.59% Vs 63.03%, 5.93% improvement compared to base value) and AMEn (3034 Vs 3107 kcal/kg, 2.41% improvement compared to base value), so that the differences were significant (P <0.05). The effectiveness of dietary enzyme supplementation on the improvement of nutritional value of different HLB varieties that used in this experiment was varied. The Tabas native HLB variety was more effected than HMB-83-7 variety by dietary enzyme supplementation. Hull-less barley contains considerably higher levels of anti-nutritional factors consisting mainly of soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs), especially ß-glucans compared to corn and wheat. Water-soluble β-glucan with gel-forming characteristics increases the gastrointestinal (GI) tract contains viscosity, decreases digestive enzymes contact with substrates, increases the thickness of the unstirred water layer in the GI tract mucosa and hence depresses nutrient digestibility. Many researchers have studied the beneficial effects of the addition of exogenous enzymes to the rich non-starch polysaccharide diets. The positive nutritional effects achieved by the dietary supplementation of exogenous enzymes are proposed to be caused by several mechanisms. Mainly, it has been shown that the antinutritive effects of viscous cereals such as barley, wheat, rye, oats, and triticale are associated with raised intestinal viscosity caused by soluble β-glucans and arabinoxylans present in those cereals. These problems are overcome by dietary supplementation of β-glucanases and xylanases. It is assumed that the ability of β- glucanases and xylanases to degrade plant cell walls leads to release of nutrients from grain endosperm. According to the results of this experiment; the hull-less barley AMEn, DMD and CPD value affected by variety. The dietary exogenous enzyme supplementation improved the hull-less barley DMD, CPD and AMEn value.

The present study was conducted to determine the zinc (Zn) requirement in broiler chickens fed wheat-soy based diet. Two hundred fifty day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308), were randomly assigned to a completely randomised design (CRD) experiment with 5 treatments, and 5 replicates of 10b each. The experimental treatments included five dietary Zn levels (30, 70, 110, 150, and 190 mg/kg) provided by the addition of reagent grade “ZnSO4.7H2O”. The experiment lasted from 1-42d of age. Increasing dietary Zn level to 70mg/kg significantly increased 10, 24 and 42d live body weight (LBW), feed intake (FI) and weight gain (WG) during 1-10, 25-42 and 1-42d of age and feed efficiency (FE) during 1-10d of age. The linear broken-line (LBL), quadratic-broken line (QBL) and the quadratic polynomial (QP) regression models were used to estimate the Zn requirement. The Zn requirement for optimal final LBW and FI, WG, and FE during 1-42d of ages by LBL model were 68.77, 83.12, 66.99 and 62.75 mg/kg of diet, and by QBL model 70.00, 79.93, 69.63 and 58.01 mg/kg of diet, respectively. In conclusion, Zn requirement varied between 58-83 mg/kg, which is higher than NRC and is lower than strain recommendation in the broiler chickens fed wheat-based diet.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of raw and/or autoclaved grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) seed in diet on performance and egg quality of laying hens. Three hundred and thirty-six Leghorn laying hens strain W-36 at 87 week of age were assigned in a completely randomize designed (CRD) experiment with 7 treatments, 6 replicates and 8 birds each. The experimental treatments included; corn-soybean meal (control) diet, and 8, 16 and 24% dietary levels of either raw or autoclaved grass pea grain. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks. Feed consumption, egg production percentage and egg mass of hens fed diets containing different levels of raw and autoclaved grass pea grain were significantly lower and their feed conversion ratio was significantly higher than those fed control diet. The autoclaving of grass pea grain resulted in significant increase in performance and eggshell quality indices in birds fed diets containing 16 and 24% grass pea grain. Although autoclaving of grass pea grain reduced the negative effect of its replacement in the diet on performance and egg characteristics, however, it could not compensate the reduction in performance. According to the results of this experiment, the utilization of raw grass pea grain is not recommended in laying hen diets. Also, autoclaving process alone can’t destroy the anti-nutritional factors present in grass pea grain.

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of adding vinegar to drinking water (DW) and probiotic to starter diet (SD) on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) contents pH, and ileal lactobacillus population of broiler chicks. A total of 330 one-day-old male Ross-308 broiler chicks were used in a completely randomized design (CRD) experiment consisted of 6 treatments with factorial arrangement 2×3 and 5 replicates of 11b each. Treatments consisted of 2 levels of adding probiotic zero and 0.1% “1×1010 CFU lactic acid/g of supplement” to SD and 3 levels of adding vinegar zero, 1 and 2% “5% acetic acid concentration” to DW. A corn-soybean meal based diet was formulated to meet the nutrient levels suggested by Ross-308 (2015). The study lasted from 110d of age. At the 10th day of age’s one bird from each experimental unit (5 for each treatment) were randomly selected and were slaughtered for evaluation GIT content pH, and ileal lactobacillus population. In the birds were fed supplemented diet with probiotic combination drunk supplemented water with 1 and 2% vinegar levels feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly lower than birds fed diet and drunk water without any supplementation. In the birds were fed supplemented diet with probiotic and or were drunk supplemented water with vinegar, ileal lactobacillus population were significantly higher than birds fed diet and drunk water without any supplementation. The addition vinegar to DW and probiotic to SD, and their interaction effects were not significant on the pH of GIT contents. In conclusion, drinking water supplementation with vinegar and or starter diet supplementation with probiotic will improved ileal benefit microbial flora and feed efficiency of broiler chicks.

This experiment was carried out to study the effect of vitamin premix (VP) reduce/withdraw of finisher wheat based diet on growth performance, carcass efficiency, tibia bone ash, and humoral immune response of broiler chickens. Three hundred and fifty, one day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were used in a complete randomized design (CRD) experiment with 7 treatments of 5 replicates and 10 birds each. The dietary treatments were: T1 (control), fed the basal diet containing 2.5g VP/kg of diet; T2, T3 and T4, The reduce dietary VP levels to 1.25 g/kg of diet from 25, 31 and 37 day of ages respectively; T5, T6 and T7, The complete withdrawal dietary VP from 25, 31 and 37 day of ages respectively. The results showed; reduced dietary VP levels to 1.25g/kg of diet from 25d of age did not impair effects on growth performance. The complete withdrawal dietary VP from 25d significantly decreased growth performance (P

The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feed supplementation with Thyme-dried leaves (TDL) on growth performance, serum parameters, humoral immunity, and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) relative weight of broiler chickens fed on wheat-based diets with low nutrients density. One hundred and sixty day old meal “Ross 308” broiler chicks were arranged in a random completely design (CRD) with 4 treatments (zero, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2% dietary supplemented with TDL), 4 replicates/treatment and 10 chicks per replicate. Compared with the control group, birds fed diets containing 0.4% TDL had a higher (P

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of addition various levels of apple vinegar (zero, 1 and 2%) in drinking water on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract organs chyme pH, ileal lactobacillus population and immune responses of broiler chickens. One hundred and sixty day old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were allotted in a completely randomized design with three treatments, five replicates/treatment and 11 chicks/replicate. The study lasted from one to 42 days of age. The results showed that supplementation of drinking water with apple vinegar significantly (P0.05) effects. The cellular immune response to the injection of Phytohaemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) in the birds that fed apple vinegar contained water were significantly (P0.05) by the drinking water supplementation with apple vinegar. The addition apple vinegar to drinking water did not shown significant (P>0.05) effects on relative weights of spleen and lymphoid organs and the humoral immune response to sheep red blood cell intramuscular injection. The results of this study revealed, added apple vinegar to broiler chicken’s drinking water improved growth performance and in the lower age had meaningfully influence.

Introduction Supplementation of poultry diets with antioxidant substances seems to be an efficient means for improving the oxidative stability of poultry products. The most important sources of natural antioxidants are plants. The poultry performance parameters generally and positively are affected by the addition of aromatic herbs and their extracts into diets. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), which is herb of the Labiatae family, have been recognized as the plants with the highest antioxidative activity by many authors. The substances associated with the antioxidant activity of rosemary are the phenolic diterpenes, such as carnasol, rosmanol, 7-methylepirosmanol, isorosmanol and carnosic acid. This study examined the effects of dietary supplemented with different levels of dried rosemary leaves on laying hen performance and egg quality in fresh and storage periods.
Materials and methods A total of 200 Hy-Line W36 laying hen aged 26 weeks were housed in cages and randomly allocated to 5 treatment groups each containing 40 birds. Each group was divided into 4 replicates. The birds were kept in the laying cages (48.5 cm wide, 45 cm deep, 44 cm high in front and 38 cm high in the rear, 436 cm2 per each one), and housed there along the experimental period. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. The hens received a basal diet (maize and soya bean based; 16.00% crude protein; 2850 kcal/kg ME) that was formulated to meet the hy-line W36 (2014) requirements recommended for nutrients. The diet did not contain any antibiotics and coccidiostats or growth promoters. Treatments were included 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 percent of dried rosemary leaves in basal diet. Experiment was designed in a Completely Randomized Design Block with 5 treatments, 4 replicates/ treatment with 10 hens in each replicate, from 29 until 38 weeks of age. Eggs were collected daily and weighed and egg production was calculated on a bird–day basis. Mortality was recorded as it occurred. Feed intake was recorded weekly and calculated as g/hen/d. The value of feed efficiency was calculated as kg feed per kg egg. Twenty four eggs were collected from each group (6 eggs from each replicate) at last 3 day of the experimental period to determine egg quality parameters. Egg quality analyses were done within 24 h of the eggs being collected and after 21d storage period. Egg shell thickness was measured with an egg shell thickness gauge, the egg weight in and out water, the albumen height, the yolk, albumen and shell weight were determined. By using these values, the Haugh units, egg portion (yolk, albumen and shell) relative weight, shell weight per shell unit area and egg specific gravity were calculated.
Results and Discussion The results showed dietary supplemented with different levels of dried rosemary have significantly effects on some parameters of performance and egg traits in laying hens (p

Introduction Corn and wheat are the grains most routinely used in commercial poultry diets. For consumption of these cereals, there are a competition between humans and mono-gastric animals. Due to corn crop limitation in Iran, approximately 50% of the corn required for poultry nutrition is supplied through imports. Since triticale is more resistant to various diseases, dry weather and in similar culture and weather conditions can produce higher yield than wheat, triticale considered as a crop suitable for cultivation in inefficient lands and its culture in the world has being increased. The use of triticale in broiler feed has been limited because of the presence of soluble non-starch polysaccharides components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different replacement levels of corn by triticale in grower diets with and without exogenous enzyme supplementation on growth performance, relative weight of digestive organs, jejunal morphology, and intestinal viscosity of broiler chickens.
Materials and Methods Five hundred 11 d old male broiler chicks (Ross 308), were assigned to a factorial arrangement (5×2) with a completely randomized design with 5 replicates of 10 chicks each. The factors included 5 levels of triticale replacement levels for corn (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40%) and 2 levels (zero and 0.5 g /kg of diet) of enzyme cocktail “Xylanase & β-Glucanase” in the broiler grower diets. The experimental diets were isocalric and isonitrogenous and fed ad-libitum from 11 to 24 d of age. The growth performance as mean body weight at 24 d of age, daily weight gain, daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were calculated. At 24d of age, one bird from each pen, close to the average pen weight was selected, weighed, and euthanized by cervical dislocation. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract organs were emptied and weighed. Approximately 1.5 g of wet weight of the fresh digesta was immediately placed in a micro centrifuge tube and centrifuged at 12.700 × g for 5 min. The supernatant viscosity was determined using a Brookfield digital viscometer (Model DV-п). About 0.5 cm in length of the jejunum midpoint was taken, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution. The tissue samples were treated in tissue processor apparatus, embedded in paraffin wax, transverse sections were cut (5μm thickness) by using a rotary microtome and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) to prepare intestinal slide. Morphological measurements of intestinal slide were performed by light Microscope on 9 vertically oriented villus. The investigated morphological traits contained villus height, villus width, crypt depth, muscular thickness, and the villus surface area.
Results and Discussion The weight in 24 d and daily weight gain and feed intake significantly decreased and feed conversion rate significantly increased with increasing dietary level of triticale to 40%. The dietary enzyme supplementation (xylanase and β-glucanase), significantly improved broiler growth performance, and reduced adverse effects of high levels (40%) of triticale in grower diet. The poor growth performance of birds fed grower diet with high (40%) level of triticale may be related to lower nutrient digestibility, or higher anti- nutrient factors in triticale as compared to corn. The relative weights of whole gastrointestinal tract, gizzard, small intestine, large intestine, and pancreas numerically increased with increased triticale level, the highest relative weight of digestive organs was observed in the birds fed diet with 40% triticale level and the lowest one was observed in the birds fed corn-soy based diet. The ileum chyme viscosity significantly increased with increase in the dietary triticale level to 30 and 40%. Enzyme supplementation to grower diet caused a reduction in the pancreas relative weights and ileum chyme viscosity. The significant increase in relative weight of digestive organs of the birds with high level of triticale in their diet may be due to the enhanced function of these parts, because of an increase in water soluble NSP and subsequent increase in chyme viscosity, which implying a feedback mechanism in gut motility and thus size of this organ. The higher NSPs in triticale compared to corn can increase digestive chyme viscosity and reduce endogenous enzyme-nutrient actions and their subsequent substrates, leading to significant modifications of the structure and function of intestine. Therefore; to adapt to these changes, the activities of the intestinal secretary mechanisms may be enhanced. Thus, this may lead to an increase in the size of the gastro intestinal tract and pancreas weight. The villus height (VH) and crypt depth (CD) significantly decreased and muscular thickens significantly increased with increased levels of triticale to 40% in diet. The birds fed 40% triticale showed shorter of the villi compared with the longer villi from birds fed the corn-soy diet. Villus hight and VH/CD significantly increased and CD significantly decreased in birds fed diet with enzyme supplementation compared to those fed diet without enzyme supplementation. Histological observations on the small intestine epithelium of birds fed corn-triticale-soy diet showed morphological changes in the jejunum (shortening, thickening, and atrophy of the villi). The birds examined in our study showed short, thick, and damaged villi, especially with the higher level (40%) of triticale in diet compared to those fed a corn-soy diet. The addition of enzymes supplementation to diet improved these histological alterations.
Conclusion This study revealed that 1) triticale can be used as an alternative source of grain in grower broiler chickens’ diets. 2) Using up to 30% triticale in grower diet did not have any adverse effect on broiler chicken performance. 3) The exogenous enzyme supplementation (xylanase and β-glucanase), significantly affectsbroiler growth performance, and reduces anti-nutrient effects of high levels (40%) of triticale in broiler chickens’ grower diet.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of two levels of four commercial multi-enzymes on the apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn) and digestibility of crude fat, crude protein, dry matter, and organic matter in broiler chickens through total excreta collection method. One hundred thirty male broiler chicks were assigned to 45 metabolic cages involving 9 treatments, and 5 replicates of 3 chicks each. A control diet was made so that wheat was the sole source of energy supply. Eight experimental diets were prepared with the addition of one or two recommended levels of each commercial multi-enzymes to the control diet. The chickens had free access to feed and water ad-libitum from 17 to 23 days of age. Gross energy, crude protein, crude fat, organic matter, and dry matter were measured in feed and excreta samples. Addition of one or two recommended levels of different commercial enzymes to diet significantly increased (P

With using multiple linear regression (MLR), can simultaneously analyses several different variables, but to get the desirable results from the MLR, the samples must be much and accurate. Therefore, this method has high sensitivity and may cause errors in results. In addition, to use this method, the variable must have normal distribution and modification follow from a linear relationship. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique is used to solve a wide range of problems in science and engineering, particularly for some areas where the mathematical modeling methods fail. Nowadays, the ANNs are one of the most powerful modeling techniques to model complex nonlinear, multidimensional function relationships without any prior assumptions about the nature of the relationships. Artificial neural network models are different from mathematical modeling approaches in their ability to learn relationships between dependent and independent variables through the data itself rather than assuming the functional form of the relationships. A well trained ANN can be used as a predictive model for a specific application. The prediction by a well-trained ANN is normally faster than the mathematical models. Several authors have shown greater performances of ANN as compared to regression models. An ANN model can predict multiple dependent variables based on multiple independent variables, where a mathematical model is only able to predict one dependent variable at a time. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the prediction of production performance of laying hens using the neural networks and nonlinear regressions.

Review the four consecutive, information were obtained from a laying hen farm. Data mining methods include: three-layer perceptron neural network, four-layer perceptron neural network, radial basis function (RBF) neural network and multiply linear and nonlinear regression. In linear model, the variables of age flock, month of production, feed intake have been considered as the predictor variable and production (percent and egg mass production and feed conversion ratio) have been considered as the response variable. Three steps were taken to select an optimal ANN model. The first step was to determine the best number of hidden layers, number of neurons in each hidden layer, and activation function. The best models were selected on the basis of training and prediction accuracy. The second step was to work with the selected models to find the optimum epoch size. The third step was to find the optimum learning rate and momentum values. The evaluating method for selecting the optimal ANN was based on the minimization of deviations between predicted and measured values.

The aim of this study is to obtain an ANN model with minimum errors in training and testing. Nonlinear regression models were compared with Neural Network models. All the models are compared using the coefficient of determination (R2) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). The results showed that the artificial neural networks compared the regression models and between different artificial neural networks the RBF model had better curve fitting for laying hen production performance indicators included; egg production (% / b/ d), egg mass (g/ b/ d) and feed conversion ratio in front of age and this fact shows that even for spiral data artificial neural network works well. Therefore, we can use these models for complex situations.

The obtained results revealed that the ANN model may efficiently be fitted into the laying hen production performance include percentage and egg mass and feed conversion ratio of hen flocks. Results showed that the method of radial basis function (RBF) neural networks acts better than other models in predicting the production performance of laying hens. So we can conclude RBF model performed better predict laying hen performance.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects using of different levels of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) on productive performance and egg quality indicators، in laying hens. The levels of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract in this experiment were 0، 500، 1000 and 1500ppm. This experiment was conducted in a Blok Completely Randomized Design with 160 “hy-line-W36” laying hens in 4 treatments and 4 replicate (with 10 hens in each replicate) from 29 until 38 weeks of age. The results showed that the using of different levels of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract had significantly effects on some parameters of performance and egg traits in laying hens (p<0. 05). Hence، the highest rate of egg production and egg mass (g/b/d) and the lowest feed conversion ratio were belong to birds fed diets containing 1000ppm rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract. Also the albumen quality (HU) of eggs maintained for 21 days at 4 ° C in the resulting eggs from the birds that fed with diets containing rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract was higher than birds fed the control diet. The overall results showed that the additions of rosemary hydro-alcoholic extract in the diet of laying hens lead to improving performance and maintaining egg quality during storage.