Effects of housing systems and laying phases on external and internal egg quality characteristics of indigenous guinea fowl hens.

The study investigated the effect of housing system and laying phases on the internal and external qualities of guinea fowl eggs laid in three different housing systems. The trial involved the use of 117, 34-wk-old guinea fowl hens which were assigned to three housing types, which were battery cages, deep litter, and deep litter housing systems with free runs, which had the same dimensions as deep litter houses but with free run and open-air space to allow the birds to have free access to soil and exhibit natural behavior. The laying phases of the birds were partitioned into three (36 to 40, 41 to 45, and 46 to 50 wk of age). The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using a 2 × 3 factorial design. The findings demonstrated that both housing type and laying period significantly influenced egg quality parameters, with deep litter housing exhibiting higher egg weight, egg breadth, and shell surface area. Battery cage housing had thicker shells and a higher percentage of shell weight than total egg weight. As the birds aged, most parameters increased, while shell thickness decreased. The interaction between housing type and laying period played a crucial role, with egg weight, breadth, and egg shape index increasing as the birds aged. The shell thickness decreased as the laying period progressed across all housing systems. During the 40 to 45 wk period of lay, they exhibited the highest albumen height, haugh unit, and % yolk weight. The study's findings highlight how the interaction between the housing system and the laying period impacted the internal quality of guinea fowl eggs.

Growth performance and physiological responses of broilers fed Stylosanthes hamata leaf meal in a hot tropical environment.

BACKGROUND: Forage plants are considered an essential source of vitamins, protein and energy and could decrease the intake of the conventional diets by up to 10% if young quality forage plants are offered and about 7% of a broiler's daily protein needs and 3% of their daily calorie needs can be met by pasture. However, there is a paucity of data on the quantification of the herbage intake in broiler chickens. OBJECTIVES: This trial was designed to determine the performance and physiological response of broilers fed diets containing Stylosanthes hamata leaf meal (SHLM) at 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% inclusion (weight for weight) in a basal diet of poultry. METHODS: Two hundred and forty-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were used for this trial. They were allocated at random to each of the 6 dietary treatment groups with 4 replicates of 10 chickens each. The study lasted for 35 days, during which data were collected weekly. RESULTS: Results indicated no difference (p > 0.05) in body weight gain, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio of broiler chickens across all ages. Although the plasma triiodothyronine (T3 ) concentration of the birds was influenced at the sixth week of age, there was no consistency in the trend. At the eighth week of age, chickens on 15% SHLM had significantly (p < 0.05) higher cortisol (3.22 ng/mL) concentrations compared to 10% (3.13 ng/mL) and 20% (3.16 ng/mL) SHLM treatment groups. Treatment groups, regardless of the age of the chickens, had similar (p > 0.05) mean plasma creatinine values. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that SHLM could be incorporated into broiler feed up to 20% without a deleterious impact on physiology and performance indices.

Effect of citrus-coconut electrolyte blend on growth performance, haemato-biochemical status, organs development and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens.

INTRODUCTION: In a bid to mitigate growing concerns regarding the use of antibiotics in food animals OBJECTIVES: This study determined the growth performance, haemato-biochemical status, organ development and intestinal morphology of Arbor Acre broiler chicken strain on oral administration of citrus-coconut electrolyte blend (CCEB) for 26 days. METHODS: One-hundred ninety-two chicks were brooded for 2 weeks and thereafter divided on a weight equalization basis into four groups (0, 5, 10 and 15 ml CCEB per litre of water) of six replicates each and eight birds per replicate. Phytochemical screening of CCEB was determined, while data collected for growth performance, organ proportions and intestinal morphology were subjected to a one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Phytochemical composition revealed the abundance of phenols (128.40 mg/100g) and tannins (78.10 mg/100g) in CCEB. All productive performance parameters measured were not significantly (p < 0.05) different across treatment means. However, significantly (p < 0.05) highest concentrations (134.47 and 66.48 mg/dl, respectively) for total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and the lowest concentration (38.34 mg/dl) for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were recorded in birds on 15 ml of CCEB/litre of water. Furthermore, a progressive reduction (p < 0.05) in the bursa of Fabricius was observed with increasing CCEB/litre of water. The supplementation of CCEB did not influence (p > 0.05) duodenal morphological parameters. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that 15 ml of CCEB/litre of water enhanced the production of HDL, reduced LDL, and improved immunity via the reduction of the bursa of Fabricius in broiler chickens.