Replacing biochar with mineral premix and its interaction with vitamin C on laying hen production and egg quality factors.

This researchers focused at how adding vitamin C (VC) to biochar and replacing it with a mineral supplement affected egg quality and laying hen performance. 50 experimental units were created from 400 laying hens using a 5 × 2 factorial treatment design (10 treatments, 5 repeats, and 8 laying hens per repetition). Biochar levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% replacement with mineral supplements of diet) and VC levels (0 and 100 mg/kg of diet) were some of the studied variables. The results showed that different experimental diets had no significant effect on performance parameters (feed intake, feed conversion ratio, daily weight gain, egg weight, egg production, and egg mass) of laying hens. In the whole of experiment (50-62 weeks of age), dietary treatments had no influence on egg albumen %, Haugh unit, albumen index, yolk %, yolk index, yolk color, egg shell thickness, or egg shell ash. The results revealed that biochar, due to its availability and easy production, can replace mineral supplements in laying hens' diet, with no adverse effects on productive performance and egg quality traits.

Effects of dietary nano-selenium supplementation on broiler chicken performance, meat selenium content, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, and immune response.

BACKGROUND: Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient that is important to both animals and humans. Furthermore, scientists are increasingly interested in boosting the Se content of food products for human consumption, such as Se-enriched meat, because it has been shown to have a positive effect on human health. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of green synthesized nano selenium (GNS) on broiler chicken growth performance, meat selenium content, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, and immune response to sodium selenite (SS) as inorganic Se. METHODS: A total of 360 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly assigned to four experimental groups, each of six replicates of 15 birds. The experimental treatments were as follows: (1) based diet supplemented with 0.15 mg/kg of SS (control group), (2-4) basal diet supplemented with 0.075, 0.15 and 0.3 mg/kg of GNS respectively. RESULTS: The results showed that different experimental diets had no significant effect on growth performance. Meat Se content increased with dietary GNS supplementation (P < 0.05). The birds fed dietary supplements GNS compared to SS had higher lactic acid bacteria counts and lactic acid bacteria/coliform ratios in ileum on day 42 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, as compared to SS, dietary supplementation of 0.3 mg GNS/kg significantly reduced coliform numbers in the cecum on day 42 (P < 0.05). Supplementation of 0.3 mg GNS/kg in the diet vs. SS at 21 days, there was a significant increase in VH/CD in the ileum and jejunum, as well as villus height and villus surface area in the ileum, and a decrease in crypt depth and epithelial cell layer thickness in the jejunum. Furthermore, at 42 days, birds fed 0.3 mg GNS/kg had higher villus height, villus surface area, and goblet cell density in the ileum and jejunum than birds fed SS (P < 0.05). Compared to SS, broilers fed 0.3 mg GNS/kg dietary supplementation had higher IgG at 42 days (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In comparison to the use of SS, it could be concluded that the inclusion of GNS as a novel Se source can improve meat Se content, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, and immune response.

Effect of Dietary Bacillus coagulans and Different Forms of Zinc on Performance, Intestinal Microbiota, Carcass and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens.

A total of 288-day-old male broilers were allocated to six dietary treatments to evaluate the effects of zinc source and Bacillus coagulans supplements and their interaction on growth, intestinal microbial population, carcass traits and meat quality in broiler chickens. Three levels of dietary supplemental Zn source (100 mg/kg of DM diet zinc oxide, 25 and 50 mg/kg of diet zinc oxide nanoparticles (Zn-nan)) and two levels of B. coagulans (0 and 100 mg/kg of diet) were combined as a completely randomised design with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement. B. coagulans increased the body weight gain, body weight and feed conversion ratio. The lactic acid producing bactereia of ileal were increased by B. coagulans supplementation, and its coliform count was decreased by Zn-nan in a dose-dependent manner. The B. coagulans increased the relative weights of legs and proventriculus and reduced weights of livers, abdominal fat and meat thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value. Likewise, dietary B. coagulans increased pH, yellowness and lightness values of leg muscles. Birds fed Zn-nan50 had lower liver weight, TBA and cooking loss and higher yellowness values than chicks fed ZnO-100. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation with B. coagulans improved broiler performance, microbial population and meat quality. The Zn-nan in lower dose could be a good substitution in mineral premix instead of zinc oxide. In addition, the Zn-nan improved intestinal microbial population, carcass characteristics and oxidative stability of chicken meat; however, the combination of two levels of Zn-nan with B. coagulans did not vary the measured parameters.