Acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in broiler chicks fed with different levels of phytase and non-phytate phosphorus

Tartrate-resistant acid (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were evaluated in the serum and bone of broiler chicks fed with various amounts of non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) or phytase. Data were analysed using a 4×3 factorial design containing four NPP levels per period. Analyses were performed in chicks aged 1-21 days (0.21; 0.29; 0.37; 0.45 ppm) and 36-42 days (0.13; 0.21; 0.29; 0.37 ppm) and under three different phytase level treatments (0, 500 and 1000 FTU/kg) for each period. In 42-day-old animals, the serum ACP and ALP activities did not differ in response to NPP and phytase levels and bone ACP activity decreased with increased phosphorus levels. We observed effects on ALP activity by approximately 70% in lower phosphorus (0.13 and 0.21) levels without phytase. The phytase addition decreased (P<0.05) ALP values in lower phosphorus levels. The bone ALP and ACP levels of 21-day-old animals were not affected by phosphorus or phytase. Pi depletion induces a significant increase in alkaline phosphatase synthesis, suggesting that the function of this enzyme is downregulated by phosphorus. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Experimental infection of one-day-old chicks with Salmonella Serotypes Previously isolated from poultry facilities, wild birds, and swine

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of phytase supplementation on performance, bone densitometry and carcass yield in broilers chicks

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance, bone densitometry and carcass yield of broilers chicks, using different levels of phytase enzyme. Nine hundred and sixty male one-day-old broiler chicks were used. The birds were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design, involving five treatments and six replications of 32 chicks each. The treatments consisted of a control diet for each phase, and four other diets were formulated adding growing levels of the phytase enzyme (250, 500, 750 and 1,000 FTU of phytase kg-1 feed). When adding the phytase enzyme, the nutritional matrix was valued to guarantee the same nutritional levels as the control diet. In general, the addition of phytase enzyme determined a linear decrease on the performance of the birds. However, the performance obtained with the level of 250 FTU phytase kg-1 feed were no different from the control treatment. The best bone density results were observed in the control treatment with no phytase, and the highest leg and thigh yield were obtained at the level of 514 FTU phytase kg-1.

Age and gender influence the cardiorespiratory function and metabolic rate of broiler chicks during normocapnia and hypercapnia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Immunolocalization of myosin Va in the developing nervous system of embryonic chicks

Myosins are molecular motors associated with the actin cytoskeleton that participate in the mechanisms of cellular motility. During the development of the nervous system, migration of nerve cells to specific sites, extension of growth cones, and axonal transport are dramatic manifestations of cellular motility. We demonstrate, via immunoblots, the expression of myosin Va during early stages of embryonic development in chicks, extending from the blastocyst period to the beginning of the fetal period. The expression of myosin Va in specific regions and cellular structures of the nervous system during these early stages was determined by immunocytochemistry using a polyclonal antibody. Whole mounts of chick embryos at 24-30-h stages showed intense immunoreactivity of the neural tube in formation along its full extent. Cross-sections at these stages of development showed strong labeling in neuroepithelial cells at the basal and apical regions of the neural tube wall. Embryos at more advanced periods of development (48h and 72 h) showed distinctive immunolabeling of neuroepithelial cells, neuroblasts and their cytoplasmic extensions in the mantle layer of the stratified neural tube wall, and neuroblasts and their cytoplasmic extensions in the internal wall of the optic cup, as well as a striking labeling of cells in the apparent nuclei of cranial nerves and budding fibers. These immunolocalization studies indicate temporal and site-specific expression of myosin Va during chick embryo development, suggesting that myosin Va expression is related to recruitment for specific cellular tasks.

Detection of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes in the intestine of broiler chicks treated with lactobacillus spp. and challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar enteritidis

The expression of immune response as a leukocytic infiltrate by CD4+ and CD8+ cells in the epithelium and in the intestinal lamina propria of chicks fed Lactobacillus spp or cecal microflora (CM) and experimentally challenged or not with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) was studied using immunohistochemistry. Three hundred and twenty day-of-hatch broiler chicks were divided into four groups of 80 birds each and orally received L. reuteri, L. salivarius, L. acidophilus, or CM. Each group was subdivided into four subgroups of 20 birds each, classified as follows: a subgroup did not receive any oral treatment (negative control), subgroup treated with L. spp or CM, subgroup treated with L. spp or CM and challenged with SE, and subgroup only challenged with SE (positive control). The results show that the oral treatment with L. reuteri, L. salivarius, L. acidophilus, or CM and challenge or not with SE stimulated bird immune response as determined by the leukocytic infiltrate by CD8+ lymphocytes followed by CD4+ in the epithelium and in the lamina propria of the duodenum, jejunum, and cecum of chicks up to 12 days of age. CD8+ lymphocyte number was significantly higher in the intestine of chicks receiving CM and challenged with SE. The duodenum, followed by the jejunum, were the segments in which the immune response, as shown by T, CD4+ and CD8+ cells, was stimulated with the greatest intensity.

Analysis of metabolic pools in broilers chicks

This paper shows the possibility of obtaining new parameters for the mathematical modelling of data on stable isotopes in biological systems and its application in obtaining data on metabolic pools of blood plasma, blood serum, liver and muscle of broilers. This theory states that the modelling of turnover used for studies of isotopic incorporation when the metabolism has a single metabolic pool is feasible by the technique of setting an exponential. However, when the metabolism has more than one metabolic pool, it is necessary to apply the linearization technique, linear regression adjustment and evaluation of the assumptions of regression to obtain the kinetic parameters such as half-life (T1/2) and isotope exchange rate (k). The application of this technique on carbon-13 data from 100 one-day-old chicks, with the change of diet composed of grains of the photosynthetic cycle of plants from C4 to C3, in broilers has enabled the discovery that the liver, blood plasma and blood serum have a single metabolic pool; however, the pectoral muscle has two metabolic pools. For the liver, blood plasma and blood serum, the half-life values were found by the exponential fit being T1/2 = 1.4 days with the rate of exchange of k = 0.502, T1/2 = 2.4 days with k = 0.293 and T1/2 = 2.0 days with k = 0.348, respectively. For the pectoral muscle, after linearization, the half-life values were found for T1/2(1) = 1.7 and T1/2(2) = 3 days, with exchange rates of k1 = 0.405 and k2 = 0.235, representing approximately 66 and 34 %, respectively.

Pathology and virus tissue distribution of Turkey Coronavirus (TCoV) in experimentally infected chicks and turkey poults

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Eradication of Salmonella Typhimurium in broiler chicks by combined use of P22 bacteriophage and probiotic

It has been reported that the phage therapy is effective in controlling the number of colony-forming unit (CFU) of Salmonella spp. in chicken gut. This paper describes the protective effect of phage and Lactobacilli administration on Salmonella infection in 1-day-old chicks. We administered the bacteriophage P22 in a single dose and a probiotic mixture of four species of bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus once a day for one week. Samples were analyzed every 48 hours, and intestinal eradication of S. Typhimurium was confirmed after treatments. We observed an increase in the size of duodenal villi and cecal crypts, as well as an increase in body weight in groups that received daily doses of Lactobacilli. This study confirms the efficiency of bacteriophage therapy in controlling salmonellosis in chicks and the beneficial effect of Lactobacilli mixtures in the weight gain of the birds.

Effect of poultry viscera meal inclusion in broiler diets in different rearing periods on performance, carcass and parts yields

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Rastreabilidade de subprodutos de origem animal em dietas com levedura e trigo para frangos

O objetivo deste trabalho foi rastrear a inclussão de farinhas de origem animal em rações para frango de corte com ou sem levedura de cana-de-açúcar e farelo de trigo, por meio da análise do músculo peitoral das aves pelas técnicas dos isótopos estáveis de carbono e nitrogênio. Foram utilizados 210 pintos machos (Cobb), com um dia de idade, distribuídos aleatoriamente em sete tratamentos de 30 aves cada, tendo sido um tratamento controle (dieta vegetal) e seis com inclusão de farinha de carne e ossos bovina ou farinha de vísceras de aves na dieta, com ou sem levedura de cana-de-açúcar e farelo de trigo. Aos 42 dias de idade, foram abatidas quatro aves, por tratamento, escolhidas ao acaso, cujo músculo peitoral foi retirado para análise da razão isotópica. Os resultados obtidos foram submetidos à análise multivariada. Os tratamentos experimentais diferiram do tratamento controle, e foi identificada a inclusão de farinha de origem animal, pelas técnicas dos isótopos estáveis, mesmo com inclusão de levedura ou farelo de trigo na dieta.

Incubation and rearing temperature effects on Hsp70 levels and heat stress response in broilers

Incubation temperature (IT) was changed to evaluate if 6-wk-old birds become more tolerant to heat stress. After 13 d of incubation, 470 eggs were submitted to low (36.8degreesC), normal (37.8degreesC) and high (38.8degreesC) temperatures. At day 7 post-hatching, 144 birds were allocated to three rearing temperatures (48 birds/treatment): control/thermoneutral (35-24degreesC), high (33-30degreesC) or low (27-18degreesC) according to the age of the birds. Hsp70 levels in tissues of birds (1 d and 42 d), stress response (42 d) and performance were evaluated. High IT decreased brain (P < 0.01) and liver (P < 0.01) Hsp70 levels, whereas low IT decreased brain (P < 0.01) but increased heart (P < 0.01) Hsp70 levels in 1-d-old chicks. Birds incubated at a low temperature had higher (P < 0.05) feed intake (1-42d). High rearing temperature decreased feed intake (P<0.01) and liveweight (P<0.01). Colonic temperature was lower in birds incubated at a low temperature (P < 0.05) and higher in birds reared in a high temperature (P < 0.05) before heat stress. Birds reared in low temperature had higher increase in colonic temperature after heat stress (P < 0.05). Tissue Hsp70 levels were differently affected by rearing temperature, which affected broiler performance more than IT. Lower IT seemed to increase the sensitivity of birds to heat stress at market age.

Effect of Environmental Temperature During the First Week of Brooding Period on Broiler Chick Body Weight, Viscera and Bone Development

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o efeito de diferentes temperaturas-ambiente durante a primeira semana de vida de pintos de corte sob parâmetros zootécnicos, desenvolvimento visceral e crescimento ósseo. Foram utilizados 240 pintos de um dia, alojados em 3 câmaras climáticas, com temperaturas constantes de 20, 25 e 35°C do 1° ao 7° dia de vida. Diariamente, o consumo de água e ração, bem como o peso vivo, o peso relativo do fígado, moela, coração, saco vitelino e bursa de Fabricius foram avaliados. A tíbia e o fêmur também foram pesados e o comprimento e espessura (diâmetro médio) mensurados. As aves criadas a 20°C ganharam menos peso e consumiram menos ração do que aves mantidas a 25°C e menos água do que aves mantidas a 35°C. O peso relativo do fígado, coração e moela foram afetados pela temperatura ambiente, entretanto, não foi observado efeito da temperatura de criação sobre o peso do saco vitelino e bursa de Fabricius. Os dados mostraram que todos os parâmetros ósseos pesquisados aumentaram com a idade das aves. A temperatura ambiente não afetou a espessura da tíbia e do fêmur, mas foi observado um aumento significativo no peso e comprimento dos ossos com o aumento da temperatura ambiente. Os resultados desse experimento mostraram que o estresse por frio (20°C) reduziu o crescimento ósseo bem como o peso vivo das aves, durante os primeiros sete dias após a eclosão.

Efeitos da restrição alimentar protéica ou energética sobre o crescimento de frangos de corte criados em diferentes temperaturas ambiente

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Efeito do isolamento térmico de telhado sobre o desempenho de frangos de corte alojados em diferentes densidades

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do uso de isolante térmico de telhado instalado como forro sob a cobertura no desempenho de frangos alojados em diferentes densidades (10, 16 e 22 aves/m²) e nas características da cama de aviário em galpão convencional. O experimento foi realizado durante o verão, utilizando 3328 aves da linhagem Hubbard, distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em um esquema fatorial 3x2 (densidade e sexo), com quatro repetições dentro de cada ambiente. Para a comparação dos ambientes, utilizou-se a análise conjunta. Durante o período experimental, registraram-se dados de temperatura ambiente em vários pontos do galpão e em diversos horários, umidade relativa e carga térmica radiante. O teor de nitrogênio e matéria seca e a temperatura da cama foram determinados. No ambiente com isolante térmico, as temperaturas ambientais médias e a amplitude térmica diária foram menores e a umidade relativa do ar, maior. O desempenho das aves foi melhor no ambiente com isolante térmico, no qual as aves tiveram maior consumo de ração, maior ganho de peso, melhor conversão alimentar, menor mortalidade e maior produção por área. A temperatura retal das aves do ambiente sem isolante térmico foi mais elevada. À medida que se elevou a densidade, a mortalidade aumentou, porém a produção por área foi maior. O uso do isolante não influenciou a produção de cama, mas diminuiu a porcentagem de nitrogênio na cama. Com o aumento da densidade, a produção de cama elevou-se, pelo maior volume de excretas, mas não influenciou sua porcentagem de nitrogênio. O uso do isolante térmico permitiu aumento da densidade de criação dos frangos.