Effect of an herbal essential oil mixture on growth, laying traits, and egg hatching characteristics of broiler breeders

WOS: 000271292000018PubMed ID: 19834088The effects of supplementing a basal diet with 2 levels of an essential oil mixture and an antibiotic on the growth, laying traits, and egg hatching characteristics of broiler breeders were examined in this study. Nine hundred sixty female and 128 male breeders at an age of 1 d old were randomly allocated to 16 replicates (i.e., 4 replicates of 4 dietary treatments) in a floor pen trial. Two levels of an essential oil mixture (EOM; i.e., 24 and 48 mg of EOM/kg of diet) and an antibiotic (i.e., 10 mg of avilamycin/kg of diet) were added to the basal starter, grower, and laying diets from 0 to 45 wk of age. Daily feed allocations were adjusted to produce a target BW and egg production rate of the breeders throughout the experimental period. The BW of the males and females were determined at 12, 21, and 45 wk of age. Livability during the growing and laying period was not affected by the dietary treatments. The fertility and hatchability of total eggs set were positively affected by the supplementation of the EOM in the diet (P < 0.01). The hen-day egg production, hatching egg weight, settable egg ratio, hatching of fertile eggs, extra large egg rate, and proportion of chick weight to egg weight were not affected significantly. The higher level of EOM (48 mg/kg) added to the diet led to the hatching of the heaviest chickens; the lower level of EOM (24 mg/kg) and antibiotic treatments led to the hatching of the intermediate weight chickens, followed by the control treatment (P < 0.01). Hens given the lower level of EOM in their diets produced a higher number of settable eggs and chicks as compared with those of other treatments, whereas hens fed the control diet yielded the lowest total settable eggs and chicks throughout the experimental laying period (P < 0.05). The results of this study showed that supplementing diets with EOM improved fertility, the hatchability of total eggs set, total settable eggs, total chicks, and the chick weight of broiler breeders

The effects of free choice feeding based on whole triticale on growth, meat quality, carcass characteristics and gastrointestinal traits in broilers

Effets des grains de triticale offerts en libre service sur la croissance,la qualité de la viande, les caractéristiques des carcasses et les paramètresgastro-intestinaux chez le pouletLes effets sur la croissance, la qualité de la viande, les caractéristiques descarcasses et les fonctions digestives des grains de triticale offerts en libre serviceont été explorés chez le poulet. Au total, 800 poussins Ross 308 de 1jour ont été aléatoirement répartis en 5 groupes égaux en fonction du régimealimentaire institué : les oiseaux du groupe témoin ont été nourris avec desrégimes standards (maïs et tourteau de soja) alors qu’en plus, dans les autresgroupes le triticale en libre service a été proposé dès l’âge de 1 jour (groupes2 et 3) ou à l’âge de 21 jours (groupes 4 et 5) et a éventuellement été associéà l’ajout dans la ration de xylanase (1g/kg) (groupes 3 et 5). Les poids vifs etles gains de poids les plus élevés, l’ingéré alimentaire le plus faible et la meilleurconversion alimentaire ont été obtenus chez les témoins. En outre, lescaractéristiques des carcasses, la qualité de la viande et les fonctions digestivesn’ont été négativement altérées ni par le triticale offert en libre serviceni par l’inclusion dans la ration de l’enzyme. Ces résultats montrent que lespoussins de 1 jour n’ont pas de préférence pour le triticale en libre service etque la xylanase dans la ration retarde la croissance, plus particulièrement durantla phase de démarrage (du 1er au 21ème jour) et suggèrent que les pouletsne consomment pas spontanément les aliments même en libre service defaçon optimale pour une croissance maximale.The effects of free choice feeding (FCF) based on whole triticale on growth,meat quality, carcass characteristics, and digestive functions were investigated.Eight hundred 1 day old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly dividedinto 5 equal groups according to the dietary regimens: birds from thecontrol group were fed with standard diets based on maize and soybean mealwhereas in the other groups, free choice of triticale feeding starting since the1st day (groups 2 and 3) or from the 21st day of age (groups 4 and 5) eventuallycoupled to dietary xylanase (1 g/kg of food) addition (groups 3 and 5) wasalso established. The highest body weight and weight gains, the lowest feedconsumption and the best food efficiency were observed in the control group.Furthermore, carcass traits, meat quality and digestive functions were not negativelyaltered by free choice feeding with triticale and/or dietary enzymeinclusion. The results showed that broilers starting FCF at 1 day of age didn’tprefer to eat whole cereal, and that xylanase supplementation had negativeeffect on growth especially in the starter period (from day 1 to day 21) andsuggest that broilers do not select feed to maximize growth when offered freechoice

Effect of dietary essential oil mixture on performance of laying hens in summer season

WOS: 000244832000001The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplements of either an essential oil mixture (EOM) or a mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) as alternatives to an antibiotic feed additive (avilamycin) for layers kept under hot summer conditions. Four hundred and eighty 54-week old Nick-Brown hens were assigned to four dietary treatments. Each treatment consisted of four replications of 10 cages (three hens per cage). The treatment groups were: 1) Control: Basal diet without additive; 2) Basal diet plus antibiotic (10 mg avilamycin/kg feed); 3) Basal diet plus 1 g MOS/kg feed; 4) Basal diet plus 24 mg EOM/kg feed. Performance of laying hens was affected by dietary treatments. Dietary supplementation of EOM and MOS significantly increased egg production compared with control and antibiotic groups. There were no significant differences in feed consumption between treatments. The EOM significantly improved feed conversion ratio above that of the control group. Egg weights were significantly different between treatments. Laying hens consuming MOS produced significantly lower egg weights than the other groups, while egg weights in the EOM, antibiotic and control groups did not differ significantly. Cracked-broken egg rate was decreased by dietary addition of EOM, MOS and antibiotic compared with the control. Number of deaths among hens was significantly affected by dietary treatments with the number of deaths in the MOS treatment being significantly lower than in the other treatments. The performance of laying hens during the summer season could be maintained with inclusions of EOM and MOS in the diet

Effect of dietary essential oil mixture on performance of laying hens in summer season

WOS: 000244832000001The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplements of either an essential oil mixture (EOM) or a mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) as alternatives to an antibiotic feed additive (avilamycin) for layers kept under hot summer conditions. Four hundred and eighty 54-week old Nick-Brown hens were assigned to four dietary treatments. Each treatment consisted of four replications of 10 cages (three hens per cage). The treatment groups were: 1) Control: Basal diet without additive; 2) Basal diet plus antibiotic (10 mg avilamycin/kg feed); 3) Basal diet plus 1 g MOS/kg feed; 4) Basal diet plus 24 mg EOM/kg feed. Performance of laying hens was affected by dietary treatments. Dietary supplementation of EOM and MOS significantly increased egg production compared with control and antibiotic groups. There were no significant differences in feed consumption between treatments. The EOM significantly improved feed conversion ratio above that of the control group. Egg weights were significantly different between treatments. Laying hens consuming MOS produced significantly lower egg weights than the other groups, while egg weights in the EOM, antibiotic and control groups did not differ significantly. Cracked-broken egg rate was decreased by dietary addition of EOM, MOS and antibiotic compared with the control. Number of deaths among hens was significantly affected by dietary treatments with the number of deaths in the MOS treatment being significantly lower than in the other treatments. The performance of laying hens during the summer season could be maintained with inclusions of EOM and MOS in the diet

Effects of administering an essential oil mixture and an organic acid blend separately and combined to diets on broiler performance

This study compares the performance-enhancing effects of adding an antibiotic growth promoter (AGP), a commercial organic acid blend (OAB), a commercial, herbal, essential oil mixture (EOM) and an OAB - EOM combination to feeding regimens of broiler chicks. The corn and soybean-based basal diet was supplemented with three doses of one of the following additives: AGP (Avilamycin, 10 mg/kg diet), OAB (0.9, 1.8, 2.7 g/kg diet, respectively), EOM (12, 24, 36 mg/kg diet, respectively) and OAB - EOM combination. Diets were fed as mash to 3,300 one-day-old broiler chicks (Ross-308) that were randomly assigned to 11 groups, each with six identical subgroups. Birds were studied until they were 42 days old

Psychomotor Retardation Caused by a Defective Thyroid Hormone Transporter: Report of Two Families with Different MCT8 Mutations

Background/Aims: Monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) is essential for thyroid hormone (TH) transport in the brain. Mutations in MCT8 are associated with the Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome (AHDS), characterized by severe psychomotor retardation and altered serum thyroid parameters. Here we report two novel mutations in MCT8 and discuss the clinical findings. Case Report and Results: We describe 4 males with AHDS from two unrelated families varying in age from 1.5 to 11 years. All 4 patients presented with typical clinical signs of AHDS, including severe psychomotor retardation, axial hypotonia, lack of speech, diminished muscle mass, increased muscle tone, hyperreflexia, myopathic facies, high T3, low T4 and rT3, and normal/mildly elevated TSH levels. Comparison of patients at different ages suggests the progressive nature of AHDS. Genetic analyses identified a novel missense MCT8 mutation (p.G495A) in family 1 and a 2.8-kb deletion comprising exons 3 and 4 in family 2. Functional analysis of p.G495A revealed impaired TH transport varying from 20 to 85% depending on the cell context. Conclusion: Here we report 4 AHDS patients in unrelated Turkish families harboring novel MCT8 mutations. Despite the widely different mutations, the clinical phenotypes are very similar and findings support the progressive nature of AHDS. (C) 2014 S. Karger AG, Base

Characteristics of Turkish children with Type 2 diabetes at onset: a multicentre, cross-sectional study

Aims To describe the baseline clinical and laboratory findings and treatment modalities of 367 children and adolescents diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in various paediatric endocrinology centres in Turkey. Methods A standard questionnaire regarding clinical and laboratory characteristics at onset was uploaded to an online national database system. Data for 367 children (aged 6-18 years) newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 37 different paediatric endocrinology centres were analysed. Results After exclusion of the children with a BMI Z-score 50% of the children were asymptomatic at diagnosis. The other important result of our study was the high rate of exclusion from the initial registration (38%), suggesting that accurate diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes in youth is still problematic, even for paediatric endocrinologists