The effects of a competitive exclusion product and two probiotics on Salmonella colonization and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens

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Broiler welfare index based on slaughter-house variables

The purpose of this study was to develop a welfare index which is suitable for Finnish broiler production. Animal welfare problems in broiler production are connected to fast growth and production environment

Wooden Breast Myodegeneration of Pectoralis Major Muscle Over the Growth Period in Broilers

Wooden breast (WB) myopathy of broiler chickens is a myodegenerative disease of an unknown etiology and is macroscopically characterized by a hardened consistency of the pectoralis major muscle. Our aim was to describe the development and morphology of WB over the growth period in broilers. Additionally, the effect of restricted dietary selenium on the occurrence of WB was examined by allocating the birds in 2 dietary groups: restricted and conventional level of selenium. The experiment included 240 male broilers that were euthanized at ages of 10, 18, 24, 35, 38, or 42 days and evaluated for WB based on abnormal hardness of the pectoralis major muscle. The severity and the distribution of the lesion and presence of white striping were recorded. The first WB cases were seen at 18 days; 13/47 birds (28%) were affected and the majority exhibited a mild focal lesion. In subsequent age groups the WB prevalence varied between 48% and 73% and the lesion was usually diffuse and markedly firm. White striping often coexisted with WB. Histological evaluation performed on 111 cases revealed a significant association of myodegeneration and lymphocytic vasculitis with WB. Vasculitis and perivascular cell infiltration were restricted to the veins. Restricted dietary selenium did not affect the occurrence of WB (P = .44). Our results indicate that WB starts focally and spreads to form a diffuse and more severe lesion.Peer reviewe

Wooden breast myopathy links with poorer gait in broiler chickens

Wooden breast myopathy, a condition where broiler breast muscles show a hardened consistency post-mortem, has been described recently. However, it is not known how wooden breast myopathy affects the bird activity or welfare. Altogether, over 340 birds of five commonly used commercial hybrids were housed in 25 pens, and sample birds killed at ages of 22, 32, 36, 39 and 43 days. Their breast muscle condition was assessed post-mortem by palpation. The birds were gait scored and their latency to lie was measured before killing. For further behavior observations, one affected and healthy bird in 12 pens were followed on 5 days for 20 minutes using video recordings. The connection of myopathy to gait score and activity was analyzed with mixed models. A higher gait score of wooden-breast-affected birds than that of unaffected birds (2.9 +/- 0.1 v. 2.6 +/- 0.1, P <0.05) indicated a higher level of locomotor difficulties over all age groups. The wooden-breast-affected birds had fewer crawling or movement bouts while lying down compared with unaffected (P <0.05). Wooden breast myopathy-affected birds were heavier (2774 +/- 91 v. 2620 +/- 91 g; P <0.05) and had higher breast muscle yield (21 +/- 1 v. 19 +/- 1%; P <0.05) than unaffected birds overall. Older birds had longer lying bouts, longer total lying time, fewer walking bouts, more difficulties to walk and to stand compared with younger birds (P <0.05). Birds with poorer gait had longer total lying time and fewer walking bouts (P <0.05). Birds with greatest breast muscle yield had the largest number of lying bouts (P <0.05). It was concluded that wooden breast myopathy was associated with an impairment of gait scores, and may thus be partly linked to the common walking abnormalities in broilers.Peer reviewe

Effect of two microbial phytase preparations on phosphorus utilisation in broilers fed maize-soybean meal based diets

The present study was carried out to determine the effect of two microbial phytases, Aspergillus niger (FINASEâ FP-500, 291 PU (phytase units)/g) and Trichoderma reesei phytase (FINASEâ P, 5880 PU/g) on phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) utilisation and ileal P and Ca digestibility in broiler chickens fed diets based on maize and soybean meal. A total of 96 Ross broiler chickens housed four birds to a cage were used. Four dietary treatments consisted of a positive control supplemented with dicalcium phosphate (17 g/kg), a negative control without inorganic P, basal diet without inorganic P supplemented with Aspergillus niger phytase (2.6 g/kg) and basal diet without inorganic P supplemented with Trichoderma reesei phytase (0.13 g/kg). Both phytases provided 750 PU/kg feed. P retention per unit intake was lowest and P excretion highest in birds fed the positive control diet with inorganic P (PSulavuus- ja tasekokeessa selvitettiin kahden erilaisen fytaasientsyymilisäyksen vaikutuksiamaissi-soijarouherehuseosta saaneiden broilereiden fosforin hyväksikäyttöön ja eritykseen. Tutkittavat fytaasientsyymivalmisteet, FINASEâ FP-500 ja FINASEâ P, oli tuotettu kahdella erilaisella mikrobikannalla, Aspergillus nigerillä tai Trichoderma reeseillä. Kokeessa oli 96 broilerpoikasta, joiden ikä kokeen alussa oli 21 ja lopussa 37 vuorokautta. Broilereita pidettiin kolmikerroksisessa häkkipatterissa neljän eläimen häkeissä. Rakeistetun koerehun pääasiallisina raaka-aineina olivat maissi ja soijarouhe. Koekäsittelyjä oli neljä: positiivinen vertailu, jossa dikalsiumfosfaattitäydennys, negatiivinen vertailu ilman epäorgaanista fosforitäydennystä sekä kaksi rehua ilman epäorgaanista fosforia, joihin oli lisätty joko Aspergillus tai Trichoderma pohjaista fytaasientsyymiä. Molemmat fytaasientsyymilisäykset paransivat selvästi maissi-soijarouhe-rehun fosforin käyttökelpoisuutta ja vähensivät ulosteissa erittyvän fosforin määrää. Kasvifosforin hyväksikäyttö parani 38,5 %:sta 51,1%:iin verrattuna rehuun, joka ei sisältänyt epäorgaanista fosforia tai fytaasientsyymiä. Myös fosforin ohutsuolisulavuus parantui fytaasientsyymin vaikutuksesta. Sekä Aspergillus että Trichoderma fytaasin vaikutukset fosforin hyväksikäyttöön olivat samanlaiset. Fytaasientsyymi paransi myös rehun kalsiumin hyväksikäyttöä, mutta vaikutukset muiden ravintoaineiden hyväksikäyttöön tai sulavuuteen olivat vähäisiä

Apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids and metabolisable energy value in grains for broilers

Using ileal digestible amino acids in feed optimising will intensify feed protein utilizing and decrease nitrogen excretion to the environment. The study determined the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) coefficients of amino acids in barley, wheat, oats, triticale, maize, and dehulled oats in the diets of 180 Ross broiler chickens (aged 2435 days). The birds were fed semi-purified diets that contained grain as the sole protein source and chromium-mordanted straw as an indigestible marker. The AID coefficients of the nutrients were assessed using the slaughter technique, and the apparent metabolisable energy (AME) was determined using total excreta collection. The ileal digestibility of the dry matter and organic matter were the highest in maize. The AME of maize was higher than that of other cereals. The ileal digestibility of crude protein was higher in wheat than that in barley, oats and dehulled oats. The AME of wheat was similar to that of barley and oats but lower than that of triticale and dehulled oats. The amino acid AID was highest in wheat (0.86) and triticale (0.85) and lowest in oats (0.79) and barley 0.77). The average amino acid AID was 0.81 in dehulled oats. The threonine AID was the same in all tested ingredients. The lysine, methionine, and cystine AID coefficients were 0.81, 0.79, and 0.71 respectively for barley; 0.86, 0.84, and 0.38 respectively for oats; 0.87, 0.86, and 0.53 respectively for dehulled oats; 0.84, 0.90, and 0.66 respectively for maize; 0.89, 0.88, and 0.77 respectively for triticale; and 0.87, 0.85, and 0.71 respectively for wheat. Results indicated that AME values of domestic grains (barley, oats and wheat) are in the same level. Especially, low AME value of wheat needs further investigation.;Aminohappojen ohutsuolisulavuuteen perustuvavalkuaisarvojärjestelmä tarkentaa siipikarjan rehusuunnittelua. Se vähentää valkuaisen yliruokintaa ja typpipäästöjä. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin ohran, vehnän, kauran, ruisvehnän, maissin ja kuoritun kauran aminohappojen näennäinen ohutsuolisulavuus 180 Ross-broilereilla (ikä 2435 päivää). Linnut ruokittiin puolipuhdistetuilla rehuilla, joissa vilja oli ainoa valkuaisen lähde. Ravintoaineiden näennäinen ohutsuolisulavuus määritettiin teurastustekniikalla ja näennäinen muuntokelpoinen energia kokonaiskeruulla. Maissin kuiva-aineen ja orgaanisen aineen ohutsuolisulavuus oli korkein. Myös maissin näennäinen muuntokelpoinen energia-arvo oli korkein. Raakaproteiinin ohutsuolisulavuus oli korkeampi vehnässä kuin ohrassa, kaurassa ja kuoritussa kaurassa. Vehnän näennäinen muuntokelpoinen energia-arvo oli sama kuin ohran ja kauran, mutta alhaisempi kuin ruisvehnän ja kuoritun kauran. Vehnän ja ruisvehnän aminohappojen ohutsuolisulavuudet olivat korkeimmat ja kauran ja ohran alhaisimmat. Treoniinin aminohappojen ohutsuolisulavuus oli sama kaikissa viljoissa. Lysiinin, metioniin ja kystiinin näennäinen ohutsuolisulavuus oli 0,81, 0,79 ja 0,71 ohrassa, 0,86, 0,84 ja 0,38 kaurassa, 0,87, 0,86 ja 0,53 kuoritussa kaurassa, 0,84, 0,90 ja 0,66 maississa, 0,89, 0,88 ja 0,77 ruisvehnässä sekä 0,87, 0,85 ja 0,71 vehnässä. Kokeen tulokset osoittivat, että kotimaisten viljojen, ohran, kauran ja vehnän, muuntokelpoiset energia-arvot ovat samalla tasolla. Erityisesti vehnän matalan energia-arvon varmentaminen vaatii lisäselvityksiä

Composition, ileal amino acid digestibility and nutritive value of organically grown legume seeds and conventional rapeseed cakes for pigs

Eight white-flowered pea (Pisum sativum) and two white-flowered field bean (Vicia faba) cultivars grown organically were analysed for proximate composition and amino acid content. In vivo ileal amino acid digestibilities and faecal energy digestibility were predicted from the in vitro enzymatic digestibility of nitrogen and organic matter, respectively. The crude protein (CP) content of the pea and field bean cultivars ranged from 244 to 279 and from 320 to 347 g/kg dry matter (DM), respectively. The concentrations of several essential amino acids in protein decreased as the CP content increased. In peas, predicted in vivo digestibilities did not correlate with chemical composition, and in field beans were lower than in peas. A digestibility trial was carried out on six cannulated barrows according to a 6 ´ 5 cyclic change-over design to determine the faecal and ileal nutrient digestibilities of organically grown leafed peas (cv. Sohvi, 199 g CP/kg DM), semileafless peas (cv. Karita, 240 g CP/kg DM), field beans (cv. Kontu, 320 g CP/kg DM), narrow-leafed lupins (Lupinus angustifolius cv. Pershatsvet, 220 g CP/kg DM), and conventional warm- and cold-pressed rapeseed cakes (360 and 313 g CP/kg DM, respectively). The net energy contents of the leafed and semileafed peas, field beans, lupins, and cold- and warm-pressed rape seed cakes were 10.8, 11.2, 9.8, 9.7, 9.4 and 12.3 MJ/kg DM, respectively. The apparent ileal digestibilities of lysine and threonine were similar, but the digestibility of methionine was poor in all legume seeds. Cystine digestibility was highest in lupins and lowest in field beans. With the exception of phenylalanine, there was no difference in apparent ileal amino acid digestibilities between rapeseed cakes.;Kahdeksasta luonnonmukaisesti viljellystä herne- (Pisum sativum) ja kahdesta härkäpapulajikkeesta (Vicia faba) määritettiin kemiallinen koostumus sekä typen ja orgaanisen aineen in vitro -sulavuudet, joiden perusteella estimoitiin aminohappojen näennäiset ohutsuolisulavuudet ja energian kokonaissulavuus in vivo. Herneissä oli raakavalkuaista (RV) 244-279 g/kg kuiva-ainetta (KA) ja härkäpavuissa 320-347 g/kg KA. Herneissä raakarasvapitoisuus pieneni ja raakakuitupitoisuus suureni raakavalkuaispitoisuuden suuretessa. Useiden välttämättömien aminohappojen pitoisuus valkuaisessa pieneni valkuaispitoisuuden kasvaessa. In vitro -sulavuuksien perusteella ennustetut in vivo -sulavuudet vaihtelivat hernelajikkeiden välillä vähän, eikä sulavuuksien ja kemiallisen koostumuksen välillä ollut yhteyttä. Sulavuudet olivat pavuissa pienempiä kuin herneissä, erityisesti rikkipitoisten aminohappojen ohutsuolisulavuus ja energian kokonaissulavuus.Sulavuuskokeessa oli kuusi ohutsuolikanyloitua leikkosikaa (39-93 kg). Koe tehtiin 6 ´ 5 syklisenä jaksokokeena. Kokeessa määritettiin luonnonmukaisesti tuotetun lehdellisen (lajike Sohvi, 199 g RV/kg KA) ja puolilehdettömän herneen (lajike Karita, 240 g RV/kg KA), härkäpavun (lajike Kontu, 320 g RV/kg KA) ja sinilupiinin (Lupinus angustifolius lajike Pershatsvet, 220 g RV/kg KA) sekä tavanomaisesti tuotettujen lämmin- ja kylmäpuristetun rypsin ravintoaineiden kokonaissulavuudet ja aminohappojen näennäiset ohutsuolisulavuudet. Palkoviljojen lysiinin, treoniinin ja histidiinin ohutsuolisulavuudet olivat hyvin samanlaisia. Suurimmat erot olivat metioniinin ja kystiinin sulavuuksissa. Lupiinin arginiinin, isoleusiinin, valiinin ja useimpien ei-välttämättömien aminohappojen ohutsuolisulavuudet olivat parhaimmat ja härkäpavun huonoimmat, herneen aminohappojen ohutsuolisulavuuksien asettuessa näiden välille. Aminohappojen näennäiset ohutsuolisulavuudet olivat samanlaisia rypsipuristeissa, paitsi fenyylialaniinin sulavuus, joka oli pienempi lämpökäsitellyssä kuin kylmäpuristetussa rypsipuristeessa. Lehdellisessä ja puolilehdettömässä herneessä oli nettoenergiaa 10,8 ja 11,2 MJ, härkäpavussa 9,8 MJ, lupiinissa 9,7 MJ ja rypsipuristeissa 9,4 and 12,3 MJ/kg KA

Composition, ileal amino acid digestibility and nutritive value of organically grown legume seeds and conventional rapeseed cakes for pigs

Eight white-flowered pea (Pisum sativum) and two white-flowered field bean (Vicia faba) cultivars grown organically were analysed for proximate composition and amino acid content. In vivo ileal amino acid digestibilities and faecal energy digestibility were predicted from the in vitro enzymatic digestibility of nitrogen and organic matter, respectively. The crude protein (CP) content of the pea and field bean cultivars ranged from 244 to 279 and from 320 to 347 g/kg dry matter (DM), respectively. The concentrations of several essential amino acids in protein decreased as the CP content increased. In peas, predicted in vivo digestibilities did not correlate with chemical composition, and in field beans were lower than in peas. A digestibility trial was carried out on six cannulated barrows according to a 6 ´ 5 cyclic change-over design to determine the faecal and ileal nutrient digestibilities of organically grown leafed peas (cv. Sohvi, 199 g CP/kg DM), semileafless peas (cv. Karita, 240 g CP/kg DM), field beans (cv. Kontu, 320 g CP/kg DM), narrow-leafed lupins (Lupinus angustifolius cv. Pershatsvet, 220 g CP/kg DM), and conventional warm- and cold-pressed rapeseed cakes (360 and 313 g CP/kg DM, respectively). The net energy contents of the leafed and semileafed peas, field beans, lupins, and cold- and warm-pressed rape seed cakes were 10.8, 11.2, 9.8, 9.7, 9.4 and 12.3 MJ/kg DM, respectively. The apparent ileal digestibilities of lysine and threonine were similar, but the digestibility of methionine was poor in all legume seeds. Cystine digestibility was highest in lupins and lowest in field beans. With the exception of phenylalanine, there was no difference in apparent ileal amino acid digestibilities between rapeseed cakes.

Effect of two microbial phytase preparations on phosphorus utilisation in broilers fed maize-soybean meal based diets

The present study was carried out to determine the effect of two microbial phytases, Aspergillus niger (FINASEâ FP-500, 291 PU (phytase units)/g) and Trichoderma reesei phytase (FINASEâ P, 5880 PU/g) on phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) utilisation and ileal P and Ca digestibility in broiler chickens fed diets based on maize and soybean meal. A total of 96 Ross broiler chickens housed four birds to a cage were used. Four dietary treatments consisted of a positive control supplemented with dicalcium phosphate (17 g/kg), a negative control without inorganic P, basal diet without inorganic P supplemented with Aspergillus niger phytase (2.6 g/kg) and basal diet without inorganic P supplemented with Trichoderma reesei phytase (0.13 g/kg). Both phytases provided 750 PU/kg feed. P retention per unit intake was lowest and P excretion highest in birds fed the positive control diet with inorganic P (