Effects of dietary addition of synbiotic on the performance, carcass traits, and serum parameters of Japanese quails

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different levels of synbiotic (Syn) on the growth performance, carcass traits, and serum parameters of Japanese quails. A total of 1,500 (750 male and 750 female) Japanese quails were assigned to five treatments, including the control (basal diet) and basal diets with the addition of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4% Syn according to a completely randomized design. Each treatment in the male and female experiment groups consisted of five replicates, with 30 chicks for each replicate. The addition of Syn had no effect on body weight (BW), while the BW of female quails was higher than that of male quails at day 42. The addition of Syn reduced feed intake (FI) and improved the feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P<0.000). The daily body weight gain and FI were significantly higher in female than in male quails and Syn also improved the FCR in the overall experiment. The effect of the addition of Syn on carcass parameters (except for abdominal fat) was not determined. The addition of Syn decreased abdominal fat weight and percentage when compared with the control group. Male quails were found to have higher carcass yield, wing, neck, and other percentages than female quails. However, female quails were found to have higher breast, breast skin, abdominal fat, and visceral organ percentages. The addition of 0.1% Syn to quail ration reduced serum aspartate aminotransferase, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total protien (TP), and albumin (ALB) levels at day 42 of the trial. The addition of Syn decreased the serum total cholesterol level. Gender was found to have an effect in that female quails were found to have higher total cholesterol, HDL, TP, and ALB levels than male quails. In both genders, the addition of Syn improved the BWG, FC, and FCR in the overall experiment, reduced abdominal fat, decreased the total cholesterol levels, improved the HDL levels, and increased the TP and ALB levels at day 42. The addition of 0.3 and/or 0.4% synbiotic has a positive effect on quails by improving performance and enhancing some serum lipids and protein parameters

Effect of genotype and non-genetic factors on growth traits and survival rates in Turkish indigenous Hair goats and their first cross with Boer bucks

kucuk, mursel/0000-0002-0544-444X; BOLACALI, Memis/0000-0002-4196-2359WOS: 000422711500001The aim of this study was to determine the effects of genotype and non-genetic factors on the growth traits and survival rates of Turkish indigenous Hair goats (n=63) and their first crosses with Boer bucks (n=91), reared under a semi-intensive management system in the Van province of Turkey. The live weights of the kids at birth and on days 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 were determined to be 3.64, 8.89, 13.99, 18.97, 23.62, 27.22 and 30.44 kg, respectively. The average daily gains in the pre-weaning, post-weaning and overall periods were 171.09, 136.43 and 148.34 g, respectively. The multiple-birth kids had lower survival rates than the single-birth kids (P<0.01). As a result, it may be recommended to Hair goat breeders in the region to use Boer bucks in cross-breeding in order to ensure a better growth performance from the kids; to apply a sustainable selection program; and to improve management conditions. In addition, the data obtained from this study may be used as a model for designing policies on Hair goat breeding in this region.Yuzuncu Yil University, Office of Scientific Research ProjectsYuzuncu Yil University [2011-VF-B035]This experiment was supported financially by Yuzuncu Yil University, Office of Scientific Research Projects (grant project numbers 2011-VF-B035, 2011)

Investigation of Some Morphological Traits of Boer x Hair F1 Crossbred and Pure Hair Goat Kids Raised in Semi-Intensive Conditions

kucuk, mursel/0000-0002-0544-444X; BOLACALI, Memis/0000-0002-4196-2359WOS: 000428048400049The aim of the study was to determine various morphological characteristics from birth to the age of 150th day of Boer x Hair goat F1 crossbred (BH) kids and pure Hair goat (HG) kids raised in semi-intensive conditions and reveal factors such as the effects of genotype, dam age, dam's live weight, year, birth type and sex on this parameter. This study was applied between the years 2011-2012 in epsilon atak in the Van region and between the years 2013-2014 at the Yuzuncu Yil University Research and Practice Farm. Various body measurements; wither height, back height, rump height, sacrum height, body length, chest length, chest depth, chest circumference, circumference of leg, cannon bone circumference, chest width, front-rump width, mid-rump width were determined 29.8, 28.4, 28.7, 26.2, 28.7, 17.0, 13.3, 30.4, 26.9, 5.2, 5.9, 6.0, and 8.7 cm at birth, respectively; 43.8, 43.8, 44.6, 40.6, 43.6, 22.2, 19.3, 51.7, 41.4, 6.6, 9.2, 9.3, and 11.3 cm at 60th day, respectively; 56.1, 53.4, 54.4, 47.5, 53.3, 27.3, 24.1, 61.4, 49.6, 7.3, 10.6, 11.1, and 13.2 cm at 150th day, respectively for BH kids; 27.3, 25.9, 29.3, 25.3, 27.1, 15.9, 12.3, 29.0, 21.3, 5.1, 5.0, 5.6, and 7.4 cm at birth, respectively; 40.4, 40.1, 42.9, 37.6, 40.5, 22.3, 18.4, 48.1, 36.4, 6.0, 7.9, 9.1, and 10.8 cm at 60th day, respectively; 50.3, 49.2, 51.0, 45.7, 50.4, 27.5, 22.9, 57.3, 43.4, 6.5, 9.5, 10.7, and 11.9 cm at 150th day, respectively for HG kids. When all of the data was considered, it was concluded that the BH kids are much better than the HG kids for both morphological and zoometric values