Effect of age on production characteristics of Boschveld indigenous chickens of South Africa reared intensively

The Boschveld indigenous chicken is a breed that was developed in South Africa for rural household free-range production of meat and eggs. A performance test was carried out to identify their production characteristics when reared intensively, and to estimate the responses of the production characteristics to age, based on optimization functions. Day-old chicks were procured from the breeder and reared to point of lay, with 1432 layers generating the data. Parameters include egg weight (g), egg number, hen day egg production (HDEP) (%), feed intake (g/b/d), bodyweight (kg), bodyweight gain (g), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency (FE), and mortality from start of lay until 44 weeks old. There was a significant effect of age on all these production parameters, except for FCR, which was not affected significantly by age as the birds grew. On fitting a prediction and optimization function using a regression model, these parameters showed significant linear response to age: HDEP, feed intake (g), and bodyweight (kg), while significant quadratic responses were found in egg weight and FCR. The prediction model shows that at age 34, 52 and 65 weeks of lay, bodyweight, HDEP and feed intake respectively, would be optimized, while at age 36 and 43 weeks, FCR and egg weight respectively, would be optimized. This implies that Boschveld indigenous chicken production characteristics can be targeted at the appropriate age and can be optimized, given the age of lay that the birds are in.Keywords: Egg laying, egg production, intensive production,native breed, optimization function, regression mode

Morphological and morphometric characterization of local duck population in South-east ecological zone of Nigeria

The study was conducted to characterize morphologic and morphometric variations among local duck populations found in the south-east ecological zone of Nigeria. A total of one hundred and forty-six (146) adult local ducks of both sexes were randomly selected from Imo and Abia States and used for the study. Nine morphological traits which include eye colour, plumage colour, bean colour, body carriage, bill colour, bill shape, shank colour, caruncle colour, crested were studied. Also eight morphometric traits such as body weight, body length, body circumference, thigh circumference, bill length, neck length, foot length, total foot length and wing length were studied. Data on morphological traits were subjected to descriptive analysis, such as frequencies, percentages, and averages, while data on morphometric traits were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a completely randomized design. Results showed seven (7) phenotypes among local ducks. Predominant plumage colour was black/white (54.79%), shank colour was slate gray (70.55%) predominant eyes colour was brown (76.03%). The majority of local ducks (97.26%) had a pink/white colour, while 97.95% of the ducks had horizontal body carriage. Caruncle colour, bill shape, bean color, and crested showed no variation among duck populations. Drakes were superior (p<0.05) to hens for body weight and other morphometric traits measured. Positive and highly significant correlations (p<0.01;0.05) were observed among measured morphometric traits. The results obtained in this study could be used for the improvement and conservation of these local ducks in the south-east ecological zone of Nigeria

Effect of dietary inclusion of ginger meal (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) on performance, serum cholesterol profile and carcass quality of broilers

Recent concerns over the use of antibiotics in livestock feed production has generated interest in the use of phytobiotics to improve performance and meat quality of broilers. In this study the effect of dietary inclusion of ginger meal (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) on performance, haematology, serum lipid profile and carcass quality of broilers were evaluated. One hundred and eighty day old broiler chicks (Cobb strain) were randomly  allocated to 4 treatment group with 3 replicates each. Each group was fed an experimental diets containing air dried ginger rhizome meal at either 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% levels, at starter (0-4 weeks) and finisher (5-8 weeks) stages, in a completely randomized design. 5 birds per treatment were sacrificed and used to evaluate the haematology, performance, carcass characteristics, serum lipid profile and post mortem microbial load on the meat. Results showed no significant (P>0.05) effects of dietary ginger meal inclusion on performance parameters but improved carcass yield and quality. 0.4% inclusion of ginger meal significantly (P<0.05) increased the HDL cholesterol level (56.72 mg/dL) relative to those fed 0.2% (25.38 mg/dL) while the total lipid, cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL levels were not significantly affected (P>0.05). Birds fed diets containing 0.2% ginger  meal had haemoglobin content (11.96 g/dl) and PCV (36.68%) values superior to the control (10.16 g/dl and 32.22% respectively) Post mortem microbial load were unaffected by dietary inclusion of ginger up to 0.6% in their diets. Meat tenderness was significantly higher (P<0.05) at 0.4% and 0.6% ginger meal levels (8.20) compared to the control (7.40). it is therefore concluded that 0.4 to 0.6 % dietary inclusion of ginger meal in broiler  diets will ave positive effects on serum lipoprotein level, carcass yield and organoleptic quality of meat. Keywords: Ginger meal, Broiler, Cholesterol, Lipid profile, Meat quality

Genetic variability among pig populations in Imo State, Nigeria using random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR

AbstractRandom amplified Polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD DNA-PCR) was employed to access the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationship among pig populations in Imo State. Genomic DNA from 50 pigs comprising of at least 10 pigs per geopolitical zone of Imo state were extracted and two highly polymorphic primers utilized to estimate variability, phylogenetic relationship among the pigs and their genetic diversity. The genetic distance and genetic identity estimated showed that genetic distances (D) calculated ranged between 0.0300 (Songhai vs FUTO) and 0.1497 (Mbaise vs Awo-Idemili), while the genetic identity (I) calculated ranged between 0.8610 (Mbaise vs Awo-Idemili) and 0.9704 (Songhai vs FUTO). Similarity was observed between Songhai, Mbaise and FUTO populations, while Mbano and Awo–idemili exhibited dissimilarity. The phylogenetic tree showed that Songhai, FUTO and Mbaise populations are more closely related while Mbano and Awo-idemili are more genetically distant. The standard genetic diversity (h*) of total population ranged from 0.0001 to 0.4998 with an average of 0.3208, while Shannon's information index (I*) ranged from 0.0001 to 0.6929 with a mean of 0.4762. This study shows that genetic diversity of the RAPD DNA polymorphs amongst pig populations in Imo State is low while the genetic relationship between the different populations varies from population to population

Target capture sequencing for the first Nigerian genotype I ASFV genome

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious viral disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boars, causing significant economic losses globally. After the first Nigerian outbreak in 1997, there have been frequent reports of ASF in pig-producing regions in the country. To facilitate control, it is important to understand the genotype and phylogenetic relationship of ASF viruses (ASFVs). Recent genetic analysis of Nigerian ASFV isolates has revealed the presence of both genotypes I and II; this is based on analysis of a few selected genes. Phylogenetic analysis of ASFV whole genomes highlights virus origins and evolution in greater depth. However, there is currently no information on the ASFV genome from Nigerian isolates. Two ASFV-positive samples were detected during a random survey of 150 Nigerian indigenous pig samples collected in 2016. We assembled near-complete genomes of the two ASFV-positive samples using in-solution hybrid capture sequencing. The genome-wide phylogenetic tree assigned these two genomes into p72 genotype I, particularly close to the virulent Benin 97/1 strain. The two ASFVs share 99.94 and 99.92 % genomic sequence identity to Benin97/1. This provides insight into the origin and relationship of ASFV strains from Nigeria and Italy. The study reports for the first time the determination of near-complete genomes of ASFV using in-solution hybrid capture sequencing, which represents an important advance in understanding the global evolutionary landscape of ASFVs

African suid genomes provide insights into the local adaptation to diverse African environments

African wild suids consist of several endemic species that represent ancient members of the family Suidae and have colonized diverse habitats on the African continent. However, limited genomic resources for African wild suids hinder our understanding of their evolution and genetic diversity. In this study, we assembled high-quality genomes of a common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), a red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus), as well as an East Asian Diannan small-ear pig (Sus scrofa). Phylogenetic analysis showed that common warthog and red river hog diverged from their common ancestor around the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, putatively predating their entry into Africa. We detected species-specific selective signals associated with sensory perception and interferon signaling pathways in common warthog and red river hog, respectively, which contributed to their local adaptation to savannah and tropical rainforest environments, respectively. The structural variation and evolving signals in genes involved in T-cell immunity, viral infection, and lymphoid development were identified in their ancestral lineage. Our results provide new insights into the evolutionary histories and divergent genetic adaptations of African suids