The Dynamics of Dietary Supplementation of Direct Fed Microbial and Antibiotic on the Haemato-Biochemical Values of Broiler Chickens

With the restriction in the use of antibiotics in animal nutrition as growth promoters there has been increased interest in the discovery and use of natural alternatives. This experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of Direct fed microbial (RE3) and antibiotics (FYSAL®-DRY SP) on haematological and serum biochemistry of broiler chickens. Two hundred and forty one-day-old unsexed Marshal strain of broiler chicks were used for the experiment. The birds were randomly divided into 3 groups of 4 replicates of 20 birds each to make a total of 80 birds per treatment in a complete randomized design experiment. Three diets were formulated as follows Diet 1 was the control without probiotic or antibiotic, Diet 2- control diet  plus Direct fed microbial (1.5ml/kg of feed) and  Diet 3- control diet plus antibiotics (2g/kg of feed). The experiment lasted for 8 weeks. Blood samples were collected from the birds for haematological studies and serum biochemistry. Results showed that haematological parameters were not adversely (p>0.05) affected by the dietary treatments. The values obtained for serum total protein, globulin and albumin were not significantly (p>0.05) affected among the dietary treatments. However, blood cholesterol level was significantly lowered in diets containing direct fed microbial and antibiotics.  It was concluded that addition of probiotic could be more beneficial in reducing cholesterol in broiler chickens. Keywords: Antibiotic, Broilers, Cholesterol, Direct fed Microbial, Haematological parameter

Intestinal histology of broiler chickens fed direct fed microbial (RE3) and antibiotics

This study was conducted to compare the effects of using direct fed microbial (RE3) and antibiotics on the gut morphology. Two hundred and forty unsexed, one-day old Marshal strain broiler chicks were used for the experiment. The birds were randomly allotted into three dietary treatments with each treatment replicated four times at 20 birds per replicate making a total of 80 birds per treatment. The experimental design was completely randomized design. The villous height (9.303E2), the crypt depth (1.5053E2) and the muscular thickness (2.2311E2) of the RE3 treated birds were higher (P<0.05) when compared with birds fed with control diet (T1) 8.619E2, 1.3790E2 and 1.9645E2 and the control + antibiotics (T3) 7.0677E2, 1.3331E2 and 1.9027E2 respectively. The observations revealed that birds put on treatment 2 (RE3 probiotics) had better presentation and preservation of the intestinal villi, glands and intestinal wall integrity. It was concluded that supplementation of broilers diets with the direct fed microbial (RE3) will lead to maintenance of intestinal health and better utilization of nutrients to enable full expression of genetic potential. Keywords: direct fed microbial, broilers, villous height, crypt depth, muscular thicknes

Response of broilers to improved and local fishmeal

A 42 day experiment with 204 one day old Marshal broilers was conducted to  assess the nutritional quality of two imported- and two local-fishmeal using the biological response of broilers as a measure of performance. These birds were randomly distributed into four dietary treatments namely two commercially available imported fishmeal (A, B) and a commercially available local fishmeal (C). Finally, a manually prepared fishmeal from African Butter Catfish (Schible mystus) [D] was the last one. A completely randomised design was adopted for the study. The results of the proximate composition the fishmeal showed that local manually prepared  fishmeal D (African Butter Catfish, Schible mystus) had the highest crude protein (47.6% CP) while the local commercially available fishmeal C had the lowest CP (15.95%). The imported fishmeal A and B have 34.3 and 28.06%CP, respectively. Dietary treatment significantly influenced the final body weight FBW (P=0.0002), weight gain WG (P=0.0002), feed intake (P=0.010) and feed conversion FC (P0.006) of broiler chicks. Broiler starters fed African Butter Catfish, Schible mystus (D) had the heaviest FBW and WG with the best FC. Those fed commercially available local fishmeal C had the lowest FBW and WG. Starters fed manually prepared fishmeal D had significantly better FBW and WG than those fed imported fishmeal B. At finishing phase, broilers fed imported fishmeal A and B as well as those fed manually prepared fishmeal D had significantly better FBW than those fed local available fishmeal C. Broiler chickens fed fishmeal C had the heaviest kidney with elevated serum alkaline phosphatase. In conclusion, the poor quality of local commercially available fishmeal C and the consequential poor biological response of broilers in this study revealed that a number of feedstuff particularly fishmeal were often being adulterated. Hence, the regulatory institutions such Nigeria Institute of Animal Science need to regulate the quality of the feeding ingredients being sold in the markets because of its economic and health related effect on the consumers of broiler products.Keywords: Broiler, body weight, kidney, alkaline phosphatase, African butter catfish, imported and local fishmea

Performance of crossbred weaner rabbits fed diets formulated from mixtures of legume and grass

Twenty four (24) crossbred weaner rabbits aged between 5-6 weeks with an initial weight ranging between 587.8g and 658.8g were used to investigate the performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits fed diets containing mixture of grasses and legume. Three experimental diets were formulated, Diet T1 was the control fed concentrate feed without forage, Diet T2 contained a mixture of Gliricidia sepium and Panicum maximum while Diet T3 contained Gliricidia sepium and Brachiaria brizantha, mainly in substitution for the maize of the control diet. The animals were randomly distributed into three treatment groups of 8 rabbits each with each serving as a replicate in a completely randomised design experiment. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. The type of forage used in this study did not have effect on the nutrient intake of the rabbits and except the dry matter and ash digestibilities, other nutrients were not affected by the dietary treatments. It was observed that final weight, weight gain and daily feed intake are not significantly (P>0.05) affected by the experimental diets. The highest final weight (1193g) was observed in T3 though similar to T2 (1111.20) and the lowest final weight (1036.20g) was observed in T1 (containing no forage). Average daily weight gain followed the same trend with 9.54g, 9.35g and 7.6g in recorded for T3, T2 and T1 respectively. The best feed efficiency was observed for T3 (8.41). It can be concluded that incorporation of legume/ grass mixtures, as substitutes for maize in rabbit diets will give better results when compared with diet without forages.Keywords: legume/grass mixtures, Concentrate, weaner rabbits, feed efficiency, nutrient digestibilit

An overview of mastitis in Sokoto red goat, Nigeria

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Chemical Evaluation of the Proximate, Minerals, Vitamins and Phytochemical Analysis of Danielle Oliveri Stem Bark

Daniellia oliveri stem bark (DSP) is one of potential medicinal plants loaded with several bioactive chemicals/phytochemicals, vitamins, vitamins and other nutrients. In view of these potential, it can serve as an alternative to antibiotics, thus bridging the gap between food safety and livestock production. Hence, the present study was carried out to evaluate the proximate, minerals, vitamins and phytochemical composition of DSP. Proximate analysis of DSP revealed the presence of moisture (6.25 ± 1.00 %), dry matter (93.75 ± 0.21%), crude protein (6.07 ± 0.45%), ether extract (1.03 ± 0.65%), ash (9.11 ± 0.33%), carbohydrate (21.09 ± 0.25%) and energy (488.73 ± 11.2 KJ/100g). Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium and manganese were the minerals present at (71.33 mg/100g), (45.08 mg/100g), (8.17 mg/100g), (25.11 mg/100g), (3.57 mg/100g), (10.22 mg/100g), (20.93 mg/100g), (1.45 mg/100g) and (1.33 mg/100g) respectively. Vitamin analysis showed that it contained β-carotene (1.97 mg/100g), thiamine (0.74 mg/100g), riboflavin (0.42 mg/100g), niacin (0.30 mg/100g), pyridoxine (0.22 mg/100g), cyanocobalamin (0.18mg/100g), ascorbic acid (6.84 mg/100g), calciferol (0.13 mg/100g) and phytonadione (0.10 mg/100g). Phytochemical screening showed that DPS is abundant in flavonoids (9.44%) followed by alkaloids (6.83%), hydrolysable tannins (4.57 %), phenol (3.46 %), terpenoids (2.11%), saponins (2.10 %), phytates (1.88 %), condensed tannin (1.17 %), oxalates (1.03 %) and steroids (0.97 %). It was concluded DSP contain substances with numerous therapeutic potentials capable of treating various ailments and ensuring normal physiological functions of the body

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran