Comparing the effectiveness of egg disinfectants against bacteria and mitotic indices of developing chick embryos

Total bacterial counts on hatching eggshell surface were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced as a result of using all disinfectants with different concentrations and formaldehyde fumigation treatments compared with those for eggs before treatment except for those subjected to water only which are considered as control with water. Chemical disinfectants significantly reduced the eggshell total bacterial count from 7.07 Logs to 2.41 Logs with 65.9% reduction and decreased again to 1.96 Logs with 72.3% reduction before setting in the incubator. Also, natural disinfectants significantly reduced the total bacterial count from 7.0 Logs to 1.86 Logs with 73.7% reduction and decreased again to 1.34 Logs with 81% reduction before setting in the incubator. Whereas, treatment with formaldehyde fumigation significantly reduced the bacterial count from 7.07 Logs to 2.53 Log with 64.2% reduction, but the bacterial count had increased numerically again during storage and before setting in the incubator to 4.20 Logs. Chemical disinfectant effects on developing chick embryos resulted in retarded growth as reflected by malformed limbs and beaks and muscle weakness was seen in a few hatched chicks. The mitotic indices of the spinal cord for chicks from egg treated by cumin 0.2% at 3rd and 4th day of age are slightly higher being 5.5% and 4.8% respectively, than those for other treatment and control groups. The mitotic index revealed that there was a significant (P < 0.05) difference between all disinfection and control groups on days 4, 7 and 10 of incubation with respect to skin systems, whereas skin system of newly hatched chicks did not demonstrate any significant differences between mitotic indices of experimented groups. Mitotic indices of embryonic dermal system on days 4 and 10 of incubation were slightly higher for natural disinfectant (being 4.7 and 0.1) compared with those for the chemical disinfectant (being 4 and 0.6), formaldehyde fumigation (being 3 and 0.4) and control group (being 4 and 0.9)

Influence of Trichoderma reesei or Saccharomyces cerevisiae on performance, ruminal fermentation, carcass characteristics and blood biochemistry of lambs fed Atriplex nummularia and Acacia saligna mixture

The aim of this study was to evaluate whole substitution of Egyptian berseem hay (. Trifolium alexandrinum) with a mixture of Atriplex nummularia and Acacia saligna (1:1 DM) in the diet of Barki lambs for 70 days. Thirty six lambs (27.0±0.89. kg initial BW) were divided into four treatment groups of nine lambs each and fed: (1) the Control group with no substitution (70% concentrate mixture and 30% berseem hay, DM basis), (2) A. nummularia and A. saligna mixture without fungal treatment (treatment group AU), or (3) Trichoderma reesei treated A. nummularia and A. saligna mixture (treatment group AF), or (4) A. nummularia and A. saligna mixture supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 0.5. g/kg DM of feed (treatment group AS) replaced 100% of berseem hay in the diet. Live-weight change, rumen fermentation parameters, blood chemistry, carcass characteristics and intestinal histology were investigated. Significant (.

Impacts of onion and cinnamon supplementation as natural additives on the performance, egg quality, and immunity in laying Japanese quail

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary dried onion and dried cinnamon supplementation on laying performance, egg quality, serum lipid profile, and immune responses of Japanese quails. A total of 120 laying quails aged 12 weeks were randomly allocated into five groups (24 birds each). Each treatment was replicated 4 times with 6 quails in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments were as follows: control (basal diet only, without any supplementation); tylosin (basal diet + 100 mg tylosin/kg diet); onion (basal diet + 800 mg dried onion/kg diet); cinnamon (basal diet + 800 mg dried cinnamon/kg diet); and onion + cinnamon (basal diet + mixture of 400 mg each of dried onion and dried cinnamon/kg diet). Cinnamon supplementation improved laying rate, egg numbers, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio of quails compared to the control treatment, followed by tylosin supplementation. Egg shell percentage was higher (P < 0.05) in quails that consumed the onion + cinnamon mixture than those fed only the cinnamon supplemented diet. Serum total lipid content, egg yolk lipids and egg yolk cholesterol were lower (P < 0.05) in birds fed with the supplemented diets than that of the control group. On the other hand, dietary supplements did not affect levels of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein levels. The dietary supplementation with onion and/or cinnamon reduced serum malondialdehyde levels compared to control treatment. The foot web index was higher (P < 0.05) in the onion treatment than in the other experimental groups. The dried cinnamon and the mixture of dried onion + dried cinnamon treatments showed higher (P < 0.05) immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels than the control treatment. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with natural plant materials such as dried onion and cinnamon can be used to improve the laying Japanese quail performance, egg quality, and immunity