Effect of shackling, electrical stunning and halal slaughtering method on stress-linked hormones in broilers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of shackling and halal slaughter with head-only electrical stunning (ES) using water bath or no stunning (NS) on plasma levels of adrenaline (AD), noradrenaline (NAD) and corticosterone (CORT) levels of broiler chickens. Male and female broiler chickens (Cobb 500) 38 days old from a commercial farm in Johore, Malaysia, were placed in plastic crates (0.80 × 0.60 × 0.31 m) at 10 birds per crate, and transported for 2.5 hours in an open truck. The ambient temperature during transportation was 25 to 27 °C. Upon arrival at a commercial processing plant, a total of 50 male broiler chickens (2.2 - 2.5 kg) were randomly selected from the flocks that were delivered, transferred to different five crates (10 birds per crate) and held in a lairage for 2 to 3 h. Blood samples were collected at various points, namely after lairaging (P1) (first sampling point for both ES and NS chickens, regarded as basal values), shackling (P2) (second sampling point for both ES and NS chickens), stunning (P3) (third sampling point for ES chickens), and ventral neck incision in stunned (P4) (fourth sampling point for ES chickens) and no stun (P5) (third sampling point for NS chickens). Ten birds were sampled at each sampling point (50 birds in total). Both stunned and no stun birds were shackled. Results show that shackling (P2) did not significantly affect the AD, NAD and CORT levels. However, electrical stunning elevated both the AD and CORT levels significantly, but not NAD. Neck cut had negligible effect on the AD and NAD in NS and ES broilers, but significantly increased CORT compared with the basal CORT value. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that head-only electrical stunning using a water bath might elevate AD and CORT. The study concluded that, as measured by AD and NAD, slaughter with or without stunning may not induce a physiological stress response in broilers.Keywords: corticosterone, adrenaline, noradrenaline, primary processing, poultr

Determination of fibernolytic enzyme activities of white rot fungi isolated from oil palm fronds

Oil palm fronds (OPF) is widely used as the source of roughage for the farm animals. However, the full potential of OPF as animal feed is limited by their high lignin content which limits the rumen microbe’s access to the cellulose and hemicellulose. White rot fungi (WRF) are a group of fungi belonging to basidiomycete phylum and are commonly found in decaying woody plant. They possess the ability to degrade lignin. This experiment aims to identify the phylum of the best lignin decaying fungi based on their enzymes activity. In this experiment, 11 fungi species were isolated from decaying oil palm fronds. They are labelled as WR1, WR 2, WR3, WR4, WR5, WR6, WR7, WR8, WR9, WR10 and WR11. Their fibernolytic enzyme activities which includes laccase, manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, avicelase, carboxylmethylcellulase and xylanase are analysed using the solid state fermentation method. It is was found that 5 fungi species which are the WR1, WR2, WR4, WR7 and WR10 produced the highest ratio of lignin degrading enzyme to cellulose and hemicellulose degrading enzyme. The fungi are then analysed under microscope to determine the phylum of the fungi. From the observation, the fungi are identified to belong to the phylum basidiomycetes due to presence of clamp connection

Isolation of methicilin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from cats and dogs at University Veterinary Hospital, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aures (MRSA) is one of a major pathogen causing nosocomial infections. Pet animals especially cats and dogs have emerged as potential reservoirs for human infections. This study was conducted to know the occurrence of MRSA in pets (cats and dogs) admitted to the university small animal hospital. To this end nasal and perennial swabs were collected from 50 cats and 50 dogs. MRSA was isolated in 8% (8/100) of all the 100 pets sampled at the university small animal hospital. Out of the 50 dogs sampled 10 %( 5/50) were found to harbor MRSA and out of the 50 cats sampled 6 %( 3/50) were MRSA positive based on bacteriological examinations. The percentage of isolation from the current study is quite higher as compared to similar studies conducted earlier

Occurrence of Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in horses in Malaysia

A total of 22 Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 50 samples from 8 stable horses. They are positive in the catalase and coagulase tests. Upon testing the cultures with SLIDEX test kit all formed agglutination within a few seconds, confirming they are of S. aureus. When cultured onto MSA, all isolates formed yellow colonies. However, none of the isolates produced blue colonies on ORSAB indicating that there were no MRSA among the S. aureus. There were 13 isolates which were multiresistant. Eleven are resistant to eight out of ten antibiotics tested. All these isolates were found to originate from stable G. One isolate is resistant to 5 antibiotics while another one isolate is resistant to 3 antibiotics. The rest of the isolates are not multiresistant to the antibiotics tested. [Veterinary World 2008; 1(6.000): 165-167

Risk factors and spatial distribution of extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing- Escherichia coli at retail poultry meat markets in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The significant role of retail poultry meat as an important exposure pathway for the acquisition and transmission of extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) into the human population warrants understanding concerning those operational practices associated with dissemination of ESBL-EC in poultry meat retailing. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, spatial distribution and potential risk factors associated with the dissemination of ESBL-EC in poultry meat retail at wet-markets in Selangor, Malaysia. Methods Poultry meat (breast, wing, thigh, and keel) as well as the contact surfaces of weighing scales and cutting boards were sampled to detect ESBL-EC by using culture and disk combination methods and polymerase chain reaction assays. Besides, questionnaire was used to obtain data and information pertaining to those operational practices that may possibly explain the occurrence of ESBL-EC. The data were analysed using logistic regression analysis at 95 % CI. Results The overall prevalence of ESBL-EC was 48.8 % (95 % CI, 42 – 55 %). Among the risk factors that were explored, type of countertop, sanitation of the stall environment, source of cleaning water, and type of cutting board were found to be significantly associated with the presence of ESBL-EC. Conclusions Thus, in order to prevent or reduce the presence of ESBL-EC and other contaminants at the retail-outlet, there is a need to design a process control system based on the current prevailing practices in order to reduce cross contamination, as well as to improve food safety and consumer health

Growth performance, intestinal microflora, plasma fatty acid profile in broiler chickens fed herbal plant (Euphorbia hirta) and mix of acidifiers

The aim of the current study was to evaluate two feed additives containing Euphorbia hirta and acidifiers on broiler chickens performance, gut microflora and blood fatty acid profiles. A total of 240 one-day-old male broiler chicks were randomly assigned in groups of 15-16 floor pens. On day one, the chicks were assigned to one of 4 dietary treatments; (1) basal diet (control), (2) basal diet. +. 7.5. g/kg E. hirta (EH7.5), (3) basal diet. +. 1.5. g/kg acidifier (OA) and (4) basal diet. +. 7.5. g/kg E. hirta+. 1.5. g/kg acidifier (EHOA). Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. On days 21 and 42, eight birds from each dietary treatment were chosen at random for ileum viable bacterial counts. On day 42, thiobarbituric acid reactive species as an indicator of lipid peroxidation level were measured. The EH7.5, EHOA and OA supplementation improved overall FCR (P=0.0275). The serum of chickens fed with EH7.5, OA and EHOA showed the lower malondialdehyde value than that of chickens fed the control diet (P=0.0068). On day 42, the lowest total bacteria count and Escherichia coli was observed in EH7.5, OA and EHOA fed birds (P<0.0001). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that dietary supplementation with E. hirta in combination with acidifier have a positive impact on FCR and their combination displays antioxidant and antibacterial characteristics in broiler chickens. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Additional file 1: of Risk factors and spatial distribution of extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing- Escherichia coli at retail poultry meat markets in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Logistic regression tables for the factors associated with ESBL-EC at retail poultry meat wet-market. (DOCX 17 kb