A study was conducted to determine effects of bird age at slaughter, feed withdrawal, and transportation on levels of coliforms, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella on carcasses before and after immersion chilling. Broilers were processed at 42, 49, and 56 d of age after a 12-h feed withdrawal period or a 0-h feed withdrawal period (full fed). At each age, broilers were processed fr...

Nine thousand eight hundred, day old male Cobb X Cobb broilers were utilized in a 5x2 factorial design (10 replications/treatment) to determine the effects of five B-vitamins (riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, B12 and folic acid) fortification levels (NRC, 2X, 4X, 8X and 16X NRC) and two levels of stress (low and moderate) on the performance of 0-49 day broilers. Diets were formulated to be...

Estimates of genetic gains and present performance of layers and broilers were reviewed Current and developing technologies pertinent to the breeding of layers and broilers were discussed with some of their assumptions and limitations. Under present methods, contemporary theory and selection technologies are critiqued Under developing technologies, selection for adaptation to production environ...

Two trials were conducted to study the effects of heat stress during rearing (trial 1) and crating (trial 2) on broiler stress parameters and fear, breast meat quality, and nutrient composition. The relationships between stress parameters and meat quality traits were also determined. Trial 1 consisted of 3 temperature treatments from 3 to 7 wk: control (temperature was 22 degrees C); diurnal cy...

Short-chain fatty acids have been widely used as feed additives to control Salmonella in poultry. Data on the use of butyric acid in poultry are lacking. In this study, powder form and coated butyric acid were compared in their ability to reduce Salmonella colonization of ceca and internal organs shortly after infection of young chickens with Salmonella enteritidis. In the first trial, 4 groups...

There has been extensive interest in the role of serotonin (5-hydoxytryptamine, 5-HT) in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension because episodes of pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans have been linked to serotoninergic appetite-suppressant drugs. In this study, we investigated the role of serotonin in the development of pulmonary hypertension induced by intravenously injecting bacteri...

Myosin heavy chain (MyHC), one of the major components in the contractile machinery of skeletal muscle fibers, is found in several isoforms during myogenesis. During chicken development, embryonic, neonatal, and adult MyHC isoforms are expressed. Broiler chickens have been selected for fast and large muscle growth, whereas Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) chickens have been selected for egg lay...

The behaviour of six replicates of broilers obtained from commercial farms, fed ad-libitum and housed on 23-h light:1-h dark schedule at 20 lx was observed using scan sampling. Comparisons were made between sound birds and those of varying degrees of lameness between 39 and 49 days of age. Sound broilers averaged 76% of their time lying and this increased significantly to 86% in lame birds (gai...

A total of 720 1-d-old male Ross broilers (BW of 48.0±0.3 g) were used to evaluate the effects of dietary levan fructan supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, relative organ weight, cecal microflora, and excreta noxious gas emission in broilers. This experiment lasted 31 d. Broilers were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 dietary treatments: 1) CON, basal diet, 2) CON+0.25% fructan (FC1)...

The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of three different adsorbents, inorganic (modified zeolite), organic (esterified glucomannans) and mixed (inorganic and organic components, with the addition of enzymes), in protecting broilers from the toxic effects of ochratoxin A in feed. Broilers were fed diets containing 2 mg/kg of ochratoxin A (OTA) and supplemented with adsorbents at the...