I. The influence of the gut microflora on protein utilization has been investigated with a series of goodand poor-quality protein diets in germ-free (GF) and conventional (CV) chicks by the measurement of net protein utilization (NPU) and uric acid excretion. 2. The diets used were: 280 g protein per kg dict containing unheated or hcat-damaged albumen (roo gjkg), casein (80 g/kg) and gelatin (1...

background: this study was conducted to determine the efficacy of milk thistle seeds (mtss) in counteracting the toxic effects of aflatoxin b1 (afb1) in a contaminated diet fed to broilers.methods: two dietary inclusion rates of afb1 (0, 0.250 and 500 ppb) and mts (0, 0.5 and 1%) were tested in a 3×3 factorial manner. the effect of nine experimental treatments was assessed using 216 one-d-old r...

The present study aimed to investigate the responses of broilers with different hatching weights (HW) to dietary methionine (Met). A total of 192 1-d-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks with different HW (heavy: 48·3 (sem 0·1) g and light: 41·7 (sem 0·1) g) were allocated to a 2 (HW) × 2 (Met) factorial arrangement with six replicates of eight chicks. Control starter (1-21 d) and finisher (22-42 d) ...

Variations of breeding success with age have been studied largely in iteroparous species and particularly in birds: survival of offspring increases with parental age until senescence. Nevertheless, these results are from observations of free-living individuals and therefore, it remains impossible to determine whether these variations result from parental investment or efficiency or both, and wh...

A total of 1110 broiler cockerels were used in three experiments to determine the availability of iron and copper from various sources. A skim milk basal diet was fed in each experiment using chicks maintained in battery brooders beginning at one day of age. Four organic iron compounds (sequestered iron A' and ferric choline chloride in Experiment 1 and sequestered iron B and C in Experiment 2)...

The effects of wisanine and dihydrowisanine were studied on stereotyped and aggressive behaviour induced by apomorphine (0.5 mg/kg s.c.) in chicks. Pretreatment of chicks with wisanine (0.3-0.6 g/kg i.p.) and dihydrowisanine (0.2-0.4 g/kg i.p.) dose dependently antagonised fighting episodes and pecking of the chick's own feet and those of other chicks. It has been suggested that the antagonism ...

Chicks raised from hatching for 2 days without being able to see their feet because of cloth foot covers were less likely than controls to eat or pick up mealworms, which resemble the chicks’ feet in some respects. Instead the chicks spent much time staring at the mealworms. Similar, but perhaps weaker, effects were obtained when the toes were simply painted black. These results may reflect pro...

Maternal antibodies are transferred from hens to the chicks via the egg. To gain insight into maternal antibody transfer and endogenous production of antibodies in broiler chicks, total IgY, IgA, IgM, as well as anti-Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and anti-infectious bronchitis (IBV) antibody levels were examined in the dams' plasma, egg yolks, egg whites, and chicks' plasma on d 3, 7, 14, and 2...

Routine removal of the tip of the beak of chickens within the poultry industry leads to changes in pecking behavior, which have previously been interpreted as being indicative of pain. By analyzing the force of pecks, with and without the topical application of an analgesic to the beak, we investigated if changes in pecking behavior were due to a loss of sensitivity in the beak or were pain rel...

PURPOSE Lutein and zeaxanthin are largely transported in plasma by high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The Wisconsin hypoalpha mutant (WHAM) chicken has a recessive sex-linked mutation in the ABCA1 transporter gene that results in a severe deficiency of HDL. In this study, the transport and tissue distribution of lutein and zeaxanthin were examined in newly hatched and 28-day-old WHAM chicks compar...