Received: Revised: Accepted: June 13, 2014 July 19, 2014 August 05, 2014 The use of haematology as an index of health status is well known, just like the use of erythrocyte osmotic fragility and heterophil-lymphocyte ratio (H:L) as biomarker of oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of molasses supplementation through drinking water on live weight gain, haematolog...

Infection of animals with retroviruses frequently leads to immunosuppressed states. The immune status of chickens injected with the replication-defective avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV), with its naturally occurring subgroup B helper virus (avian erythroblastosis-associated virus; AEAV), was evaluated daily and compared to the immune status of age-matched uninfected control chickens. Spleen ...

The presence of Salmonella in chickens is a problem because poultry meat is recognized as a source of human salmonellosis. Fermented feed has characteristics like a high number of lactobacilli and high concentration of lactic acid, which could make chickens less susceptible for infection with Salmonella. Fermented feed might therefore prevent the colonization of chickens with Salmonella. Two st...

Indigenous Tswana chickens are better adapted to prevailing environmental conditions and diseases than their exotic counterparts. They however exhibit slower growth rate and less mature final weight than their exotic counterparts. Crossbreeding of indigenous Tswana chickens with exotic chicken breeds can therefore be used as an alternative strategy to improve growth performance of indigenous Ts...

Low-fibre sunflower residue (SFR) included in the diet is a viable option for improving production in smallholder-owned poultry. Four hundred day-old broiler chicks (200 hybrid + 200 village chicks) were given broiler starter (1-28 days) and a low-fibre sunflower residue diet (29-84 days). On day 29 the chicks were randomly allocated to four treatments (2 types of chicks, 2 systems of housing):...

In an attempt to determine the seroprevalence of avian leukosis virus (ALV) in exotic broiler chickens and Nigerian local chickens in Zaria, Nigeria, a total of 600 sera (300 from exotic broiler chickens and 300 from Nigerian local chickens), obtained from the live bird market in Zaria, Nigeria, were tested for ALV p27 antigen by the antigen capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ac-ELISA) ...

Avian intestinal spirochaetosis (AIS) is a disease complex affecting adult laying and breeding chickens associated with infection by anaerobic intestinal spirochaetes of the genus Brachyspira. Options for control of AIS are limited, as few effective antimicrobial agents are registered for use in laying chickens. One of the two most commonly encountered pathogenic species in AIS is B. intermedia...

Retail organic (n = 198) and conventional (n = 61) chickens were analyzed. Most organic (76%) and conventional (74%) chickens were contaminated with campylobacters. Salmonellae were recovered from 61% of organic and 44% of conventional chickens. All Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates from conventional chickens were resistant to five or more antimicrobials, whereas most S. enterica...

In Experiment 1, chickens from various white leghorn experimental lines were inoculated with strain ADOL-Hcl of subgroup J avian leukosis virus (ALV-J) either as embryos or at 1 day of age. At various ages, chickens were tested for ALV-J induced viremia, antibody, and packed cell volume (PCV). Also, at 4 and 10 wk of age, bursal tissues were examined for avian leukosis virus (ALV)-induced prene...

In the present study, we have explored the genetic relationships between red junglefowls and domestic chickens in Southeast Asia by using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. We genotyped 475 individuals from 17 populations of red junglefowls (4 subspecies, n=39), native chickens (10 populations, n=346) and commercial breeds (3 breeds, n=90) using PCR-RFLP for the 98 autosomal SNP mark...