• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.227-232
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• 2013

Phytate is not only an unavailable source of phosphorus (P) for broilers but it also acts as an anti-nutrient, reducing protein and mineral absorption, increasing endogenous losses and reducing broiler performance. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-nutritional effects of phytate by including high levels of phytase in diets not severely limited in available P. A total of 768 male Arbor Acres broilers were distributed in six treatments of eight replicate pens of 16 birds each consisting of a positive control diet (PC), positive control with 500 FTU/kg phytase, negative control (NC) diet with lower available P and calcium (Ca) levels and the same NC diet with 500, 1,000 or 1,500 FTU/kg phytase. Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and mortality were determined at 21 and 35 d of age while foot ash was determined in four birds per pen at 21 d of age. FI, FCR and foot ash where not affected by the lower mineral diets at 21 d of age nor by the enzyme inclusion but broilers fed lower Ca and available P diets had lower BWG. At 35 d of age no difference was observed between broilers fed the positive or NC diets but broilers fed 500, 1,000 and 1,500 FTU/kg on top of the NC diet had better FCR than broilers fed the positive control diet. When compared to birds fed a diet adequate in P, birds fed the same diet included with 500, 1,000 and 1,500 FTU/kg of phytase in marginally deficient available P and Ca diets had an improvement of performance. These results support the concept that hydrolysing phytate and reducing the anti-nutritional effects of phytate improves bird performance on marginally deficient diets that were not covering the P requirement of birds.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.397-403
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• 1996

Two hundred 10-day-lid, male Arbor Acres broiler chicks divided randomly into 4 groups of 50 chicks each were used. Different feeding treatment was carried out for each group. Chicks in treatment 1 were fed a basal diet(Starter feed)(control); treatment 2, a basal diet + 0.1% B. subtilis culture; treatment 3, a basal diet + 0.2% lactobacilli culture in the feed; and treatment 4, a basal diet + 5 g lactobacilli in the drinking water. The viable bacterial counts for each treatment were approximately $10^9cells/kg$ feed. The weight gain in chickens given feeds incorporated with B. subtilis and lactobacilli was significantly(p < 0.05) higher than those of the control. With regard to feed efficiency, there was a definite tendency towards a higher feed : gain lower(p < 0.05) feed : gain ratio. A significantly(p < 0.05) larger population of Lactobacillus was found in the small intestine of chickens fed with feed incorporated with B. subtilis at 21 and 28 days and with lactobacilli at 14, 21 and 28 days. Populations of intestinal E. coli in broilers given feed added with B. subtilis were not significantly(p < 0.05) different from those of the control, but in chickens fed lactobacilli-added feed, their populations wee significantly lower(p < 0.05) at 14 and 21 days. No significant differences were found among the treatments and the control in the occurrence of Salmonella and Campylobacter during the whole experimental period.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.552-558
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• 2012

A $2{\times}2$ factorial experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary calcium and non-phytate phosphorus (nPP) imbalance on calbindin and NaPi-IIb mRNA levels in the small intestine and tibia parameters of broiler chicks. One hundred and forty four 1-d-old Arbor Acres male broiler chicks were divided into four treatments consisted of six replicates with six chicks each. The two dietary calcium levels were 1.10% and 0.60%, and two dietary nPP levels were 0.50% and 0.27%. Results showed that a high Ca/nPP ratio diet (4.07:1) significantly depressed feed intake and weight gain of broilers (p<0.05), but a lower Ca:nPP ratio (1.2:1) had no influence (p>0.05). Low-Ca with low-P diet resulted in low tibia minerals and tibia breaking strength of broilers, and all the tibia parameters were further decreased when the dietary ratio of Ca to P was relative higher. Low dietary Ca or P up-regulated the calbindin and NaPi-IIb mRNA expression levels. Low Ca with normal P diet up-regulated duodenal calbindin mRNA expression level to the greatest extent. Low P with a normal Ca diet significantly enhanced NaPi-IIb mRNA expression level to the highest extent. These results suggest that the calbindin and NaPi-IIb mRNA expression were enhanced by the imbalance between dietary Ca and nPP, and their expression were not only influenced by Ca or nPP level, but also the ratio of Ca:nPP.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1755-1762
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of maize source and complex enzymes containing amylase, xylanase and protease on performance and nutrient utilization of broilers. The experiment was a $4{\times}3$ factorial design with diets containing four source maize samples (M1, M2, M3, and M4) and without or with two kinds of complex enzyme A (Axtra XAP) and B (Avizyme 1502). Nine hundred and sixty day old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were used in the trial (12 treatments with 8 replicate pens of 10 chicks). Birds fed M1 diet had better body weight gain (BWG) and lower feed/gain ratio compared with those fed M3 diet and M4 diet (p<0.05). Apparent ileal crude protein digestibility coefficient of M2 was higher than that of M3 (p<0.05). Apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and nitrogen corrected AME (AMEn) of M1 were significant higher than those of M4 (p<0.05). Supplementation of the basal diets with enzyme A or B improved the BWG by 8.6% (p<0.05) and 4.1% (p>0.05), respectively. The fresh feces output was significantly decreased by the addition of enzyme B (p<0.05). Maize source affects the nutrients digestibility and performance of broilers, and a combination of amylase, xylanase and protease is effective in improving the growth profiles of broilers fed maize-soybean-rapeseed-cotton mixed diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.614-621
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• 2010

Increasing accuracy of broiler diet formulation based on amino acid digestibility in comparison to application of total amino acids could lead to more feed efficiency and productivity. This experiment was conducted for determination of sampling site (excreta and ileum) and recognition of the effects of a commercial enzyme ($Grind^{(R)}$ Danisco, Finland) on metabolizable energy, protein and amino acid digestibility of barley. This study was modulated by a marker in 21-day old Arbor Acres chickens. Corn-soybean meal was used as a control diet and, in the other two treatments, barley (at a level of 40%) with and without enzyme as the test ingredient were supplemented to the basal diet. Chromic oxide was included in all diets (0.5%) as an indigestible marker. Apparent metabolizable energy (AME), corrected by nitrogen (AMEn) and apparent digestibility of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glycine, alanine, tyrosine, valine and methionine were significantly (p<0.05) higher in feces than ileum. Protein digestibility of diet and barley was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the ileum than in feces. Apparent digestibility of tryptophan, proline, methionine, phenylalanine and lysine was increased significantly (p<0.05) by enzyme supplementation. In contrast, no response was observed in AME, AMEn, and protein digestibility of the diet and barley by enzyme supplementation. The results of this study have shown that AME and amino acid digestibility were increased in feces, in contrast an adverse effect was observed for protein digestibility of the diet and barley.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1305-1307
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• 2018

We investigate the effects of the immune function (HI titer) in broilers fed diets containing Hermetia illucens (H. illucens) peptide extract over a 40-day period. Twenty-four broiler chicks (Arbor Acres, 1 d old) were divided into four groups and fed different diets (control, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1% H. illucens peptide extract). To evaluate HI titer, all broilers were vaccinated with H9H2 vaccine subcutaneously on the lateral thorax, according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Similar HI titer was observed with 1% H. illucens peptide extract treatment compared to the control after 40 days (p>0.01). Groups fed 0.5% H. illucens peptide extract demonstrated the most effective immune effects (p<0.01), followed by groups fed 0.1% H. illucens peptide extract. In conclusion, using 0.1% or 0.5% H. illucens peptide extract before or after vaccination improved HI titer immune function in broilers.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1299-1303
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• 2018

This study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of broilers fed different levels of Hermetia illucens powder. A total of 400 broiler chicks (1-day old Arbor Acres) were fed commercial diets containing H. illucens powder at 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1% with four replicates (25 chicks per replicate), for 35 days. Weight gain in broilers fed diets containing different levels of H. illucens powder increased significantly at 28 and 35 days, compared with that of the control (p<0.05). However, feed intake and mortality showed no differences among the treatments as a function of time. At 21, 28, and 35 days, broilers fed different levels of H. illucens powder had lower feed conversion rates (p<0.05) than their counterparts fed the control diet. In conclusion, 0.5% H. illucens powder is the optimal level for improved weight gain and feed conversion.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1041-1052
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• 2024

Objective: Bacillus subtilis, a kind of probiotic with broad-spectrum antibacterial function, was commonly used in livestock and poultry production. Recent research suggested that Bacillus subtilis may have antioxidant properties and improve immune response. This study aimed to verify the probiotic function of Bacillus subtilis in the production of broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 324 (1-day-old) Arbor Acres broilers were selected and randomly divided into three groups: basal diet group (Ctr Group), basal diet + antibiotic growth promoter group (Ctr + AGP) and basal diet + 0.5% Bacillus subtilis preparation group (Ctr + Bac). The experiment lasted for 42 days. Muscle, serum and liver samples were collected at 42 days for determination. Results: The results showed that Bacillus subtilis could decrease malondialdehyde content in the serum and liver (p<0.05) and increase superoxide dismutase 1 mRNA expression (p<0.01) and total superoxide dismutase (p<0.05) in the liver. In addition, compared with AGP supplementation, Bacillus subtilis supplementation increased interleukin-10 (IL-10) and decreased tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-1β level in the serum (p<0.05). At 45 minutes after slaughter Ctr + Bac presented a higher a^* value of breast muscle than Ctr Group (p<0.05), while significant change in leg muscle was not identified. Moreover, there was no difference in weight, shear force, cooking loss and drip loss of breast and leg muscle between treatments. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that Bacillus subtilis in diet can enhance antioxidant capacity and optimize immune response of broilers.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2022

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and a probiotic mixture on egg quality, blood parameters, and corticosterone content in broiler breeder stock in summer in Korea. A total of 72 broiler breeders (Arbor Acres) at 49 weeks old were randomly divided into the following three groups of 24 heads each: control, GABA, and probiotics (1 × 10⁸/g Bacillus licheniformis, 1 × 10⁷/g Lactiplantibacillus plantaru, and 1 × 10⁷/g Clostridium butyricum). The hens were fed a diet containing 50 mg of GABA/kg of feed and 0.1% probiotics for 6 weeks. Egg quality, blood parameters, and stress levels (corticosterone concentration) of the broiler breeders were evaluated. No significant differences were observed in the egg weight, albumen height, Haugh units, yolk color, shell thickness, or shell strength between the groups. There were no significant between-group differences in the blood biochemical profile, including total cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, and inorganic phosphorus concentrations. The corticosterone concentration was significantly lower in the GABA and probiotics groups than the control group (P < 0.05) at 6 weeks of age. In conclusion, these results suggest that dietary probiotics and GABA significantly improve the stress levels of broiler breeders in summer in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.229-233
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• 2003

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of different BW control methods during rearing on laying performance of broiler breeder pullets. D-old 540 female breeder chicks (Arbor Acres) were assigned to three treatments consisted of standard BW (Control), 110% of standard BW at 12 wk of age (T1), and 90% of standard BW at 12 wk of age (T2), with three replicates of 60 birds per replicate (pen) for each treatment. At 20 wk of age, all birds from three treatments reached the BW reqired in the Arbor Acres Manual. There were no significant differences in egg production, egg weight and viability during laying period(p>0.05). However, total egg production rates were improved in T2 and T3. Average egg weight was the highest in T1 among all treatments. Fertility and hatchability were similar among treatments, but T2 tended to be higher than other treatments at 37 and 53 wk of age. No significant difference was found in hatchability among three treatments. The number of hatching egg of T2 reached 168 per year, showing higher number of eggs than did the other treatments. The number of hatched chicks in T2 was 131, which was also higher than the other treatments, but the difference was not significant. It appears that the laying performance of broiler breeder hens could be improved when their BW at 12 wk of age are kept at 90% of standard BW, and reach the standard BW at 20 week of age.