• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1921-1928
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• 2022

Objective: This research aimed to evaluate the effects of age on growth, tibia development, and intestinal calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) transporter gene expressions in broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 224 male Arbor Acres broilers were fed with nutrient-adequate diets and reared in eight cages (28 broilers per cage). Eight broilers (one broiler per cage) were selected and killed at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 days of age, respectively. Results: Body weight continuously increased with age of broiler chickens from 5 to 40 days. The bone weight, ash weight, diameter, and length of the tibia also increased with broiler age. By contrast, the tibia ash, Ca, and P percentages quadratically changed with age (p<0.001), and the highest values of mineral contents were observed at 20, 25, and 25 days of age, respectively. The mRNA abundances of calcium-binding protein 28-kDa (CaBP-D28k), sodium-calcium exchanger 1 (NCX1), and plasma membrane ATPase 1b (PMCA1b) increased from 5 to 25 days and then decreased up to 40 days. Similar results were noted in the mRNA abundances of IIb sodium-phosphate cotransporter (NaPi-IIb), inorganic phosphate transporter 1 (PiT-1), inorganic phosphate transporter 2 (PiT-2), nuclear vitamin D receptor (nVDR), and membrane vitamin D receptor (mVDR). The mRNA abundances of Ca and P transporters and VDRs were the highest at 25 days of age. Conclusion: These data indicate that age quadratically affects intestinal Ca and P transporter gene expression and mineral absorption capacity in broiler chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.215-222
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• 2015

The objective of this research was to evaluate the growth performance, the apparent ileal digestibility of nitrogen and energy, the retention of nutrients and the apparent metabolizable energy corrected to zero nitrogen retention (AMEn) in broiler chickens supplemented with increasing doses of a worm leachate (WL) as a source of humic substances (HS) in the drinking water. In Exp. 1, 140 male broilers were penned individually and assigned to four WL levels (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) mixed in the drinking water from 21 to 49 days of age. Water was offered in plastic bottles tied to the cage. In Exp. 2, 600 male broilers from 21 to 49 days of age housed in floor pens were assigned to three levels of WL (0%, 10%, and 20%) mixed in the drinking water. The WL was mixed with tap water in plastic containers connected by plastic tubing to bell drinkers. The results of both experiments were subjected to analysis of variance and polynomial contrasts. In Exp. 1, the daily water consumption was similar among treatments but the consumption of humic, fulvic, and total humic acids increased linearly (p<0.01) as the WL increased in the drinking water. The feed conversion (p<0.01) and the ileal digestibility of energy, the excretion of dry matter and energy, the retention of dry matter, ash and nitrogen and the AMEn showed quadratic responses (p<0.05) relative to the WL levels in drinking water. In Exp. 2, the increasing level of WL in the drinking water had quadratic effects on the final body weight, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio (p<0.05). The addition of WL as a source of HS in the drinking water had beneficial effects on the growth performance, ileal digestibility of energy, the retention of nutrients as well on the AMEn in broiler chickens; the best results were observed when the WL was mixed at levels of 20% to 30% in the drinking water.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.437-443
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• 2010

To be economically profitable, the poultry industry demands an increase in stocking density, which could adversely affect chicken welfare. The current study was performed to investigate the effect of stocking density on stress-related, heat shock protein genes (HSP70 and HSP90), 3-hydroxyl-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) gene and telomere length in broiler chickens. Seven-day-old broiler chickens were housed at High (0.0578 $m^2$/bird), Standard (0.077 $m^2$/bird) and Low (0.116 $m^2$/bird) stocking densities with 8 replicates each until 35 d of age. The growth performance, such as body weight gain and average daily feed intake, was found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher in the Low density group, but these parameters did not show any difference between the High and Standard groups. Other growth performance, such as feed conversion ratio and final feed intake, showed no difference among the treated groups. The expression levels of HSP70 and HMGCR were found to be elevated with the increase of stocking density. The expression level of these genes was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the High density stocked group compared with the other groups, whereas the expression levels were not significantly different between the Low and Standard groups. The expression levels of HSP90 did not show any significant changes among the treated groups. The telomeric length of the birds housed in High density was reduced significantly (p<0.05) when compared to that of the birds in Low density. These results clearly indicate that birds stocked at high density show physiological adaptive changes indicative of stress at gene transcriptional and telomere levels.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Poultry Science Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.108-109
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• 2002

The study was carried out to iind out the suitable ventilation system of the broiler house in winter season in Korea. Ammonia (NH$_3$-N) gas concentration (4.2ppm) of the system of pipe air inlet-forced chimney outlet was lower than that of the system of side wall inlet. The growth performance of broilers in the house equiped with pipe air inlet-chimney exhaust was higher than that of other ventilation systmes in which the average daily gain, feed efficiency and heat cost per head in the system of pipe air inlet-forced chimney excretion were 45.6g, 1.71 and 35.4 won per head, respectively. When the lengths of pipe air inlets were compared, the wind speed from the 4 meter-inlet was highest. The temperature of the broiler house equipped with the pipe air inlet system was higher (5.9 ∼ 7.7$^{\circ}C$) than that of the curtains in side wall Inlet system, in which the pipe air inlet system expects the lower heat cost.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.353-360
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• 1991

An experiment with completely randomized design was performed to investigate the effects of lysine and supplemented sodium on growth performance, nutrients utilization, acid-base balance and lysine arginine antagonism in broiler chicks. The experiment was carried out with 3 levels of dietary lysine (0.6, 1.2 and 1.8%) and 3 levels of sodium(0.4, 0.8 and 1.2%) for an experimental period of 7 weeks. Body weight gain of 1.2% lysine group was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of low or high lysine group. The highest feed consumption was obtained at 1.2% lysine and 0.4% sodium supplemented level (ML-1.2) and the lowest at LL-1.2. The best feed efficiency was obtained at ML-0.8 level and the worst at LL-1.2 level. Mortalities of high (1.8%) and low (0.6%) lysine groups were significantly (p<0.05) higher than medium lysine (1.2%) group. Among the sodium levels, the mortality at 1.2% sodium supplemented level was significantly (p<0.01) different by the levels of dietary lysine. Lysine-arginine antagonism was observed in high lysine diet. Among the lysine levels, the lowest none weight and length were shown in low lysine group. Interactions between lysine and sodium were significantly (p<0.05) shown in femur weight. The levels of sodium and lysine affected significantly (p<0.01) the utilization of nitrogen, ether extract, total carbohydrate and energy.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.751-758
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• 2021

Objective: The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between the mRNA expression of adipocyte type fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) and heart type FABP (H-FABP) in Thai native chicken crossbreeds and evaluate the level of exotic inclusion in native chicken that will improve growth while maintaining its relatively low carcass fat. Methods: The fat deposition traits and mRNA expression of A-FABP and H-FABP were evaluated at 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks of age in 4 chicken breeds (n = 8/breed/wk) (100% Chee breed [CH] [100% Thai native chicken background], CH male and broiler female [Kaimook e-san1; KM1] [50% CH background], broiler male and KM1 female [Kaimook e-san2; KM2] [25% CH background], and broiler [BR]) using abdominal fat (ABF) and muscular tissues. Results: The BR breed was only evaluated at 6 weeks of age. At week 6, the CH breed had a significantly lower A-FABP expression in ABF and intramuscular fat (IF) compared with the other breeds. At 8 to 12 weeks, the KM2 groups showed significant upregulation (p<0.05) of A-FABP in both ABF and IF compared to the CH and KM1 groups. The expression of H-FABP did not follow any consistent pattern in both ABF and IF across the different ages. Conclusion: Some level of crossbreeding CH chickens can be done to improve growth rate while maintaining their low ABF and IF. The expression level of A-FABP correlate with most fat traits. There was no consistency of H-FABP expression across breed. A-FABPs is involved in fat deposition, genetic markers in these genes could be used in marker assisted studies to select against excessive fat accumulation.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1252-1262
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• 2023

Objective: Microencapsulation technologies have been developed and successfully applied to protect the probiotic bacterial cells damaged by environmental exposure. This study aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum MB001 on the growth performance, ileal nutrient digestibility, jejunal histomorphology and cecal microbiome of broiler chickens in a tropical climate. Methods: A total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds). Treatments included, i) a basal diet (NC), ii) NC + avilamycin (10 mg/kg) (PC), iii) NC + non-encapsulated L. plantarum MB001 (1×10⁸ colony-forming unit [CFU]/kg of diet) (N-LP), iv) NC + microencapsulated L. plantarum MB001 (1×10⁸ CFU/kg of diet) (ME-LP). Results: Dietary supplementation of ME-LP improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas ME-LP did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. Both N-LP and ME-LP improved apparent ileal digestibility of crude protein and ether extract compared with NC group (p<0.05). The broilers fed ME-LP supplemented diet exhibited a beneficial effect on jejunal histomorphology of villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) of broilers compared to NC group (p<0.05). At the phylum level, Firmicutes was enriched (p<0.05) and Proteobacteria was decreased (p<0.05) only in the ME-LP group. At the genus level, the ME-LP diets increased (p<0.05) the number of both Lactobacillus and Enterococcus compared to NC, PC, and N-LP groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Microencapsulation assists the efficient functioning of probiotics. ME-LP could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of cecal microbiota, gut integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broilers.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.891-898
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of crude oligosaccharide extract from coconut milk meal (CMM) and spent tea leaves (ST) on the performance and gut development of broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 240 one-day-old unsexed broiler chicks (ROSS 308) were raised on litter-floored pens and had ad libitum access to water for 42 days. The experiment was conducted on chicks fed with basal diet (CON), commercial mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), crude oligosaccharide extract from CMM, and crude oligosaccharide extract from ST. The experimental diets were supplemented with 2 and 1 g/kg oligosaccharides during the starter and grower periods, respectively. Results: The body weight gain (BWG) of birds in the MOS group was higher than that of birds in the other groups (p<0.05) in the starter period. However, during the grower period, ST significantly improved the BWG compared to the MOS (p<0.05). MOS, CMM, and ST showed no influence on the carcass and visceral organ weight and the weight and length of intestine (p>0.05). The digestibility of gross energy was greater (p<0.05) in the CMM group than in the CON group during the grower period. Morphological changes were absent in the dietary treatments (p>0.05). Conclusion: The improvements in the growth performance were partly driven by nutrient digestibility of such oligosaccharides having prebiotic properties. This result can indicate that supplementing broiler diets with crude oligosaccharides from CMM and ST had no negative effect on the growth performance and gut development of broilers.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.603-616
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• 2023

This study was conducted to investigate the productivity, meat quality, blood variables, stress responses, and litter quality of broilers offered feed with different levels of Glycine (Gly) supplementation under heat stress condition. A total of 760 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler males were randomly assigned to one of the four dietary treatment groups: (1) basal diet (control; CON); (2) basal diet + Gly 0.1% (Gly 0.1%); (3) basal diet + Gly 0.2% (Gly 0.2%); and (4) basal diet + Gly 0.3% (Gly 0.3%). The environments for all the treatments groups were maintained according to broiler rearing guidelines from day 1 to day 21, and heat stress condition (32 ± 1℃, 60 ±5%) was created from day 22 to the end. The addition of Gly increased weight gain and affected feed intake (p < 0.05). Gly 0.1% group had higher pH and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) in the chicken meat and lower heterophil (HE)/lymphocyte (LY) ratio in the blood (p < 0.05). In particular, Gly 0.2% treatment group had lower serum corticosterone level (p < 0.05) than other groups. For jejunum morphology, the addition of Gly 0.2% significantly reduced the depth of the crypts (p < 0.05). However, the addition of Gly did not significantly affect litter quality (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the addition of glycine improved productivity and meat quality, alleviated heat stress, and improved intestinal function. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal level and mechanism of action of the additive when ingested.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.471-481
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• 2024

Achyranthes japonica extract (AJE) is derived from a medicinal plant Achyranthes japonica, known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. AJE contains multiple bioactive compounds, including saponins, triterpenoids, phytoecdysteroids, 20-hydroxyecdysone, and inokosterone. The aim of this investigation was to examine the impact of AJE as a phytogenic feed additive on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, excreta microbial count, noxious gas emissions, breast meat quality in broilers. About three hundred and sixty, day-old broilers (Ross 308) were assigned into four treatments (five replication cages/treatment, and 18 birds/cage). Dietary treatments: CON, basal diet; 0.02% AJE, basal diet with 0.02%; 0.04% AJE, basal diet with 0.04% AJE, and 0.06% AJE, basal diet with 0.06% of AJE. Body weight gain increased linearly (p < 0.05) through the inclusion of AJE during days 7 to 21, 21 to 35, as well as the entire experimental period. Besides, feed intake increased (p < 0.05) linearly during days 21 to 35 and the entire experiment with the increased AJE doses in broiler diet. Dry matter digestibility was increased (p < 0.05) linearly along with increasing amounts of AJE. With increasing AJE supplementation, nitrogen and energy utilization tended to improve (p < 0.10). In summary, the addition of AJE in the corn-soybean meal diet led to higher body weight gain and increased feed intake as well as enhanced nutrient digestibility, among them the highest improvement was found in 0.06%-AJE indicating the acceptance of AJE as a phytogenic feed additive.