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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 20148

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jennifer Rumsey Timmons

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food, and Resource Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, USA
Interests: poultry; poultry nutrition; broiler chickens; feed additives; management

Dr. Samuel N. Mwangi

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Alcorn State University, Lorman, MS 39096, USA
Interests: applied poultry nutrition; poultry management system; health, welfare and food safety
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Dear Colleagues,

Poultry production worldwide continues to grow and thrive. The impact of nutrition on bird health and performance is well understood. However, the nutritional quality of feed can be influenced by a variety of feed factors such as digestibility, microbial contamination, palatability, feed presentation, antinutritional factors, and the health of the bird’s intestines. There are a wide range of feed additives available that can address these issues. Many of these products have shown positive results; however, additional information on the benefit of these products to improve the efficiency of poultry production is necessary as the industry faces higher feed costs and restrictions in antibiotic use while meeting the demands of a growing human population worldwide.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present recent research and reviews on the production benefits of using feed additives in the broiler, layer, and turkey industries with the aim of increasing understanding and identifying feed additives used alone or in combination that improve poultry production.

Dr. Jennifer Rumsey Timmons
Dr. Samuel N. Mwangi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

broiler
turkey
layer
nutrition
feed additives
feed efficiency
growth rate
egg production

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 280 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metabolizable Energy and Amino Acid Digestibility of Soybean Meal from Different Sources for Broiler Chickens Supplemented with Protease

by Maurílio de Lucas Xavier Junior, Rafael de Sousa Ferreira, Levy do Vale Teixeira, Jean Kaique Valentim, Kaique Moreira Gomes, Romário Duarte Bernandes, Arele Arlindo Calderano and Luiz Fernando Teixeira Albino

Animals 2024, 14(5), 782; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14050782 - 1 Mar 2024

Viewed by 1330

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the serine protease on metabolizable energy and amino acids’ digestibility of different soybean meal for broilers. A total of 684 broilers chickens form 14 to 23 d age were distributed with nineteen treatments, six replicates, and six birds per replicate. Nine samples of soybean meal from different regions in Brazil were used, with some samples supplemented with the protease enzyme and others without addition. Apparent and corrected-for-nitrogen-balance metabolizable energy were evaluated, as well as the coefficients of amino acid digestibility. All collected data were submitted to ANOVA at a significance level of 5% and Tukey’s test was applied. The results showed that the addition of the protease enzyme significantly increased the values of AME and AMEn in all soybean meal samples. The soybean meal of different origins has significant variations in AME and AMEn. The addition of the protease improved the digestibility of essential amino acids compared to soybean meal without enzyme addition. These results indicate that supplementation with serine protease can improve the metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility of soybean meal from different regions in the diet of broilers, potentially being an effective strategy to enhance nutrient utilization and animal performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

14 pages, 271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Dietary Orange Peel Meal and Multi-Enzymes on Productive, Physiological and Nutritional Responses of Broiler Chickens

by Maha A. Abd El Latif, Ahmed A. A. Abdel-Wareth, Milton Daley and Jayant Lohakare

Animals 2023, 13(15), 2473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13152473 - 31 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1889

Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of various concentrations of orange (Citrus sinensis) peel meal (OPM), with or without the supplementation of multi-enzymes, on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant properties, and blood metabolic profile of broiler chickens. The experiment was conducted on 240 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks, assigned to eight dietary treatments with 30 broilers per treatment group. Four dietary orange peel meal (OPM) concentrations were supplemented, namely, the control (without OPM), and with 80, 160, and 240 g/kg of the diet. To each of these diets was added two concentrations of multi-enzyme inclusion (0 or 0.6 g as a combination of 0.5 g of Nutrikem and 0.1 g Optiphos per kg diet) in a completely randomized design in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement. The experiment lasted until 42 days of age. Body weight gain (BWG) was influenced during the grower period (22–42 days) and the overall period (0–42 days), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly improved by supplementations of OPM compared with the control for 22–42 days and overall (0–42 days) periods. Moreover, BWG, FCR during the grower and overall periods, and crude fiber digestibility were improved (p < 0.01) by multi-enzyme supplementation compared to the non-supplemented groups. Broilers with diets supplemented with OPM had considerably lower abdominal fat (p < 0.01) than the control. In addition, when compared to the non-supplemented enzyme group, serum T3 and T3/T4 ratios were significantly improved in response to enzyme addition. When compared to the control group, superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly higher in the OPM groups, showing the largest improvement in antioxidant response. Interaction effects were observed only for serum SOD levels. Based on our findings, it is recommended that OPM be used as a feed supplement for raising broilers, and adding 0.6 m g/kg of multi-enzymes could provide additional benefits to the performance of broilers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

13 pages, 3095 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Methyl Sulfonyl Methane and Selenium Yeast on Fatty Liver Syndrome in Laying Hens and Their Biological Mechanisms

by Huanbin Wang, Lingfeng Wang, Changyu Tian, Shahid Ali Rajput and Desheng Qi

Animals 2023, 13(15), 2466; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13152466 - 30 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1802

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of MSM and Se-Y on FLS in laying hens during the late peak laying period and the underlying biological mechanisms. Therefore 240 55-week-old Jing-fen No. 6 laying hens were randomly divided into five groups, with eight replicates in each group and six laying hens in each replicate. The hens were fed a basal diet (Control) and diets supplemented with 350 and 700 mg/kg MSM and 25 and 50 mg/kg Se-Y, respectively, for four weeks. The results showed that MSM and Se-Y had no significant effects on the performance of laying hens. With the increasing dosage of MSM and Se-Y, the symptoms of liver steatosis in laying hens were reduced, and MSM and Se-Y could significantly reduce the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum and liver (p < 0.05) and increase the contents of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in serum and liver (p < 0.05). The RNA-seq results showed that 700 mg/kg MSM significantly downregulated the expression levels of the ATP5I, ATP5G1, CYCS, and UQCRQ genes in the liver, and 50 mg/kg Se-Y significantly downregulated the expression levels of MAPK10, SRC, BMP2, and FGF9 genes in the liver. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with MSM and Se-Y can effectively reduce the FLS of laying hens in the late peak laying period and increase their antioxidant capacity. The underlying biological mechanism may be related to the downregulation of genes involved in liver oxidative phosphorylation and inflammation-related pathways. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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16 pages, 4639 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intestinal Immune Cell Populations, Barrier Function, and Microbiomes in Broilers Fed a Diet Supplemented with Chlorella vulgaris

by Ji Young Lee, June Hyeok Yoon, Su Hyun An, In Ho Cho, Chae Won Lee, Yun Ji Jeon, Sang Seok Joo, Byeong Cheol Ban, Jae-Yeong Lee, Hyun Jung Jung, Minji Kim, Z-Hun Kim, Ji Young Jung, Myunghoo Kim and Changsu Kong

Animals 2023, 13(14), 2380; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13142380 - 21 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1501

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary Chlorella vulgaris (CV) on the distribution of immune cells, intestinal morphology, intestinal barrier function, antioxidant markers, and the cecal microbiome in 10-day-old broiler chickens. A total of 120 day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were assigned to two dietary treatments using a randomized complete block design, with body weight as the blocking factor. Birds fed a diet containing CV showed an increase in CD4⁺ T cells (p < 0.05) compared to those fed the control diet. The relative mRNA expression of intestinal epithelial barrier function-related markers (occludin and avian β-defensin 5) was elevated (p < 0.05) in the CV-supplemented group compared to the control group. The alpha diversity indices (Chao1 and observed features) of the cecal microbiome in 10-day-old birds increased (p < 0.05), indicating higher richness within the cecal bacterial community. In the microbiome analysis, enriched genera abundance of Clostridium ASF356 and Coriobacteriaceae CHKCI002 was observed in birds fed the diet containing CV compared to those fed the control diet. Taken together, dietary CV supplementation might alter intestinal barrier function, immunity, and microbiomes in 10-day-old broiler chickens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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12 pages, 1155 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Piper sarmentosum Extract on Growth Performance, Intestinal Barrier Function, and Metabolism of Growing Chickens

by Luli Zhou, Yuhuan Lin, Ye Chang, Khaled Fouad Mohammed Abouelezz, Hanlin Zhou, Jian Wang, Guanyu Hou and Dingfa Wang

Animals 2023, 13(13), 2108; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13132108 - 25 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1858

Abstract

In the poultry industry, there is an urgent need to evaluate and introduce natural, effective, and safe alternatives for synthetic antibiotics, which have been banned in most countries. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Piper sarmentosum extract (PSE) on the growth performance, intestinal barrier function, and metabolism of growing chickens. A total of 400 seven-day-old female chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, each of which consisted of five replicates and twenty birds each. The four experimental treatments were fed a basal diet containing 0, 100, 200, and 300 mg PSE/kg (BC, PSE1, PSE2, and PSE3 groups), respectively. The experiment lasted for 28 days. The results showed that dietary supplementation with PSE had no significant effects on the final body weight, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and the ratio of ADFI to ADG (F/G) (p > 0.05). Compared with the BC group, dietary supplementation with 200–300 mg/kg PSE increased the villus height in the jejunum and ileum of chickens (p < 0.05). The PSE-treated groups significantly increased the mRNA expression of Occludin, ZO-1, and Claudin-1 in the ileal mucosa of chickens (p < 0.05). In addition, a significant decrease in ileal TNF-α and IL-8 mRNA expression (p < 0.05) and a significant increase in IL-22 (p < 0.05) were observed in the PSE2 treatment compared to the BC group. Additionally, three gut metabolites (i.e., citrate, isocitrate, and spermine) showed significant differences among treatments (p < 0.05) and were involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, the transfer of acetyl groups into mitochondria, and spermidine and spermine biosynthesis, respectively. In conclusion, the findings obtained here indicate that supplemental PSE can enhance the anti-inflammatory capacity and intestinal mucosal barrier function of chickens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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18 pages, 3228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of the Effects of Yucca saponin, Yucca schidigera, and Quillaja saponaria on Growth Performance, Immunity, Antioxidant Capability, and Intestinal Flora in Broilers

by Zhenglie Dai, Huixian Wang, Jinsong Liu, Haoran Zhang, Qing Li, Xiaorong Yu, Ruiqiang Zhang and Caimei Yang

Animals 2023, 13(9), 1447; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13091447 - 24 Apr 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2354

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Yucca saponin (YSa), Yucca schidigera (YS), and Quillaja Saponaria (QS) on growth performance, nitrogen metabolism, immune ability, antioxidant capability, and intestinal flora of yellow-feather broilers. This study randomly divided a total of 480 1-day yellow-feather broilers into 4 treatment groups. Factors in the 4 groups included CON group (basic diet), YSa group (basic diet mixed with 500 mg/kg YSa), YS group (basic diet mixed with 500 mg/kg YS), and QS group (basic diet mixed with 500 mg/kg QS). Throughout the 56-day study period, YSa, YS, and QS groups had higher average daily gain in broilers than the CON group (p < 0.01). The YS group had a lower feed gain ratio (F: G) in broilers than the CON group (p < 0.05). YSa, YS, and QS showed increased serum immunoglobin A (IgA), immunoglobin Y (IgY), immunoglobin M (IgM), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels; enhanced acetic acid, butyric acid, and valeric acid levels of cecal content; and reduced contents of ammonia nitrogen, urea nitrogen, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum in broilers (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Lachnoclostridium in the QS group was decreased compared with that in the CON group (p < 0.05). Higher IgA and IgY sera contents were observed in the YS group compared to the YSa and QS groups (p < 0.05). In contrast with the QS group, the serum IL-6 concentration of the YS group was reduced (p < 0.05). In conclusion, YSa, YS, and QS promoted growth performance, nitrogen metabolism, immunity, antioxidant capability, and intestinal flora in broilers. Through the comparison of YSa, YS, and QS, it was found that YS is more suitable as a feed additive to ameliorate the healthy growth of broilers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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12 pages, 1200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Glyceryl Monolaurate on Production Performance, Egg Quality, Oviduct Cytokines and Intestinal Microflora of 66 Weeks Old Laying Hens

by Zhenchuan Cui, Ruiqiang Zhang, Bing Dai, Chunsheng Fu, Guiling Zhao, Yinglei Xu and Caimei Yang

Animals 2023, 13(2), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020215 - 6 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2034

Abstract

The principal purpose of this research was to study the effects of glycerol monolaurate (GML) on the production performance; egg quality; health state of the oviduct, ovary and ileum; and gut microbiota of laying hens in the later stage. The laying hens were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group and an experiment group, for which 1000 mg/kg of GML was added to a control diet. The results showed that GML increased the laying rate, average egg weight, albumen height, yolk color and Haugh unit and decreased the feed conversion ratio and defective eggs (p < 0.05). GML increased the intestinal villi height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (p < 0.05). Moreover, GML improved the contents of cytokines in the oviduct, ovary and ileum mucosa; ameliorated the expression of TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, IL-4, IL-1β and TNF-α; and increased the expression of Occludin and Muc-2 in the ileal mucosa. The supplementation of GML increased the volatile fatty acids in the cecal contents, such as acetic acid and propionic acid, and up-regulated Bacteroides (p < 0.01) and Alistipes (p < 0.05) richness in the cecal contents. In summary, GML improved production performance, egg quality and immunity; ameliorated the health status of the oviduct, ovary and ileum; enhanced the intestinal barrier function; improved the content of intestinal volatile fatty acids; and regulated the abundance of cecal flora. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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11 pages, 285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Dietary Blue-Green Microalgae Inclusion as a Replacement to Soybean Meal on Laying Hens’ Performance, Egg Quality, Plasma Metabolites, and Hematology

by Ahmed O. Abbas, Abdulaziz A. Alaqil, Gamal M. K. Mehaisen and Nancy N. Kamel

Animals 2022, 12(20), 2816; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202816 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2028

Abstract

Spirulina platensisis (SP) is a blue-green microalgae with a high value for animal and poultry nutrition. The study employed 250 40-week-old, HY-Line W-36 commercial laying hens. The layers received one of five experimental diet substitutes in five groups for 10 consecutive weeks (five replicates of 10 hens each group); a soybean-corn basal diet formulation without SP (Control group) or the soybean partially substituted with 3% SP, 6% SP, 9% SP, and 12% SP (for the remaining four groups). The results showed that dietary SP treatment significantly (p < 0.05) improved the productive performance, egg quality, blood metabolites, and hematological parameters of laying hens. In addition, there were linear and quadratic effects for increasing the levels of SP inclusion into the layer diets; however, the highest values of most parameters were observed when using 9% SP (90 g/kg of the layer diets). Furthermore, the results showed that 4.7% of the soybean meal ingredient in the layer diet could be replaced by 1% of SP. In conclusion, the partial replacement of soybean meal by SP into layer diets could be used as a promising nutritional approach to optimize the performance of laying hens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

Review

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13 pages, 548 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Interaction between Feed Bioactive Compounds and Chicken Genome

by Kristina Gvozdanović, Zlata Kralik, Žarko Radišić, Manuela Košević, Gordana Kralik and Ivona Djurkin Kušec

Animals 2023, 13(11), 1831; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13111831 - 31 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1565

Abstract

Consumer demand for high quality and safe foods that will have a positive impact on their health has increased in recent years. Today, it is possible to meet those demands by combining the genetic potential of domestic animals and applying different feeding strategies. Nutrigenomics is one of the “omics” sciences that studies the interaction between nutrients and the genome together with their influence on metabolic and physiological processes in the body. While nutrition of domestic animals is solely based on studying the influence of nutrients on animal health and production traits, nutrigenomics integrates the fields of nutrition, genomics, molecular genetics and bioinformatics. By understanding the molecular relationships between different forms and/or concentrations of nutrients in feed and genes, it is possible to answer the question of how small changes in the diet of farm animals can produce a quality product with positive effects on human health. The aim of this article is to describe how the manipulation of adding different nutrients in the feed affects the expression of different genes in chicken and consequently alters their phenotype. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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14 pages, 1233 KiB

Open AccessReview

Role of Dietary Methyl Sulfonyl Methane in Poultry

by Yoo-Bhin Kim and Kyung-Woo Lee

Animals 2023, 13(3), 351; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030351 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2324

Abstract

Oxidative stress is defined as an imbalance between pro-oxidants and anti-oxidants within biological systems, leading to tissue damage and compromising the health of afflicted animals. The incorporation of dietary anti-oxidants into chicken diets has been a common practice to improve the performance, health, and welfare of the host by protecting against oxidative stress-induced damage. Methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM), a naturally occurring organosulfur compound found in various plant sources, has demonstrated various beneficial biological properties, including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties in both in vitro and in vivo studies. MSM has been utilized as a dietary supplement for humans for its anti-oxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties. It has also been administered to domestic animals, including cattle, pigs, and chickens, owing to its recognized anti-oxidant effect. This review summarizes the biological and physiological functions of dietary MSM in poultry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feed Additives in Poultry Nutrition)

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