Fresh garlic contains natural phytobiotics, whereas garlic powderseveral biologically active substances with prebiotic activity. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of feed supplementation with garlic powder on growth performance, carcass yield and meat quality in broiler chickens. The experiment was conducted with 120 male broiler chickens divided into 4 groups: group Icontrol; groups II, III and IVsupplemented with 0.2% ; 0.4% and 0.8% garlic powder, respectively. The experiment lasted up to the 56 th day of age. Growth performance of birds was determined, and at 56 days of ageslaughter analysis was performed for evaluation of slaughter traits, pH, water holding capacity (WHC) and colour (L*, a*, b*) of Musculus pectoralis superficialis, Musculus pectoralis profundus and Musculus femorotibialis medialis. The results demonstrated a steady tendency towards increase in live body weight throughout the fattening period proportionally to the level of dietary garlic powder supplementation. After feed supplementation with increasing doses of garlic powder, feed conversion ratio (kg/kg) maintained a stable positive tendency up to the 7 th week of age. Garlic powder supplementation did not influence the proportion of edible offal and meat cuts, except for abdominal fat percentage. Added to poultry feed at levels up to 0.8%, garlic powder had no adverse effect on chicken meat quality, but an increased tenderness of Musculus pectoralis superficialis was established.

At 35 days of age, meat quality analysis was done as well as proximate analysis of breast and thigh muscles of 72 male quails from heavy Pharaoh line. Lightness values (L*) depended both on the time of post mortem analysis and of topographic site – lateral or medial muscle surface of the pectoral muscle. The L* value of lateral M. pectoralis superficialis (MPS) was higher. Redness and yellowness of meat increased proportionally to post mortem ageing, with peak values on the 24th post mortem hour. The chroma was more expressed on the medial MPS surface. With regard to determination of a common index of meat colour based on CIE L*a*b* coordinates, we propose the calculation of Meat Colour Index (MCI) according to the formula: MCI = (L* - C*). The meat of Japanese quails had high protein and low fat content. Gross energy of breast meat was within 5.03 - 6.13 MJ*kg-1, and that of thigh meat between 4.90 and 5.75 MJ*kg-1. The processing mode of carcasses by removing the skin made quail meat an exceptionally dietetic product with fat content < 3%.

The aim of the study was to evaluate egg quality traits in three heavy Japanese quail populations created and reared in the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Trakia University – Bulgaria, marked as WG, GG and GL. In the experiments, 160 female birds from populations WG and GG, and 96 birds from population GL were tested up to the 6th production month. The main egg quality traits were controlled. The highest average egg weight was registered in WG group and the lowest in GL group, 14.04±0.32 g and 12.79±0.29 g respectively (p<0.05). The highest average Shape index was observed in group GG (78.31±0.53%), vs the lowest in WG quails (77.55±0.62%). Albumen proportion is almost 2/3 of egg mass, with average values from 57.14% in group WG tо 59.90% in group GG. Yolk proportion was about 30%, with smaller differences between the groups. The shell share from all tested groups comprised between 10.95 and 12.58% of egg weight. Average shell thickness was the greatest in eggs of WG quails (223.53±5.52 μm), and the lowest – in GG quails (216.91±6.83 μm). Egg quality traits were typical for the meat productive type of Japan quails.

The contamination of poultry feeds with aflatoxins is a global problem responsible for considerable losses to poultry industry. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of aflatoxin B 1 and Mycotox NG, applied either independently or together, on performance, relative weights of visceral organs and antibody titres against Newcastle disease in turkey broilers. Experiments of 42-day duration were carried out with sixty 7-day-old female turkey broilers (meat TM strain) divided into one control and five treatment groups (n=10): Group І -control (fed standard feed according to the species and age of birds); Group II -experimental, whose feed was supplemented with 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG, Group ІІI -experimental, whose feed contained 0.2 mg/kg aflatoxin В 1 , Group IVexperimental, whose feed contained 0.4 mg/kg aflatoxin В 1 , Group V -experimental, supplemented with 0.2 mg/kg aflatoxin В 1 and 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG and Group VI -experimental, supplemented with 0.4 mg/kg aflatoxin В 1 and 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG. In Groups III and IV, production traits (live body weight, daily weight gain, feed intake) as well as antibody titres were reduced along with increased feed conversion and relative weights of liver, kidneys, heart, pancreas, proventriculus and gizzard. At the same time, relative weights of the spleen, thymus and bursa of Fabricius were statistically significantly lower. The supplementation of the feed of Groups V and VI with 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG reduced and prevented some of deleterious effects of AFB 1 on production traits, antibody titres and relative weights of visceral organs.

The aim of the study was to evaluate egg production in three heavy Japanese quail populations created and reared in the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Trakia University – Bulgaria, marked as WG, GG and GL. In the experiments, 160 female birds from populations WG and GG, and 96 female birds from population GL were tested up to the 6th production month. The main egg production traits were controlled. The highest egg production for the period was demonstrated in group GL (79.84±4.46%), followed by group GG (76.33±3.40%) and group WG (72.11±4.16%). Quails from the WG group were outlined with least efficient feed conversion per egg (74.49±1.21 g feed), while those from the GL group: with the most efficient one – 64.93±1.41 g (p<0.01). The highest average egg weight in descending order was observed in the WG group (14.04±0.32 g), GG group (13.65±0.27 g) and GL group (12.79±0.29 g). The Japanese quail populations created and maintained at the Trakia University showed a potentially good egg production for the production type they belonged to, which makes them attractive for use in interline hybridisation schedules, including for production of autosexing stock layers.

During the past decade, consumers in some regions of the world evidenced a marked interest to eggs with non-traditional shell colour. The aim of the present study was to investigate the productive traits of Easter eggers, obtained by crossbreeding of Araucana and Schijndelaar roosters with White Leghorn layer hens. For this purpose, a total of five groups of hens were used: three control: group L (White Leghorn), group A (Araucana), group S (Schijndelaar) and two experimental: group AWL (F1 Araucana×White Leghorn) and group SWL (F1 Schijndelaar×White Leghorn). During the production cycle which continued up to 65 weeks of age, the following traits were evaluated: live weight at 20% and 50% egg production; economic maturity; average weekly feed intake and feed conversion, egg production and egg weight. At the age of 50% egg production, Araucana had the highest live body weight (1408.25 ±19.25 g), and Leghorns -the lowest (1297.45 ±10.25 g) (p<0.05). The best economic maturity was exhibited by White Leghorn group (135 days of age), whereas the Schijndelaar group attained economic maturity at 205 days of age. The most efficient feed conversion (p<0.001) for production of one egg and 1 kg egg mass was observed in group L (133.46±1.94 g and 2.19±0.05 kg/kg respectively). The highest hen-day egg production was recorded in group L and the lowest -in Schijndelaar (group S) and Araucana (group A). The weight of White Leghorn eggs was substantially higher (р<0.001) compared to eggs laid by Schijndelaars and Araucanas. The traits characterizing the economic efficiency of layer hens (feed conversion per egg produced and per 1 kg egg mass) in experimental groups were comparable to traits recorded in heavy egg-laying hybrids.

IntroductionDuring the last decades, phytobiotics, probiotics and prebiotics became increasingly used in modem livestock husbandry by reason of emerging problems with nutritional antibiotics utilisation and general antimicrobial resistance (Neu, 1992). The application of probiotics in poultry farming is associated with increased resistance to bacterial and protozoal diseases, improved feed conversion and better growth performance (Gupta, 2013). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB): lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, are among the most frequently used probiotics. The role of Lactobacillus spp. as dietary probiotic in poultry nutrition comprises promotion of growth of useful microflora, higher activity of digestive enzymes, improved feed intake and digestibility, growth-promoting effect (Jin et al., 1998). Some negative issues are the most expensive feed containing probiotics, difficulty to guarantee a minimum probiotic content after prolonged storage, sensitivity to most probiotic bacteria to high temperatures, inconsistent effects on production performance and intestinal health in adult birds and last but not least, possible transfer of antimicrobial resistance to microbial pathogens.Prebiotics are indigestible nutrients that stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial intestinal microflora and thus, have a positive effect on the whole body. The supplementation of prebiotics to poultry rations improves intestinal health of birds, their productive performance, improves nutrient utilization, reduces cost of produce and contributes to maintenance of a proper environment (Hajati and Rezaei, 2010). The most commonly used prebiotics are from the group of oligosaccharides: fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, oligofructan, isomalto-oligosaccharides, etc. Plants rich in FOS and inulin are garlic, chicory, onion, artichoke, asparagus, bananas, wheat, tomatoes, etc. (Niness, 1999).Garlic (Allium sativum) is used widely at a global scale as a spice, as well as for control of some infectious and non-infectious diseases in phyto-and traditional medicine, including reduction of blood and liver cholesterol contents. Garlic powder contains FOS with prebiotic effect (Campbell et al., 1997). Furthermore, it contains a varying amount of allicin, vitamins (vitamin С, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin), selenium and potassium (Anonymous, 2014a). The dietary supplementation of garlic powder in chickens was found to be beneficial for growth performance (Raeesi et al., 2010;Issa and Omar, 2012;Elagib et al., 2013).The combination of probiotics with substances with prebiotic activity improves the effect of the former due to creation of more favorable environment for replication of probiotic bacteria in poultry gut. This study was aimed at evaluating the growth performance of male classic broiler chickens whose feed was supplemented with either garlic powder, probiotics or both. Material and methodsA total of 120 male day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were divided into 4 groups. Each comprised three subgroups with 10 sexed male chicks provided...

Abstract. Slaughter traits and possibilities for production of manually deboned meat were investigated in IntroductionThe interest in Japanese quails has been continuously increasing during the last years at a global scale. In many countries, farming of Japanese quails is put on industrial grounds. China, Japan, England, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Estonia, etc. occupy the leader positions in the branch (Kretov, 2012). Since 2014 this species has been included in programmes for financial support of young farmers in Bulgaria. Even though farmers included in these programmes are mainly oriented to egg production, concomitant production of meat from male quails could be organized at quail farms, although not at a large scale.So far, there are no worldwide accepted standards for quail meat production. Some starting points could be found in the research literature for evaluation of carcasses offered at the retail market. These requirements relate mainly to egg-type quails which are not important for Bulgaria. According to them, the minimum st weight of I quality grill carcass should be > 85 g, and slaughter yield -65.5% (Rvankin, 1992).Modern high-producing Japanese quail meat breeds and strains exceed substantially these requirements. Their live weight at 30-35 days of age is from 200 to 250 g (Аfanasiev et al., 2013). Carcasses could be sold either whole, frozen or cooled, or as cutsfrozen or cooled breast and thighs.Japanese quails have high breast and thigh yields, and have meatiness coefficients of 6.1 and 3.3 for breast and thigh, respectively (Kretov, 2012). On average, breast with bone comprise 36.4-38.7% of live weight, the thighs -21.9-24.6%, and the back, neck and wings together make up 35.9-37.8% (Panda and Singh, 1990; Alkan et al., 2010). The percentage of manually deboned meat is as follows: breast meat -30.5-31% of carcass weight, thigh meat: 18.7-21% (Аfanasiev et al., 2013).The aim of the present study was to analyse slaughter traits of the Pharaoh Japanese quail population raised at Trakia UniversityStara Zagora with respect to its potential for production of manually deboned Japanese quail meat. Material and methodsThe study was conducted at the Poultry breeding unit of the Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University -Stara Zagora. Slaughter analysis was performed with 33 male Pharaoh Japanese quails. They were fattened until 35 days of age with compound feed corresponding to biological requirements of the species (Genchev, 2014). The content of the used feed was as follows: l starter (1-17 days of age) -11.1 MJ/kg MЕ, 24% СP, 1.3% lysine, 0.52% methionine, 1.2% Са, 0,5% available Р; l grower (18-24 days of age) -11.2 MJ/kg MЕ, 20% СP; 1% lysine, 0.45% methionine, 1.1% Са, 0.45% available Р; l finisher (25-35 days of age) -11.5 MJ/kg MЕ, 18% СP; 0.9% lysine, 0.4% methionine, 1% Са, 0.4% available Р. At 35 days of age, after 4-hour fasting, quails were slaughtered. The initial processing of carcasses was done by removal of the skin with feathers. Slaughter analysis was performed according to the ...