Four trials of identical experimental design were conducted to determine the effects of temperature, dietary Lys level, and dietary Arg:Lys ratios on performance and carcass yield of male broilers. Birds of a commercial strain were grown from 21 to 42 d of age in wire-floored finishing batteries placed in environmental chambers. The chambers were programmed to provide either a constant thermoneutral temperature (21.1 C), a constant cold temperature (15.5 C), or a cycling hot diurnal temperature (25.5 to 33.3 C). Within each environment there was a factorial arrangement of three Lys levels (1.0, 1.1, and 1.2%) with four Arg:Lys ratios (1.1:1, 1.2:1, 1.3:1, and 1.4:1). Environmental temperature significantly influenced virtually every characteristic examined. Hot cyclic temperatures reduced weight gain, feed intake, and breast meat yield, and increased feed conversion, dressing percentage, leg quarter yield, and abdominal fat content. The cold environment promoted increased feed intake and mortality. Ascites and cardiomyopathy were the leading causes of death under cold exposure and thermoneutral conditions, whereas complications arising from heat exposure were the main cause of death under hot cyclic conditions. Levels of Lys affected leg quarter yield and abdominal fat content over all environments but increased breast meat yield only under cold conditions. Increasing Arg:Lys ratios improved feed conversion and dressing percentage and reduced abdominal fat content; it could not be determined whether these responses were consistent with Arg per se or were due to a nonspecific N response. As increasing Lys levels or Arg:Lys ratios did not improve weight gain, increase breast meat yield, or attenuate adverse effects due to heat or cold exposure, it is concluded that the levels of Lys and Arg suggested for 21 to 42 d by the NRC are adequate for birds of this age under the environmental conditions encountered.
An acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) solution was investigated for its antimicrobial effects on broiler carcasses processed under conditions similar to those used in U.S. commercial poultry facilities. Of particular interest was the ability of the ASC solution to reduce natural bioburden in a prechill procedure. A number of parameters such as pretreatment washing of carcasses with water (no wash versus water wash), ASC concentration (500, 850, and 1,200 ppm), method of application (spray versus dip), and method of acid activation (phosphoric acid versus citric acid) were explored to evaluate disinfection conditions. ASC dip solutions (18.9 liters) were freshly prepared for groups of five prechill eviscerated carcasses per treatment (n = 10 carcasses). ASC treatment was shown to be an effective method for significantly reducing naturally occurring microbial contamination on carcasses. Reductions following immersion dipping were demonstrated at all disinfectant concentrations for total aerobes (82.9 to 90.7%), Escherichia coli (99.4 to 99.6%), and total coliforms (86.1 to 98.5%). Additionally, testing showed that ASC solutions maintained stable pH and minimal chlorite ion concentration deviations throughout each treatment. The results of the parameter evaluations indicated that maximal antimicrobial activity was achieved in carcasses that were prewashed and then exposed to a 5-s dip in a solution containing phosphoric acid- or citric acid-activated ASC. At 1,200 ppm ASC, a mild but transitory whitening of the skin was noted on dipped carcasses. The results support the methods currently approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the use of ASC solutions as a prechill antimicrobial intervention in U.S. poultry processing plants.
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