this study was performed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with garlic and turmeric powder as growth promoter agents on performance, carcass traits, serum biochemistry, and antioxidant enzyme activities of growing rabbits. a total of 112 new Zealand white rabbits (nZw) at 5 weeks of age were randomly assigned to seven treatments with four replicates. the dietary treatments consisted of 7 groups as follows; the basal diet as control, phytogenic additives groups were supplemented with 2, 4, and 6 g/kg garlic or turmeric powder added to the basal diet. there were no linear and quadratic differences (p<0.05) in growth performance after garlic or turmeric supplementation at all studied ages. compared with the control group, supplementation of diets with garlic or turmeric linearly and quadratically elevated immunity biomarkers such as total protein (tp), albumin (al) and immunoglobulin (igg) levels and decreased (linearly and quadratically, p<0.05) aspartate aminotransferase (ast), alanine aminotransferase (alt), triglyceride (tg) and total cholesterol (tc) levels in rabbit serum. however, tp, al, globulin (gl), igg and igm levels were linearly and quadratically enhanced with increasing turmeric levels versus the control diet. hepatic superoxide dismutase (sod), catalase (cat) and glutathione peroxidase gsh-px activities as well as reduced glutathione (gsh) concentrations were linearly and quadratically (p<0.05) improved in garlic or turmeric additives fed groups. while mda concentration was statistically (linearly, p= 0.022) reduced in comparison with the control group. it could be concluded that garlic or turmeric supplementation (2, 4 and 6 g/kg) did not linearly and quadratically affect growth performance but improved the immunity responses and lowered the lipid profile in blood and lipid peroxidation in liver and increased hepatic antioxidant activity in treated rabbits.

Insects could be a potential replacement of protein-rich ingredients in poultry diets. Among these insects, black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has a high content of protein and fat, which reinforces the potential of using it in poultry feed formulation and makes it one of the most promising insect species for commercial production. Protein content as well as amino acid profile in H. illucens larvae is comparable to those in many protein-rich feedstuffs such as fish meal and soybean meal. BSF can convert organic wastes into a precious source of nutrients, such as proteins, lipids, and chitin, which contribute to reducing the environmental burden and pollution potential arising from organic waste accumulation. This review emphasizes the significance of this insect as a “green” technology in the extremely variable recycling of organic waste and generates a sustainable protein source as well as the importance of its use as a substitute of protein-rich feedstuff in poultry feed manufacturing.

The current study aimed to investigate the influence of dietary zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs), curcumin nanoparticles (CurNPs), and Bacillus licheniformis (Bl) on the growth, carcass, blood metabolites, and the count of some cecal microorganisms of Indian River (IR) broilers. Chicks were allotted into seven experimental groups: control group, 1st, 2nd and 3rd groups were given diets enriched with ZnNPs, CurNPs and Bl (3.0, 5.0 and 2.0 cm3/kg diet, respectively). The 4th, 5th and 6th groups were given diets supplemented with ZnNPs (3.0) + Bl (2.0) (ZP); ZnNPs (3.0) + CurNPs (5.0) (ZC) and ZnNPs (3.0) + CurNPs (5.0) + Bl (2.0) (ZCP) cm3/kg diet, respectively. The results revealed that ZnNPs and CurNPs exhibited a considerable antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. They also inhibited the growth of microbes in a range of 50–95 µg/mL. The diet supplemented with ZnNPs, CurNPs, and Bl increased the body weight compared to the control after five weeks of age. Additionally, values of daily feed intake increased in these groups; however, the feed conversion ratio decreased. All values of carcass traits were better than that of the control. The treatments led to decreased abdominal lipids compared to the control. The activity of liver enzymes and malondialdehyde (MDA) activity decreased in the treated groups. In a converse trend, the levels of oxidative enzymes, amylase, protease, lipase and immunoglobulin were higher than that of the control. Meat quality properties were improved and cecal microbial counts were decreased. In conclusion, the ZnNPs, CurNPs, and Bl improved the broiler’s weights, carcass traits, meat quality traits, as well as some blood indices and cecal microbial load. Therefore, the inclusion of ZnNPs, CurNPs, or Bl is recommended for broiler feeding regimens to improve the performance and health status.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) leaves and/or seed powder on laying Japanese quail performance in terms of egg production, egg quality, blood serum characteristics, and reproduction. In total, 168 Japanese quails (120 hens and 48 males) at eight weeks of age in laying period were randomly distributed to four treatment groups, with six replicates per group and seven birds (five hens and two males) per replicate. The first group (G1) served as a control group, while G2, G3 and G4 groups were supplemented with M. oleifera leaves (ML) and M. oleifera seeds (MS) and their combination ((1 g/kg ML; 1 g/kg MS; and 1 ML g/kg + 1 MS g/kg (MSL), respectively). From the results, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, egg weight, fertility and hatchability from fertile eggs, egg and yolk index, and Haugh unit were not affected by dietary treatments. However, egg production, egg mass, eggshell thickness, and hatchability were significantly increased and blood aspartate transaminase (AST) and urea decreased in the MS treatment. Both triglycerides and total cholesterol were reduced (p < 0.05) in all treatments with ML, MS, and MSL, with no significant differences in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, total protein, globulin, and A/G ratio among dietary treatment. Our results clearly indicated that the inclusion of M. oleifera seeds in Japanese quail diet significantly increased egg production and improved hatchability, along with some egg quality parameters, and also lowered some blood biochemical components.

This work investigated the effect of dietary green coffee powder (GCP) on the growth, body characteristics, antioxidant status, serum metabolites, and meat quality of 308 Ross broiler chickens. A total of 180 non-sexed seven-day old chicks were randomly distributed into three experimental groups. The untreated group received a basal diet (control), while the second and third groups were fed the original diet fortified with 1.25 and 2.5 g GCP/kg, respectively, for four weeks. Results revealed an improvement (p < 0.05) in live body weight in the group fed 2.5 g/kg GCP at five weeks of age compared to the other groups. Broiler Chicks fed the 1.25 g/kg GCP diet showed a more significant decrease in live body weight than the control group at five weeks of age. The GCP supplementation at level 2.5 g/kg GCP enhanced feed conversion ratio at 3–5 and 1–5 weeks of age. Dietary treatments did not affect (p > 0.05) carcass, dressing, and giblets percentages. Different levels of GCP significantly affected the liver, abdominal fat, intestinal length, and lymphoid organs percentages. The changes in serum blood traits and serum oxidative stress markers were not significant among the control and the treated groups. With the increment levels of GCP, results showed elevated values of meat pH, lightness (L*), and redness (a*), as well as a significant decrease in its yellowness (b*). Broilers fed 2.5 g/kg GCP diet showed a significant reduction in the total bacterial count, total yeasts and molds count, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., and Salmonella spp., as well as increasing counts of lactic acid bacteria. The dietary GCP 2.5 g/kg diet supplementation could be used to decrease the pathogenic microorganisms’ populations in the broiler’s gut. The present experiment has shown that in unsexed broiler chickens, green coffee powder at level of 2.5 g/kg improved the live body weight and feed conversion ratio and decreased the pathogenic bacterial count in the gut.

An experiment that included some inclusions of corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) with or without supplementation of probiotic bacteria to Hi-sex Brown laying hen diets was conducted to evaluate the impacts on performance, egg quality, blood metabolites and nitrogen and phosphorus excretion in the manure. A total of 216 twenty-two-week-old Hi-sex Brown laying hens were randomly divided into eight treatment groups in a factorial design (4 × 2) experiment, which included four levels of DDGS (0, 50, 100 and 150 g/kg diet) plus two levels of Bacillus subtilis probiotic (0 or 1000 mg/kg diet, with a concentration of 1.5 × 108 CFU/g of dried product). The experimental period extended from 22 to 34 weeks of age. The results showed that linear increase in DDGS level up to 150 g/kg improved (p ≤ 0.01) the values of feed consumption, egg shape index and yolk colour compared to the control and other treatment groups. Inclusion of dietary DDGS up to 150 g/kg in layer diets led to a significant decrease in egg mass and a significant increase in Haugh unit score compared to other groups. In the bacillus group, the values of feed conversion, egg weight and egg mass enhanced by 6.45, 3.27 and 7.60% respectively compared with the control diet. Total protein, albumin, triglycerides, cholesterol, calcium and ammonia in serum were significantly (p ≤ 0.01) influenced by DDGS inclusion. The excreted nitrogen decreased by 8.62 and 4.31% in hens fed 50 or 100 g/kg of DDGS respectively, while excreted phosphorous decreased by 3.33, 7.22 and 10.56% in hens fed 50, 100 or 150 g/kg of DDGS respectively as compared to the control group. It could be concluded that increasing DDGS inclusion level in the diet up to 10% and the supplementation of probiotic bacteria improved the productive performance of laying hens and mitigated the harmful emissions from chicken manure; this means better production within environmentally friendly conditions.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the dietary levels of protein, methionine (Met), as well as probiotic on productive performance, feed utilization, and environmental pollution by N in Lohmann Brown laying hens. A total number of 160 Lohmann Brown laying hens at 20 weeks of age were randomly divided into 8 treatment groups using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design experiment. The experiment involved two levels of crude protein (16 and 18 %), two levels of Met (0.45 and 0.50 %), and two concentrations of probiotic (0 or 1 g/kg diet, with a concentration of 10 CFU/g of Lactobacillus acidophilus) within 20-42 weeks of age. Results revealed that egg production parameters were significantly (P < 0.01) improved for hens fed diets of 18 % CP comparing with that of 16 % protein within the period from 26 to 30 weeks of age. Protein utilization and feed efficiency values were enhanced with 0.67 and 0.72 % Met during the period of 26-30 weeks of the age. For the N pollution, results showed that increasing crude protein in the diet from 16 to 18 % caused significant (P < 0.01) increase in the excreted N from 0.349 to 0.492 g/d. The methionine level of 0.72 % recorded the highest values of total consumed N being 3.98 g/d and excreted N being 0.527 g/d comparing with the other levels. It could be concluded that the best productive performance could be given by using 0.72 % total sulfur amino acids (TSAA). Furthermore, the dietary level of 18 % CP with 0.72 % Met is preferred in feeding laying hens through the whole experimental period. Ecologically, reducing the level of crude protein in layer diets to be 16 % along with the supplementation of Met can play an important role in minimizing the pollution with N from poultry excretion.

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of feed restriction systems, herbal mixture and their interactions on growth performance, carcass traits, and microbial aspects of growing New Zealand White (NZW) rabbit kept from 5 to 13 weeks of age. A 3 Â 4 factorial arrangement was performed, including three feed restriction systems (ad-libitum, 90%, and 80% of ad-libitum) and four dietary supplementation levels of herbal mix (0, 0.30%, 0.50% and 0.70%). A total number of 120 rabbits (male and female ratio 1:1) at five weeks of age were randomly allotted into twelve experimental groups (n ¼ 10 each). Results showed a significant decrease in body weight, body weight gain and feed intake in restricted-fed rabbits compared to the control group (ad-libitum). HERBS levels significantly influenced the growth performance and carcass traits of rabbits. The herbal blend had a positive effect on reducing the population of pathogenic microorganisms and increasing the population of lactic acid bacteria. Conclusively, it could be concluded that the feed restriction system has beneficial effects in the improvement of feed conversion ratio (FCR), weight gain, and carcass traits. In addition, HERBS supplementation to the growing rabbits resulted in significant improvements in growth performance, carcass characteristics, and microbial aspects of rabbits kept from 5 to 13 weeks of age. HIGHLIGHTS:This work investigated the effect of feed restriction systems (FRS), herbal mix (HERBS), and their interactions with rabbits. Restricted feed decreased live body weight during all ages studied. Feed conversion ratio, weight gain and carcass traits were improved due to FRS. The HERBS improved the growth, carcass traits, and microbial aspects of rabbits.