Aim:Yucca schidigera extract has been successfully used as feed additives in the poultry industry. It enhances the growth and productivity in broiler production. Hence, the present study was designed to analyze the effect of Y. schidigera extract in growth, carcass quality and behavior along with its economical utility in broiler rearing.Materials and Methods:Total, 120 numbers of day-old broiler chicks of equal sex ratio were randomly divided into Yucca supplemented treatment and control group, each having 60 birds in three replications of 20 numbers. The feeding management and rearing conditions were similar for all the groups as per the standard except the Yucca supplementation in the treatment group @ 125 mg/kg of feed. The parameters with respect to growth, carcass, behavior, and litter content were recorded as per standard procedures.Results:The Yucca supplementation can effectively enhance growth of 173 g in 6th week by utilizing lesser feed intake than control group, which ultimately proves better feed conversion rate, protein efficiency ratio, and energy efficiency ratio in broiler production. Eviscerated weight of 58.50% for the treatment group was significantly higher (p<0.05) than 54.10% in the control group. The breast meat yield of Yucca group (32.23%) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than control (30.33%). More frequency of agonistic behavioral expressions was noticed in the control group than the treatment group. A profit of 43.68% was received by usage of Yucca supplementation in the diet on live weight basis. Numerically, lower percentage of moisture was present in Yucca treated group than the control.Conclusion:From this study, it can be concluded that Yucca supplementation has an important role in augmenting broiler‘s growth performance, efficiency to utilize feed, protein and energy, and survivability. Hence, use of Yucca powder in broiler ration could be beneficial to maintain the litter quality, which directly enhances the productivity in broiler production without any adverse effect.

The experiment was conducted to study the efficacy of different types of litter amendments on litter quality and broiler performance during winter (December-January). A total number of 180, day-old (Vencobb) broiler chicks were randomly assigned to three equal groups. One bearing control group and other two comprise litter amendments with alum (ATL) and sodium bisulphate (SBTL) treatment groups, each having 60 birds in three replications of 20 numbers for 6 weeks. The findings of the study revealed significant variation (p < .05) in the moisture content and pH of the control and treated litter. This clearly indicates the efficiency of litter treatment products improving the quality of litter thus in turn the ambient environment for the bird. The average body weight was significantly highest (p < .05) in the SBTL group (1912 g) followed closely by the ATL group (1865 g) in comparison to the control group (1822 g) at the end of sixth week. The growing chicks gained significantly (p < .05) more body weight with better FCR, PER, EER and survivability in respective order of succession. The overall hygiene of the broiler chicks was better with less cake formation and without any foot pad dermatitis or breast blister lesion in the treatment groups. Thus it can be concluded that litter amendment with alum (ATL) and sodium bisulphate (SBTL) treatment had significant influence on quality of litter and in turn improved the performances of broiler chicks without any adverse effect. ARTICLE HISTORY

In many parts of the world, the poultry industry has conquered a leading position among all the agricultural and allied sectors. Egg and meat industries have shown terrific improvement due to adoption of modernized management tools and preventive measures to lethal diseases. On the other hand, heat stress has emerged as one of the major constraint for future development of this industry particularly in the hot and humid parts of the world. Since birds are deprived of sweat glands thermoregulation becomes challenging in hot weather. Affected birds become poor producers and huge death in the flock can also be observed in some cases. Therefore, the sole objective of this review is to gather and deliver available scientific reports on heat stress in poultry including its prevention measures.

Spontaneous perforation of uterus is rare, its incidence being about 0.01%-0.5%. We report a rare case of diffuse peritonitis and pneumoperitoneum caused by spontaneously perforated pyometra. A 50-year postmenopausal lady with abdominal pain was admitted to our hospital. Laparotomy was performed because of the suspicion of gastrointestinal perforation with generalized peritonitis. At laparotomy about 1,500 ml of pus present in peritoneal cavity and whole of alimentary tract and gallbladder were normal.A total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingooopherectomy was performed. Histopathological study revealed chronic suppurative endometritis with myometritis of the uterus with no evidence of malignancy. Although spontaneously perforated pyometra is rare, a perforated pyometra should therefore be considered when elderly female presents with acute abdomen.

A total of 60 animals (38 cows, 22 heifers) were selected and were divided into three groups of 20 animals each (containing both anoestrus and repeat breeder) in which treatment was performed for 60 days. Group I: control (farmer practice), T group: group I + hormone (double synch), and T group: group I + hormone (Estra double synch). The growth performances were measured in terms of body weight and average daily gain (ADG). Blood collection was done at the start and end of the experiment for assessment of blood biochemical, hematological, and reproductive status of the animals. Results revealed significant improvement in growth and reproductive performances in treatment group as compared to control group. Higher percentage of conception was achieved in group III (60%) followed by group II (55%). The least percentage was in group I (15%), i.e., in control group. So it was found that the effect of treating the reproductive-disordered animals with Estra double synch gave comparatively better result than double synch hormonal application.