Background: A limited number of studies have tested the effect of diets supplemented with black cumin seed (BCS) on the performance of laying hen. Objective: To determine the effects of various levels of dietary BCS on the performance of laying hen. Birds and methods: Three hundred 40-week-old rural Leghorn (White Leghorn males X F1 females of Fayoumi male X Rhode Island Red female) crossbred hens were randomly assigned to four groups with five replicates of 15 birds each (75 laying hens per group), and fed diets supplemented with 0%, 3%, 4% or 5% BCS for 60 days. Statistical analysis was performed by means of ANOVA.Results: BCS at all levels revealed greater egg production, egg weight and egg mass than the control group. Similarly, feed conversion was improved by 0.50, 0.55 and 0.36 points compared to controls with the addition of 3%, 4% or 5% levels of BCS, respectively. Haugh units and yolk weights of eggs from hens that were fed diets containing 3%, 4% and 5% BCS were significantly greater than those from the control group. Supplementation of 4% or 5% BCS significantly increased shell thickness and decreased serum LDL cholesterol and egg yolk cholesterol concentration as compared to other groups. Mean hemagglutination inhibition titers against Newcastle disease virus were higher than in controls. Conclusion: BCS at levels of 4% or 5% positively influenced egg production, egg weight and shell quality. Furthermore, it decreased the concentration of serum LDL cholesterol and egg yolk cholesterol concentrations and enhanced immunity against Newcastle disease virus.
A total of 225 hens (18 weeks of age) of each Rhode Island Red male x Fayoumi female (RIFI), Fayoumi male x Rhode Island Red female (FIRI) and White Leghorn male x FIRI female (RLH) were maintained on deep litter system for a period of 72 weeks of age. In floor pens, each crossbred chicken was randomly distributed between pens, with 21 to 24 birds of the same breed per pen (2.00 to 2.50 ft 2 /bird). The results revealed that the age of sexual maturity was lowest in RIFI followed by FIRI and RLH chickens. The highest egg production was obtained by three-way crossbred chickens (RLH) as compared with two-way crossbred chickens (RIFI and FIRI). The highest egg weight was observed in RLH than those of FIRI and RIFI crossbred chickens. The internal egg quality parameters included yolk weight, albumen weight, yolk + albumen weight and albumen height were same in all crossbred chickens. There was non-significant (P>0.05) difference in blood glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, calcium, protein, uric acid and ALP values among all crossbred chickens. It may be concluded that three-way crossbred chickens (RLH) showed better egg traits than two-way crossbred chickens (RIFI and FIRI) with lower mortality. The RIFI crossbred chickens achieved sexual maturity earlier than both FIRI and RLH crossbred chickens with lower egg traits.
A total of 2001 un-sexed day-old chicks of each Desi, Fayoumi and Rhode Island Red (RIR) breeds were obtained from hatchery of Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi. The birds were maintained on deep litter system for a period of 72 weeks. In floor pens, each breed was reared separately in a single pen until seven weeks of age when 2001 birds were randomly distributed between pens, with 21 to 24 birds of the same breed per pen (2.00 to 2.50 ft 2 /bird). The results revealed that the average day-old weight was highest in RIR, intermediate in Desi and lowest in Fayoumi. The RIR breed consumed more feed and gained maximum (p B0.05) weight than those of Desi and Fayoumi breeds at all ages of growing phase. The feed conversion was poor (pB0.05) in Desi and better in RIR breed. Desi and Fayoumi chicks had lowest (p B0.05) mortality than RIR breed. The breast and thigh meat composition was found non-significant (p 0.05) amongst three breeds. The age of sexual maturity was lowest in Fayoumi followed by RIR and Desi. The highest egg production was obtained by RIR with 41% followed by Fayoumi (36%) and the Desi breed (29%). The egg weight and egg mass were highest (p B0.05) in RIR, but non-significant (p 0.05) differences were found between Fayoumi and Desi breeds. The internal egg quality parameters including yolk weight, albumen weight, yolk plus albumin weight and albumin height were significantly higher in RIR breed than those of Fayoumi and Desi breeds. However, shell and yolk thickness did not differ significantly amongst three breeds. There was non-significant (p 0.05) difference in blood glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, calcium, protein, uric acid and alkaline phosphatase values amongst three breeds. There was non-significant (p 0.05) difference in haematological values among all breeds. The total erythrocyte count, haemoglobin and packed cell volume increased with the advancement of age. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that overall RIR chickens performed better than Fayoumi and Desi chickens. However, early age of sexual maturity was noticed in Fayoumi chickens, and low mortality was observed in Desi chickens.
A total of 2001 unsexed day-old-chicks of each Fayoumi, Rhode Island Red (RIR), RIR × Fayoumi (RIFI) and Fayoumi × RIR (FIRI) were obtained from hatchery of Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi. The birds were maintained on deep litter system for a period of 20 weeks. The results revealed that the average day old weight was highest in RIR and FIRI, intermediate in RIFI and lowest in Fayoumi chickens. The RIR breed consumed more feed and gained maximum (P<0.05) weight gain than those of Fayoumi and crossbred chickens at all ages of growing phase. The poor (P<0.05) feed conversion was observed in Fayoumi and better feed conversion was recorded in RIR and both crossbred chickens. The crossbred chickens had lowest (P<0.05) mortality than purebred chickens. The highest dressing percentage was observed in FIRI (62.60) followed by RIFI (62.40%), RIR (57.50) and Fayoumi (54.08) chickens. The breast and thigh meat composition had non-significant (P>0.05) difference among pure and crossbred chickens. There was non-significant (P>0.05) difference in haematological values among all chickens. The total erythrocyte number, haemoglobin and packed cell volume increased with the advancement of age. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that crossbred chickens gained better body weight than Fayoumi and moderate than RIR chickens with lower mortality. The crossbred chickens of FIRI showed better performance in all traits than crossbred chickens of RIFI.
Ahmed (2013) Comparative study of growth performance, meat quality and haematological parameters of three-way crossbred chickens with reciprocal F1 crossbred chickens in a subtropical environment,
A study was conducted to evaluate three different probiotic levels, using drinking water supplemented with 0 (control), 1, 2 or 3 ml/L of Protexin (probiotic). In a 2 )4 factorial design, 360 of each reciprocal crossbred (Rhode Island Red [RIR] )Fayoumi [FY]) cockerels (six weeks old) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. Each diet was offered to three pens of 30 RIR )FY cockerels each or three pens of 30 FY )RIR cockerels each. At 12 weeks of age, body weight (BW) and feed conversion were determined. At the end of 42 d of experiment, 12 birds per treatment were slaughtered to evaluate carcass characteristics, abdominal fat contents and the internal organs. Blood haemato-biochemical parameters were also determined. Haemagglutination inhibtion antibody titres against Newcastle disease virus and lymphoid organs weight/body weight ratio were also determined. The BW and better feed conversion of birds given 3 ml/L of probiotic in drinking water was significantly greater than birds given water without probiotic. The cockerels of FY male )RIR female had higher growth rate than the cockerels of RIR male )FY female in all groups. There was no mortality recorded at higher levels of probiotic in both strains. Differences in carcass characteristics, organs weight, meat composition, haematological values and high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein concentrations among all the groups were nonsignificant. However, abdominal fat and cholesterol contents were reduced significantly in supplemented groups. Feeding levels of 2Á3 ml/L of probiotic, did positively affect the immune system within the parameters measured. It may be concluded that performance, blood chemistry and immunity against disease in cockerels could be maintained when supplementing high level of probiotic incorporated in crossbred cockerel's drinking water.
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