Effect of breeder age and lighting regimen on growth performance, organ weights, villus development, and bursa of fabricius histological structure in broiler chickens

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This study was carried out to investigate the effect of breeder age and lighting regimen on performance, some organ weights, villus development, and bursa of fabricius histological structure in broiler chickens. A total of 384 one-day-old chicks were obtained from two Ross broiler breeder flocks at 32 (young;Y) and 49 (old, O) weeks of age. Chicks from each breeder age were reared under 18 h light : 6 h dark (18 L : 6 D) (control; CL) or 14 L : 4 D : 2 L : 4 D (split darkness, SD). Body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and mortality were measured weekly during the experiment. At 21 days of age, liver, heart, spleen, and bursa of fabricius weights were recorded, gastrointestinal tract and jejunum lengths were measured, and histomorphometry of villi and bursa of fabricius structure were investigated. Interaction between breeder age and lighting regimen was observed, where Y-CL chicks had the lightest body weight from 7 to 35 days (P < 0.05). Neither breeder age nor lighting regimen influenced feed conversion ratio. SD chicks had longer (P < 0.05) gastrointestinal tract and jejunum, and wider villus in comparison to CL chicks. Lower relative spleen weight was observed in CL chicks compared to SD ones (P < 0.05). It was concluded that split darkness lighting regimen could be used for broiler chickens from young breeders to improve live body weight without affecting feed conversion ratio.

Effect of Age on the Immune and Visceral Organ Weights and Cecal Traits in Modern Broilers

“…However, the present findings shown in Table 6 indicated that these immune organs (bursa of Fabricius and the spleen) were not significantly correlated in young birds (up to 10 days). In this sense, the bursa of Fabricius has been reported to grow at a circadian rate higher than the spleen in the early days of birds [ 53 ]; ( Figure 1 ), since the greatest activity of the spleen as a secondary lymphoid organ occurs in adult birds. However, Perozo et al [ 21 ] reported a correlated association between thymus and spleen; similar results are seen in Table 6 .…”

“…However, Perozo et al [ 21 ] reported a correlated association between thymus and spleen; similar results are seen in Table 6 . Likewise, the liver, spleen, and heart have a positive correlation due to hepatic portal blood circulation; the venous blood that arises from the gastrointestinal organs and the spleen is rich in the digestive substance’s tract [ 53 , 54 ]. These results coincide with Philipsen et al [ 55 ], who showed a positive correlation between the liver and heart, as they connected through the portal vein, which contributes to the detoxification and exchange of arterial blood.…”

Interactions between egg storage duration and broiler breeder age on egg fat content, chicken organ weights, and growth performance

“…Concerning the effect of breeder age, Ipek and Sözcü (2015) reported a higher body weight at 7 D of age with younger flocks (33 vs. 62 wk) and explained this result by the higher yolk sac absorption and the advanced intestinal development in hatchlings of the young flock. However, Sabry et al. (2015) noted a higher body weight at 35 D of chicken age with older breeders (49 vs. 32 wk).…”

The Role of Incubation Conditions in the Onset of Avian Myopathies

“…Artificially incubated eggs are influenced by the temperature, ventilation, humidity, and turning that allow tissue growth, extraembryonic membrane development, gas exchange, and moisture loss (Decuypere and Michels, 1992;French, 1997;Molenaar et al, 2010;Boleli et al, 2016). However, the optimum parameters for all embryos in a machine are not the same due breeder genetics and age, egg composition and yolk size, eggshell and albumen properties, storage time and temperature of storage, among other factors (Molenaar et al, 2010;Yalçin et al, 2014;El Sabry et al, 2015;Nangsuay et al, 2017;Okur et al, 2018).…”