Animal and poultry nutrition
omolbanin dahmardeh ghaam abad; kamal shojaeian; mosafa yousef elahi; poorya Dadvar; Hasan Fazaeli
Abstract
In order to evaluate the feasibility of producing date leaf silage using different levels of date molasses and urea, an experiment was conducted with 4 treatments including: 1) 90% green date leaves and 10% date molasses, 2) 90% green date leaves, 9.62% date molasses and 0.38% urea, 3) 85% dry date leaves, ...
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In order to evaluate the feasibility of producing date leaf silage using different levels of date molasses and urea, an experiment was conducted with 4 treatments including: 1) 90% green date leaves and 10% date molasses, 2) 90% green date leaves, 9.62% date molasses and 0.38% urea, 3) 85% dry date leaves, 14.38% date molasses and 0.62% urea, and 4) 85% dry date leaves and 15% date molasses. The composition of the silages was calculated based on fresh weight. The results showed that the highest percentage of dry matter and organic matter was significantly observed in treatments 1 and 2 (P<0.01). The highest amount of crude protein was observed in treatment 3 (P<0.05). Also, neutral and acidic detergent fibers were significantly higher in treatments 1 and 4 (P<0.05). The total quality assessment score of silages was significantly higher in treatment 3 (P<0.01). Under the influence of different levels of urea and molasses, the ammonia nitrogen of silages was significantly higher in treatment 3 (P<0.01). Also, the amount of water-soluble carbohydrates was significantly higher in treatments 2 and 3 (P<0.01). The highest volume of gas production, digestibility of organic matter and metabolizable energy were significantly observed in treatments 3 and 4 (P<0.01). The results of the present study showed that adding urea and date molasses improved the quality and nutritional value of date leaf silage, and the best silage was treatment 3 with a combination of 85% dry date leaves, 14.38% date molasses, and 0.62% urea.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Samira Nazari; Ayoub Azizi; Ali Kiani; Maryam Asnaashari
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of substituting different levels of urea with biuret on growth performance, rumen fermentation parameters, microbial hydrolytic enzyme activity, and rumen microbial protein synthesis in Afshari fattening male lambs. Twenty-eight lambs with average ...
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The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of substituting different levels of urea with biuret on growth performance, rumen fermentation parameters, microbial hydrolytic enzyme activity, and rumen microbial protein synthesis in Afshari fattening male lambs. Twenty-eight lambs with average age of 135±15 days and average live weight of 34±3.45 kg were used with 4 treatments and 7 replications in a completely randomized design. Four experimental diets were used, including substitution of 0 (control), 34, 67 and 100% levels of biuret instead of urea on dty matter (DM) basis during a 70-day fattening period. Results showed that with increasing the level of biuret in the diet, total weight gain, average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio significantly improved linearly compared to the control treatment (P<0.05). But, the average final weight and DM and organic matter intake were not affected by the experimental diets (P>0.05). With increasing dietary biuret level, rumen ammonia-N concentration and rumen protease activity decreased linearly (P<0.05). Ruminal acetate concentration and microcrystalline cellulase enzyme activity increased linearly with increasing dietary biuret level compared to the urea-containing treatment (P<0.05). The urinary allantoin concentration, total urinary purine derivatives excreted, total absorbed purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis increased linearly with increasing biuret levels in the diet (P<0.05). The concentration of uric acid and xanthine+hypoxanthine were not affected by the experimental diets (P<0.05). Overall, replacing biuret with urea up to 100% in fattening lambs diet improved growth performance, fermentation parameters, and rumen microbial protein synthesis.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Amar Alzarb; Mehran Torki; Soudabeh Moradi; Reza Abdollahi; Ali Khatibjo
Abstract
This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of calcium (Ca) source and organic acid on performance, egg quality, digestibility coefficient of Ca in limestone, oyster shell and their combination in commercial laying hens. A total of 288 Lohmann (LSL-Lite) laying hens were assigned to 6 treatments, ...
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This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of calcium (Ca) source and organic acid on performance, egg quality, digestibility coefficient of Ca in limestone, oyster shell and their combination in commercial laying hens. A total of 288 Lohmann (LSL-Lite) laying hens were assigned to 6 treatments, 8 replicates, and 6 hens per each from 50 to 62 wk of age in a completely randomized trial according to a 3×2 factorial arrangement with 3 sources of Ca: limestone (Lim), oyster shell (OS) and their 50:50 combination (LiOS) with or without organic acid (Tegacid®, 2 g/kg). The TIDCa for Lim, OS and LiOS were 69.9, 65.4, and 62.2%, respectively while by organic acid addition was obtained as 74.4, 74, and 75.3%, respectively. Inclusion of organic acid significantly improved ileal digestibility of Ca in diets containing OS or LiOS (P < 0.01). The interaction between Ca source and organic acid were significant (P > 0.05) for the performance parameters at the end of the experiment. The greatest percent of egg production was observed in the birds fed oyster shell + organic acid, which had a significant difference with other experimental treatments (P < 0.01). Overall, there was no considerable difference in Ca apparent digestibility coefficients in three sources of Lim, OS and 50:50 combination of OS + Lim in laying hens, but the addition of organic acid improved calcium digestibility and shell quality of the hens fed oyster shell alone or in combination with limestone.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Seyed Adel Moftakharzadeh; Mohammad Ali Behrouzi lak; Seyed Abdullah Hosseini; Amir Hossein Alizadeh-Ghamsari; Hosna Hajati
Abstract
The effects of corn and soybean meal substitution by the graded levels of low tannin Faba bean in broiler finisher pellet diets on performance, carcass characteristics, and some biochemical and gastrointestinal tract parameters of broiler chickens were investigated. 2000 one-day-old Ross broilers were ...
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The effects of corn and soybean meal substitution by the graded levels of low tannin Faba bean in broiler finisher pellet diets on performance, carcass characteristics, and some biochemical and gastrointestinal tract parameters of broiler chickens were investigated. 2000 one-day-old Ross broilers were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet for the starter and grower period. Then 600 birds with almost similar weights (near the standard weight) were selected and divided into four treatments with 5 replicas (30 birds for each pen) to consume the experimental diets for 20 days (from 24 to 44d). The experimental diets were: control group corn-soybean meal-based diet without fava bean 3 other groups were fed 7/5, 15, and 25% faba bean, respectively. There was no difference in average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among 4 experimental groups (P>0/05). Only birds received 15 and 25% faba bean had significantly lower total cholesterol in comparison with the control group (P<0/05). The results of carcass quality showed that only feeding 15% faba bean significantly increase l* indicator and breast muscle protein (P<0/05). This study showed that different levels of Faba bean (7/5, 15, and 25%) can be used in broiler diet finishers without any negative effects on birds' performance. Even though feeding all levels of low-tannin faba bean reduced the feed cost per kg live body weight in comparison with the control group, but the most economical level for using low-tannin faba bean in broiler feed was 7/5%.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Motaleb Ebrahimi; M. Daneshyar; Hamed Ahmadi; Sina Payvastegan; Mohammad Afrouziyeh
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between male and female broilers and to determine the gender effect on performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microbial population and blood parameters of broilers. For this purpose, 120 one-day-old male and female Ross 308 chicks were sexed ...
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between male and female broilers and to determine the gender effect on performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microbial population and blood parameters of broilers. For this purpose, 120 one-day-old male and female Ross 308 chicks were sexed and divided into 2 groups (60 males and 60 females) with 6 replicates and 10 birds each. The results showed that feed intake of grower finisher and whole experimental periods and body weight gain of grower and whole experimental periods were greater in male broilers than in female ones (P<0.05). The height of the duodenum and jejunum villus and the ratio of villus height to jejunum crypt depth were higher in male broiler chickens than in female birds (P<0.05). Female broilers had greater crypt depth in the jejunum. Blood glucose, uric acid, albumin, and total protein concentrations were significantly higher in male birds than in female birds (P<0.05). However, blood triglyceride, cholesterol, and T3 concentrations were higher in female broilers (P<0.05). Lactobacillus bacterial populations in the ileum and cecum of male broilers were higher than in female broilers (P<0.05). In general, male and female broilers differ in most of the parameters studied, and the use of male or female birds affects the results of the research. Therefore, it is recommended that researchers seek alternative methods, including estimating the sex effect using intelligent computational methods, due to the existing differences and difficulties in determining sex at day one of age.
Animal and poultry nutrition
AMIRREZA SAFAEI; Hasan Fazaeli; ALIREZA AGHASHAHI; Mehdi Amirsadeghi
Abstract
Alhagi was cultivated under different irrigation regimes (conventional and drought stress conditions) and varying levels of water hardness at research farms in Yazd Province, Iran. The plants were harvested at the early flowering stage.The harvested forages were then transported to the National Animal ...
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Alhagi was cultivated under different irrigation regimes (conventional and drought stress conditions) and varying levels of water hardness at research farms in Yazd Province, Iran. The plants were harvested at the early flowering stage.The harvested forages were then transported to the National Animal Science Research Institute, where their chemical composition, in vitro gas production from ruminal fermentation(measured over incubation times ranging from2 to 96hours), two-stage digestibility, and methane gas output were measured.In addition, metabolizable energy and relative forage value were determined.The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with six treatments and three replications. The experimental treatments included:(1) Alhagi cultivated from seed and irrigated with fresh water under normal conditions;(2) Alhagi cultivated from seed and irrigated with fresh water under drought stress;(3) Alhagi cultivated from seed and irrigated with brackish water under normal conditions(4) Alhagi cultivated from seed and irrigated with saline water under drought stress;(5 Alhagi cultivated from seed and irrigated with saline water under normal conditions; and (6)Alhagi cultivated from seed and irrigated with saline water under drought stress.The results showed that the highest crude protein contents were observed in treatment3(10.7%DM),respectively, while the lowest values were found in treatmen2(8.5%DM), and6. The gas production(24h fermentation) was highest in treatment6 (36.2 mL/200mg) and lowest in treatment1(30.8mL/200mg).The highest metabolizable energy(7.7MJ/Kg) and OMD(59.2%DM) were observed in treatment3. Concluded: Regarding nutritional value, treatment 3 had the highest and treatment 6 the lowest values.Cultivating Alhagi with brackish water facilitates better fulfillment of livestock nutritional requirements and helps reduce feed costs in arid regions.
Honey bee
Hajieh Lotfi; Mahdi Mokhber; Ali Hashemi
Abstract
Honeybee (Apis mellifera) rank among ecologically significant insects, providing critical pollination services that maintain ecosystem stability. These pollination services substantially enhance global food security and contribute to agricultural economics. Consequently, optimizing beekeeping practices ...
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Honeybee (Apis mellifera) rank among ecologically significant insects, providing critical pollination services that maintain ecosystem stability. These pollination services substantially enhance global food security and contribute to agricultural economics. Consequently, optimizing beekeeping practices and enhancing colony productivity remain key research priorities. We investigated polymorphisms in the tyrmine receptor gene (AmTYR1) and their potential association with pollen- foraging performance in 125 honey bee colonies. This study recorded the pollen production of 125 honeybee colonies with high genetic diversity (derived from different queens) in an apiary located in Urmia County over five consecutive weeks (July to early August 2024) using standard pollen traps and a digital scale. Three to four pupal per colony were collected from the monitored colonies for genetic analysis. Pupal samples were preserved in 70% ethanol and subsequently flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen for homogenization. Genomic DNA was isolated using a modified CTAB protocol. A 526-bp fragment of AmTYR1 was PCR- amplified, with polymorphism screening performed via single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) electrophorsis on 12% poacrylamide-gels. The mean pollen collected per session was 51.59 grams (range: 5–201 grams), highlighting significant functional diversity in pollen-foraging performance. While obtaining high-quality DNA from honey bee larvae presented technical challenges, we successfully optimized the extraction protocol. Target loci demonstrated robust amplication, and SSCP analysis showed consistent detection sensitivity. SSCP profiling revealed monomorphisms at the examined AmTYR1 locus across all Iranian Apis mellifera samples. This monomorphism may reflect population-specific genetic conservation or intrinsic stability of examined locus.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Afrooz Sharifi; Bahareh Taheri Dezfuli; Alireza Aghashahi
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the silage properties and nutritional value of total mixed ration silage (TMRS) based on sugarcane pith and rice straw in feeding fattening lambs under in vitro and in vivo conditions and in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments included ...
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The present study was conducted to investigate the silage properties and nutritional value of total mixed ration silage (TMRS) based on sugarcane pith and rice straw in feeding fattening lambs under in vitro and in vivo conditions and in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments included 1) control diet based on wheat straw and alfalfa), and experimental diets containing 10, 20 and 30% sugarcane pith and rice straw mixture based on dry matter (DM) in diet containing forage corn and concentrate. The results of in vitro experiments showed that there was no significant difference between the different treatments in terms of the volume of gas production (GP) at different times, the potential (b) and rate (c) of GP, DM disappearance, organic matter (OM) disappearance and metabolizable energy (P<0.05). In vivo experiment showed that DM and OM intake, average daily gain and total weight gain in TMRS diet based on 20% sugarcane pith and rice straw were significantly higher compared to the control diet (P<0.05). The rumen ammonia-N concentration and acetate increased significantly in TMRS diet compared to control (P<0.05). The total blood protein concentration was higher in TMRS diet compared to control diet (P<0.05). Overall, the use of complete feed silage containing 20% sugarcane peat and rice straw improved growth performance and metabolic indices of fattening lambs while reducing feeding costs.
Honey bee
Ataollah Rahimi
Abstract
Hygiene behavior of honey bee has been considered as a potential trait associated with resistance to honey bee pests and diseases especially the Varroa destructor, and its expression in worker bees contributes to the social immunity of honey bee colonies. The ability of workers to detect and remove unhealthy ...
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Hygiene behavior of honey bee has been considered as a potential trait associated with resistance to honey bee pests and diseases especially the Varroa destructor, and its expression in worker bees contributes to the social immunity of honey bee colonies. The ability of workers to detect and remove unhealthy or dead brood prevents the transmission of brood diseases inside the colony. Over the last five decades, this behavior has been extensively studied and improved in several research and breeding programs. Until the 1990s, there have been no major new insights on the efficiency of this behavior against American foulbrood and chalkbrood. In the last two decades, extensive studies have been conducted on the hygienic behavior of bees against the Varroa destructor, fueling the debate regarding the efficiency of hygienic behavior against this parasite. Breeding programs have shown that selection for one particular trait might also affect other traits. Thus, we also review the cost of trade-offs between hygienic behavior and other economically important traits for bee breeders. Generally, the benefits of hygienic behavior seem to largely outweigh its costs for both colonies and bee breeders.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Mohammad Javad Agah; Elnaz Kami; Alidad Boostani; Majid Hashemi; Zeynab Amiri Ghanatsaman
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of replacing corn grain with triticale in the diet on the performance, carcass characteristics, small intestine morphology, and acidity of small intestine and cecal contents in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) from 15 to 38 days of age. In ...
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This study was conducted to investigate the effects of replacing corn grain with triticale in the diet on the performance, carcass characteristics, small intestine morphology, and acidity of small intestine and cecal contents in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) from 15 to 38 days of age. In this experiment, 300 Japanese quails were distributed in a completely randomized design with 20 experimental units (5 treatments with 4 replicates of 15 birds each). The experimental treatments included: 1) control diet based on corn and soybean meal, 2) replacing 25% of corn with triticale, 3) replacing 50% of corn with triticale, 4) replacing 75% of corn with triticale, and 5) 100% replacement of corn grain with triticale grain. Compared to the control group, replacing corn grain with triticale up to 100% in the diet had no significant effect on feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and feed cost per kilogram of live weight produced throughout the entire rearing period (P≤0.05). No significant differences were observed between the experimental treatments and the control group in terms of carcass characteristics, acidity of small intestine digesta, and intestinal histological indices (P≤0.05). Therefore, it is possible to replace 100% of corn grain with triticale in balanced diets of Japanese quails during the growth period (15 to 38 days of age).
Animal and poultry nutrition
hosna hajati; abbasali gheisari; omid hamidi
Abstract
The effect of using protein concentrate instead of soybean meal on growth performance, production index, blood parameters and humoral of native chicken was assessed. By using a total of 192 one-d-old native chicks (mixed-sex), this study was done as a CRD design with 6 treatments, four replicates, and ...
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The effect of using protein concentrate instead of soybean meal on growth performance, production index, blood parameters and humoral of native chicken was assessed. By using a total of 192 one-d-old native chicks (mixed-sex), this study was done as a CRD design with 6 treatments, four replicates, and 8 birds in each replicate for 8 weeks. The experimental treatments included substitution of different levels of protein concentrate instead of soybean meal (0, 25, 50, 75, 100 percent) in diet contained recommended level of crude protein for native chicken, and one treatment was as 100 percent protein concentrate substitution and contained 10 percent lower level of crude protein compared to recommended level for native chicken. Results showed that the highest body weight gain was related to chickens fed with treatments 2, 3, 4, or 5; the highest feed intake was related to chickens fed with treatments 4 or 5; and the highest feed conversion ratio was related to chickens fed with treatments 6 (P<0.05). The highest and the lowest feed cost per kg body weight gain was related to the chickens fed with control or treatment 4 (P<0.05). The highest and the lowest production index was related to the chickens fed with treatments 4 or 6 (P<0.05). In general, substitution of 75 percent of soybean meal by protein concentrate caused optimal growth performance and the lowest feed cost per kg body weight gain of native chickens.
Animal and poultry nutrition
Vahid Salehi; Reza Vakili; mahdi Elahi torshizi
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of calcium carbonate particle size, phytase enzyme with and without nighttime feeding on performance, egg quality, bone characteristics, blood parameters, and mineral digestibility in laying hens aged 60 to 70 weeks. A total of 720 Hy-line (W-36) laying ...
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This study was conducted to investigate the effects of calcium carbonate particle size, phytase enzyme with and without nighttime feeding on performance, egg quality, bone characteristics, blood parameters, and mineral digestibility in laying hens aged 60 to 70 weeks. A total of 720 Hy-line (W-36) laying hens were allocated in a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design with two types of calcium carbonate particle sizes (100% fine (<0.5 mm) and 75% coarse (2–4 mm) + 25% fine), two levels of phytase enzyme (0 and 300 FTU/kg), and nighttime feeding (with and without). During the experiment, a significant effect of calcium carbonate particle size was observed on improving feed conversion ratio (FCR) and tibia bone strength (P<0.05). Phytase enzyme significantly improved FCR, eggshell percentage, and ash, calcium, and phosphorus content in the tibia (P<0.05). Nighttime feeding resulted in an increase in egg weight, eggshell percentage, and alkaline phosphatase activity, as well as a reduction in serum concentrations of calcium and phosphorus (P<0.05). The interaction between calcium carbonate particle size and phytase was significant for serum calcium levels (P<0.05). In conclusion, the use of coarser calcium carbonate particles together with phytase supplementation and night feeding improved feed conversion ratio, eggshell quality, and tibia strength. This combination can be recommended as an effective nutritional strategy to enhance productive performance and bone health in commercial laying hens.
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