A 28-day battery cage study was conducted to test the efficacy of tannin-free grain sorghum varieties fed to Cobb 500 male broiler chickens (n = 512) and challenged with Eimeria maxima (EM) and Clostridium perfringens (CP). Birds were fed 1 of 8 treatments (corn, red/bronze, white/tan, or U.S. No. 2 sorghum) and were grouped by challenge method (challenged with EM/CP or unchallenged). On d 14, birds in the challenge group were orally inoculated with ∼5,000 oocysts of EM, and on d 19, 20, and 21, birds were given a broth culture of CP with ∼10⁸ CFU/mL once daily. On d 21, three birds were scored for the degree/presence of necrotic enteritis (NE) lesions. Birds and feed were group weighed (d 0, 14, 21, and 28) to calculate average feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and adjusted feed conversion ratio (AdjFCR). Intestinal integrity was assessed through histological analysis of intestinal tissues, and change in transcriptome was determined using mRNA-sequencing on intestinal mucosa. Relative concentrations of secondary metabolites in grain sorghum were determined by LC-MS/MS analysis. Data were analyzed as a 2-way ANOVA with factors of treatment, challenge and their interaction. Regardless of challenge from 14 to 21 d, birds on the corn, white/tan, and U.S. No. 2 treatments were more efficient than those fed red/bronze treatment (P = 0.0026). From 14 to 28 d, BWG was significantly higher for the white/tan treatment (P = 0.024) compared to the red/bronze treatment. At 21 d, a significant interaction was observed for lesion score (P = 0.0001) in which, challenged birds fed red/bronze and white/tan treatments had reduced intestinal lesions compared to U.S. No. 2 and corn treatments. No differences among treatments were observed in jejunum morphology, but differential expression analysis showed an upregulation in defense response to bacteria and biotic stress in the challenged red/bronze treatment compared to the challenged corn. This study demonstrated improved gut health and minimal impact on growth and efficiency of broilers fed select grain sorghum varieties when challenged with EM/CP.

Objective: This study was performed to determine the apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) content of tannin-free red/bronze, white/tan and U.S. No. 2 varieties of grain sorghum for feeding Japanese quail and validate their nutrient profile by evaluating effects on performance and carcass traits with full-substitution of corn.Methods: Experiment 1 determined the AMEn content of red/bronze, white/tan, and U.S. No. 2 grain sorghum varieties fed to mixed-sex Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) (n = 314) at 3 and 6-weeks of age. Analyses were based on a 2×4 factorial treatment design with age and grain types defining the treatments, and a randomized complete block experiment design with cage and trials defining the block. AMEn values were validated by evaluating the performance and carcass traits of Japanese quail (n = 644) from 1 to 40 days of age in Experiment 2 with birds were fed 1 of 4 complete diets. Statistical analyses were conducted on performance data and select individual carcass trait measurements.Results: Determined AMEn values at 3-weeks of age were 3,524±122.03 (red/bronze), 3,252±122.03 (white/tan), and 3,039±123.44 (U.S. No. 2) kcal/kg. At 6-weeks of age, determined AMEn were 3,373±297.35 (red/bronze), 3,279±297.35 (white/tan), and 2,966±298.64 (U.S. No. 2) kcal/kg. Carcass traits showed live body weight (p = 0.0409) and hot carcass weight (p = 0.0234) were greatest in U.S. No. 2; however, carcass yield (p0.05).Conclusion: These studies demonstrated that tannin-free grain sorghum varieties may be a potential alternative to corn in quail diets while maintaining growth performance and carcass parameters.

Insects provide essential nutrition to poultry, however, the feedstock fed to the insects and the age and method of processing, can significantly impact nutrient and safety levels. The purpose of this research was to examine the nutrient and safety of black solider fly larvae (BSFL). Over a two-year period, 21 BSFL were purchased from retail and online establishments and blindly labeled and sent to accredited laboratories for proximate analysis, heavy metal analysis and antibiotic residues. No samples contained detectable levels of antibiotic residues. On average, Chinese-sourced dried black solider fly larvae (DBSFL), had 25X more lead and 8X more arsenic than North American, both values were statistically different. Chinese-sourced DBSFL had significantly lower phosphorus, protein, magnesium, potassium and manganese as compared to those from North America (p<0.05). While North American DBSFL had significantly lower fat and iron levels than Chinese-sourced DBSFL. Many of the imported products did not have or were not compliant with current US regulatory labeling requirements. The mislabeling and higher levels of heavy metals in DBSFL is concerning as it not only can affect the health of back yard flocks and humans via consumption of eggs from backyard flocks but also has the potential to contaminate the environment. Keywords: Dried black solider fly larva; Heavy Metal; Layer; Backyard chicken.