Poultry drinking water quality parameters influence physiological functions and bird health. This study aimed to explore the impacts of poultry drinking water pH, TDS (total dissolved solids), and elevated levels of certain minerals on the early phase of broiler performance. Four treatment groups were created based on water source and water quality types: i) municipal water source (MW); ii) well/underground water source with moderately higher levels of Ca, SO₄^-, and Mn (WW); iii) high-pH (>8) water (HPH); and iv) high-TDS water (>3000 ppm) (HTDS). All treatment water samples were profiled for mineral content. Treatment water was fed ad libitum throughout the experimental period. A total of 288 birds (Cobb 500 males), fed a standard diet (day(d) 0-21), were utilized for the study, creating six replicates/treatment with 12 birds/replicate cage unit. Birds were weighed on days 0, 7, 14, and 21. Water consumption, body weight gain (BWG), feed consumption, feed conversion ratio (FCR), water: feed, and amino acid digestibility were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using 1-way ANOVA with Tukey's HSD test for significance (P < 0.05). Water consumption was higher for MW and HTDS until d10, but there was no difference in overall water consumption by d21 (P > 0.05). The overall feed intake and BWG were lower for HTDS birds compared to other treatment groups (P < 0.05), however, there was no difference in FCR (P > 0.05). Meanwhile, the apparent ileal digestibility of dietary amino acids for essential and non-essential amino acids did not differ among treatment groups (P > 0.05) and ranged from 0.40 to 0.94 across all treatments. The overall results showed that high-TDS water above 3000 ppm with elevated calcium and chloride levels could negatively impact early bird performance on feed consumption and BWG.

A study was undertaken to investigate the effects of non-antibiotic additives—citric acid, synbiotics, and probiotics—administered through drinking water on broiler growth performance, carcass characteristics, and blood biochemical profiles. A total of 400 one-day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly divided into four treatment groups: Control; no additives administered (CON); Citric acid @2.5 g/L water (CA); Synbiotic @0.2 g/L water (SB); Probiotic @0.5 g/L water (PB) and with each group having 4 replicates of 25 chicks. Growth performance metrics, such as body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR), were recorded weekly. At the end of the trial, the probiotic-fed group had significantly higher BW (p = 0.018), BWG (p = 0.027), and an improved FCR (1.62) compared to the CON (1.74), CA (1.66), and SB (1.70) groups (p = 0.042). Biochemical parameters showed significant differences in total cholesterol (p = 0.013) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (p = 0.039), with the PB group showing higher levels. These results suggest that citric acid, synbiotics, and probiotic additives provided through drinking water can enhance broiler growth performance, with probiotics offering the most promising benefits.

Background and Objective: Characterizing the egg quality traits and nutritional composition of turkey varieties is essential for informed breeding decisions and the development of functional eggs. However, information on these characteristics under tropical production conditions remains limited. Therefore, this study investigated the egg quality traits, proximate composition and amino acid profiles of eggs from four turkey varieties (Black, Bronze, White and Bourbon Red) reared under tropical conditions in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A total of 240 turkey layers, with 60 birds per variety, were reared on a corn-soya-based diet from 24 to 55 weeks of age in four separate floor pens under an intensive rearing system. At 55 weeks of age, a total of 120 eggs (30 eggs per variety) were randomly collected to evaluate external and internal egg quality, proximate composition and amino acid profiles. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and treatment means were separated using Duncan's multiple range test at p<0.05. Results: The White variety exhibited a higher shape index than the other varieties (p<0.001). Moisture, crude protein and ash contents differed among the varieties. Bourbon Red showed the highest moisture content (p<0.001), whereas Black and Bronze exhibited the highest crude protein content and Black had the highest ash content (p<0.05). The Black variety also showed the highest amino acid concentration, followed by the Bronze variety (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Overall, the Black and Bronze turkey varieties produced eggs with superior crude protein and amino acid concentrations, providing valuable baseline nutritional information to support variety selection under tropical production conditions.