Heat stress had a negative effect on laying hens’ performance, thus this research was to study the influences of betaine (Bet, 1000 mg/kg betaine), vitamin C (VC, 200 mg/kg ascorbic acid), and vitamin E (VE, 150 mg/kg α-Tocopherol acetate) and their possible combinations on egg production, digestibility of nutrients, plasma hormones and reproductive organs of dual-purpose hens exposed to chronic heat stress. Two hundred and eighty eight hens and thirty-six cocks from 32 to 48 weeks of age were divided into nine treatment groups of four replicates, each containing eight hens and one cock. One group was kept under thermo-natural condition and the eight others were kept under chronic heat stress (CHS). One of these eight was used as a negative control, while the others were supplemented with VC, VE and/or betaine and their possible combinations. Body weights, laying rate, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio in hens reared under CHS rooster without any supplementation during 32 to 48 weeks of impairment (P = 0.0052) were recorded. Hens reared under heat stress and fed a diet supplemented with either Bet, VC, VE or combination of the supplements increased production traits. However, hens supplemented with VC showed the greatest production traits. Plasma glucose, estradiol-17 (E2), progesterone (P4), tri-iodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) decreased in hens reared under CHS and fed a diet with no supplementation compared to the other treatments (P = 0.001). Liver weights, spleen weights, thyroid gland weights, ovary weights, oviduct weights and oviduct lengths were lowest in hens reared under CHS and fed a diet with no supplementation (P = 0.0480). In conclusion, dual purpose hens reared under CHS and supplemented with VC at 200 mg/kg diet and Bet at 1000 mg/kg enhanced the laying performance and combated CHS.

In this study, we investigated the influence of betaine (Bet, 1000 mg/kg), with or without vitamin C (VC, 200 mg/kg ascorbic acid) and/or vitamin E (VE, 150 mg/kg α-tocopherol acetate) on semen quality, seminal and blood plasma constituents, antioxidants’ status, DNA repair, and the welfare of chronic heat stress (CHS)-exposed roosters. A total of 54 roosters were divided into six groups of nine replicates. One group was kept under thermoneutral conditions, whereas the other five were kept under CHS. One of the five groups served as an unsupplemented CHS group, and was fed with a basal diet. The other four CHS groups were supplemented with Bet, Bet + VC, Bet + VE, and Bet + VC + VE, respectively. Our data indicate that supplementation with Bet, Bet + VC, Bet + VE, and Bet + VC + VE, resulted in complete recovery of the CHS effect on sperm concentration and livability, semen pH, and fertility compared to the thermoneutral group. Seminal plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was significantly (p < 0.05) increased with Bet, with or without vitamins, compared to the thermoneutral and CHS groups. Urea and blood plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) were totally recovered with Bet, with or without vitamin treatments. Both the jejunum and ileum DNA were partially recovered following Bet, with or without vitamin supplementation. In conclusion, Bet, at 1000 mg/kg feed, may be a useful agent for increasing semen quality, fertility, welfare, and to improve the breeding strategy of breeder males in hot climates.

This research was performed to determine the influence of dietary addition of pumpkin seed powder (PKSP) comparable to zinc oxide (ZnO) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, caecal bacterial count, some blood metabolites and slaughter traits of growing V-line rabbits during 35-91 days of age. A total of one hundred V-line rabbits aged 35 days were randomly divided into five homogeneous groups of five replicates with four rabbits per each (20 rabbits/group). The first group was fed a basal diet without any additives and assigned as a control group. The rabbits of second group were fed a basal diet supplied with zinc oxide (ZnO, 100 mg/kg diet), while the 3rd, 4th, and 5th groups were fed a basal diet enhanced with varying levels of PKSP (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2%), respectively. Results indicated that growing rabbits fed basal diet with 0.1% PKSP had significant improvements in final body weight, body weight gain, fed conversion ratio, performance index and economic efficiency compared with those for the rest groups. Digestibility coefficient of crude protein and crude fiber and digestible crude protein for growing rabbits fed basal diet supplied with 0.1% PKSP or ZnO were significantly improved compared with other treated groups. Moreover, rabbits fed basal diet with 0.1 and 0.2% PKSP showed a significant diminish in caecal Escherichia coli counts and a significant rise in lactobacillus sp. counts compared with the rest groups. Red blood cell count, haemoglobin, blood packed cell volume and lymphocyte percent for rabbits fed basal diet with 0.1 and 0.2% PKSP or ZnO were substantially increased compared with the control group. In addition, growing rabbits fed diets with 0.2% PKSP or ZnO had a significant diminish in serum total lipids, triglycerides and cholesterol values compared with control. Furthermore, supplied diets with studied agents significantly decreased serum levels of LDL, AST, ALT, urea, creatinine and MDA, whereas HDL and TAC levels were statistically increased compared with control. Dressing percent, hot carcass weight and total edible parts for growing rabbits fed diets with 0.1% PKSP were substantially improved compared with the rest groups. In conclusion, supplementing the diet of growing rabbits with 0.1% PKSP could be a good tool for optimizing growth performance, nutrient digestibility, caecal bacterial count and slaughtering traits, with the best record of economic efficiency.

Objective: The current experiment was performed to investigate the influence of different dietary levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on productive performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, immune response, caecal microbiota, and carcass characteristics of Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) during 7 to 63 d of age.Methods: A total of 240 unsexed 7-d-old ducklings were distributed into five (treatment) groups; each one contained six replicates with eight ducklings each. Birds of the first group were fed basal diet without MOLM and served as control, while the other four groups were fed basal diet with 0.25%, 0.50%, 1.0%, and 2.0% MOLM inclusion level, respectively.Results: The obtained results revealed that including MOLM in the diets significantly improved body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and economic efficiency compared with the control group. Among the different MOLM inclusion treatments, increasing MOLM inclusion level decreased (p0.05) the digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, and nitrogen free extract, however all MOLM treatments were significantly higher than the control group. Results also revealed that feeding ducks lower MOLM inclusion levels (0.25% or 0.50%) improved blood parameters (p<0.05) compared with the higher inclusion levels (1.0% or 2.0% MOLM) and the control group. Ducks fed different MOLM levels had significantly higher phagocyte index and activity, immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase activity, and superoxide dismutase activity compared with control group.Conclusion: Despite the beneficial effects of all MOLM treatments on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, physiological status, and immune response of duckling, the increasing MOLM inclusion level in the diet had deleterious effects on such studied traits, consequently 0.25% was the best MOLM inclusion level in duckling diets.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplemented pumpkin seed powder (PKSP) in the diet of V-line rabbit bucks in comparison to zinc oxide (ZnO) on blood hematology, serum biochemical parameters, semen quality, and fertility. Thirty-five male V-Line rabbits at 120 days of age were randomly distributed into five dietary treatments (7 bucks each) as follows: control (fed a basic diet), ZnO treatment (fed a basic diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg diet), the third, fourth and fifth treatments were fed a basic diet supplemented with different levels of PKSP (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0g/kg diet) respectively. Results showed that red blood cells (RBC) and lymphocytes were significantly increased (P <0.05) in ZnO treatment and groups supplemented with 1.0 or 2.0 g PKSP/kg diet, compared with the control. Bucks fed a diet supplemented with 2.0 g of PKSP/kg significantly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and decreased very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) compared with other experimental groups. Rabbit bucks in ZnO treatment or 2.0 g PKSP/kg diet significantly increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum and seminal plasma compared with other experimental groups. Meanwhile, testosterone concentration in both serum and seminal plasma were significantly increased in the group that received 2.0 g PKSP /kg diet compared with others, but not significantly when compared to ZnO treatment. Also, ZnO treatment or 2.0g PKSP/kg diet represented higher values of semen quality and fertility. In conclusion: PKSP favorably affected rabbit hematology, lipid profile, antioxidant status, testosterone level, and semen quality, especially at the level of 2.0 g PKSP/kg diet.

The aim of this investigation was to establish the impact of silymarin and/or Spirulina platensis in mitigating the adverse effects of aflatoxin (AF) present in poultry feed. A total of 450 one-day-old, unsexed Ross 308 broiler chicks were allocated to a completely randomized design with five experimental groups. Each group consisted of six replicate, housing 15 chicks per replicate. The treatment groups comprised: 1) the negative control (NC) fed the standard diet lacking AF supplementation; 2) the positive control (PC) fed the standard diet contaminated with 1 mg AF/kg; 3) the silymarin (SIL) fed the PC diet + 0.6 g silymarin/kg feed; 4) the Spirulina platensis (SP) fed the PC diet + 1g /kg diet; 5) the silymarin +Spirulina fed the PC diet + 0.6 g SIL/kg + 1g SP/kg diet. Productive performance, serum biochemical profile (levels of AST, ALT, total cholesterol, HDL, uric acid, creatinine, and calcium), weight of lymphoid organs, levels of glutathione and malonaldehyde in the liver, antibody titers against NDV and IBD, concentration of cecal bacteria, nutrition composition of flesh, and level of remnants of AF in liver and flesh were studied. Our findings revealed a successful reversal of adverse effects caused by AF. Supplementation with either SIL and/or SP restored performance metrics to the levels observed in the non-contaminated (NC) fed control group. These results indicate that dietary inclusion of 0.6 g of SIL/kg and/or 1 g of SP/kg represents a suitable strategy to maintain broiler growth performance, immune function, serum composition, and meat quality in birds exposed to AF contamination at a concentration of 1 mg/kg of feed. Keywords: aflatoxicosis, silymarin, Spirulina platensis, poultry, productive performance