ABSTRACT The objective of this study was the evaluation of egg quality of 30 to 45-week-old brown layers, raised in cages or on floor, supplemented with amino acids, using the ideal protein concept with levels of 14, 15, 16, and 18% crude protein. A total of 400 birds (Hy-sex Brown) were used, distributed into two breeding systems (conventional cage or floor). The evaluated variables were the yolk relative weight, yolk height, albumen relative weight, albumen height, specific gravity, eggshell thickness, […]

ABSTRACT This study compared the growth curve models for the live weight and body length of Japanese quail raised under lights of various colors. The Brody, Gompertz, and von Bertalanffy growth models were used to investigate the effect of different colored lights on Japanese quail growth over a period of six weeks (1-42 days). Four lights of different colors, comprising yellow, red, blue, and white, were used in the study. According to the different light colors, the mean and standard […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to describe the housing system in the hospital pens on growing and finishing (GF) pig farms. This work was developed by using a questionnaire and was conducted between January and April, 2016. Forty-four GF commercial farms (a total of 41,111 animals) were involved, seeking to raise issues concerning the facilities of the hospital pens, environment, management, feeding and the reasons for transferring the animals to these accommodations. About 98% of the evaluated farms […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate residual feed intake (RFI), residual intake and body weight gain (RIG) and their relationship with other traits of efficiency, performance, and economic analysis of sheep. Lambs (n = 102) were evaluated during 56 days and a herd consisting of 500 ewes was simulated with the mean of dry matter intake (DMI) and final body weight of the lambs, the same as that of the experimental lambs. The lambs were fed hay-based […]

ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of dietary supplementations of yeast (YFA) or non-yeast fermented additives (NYFA) at 5.0 and 10 g kg−1 on the performance parameters and the size of digestive organs of broiler chickens. An isocaloric and isonitrogenous basal diet used as negative control was added with 5.0 or 10.0 g kg−1 of YFA or NYFA. Each of five experimental diets was given to broiler chickens kept in three randomized floor pens, each with 21 birds, from one-day old […]

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different levels of synbiotic (Syn) on the growth performance, carcass traits, and serum parameters of Japanese quails. A total of 1,500 (750 male and 750 female) Japanese quails were assigned to five treatments, including the control (basal diet) and basal diets with the addition of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4% Syn according to a completely randomized design. Each treatment in the male and female experiment groups consisted of five replicates, with […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary symbiotic supplementation on the growth performance and duodenum histological parameters of quail reared in different flooring systems. A total of 160 mixed-sex healthy quail (47±0.32 g) aged 14 days were used in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design with four replicates, each including five males and five females. Two flooring systems (wire floor as control and wood shavings bedding) and two dietary treatments (symbiotic supplementation and […]

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the differentiation of five different chicken ecotypes – Center, North, South, West, and East – of Saudi Arabia using discriminate analysis. The analysis was based on nine important morphological and phenotypic traits: body color, beak color, earlobe color, eye color, shank color, comb color, comb type, comb size, and feather distribution. There was a strong significant relationship between the phenotype and effect of geographic height in terms of comb type and earlobe color in […]

ABSTRACT The ability to maintain core temperature as well as volume and composition of body fluids within narrow ranges is a major characteristic of mammals. Yet, the ability to maintain a stable core temperature often relies on physiological responses that perturb the stability of body fluids. A common thermoregulatory mechanism that affects body fluid homeostasis is evaporative cooling, by sweating and/or panting, to dissipate heat from the body when core temperature is elevated. However, these responses result in a reduction […]

ABSTRACT Inbreeding depression, reduction in performance of quantitative traits, including reproduction and survival, caused by inbreeding, is a well-known phenomenon observed in almost all experimental, domesticated, and natural populations. In spite of its importance to the fate of a small population and numerous research performed in the last century, the genetic basis of inbreeding depression is still unclear. Recent fast development of molecular techniques has enabled estimation of a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH), which reflects realized autozygosity and can be […]