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Poultry Nutrition
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Poultry Nutrition

A topical collection in Poultry (ISSN 2674-1164).

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Editor

Dr. Ilias Giannenas

E-Mail Website
Collection Editor
Laboratory of Nutrition, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: animal nutrition; health; antioxidants; feed additives; aromatic and medicinal plants; alternative feedstuffs with bioactive compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

Poultry nutrition is an important topic as it covers both the economic aspects of production and the quality characteristics of the produced products, meat or eggs. Poultry species, farmed in different environments and under different farming systems, consume various diets with conventional or organic raw materials and an enormous source of feed additives.

Poultry production is the first sector of animal production worldwide, either in the developed countries or in the developing ones, providing important food sources such as meat and eggs, making an important contribution in the national and global economy.

The development of new feed additives has provided tools to support health and improve the performance of farmed birds. An alternative to antibiotics has become an urgent need for poultry as the intensive way of production often presents broilers, layer hens or other poultry species with serious health challenges.

The scope of this Topical Collection concerns poultry nutrition, protein, amino acid and energy needs and their coverage, along with use of minerals, vitamins and feed additives in a conventional or organic way of production for both highly efficient selected genetic lines and also local breeds that are well-adapted to harsh environments and have desirable meat or egg characteristics.

Novel analytical technologies in chemical analysis, intestinal microbiota or nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) analysis technologies, such as NGS, has allowed the development of research on nutritional mechanisms related to meat or egg traits and production among the poultry breeds and hybrids.

Original research and reviews related to poultry nutrition, food product characteristics, gene expression, intestinal microbiota and modern molecular techniques to unravel factors regulating health, well-being and productivity of all species of bird reared for animal production are particularly welcome.

Dr. Ilias Giannenas
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Poultry is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • poultry nutrition
  • poultry production
  • feed additives
  • egg quality
  • meat quality
  • microbiota
  • agroindustrial by-products

Published Papers (6 papers)

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2023

Jump to: 2022

18 pages, 730 KiB  
Article
Effects of Metabolizable Energy Intake and Body-Weight Restriction on Layer Pullets: 1-Growth, Uniformity, and Efficiency
by Thiago L. Noetzold, Jo Ann Chew, Douglas R. Korver, René P. Kwakkel, Laura Star and Martin J. Zuidhof
Poultry 2023, 2(4), 475-492; https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry2040036 - 13 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1114
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the effects of dietary energy and body-weight (BW) restriction on layer pullets’ growth, uniformity, and feed efficiency. Two experiments were conducted using a precision feeding (PF) system (Experiment 1) and a conventional feeding (CON) system (Experiment 2). Experiment [...] Read more.
This study aimed to determine the effects of dietary energy and body-weight (BW) restriction on layer pullets’ growth, uniformity, and feed efficiency. Two experiments were conducted using a precision feeding (PF) system (Experiment 1) and a conventional feeding (CON) system (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 consisted of a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement (eight treatments) with two feed allocation (FA) levels: meal every visit (MEV) or restricted to the lower boundary of Lohmann Brown-Lite pullets; and three dietary metabolizable energy (ME) levels: Low, Standard (Std), and High (2600, 2800, and 3000 kcal/kg, respectively); the fourth treatment enabled birds to choose from the three diets (Choice). Experiment 2 consisted of a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement (six treatments): two FA levels (ad libitum or restricted) and three dietary ME levels (Low, Std, and High). In each experiment, BW, coefficient of variation (CV), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily metabolizable energy intake (MEI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. Diet ADFI preferences and feeding motivation were determined only in the PF experiment. ANOVA was conducted on each experiment with the two main effects as fixed factors (FA and dietary ME), and age or period as the sources of variation. Differences were reported at p ≤ 0.05. MEV (PF experiment) and ad libitum-fed (CON experiment) pullets had greater BW compared to restricted-fed pullets (p < 0.05). The lowest CV was observed in the restricted-fed pullets from the PF experiment (p < 0.05). ADFI was greater in pullets fed the Low ME diet in the PF experiment compared to all the other groups, and the lower the dietary ME, the greater the ADFI in the CON experiment (p < 0.05). Choice-feeding pullets preferred feed with greater ME content in the PF experiment (p < 0.05). The lower the dietary ME, the greater the FCR in the CON experiment (p < 0.05). Restricted-fed pullets had greater daily visits, and lower daily meals, meal size, and successful visits to the PF system (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the results of this trial indicated that lower dietary ME increased FCR and ADFI, whereas feed restriction decreased BW and increased feeding motivation. Future steps after this trial will include examining the effects of dietary energy and feed restriction on carcass composition and sexual maturation. Full article
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12 pages, 305 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Addition of Humicola Grisea Cellulase to Broiler Chicken Rations for a 21-Day Period
by Dênia Oliveira de Souza, Cirano José Ulhoa, Weslane Justina da Silva, Denise Russi Rodrigues, Nadielli Pereira Bonifácio, Fabiana Ramos dos Santos, Fabiano Guimarães Silva and Cibele Silva Minafra
Poultry 2023, 2(4), 463-474; https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry2040035 - 13 Nov 2023
Viewed by 709
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the addition of liquid cellulose, produced by Humicola grisea, in 21-day-old broiler chickens’ diets. The treatments comprised control rations of corn and soybean meal and rations to which 500 mL/t and 1000 mL/t of cellulase were added. A [...] Read more.
This study aimed to evaluate the addition of liquid cellulose, produced by Humicola grisea, in 21-day-old broiler chickens’ diets. The treatments comprised control rations of corn and soybean meal and rations to which 500 mL/t and 1000 mL/t of cellulase were added. A total of 180 male broiler chickens were used, distributed in a completely randomized design, with three treatments and six replicates. Broiler chicken performance was monitored during the period from 1 to 21 days old. Significant effects were detected for digestibility only between four and seven days old, when a reduced dry matter nitrogen intake was recorded, and for nitrogen digestibility in the broilers fed cellulase-supplemented rations at a dose of 1000 m/L. Among the analyzed digestive organs, only the biometrics of the large intestine were affected significantly at seven days old. The absolute weights of the liver and pancreas and the activities of amylase, alkaline phosphatase, and transaminases were not affected significantly, indicating that cellulase did not affect the metabolism of these organs. No significant effect was detected in the serum for electrolytes, total protein, or alkaline phosphatase. So, the addition of liquid cellulase produced by Humicola grisea did not affect performance and metabolism in 21-day-old broiler chickens. Full article
12 pages, 1044 KiB  
Article
Effects of Dietary β-Mannanase Supplementation on Egg Quality during Storage
by Camila Lopes Carvalho, Ines Andretta, Gabriela Miotto Galli, Nathalia de Oliveira Telesca Camargo, Thais Bastos Stefanello, Marcos José Migliorini, Raquel Melchior and Marcos Kipper
Poultry 2023, 2(1), 111-122; https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry2010011 - 08 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1365
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if adding β-mannanase to the diet can improve the quality of storage eggs from laying hens. Lightweight laying hens (36 weeks old), housed in cages with four birds each, were randomly assigned to one of [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to determine if adding β-mannanase to the diet can improve the quality of storage eggs from laying hens. Lightweight laying hens (36 weeks old), housed in cages with four birds each, were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: control group (diet without additives), or birds fed with 300 g/ton of β-mannanase. The experiment was carried out on a commercial farm (14 thousand birds). The study took 84 days to be completed, and each of its three productive phases lasted 28 days. On the final day of each phase, 125 eggs were randomly collected. The quality of the fresh eggs was assessed, and after each storage interval, the remaining eggs were kept and randomly divided to evaluate their quality (7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 days). Analysis of variance was used to compare means considering differences at 5 and 10%. When compared to the control group, β-mannanase was able to prevent the loss of egg weight and albumen weight during storage (p < 0.05). Yolk color (palette) also improved by 2.5% (p < 0.001), while lightness, red intensity, and yellow intensity all increased in comparison to the control group by 1.9% (p < 0.001), 7.7% (p < 0.001), and 4.10% (p < 0.001). Additionally, compared to the control treatment, β-mannanase was able to lower the yolk pH and TBARS levels by 2.4% (p < 0.001). As a result, adding β-mannanase to laying hen diets is a successful method for enhancing egg quality. Full article
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2022

Jump to: 2023

10 pages, 287 KiB  
Review
Deleterious Effects of Heat Stress on Poultry Production: Unveiling the Benefits of Betaine and Polyphenols
by Majid Shakeri and Hieu Huu Le
Poultry 2022, 1(3), 147-156; https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry1030013 - 20 Jul 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2623
Abstract
Managing and controlling environmental temperature conditions using practical strategies is crucial to avoid the negative impacts of high environmental temperature, improving poultry production and welfare. High environmental temperature is one of the significant factors challenging poultry production during hot seasons or in tropical [...] Read more.
Managing and controlling environmental temperature conditions using practical strategies is crucial to avoid the negative impacts of high environmental temperature, improving poultry production and welfare. High environmental temperature is one of the significant factors challenging poultry production during hot seasons or in tropical areas causing heat stress (HS). The detrimental effects of HS on broilers range from reduced growth performance to impaired poultry meat quality. HS impairs physiological responses caused by alteration in blood parameters, which could lead to impaired product quality by reducing moisture content and altering the production of antioxidant enzymes resulting in increased oxidative stress. There has been a focus on the use of nutritional supplements as a cost effective HS amelioration strategy, such as betaine and polyphenols. Supplementing broiler chicken’s diets with polyphenols aims to enhance growth performance via reduced levels of oxidative stress in tissues under HS conditions. Furthermore, using betaine as an osmolyte aims to protect tissues during osmotic stress conditions. The current review reveals that betaine and polyphenols are essential under crucial conditions such as HS to protect tissues from oxidative damage. Full article
14 pages, 623 KiB  
Article
Combining Maternal and Post-Hatch Dietary 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol Supplementation on Broiler Chicken Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics
by Luis P. Avila, Samuel F. Leiva, Gerardo A. Abascal-Ponciano, Joshua J. Flees, Kelly M. Sweeney, Jeanna L. Wilson, Bradley J. Turner, Gilberto Litta, April M. Waguespack-Levy, Anthony Pokoo-Aikins, Charles W. Starkey and Jessica D. Starkey
Poultry 2022, 1(2), 111-124; https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry1020010 - 24 May 2022
Viewed by 1913
Abstract
Dietary inclusion of the vitamin D3 (D3) metabolite, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25OHD3), was demonstrated to improve broiler growth performance and breast meat yield. To assess the effect of combined maternal (MDIET) and post-hatch (PDIET) dietary 25OHD3 inclusion on broiler growth performance and carcass characteristics, a [...] Read more.
Dietary inclusion of the vitamin D3 (D3) metabolite, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25OHD3), was demonstrated to improve broiler growth performance and breast meat yield. To assess the effect of combined maternal (MDIET) and post-hatch (PDIET) dietary 25OHD3 inclusion on broiler growth performance and carcass characteristics, a randomized complete block design experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial treatment structure was conducted. From 25 to 38 weeks of age, broiler breeder hens were provided with 1 of 2 MDIET formulated to contain: 5000 IU D3 (MCTL), or 2240 IU of D3 + 2760 IU of 25OHD3 per kg of feed (M25OHD3). Their chick offspring (n = 448; 224 per MDIET) hatched from eggs collected from 37 to 38 weeks of age were reared in 16 replicate pens with 7 birds per pen and fed 1 of 2 PDIET in 3 phases up to day 40 formulated to contain: 5000 IU of D3 per kg of feed (PCTL), or 2240 IU of D3 + 2760 IU of 25OHD3 per kg of feed (P25OHD3). No additive or synergistic effects of combining 25OHD3 inclusion in MDIET and PDIET were observed. Broilers from 25OHD3-fed hens (M25OHD3) were heavier on day 40 than those from hens fed only D3 (MCTL; 2.911 vs. 2.834 kg; p = 0.040). Tender weight (123 vs. 117 g) and yield (5.63 vs. 5.44%) were greater in the M25OHD3 broilers than the MCTL broilers (p = 0.006). Broilers fed 25OHD3 (P25OHD3) tended to have heavier breasts (637 vs. 615 g; p = 0.050), bone-in wings (215 vs. 210 g; p = 0.070), and boneless thighs (279 vs. 270 g; p = 0.078) compared with those fed only D3 (PCTL). Neither MDIET nor PDIET altered the severity of Wooden Breast and White Striping (p ≥ 0.106). Overall, including 25OHD3 in either the maternal or broiler diet increased broiler meat yield. Full article
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20 pages, 353 KiB  
Article
Dietary Supplementation with Pomegranate and Onion Aqueous and Cyclodextrin Encapsulated Extracts Affects Broiler Performance Parameters, Welfare and Meat Characteristics
by Stelios Vasilopoulos, Stella Dokou, Georgios A. Papadopoulos, Soumela Savvidou, Stamatia Christaki, Anastasia Kyriakoudi, Vassilios Dotas, Vasilios Tsiouris, Eleftherios Bonos, Ioannis Skoufos, Ioannis Mourtzinos and Ilias Giannenas
Poultry 2022, 1(2), 74-93; https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry1020008 - 05 May 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3228
Abstract
The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the effects of Punica granatum L. and Allium cepa L. peels aqueous and cyclodextrin extracts on broiler chicks’ performance and welfare status, as well as on the meat chemical composition and oxidative stability. A total [...] Read more.
The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the effects of Punica granatum L. and Allium cepa L. peels aqueous and cyclodextrin extracts on broiler chicks’ performance and welfare status, as well as on the meat chemical composition and oxidative stability. A total of 120 one-day-old male Ross-308 chicks were randomly allocated to three treatments with four replicate pens (10 chicks per pen). Broiler chicks in the control group were fed typical commercial rations in mash form, based on maize and soybean meal. The rations of the other two treatments were further supplemented with the mixture of Punica granatum and Allium cepa aqueous and cyclodextrin extracts at the level of 0.1% of the feed, respectively. At the end of the trial (day 35), tissue samples were collected for analysis. Body weight (BW), feed intake (FI), average daily gain (ADG) and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the period of 1–10 days, 11–24 days, 25–35 days and 1–35 days were evaluated. Litter score, dry matter in litter, pododermatitis and feather score were also assessed at the end of the trial. Data were analyzed with ANOVA using SPSS v25 software. The results showed that BW, FI and FCR values did not differ among the groups. Scoring of pododermatitis, diarrhea, feather, fecal moisture, wooden breast and white stripping did not differ (p ≥ 0.05) among the groups. Punica granatum and Allium cepa aqueous and cyclodextrin extracts favorably affected (p < 0.05) meat composition, color parameters, TBARS and protein carbonyls. Diet supplementation also increased (p < 0.05) ∑n-3 fatty acids as well as ∑n-6 fatty acids in the thigh meat. The cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-Docosahexaenoic acid fatty acids in the breast meat of broilers fed with diets supplemented with the aqueous pomegranate and onion peel extracts were found to be higher (p < 0.05), while these fatty acids in the thigh meat were found increased (p < 0.05) in the cyclodextrin group. Aqueous and cyclodextrin pomegranate and onion peel extracts may provide a promising additive to the broilers diet with functional properties, in the absence of stressful conditions. Full article
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