A total of 72 male Ross 308 broilers were used in a study to investigate the effect of dietary tannase on apparent metabolisable energy (AME), coefficients of dry matter retention (DMR) and nitrogen retention (NR) and fat digestibility (FD) of a diet containing 300 g/kg field beans (Vicia faba). Growth performance variables and gastrointestinal tract development were also measured.

Two treatments were used in this study: control (C) and C + 3400 tannase units (TU) per kg feed. Diets were formulated to be nutritionally adequate with the exception that the AME was lower than recommended (12.65 vs 12.97 MJ/kg, respectively).

Inclusion of tannase increased AME by 0.4 MJ/kg DM. Tannase supplementation improved dietary DMR, NR and FD by 2.8%, 3.2% and 6.5%, respectively.

Birds given tannase had 4.4% reduction in feed intake and 2.6% improvement in gain to feed ratio (P < 0.05). Compared to control diet, birds given tannase had reduced relative to body weight (%BW) proventriculus and gizzard and pancreas weights, 3.29% vs 3.09% and 0.47% vs 0.44%, respectively.

The mechanisms of action of the studied enzyme require further elucidation.

The objective was to investigate inbreeding depression for some economic traits of Mazandaran native fowls using data collected from 1992 to 2012 (21 generations) using a REML animal model of significant fixed and random effects with inbreeding of birds and dams as covariates.

The mean inbreeding coefficient (F) for the whole population and dams was 4.67% and 4.12%, respectively, and most of the inbred birds (75.79%) and inbred dams (72.58%) had F < 12.5%.

Individual and dam inbreeding trends were 0.55% and 0.53% per year.

Inbreeding depression for body weight at hatch, at 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age, age at sexual maturity, weight at sexual maturity, egg weight at 1st d of laying and average egg weight at 28, 30 and 32 weeks of laying due to a 1% increase in individual inbreeding were ?0.11 g, ?3.1 g, ?1.3 g, 0.15 d, 0.59 g, ?0.05 g and ?0.03 g, respectively.

A 1% increase in maternal inbreeding resulted in a reduction of 0.06, 0.6 and 3.6 g in body weight at hatch, 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age.

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary supplementation of water-soluble ionised or chelated mineral mixture on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, relative organ weight, meat quality and excreta microflora in broilers.

A total of 408 Arbor Acres broilers (17 birds in 8 replicate pens) were randomly allocated into one of the following three treatments: (1) Control/basal diet (CON), (2) T1 (basal diet + 0.5% ionised mineral mixture solution, pH 3.0) and (3) T2 (basal diet + 0.5% chelated mineral mixture solution, pH 3.0).

The body weight gain was greater and feed conversion ratio was lower in broilers supplemented with ionised or chelated mineral liquid complex compared to CON during the grower and overall phase of the experiment.

No significant effect in the concentration of Ca and P in the blood was observed in birds supplemented with ionised or chelated mineral mixture solution. No adverse effects were observed in organ weight and meat quality with ionised or chelated mineral mixture supplementation.

Regarding intestinal microbiota counts there was a reduction of Escherichia coli counts in the small intestine in ionised mineral supplemented birds. In the large intestine, E. coli as well as Salmonella populations were reduced in ionised mineral supplemented birds.

In conclusion, ionised or chelated minerals have partial positive effects in improving growth performance and reducing pathogenic bacteria load in the gastro-intestinal tract.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of two different complex probiotic supplementations on the growth performance, meat quality, excreta microflora, nutrient retention, blood metabolic profile and noxious gas emissions in broilers.

A total of 612 conventional healthy 1-d-old Ross 308 broilers with body weight of 41 ± 0.3 g were randomly divided into 3 treatments with 12 replicate cages, with 17 broilers in each cage and fed with the following diets: CON-Basal diet, T1-CON + Probiotic A, T2-CON + Probiotic B.

Significant results were observed on body weight gain, but not on feed conversation ratio and feed intake, in the whole experimental period. Increased faecal lactobacillus counts were found with probiotics supplementation. However, no significant effects were found for meat quality, nutrient retention, blood metabolic profile or noxious gas emissions.

In conclusion, both multi-strain probiotics had beneficial effects on growth performance, drip loss percentage and faecal Lactobacillus counts in broilers.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of replacing soybean meal (SBM) with Tenebrio molitor larvae (TML) meal in broiler diets.

A total of 80 30-d-old male Shaver brown broilers were divided into two groups fed on two isoproteic and isoenergetic diets differing for protein source (SBM vs. TML).

Up to 62 d of age, body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly and body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and European efficiency factor (EEF) were calculated. At 62 d, blood samples were collected from 16 birds/group for evaluation of blood profiles.

Feed intake was not different between groups considering the entire period of the trial. The FCR was more favourable in the TML than SBM group from 46 d of age and in the entire period of the trial (4.13 vs. 3.62). The PER was higher in the SBM than in the TML group (1.92 vs. 1.37) while the EEF was higher in broilers fed on the TML diet (132.6 vs. 156.2).

Albumin-to-globulin ratio was higher in broilers fed on SBM than in the other group (0.44 vs. 0.30). aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were higher in TML than SBM (195.1 vs. 178.6 U/l and 82.07 vs. 46.71 U/l, respectively). Uric acid was higher in broilers fed on SBM than TML (5.40 vs. 4.16 mg/dl).

TML did not affect feed intake and growth rate of broilers from 30 to 62 d of age when compared to an isoproteic and isoenergetic SBM diet, but FCR of the TML group was more favourable than that of the SBM group. The lowest albumin-to-globulin ratio in broilers fed on TML suggests a higher immune response, probably due to the prebiotic effects of chitin.

The present study was conducted to compare the susceptibility of congenic Fayoumi lines to Eimeria tenella infection and to assess genetic differences in Eimeria egression.

Chickens were orally inoculated with 5 × 10⁴ sporulated E. tenella oocysts and challenged with 5 × 10⁶ oocysts on the 10th day after the primary infection.

The Fayoumi M5.1 line exhibited higher levels of body weight gain, less oocyst shedding and higher percentages of B and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cells than the M15.2 chickens.

These results demonstrate that M5.1 line is more resistant to E. tenella infection than M15.2 line. Furthermore, the percentage of sporozoite egress from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was higher in the M5.1 line.

The results of this study suggest that enhanced resistance of Fayoumi M5.1 to E. tenella infection may involve heightened cell-mediated and adaptive immunity, resulting in reduced intracellular development of Eimeria parasites.

The types and methods of use of antibiotics in poultry farms in Cameroon, residual levels and potential microbial resistance were determined.

A questionnaire-based survey identified the different antibiotics used and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine residual levels of antibiotics.

Pathogens were isolated, identified by use of commercial API kits and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) was determined.

Oxytetracyclin, tylocip and TCN (oxytetracycline, chloramphenicol and neomycin) were the most frequently used antibiotics. Antibiotics screened by HPLC were chloramphenicol, tetracycline and vancomycin. All of them except vancomycin were detected, and the concentration of these antibiotics was higher than the maximum residual limits (MRL) set by regulatory authorities.

No residues of various antibiotics were found in egg albumen or yolk. The concentration of tetracycline was significantly higher in liver (150 ± 30 µg/g) than in other tissues.

Foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Listeria spp., Clostridium spp. and Escherichia spp., were identified. Most of the pathogens were resistant to these various antibiotics tested.

These findings imply the need for better management of antibiotic use to control sources of food contamination and reduce health risks associated with the presence of residues and the development of resistant pathogens by further legislation and enforcement of regulations on food hygiene and use of antibiotics.

Single-dose toxicokinetics of permethrin was investigated in broiler chickens.

A total of 20 male broiler chickens were assigned at random to two groups of 10 at 30 days of age. A single dose of 10 mg/kg body weight of permethrin was administered intravenously to the first group; in the second group, the same dose was administered into the crop.

Serum permethrin was measured using an electron capture detector and gas chromatography equipment. The derived serum permethrin concentration/time curve demonstrated that the distribution kinetics of permethrin was well described by a two-compartment open model.

For intravenous permethrin administration, the half-life at λ phase (t_1/2λ), mean residence time (MRT) and area under the concentration–time curve in 0→∞ (AUC_0→∞) values respectively were 4.73 ± 1.00 h, 5.06 ± 1.05 h and 16.45 ± 3.28 mg/h/l. In contrast, the C_max, t_max, t_1/2λ, MRT and AUC_0→∞ values respectively of the group given intra-crop permethrin were 0.60 ± 0.42 μg/ml, 0.55 ± 0.19 h, 5.54 ± 0.78 h, 7.06 ± 0.63 h and 1.95 ± 0.97 mg/h/l. The bioavailability of permethrin was 0.11.

For both administration routes, the residence time of permethrin in the body was short and the bioavailability of permethrin was low. These results are relevant for assessing the use and safety of permethrin.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of green tea (Camellia sinensis) catechins in quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Quail were fed with a basal diet, and the treatment groups were fed on the basal diet with 1.25 or 2.50 g/kg catechin supplementation for 30 d.

Fattening performance and meat quality of the quail were estimated. Serum total antioxidant status (TAS), plasma and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) and some serum biochemical parameters were measured.

The results showed that catechin supplementation did not affect live weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, carcass weight, carcass dressing or the nutrient composition of breast and thigh meats. The water holding capacity (WHC) of breast meat was increased in the 2.50 g/kg catechin treatment. Catechin supplementation increased the serum TAS, but decreased plasma MDA and liver MDA concentration as well as serum glucose and total cholesterol levels. Serum triglyceride and total protein levels were not affected by catechin supplementation.

In conclusion, catechins have effective antioxidant hypoglycaemic and hypocholesterolaemic properties, as well as having the potential to increase meat quality in fattening quail. On the other hand, catechin supplementation did not have any negative effect on the fattening performance, meat nutrient composition and fattening costs in fattening quail.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a monocomponent protease and dietary inclusion of canola meal (CM) and poultry by-product meal (PBM) on growth performance, carcass characteristics and blood metabolites of turkeys fed on low crude protein (CP) diets from 28 to 55 d post hatch.

Experimental treatments included control, maize–soybean meal diet including 258.3 g/kg CP; negative control 1 (NC1), maize–soybean meal diet with reduced CP (232.4 g/kg); NC2, control diet (CP, 258.3 g/kg) including CM (80 g/kg) and PBM (80 g/kg); NC3, maize–soybean meal diet with reduced CP (232.4 g/kg) including CM (80 g/kg) and PBM (80 g/kg). Also, the NC1 + P and NC3 + P diets were created by addition of protease enzyme (30 000 units/kg of diet) to the NC1 and NC3 diets, respectively.

The NC3 group had lower body weight gain (BWG) compared to those fed on the control diet, and no improvement with enzyme addition (NC3 + P) was achieved. The protease addition to the NC1 diet (NC1 + P) improved BWG to the level of the control diet. The NC1 group had higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to the control and NC3 + P, but protease addition to the NC1 diet improved FCR.

Protease addition to the low CP diets resulted in higher nitrogen (N) retention than in the control and NC2 groups. Also, the NC1 + P and NC3 + P diets increased apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of CP compared to the control group.

It was concluded that addition of CM (up to 80 g/kg) and PBM (up to 80 g/kg) to turkey diets had no negative effect on growth performance from 28 to 55 d of age. The NC1 + P group achieved the BWG of the control group which was partially due to increases in N retention and AID of CP, but the NC3 + P group failed to recover the growth losses. This difference implies that the efficacy of the protease may depend upon the protein source in the ration.

Three experiments with a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement were conducted to evaluate maize-based diets for broilers containing different lipid sources [soybean oil (S) or beef tallow (T)] supplemented with or without lysophospholipids and organic acids on nutrient balance (Experiment I, evaluation period of 10–14 d), on liver concentration of fat-soluble vitamins, on jejunal microbiota (Experiment II, sampling at d 14) and on performance (Experiment III, accumulated periods of 1–14, 1–21 and 1–42 d).

A total of 1344 male chicks were used. In each experiment, the birds were allotted in a completely randomised design with 8 replications. The lysophospholipids were mainly composed of lysolecithins and the organic acids blend was constituted by lactic (40%), acetic (7%) and butyric acids (1%).

An interaction between lipid sources and lysophospholipids was observed on faecal apparent digestibility of lipid (ADL), which improved with lysophospholipids addition in T diets. Broilers fed on S had higher ADL and faecal apparent digestibility of nitrogen-corrected gross energy (ADGE_N).

It was not possible to demonstrate a significant treatment effect on the liver concentration of vitamins A and E, even with the differences in fatty acid profile between S and T.

Enterobacteria values were below the detection threshold. Lysophospholipid supplementation reduced gram-positive cocci in T-fed birds. S diets promoted lower total anaerobe counts compared with T diets, independent of additives.

S diets increased BW gain and feed:gain ratio in all evaluation periods. Lysophospholipids and organic acids improved feed:gain ratio at 1–21 d in T diets. Furthermore, main effects were observed for lysophospholipids and organic acids at 1–42 d, which increased BW gain and improved feed:gain ratio, respectively.

No positive interactions between additives were found.

This study had the aim of evaluating the effects of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) on performance, carcass characteristics, some blood parameters and antibody titre against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in quail.

A total of 240 quail chicks were allotted to 4 treatments consisting of respectively 0, 1, 2 and 4 g/kg dietary MCFA.

There were no significant differences in body weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio among treatments at different stages of the experiment.

MCFAs had no significant effect on breast, thigh, liver, spleen and bursa of Fabricius weight ratios. However, the relative weight of abdominal fat significantly decreased in quail receiving 0.2 and 0.4 MCFA as compared to other treatments.

Concentrations of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL), triglycerides and total cholesterol were decreased and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was increased in quail chicks receiving MCFA compared with control quail chicks. The concentrations of SRBC antibody were not statistically different among treatments.

It is concluded that MCFA significantly decreased LDL, triglycerides, cholesterol and abdominal fat and increased HDL in quail chicks.

A total of 360 fertile eggs from a broiler breeder strain (Ross 308) were used for in ovo feeding (IOF) of 0, 100 and 200 mg/kg Silybum marianum water extract at 17.5 d of incubation.

After hatching, 240 chicks were transferred to the experimental cages. The diets consisted of two types; one of them without extract and the other one containing 100 mg/kg of Silybum marianum extract. Then chicks were exposed to elevated temperatures 4°C above optimum from 7 to 28 d of age for 4 h per d and after 28 d they were kept at optimum temperature. The chicks were divided into 6 treatments with 4 replicates as a completely randomised 2 × 3 factorial design.

There was no effect of IOF of Silybum marianum extract on hatchability, body weight (BW) of hatched chicks or hatched chick BW/initial egg weight ratio. Chickens fed on the diet containing the extract had the highest feed intake, daily weight gains (DWGs), final BW and lowest feed conversion ratio.

At 28 d, the weights of heart, spleen and bursa of birds in the treatment groups given extract were higher, but abdominal fat weights were lower. At 42 d in those fed extract in the diet, the weights of spleen and bursa were higher and abdominal fat weights were lower than the other groups.

No differences were observed between groups in body temperature before application of the higher temperature but at 21 d and 28 d the body temperature of chicks given the Silybum marianum extract was lower than the other treatments during the elevated temperatures.

In birds fed on the extract in the diet, HDL and cholesterol concentrations were lowest at 28 d, whereas blood glucose levels were higher in the other treatments. At 42 d the cholesterol concentration was significantly lower in birds given extract in their diet.

These results indicated that dietary feeding of Silybum marianum extract resulted in an improvement in performance, immunity and carcass characteristics and decreased the adverse effects of the higher temperatures, specifically in reducing blood fat reduction, but IOF of the extract did not have an effect.

The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility of 93 Lactobacillus strains isolated from domestic geese raised on Polish farms. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 13 antimicrobial substances was determined by the broth microdilution method.

All strains were sensitive to the cell wall inhibitors ampicillin and amoxicillin (MIC ≤ 8 μg/ml). Resistance to inhibitors of protein synthesis and to fluoroquinolone inhibitors of replication was found in 44.1% and 60.2% of isolates, respectively; 26.9% strains were resistant to neomycin (MIC ≥ 64 μg/ml), 23.6% to tetracycline (MIC ≥ 32 μg/ml), 15% to lincomycin (MIC ≥ 64 μg/ml), 18.3% to doxycycline (MIC ≥ 32 μg/ml), 9.7% to tylosin (MIC ≥ 32 μg/ml), 56% to flumequine (MIC ≥ 256 μg/ml) and 22.6% to enrofloxacin (MIC ≥ 64 μg/ml).

Bimodal distribution of MICs indicative of acquired resistance and unimodal distribution of the high MIC values indicative of intrinsic resistance were correlated with Lactobacillus species. Eleven (11.8%) strains displayed multiple resistance for at least three classes of antibiotics.

Data derived from this study can be used as a basis for reviewing current microbiological breakpoints for categorisation of susceptible and resistant strains of Lactobacillus genus and help to assess the hazards associated with the occurrence of drug resistance among natural intestinal microflora.

This study evaluated the growth performance and meat characteristics of grower geese whose diets included garlic scape meal (GSM), a by-product of garlic production. Scape is the leaf-less flower stem of garlic.

Garlic scape (GS) extracts contained 84.7 ± 3.8 μg/g dry weight (DW), 81.4 ± 8.2 μg/g DW, 0.78 ± 0.05 mg gallic acid equivalent/g DW and 31.67 ± 2.25 μg/g DW of allicin, alliin, total phenolics and flavonoid contents, respectively.

In total, 120 White Roman geese aged 5 weeks were randomly distributed among 12 pens and fed on a grower diet ad libitum during the growth period. Employing a completely random design, 5 males and 5 females were placed in each pen.

Each treatment was applied to three pens (in total 30 birds) and the treatments comprised the following: 1) control (maize–soybean meal), 2) 5% of maize replaced with 5% of GSM (5% GSM), 3) 10% of maize replaced with 10% of GSM (10% GSM) and 4) 15% of maize replaced with 15% of GSM (15% GSM). Each group of 30 birds was treated for 8 weeks.

The results revealed that the 15% GSM group was characterised by a lower feed conversion ratio than the control group; however, these groups did not differ significantly in their body weights (BWs). In addition, the 10% GSM group did not differ in both the feed conversion ratio and consumption.

The flavour intensity score of meats in the 10% GSM group was significantly lower than those of meats in the 5% GSM and control groups. The general acceptability scores of meats in the 5% GSM and control groups were higher than those of meat in the 10% GSM group.

The study concluded that 5% dietary GSM in the feed did not adversely affect the growth performance, meat characteristics or sensory evaluation of grower geese. Hence, the environment can be protected by including agricultural waste in goose diets.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human and veterinary pathogen that causes economic loss in the poultry industry. This study aimed to compare therapeutic efficacy of 4 commonly used antibiotics in poultry on S. aureus–induced arthritis in broilers.

Sixty broilers, 8 weeks of age, were assigned at random into 7 groups as follows: (1) negative control (n = 5); (2) vehicle control (n = 5); (3) sulfadiazine-trimethoprim, 250 ml/1000 l drinking water (n = 10); (4) oxytetracycline 20%, 1 mg/l drinking water (n = 10); (5) florfenicol 10%, 1/1000 v/v in drinking water (n = 10); (6) enrofloxacin 10%, 1/1000 v/v in drinking water (n = 10) and (7) positive control (n = 10).

Birds in group 2 were injected with 1 ml of sterile TSB medium into the right tibiotarsal joint on d 0 while other birds (except group 1) were challenged with 1 ml of 1.2 × 10¹⁰ CFU/ml suspension of S. aureus bacteria.

Antibiotic therapy was started from d 4 post challenge and continued for 5 d. At the end, birds were weighed and clinical severity of arthritis was determined. After blood collection, birds were slaughtered and tibiotarsal and hip joints were evaluated grossly. The content of inflammatory exudates of tibiotarsal joint and the degree of femoral head necrosis were recorded. Mucin clot test and histopathological evaluation were performed on right tibiotarsal joint. Serum interleukin 6 was also assayed.

Sulfadiazine-trimethoprim had higher therapeutic efficiency with regard to most of the assayed criteria, whereas none of the antibiotics significantly affected femoral head necrosis and body weight. These data will help clinicians to have better antibiotic choice in field conditions.

This study aims to analyse the influence of adding natural zeolites (clinoptilolite) to the diet or litter of broilers and their effects on growth performance, carcass yield and litter quality.

Three consecutive flocks of broilers were raised on the same sawdust litter, from d 1 to d 42 of age, and distributed in three treatments (control with no added zeolites, addition of 5 g/kg zeolite to diet and addition of 100 g/kg zeolites to litter).

The addition of zeolites to the diet or litter did not affect growth performance or carcass yield.

The addition of zeolites to the diet did not influence moisture content of the litter, ammonia volatilisation was reduced only in the first flock and pH of litter was reduced in the second and third flock.

However, the addition of zeolites to the litter reduced moisture content, litter pH and ammonia volatilisation in all flocks analysed.

The addition of 5 g/kg zeolite to the diet in three consecutive flocks was not effective in maintaining litter quality, whereas the addition of 100 g/kg natural zeolites to sawdust litter reduced litter moisture and ammonia volatilisation in three consecutive flocks raised on the same litter.

A study was conducted with breeding ostriches over two consecutive breeding seasons to determine their response to different concentrations of a well-balanced dietary protein.

Five concentrations of protein were fed to both females and males at an intake of 2.5 kg/bird d. The respective diets contained 75, 91, 108, 123 and 140 g protein/kg feed with energy held constant at 9.2 MJ metabolisable energy/kg feed.

Egg production (mean ± SE, 39.1 ± 3.6 eggs/female/season) was unaffected by dietary protein concentration. Similarly, no significant trends were found for the number of unfertilised eggs (9.1 ± 1.8), dead-in-shell chicks (8.2 ± 1.3), the number of chicks hatched (19.5 ± 2.5) and change in the mass of females (?16.3 ± 10.2 kg). Egg weight decreased linearly as dietary protein content increased.

Age of the ostrich female had a highly significant effect on the number of eggs laid, the number of chicks hatched, the number of dead-in-shell and infertile eggs produced per hen, as well as the mass change of female breeding birds, but did not affect the response of any of these variables to dietary protein content.

It was concluded that ostriches do not benefit from dietary protein contents greater than about 75 g/kg when this is fed at a daily total feed intake rate of 2.5 kg/bird during the breeding season.

Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of including toasted (120°C/35 min) guar meal (GM, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) in the diet on performance and egg shell quality of White Leghorn (WL) layers.

Totals of 2376 and 2816 layer chickens (Babcock, BV 300) were randomly distributed into 27 and 32 replicates with 88 birds each in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Three diets in Experiment 1 (0, 50 and 100 g GM) and 4 diets in Experiment 2 (0, 50, 100 and 150 g GM/kg) were prepared having similar concentrations of energy and protein. Each diet was fed ad libitum to 9 and 8 replicates, respectively, in Experiments 1 (from 53 to 68 weeks) and 2 (35 to 46 weeks of age).

Compared to soya bean meal (SBM) GM contained similar concentrations of protein, but was deficient in all essential amino acids except arginine, which was 70% higher than in SBM. Total non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content in GM (166 g/kg) was lower than that of SBM (179 g/kg). Amongst different NSP fractions, GM contained higher levels of arabans, xylans, mannans and glucans compared to SBM. The galactomannan gum content in GM was 46 g/kg.

Egg production (EP), body weight (BW), food intake (FI), food efficiency (FE) and egg quality (shell weight, shell per cent, shell thickness, Haugh unit score, egg density and egg breaking strength) parameters were not affected by incorporating GM up to 100 g/kg diet in Experiment 1. However, egg weight (EW) and egg mass (EM) were reduced significantly in groups fed on 100 g/kg diet.

In Experiment 2, EP and FE were not affected by incorporating GM up to 100 g/kg, but were reduced at 150 g/kg diet. FI, EW, BW and egg quality parameters were not affected by incorporating toasted GM up to 150 g/kg diet.

Based on the results of both experiments, it is concluded that toasted GM can be included in WL layer diets up to 100 g/kg without affecting EP, FE, EW, EM, Haugh unit score, BW and egg shell quality parameters.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of an organic acid (OA) and essential oil (EO) blends, individually or in combination, on growth performance, carcass parameters, apparent digestibility, intestinal microflora and intestinal morphology of broilers.

A total of 480 one-d-old male Ross 308 chicks were randomly assigned to 4 treatments consisting of 4 replicates each (n = 30 birds in each replicate). Dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet (control), and basal diet supplemented with 2 g/kg OA blend (OAB), 300 mg/kg EO blend (EOB), or with 2 g/kg OA and 300 mg/kg EO blend (OAB–EOB) for 42 d.

The dietary supplementation with EO blend or in combination with OA blend increased body weight gain and improved feed efficiency as compared to control. Dietary treatments had no significant effects on feed consumption or relative organ weights of broilers.

The OAB diet increased carcass yield compared to the control diet but the lowest carcass yield occurred with the OAB–EOB combination. Birds fed on EOB and OAB–EOB diets had lower ileum Escherichia coli counts than birds fed on the control diet.

There was no significant effect of treatments on apparent digestibility at 16–21 d but the EOB and OAB–EOB diets increased apparent digestibility of dry matter and crude protein during the finisher period (d 37–42) compared to the control diet.

Birds fed on the EOB and OAB–EOB diets had greater villus height in the ileum at 21 and 42 d of age and had lower crypt depth in the ileum at 42 d of age than birds given the control diet.

In conclusion, beneficial effects of the use of EO blend individually or in combination with the OA blend were observed but the OA blend alone was ineffective. Furthermore, the use of the combination of OA and EO was more effective, in some respects, than their individual use.