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Effects of Alternative Feeds and Dietary Additives on Growth Performance...
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Effects of Alternative Feeds and Dietary Additives on Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Poultry

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2024) | Viewed by 3636

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Aijuan Zheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Feed Biotechnology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: poultry science; nutrient digestibility; additives; growth performance; feed
Prof. Dr. Guohua Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Feed Biotechnology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: fermentation; nutrient digestibility; farm animals; growth performance; feed

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The breeding industry is currently facing challenges due to the rising prices of raw feed materials like corn and soybean meal, as well as long-term issues with their supply. As a result, the mainstream measures adopted are focused on enhancing efficiency, reducing quantity, and exploring open source substitution. To ensure food security and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the animal husbandry industry, it is crucial to actively explore new feed resources, accurately evaluate their nutritional value, and apply them in the production of poultry. Additionally, the application of feed additives plays a significant role in ensuring the efficient utilization of nutrients by poultry in an antibiotic-free environment.

This Special Issue serves as a communication platform via which to study the effects of feed ingredient substitution and feed additives on the growth performance and nutritional digestion capacity of poultry. The scope of this Special Issue encompasses the use of unconventional feed material substitutes and additives, along with the exploration of the reasons behind its ability to enhance the growth and development of poultry. All types of articles, including original research, opinions, and reviews, are welcome in our Special Issue.

Dr. Aijuan Zheng
Prof. Dr. Guohua Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • poultry science
  • digestibility
  • absorption
  • fermented feed
  • poultry nutrition

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1359 KiB  
Article
Effect of Moringa oleifera Leaf Powder Supplementation on Growth Performance, Digestive Enzyme Activity, Meat Quality, and Cecum Microbiota of Ningdu Yellow Chickens
by Qiongli Song, Zhiheng Zou, Xiaolian Chen, Gaoxiang Ai, Pingwen Xiong, Wenjing Song, Guohua Liu, Aijuan Zheng and Jiang Chen
Agriculture 2024, 14(9), 1523; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14091523 - 4 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2020
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary supplementation with Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, meat quality, and cecum microbiota of Ningdu yellow chickens. A total of 300 78-day-old Ningdu yellow chickens with similar initial [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary supplementation with Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, meat quality, and cecum microbiota of Ningdu yellow chickens. A total of 300 78-day-old Ningdu yellow chickens with similar initial body weights were randomly distributed into five treatments consisting of six replicates of 10 birds. The control group (M0) was fed a basal diet, and the experimental groups were fed diets supplemented with 0.5% (M0.5), 1% (M1), 2% (M2), and 4% (M4) of MOLP, respectively. Our results showed that dietary supplementation with 2% MOLP significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the feed to gain (F/G) and showed a quadratic (p < 0.05) decrease with the level of MOLP. Dietary supplementation with 1~4% MOLP resulted in a significant increase (p < 0.05) in serum total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Furthermore, both serum T-SOD and T-AOC exhibited linear and quadratic increases (p < 0.01) in response to the supplementation with MOLP in the diets. Dietary supplementation with 1~4% MOLP significantly (p < 0.05) decreased serum uric acid (UA) level. Additionally, 4% MOLP significantly (p < 0.05) decreased triglycerides (TG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, and showed linear and quadratic effects. The activity of lipase in the duodenum showed a linear decreasing trend (p < 0.05) with the level of MOLP, while the activities of α-amylase (both in duodenum and jejunum) showed a linear and quadratic increasing trend (p < 0.05). In addition, there was a linear decrease response in abdominal fat (p < 0.05) to MOLP supplementation levels in the diets. In terms of meat quality, dietary supplementation with 4% MOLP significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the L*45 min and L*24 h values of the breast muscle, and drip loss had a linear decreasing trend (p < 0.05). In terms of cecum microbiota, dietary supplementation with 1~4% MOLP significantly increased the Bacteroidota abundance but decreased the Firmicutes abundance (p < 0.05). Overall, dietary supplementation with MOLP improved the growth performance and meat quality of Ningdu yellow chickens through improving the antioxidant function, intestinal digestive enzyme activity, and the cecal microbial structure. The optimum level of MOLP in the diet of Nindu yellow chicken is recommended to be 2.59%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Alternative Feeds and Dietary Additives on Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Poultry)
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13 pages, 498 KiB  
Article
Dietary Crude Protein Reduction with Addition of Crystalline Amino Acids in Growing Pekin Ducks Housed in Cascading Cages: Influence on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, and Apparent Nutrient Digestibility
by Yongbao Wu, Yulong Feng, Junting Cao, Yong Jiang, Qimeng Wang, Shuisheng Hou and Zhiguo Wen
Agriculture 2024, 14(7), 1102; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14071102 - 9 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1242
Abstract
The intensive raising model for meat duck production has widely adopted cascading cages. However, investigations on low-protein diets for Pekin ducks under this model are scarce. Thus, a 3 × 6 factorial experiment was conducted using six dietary crude protein (CP) levels (17.61%, [...] Read more.
The intensive raising model for meat duck production has widely adopted cascading cages. However, investigations on low-protein diets for Pekin ducks under this model are scarce. Thus, a 3 × 6 factorial experiment was conducted using six dietary crude protein (CP) levels (17.61%, 16.25%, 15.34%, 14.55%, 13.38%, and 12.64%, analyzed) and three cage layers (lower, middle, and upper). The study aimed to examine the effects of dietary CP reduction with crystalline amino acid supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits, and apparent nutrient digestibility in growing Pekin ducks from 21 to 42 days of age housed at different cage layers. A total of 1620 21-day-old Pekin ducks were randomly divided into 18 groups, each with six replicates of 15 ducks per replicate. Ducks were distributed across different cage layers and were fed one of six experimental diets, respectively, each varying in dietary CP levels but maintaining similar dietary energy and amino acid profiles. The results showed that the reduction in dietary CP levels affected growth performance (p < 0.05), while weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain of Pekin ducks had no difference among 17.61%, 16.25%, and 15.34% CP groups (p > 0.05). As dietary CP decreased, abdominal fat yield increased (p < 0.05), but breast and leg meat yields were unaffected (p > 0.05). CP intake, nitrogen intake, and nitrogen excretion decreased linearly (p < 0.05) with decreasing dietary CP levels, while apparent nutrient digestibility in Pekin ducks increased proportionally (p < 0.05). Additionally, body weight, weight gain, feed intake, CP intake, nitrogen intake, and nitrogen excretion of Pekin ducks decreased (p < 0.05) due to different cage layers, while carcass characteristics remained unaffected by cage layer (p > 0.05). In summary, it is feasible to reduce the dietary CP level with crystalline amino acid supplementation in growing Pekin ducks from 21 to 42 days of age housed in cascading cages, while the cage layers affected growth performance of ducks. Based on broken-line models, it was determined that the optimal dietary CP requirement for achieving maximum weight gain and feed efficiency in growing Pekin ducks is approximately 15%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Alternative Feeds and Dietary Additives on Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Poultry)
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