In mammals, triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation in nonadipose tissue, termed lipotoxicity, develops with obesity and can provoke insulin resistance, overt diabetes, and ovarian dysfunction. Leptin, an adipose tissue hormone, may mediate these effects. Feed-satiated broiler breeder hens manifest lipotoxicity-like symptoms. Changes in body and organ weights, hepatic and plasma TAG, nonesterified f...

A free-range broiler breeder flock was studied in order to determine the natural patterns of Campylobacter colonization over a period of 63 weeks. Campylobacter sequence types (STs) were not mutually exclusive and on average colonized only 17.7% of the birds tested at any time. Campylobacter STs typically reached a peak in prevalence upon initial detection in the flock before tailing off, altho...

Campylobacter are known to cause acute bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. Poultry products have been implicated as a significant source of these infections. Six experiments were performed to determine whether Campylobacter could be isolated naturally from the primary and secondary lymphoid organs, liver/gallbladder, and ceca of commercial broiler breeder hens. Broiler breeder hens were acquir...

Several RNA viruses such as astrovirus, rotavirus, reovirus and parvovirus have been detected in both healthy and diseased commercial poultry flocks. The aim of this study was to characterize (a) the development of the RNA viral community in the small intestines of healthy broiler chickens from hatch through 6 weeks of age (market age) and (b) the contribution of the breeder source vs. bird age...

This research was conducted to evaluate immunity (experiments 1 to 3), cardiac function, and ascities resistance (experiment 4) of progeny chicks from broiler breeders fed diets differing in trace metal level and source. Broiler breeders received a control diet (75 mg of Zn and 83 mg of Mn added/kg of diet), the control diet supplemented with inorganic Zn (75 mg/kg of diet) and Mn (80 mg/kg of ...

A feeding trial was conducted to determine whether dietary vitamin C (200 mg/kg) and vitamin E (250 mg/kg) prevent any drops in egg shell quality under heat stress in broiler breeder hens. One hundred and sixty molted Ross broiler breeders were housed randomly in an individual cage at 83 weeks of age. Four dietary treatments with forty hens and four replications per treatment were control (no a...

Genetic selection for high yield in primary broiler breeder males may result in skeletal modifications that impede sperm transfer upon mating. In addition, fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in bilateral traits has been shown to reliably indicate male reproductive potential in some avian species. The goal of this study was to determine if physical variation due to genetic selection and FA could explain...

Objectives of this study were to explore the untoward effects of cottonseed meal (CSM) on male reproductive performance of broiler breeders and ameliorating effects of lysine addition in rations. A total of 80 broiler breeder males of 40 weeks of age were divided in to 8 groups. The four groups were fed diets containing CSM @ of 0, 10, 20 and 30%, respectively. The remaining four groups were gi...

An appropriate dietary CP level and feeding regimen during rearing is considered important for controlling BW and improving semen production in broiler breeder males. A total of 640 day-old broiler breeder male chicks of two commercial strains (A and B) received treatments of a factorial arrangement of two CP levels (12 and 16%) of corn-soybean grower diets and two feeding regimens [changing fe...