One-day-old broiler chickens were given commercial chicken starters during first 4 weeks of growth. The chickens were then divided into two groups: one group was fed commercial intensive growers (control feed), and the other group was fed commercial broiler finishers (high-nutrient feed). Body weights were calculated weekly. At eight weeks old, blood samples were collected and heart tissues wer...

Emerging evidence suggests a potential role of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD)-1 in the control of body weight and energy homeostasis. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of several energy balance-related factors (leptin, cerulenin, food deprivation, genotype, and gender) on SCD gene expression in chickens. In experiment 1, 6-week-old female and male broiler chickens were u...

Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of rapeseed cake and xylanase application on the digestibility and deposition of nutrients and energy in young broiler chickens. Experiment 1 was carried out on broiler chickens between the ages of 1 to 21 days, which were divided into three groups. The control diet contained soybean meal, whereas in the experimental diets a part of the soybean...

To investigate feed as a source for fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli in broiler chickens, we compared antimicrobial drug-resistant E. coli from broiler feed and broilers with ciprofloxacin-resistant human clinical isolates by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Feed was implicated as a source for ciprofloxacin-resistant broiler-derived E. coli and broilers as a source for ciproflo...

A total of 8.2% of flies caught outside a broiler house in Denmark had the potential to transmit Campylobacter jejuni to chickens, and hundreds of flies per day passed through the ventilation system into the broiler house. Our study suggests that flies may be an important source of Campylobacter infection of broiler flocks in summer.

The present study was designed to examine the anatomical parameters of the cardiopulmonary system, the function of venous blood gas parameters and the development of ascites incidence in two genetic line chickens. Three hundred forty day-old chickens from two pure broiler breeder lines, which were different in their growth rate and susceptibility to ascites syndrome were obtained. The relative ...

Heat stress-induced reduction in feed intake is an annoyance of the poultry industry. Feed intake is regulated by complex mechanisms in which brain-gut neuropeptides are involved, but the changes in such neuropeptides in broiler chickens during heat exposure remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of acute heat stress (35°C, 6 h, and 65% relative humidity) on the gene express...

In most areas of the world, broiler chickens are raised in floor systems, but cage confinement is becoming more common. The welfare of broiler chickens in cages is affected by movement restriction, poor bone strength due to lack of exercise, and prevention of key behavioral patterns such as dustbathing and ground scratching. Cages for broiler chickens also have a long history of causing skin an...

One hundred and eighty (180) day-old broiler chickens were used to investigate the effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on growth performance, carcass composition, and the serum concentrations of several lipid metabolic hormones and metabolic parameters (indicators). The broilers received the same basal diets, with DHEA added at 0 (control), 5 and 20 mg/kg feed. During the experimental peri...

This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of different concentrations of the dietary plant extract supplement YGF251 (young growth factor) on growth performance, blood profiles, relative organ weight, nutrient digestibility and meat quality in broiler chickens. A total of 640 one-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chickens with an average initial body weight of 40.25 ± 0.5 g were randomly al...