Osama Daoud, PhD. 2021
Advisor: Prof. Anas abdelqader
Co-advisor: Prof. Abdur-Rahman Al-Fataftah
Published article: Osama Dawud, A. Abdelqader, and A. Al-Fataftah. 2021. Effects of Feeding Strategies and Feed Additives on Combating Heat Stress in Broiler Chickens. Agrociencia Journal 55(10): 1-35.
Abstract
The study was designed to find out a practical matrix of nutritional management in an approach to be offered as a benchmark for broiler chickens farmers during heat stress. The study was achieved by conducting two field experiments. The first experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of common feed additives used at a commercial scale with potential benefits during periods of heat stress conditions. One-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were reared using commercial standard management practices. On day 21 of age, 1300 birds were randomly selected and equally distributed into 13 experimental treatments, each treatment was replicated 4 times (25chickens/replicate). The treatment groups were, one thermo-neutral (TN) group (18-25 °C) and twelve heat stress (HS) groups (35±2 ºC). The HS groups were exposed daily to intermittent heat stress 4 hours/day from 12:00 PM to 16:00 PM for 14 successive days. The treatments (T) were T1: TN fed basal normal commercial diet, T2: HS fed basal commercial diet (positive control), T3: HS supplemted with vitamin C (200 mg/kg of feed),T4: HS supplemted with vitamin E (250 mg/kg of feed),T5: HS supplemted with vitamin A (15,000 IU/kg of feed),T6: HS supplemted with selenium (0.3 mg/kg of feed), T7: HS supplemted with zinc (100 mg/kg of feed), T8: HS supplemted with chromium (1.5 mg/kg of feed), T9: HS supplemted with magnesium (0.3 mg/kg of feed),T10: HS supplemted with extra lysine and methionine amino acids (5% above Ross requierments, 2019; lysine 1.218 %, and methionine 0.4935 %), T11: HS supplemted with betain (2mg/kg of feed), T12: HS supplemted with sodium bicarbonate (5 g/kg of feed), and T13: HS supplemted with all previous feed additives(all-in-one) in the same doses.The results of the first experiment showed that heat stress significantly (P<0.05) impaired all performance parameters of T2 (HS fed the basal diet) throughout the study period. In contrast, sodium bicarbonate improved (P<0.05) all performance parameters when compared with TN, and was the most efficient treatment to maintain normal performance parameters under heat stress conditions. In conclusion, both experiments night feeding was the most efficient feeding strategy to alleviate the negative consequences of heat stress on broiler chickens. Based on the results of both experiments, sodium bi-carbonate was a principal feed additive to combat such negative consequences on performance and welfare. Zinc supplementation was advantageous at enhancing immunity and improving the response of broiler chickens to the regular vaccination program. Altogether, these findings suggest that dietary interventions have the potential to mitigate the negative consequences of heat stress on broiler chickens. However, additional researches are needed to better understand the biology of rcovery and mode of actions.
Ola Mahasneh, PhD. 2022, Ministry of Agriculture
Published article: Ola Mahasneh, A. Abdelqader, and A. Al-Fataftah. 2023. Effect of Yeast Cell Wall on Gut Health, Immunity and Milk Production of Dairy Cattle in Normal and Heat Stress Conditions. Review. Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 19(3), 281-299.
The study focused on the most recent literature to bring to light the major beneficial effects of the yeast cell wall (YCW) and its products on dairy cattle. These products include viable yeast, yeast culture, nutritional yeast, and fractionated yeast products. The yeast cell wall is one of these products and belongs to the fractionated yeast products used to promote production performance and health in dairy cows. The yeast and YCW were proven to have positive impacts on dairy cattle performance in terms of milk yield, milk components, and overall quality. As well, these products showed beneficial effects under heat stress conditions. The YCW is a natural fermentation derivative of yeast cells such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae species consists mainly of β-glucan (29% to 64%), mannan (31%), and some other compounds like protein (13%), lipids (9%), chitin (1–2%) with β-glucan and mannan being the main bioactive molecules. The mode of action through which YCW elicit their beneficial functions in dairy cow explain their effect on cows' metabolism and digestion, immunity, rumen and intestine health, and subsequent performance and well-being. These modes of action include improving gastrointestinal (GI) tract health, stimulating immune system components as it is considered an immunomodulator additive, mycotoxin binding ability, and improving antioxidant capacity. Therefore, yeast and YCW products are one of the promising areas of ruminant nutrition in dairy cows, not only because of their nutritional and health benefits to dairy cows but also due to their negligible residual effects on dairy cows’ bodies and products.
Wala'a Al-Younes, PhD, 2023, Artat, KSA
Co-advisor: Dr. Mohannad Abuajamieh
Published article: Wal'a Al-Younes, A. Abdelqader, M. Abuajamieh, and K. Nassar. 2024. Efficacy of Probiotics and Essential Oils as Alternatives to Antibiotic Growth Promotors in Broiler Chickens. Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 55(2), 633-343.
The current study was carried out on broiler chickens to assess whether probiotics or essential oils could be utilized instead of antibiotics growth promoters (AGP) in typical feed formulations, to determine their effectiveness. A total of 2250 broiler chicks at one-day old age were allocated into 5 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with 9 replicates per treatment and 50 chicks/replicate. The Probiotic included three strains of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, the essential oil (EO) was a blend of Cinnamaldehyde-Thymol, and the AGP was Lincomycin™. These additives were added to the basal diets (BD) to formulate the following dietary treatments (T): (T1) control-fed BD that is regularly used by broiler farmers (T2) control-fed BD that is regularly used by broiler farmers and supplemented with Lincomycin™ (100 g/ton) as AGP; (T3) fed BD + Probiotics (Enviva® PRO 60 g/ton); (T4) fed BD + EO (Enviva® 100g/ton); and (T5) fed BD + combination of both probiotics and EO with the same doses used in T3 and T4. The study findings demonstrated that the use of probiotics or essential oils did not have any significant impact on the average body weight gain, final body weight, feed conversion ratio, or footpad lesion scores when compared to the AGP group. It was concluded that replacing the AGP with probiotics or EO, as natural feed additives, had no negative effects on broiler performance. The probiotic strains or the EO could be safe alternatives to AGP.
Zeinab Mahasneh, PhD, 2023, Department of Animal Production, The University of Jordan
Advisor: Prof. Abdur-Rahman Al-Fataftah
Published article: Zeinab M.H. Mahasneh, M. Abuajamieh, M. Abedal-Majed, M. Al-Qaisi, A. Abdelqader, and A. Fataftah. 2024. Using indigenous medical plants as feed additives to alleviate the adverse effects of heat stress on broiler chickens physiology and performance. Poultry Science. 103(3): 103391
High temperatures have detrimental effects on the performance and physiology of broiler chickens. Medicinal plants have various biological activities and may enhance the heat resistance of chickens during heat waves. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential roles of using specific local medicinal plants to alleviate the negative impacts of heat stress (HS) in broilers. In this study, 180 day-old chicks were used to investigate the effects of HS and dietary indigenous medicinal plants on growth performance, antioxidant biomarkers, and intestinal health. The chicks were assigned to six groups (18 pens with 10 chicks per pen) with three replicates each. In the first group, the chicks were kept under thermoneutral conditions (CON) and fed a basal diet. The other five groups were exposed to recurrent heat stress and fed a basal diet (T1, HS group) or supplemented with Artemisia Sieberi (1.25 g/kg of feed; T2), Achillea Fragrantissima (15 g/kg of feed; T3), Olea europaea (10 g/kg of feed; T4), and all the previous additives (all-in-one) combined at the same dose levels mentioned above (T5). At 21 days of age, the chicks from each group were exposed to two phases of heat stress: phase 1 from days 21 to 34 (34 ± 1°C) followed by phase 2 from days 35 to 39 (37 ± 1°C). The results indicate that HS significantly increased rectal temperature and respiration rate in broiler chickens. Feed intake and body weight gain were improved in all supplemented groups, while the feed conversion ratio was decreased in response to the dietary inclusion of medicinal plants. Additionally, glutathione peroxidase and immunoglobulin G levels were increased in the T3, T4, and T5 groups compared to the other groups. HS induced significant upregulated in the mRNA levels of heat shock protein 70 and interleukin-8, while the mRNA of occludin was decreased. The T3, T4, and T5 showed significantly decreased expression of hepatic HSP70 and ileum IL-8 genes and increased ileum mRNA occludin levels relative to the CON and T1 groups. In conclusion, supplementation with these plants enhances growth performance and maintains intestinal health sustaining the productivity of broiler chickens under HS conditions.
Rahaf Istatieh, MSc, 2024. Alestesharia Animal Nutrition, Al-Qastal, Jordan
Advisor: Dr. Mohannad Abuajamieh
Co-advisor: Dr. Mohmmad Al-Qaisi
Article title: Rahaf Istatieh, Mohannad Abuajamieh, Mohmmad Al-Qaisi, Mohamed Abedal-Majed, and Anas Abdelqader. Impact of probiotic-supplemented water on the performance and physiological responses of broilers under normal and heat stress conditions. Veterinary World (submitted)
The study aimed to evaluate the effects of (50 mg/ L) in drinking water on the productive performance, intestinal health, and inflammatory biomarkers of broiler chickens during thermo-neutral (TN) and heat stress (HS) conditions. A total of 192 one day old chicks were randomly assigned into 4 treatments; (6 replicates/ treatment; 8 chicks/ replicate). Treatments were: (1) TN conditions and tap water (TNCON), (2) TN conditions and tap water supplemented with probiotics (TNPRO), (3) HS environments and tap water (HSCON), and (4) HS environments and tap water supplemented with probiotics (HSPRO). Chicks of TNCON and TNPRO remained in TN, while HSCON and HSPRO chicks were exposed to intermitted HS at the age of 31 d for 3 h for 5 d (33±2°C; d31-35). Overall, HS increased rectal temperature (Tr) and respiratory rate (RR) relative to TN broilers (1.6 °C and 57 breaths/min, respectively; P < 0.01). Regardless of the environment, supplementing probiotics decreased Tr compared to non-probiotic treatments (0.17℃; P = 0.01). Relative to TN treatments, HS decreased villus height (VH) and surface area in the jejunum and ileum (10.6, 8.5, 16 and 26%; respectively; P < 0.001). Overall, there was no effect of HS and probiotic supplementation on serum amyloid A (SAA), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and total protein among treatments (P > 0.05). Diamine oxidase (DAO) in probiotics tended to be decreased relative to non-probiotics (24%; P = 0.09). In addition, relative to TN treatments, HS declined albumin, and glucose levels (11.76 and 22.5%, respectively; P ≤ 0.02). In summary, HS negatively influenced gut permeability and some blood metabolites. Probiotic supplementation slightly decreased Tr and DAO levels but did not affect inflammatory biomarkers or intestinal morphology.
Ishraq Khrissat, current MSc student
Co-advisor: Dr. Mohmmad Al-Qaisi
Thesis Title: Effects of supplementing dietary postbiotic on performance and gut integrity in laying hens under heat stress conditions.