ABSTRACT
The present study examined the effects of fructooligosaccharide (FOS) supplementation in drinking water on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, hematological and biochemical parameters, antioxidant status, and cecal microbiota of New Zealand White (NZW) and APRI rabbits. A total of 180 male NZW and APRI rabbits (aged five weeks; average live body weight 700 ± 39 g) were divided into six groups (30 rabbits/group; 5 replicates/group) in a two × three factorial arrangement. Rabbits of each breed were randomly assigned to one of three treatments of FOS (control; 0.00, FOS-0.5, and FOS-1.0). Results showed that rabbits' final body weight, FBWG, and carcass traits were considerably enhanced compared to those in the control group. The interaction effect of the supplement with the rabbit breed increased the growth, carcass traits, and hematobiochemical and antioxidant parameters with increasing FOS levels. In the cecum of both rabbit breeds, the total bacterial count and Escherichiacoli population were considerably low, with a substantial increase in the number of Lactobacilli supplemented by FOS. In conclusion, FOS supplementation enhanced growth and carcass traits by improving the hematobiochemical parameters and antioxidant status and reducing cecal pathogenic bacteria in both breeds.
ABSTRACT
The primary goal of this study was to conduct a preliminary assessment of maggot meal protein supplements in broiler production. Maggot meal comprises 55 percent crude protein (CP), 27.65% ether extract, 8.33% Ash, 3.37 crude fiber (CF), 2.14 NFE, 94.7 percent Dry Matter, 5702 kcal/kg gross energy, and 3955 kcal/kg metabolizing energy, according to proximate analysis. Maggot meal supplementation affected broiler meat feed intake, body weight gain, FCR, dressing %, mortality, antibody titer against ND, and organoleptic features. The cost-effectiveness of maggot supplementation was also evaluated. Birds were put into four experimental groups after a week of adaptation:Control group (M0), the first experimental group (M1), the second experimental group (M2), and the third experimental group (M3), which received supplements of 0, 2, 3, and 4 g/kg, respectively. A plane ratio was given to the control group as well. The overall feed intake findings were inversely proportional to the supplementation rate. Thus, the highly supplemented group (M3) showed the lowest feed intake than the control group (M0). Bodyweight gain was directly proportional to the supplementation rate, as evident by a considerable increase in the highly supplemented group (M3) compared to the control group.
