Performance of broilers fed diets supplemented with two yeast cell wall strains using two feeding strategies.

Different supplements or strategies have been proposed as alternatives to the use of antibiotics at sub-therapeutic levels in chickens. Mannan oligosaccharides and ß-glucans, yeast cell wall fractions (YCW), have been reported to beneficially influence broiler performance and health. Two differently produced yeast cell wall fractions derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were evaluated in this study using two different supplementation strategies offered to full-term broilers. The birds were placed in floor pens on used pine-shaving litter to increase potential microbial stress and mimic industry practice. The study utilized a three-phase feeding program with a 1- to 21-day starter, 21- to 35-day grower and 35- to 42-day finisher phases. Five dietary treatments were compared in this study. The experimental diets consisted of a control basal broiler diet; or the basal diet supplemented with the two differently produced fractions of YCW. The YCW products were supplemented at a constant 250 ppm or a decreasing concentration program (500, 250, 125 ppm) throughout the three feeding phases. Birds fed diets supplemented with either YCW products at any inclusion regimen demonstrated higher (P < 0.05) body weight (BW) in all three phases than control birds. The difference in final 42-day BW of the YCW treatments (3041 g) averaged 165 g higher (P < 0.05) than the control group. For all YCW treatments, productivity index was higher (P < 0.05) in the grower (418) and finisher phase (441) versus control birds (389 grower and 415 finisher). These results suggested that both YCW fractions prepared from Saccharomyces cerevisiae can improve broiler performance when added at either a constant rate (250 ppm) or at a decreasing rate from 500 ppm for the starter to 125 ppm for the finisher phase.

Epidemiological study of the prevalence of hydatidosis in ruminants at the Holy City of Karbala, Iraq

The paper describes a field survey performed to determine the prevalence of hydatid cyst disease in ruminants in butcher shops in the Holy City of Karbala, and to compare the rates of infection among these animals. The study lasted for five months from November 2016 to April 2017. During the study, 2115 cattle, 4230 sheep and 623 goats were examined. The results indicate that 39 cattle (1.84%), 84 sheep (1.9%) and 15 goats (2.4%) were infected. The livers of sheep and goats demonstrated a higher incidence of hydatid cysts than the lungs, with 1.2% of sheep livers and 2.08% of goat livers being infected. The incidence of lung infection was 0.7% of sheep and 0.32% of goats. In cattle, however, lung infection (1.22%) was more widespread than liver infection (0.61%).

Assessing effects of yeast cell wall supplementation on threonine requirements in broilers as measured by performance and intestinal morphology.

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether or not the use of a prebiotic yeast cell wall (YCW) affects threonine requirements in starter broilers. Two hundred and forty 1-d-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were distributed among 2 Petersime battery brooder units (48 pens; 5 birds per pen). Different threonine to lysine ratios (0.60, 0.65, and 0.70 to 1.0) with 1.22% available lysine with and without YCW at 250 ppm was fed to the chickens in order to evaluate performance and intestinal morphology over a 21-d trial. A basal diet with 22% protein and 2,980 kcal/kg ME was prepared to create the 6 dietary treatments. The calculated lysine concentration was 1.34%, whereas threonine was 0.81, 0.88, and 0.94%, respectively. Pen weights and feed consumption were recorded at d 1, 7, 14, and 21 of the experiment. Jejunal and ileal samples were collected on d 21 for histology analysis to evaluate villi height (VH), crypt depth, villi width (VW), and muscularis thickness. A threonine to lysine ratio of 0.7:1.0 resulted in significant improvement of performance variables with increased jejunum VW and ileum VH compared with the other threonine to lysine ratios. Adding YCW to starter broiler did not affect the requirement for threonine.