Nutrient digestion efficiency: a comparison between broiler chickens and growing pigs fed maize, barley and oats-based diets with an emphasis on starch.

We investigated the hypotheses that broilers and pigs have distinct starch digestion capacities and that different cereals could trigger diet-species interactions. Ten replicates of two broilers (14 d old) or one pig (50 d old) each were distributed into a 3 × 2 randomised factorial design with three pelleted diets (maize, barley or oat-based) and the two species. Nutritional composition was equal for both species.

A conventional hatchery vs "on-farm" hatching of broiler chickens in terms of microbiological and microclimatic conditions.

"On-farm hatching" is one of the proposed alternatives to conventional hatchery-hatching. This solution reduces distress and improves the welfare of the chicks around the hatching period. Therefore, it seemed interesting to compare conventional hatchery and "on-farm" hatching in terms of microbiological and microclimatic conditions.

Liver Antioxidant Capacity and Steatosis in Laying Hens Exposed to Various Quantities of Lupin () Seeds in the Diet.

Despite the many beneficial properties of legume plants, their use in diets for poultry is limited by the presence of antinutritional factors. The aim of the study was to determine the activity of DT-diaphorase, ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase, and catalase, and the concentration of malondialdehyde in liver tissue, as well as the activity of SOD and CAT in the serum of Hy-line Brown hens fed a diet supplemented with various doses of seeds. The results indicate that the use of large amounts of lupin in the diet resulted in an increase in MDA concentration in the liver and the lipid vacuolization of hepatocytes.

Influence of the genotype of the hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) on main parameters of egg quality, chemical composition of the eggs under uniform environmental conditions.

The objective of this study was to identify and compare the quality characteristics and concentrations of various compounds in eggs from several pure breeds and lines of hens reared under the same environmental conditions and fed a commercial feed. A total of 280 hens aged 52 to 56 wk belonging to 14 different breeds or lines of hens worldwide were included in this study. Their eggs were characterized by wide differences in various egg quality parameters.