The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of digestible threonine supplementation in the starter diet on the performance, intestinal parameters, and nutrient metabolism of broilers derived from breeders of different ages. In total, 480 one-day-old Cobb chicks, derived from 38-or 49-week-oldbreeders, were housed in experimental battery cages until 21 days of age and fed four different threonine levels (800, 900, 1,000, or 1,100 mg/kg) in the starter feed. A completely randomized experimental design in a 2x4 factorial arrangement (breeder age x threonine levels) was applied, totaling eight treatments with five replicates of 12 birds each. Broilers from older breeders fed 800 mg digestible threonine/kg of diet presented higher weight gain, with a positive linear effect. There was also an interaction between breeder age and threonine levels for the weight gain of 21-d-old broilers supplemented at maximum level of 1,003 mg Thr/kg diet during the starter phase. There was no effect of breeder age or threonine levels on nutrient metabolism during the period of 17-21 days. There was no influence of breeder age or threonine levels in the starter diet on intestinal morphometric measurements, absorption area, or percentage of goblet cells.

An investigation was made into the effects of different lairage times and the position of chicken crates during transport to the slaughterhouse on the biochemical and hematological profile and physical parameters of broilers, such as color and pH of their breast meat. The treatments were defined by the animals slaughtered after 0, 2, 4 and 6 hours of lairage time at the slaughterhouse, transported in crates located in the top and bottom layers of the truck. It was found that increasing the lairage time at the slaughterhouse to over two hours reduced the number of lymphocytes and increased the heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio and the basophil count in the hemogram. In addition, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and cholesterol levels increased and plasma triglyceride and glucose levels decreased. The position of the crates in the truck altered the creatine kinase (CK) activity, and the highest enzyme activity was found in birds transported in the top layer of crates in the truck. Furthermore, the long lairage time in the slaughterhouse increased the pH and the value of a* (redness value) and decreased the lightness value of breast fillets. The interaction significant between 4 and 6 hours of lairage time and the position of the crate in the top layer of the truck favored the development of dark, firm, dry (DFD) meat.Keywords: animal welfare, DFD meat, fasting, holding sheds, pre-slaughter Palavras-chave: bem-estar animal, carne DFD, galpão de espera, jejum, pré-abate RESUMO Este trabalho objetivou a avaliação dos efeitos dos diferentes tempos de espera e da posição das caixas

Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da adição de óleos vegetais à alimentação de poedeiras semipesadas na qualidade física de ovos armazenados sob refrigeração ® e em temperatura ambiente (TA). As aves receberam ração formulada à base de milho e farelo de soja com a suplementação de níveis crescentes de óleo de Copaifera langsdorffii (CP-0,03; 0,06 e 0,09%) ou Pterodon emarginatus (SC-0,03 e 0,06%) mais um controle negativo (CN). Periodicamente, foram analisados três ovos por tratamento para Unidade Haugh (UH), índice de gema (IG), cor, pH (gema e albúmen) e porcentagens de casca (PC), gema (PG) e albúmen (PA). Para análise estatística dos resultados, foi adotado um modelo misto (SAS 9.3) e as médias foram comparadas pelo teste de Tukey. A inclusão de até CP0,06% CP ou SC0,03% preservou (P<0,05) os valores de UH nos ovos em TA, equivalente aos tratamentos sob R até 14 dias; além disso, a adição dos óleos controlou a elevação do pH das gemas. Concluiu-se que os óleos vegetais suplementados nas dietas de poedeiras influenciaram positivamente na manutenção da qualidade do albúmen e do pH das gemas dos ovos em temperatura ambiente, contudo nenhum efeito adicional foi verificado para os ovos mantidos sob refrigeração.

SUMMARY The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplemental copaiba or sucupira oils on broiler performance and intestinal health. A total of 600 one-day old Cobb 500 male broilers were distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replicates with 25 broilers each. To increase the health challenge, the broilers were reared on reused litter. The treatments consisted of: control diet; diet with a performance enhancing antibiotic (avilamycin); diet with 2,000 mg/kg copaiba oil and a diet with 500 mg/kg sucupira oil. Data were submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey test (5%). The addition of sucupira oil at 500 mg/kg decreased broiler performance at 21, 33, and 40 days of age, whereas the addition of copaiba oil resulted in similar performance relative to the antibiotic. Dietary supplementation of copaiba or sucupira oils did not change the intestinal epithelium of broilers. The addition of sucupira oil negatively affected broiler performance. Copaiba oil can be used in broiler diets as a performance enhancer.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance and nutrient metabolizability of broilers fed diets containing fumonisin B1 (FB1) and an esterified glucomannan (EGM). In total, 420 male broilers were distributed according to a 3 x 2 + 1 factorial arrangement, corresponding to three FB1 exposure times (seven, 21, or 35 days), two dietary glucomannan addition levels (0 or 0.1% EGM), and control diet, totaling seven treatments. The following diets were fed: 1) Control diet, 2) pre-starter diet containing FB1, 3) pre-starter diet containing FB1 and 0.1% EGM, 4) starter diet containing FB1, 5) starter diet containing FB1 and 0.1% EGM, 6) grower diet containing FB1, and 7) grower diet containing FB1 and 0.1% EGM. On d 7, broilers fed FB1 presented lower body weight gain and feed intake (p<0.05) compared with control treatment. On d 21, no significant performance differences were detected among treatment groups (p>0.05). At 35 days of exposure to FB1 body weight gain was reduced (p<0.05) compared with broilers fed fumonisin B1 for seven days. From 4 to 7 days and 18 to 21 days of age, FB1 reduced nutrient metabolizability (p<0.05). From 36 to 39 days of age, the EGM allowed maintaining apparent metabolizability for ether extract. It was concluded that the EGM did not reduce FB1 effects on performance or nutrient metabolizability in broilers, except for apparent metabolizability of ether extract.