فهرست مطالب حسین جان محمدی

During the last stages of incubation, avian mortality commonly happens due to the lack of enough nutrients and amino acids (Fardoost et al. 2019). However, in ovo injection or in ovo feeding is considered a new technique for improving growth of chickens (Ebrahimi et al. 2017). Most studies indicated improving effect of in ovo feeding of nutrients (especially amino acids) on small intestine growth and histology as well as higher absorptive capacity of digestive system (Ebrahimi et al. 2017, 2018a,b; Elwan et al. 2019; Fardoost et al. 2019). Previous studies indicated an improving effect of excess feeding of arginine on growth performance, carcass traits, blood metabolites, and intestinal histology of broilers (Ebrahimi et al. 2013, 2014, 2016b). However, there are few records regarding the impact of in ovo injection of arginine on intestine histology of chickens. Accordingly, the present study was designed to evaluate the effect of in ovo injection of different levels of arginine on carcass traits, blood metabolites, and small intestine histology of broiler chickens.

For this reason, 300 fertile broiler breeder eggs were divided into three treatment groups: 1- 0.5% L-arginine in ovo injection group (100 eggs), 2- 1% L-arginine in ovo injection group (100 eggs), 3- control group included distilled water injected (sham-control subgroup, 50 eggs) and non-injected (control subgroup, 50 eggs). Eggs were then set into the incubator for the first 18 days with the temperature of 37.8°C and six rotations per day. At d 14 of incubation, eggs were injected into the amniotic fluid (Ebrahimi et al. 2017) as follows: 1- in ovo injection of 5 mg L-arginine/ ml distilled water, 2- in ovo injection of 10 mg of L-arginine/ml distilled water, 3- control group included sham-control (in ovo injection of 1 ml distilled water) and control (received no injection). For in ovo injection, solution pH was set at 7.0. At d 18 of incubation, eggs were moved into hatchery boxes. After hatching, chicks were reared for 24 days. During the experiment, chicks received standard commercial diets based on Ross recommendations as starter (0-10 days) and grower (11-24 days), (Table 1). At d 24, blood samples of three chickens per each replicate were collected, centrifuged (3000 rpm for 20 minutes), and serum was separated to evaluate cholesterol, glucose, triglyceride, uric acid, and total protein by the Enzymatic Colorimetric method (Ebrahimi et al. 2017). Then, all birds were weighed, slaughtered, some carcass traits (scalped carcass, eviscerated carcass, breast, thigh, gizzard, proventriculus, pancreas liver without gall bladder, heart, duodenum , jejunum, and ileum were weighed, and their relative weight to chicken body weight were calculated. Also, length of duodenum , jejunum, and ileum was evaluated and their samples were stored in 10% formalin for fixation to evaluate histological parameters (crypt depth, villus height, villus thickness, mucosal thickness, and crypt diameter) using Hematoxylin - Eosin staining method (Ebrahimi et al. 2017). Then, villus height to crypt depth ratios were calculated. Afterwards, data were analyzed based on a completely randomized design by the Proc GLM of SAS software (Ver 9.2). Also, Tukey-Kramer test was used for comparing treatments and results presented as least square means ± standard error.

Based on the results, in ovo injection of different levels of L-arginine did not affect hatchability, day-old chick weight, chick weight to egg weight ratio, 24-day-old chicken weight, feed conversion ratio, relative weight of all carcass traits, cholesterol, glucose, total protein and blood urea nitrogen (P> 0.05), (Table 2). However, serum triglyceride was significantly affected by experimental treatments (P <0.01) and the highest amount was observed in 0.5% L-arginine in ovo injection group (Table 2). In a similar study, Gao et al. (2017) indicated that L- arginine in ovo injection increased weight gain of broiler chickens. Furthermore, Abdolalizadeh Alvanegh et al. (2017) reported the improving effect of in ovo injection of different ratios of L- arginine to L- lysine on chick weight and their carcass traits. Also, they reported higher serum total protein level, while lower blood urea nitrogen of broiler chicks with in ovo injection of different ratios of L- arginine to L- lysine (Abdolalizadeh Alvanegh et al., 2017).Present results indicated no significant effect of in ovo injection of L-arginine on most weight and length parameters of small intestine length (P>0.05); however, relative weight of jejunum was significantly affected by in ovo injection of L-arginine (P<0.05) and the highest amount was observed in 0.5% L-arginine in ovo injection group (Table 3). Present results indicated no significant effect of in ovo injection of L-arginine on duodenal crypt diameter; jejunal villus height, crypt depth and diameter, and mucosal thickness; and ileum villus height, crypt depth, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and mucosal thickness (P>0.05), (Table 3). However, significant effect of in ovo injection of L-arginine was observed on duodenal villus height, villus thickness, crypt depth, villus height/crypt depth ratio, and mucosal thickness; jejunal villus thickness and villus height/crypt depth ratio; and ilium villus thickness and crypt diameter (P<0.05), (Table 3). Also, the highest amount in most histological parameters was observed in 1% arginine treatment (Table 3). In a similar study, it was reported that in ovo injection of L- methionine had a positive impact on small intestine length and weight with improvement in villus height, crypt diameter, crypt depth, and villus height/crypt depth ratio of duodenum and jejunum (Fardoost et al. 2019). Also, in ovo injections of L- lysine improved histological parameters of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum (Ebrahimi et al. 2017). Ebrahimi et al. (2018b) with in ovo injection of different DL- methionine to L- lysine ratios reported higher small intestinal weight and length along with higher Villus height and Villus height to crypt depth ratio.

Based on the overall results of the study, injection of 0.5% arginine showed a positive effect on the growth and small intestine morphology of broiler chickens.

In addition to high protein content, canola meal can play a significant role in the energy supply of poultry feeds due to its relatively high amount of carbohydrates and crude fat. The value of AMEn in the NRC table for a canola meal is 2000 kcal/kg. The metabolizable energy value of canola meal has not been published in Iranian tables of feed composition published by the animal science research center. The evaluation of the feed is completed by determining nutrients followed by measuring its metabolizable energy content. There are different methods to determine the amounts of metabolizable energy in poultry feeds, and each of them has advantages and disadvantages. The regression method is one of the methods of determining metabolizable energy, which provides the possibility of studying the metabolizable energy content of a test ingredient in practical diets at different levels. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the apparent metabolizable energy values corrected to zero point of nitrogen balance (AMEn) of canola meal with and without enzyme by regression method in adult leghorn roosters.

Canola meal samples were obtained from poultry feed plants in Tabriz city and their chemical composition was measured according to standard methods. The number of 48 adult leghorn roosters were used with 6 replications in a completely randomized design in factorial order (2 × 4) (two levels of enzyme Zero and 375 units × four levels of canola meal, Zero, 7, 14, 21 percent) using the regression method by replacing canola meal in corn-soybean meal-based diet.

The average values of dry matter, ash, crude protein, ether extract, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were 88.5, 6.8, 34.4, 6.7, 34.5, and 20.5% respectively and gross energy value of canola meal was 4324 kcal/kg.By increasing the level of canola meal in the experimental diets, the values of ADMM, AOMM, AMEn and gross energy efficiency decreased significantly (p<0.05). The amount of AMEn decreased by 7.4%, equivalent to 244 kcal/kg in the diet containing 21% canola meal compared to the control diet without canola meal. Enzyme addition improved AMEn of diets containing of canola meal as much as 64 Kca/Kg. The equations for estimating AMEn of canola meal with and without enzyme showed high determination coefficients of 0.83 and 0.79, respectively. The AMEn of canola meal with and without enzyme by regression method was estimated 1985 and 1838 kcal/kg, respectively.

The obtained values for AMEn of canola meal with and without enzyme by regression method were lower compared to the corresponding values reported in NRC (1994). Therefore, formulating poultry diets with AMEn values reported here may be effective in predicting the bird’s performance.

Honey bees play a significant role in the balance of nature, especially through the pollination process. Pollination is important for the viability of many pastoral enterprises, market gardens and orchards. As at June 2010 the estimated value of pollination to Victorian agricultural and horticultural crops was estimated to exceed $400 million. Horticultural and seed industries are partially or completely dependent on effective pollination by honey bees.The bee keeping industry is one of the important sections of agriculture in Iran. It is a manufacturing activity that is possible throughout the year. Thousands of households are passing the life with this manner.

The main aim of the present study is an examination of effective factors on honey production yield at Arasbaran apiaries in the east Dizmar district of Khoda afarin County of the east Azerbaijan province. METHIDS: Type of research is descriptive - correlation and statistical population was all (643) the bee keepers in 4 villages of the east Dizmar district of Khoda afarin County. In order to examining the reliability of the questionnaire a pre - test was conducted. The value of Cronbach's alpha coefficient for different parts of the questionnaire was between 0/77 – 0/85. Sample size of the bee keepers was determined by random systematic method with Cochrane formula. Finally, 243 bee keepers was selected. The data was analyzed by using SPSS22 and LISREL8.72 soft wares. It is worth noting that yield of honey production is dependent variable and was calculated based on the amount and quantity of products (bee wax, honey and bee glue) which produced by Bee keepers from each hive in kilograms.

According to research findings, bee keepers are in middle age range. This range of age can be considered positive point of the combination of young force and experience. The minimum education level of one third of bee keepers is bachelor. So, it is possible to perform literacy - based educations and, on the other hand, this capacity can be used to teach other bee keepers with low literacy. In terms of being bee keepers innovator, statistics show that they do not use the modified queen and rely on queen's natural duplicating method. It would be a reason to being intangible beekeepers need for training and feasibility to use the modified queen under consideration of governmental organisation and also, using the method of controlled process of the queen duplication. Improvement and modernization of hives is not favorable.This fact affects on the rate of each hive production and market qualification of honey products. There are positive and significant correlation in 5% level between dependent variable (honey products yield) and some factors such as; the individual, professional, psychological and technical characteristics. Based on the rate of factor loading, psychological factor (1.27) and variables such as: seeking out weather news, being helpful of extension and education classes, the interest to continue beekeeping job, social desirability of beekeeping and the distance of the apiaries had the most effect on variance changes of honey yield.

Livelihoods of bee keepers was not evaluated appropriately, so in order to helping bee keepers to continue the production of honey, providing sustainable livelihoods, alternatives and supplements are suggested. The whole state of the colonies are not suitable. It is necessary to take place an urgent act by agricultural extension office of the east Azerbaijan province for promoting technologies consistent with regional conditions. Developing usage of the modified queen and the industrial method of duplicating queen feels strongly to be planned in the research district. Labor - save technologies be introduced for declining duration of referring bee keepers to hives. Variables such as desirability of social status of bee keeping and interest in continuing bee keeping job had significant affect on honey production so, the distinctive suggestion is that custodians of affairs do the necessary measures like promotion to introduce more bee keeping job to the community. It is important to predict creating required conditions to buy modern hives due to granting a subsidy facilities. By reducing the production cost of bee keepers ' performance rises, therefore the obvious suggestion in order to reduce costs is setting up bee keepers ' formations. One of the variables influencing honey yield is replacing of honeycombs. Specified suggestion for this case is predicting training headlines, applying appropriate supervision and implementing of extensional programs. Also, Generalizing and expanding education with the aim of transferring elderly and highly qualified person's experiences to young people, on the one hand, and increasing the possibility of applying new technologies, on the other hand, will have a double effect on bee keepers honey yield. The effect of following the meteorology news on the honey yield is above. This fact illustrates the role of proper knowledge of bee keepers of meteorological variables on honey production. So, it is important that east Azerbaijan agriculture jihad organization preparing daily messages for bee keepers in the form of SMS or by mass media. Preparing reports about prediction of meteorological status in the form of weekly, monthly, seasonal and six mouths is emphasized.

Vitamin D3 is one of the important vitamins in calcium metabolism, which increases the active transport of calcium and phosphorus in the intestinal epithelium. However, the mechanism by which vitamin D3 increases the absorption of calcium and phosphorus is not fully understood. The active form of vitamin D3 or 1,25-hydroxycalciferol is transported to the nucleus of the intestinal cells. In the presence of 1, 25-hydroxycalciferol, a specific RNA is secreted from the cell nucleus, which is translated into a specific protein by the ribosomes, thereby increasing the uptake of calcium and phosphorus. The primary role of 1, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in vertebrates in regulating calcium homeostasis is the direct action of 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D3 on the gut, kidneys and bones by inhibiting the production of parathyroid hormone in the parathyroid glades. Vitamin C prevents stress by preventing the release of corticosteroid hormones, which can be effective for bird function, egg production and reducing mortality. In the liver, vitamin D3 is converted into 25-hydroxycalciferol, which is later converted into calciferol hydroxylase (activated by vitamin C) in the kidneys by the enzyme 25-hydroxy molecule. This metabolite increases the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestinal wall and renal tubules. The aim of this experiment is therefore the effect of vitamin D3 and vitamin C on performance, egg quality and hatchability in broilers breeder hen at the end of the production period.

A total of 240 broiler breeder hens and 24 cockers (Ross 308) were distributed in a 2×2 factorial arrangement including two levels of vitamin D (3500 & 5500 IU) and two levels of vitamin C (0 & 150 mg/kg) with 6 replicate pens of 10 hens and one cock each. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks (from the age of 49 to 61 weeks), and during the trial, the performance traits production and hatchability were recorded. Every 28 days 4 eggs were evaluated for internal and external quality.

The results of the study showed that the main effect of vitamin D3 had a significant impact on egg weight, with higher concentrations resulting in a reduction in egg weight. However, there was no significant effect on other performance parameters. The main effect of higher concentrations of vitamin D3 was an increase in the number of hatching eggs, shell percentage, shell thickness, specific gravity of the eggs, a decrease in the percentage of egg breakage. However, this effect was not significant for other parameters. Increasing the level of 1,25 hydroxycalciferol significantly increased plasma calcium levels, which led to increased renal 1-alpha-hydroxylase activity, envelope secretion, reduced oocyte rupture, resulting in increased hatch fertility. The main effect of vitamin C significantly increased production percentage and reduced feed conversion and feed consumption per egg. However, there was no significant effect on other parameters. Addition of vitamin C significantly increased external characteristics of the eggs, including shell proportion, shell thickness, shell ash and phosphorus, number of hatching eggs, but reduced the number of broken eggs. However, there was no significant effect on internal parameters, except for yolk color. The use of vitamin C activates the enzyme 25-hydroxycholecalciferol hydroxylase to produce 1,25 hydroxycalciferol, which increases calcium absorption from the intestinal wall and reduces the number of ruptured eggs. Regarding the interaction of different levels of vitamin D3 and vitamin C, the results showed that higher levels of vitamin D3 and vitamin C increased production percentage, egg mass, number of hatching eggs, shell thickness, phosphorus and FCR. Intake in the egg removed significantly increased, but the number of broken eggs decreased.

In general, according to the results of the present experiment, it can be concluded that the use of vitamin C in an amount of 150 mg / kg with 5500 IU of vitamin D3 can increase the production percentage, increase the mass of eggs and improve the feed conversion ratio. It can also increase shell thickness and the number of chickens produced weekly and over the period, decrease the number of broken eggs, increase the number of hatching eggs, reduce feed intake per egg and feed intake per chicken at the end of the broiler breeder production period.

The efficacy of the use of microelements is an important issue in modern poultry nutrition. Microelements are essential for normal growth and many metabolic processes in living organisms, as they are catalysts or constituents of the enzymatic systems of many cells. These facts, along with advanced knowledge of the importance of microelements in immunological processes and reproduction and the variable content of trace minerals in feed materials, has lead, in commercial practice, to their being added to poultry diets in high amounts, with a large safety margin, often exceeding the birds’ requirements. This can lead to a high concentration of microelements in animals’ excreta and their accumulation in the environment, especially in areas of intensive poultry production (Swiatkiewicz et al. 2014). The nanoparticle, which is at least one dimension reduced to a Nano metric size, exhibits new electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and biological properties, which have been determined as critical factors influencing particle uptake. Therefore, the new phenomena and properties of nanoparticles may have unique potential applications. Pekel and Alp (2011) stated that supplementation with 250 mg/kg of copper decreased blood GSH-Px levels and that this could cause a reduction in tissue cholesterol concentrations. Jegede et al (2015) reported that cholesterol content in the yolk of laying hens egg was reduced in birds fed with 150 mg kg-1 Copper proteinate.

The experiment included 5 dietary treatments, which consisted of a basal diet, the basal diet with 75 or 150 mg/kg of Cu from organig source (Bioplex, Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, KY) and the basal diet with 75 or 150 mg/kg of Cu from nano (Framelco, The Netherlands). The hens were allocated in individual cages (41×23×43 cm) and two cages were considered to one replicate. Before starting the experiment, the live weights and egg production of all birds were recorded and distributed to all cages in similar weight and equal egg production. The lighting schedule was a 16 h light/8 h dark cycle with an average light intensity of 15 lx, which was maintained until the end of the experiment, and fresh water) were provided ad libitum throughout the experiment. At the beginning of this experiment fed on a balanced commercial layer diet two weeks prior to study to allow them to adapt and reach a standard level of egg production (data not shown). The data were analyzed based on a completely randomized design using general linear model procedure of SAS (version 8.0; SAS Institute, Cary, USA). When treatment means were significant (p< 0.05), the Duncan multiple range test was used to compare the means.

Feed intake was not affected by dietary treatments (P >0.05). Different levels of dietary treatments increased egg production compared to the control group (P <0.01). Birds fed diet with 150 mg/kg bioplex and nano copper has a significantly lower feed conversion ratio than control diet (P <0.05). The use of different sources and levels of copper had no significant effect on the quality traits of eggs (P<0.05). All dietary treatments resulted in a significant decrease in cholesterol of yolk (P<0.01) or plasma (P<0.05). Also, the biochemical parameters of plasma were not significantly influenced by the addition of different levels of copper to the diet (P >0.05). Lim and Paik (2006) reported a variable effect of organic Cu on the egg production and egg quality. In the present study, the results showed that the addition of organic and nano copper increased egg mass and production, these results are consistent with Tanika (2004) findings. Eggs are rich source of dietary cholesterol and consumption of high level of dietary cholesterol increases the risk of coronary heart disease (Kritchevsky 2004). Based on the results a significant reduction in egg yolk cholesterol of laying birds fed supplemental copper was seen. These findings are in agreement with previous studies in copper-supplemented birds (Leeson 2004). The significant reduction in yolk cholesterol by feeding copper Bioplex and nano copper shows that organic and nano forms of copper were more effective in reducing cholesterol level when fed to laying birds. This observation agreed with the report of Idowu et al. (2006).

It was concluded that dietary supplementation of 150 mg/kg nano copper and bioplex significantly increased hen day egg production. The cholesterol content in the yolk and plasma of laying hens was reduced in birds fed dietary treatment.

Varroa infestation is undoubtedly the greatest threat and challenge facing Apiculture today. This external parasite inevitably lives in the bee colony and causes irreparable damage to its colony and the subsequent honey production. One of the proposed strategies in this regard is the use of pesticides, which have a negative impact on the health of bees and honey consumers. To avoid these negative consequences, safer alternative methods of controlling mites are needed, including the use of resistant genetic strains and breeding selection programs to establish colonies with relative resistance to mites. In honeybee colonies, there are several physiological and behavioral mechanisms for Varroa resistance that by examining their relationship with identified resistance genes, the genetic basis of Varroa mite resistance in honeybees is identified and can used in breeding programs. The aim of the present study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in a sample of the Iranian honeybee population, in the candidate gene (the dopamine receptor gene (DOP3)) effective on defense behaviors of honeybees against the varroa mite.

For this purpose, a total of 10 drone bees (5 susceptible and 5 resistant) were selected and their DNA was then isolated using a CTAB-based method. The PCR was carried out based on specific primers in the UTR region sequence of the DOP3 gene. The quantity and quality were then determined using the nanometer method. After a single band (900 bp) of the expected size, product purification and sequencing (Sanger method) were performed. The display of the outputs and the determination of the quality of the raw sequence (phred index) took place with the FinchTV software and the alignment with BLAST and clustering with the MAFTT software.

In this study, differences were observed in several regions of the nucleotide sequence of the UTR region of DOP3 gene, the most important difference in the nucleotide sequence between sensitive and resistant individuals in the two regions. One is in the nucleotide region of 428 to 437 forward readings as many as 9 bp nucleotides and the other is in the nucleotide region of 715 to 720 forward readings as many as 6 bp nucleotides, which in both, mutations of the deletion type have been performed.

Evaluation of the final results showed significant difference, in type of deletion/addition with the size of 6 and 9 bp between two groups (sensitive and resistant to Varroa), respectively which can be used in the molecular identification of resistant colonies and breeding programs to produce Varroa mite resistant colonies. No such deletions from this gene have been reported so far.

The inclusion of prebiotics in layer hen diets can act as a growth-promoting antibiotic replacer and have beneficial effects on egg production and egg quality. This study aimed to investigate the effects of liquid prebiotic on the post-molt laying performance, egg quality at different storage temperatures and times, immune system function, and blood biochemical parameters of laying hens.

A total of 144 White Leghorn Hy-Line W-36 laying hens at 83 wk of age were randomly assigned to 6 dietary treatments, 4 replicates, and 6 birds per each for 6 weeks in a complete randomized design experiment. Experimental diets were: 1- A corn-soybean meal-based diet without adding liquid prebiotic as a control, 2 to 5- Supplementing basal diets with 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 ml of liquid prebiotic per Kg of diet, 6- basal diet with adding 500 mg of oxytetracycline as an antibiotic per kg of diet. Laying performance including egg production, egg weight, egg mass were recorded daily, and feed intake and feed conversion ratio were calculated weekly. In order to evaluate the egg quality traits at various storage temperatures (refrigerator temperature (4ºC) and room temperature (25ºC) and storage periods (0, 7, 14 days), two eggs were randomly selected from each replicate in the 2th, 4th and 6th weeks of the experiment and the egg quality traits were measured. To evaluate the effects of liquid prebiotic supplementation on humoral immunity, antibody production against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was used. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using a completely randomized design by SAS 9.1 software (SAS, 2004). The egg quality traits data were subjected to analysis of variance in a completely randomized design as a 6×3×2 factorial arrangements (6 levels of liquid prebiotic and antibiotic supplementations, 2 different storage temperatures and 3 storage periods).

The results showed that by increasing the prebiotic supplementation, the daily egg production (p=0.0057) and egg mass (p=0.0013) were linearly increased, and feed conversion ratio (p=0.0016) were linearly decreased. The effect of adding liquid prebiotic on egg quality traits including egg shape index, shell percentage, and shell thickness was not significant (p>0.05), but the effect of storage period on egg shape index and the effect of storage temperature on shell thickness and egg shape index was significant (p<0.05). Supplementation of diets with liquid prebiotic was significantly influenced the cholesterol, glucose, calcium, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentrations of laying hens (p<0.05). The total antibody titer (IgT) against SRBC was increased by increasing supplemental prebiotic.

In conclusion, supplementation of 2 ml/kg liquid prebiotic in the diet of layer hens at post-molt period can act as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters, thus the laying performance was enhanced, and by augmentation of production the specific immunoglobulins, the immune status was improved.

The present research was performed to evaluate the effect of different levels of valine in low protein diets on performance, blood parameters and tibia bone properties of Ross-308 broiler chickens from 8-21 days.

For this purpose, a total of 200 one-day-old male broilers of Ross-308 strain from 8 to 21 days of age in 4 treatments and 5 replications with 10 birds per replication were used. The experimental treatments were adjusted based on nutritional Brazilian Tables (2011) and included: control, recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein, 10% more than the recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein and 20% higher than the recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein. Further performance traits (weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio), biochemical blood parameters (triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxides, urea and uric acid) and bone characteristics (ash, calcium and phosphorus) were measured. Statistical analysis of data in the form of a completely randomized experimental design was analyzed of variance and mean comparison test with SAS software.

The results of the present study showed that the treatment containing 10% more than the recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein increased the more weight (721.8 g/b) of chickens in growth period (p<0.05). Reduction of dietary crude protein, reduced feed intake (1013.8) during the growing period (p<0.05). Supplementation of 10% more than the recommended level of valine, increased blood superoxide dismutase density (164.8 U/gr Hb). Consumption of 20% more than the recommended level of valine increased blood glutathione peroxides density (172 U/gr Hb) (p<0.05). High dietary protein (control) increased blood urea and uric acid and also increased litter nitrogen (p<0.05). It seems that the addition of valine in low crude protein diets, improved performance and increased blood antioxidant capacity (p<0.05). The 20% more than the recommended level of valine in the diets, increased the calcium density (29.3%) in the bone tibia of broiler chickens (p<0.05).

In generally, according to the results obtained in this experiment, the addition of valine in low protein diets improved performance and increased blood antioxidant capacity and increased calcium and phosphorus absorption in bone.

Vitamin D3 is one of the important vitamins in calcium metabolism, which is significantly involved in the absorption of calcium from the intestine. The main role of 1, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in vertebrates is to regulate calcium homeostasis, as 1, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 has a direct effect on the gut, kidney, and bones by inhibiting the production of parathyroid hormone in the parathyroid glands. The synthesis of 1, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol is tightly controlled, and the main stimulus for its synthesis is the reduction in plasma calcium. This is a feedback stimulus for the release of parathyroid hormone from the parathyroid gland. This hormone in turn stimulates the 1-hydroxylase enzyme complex in the kidney and causes the conversion of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol through the synthesis of calcium-binding protein in the duodenum, thereby increasing dietary calcium absorption and ultimately plasma calcium. Another powerful factor in calcium absorption is organic acids. By lowering the pH of the digestive tract, organic acids (lactic acid) prevent the formation of an insoluble complex of phytic acid with minerals, making phytate more sensitive to the action of endogenous phytase and preventing it from interfering with the absorption of minerals. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study the effect of vitamin D3 and lactic acid on performance, egg quality, and hatchability in broiler breeders. A total of 240 broiler breeder hens and 24 roosters of Ross 308 strain were used in a completely randomized design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement including two levels of vitamin D (3500 and 5500 IU) and two levels of organic acid (zero and 500 mg/kg) in four treatments, six replications, and 10 hens and one rooster per replication. During the experiment, the percentage of hatchability, the number, and weight of eggs produced by each pen were recorded and using the common formulas of egg mass (as the percentage of laying multiplied by the average egg weight), the percentage of egg production as chicken-day and the feed conversion factor (as grams of feed consumed per gram of egg), the amount of feed used to produce each number of eggs and each piece of chicken, as well as the number of chickens produced per chicken was also calculated. Egg characteristics (egg weight and shape index) and egg shell quality (egg specific weight, eggshell weight compared to total egg weight and eggshell thickness), albumen and yolk pH, yolk index, Haugh unit, yolk color, percentage albumen and yolk percentage of four eggs from each replicate were measured every 28 days. The specific weight of the eggs was determined using the flotation method. The egg shape index was determined by measuring the width and length of the egg with a caliper to calculate the ratio of width to length. To determine eggshell parameters, eggs were identified and broken individually. Eggshells were washed under running water and dried at 35 °C for 72 hours. Then the eggshells were weighed and their relative weight was calculated. A digital micrometer (Series 500, Mitoyota, Tokyo, Japan) was used to measure the shell thickness. Results showed that the main effect of vitamin D3 at higher concentrations was affecting egg weight and reducing egg weight (P<0.05). The main effect of vitamin D3 at higher concentrations caused an increase in albumen pH, shell percentage, shell thickness, and specific gravity of the egg, and a decrease in yolk pH (P<0.05). Probably, with the increase in vitamin D3, the concentration of 1,25-cholecalciferol and the amount of calcium absorption increase, and since most of the shell is related to calcium carbonate, this leads to an increase in the thickness of the eggshell. The main effect of lactic acid showed a significant effect on performance parameters, and the addition of lactic acid improved performance (P<0.05). Lactic acid also significantly increased hatchability and shell thickness and reduced the number of broken eggs (P<0.05). It appears that organic acids increase the solubility of wheat phytates during germination. Therefore, acidification of the diet provides a better environment for phytase to reduce the amount of phytate present in digestion and flowing into the small intestine, thereby largely preventing the formation of insoluble mineral-phytate complexes and increasing the quality of the eggshell. Also, the main effect of lactic acid showed no significant influence on the internal quality of the eggs. The low levels of vitamin D3 and the addition of lactic acid improved shell thickness and reduced the percentage of shell breakage (P<0.05). In general, according to the results of the present experiment, the use of lactic acid at the rate of 500 mg/kg along with 3500 IU of vitamin D3 can increase the percentage of production, shell thickness, reduce the number of broken eggs, improve the feed conversion ratio, increase chicken production and reduce feed consumption per egg and chicken at the end of the production period of broiler breeder hens.

In order to accurate feed formulation and improve production performance, it is necessary to determine the nutritive value of common feedstuffs used in animal nutrition. The main reason for use of data that reported by NRC (1994, 2001) is formulation of balanced ration. But data reported by NRC can over or underestimate the nutritive value of feedstuffs due to diversity in growth stage, type and variety, climate and weather condition, physical and chemical properties of soil and presences of anti-nutritional factors. So determining chemical compositions, mineral contents and gross energy content of common feedstuffs is useful to farmers to improve growth performance of animals. The aim of this study was to determine chemical compositions, mineral contents and gross energy content of common animal feed sources from East Azerbaijan province including barley grain (n=26), wheat grain (n=27) and wheat bran (n=15) with standard analytical methods.

Barley grain, wheat grain and wheat bran are most common feedstuffs that used in animal and poultry nutrition. The feedstuff samples were collected with random stratified sampling method. Thus all studied cities of east Azerbaijan province classified in 30 zones and then the villages randomly selected. In order to proximate analyses of samples, feedstuffs were homogenized in the view of size and moisture by laboratory grinding. Dry matter, crude ash, ether extract and crude fiber content of samples were determined by AOAC method (1995) and crude protein was determined by micro kjeldahl. Cell wall or Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of samples were determined by fibretec. Descriptive statistics parameters were calculated by Mean procedure of SAS software and means comparison were done by SAS software (2000). The paired and non-paired t test were used to compare means of recent research and the data of Guilan, Kordestan and Kermansh provinces and NRC data.

The results showed that mean dry matter (DM) content of barley grain, wheat grain and wheat bran were 925.5± 2.88, 909.32± 6.56 and 915.0 ± 9.31 g/kg, and mean crude protein (CP) concentrations were 137.3± 14.52, 129.6± 10.67 and 178.9 ± 11.86 g/kg of dry matter, respectively, that differed significantly with the NRC (1994) data (P<0.01). The range of crude protein of wheat grain was 114.9 to 158.5 g/kg and the range of crude ash 14.2 to 29.8. The nitrogen free extract (NFE) and non-fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) content of wheat grain were determined 806.1 and 667.4 g/kg. The differences of NFE and NFC was 138.7 g/kg that relate to Structural carbohydrate in NFE section. Ether extract (EE) content of wheat bran was 43.7 ± 3.48 g/kg that showed no significant difference with NRC (1994) data, but EE content of barley and wheat grain were 20.3± 1.08 and 21.1 ± 0.48 g/kg, respectively and showed a significant difference with NRC (1994) data (P<0.01). Crude protein and crude ash content of east Azerbaijan barley grain was 34 g/kg higher than Kermanshah barley grain and 7.8 g/kg lower than Kermanshah barley grain, respectively. The mean value of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, ADF and NDF of east Azerbaijan barley grain had significant difference with NRC data (P<0.01). Because of the higher kernel to hull ratio in east Azerbaijan barley grain, crude protein content of barley grain was 13.3 g/kg higher than NRC data. Calcium content of barley grain, wheat grain and wheat bran were 1.4 ± 0.3, 3.3± 0.67 and 1.46 ± 0.35 g/kg of dry matter and differences were significant except in wheat bran (P<0.01). Differences in mineral contents of feedstuffs used in this research can be due to differences in genotype, chemical and physical properties of soil, climate and weather condition and stage of growth. The hemicellulose content of barley grain in comparison of wheat grain is 58.3 g/kg higher, but the ratio of hemicellulose to ADF in barley grain is lower than wheat grain that the main reason is higher level of cellulose and lignin in barley grain in comparison of wheat grain (Azizzi 1996, Fazaeli 1992 and McDowell 1992).

Due to significant differences in chemical compositions and mineral contents of feedstuffs in East Azerbaijan province with the NRC (1994) data, it is suggested that for balanced diet formulation, local data of nutrient composition of feed sources were used.

Calcium in the diet of broiler chickens is effective on growth, feed efficiency, bone growth, leg health, nervous system function and body immunity. It is essential to provide calcium in sufficient amount to achieve optimal performance in broiler chickens. In order to accurately meet the calcium needs of poultry, one should be aware of the amount of bioavailable calcium in food and calcium sources. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the calcium bioavailability of some commercial calcium carbonates and its effect on the function and physical and chemical characteristics of bone in broiler chickens..

Four samples of commercial calcium carbonate, which have the highest production in Iran, were prepared. Then, according to standard methods, the amounts of heavy elements and their solubility in acid were determined. According to the measured characteristics, two carbonates which had better quality were selected and the bioavailability of calcium was determined using 180 male chickens by the standard curve method. Each diet was provided to chickens with 6 replications and 5 birds in each replication for two weeks from 7 to 21 days.

The results of the present study showed that among the carbonates tested, the highest solubility was carbonate Atlas, then carbonate Alborz, and the rest of the carbonates had lower solubility (p<0.01). The highest amount of calcium was related to carbonate Atlas (37.8) and then carbonate B (37.13).  The other calcium soureses had less calcium levels. Carbonate Atlas and Alborz had less poisonus elements. Calcipiure was applied as standard calcium source. The estimated bioavailability based on body weight was 99% for carbonate Atlas and 98.6% in carbonate Alborz. The estimated bioavailability based on the FCR for carbonate A was 121.7% and carbonate B was 92.8%. Estimated bioavailability based on tibial ash was 111.9% for carbonate Atlas and 106% in carbonate Alborz. The estimated bioavailability based on the percentage of tibia calcium was 101.4% for carbonate A and 89.5% in carbonate Alborz. The estimated bioavailability based on tibia calcium strength was 108% for carbonate Atlas and 101% in carbonate Alborz.

In general, the results of the present study showed that the selected carbonates have an acceptable quality as a source of calcium in poultry diets.

The ideal performance of poultry is achieved by adequately feeding of birds while reducing dietary costs and nutrients excretion. On the other hand, the amount of dietary nutrients can have a significant effect on feed intake (Kidd et al., 2002). Studies have shown that reduced growth and yield due to decreased dietary protein can be compensated by supplementing the synthetic amino acids (Hussein et al., 2001). Diets based on total and digestible amino acids can improve the performance (Rostagno et al, 1995). Some properties of valine and tryptophan in relation to non-protein function and metabolism distinguish them from other amino acids. Valine is the fourth limited amino acid to the growth of broilers. Tryptophan involved in all proteins structure and is a precursor for serotonin and melatonin, which in addition to improving food intake (Silber and Schmitt, 2010). Valine affects the ghrelin and neuropeptide Y production (Coto et al, 2006) while tryptophan affects the serotonin secretion (Henry, 1985) that both affects the feed intake. The functions of the two amino acids can improve the performance and immune system of birds.

The current experiment was performed to evaluate the effects of different levels of valine and tryptophan amino acids in low-protein diets on carcass characteristics and immune response of broiler chickens. A total of 450 day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly divided into nine treatment groups. The chickens were arranged in a 3×3 factorial experiment based a completely randomized design including 3 levels of valine and three levels tryptophan. Each treatment considered of five replicates and 10 chickens per experimental unit. The birds were reared on the litter pen for 21 days with ad-libitum access to feed and water. Diets were formulated based on linear programming by using of the UFFDA software. Experimental treatments were adjusted based on Brazilian tables and included: 1- recommended level of valine + recommended level of tryptophan, 2- recommended level of valine + 5% more than recommended tryptophan, 3-recommended valine level + 10% more than recommended tryptophan, 4-10% more than recommended valine level + recommended level of tryptophan, 5-10% more than recommended valine + 5% more than recommended tryptophan, 6- 10% more than recommended tryptophan level + 10% more than recommended tryptophan, 7- 20% more than recommended valine level + recommended level of tryptophan, 8- 20% more than recommended valine + 5% more than recommended tryptophan, 9-20% more than recommended valine level+ 10% more than recommended tryptophan. On day 21 of experiment, two birds per pen were randomly selected and slaughtered for whole carcass analysis after 12 hours of fasting. After slaughter, the organs such as breast, thigh, abdominal fat, gizzard, liver, heart, spleen, thymus and burs fabricius were weighed. In order to determination of white blood cells, blood sampling drawn from the wing vein at 21 days of age and the number of lymphocytes, heterophils, monocytes, basophils and eosinophils were determined. Blood samples were taken at 21 days of age as well to determination of the antibody titer of Newcastle virus. To measure the immune response to sheep erythrocytes, 2 ml of blood was taken from the chicken vein on 14 and 21 days of the experiment and used to determination of total immunoglobulin and IgM and IgG titers. The antibody titers were performed by direct hemagglutination (Isaco et al. 2005). The CBH test was used to evaluate the cellular immunity. The experiment was conducted using completely randomized design with factorial structure. Data were subjected to ANOVA using the GLM procedure (SAS, version 9.1) as a 3×3 factorial. Significant means among the variables were separated by Duncan's multiple range tests at 5% level of significance.

The results of current experiment showed that the addition of valine and tryptophan in low protein diets had no significant effect on carcass yield, thigh, gizzard, heart and abdominal fat (p<0.05). The consumption of 20% and 10% levels of valine significantly increased the breast weight as compared to the recommended level (p<0.05). No interaction effects was observed between the valine and tryptophan amino acids for the weights of carcass parts and internal organs (p>0.05). In a study, consumption of 10 and 20% tryptophan levels had no significant effect on breast and thigh of broilers at 22 days of age (Duarte et al, 2013). Moreover, addition of valine to poultry diets did not have a significant effect on abdominal fat weight (Corzo et al, 2004). Different levels of valine and tryptophan had no affected the liver and spleen weight (p<0.05). Furthermore, addition of 20% valine caused an increase in thymus and bursa weights (p<0.05). The diets containing tryptophan had a significant effect on the number of blood lymphocytes, so that the addition of 10% tryptophan increased the blood lymphocytes (p<0.05). Valine and tryptophan addition did not affected the other blood leukocytes (p<0.05). Addition of 20% valine increased the humoral immunity (HI antibody titer) (p<0.05). Also, addition of 10% tryptophan level increased the immunity of chickens against HI antibody (p<0.05). The results showed that the initial response of total antibody was not affected by experimental treatments (p<0.05) but 10% level of valine significantly increased the IgM (p<0.05). Dietary addition of 20% valine had a significant effect on IgM secondary response SRBC (p<0.05) but had no significant effect on the PHA-P injection response (p<0.05). It has been reported that protein deficiency have caused the unsuitable growth of lymphoid organs (Corzo et al., 2007).

The result of current experiment showed that consumption of high valine and tryptophan levels in low-protein diets improved the carcass characteristics and immune system of broilers.

The use of different sources of calcium with different particle sizes in laying hens and also the effects of calcium source type and size on bird production performance and egg quality, due to the effects of calcium source type and particle size on production performance and Egg quality has been reduced in laying hens.

This experiment was performed to investigate the effect of using different sources of calcium and its particle size on production performance and egg quality of Hy lin, W-80 Leghorn hens. For this purpose, 192 laying hens with similar body weight and production were selected And experiment in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement (2 × 3) with three sources of calcium (lumyashel, oyster shel, calcium carbonate) and two particle sizes (1- fine with particles <2 mm and 2-mixture, ‌‌ a mixture of Particles < 2 and 2-4 mm), 4 replicates and 8 birds per replicate were performed for 8 weeks from 42-50 weeks of age.

The results showed that calcium carbonate had the lowest solubility and fine particles were more soluble than large particles (p<0.05). The main effect of  calcium source on feed intake was significant(p<0.05).  The main and interaction effects of calcium source and its particle size on feed conversion ratio, egg weight and number of broken eggs were not significant (p> 0.05). The effect of main and interactions of source and particle size on the characteristics of internal traits of eggs (Albumen percentage, yolk percentage, Albumen height, HU unit and yolk index) did not significant (p> 0.05). But albumen pH showed a significant difference,The lowest pH was related to the diet containing lumyashel with a value of 9 and the highest pH was related to the oyster shell(p<0.05). The main and interaction effecs of calcium source and particle size on egg external quality, shell percentage, shell thickness, shell ash were not significant (p>0.05), but the specific gravity of eggs was significantly affected by the main effects of the calcium source (p<0.05), and the lowest and highest values were for lumyashell and oester shel.

The final result showed that calcium carbonate had the lowest solubility among the calcium sources used in this study and fine particles were more soluble than large particles. However, no significant difference was observed between internal and external egg quality traits and production performance of birds using different calcium sources and different particle sizes.

This experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of different levels of valine in low protein diets on the immune response of broilers. This study was conducted using 200 one-day old male broilers (Ross 308 strain) in a completely randomized design with 5 replications and 10 birds per replication from the age of 8-21 days. Experimental treatments included the control diet, recommended levels of valine (1.359), 10% higher than the recommended level of valine, 20% higher than the recommended level of valine in a diet containing 2% protein diluted. The results show that different levels of valine had no effect on liver, spleen and bursa of Fabricius weight (p < 0.05). Moreover, blood lymphocytes, heterophils, lymphocyte to heterophil ratio, monocytes, basophils and eosinophils did not affected by valine (p < 0.05). Diets containing 20% valine increased the HI antibody and humoral immunity responses (p < 0.05). Inclusion of 10% valine increased the IgM as compared to the other levels (p < 0.05). The secondary response of total antibody was affected by experimental treatments, so that the level of 20% valine increased the total secondary response and IgM secondary response to SRBC (p < 0.05). Moreover the addition of valine had a significant effect on the injection reaction of PHA-P (p < 0.05), and level of 20% valine, increased the cellular immunity of broiler in compared to the control treatment and lower valine levels. The addition of high levels of the valine in low-protein diets improved the cellular and humoral immune systems of broiler chickens.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding different levels of cinnamon powder (CNP) on production performance and egg quality traits of laying hens in wheat–based diets. In this experiment 168 White Leghorn laying hens with 60 week age and average weight of 1550 grand average production of 65% was assigned to 7 treatment with 6 replications and 4 birds each based on completely randomized design. Experimental diets were formed as follows: control diet based on wheat-soybean, control diet + 0.05% antibiotics, control diet + 0.05% xylanase enzyme ,control diet + 0.05% vitamin E, diet + 1% CNP, control diet + 2% CNP and control diet + 3% CNP. The results showed that all experimental treatments except antibiotics increased egg production compared to control treatment (P <0.05). None of the experimental treatments had a significant effect on the eggs weight. Treatments containing CNP, vitamin E, and the xylanase enzyme significantly increased the egg mass (P <0.05). Treatments containing CNP and vitamin E significantly reduced feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P <0.05). The effect of experimental treatments on most egg quality traits was not significant. The results showed that the use of 2% CNP in the diet of laying hens leads to improved performance and egg storage durability.

The aim of this study was to survey the effect of different dietary fiber source and thereonine levels on growth response, nutrients digestibility and some digesta characteristics of broiler chickens. A total of 180 day-old male Ross 308 chicks were used  in a completely randomized design with a factorial arrangement of 2×3 with 4 replicates of 6 birds each for a period of 24 days. The diets consisted of two fiber sources (pea hull and sugar beet pulp) with 5 percent and three levels of threonine (90, 100 1nd 110 percent of recommended level). According to the results, a significant interaction was found between fiber source and threonine level on feed intake (P<0.05), where the chickens on sugar beet pulp containing diet with deficient threonine consumed lower feed than those on similar diet containing pea hull. There were no significant interactions between fiber source and threonine level on birds’ weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Lower weight gain and higher feed conversion ratio were observed by sugar beet pulp than pea hull (P<0.05). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and crude fat, as well as apparent metabolizable energy was decreased by inclusion of sugar beet pulp in the diet (P<0.05). Deficiency of threonine in the diet decreased the digestibility of organic matter (P<0.05). The use of sugar beet pulp decreased pH value of gizzard and cecal digesta, and increased the viscosity of jejunal and ileal digesta in comparison with pea hull (P<0.05). Relative weight of gizzard was increased by pea hull compared with sugar beet pulp (P<0.05). In conclusion, compared with pea hull, sugar beet pulp by increasing digesta viscosity decreased nutrients digestibility and broiler performance, and except for feed intake, non-remarkable interaction was illustrated between fiber source and threonine level.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of raw and autoclaved Amaranth grain on the performance and egg quality of layer hens. For this purpose 168 Leghorn laying hens strain Hy-line W36 at 67 weeks of age were allocated in completely randomized design with 7 treatments and 6 replicates of 4 birds. Treatments include raw and autoclaved Amaranth each at 0, 5, 10 and 15%. The egg external an internal quality and productive performance of the hens were measured during the experiment. The results showed that, during the whole experiment period, the percentage of egg production, egg weight and egg mass were significantly lower in the birds fed the diets containing different levels of crude and autoclaved amaranth compared to the birds fed the control diet (P<0.05). Also birds fed diets containing different levels of crude and autoclaved amaranth had a significantly higher FCR than the control birds (P<0.05). Amaranth autoclaving reduces the anti-nutritional effects and improves bird performance (P<0.05). Hens fed with diets contain amaranth compared with control group had lower feed intake (P<0.05). Raw and autoclaved amaranth has no effect on egg external and internal quality. Overall, the results showed that with increasing of the Amaranth level in the diet, production performance reduced but autoclaving improved bird performance.

 Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree that its leaves is used to produce tea. The difference in the flavour, colour, and name of the tea depends on how the leaves are processed. There are four basic types of tea: black tea (tea leaves that are exposed to the air and allowed to fully oxidise or ferment, changing the leaves from green to black), oolong tea (it falls between black and green tea), green tea (less processed and not fermented), and white tea (the least processed of all tea). Green tea has over 200 bioactive compounds and contains over 300 different substances. The chemical composition of tea, composed of polyphenols such as catechins and flavonoids, alkaloids such as caffeine, theophylline, essencial oils and other compounds which are unknown (Carry et al. 2007). In most researches, green tea has beneficial effects due to the presence of catechins as powerful antioxidants. Ariana et al. (2011) reported that adding 1.5% green tea leaf to laying hens diet caused a decrease in feed intake compared with control diet. Bing et al. (2018) reported that up to 1% green tea leaf did not affect production performance, but levels above 1% reduced laying percentage. Some sources even reported better performance for the birds fed even lower levels of green tea. Abdul Azim (2005) reported that adding 0.75% of green tea improved the laying yield and feed conversion rate of Japanese quail. Due to complex compounds such as catechins, flavonoids and phenolic acids, antioxidant and cholesterol lowering effects of tea have been proved. Ariana et al. (2011) reported the reduction of serum cholesterol of laying hens fed 1.5% green tea leaf and Zeinab et al. (2010) showed an improvement in antioxidant capacity of birds fed green tea leaves. Due to lack of research on the effects of Iranian tea on laying hen performance and extensive cultivation of this product in Iran, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of green tea on production performance, serum lipids, and antioxidant capacity of laying hens.

 One hundred and twenty W-36 white leghorn laying hens (60 wk age) were assigned to five treatments with five replicates and four birds in each replicate based on a completely randomized design. Dried Iranian green tea leaf provided from Lahijan city tea farms. Dietary treatments including: 1) Basal diet based on a corn-soybean meal 2) basal diet with 0.5 % green leaf tea powder, 3) basal diet with 1% green leaf tea powder, 4) basal diet with 1.5% green leaf tea powder, and 5) basal diet with 500 g/ton vitamin E. All of the diets were fed to birds for seven weeks. The diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Egg production rate, egg weight, feed consumption, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio were recorded weekly and reported as hen day basis. Egg mass was calculated by multiplying the total number of eggs laid per hen by the average egg weight. At the end of the experiment, two birds from each replicate (close to cage average weight) were selected. Blood samples were collected from the wing and serum was separated. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), lipid peroxidation (MDA), total cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured using analytical kits. All data were analyzed by ANOVA procedure described by the SAS Institute (2009). Tukey test was used to determine the significant differences between treatment means.

 The results showed that feed intake, egg production rate, and egg mass of birds fed diets containing more than 0.5% green tea leaf powder (GTLP) decreased significantly and feed conversion ratio increased as compared with control group. Production performance criteria was not affected in birds fed vitamin E as compared with control group. Similarly, Bing et al. (2018) showed that feeding up to 1% of GTLP in layer hen diets did not affect production performance; but, levels above 1% reduced egg production percentage. Also, Bing et al. (2018) showed that the use of higher than 1% GTLP in diet had negative effects on production performance. Kojima and Yoshida (2008) and Wei et al. (2012), similar to our results, reported a decrease in feed intake even at lower levels of GTLP in the diet. Yaman et al. (1999) showed that egg weight decreased using 0.67% green tea extract in drinking water. As compared with control group, birds fed diet containing 1.5% GTLP had lower serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and VLDL concentrations. Similarly, Ariana et al. (2011) reported a reduction in serum cholesterol of laying hens fed 1.5% GLTP. Shishikoura et al. (2006) reported that catechins in green tea is a potent inhibitor for cholesterol and triglyceride absorption in small intestine. Panala et al. (1997) showed that green tea polyphenols can reduce the production of free radicals produced in the cell and Ishikawa et al. (1997) reported that green tea flavonoids could be able to boost animal antioxidant capacity. Sahin et al. (2010) reported a decrease in malonildialdehyde (MDA) by feeding GLTP in birds. In the present experiment, serum antioxidant capacity was increased, but   MDA   and lipid peroxidation index were decreased in the birds fed diets having 1.5% GTLP or   vitamin E (P<0.05).

Although the use of at least 1% GTLP had negative effect on production performance of laying hens, it reduced blood cholesterol and triglycerides, while increased antioxidant capacity parallel to vitamin E diet.

The term “guinea fowl” is the common name of the seven species of gallinaceous birds of the family Numididae, which is originated from Africa and their meat and eggs are very popular. Eggs, one of the versatile foods, inexpensive and high nutritious, supply well balanced nutrients that affect human health. An egg is a rich source of protein and then have high biological value. Eggs contain essential proteins, fats, vitamins except vitamin C, minerals mainly including calcium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, potassium and sodium, and bioactive compounds, and their compositions could be affected by type of bird, heredity, strain, age, hen diet, and environmental conditions such as season and rearing condition. An average weight of egg in commercial strains is usually 55 g and this trait mainly influenced by diet mainly the concentration of methionine and lysine and energy content. Distribution of proteins in egg component is equal between egg yolk and egg white. Other hands, the egg yolk is the major part of lipid, mineral and vitamins. The high consumer preferences of guinea fowl and its products demonstrate that guinea fowl is valuable and have high marketing potential. Compared to native hens and chickens, the guinea fowl’s benefits are: low production and rearing cost, high meat quality, greater capacity to scavenge for insects and grains, better ability to protect itself against predators and low incidence of common poultry diseases than chickens including parasites Newcastle Disease and Fowl Pox. In order to improving household protein supply and income and Because of the great potential for increasing guinea fowl production for smallholder farmers need to evaluate their products and specifically egg. This study was conducted to determine internal and external egg quality traits, chemical composition and fatty acid profile of yolk of East Azarbaijan province guinea fowl and compare their values with table hen eggs values.

A total of 50 clean eggs were obtained from Bonab guinea fowl research station by simple random sampling method. The guinea fowl breeders were at the same age and fed with similar diets. In order to compare of these values with table eggs values, 50 clean table eggs were purchased from a market. After sampling, the eggs were immediately transferred to the lab and internal and external egg quality traits were individually measured. Descriptive statistics of traits were determined using SAS software by univariate procedure and unpaired t-test was used to compare the data of guinea fowl eggs with table eggs data.

The results of this study showed that the mean external egg quality traits of guinea fowl eggs such as egg weight, shell ratio and thickness, egg shape index and egg volume were 40.736 g, 15.604% , 0.718 mm, 78.801 and 42.035 cm3, respectively. The mean of internal egg quality traits of guinea fowl eggs such as yolk and albumin percentage, haugh unit, yolk color, pH of yolk and albumin were 31.418%, 52.977%, 78.030, 8.80, 6.592 and 9.332, respectively. Also, the average external egg quality traits of table eggs such as egg weight, shell percentage and thickness, egg shape index and egg volume were 61.371 g, 9.080 %, 0.665 mm, 76.852 and 63.065 cm3. The mean of internal egg quality traits of table eggs such as yolk and albumen percentage, haugh unit, yolk color, pH of yolk and albumen were 31.334%, 59.585%, 75.075, 4.70, 6.431 and 9.415, respectively. The average of shell thickness of guinea fowl eggs were higher than hen eggs that indicate the shell strength of guinea fowl eggs is higher than table eggs. For determinating of chemical composition of guinea fowl and table eggs, 5 mixed samples (from each 10 eggs) were prepared. The amounts of albumin and yolk dry matter, albumin and yolk crude protein, yolk ether extract, and ash contents of shells were 13.526 and 46.662, 81.696 and 33.652, 31.456, and 89.924%, respectively and these values in table eggs were 12.730 and 45.770, 84.384 and 33.064, 30.406 and 77.564, respectively. The ash content of egg shells in guinea fowl was higher than that of table eggs. This is consistent with shell ratio and shell weight. Cholesterol content of the guinea fowl and table eggs were 1605 and 1391 mg/100 g of yolk, respectively. To determine the fatty acid profile of egg yolk of guinea fowl and table eggs, 5 mixed samples were selected and the fatty acids contents were measured by the gas chromatography method. In guinea fowl, the highest fatty acids content of egg yolks were palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid, with the amounts of 28.274%, 34.686% and 20.130% of total fatty acids of egg yolk, respectively. The highest and the lowest fatty acid content of table egg yolks were palmitic acid and docosapantaenoic acid with values of 29.176 and 0.026, respectively. The sum of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty (MUFAs) acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the egg yolk of guinea fowl were 38.144, 38.712 and 22.090 % and for table eggs were 40.638, 32.280 and 19.361 %, respectively. The sum of PUFAs of guinea fowl eggs significantly higher than table eggs (p<0.05). Sum of n-3 PUFAs in table eggs was higher than guinea fowl eggs (0.567 vs 0.342) and unlike n-6 fatty acids, the guinea fowl eggs had higher value in comparison of table eggs (21.746 vs 18.694). PUFAs and specially, n-6 PUFAs have a hypo-cholesterolemic effect than n-3 PUFAs and therefore guinea fowl eggs can decrease cholesterol content of serum.

According to the results, the level of cholesterol, n-6 fatty acids and n-6 to n-3 fatty acids ratio of guinea fowl eggs were higher than those of table eggs. Also, the sum of PUFAs and the sum of SFA to sum of MUFA ratio in yolk samples of guinea fowl eggs in comparison with table eggs were higher.

Previous studies have indicated the positive impact of dietary supplementation of arginine on meat quality and growth, though there is no report regarding the effect of in ovo injection of arginine on meat quality. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of in ovo injection of different levels of L-arginine on hatchability, growth performance, and meat quality of Ross 308 broiler chickens. In this research, 300 fertile eggs were used in a completely randomized design with three experimental treatments (levels of 0.5 and 1% of L- arginine and total control). Experimental groups included: 1) in ovo injection of 0.5% L-arginine, 2- in ovo injection of 1% L-arginine, 3) total control group {collected control 1 (injection of distilled water) and control 2 (no injection)}, which were injected on d 14 of incubation. After hatching, broiler chicks of arginine treatments and total control group were divided each into four equal groups and placed randomly into four cages (replicates of the experiment). The rearing period continued from hatching to d 24. In order to investigate the quality of meat, on day 24, three chicks from each replicate (12 chicks per each treatment) were weighed, slaughtered and their breast muscles were used for meat quality evaluation. Based on the results, in ovo injection of different levels of L- arginine did not significantly affect 1, 10 and 24 day-old birds’ weight, daily weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and relative weight of scalped carcass and breast muscle (P >0.05). Although, meat pH, meat fat and Ash content, and meat color indexes (a*, b*, L*, H) were not affected by L- arginine in ovo injection treatments (P>0.05), meat water loss, ΔD, and C indexes were significantly affected by experimental treatments (P˂0.05). Based on the overall results of this study, in ovo injection with different levels of L- arginine could not have a significantly noticeable effect on growth performance, meat production and/or meat quality of 24 day- old broiler chickens.

About 65 to 70 percent of total cost of livestock breeding is related to nutritional issues. Sometimes antibiotics are used as feed additives to prevent the growth of intestinal pathogens, reduce metabolic abnormalities, stimulating growth and improving feed conversion efficiency in farm animals. The creation of resistance in pathogens and the possibility of antibiotics remaining in products are the main disadvantages of antibiotics usage in livestock and poultry nutrition as a growth stimulator. The tendency to use secondary plant metabolites has increased as a way to improve livestock and poultry performance. This study was carried out to determine the effect of using Bioherbal plant powder on digestibility, blood parameters and gas production parameters in Holstein fattening calves.

Ten male Holstein fattening bull-claves with average weight of 310±30 Kg divided into two groups and randomly were allocated to one of the experimental treatments. Animal on Bioherbal group are received basal diet plus 20g of Bioherbal per day. Daily rations were offered to calves during three meals adlibitum rations. Calves were weighed every two weeks before the morning feeding. At the end of each experimental period, fecal sample was collected from each calf through a rectum and stored in a freezer. At the last day of each period, the blood sample was taken from the jugular vein and the plasma isolated and kept in the freezer for further analysis. At the end of the experiment, the feed or fecal samples were dried in an oven at 60 ° C for 48 hours, and milled for further analysis for chemical composition and nutrients digestibility. Statistical analysis for data were done with the proc mixed of SAS software.

The digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF) and acid detergent insoluble fibers (ADF) was greater in Bioherbal group when compared with control group (P<0.01). Daily weight gain was numerically higher in the Bioherbal group (1.78 Kg) than the control group (1.35 Kg), but no significant difference was observed (P=0.06). Feed intake in the Bioherbal group (11.54 Kg) was significantly higher than the control group (10.81 Kg) (P <0.05). Conversion coefficient in Bioherbal group (6.50) was lower than control group (8.02) (P<0.05). Blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol concentration didn’t show any meaningful variance between groups (p>0.05). There was a significant difference between control and Bioherbal treatment in terms of gas production (P <0.01). The highest amount of gas production was related to Bioherbal treatment and the lowest amount was related to control ones.

The results of this study indicate that the Bioherbal plant supplement improves the digestibility of nutrients, dry matter intake, feed conversion and weight gain of Holstein fattening calves.

In ovo feeding is considered as a useful tool to overcome the growth limitations during embryonic growth and after hatching in domesticated poultry. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of different levels of DL- methionine on the morphology of small intestine in ROSS 308 broiler chicks. In this regard, the total number of 240 eggs from Ross 308 broiler breeder were used according to a completely randomized design (CRD) with 8 experimental groups and 30 eggs per each treatment. The experimental treatments included different levels of DL-methionine amino acid (0.19, 0.38, 0.57, 0.76, 0.95 and 1.14 %), along with a sham-control group (sterile water injection) and a control group (without injection) which were injected into the amniotic fluid on the 14th d of incubation. After hatching, the chicks were weighed and slaughtered to measure small intestine morphological characteristics. Results of the study indicated that in ovo feeding of DL-methionine had a significant effect (p<0.05) on hatchability, weight and relative weight of jejunum, small intestine weight, as well as crypt diameter (except for duodenum), villus height, crypt depth, villus height to crypt depth ratio, and villus thickness in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. On the other hand, no effect of treatments (p>0.05) was observed on chick weight and weight and length indexes of duodenum and ileum. Based on the results of this study, the best morphological response was observed in 76% DL-methionine treatment.

The knowledge of the requirement of essential amino acids helps to optimize the different nutritional inputs at various stages of broiler production. Before production of synthetic amino acids, protein was included in diets at rates far above animal requirements as a safety margin against amino acid deficiencies. Today, most necessary amino acids can be obtained in the crystalline form. Addition of these amino acids firstly allows for reduced dietary crude protein inclusion rates and secondly supplies the animal with an amino acid balance that is closer to that requirement of the animal. Recent studies showed Valine (Val) to be the 4th limiting amino acid in vegetable based of broiler diets (Han et al 1992). It seems that the amount of the 4th limiting amino acid depends on the diet composition and animal species (Fernandez et al 1994). The NRC (1994) recommendation for total Val in the grower periods is 0.82 % of diet. Corzo et al. (2008) estimated dig Val requirement during 14 to 28 d (0.9% of diet) which were higher than NRC (1994) total Val recommendation of 0.82%. Little information is available on the response of Val usage on improving the tissue protein synthesis in broiler chickens. However, the appropriate programs of eugenics in recent decades will continue to increase poultry productions and therefore, it is necessary to constantly improve and update responses of animals to amino acids usage. The aim of this experiment will be determining the valine requirements and the effect of digestible Val on performance characteristics in commercial varieties of broiler chick (Ross 308). To determine Val requirement for growth performance of male broiler chicks, a total of 450 chicks, was assigned to 6 treatments with 5 replicates (with 15 birds per each replicate) from 8 to 21 days of age using a completely randomized design. Corn-soybean meal based diet was formulated to provide all nutrients except for Val. Basal diet was formulated with 0.74% Val and 1.056% lysine (Lys) content. In other diets, Val content was increased by adding L-Val with simultaneous decreasing in L-Glutamic acid from the basal level to provide isonitrogenous feeds. Dietary Val was supplied in 6 levels from 0.74 to 0.99% during the experimental period. Body weight gain and feed intake were measured during the period (d 8 -21). Val intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and feed efficiency ratio (FER) were calculated from feed intake data and there was no dead bird in experimental period. All data were analyzed based on a completely randomized design by GLM procedure of SAS (9.1). Duncan’s multiple range tests was used to study the differences between treatment means. Estimations of Val requirements were done at 95% of the plateaus of nonlinear regressions. Broken line Regression analysis was used to estimate Val requirements, when nonlinear regressions responses were statistically significant (P<0.01). Result of this study showed that digestible Val requirement for Ross 308 male broiler chicks is the well fitted based on weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. Evaluated digestible Val content for these performance parameters were 0.85, 0.95 and 0.84 % of diet, respectively. The result of this experiment showed that all performance parameters were significantly affected by Val supplementation in the diet (P< 0.01). The broiler chickens fed with 0.89 % of digestible Val level had the highest feed efficiency ratio, but the lowest feed conversion ratio (P<0.01). In this experiment, the digestible Lys content of the basal diets was 1.056% and the best digestible level for weight gain and feed conversion ratio were 0.85 and 0.84%, respectively. According to this information, the level of Val as a digestible ratio to Lys for weight gain and feed conversion ratio was 80.49 and 79.54 for linear broken linear model, respectively. Several studies have addressed the valine needs for broilers in starter phase (Thornton et al 2006). Baker et al. (2002) and Corzo et al. (2008) conducted two studies about of evaluation of the Val requirements for broiler chicks, but, there are many remarkable differences between their study and the present experiment. Although several researches with many similarities have been performed on Val requirement, their results are remarkably different. It could be originated from diet types (purified or practical diet), Leucine levels of diets, crude protein content of basal diet, immunological stress, amino acids interactions, metabolizable energy content of basal diet, broiler strains, age, extended experimental period, sex of broiler and amount of feed intake (D'Mello 1974). The results of the current study suggested that the level of 0.93% digestible Val is the best level for an optimum performance of body weight gain and the level of 0.91% digestible Val is the best level for an optimum feed conversion ratio in growing broilers from 8 to 21 days of age. Based on statistical model and evaluated performance parameters for requirements, clearly differences were observed between result of this experiment for Val requirement in grower period of Ross 308 broiler chicks and other data sources.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of washing, storage time and storage temperature on hatchability and post- hatch growth of East Azarbaijan goose eggs. A total of 144 clean goose eggs were randomly selected from Malekan goose research station, East Azarbaijan and were asigned randomly for each treatment. There were 12 treatments in a factorial arrangement 2×3×2 based on a completely randomized design with main effects pre- incubation egg washing and non- wash, storage period: 1, 10 and 20 days and two egg storage temperature 25°C and 7°C with 3 replicates of 4 eggs per each. Initial egg weight, egg weight after storage, egg weight before transfer to setter and egg weight loss during storage time were individulay measured. After hatch, chicks were individually weighed and the quality of gooslings were measured individualy by Tona method. Results showed that egg storage time and temperature had a significant effect on total egg weight loss (P<0.05). Egg storage time and temperature had a significant effect on fertility and hatchability of eggs (P<0.05), but washing of eggs had no significant effect (P>0.05). The lowest initial gosling weight was seen in eggs that stored 20d. The highest body weight at day 7 were seen in eggs stored 10 days in 7˚C with pre incubation washing (276.3 g). Egg storage time and storage temperature had significant effect on fertility and hatchability of goose eggs (P<0.05). The hatchability of eggs stored in 7˚ and 25˚ C were 82.75 and 75%, respectively. Increasing egg storage time and storage temperature had negative effect on the goosling quality. In conclusion, the increasing egg storage time and storage temperature can decrease the fertility, the hatchability of eggs and the post-hatch gosling quality, but pre-incubation egg washing had no significant effect on fertility and post- hatch quality of gosling.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of dietary crude protein (CP) and threonine(Thr) on nutrient digestibility and blood parameters in Nicholas turkeys.A total of 160 male turkeys (Nicholas 300) with 4wk of age were randomly assigned to 10 treatments with 4 replicates in 2×5 factorial arrangement. Experimental treatments including two different CP levels (26 and 23.4%) and Thr in 5 levels (0.75, 0.85, 0.95, 1.05 and 1.15% of diet). Results showed that reducing the level of CP in the diet reduced fecal digestibility of dry matter and organic matter(P<0.05), However,there was no significant effect on illeum digestibility.Level of 1.05% of threonine improved illeum digestibility of crude protein and fecal digestibility of dry matter and organic matter (P<0.05). There was an interaction between levels of CP and threonine for the nutrient illeum digestibility(P<0.05). Reducing of levels of CP significantly decreased albumin and uric acid concentration (P<0.05), However, diet CP concentration did not have significant effect (P>0.05) on other blood parameters.Levels of 0.95 and 1.15% of Thr significantly increased serum total protein and globulin levels compared to other Thr concentrations (P<0.05). Levels of 1.05 and 1.15% of Thr decreased albumin concentration and albumin/globulin ratio(P<0.05), Although Thr had not significant effect on glucose,uric acid,cholesterol, triglyceride,HDL,VLDL and LDL concentration(P>0.05).The findings of this study showed that reducing the level of CP, decreased nutrients digestibility and serum uric acid and increased levels of Thr in the diet improved fecal nutrients digestibility and increased serum protein and globulin levels in commercial turkeys