فصلنامه پژوهشهای علوم دامی ایران
سال هشتم شماره 2 (تابستان 1395)

Introduction This study was intended to evaluate the nutritional value, phenolic compounds and digestibility coefficients of barberry leaves. Berberis vulgaris is one of the major crops in the province. The province has more than 70 percent and 95 percent of the total area under cultivation of barberry. Waste and foliage of barberry harvest traditionally used to feed livestock Tannin concentration greater than 3 to 4 percent in food, can have negative effects on digestibility in ruminants and in particular to reduce the absorption of dietary protein. So it can be expected that high amounts of tannins within waste foliage of barberry reduce its efficiency in ruminants to be fed. Several studies have shown that the addition of certain compounds such as urea, polyethylene Due to the high volume of barberry foliage that remains after harvesting and the possibility of its use in animal nutrition, this study tried to determine some nutrient compounds, phenolic compounds and degradation parameters were barberry leaves. In addition, in this study to determine the best additives are effective in reducing the concentration of tannins and phenolic compounds, urea, polyethylene glycol, sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide were compared.
Materials and method As the samples were dried by the sun for 6 days. The amount of 5% by weight (dry matter basis) urea, polyethylene glycol, sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide that was prepared with distilled water, was sprayed on 5 kg of the sample and thoroughly mixed. Each of the treatments were prepared in triplicate. Treatments include: 1) control (foliage without additives), 2) foliage with 5% solution of urea, 3) foliage with 5% polyethylene glycol, 4) foliage with 5% sodium hydroxide, 5) with 5% calcium hydroxide was foliage. The sample were kept in anaerobic plastic containers for 3 days and then opened and dried at room temperature. Samples were analyzed for crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, ether extract, total phenolic compounds, total tannins, condensed tannins, hydrolysable tannins and some mineral content (Na, Cl, Ca, K and P). The in vitro gas production method was used for estimation the DM fermentation parameters.
Results and Discussion The chemical composition of foliage barberry is almost the same with the few studies conducted in this regard. Minor differences between the results of this study and the other results showed that the colleagues can be due to differences in climate and environmental conditions and physiological characteristics of the plant's genetics. The results showed that addition of urea, Sodium hydroxide and Calcium hydroxide led to a significant reduction of total phenolic compounds, total tannins and hydrolysable tannins compared with the control sample. The in vitro gas production and fermentative parameters were improved flowing urea, sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide treatment. The results showed that treatment with urea was more effective in reduction of tannins and improvement the fermentative parameters of branches and leaves of Barberry compared to other treatments.
Conclusion Based on our results and high levels of phenolic compounds in the waste foliage barberry sprayed with a solution of 5% (based on dry matter) of urea, sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide significantly reduced the amount of total phenolic compounds, tannins and hydrolysable tannin in the leaves of Berber is vulgaris lesions, but polyethylene glycol had no significant effect. On the contrary condensed tannin conditions and the maximum reduction in the concentration of condensed tannins were observed in the group had been sprayed with polyethylene glycol. The amount of gas produced in laboratory conditions, parameters of rumen fermentation and feed efficiency in experimental treatments with urea, sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide recovered.

Introduction Shortage of feedstuff is one of the important problems of animal nutrition in Iran. Salinity is a global problem worldwide in particular in arid and semi-arid zones such as Iran. Salinity is an important factor in the growth of plants. Its initial effect to plants is through its effect in the availability of water to plants. Halophytes have good ability to draw water from soils of low water potential due to their ability to maintain a salt balance comparable to the salt in the soil they are growing. Lands in high irrigation districts are susceptible to soil salinization. Soil salinization is the primary cause of productivity decline in highly developed and irrigated land schemes While the increase in soil and water salinity in many agricultural areas of the world has created major challenges in the production of food crops, it has also presented some new prospects for livestock agriculture. There are plants that grow under saline conditions, and historically, they have been opportunistically used as fodder for grazing livestock or as components of mixed rations to replace roughage. Using of seawater for irrigation of this plant because of shortage of sweet water and for higher production of these plants was necessary for feedstuff. The aim of this study was evaluation of Chemical composition, In vitro digestibility and gas production of Kochia scoparia under six level of salinity including 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 ds/m.
Materials and Methods The Kochia scoparia was irrigated by normal tap water (the control) and water containing 6 levels of salinity including 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 deci Siemens per meter (ds/m). The salinity was applied gradually in accordance with the plant growth advancement (2 ds/m increment per each irrigation period. Oven dried (65◦C for 48 h) chopped samples were ground to pass through a 1-mm screen. The samples were analyzed according to the standard procedures for chemical composition (AOAC 2000, Van-Soest et al. 1991). Procedure of in vitro gas production was performed according to Menke and Steingass (1988). Rumen fluid was obtained from three fistulated Baluchi male lamb before morning feeding. The DM degradation data were fitted to the exponential equation p = a b (1 - e-ct). The in vitro dry matter, NDF and organic matter digestibility were determined according to the Arroquy et al (2005) procedure. Test samples were incubated for different hrs and then filtered through the nylon cloth with the pore size of 44microns. The remaining materials were dried at 60 °C for 72 hrs and utilized for the subsequent analysis according to the procedure. In vitro gas production was completed according to the procedure described by Menke and Steingass (1988). Each sample, both original forages and insoluble residues, weighing about 200mg, were put into 100ml calibrated glass syringes (FORTUNA®, Häberle Labortechnik, Germany) together with 30ml rumen liquid media solution on a 1:2 ratio. Syringes were incubated in a water bath at 39°C, where a transparent plastic lid with holes held the syringes upright. Two blanks and a standard hay sample of known gas production were included in each run.
Results and Discussion NDF content of Kochia scoparia without salinity (irrigate with tap water) was higher than that for Kochia samples irrigated with various levels of salinity. Crude protein (CP) content of the control Kochia sample (11%) was significantly (p

Introduction Using agricultural-industrial waste is one way to overcome the shortage of animal feed. Potato is one of the most important products in the world after rice, wheat and maize. Potato pulp is a by-product which remains after extraction of starch, and can be used as animal feed. Because of the high moisture content of the potato pulp, silage is the best way to maintain it. However, its high moisture content leads to inappropriate ensilage. Adding of moisture absorbents (MA) not only reduce the effluents, but also improve the silage quality. Materials with high content of cell wall are suitable candidates to be used as MA. Agro-industrial co-products including raisin wastes and pomegranate seed pulp have high cell wall and no report was found for their usage as MA. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of different absorbents on potato pulp silage fermentation quality.
Materials and Methods Fresh potato pulp was obtained from Alvand potato processing company (Hamedan, Iran). After transfer, the potato pulps were immediately ensiled with MAs including wheat bran, raisin pedicles, rejected raisins, pomegranate peel, wheat straw and raisin rachis. The treatments were: 100% potato pulp (control), 80% potato pulp and 20% wheat bran, 80% potato pulp and 20% raisin pedicles, 71% potato pulp and 29% rejected raisin, 80% potato pulp and 20% pomegranate peel, 80% potato pulp and 20% wheat straw and 80% potato pulp and 20% rachis. After 74 days, the silos were opened for investigation. Chemical composition (i.e., dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, Fleig point, pH and lactic acid concentration) were determined. In vitro gas production was used to assess fermentation parameters of treatments. Therefore, volume of gas production after 24 hours of incubation, rate of gas production, asymptotic gas production, lag phase, organic matter digestibility, metabolizable energy, partitioning factor, microbial biomass and short chain fatty acid concentration were determined. All measurements were carried out with four replications. Statistical analysis was carried out in completely randomized design using SAS (version 9.2).
Results and Discussion Results showed that the addition of absorbent to potato pulp silage significantly (P˂0.05) increased dry matter, content of the cell wall, organic matter and Fleig point in some treatments. Fleig point is an indicator of silage quality. The treatment including rejected raisin showed the highest value of Fleig point (139.8 vs. 55.53 for control). The lowest ammonia concentrations were detected in treatments containing rachis, pedicles and pomegranate peels which can be attributed to the presence of tannin in these absorbents. Tannins reduce the proteolysis that lowers the ammonia concentration. The concentrations of lactic acid were higher in rejected raisin (3.734 g lactic acid/ kg DM) and pomegranate seed pulp (3.612 g lactic acid/kg DM) and the minimum value was observed in control (0.471 g lactic acid/ kg DM). The higher concentration of lactic acid shows the better quality of silage and among other fatty acids has the greater effect on pH of silage. Addition of different absorbents reduced true organic matter digestibility. Apparent organic matter digestibly was not consistent with reported value for true organic matter digestibility. This could be due to the method of measuring of former. In this method the residue is contaminated with microbial debris which overestimates the organic matter digestibility. After 144 hours of incubation gas production was reduced in treatments with absorbents. Rate of gas production in silage with rejected raisin was significantly (P˂0.05) higher than other treatments. Lag time observed only in control and wheat bran treatments, whereas the lag time in other treatment was zero. Partitioning factor in raisin pedicles, pomegranate peel and raisin rachis was higher than other treatments (3.05, 3.35 and 3.01). The higher value of partitioning factor shows the better quality of feedstuff and reveals that more fermented organic matter directed towards microbial biomass rather than production of volatile fatty acids.
Conclusion Because of high moisture content of potato pulp, it is suggested to ensiling this by-product for using as ruminant feedstuff. In this study, rejected raisin was the best moisture absorbent. The results showed that treatments containing rejected raisin, pomegranate peel, pedicles and rachis were suitable absorbent in ensilage process because of lower pH, higher lactic acid production and better quality of silage, respectively.

Introduction Since the legislation of European Union has prohibited the use of growth-promoting antibiotics such as: monensin, there is an interest in alternatives to manipulate the rumen fermentation. The use of growth-promoting antibiotics in animal feeds is banned in Europe due to having potential risks such as the spread of antibiotic resistance genes or the contamination of milk or meat with antibiotic residues. Recently, probiotics have been increasingly evaluated to replace or facilitate reductions in the use of antibiotics. Thus, the aim of this study was investigating the comparison of antibiotic (sodium monensin) and probiotic (protexin) on the gas production parameters and organic matter digestibility of feedstuffs (alfalfa hay, barley grain, and alfalfa barley mixture)
Materials and Methods Experimental treatments were included control (basal feeds without additive), basal feeds supplemented with sodium monensin or protexin probiotic at levels of 500 or 1000 mg per kg of DM in a rumen fungi culture. Ruminal fluid was collected from two fistulated sheep (49.5±2.5 kg) and all samples were withdrawn 2 h after the morning ration had been consumed. Collected ruminal contents were strained through four layers of cheesecloth and brought immediately to the laboratory. To have a pure ruminal fungi culture, whole ruminal fluid was centrifuged at 1000 g for 10 min and added 0.100 mg/ml antibacterial agent (streptomycin sulfate, penicillin G, and chloramphenicol (14, 35). Gas production technique was used to detect the fermentation parameters of the treatments (16).Three parallel syringes of each treatment were prepared in this experiment. To measure the total gas production (A) and the rate of gas production (c), cumulative gas production, organic digestibility and metabolizable energy of treatments until 120 h. Gas production was measured directly from the volume of the syringes at 0, 3, 6, 16, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. Statistical analysis of data were statistically analyzed in a completely randomized design was performed by SAS (9.1 version) and the least square of means.
Results and Discussion Results showed the higher level of sodium monensin (1000 mg/kg) decreased fermentable fraction (b), organic digestibility and metabolizable energy of both alfalfa hay and barley grain compared with other treatments significantly. The total gas production (A) and the rate of gas production (c) of gas production, cumulative gas production, organic digestibility and metabolizable energy of alfalfa were highest for control treatment (alfalfa without additives). But the level of 1000 mg/kg of protexin supplemented with barley increased fermentable fraction (b), cumulative gas production, organic digestibility and metabolizable energy than other treatments by ruminal fungi (p

Introduction Using agro-industrial by-products in ruminants feeding could help in semi arid climate condition throughout the year. Raisin by-product is produced in huge magnitude in Malayer city, Hamedan province. Local different raisin by-products which produced during machinery cleaning and sorting of sun dried treated grapevine cluster (Vitisvinifera L. cv. Sultana), are as:1) some outer layer of flesh and skin and pedicle of berries; 2) rejected raisins mostly un-ripped berries with their pedicles and 3) peduncles and rachises with their lateral branches of clusters. They may have suitable nutritive value in ruminants. However, their nutrient profile and availability and anti nutrient factors such as lignin and tannin should be considered. Alfalfa hay is usually the important forage used in dairy cow’s diet. However, it has lower fiber digestibility and higher ruminal crude protein degradability. Increasing alfalfa hay fiber digestibility and decreasing ruminal crude protein degradability can help its feeding value. Raisin by-product may help to achieve those in the case of alfalfa hay. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional value of raisin by-product in ruminant feeding compared with late flower alfalfa hay and consideration of its effect on in vitro fermentation of alfalfa hay.
Material and methods Based on completely randomized block design, two original samples (two blocks) for each of alfalfa hay and raisin by-product from local availabilities were collected. In first experiment, chemical and phenolic (total phenol and tannin) composition analysis was measured by two replicates for each block according to AOAC methods. In second experiment, in situ ruminal degradation kinetics of alfalfa hay and raisin by-product was measured using two fistulated Mehraban rams. For ruminal incubation times of 0, 3, 6, 16, 36, and 72 h respectively 2, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 filled nylon bags used which randomly assigned in animals. In situ trial was conducted in two runs. Nylon bag residuals from incubation time for each feed block within each run were pooled. In third experiment, gas production kinetics of alfalfa hay, raisin by product and their combination batches as 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 in dry matter basis were measured at incubation times of 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 and 72 in two runs and with three vials per time of incubation. Orskov and Mcdonal model used to calculate the in situ and gas production parameters. Potential nutrient supply using 24 h cumulative and chemical compositions were measured. Data was analyzed based on completely randomized block design using proc mixed SAS (9.2) which the effect of treatment was as fixed and the effects of block and run were considered as random. The LSD used to compare means differences and level of significant was P≤0.05.
Results and discussion Chemical composition results showed that total phenol and tannin and organic matter content in raisin by-product were significantly higher and dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and ash were lower than alfalfa hay (P

Introduction Glutamine (Gln), a semi-essential or conditionally essential amino acid, is an abundant amino acid in plasma and skeletal muscle. It is the main energy substrate for cells that undergo intense replication, such as enterocytes, lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils and kidney cells and plays an important role in their function and homeostasis. Apart from providing nitrogen for protein synthesis, Gln is a precursor for nucleic acids, nucleotides, hexose amines, the nitric oxide precursor arginine (Arg), and the major antioxidant-glutathione. It plays a central role in nitrogen transport between tissues, specifically from muscle to gut, kidney, and liver. In addition to its role as a gluconeogenic substrate in the liver, kidney, and intestine, Gln is involved in the renal handling of ammonia, serving as a regulator of acid base homeostasis. So the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nutrient dilution and L- glutamine (Gln) supplementation on growth performance, intestine morphology and immune response of broilers during starter (0 to 10 days), growth (11 to 24 days) and finisher (25 to 42 days) periods.
Materials and methods A total of 320 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to eight treatments with 4 replicates and 10 chicks per each. In this study two levels of nutrient dilution (Ross 308 broiler nutrition recommendation and 5% diluted) and 4 levels of Gln supplementation (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5%) were used in a completely randomized design as factorial arrangement 2×4. Growth performance was measured periodically. In order to investigate jejenual histomorphology such as villus height, depth of crypt, villus height to depth of crypt ratio, villus width, muscle layer thickness and epithelium thickness, on day 42 after 4 h fasting, one bird per each replicate was randomly selected, slaughtered and 1 cm of middle section of jejenum was cut. Cellular immune response was assessed in 40-d-old chick using the in vivo cutaneous basophilic hypersensitivity response lectin phytohaemagglutinin (PHA-P) and humoral immune response was evaluated by injection of 1 ml of 10 % suspension of sheep red blood cell (SRBC) on day 18. Primary immune response was measured after 6 (24 –day-old chick) and 12 (30 –day-old chick) days of the injection and secondary immune response was assessed on day 36 and 42 experiment.
Results and Discussion The results indicated that nutrient dilution and Gln supplementation significantly improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) in grower and finisher periods. Gln supplementation increased relative weights of jejunum, small intestine, thymus and bursa of fabricius. The nutrient dilution and Gln significantly affected villi height and crypt depth of jejunum. Gln is an important oxidative fuel for rapidly proliferating cells such as those of the gastrointestinal tract and immune system, reticulocytes, fibroblast. To study humoral immunity, the highest primary and secondary antibody response against Sheep red blood cell (SRBC) was seen in diets containing 1.5% Gln and the lowest was seen in control (without Gln supplementation). In cellular immunity determination, 24 h after subcutaneous injection of Phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) revealed that Gln supplementation increased toe web thickness. Gln is known to modulate immune function. Glutamine is utilized at a high rate by cells of the immune system in culture and is required to support optimal lymphocyte proliferation and production of cytokines by lymphocytes and macrophages. More recently, Gln has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, modulating cytokine production, both in vitro and in vivo, possibly through decreasing a major transcription factor regulating immune and inflammatory responses. In addition, it has been demonstrated that glutamine can modulate immune response by T cell activation. Therefore the increased toe web thickness after PHA-P injection can be explained by increasing T cell proliferation.
Conclusion The results of present study revealed that formulation of diets with Ross 308 nutrient recommendation and 0.5% Gln supplementation improved growth performance and enhancement of immune system function was observed in chicks fed diet with 1% Gln supplementation and Ross 308 nutrient recommendation.

Introduction Corn and wheat are the grains most routinely used in commercial poultry diets. For consumption of these cereals, there are a competition between humans and mono-gastric animals. Due to corn crop limitation in Iran, approximately 50% of the corn required for poultry nutrition is supplied through imports. Since triticale is more resistant to various diseases, dry weather and in similar culture and weather conditions can produce higher yield than wheat, triticale considered as a crop suitable for cultivation in inefficient lands and its culture in the world has being increased. The use of triticale in broiler feed has been limited because of the presence of soluble non-starch polysaccharides components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different replacement levels of corn by triticale in grower diets with and without exogenous enzyme supplementation on growth performance, relative weight of digestive organs, jejunal morphology, and intestinal viscosity of broiler chickens.
Materials and Methods Five hundred 11 d old male broiler chicks (Ross 308), were assigned to a factorial arrangement (5×2) with a completely randomized design with 5 replicates of 10 chicks each. The factors included 5 levels of triticale replacement levels for corn (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40%) and 2 levels (zero and 0.5 g /kg of diet) of enzyme cocktail “Xylanase & β-Glucanase” in the broiler grower diets. The experimental diets were isocalric and isonitrogenous and fed ad-libitum from 11 to 24 d of age. The growth performance as mean body weight at 24 d of age, daily weight gain, daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were calculated. At 24d of age, one bird from each pen, close to the average pen weight was selected, weighed, and euthanized by cervical dislocation. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract organs were emptied and weighed. Approximately 1.5 g of wet weight of the fresh digesta was immediately placed in a micro centrifuge tube and centrifuged at 12.700 × g for 5 min. The supernatant viscosity was determined using a Brookfield digital viscometer (Model DV-п). About 0.5 cm in length of the jejunum midpoint was taken, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution. The tissue samples were treated in tissue processor apparatus, embedded in paraffin wax, transverse sections were cut (5μm thickness) by using a rotary microtome and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) to prepare intestinal slide. Morphological measurements of intestinal slide were performed by light Microscope on 9 vertically oriented villus. The investigated morphological traits contained villus height, villus width, crypt depth, muscular thickness, and the villus surface area.
Results and Discussion The weight in 24 d and daily weight gain and feed intake significantly decreased and feed conversion rate significantly increased with increasing dietary level of triticale to 40%. The dietary enzyme supplementation (xylanase and β-glucanase), significantly improved broiler growth performance, and reduced adverse effects of high levels (40%) of triticale in grower diet. The poor growth performance of birds fed grower diet with high (40%) level of triticale may be related to lower nutrient digestibility, or higher anti- nutrient factors in triticale as compared to corn. The relative weights of whole gastrointestinal tract, gizzard, small intestine, large intestine, and pancreas numerically increased with increased triticale level, the highest relative weight of digestive organs was observed in the birds fed diet with 40% triticale level and the lowest one was observed in the birds fed corn-soy based diet. The ileum chyme viscosity significantly increased with increase in the dietary triticale level to 30 and 40%. Enzyme supplementation to grower diet caused a reduction in the pancreas relative weights and ileum chyme viscosity. The significant increase in relative weight of digestive organs of the birds with high level of triticale in their diet may be due to the enhanced function of these parts, because of an increase in water soluble NSP and subsequent increase in chyme viscosity, which implying a feedback mechanism in gut motility and thus size of this organ. The higher NSPs in triticale compared to corn can increase digestive chyme viscosity and reduce endogenous enzyme-nutrient actions and their subsequent substrates, leading to significant modifications of the structure and function of intestine. Therefore; to adapt to these changes, the activities of the intestinal secretary mechanisms may be enhanced. Thus, this may lead to an increase in the size of the gastro intestinal tract and pancreas weight. The villus height (VH) and crypt depth (CD) significantly decreased and muscular thickens significantly increased with increased levels of triticale to 40% in diet. The birds fed 40% triticale showed shorter of the villi compared with the longer villi from birds fed the corn-soy diet. Villus hight and VH/CD significantly increased and CD significantly decreased in birds fed diet with enzyme supplementation compared to those fed diet without enzyme supplementation. Histological observations on the small intestine epithelium of birds fed corn-triticale-soy diet showed morphological changes in the jejunum (shortening, thickening, and atrophy of the villi). The birds examined in our study showed short, thick, and damaged villi, especially with the higher level (40%) of triticale in diet compared to those fed a corn-soy diet. The addition of enzymes supplementation to diet improved these histological alterations.
Conclusion This study revealed that 1) triticale can be used as an alternative source of grain in grower broiler chickens’ diets. 2) Using up to 30% triticale in grower diet did not have any adverse effect on broiler chicken performance. 3) The exogenous enzyme supplementation (xylanase and β-glucanase), significantly affectsbroiler growth performance, and reduces anti-nutrient effects of high levels (40%) of triticale in broiler chickens’ grower diet.

Introduction Heat stress is one of the major environmental stressors that negatively influence feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, nutrient digestion, absorption, and retention in the poultry production. In the two last decades, several researches were done to find approaches for decreasing the undesirable effects of high ambient temperatures. Supplementation of powder, extract and essence of some medicinal plants were proposed that could be used in poultry production to improve the performance, immune system and antioxidant status in heat stress condition. Turmeric powder is known as a natural antioxidant, because it has several antioxidant component specially curcumin that prevent the oxidative reaction and the free radicals production in the live body. On the other hand, some of by-products in food industry may also be used in heat stressed birds. Tomato pomace is a reachable source of vit E, C and A and several carotenoids specially lycopene that has antimutagenic, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Therefore the objective of this research was to investigate the effects of organic antioxidants including turmeric powder and tomato pomace and fat sources including soybean oil, canola oil and tallow on performance, carcass and bone characteristics of broilers under heat stress.
Materials and Methods An experiment with factorial arrangement 3× 2× 2 (3 oils involved: canola, soybean, tallow, 2 turmeric powder (TRP) levels involved 0.4, 0.8% and 2 tomato pomace (TP) levels 3, 5 of TP%) in a completely randomized design in heat stressed birds was done. Five hundred four one-d-old male Ross broilers were randomly allocated to 36 experimental units with 12 dietary treatments (3 replicates with 12 birds in each). The feed and water were supplied ad libitum. All diets were balanced to meet the nutrient requirement proposed by the Ross committee. A daily heat stressed (HS) schedule (33oC for 5 h) was applied from 29 to 42d of experiment. The photoperiod schedule, vaccination, ventilation and humidity were applied according to the recommendation of Ross management catalog. At 28 d. (before heat stress PHS) and 42 d. (after heat stress AHS) of age, two chicks per replicate were bled and slaughtered. The relative weight of carcass, intestine, thigh, liver, spleen, intestine, pancreases, gall bladder and abdominal fat were determined. The bone characteristics including dry matter, ash, calcium, phosphorous, bone length, diaphysis diameter were studied. The data were analyzed by GLM procedure of SAS software and the differences among mean were investigated by tukey test.
Results and discussions The results indicated that body weight gain enhanced when chicks fed diets containing canola oil or 5% TP. Canola oil including diet decreased the FCR at 28d (P

Introduction Broiler chickens are intensively selected for productive traits. The management of these highly productive animals must be optimal to allow their full genetic potential to be expressed. If this is not done, inefficient production and several metabolic diseases such as ascites become apparent. Investigations in mammals indicated that the b- adrenoreceptor characteristics are differentially regulated by chronic hypoxia and play an important role in the cardiovascular system. The density of b-adrenergic receptors was higher in cardiac cells of ascites sensitive birds compared with ascites-resistant ones. Moreover, the characteristics of b-adreno receptors are different in cardiac cells of birds with right ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure compared with healthy birds. Treatment with the selective b1-adrenoceptor blocker, atenolol, abolished right ventricular hypertrophy in response to hypoxia compared with normoxic condition in rats.
Materials and Methods This study investigated the comparative effects of different levels of atenolol Growth performance, Mortality due to ascites, antioxidant status and blood parameters in broilers under induced ascites. Six hundred one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) in a completely randomized experimental design with four treatments (Positive control, negative control, and two levels of 30 and 60 ppm atenolol) with five replicates of thirty birds were applied. Birds in positive control were reared in natural temperature without atenolol, the other bird groups were reared in cold temperature with 0, 30 and 60 ppm atenolol. The average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily weight gain (ADWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) for each group of birds were calculated and mortality was daily weighed, recorded and used to correct the FCR. Observations were made daily to record the incidence of ascites and mortality. Diagnosis of ascites generally depends on observation of the following symptoms: (1) right ventricle hypertrophy, cardiac muscle laxation; (2) swollen and stiff liver; (3) clear, yellowish, colloidal fluid in the abdominal cavity. Hematological, biochemical and pathological tests were done at day 49; total red blood cell (RBC), Wight blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin, hematocrit, glucose, protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and activity of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Also, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) total antioxidant status (TAS) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) content of plasma were determined. At the end of experiment (wk 7), 2 chicks from each replicate were randomly selected and slaughtered. Then ascetic Index, RV/TV, (ratio of right ventricle weight to total ventricle weight) were calculated.
Results and Discussion The results showed that, the atenolol-treated birds had lower right ventricle to total ventricle ratio and mortality due to ascites compared with the control birds. Moreover, atenolol, significantly, reduced feed conversion ratio & average daily feed intake and reduced feed conversion ratio. It is also, atenolol, significantly lowered the lactate dehydrogenase activity in plasma. Alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase activity in plasma were not significantly affected by atenolol supplementation. Other blood parameters and antioxidant incidences were not affected by atenolol. It has been proved that exposure to high altitude results in increases in Plasma and urinary catecholamine, hormones that are known to increase hypertrophic actions of heart tissue and consequently changes in the function of myocardial cells such as contractile activity and cardiac output that could lead to ventricular hypertrophy. It has also been reported that the b1-adrenoceptor blocker numerically reduces the ascites incidence in broiler chickens and may have been used as a prophylactic agent. It is known that that the hypertrophic effect of catecholamine in rats such as cardiac contractility, cardiac output and, finally, right ventricular hypertrophy could be reduced by a b1-adrenoceptor blocker. This might explain, at least partially, the mechanism by which atenolol reduces cardiac output, and hence might reduce pulmonary hypertension and, finally, ascites incidence in broiler chickens. Although this study shows the involvement of b-adrenergic receptors in heart failure syndrome in birds, more studies should be carried out for better understanding of the exact mechanisms that could contribute to change in cardiac function and, consequently, pulmonary hypertension in broiler chickens.
Conclusion This study showed that inclusion of atenolol in broiler diets had remarkable effects on Performance. Moreover, According to the results of this research, atenolol could reduce mortality due to ascites in broilers. We suggested that the optimal level atenolol in diet is 60 ppm.

Introduction Apple is one of the most important fruits that is produced in the large amount in Iran. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals and active fiber. Most of the apples that product in Iran are use in food industry for producing different kinds of apple juices. After Juicing, more than 20% of apple, remain as waste. The remained matter contain considerable amount of vitamins and minerals that usually found in fresh apple, moreover it is rich source of pectin and crude fiber. Generally this byproduct discharge to environment and cause some serious environmental problems. It is thought that use of apple pulp as a part of apple waste in laying hens diets not only prevent some environmental problems, but also can improve their performance, egg quality traits, and blood biochemical parameters and reduce the production cost. The current study has been designed to investigate these traits.
Materials and Methods This experiment was carried out on 192 Hi-line (W36) laying hens in a completely randomized design as (2*2) factorial arrangement with two levels of apple pulp (0 and 4%) and two levels of probiotic (protexin) (0 and 0.005%) in 4 treatments, 4 replicates and 12 birds per replicate for 12 weeks (65-76 weeks).
Results and Discussion Using apple pulp and probiotic in diets improved the egg production performance, egg quality traits and blood parameters of laying hens (P0.05). Probiotic improved egg weight, egg production percentage, egg mass, feed conversion ratio and Haugh unit. In interaction effects, using apple pulp and probiotic improved the performance and egg quality traits of laying hens. The highest egg weight, egg production, egg mass and the best feed conversion were obtained with diet containing 4% apple pulp and 0.005% probiotic. Also the highest amount of albumin, eggshell thickness and Haugh unit were observed with 4% apple pulp and 0.05% probiotic. Apple pulp decreased the blood levels of triglyceride, cholesterol and albumin and increased HDL (P>0.05). In interaction effect, using apple pulp with probiotic reduced the amount of triglyceride and albumin meanwhile the amount of blood cholesterol increased (P>0.05). Apple pulp contains considerable amount of essentials nutrients such as vitamins and minerals and secondary substances like antioxidants, crude fiber and pectin. Use of apple pulp in hens diets improved the digestive tract health and highly amount of these compositions transfer to birds body and improve their performance, egg quality and blood parameters. The high amount of dietary fiber in apple pulp may be the main reason of blood parameters improving. The fibrous diets not only caused the secretion of bile increase but also increased the amount of cholesterol excretion compared to normal condition. Probiotic created a good environment in digestive tract by decreasing the population of harmful microorganisms, increasing the number of gram positive microorganisms and reduced pH of digesta in gut which can have positive effects on performance of laying hens. In diets containing probiotic, only productive parameters improved, whereas egg quality and blood biochemical parameters were not affected, meanwhile incorporated probiotic in apple pulp treatments, effectively improved egg quality traits and blood biochemical parameters more than performance. Apple pulp contain some composition that their digestion have some difficulties for laying hens, so, incorporation of probiotics such as protexin in diets those containing highly amount of undesirable composition such as fiber and pectin, can have good effects on egg production, egg traits and can improve blood biochemical parameters and be useful for efficient use of apple pulp by hens
Conclusion It can be resulted that using 4% of apple pulp in laying hens not only had no adverse effects on performance, egg quality traits and blood biochemical parameters, but also could effectively improve most of them, in contrary with more fibrous feeds that increased the amount of feed intake in bird, using 4% apple pulp did not have significant effects on the amount of daily feed intake in laying hens. Using 0.005% of probiotic can improve the performance, egg traits and blood parameters in laying hens.

Introduction The commercial egg industry commonly uses induced molt procedures to rejuvenate flocks for a second or third laying cycle. Molting may be induced by feed withdrawal for up to 10 days (7), water withdrawal for 2 days (19), or both, along with a reduction of day length (14). Such programs cause concern about animal welfare because it is thought that they may be harmful to hens (28). Given the concerns for potential bird stress, various methods of nutrient restriction that would avoid long term feed withdrawal have been investigated (20, 24). One of the alternative methods for molt induction is high-dietary Zn (4).
Materials and Methods In this study, a total of 30 Hy-line W-36 leghorn hens (at 50 wk old) (1400 ± 150 g), were randomly assigned to 5 replicate. Ten cages (3 hens in each cage) on both the upper and lower tiers were considered to observe behavior patterns. Data recording of predetermined behavioral patterns were carried out using five Camera Digital Video Recorder Multiplexer System. Behavior recording began at 9:00 h each day and ended at 11:00 h and a second observation starting at 16:00 p.m and ended at 18:00 p.m. Total of ten cages (containing 3 hens/ cage (30 hens total)) were used to collect 5 behaviors (feeding, drinking, nonnutritive pecking, preening and aggression pecking) and one posture (sitting). The following ethogram was adopted from Webster (27) feeding defined as pecking behavior directed toward the feed trough or toward a neighboring feed trough. Drinking was defined as the appearance of ingesting water from the nipple at the near of the cage. Nonnutritive pecking was defined as non aggressive pecking at anything other than feed, which included cage pecking, feather pecking, bill pecking and air pecking. Preening behavior involved the manipulation of the plumage with the beak. Aggressive was the sum of pecks that occurred within a cage or between neighboring cages. Sitting was defined as a crouched posture with shanks or breast in contact with the cage floor.
Results and Discussion Percentage of observation of all behaviors except for non-nutritive pecking was significantly affected by high dietary zinc (P

Introduction Camels belong to the family of Camelidae, suborder of Tylopoda, order of artiodactyla and class of mammalians. The family Camelidae has two old world species, double-humped camel (CAMELUS BACTRIANUS) and single-humped camel (CAMELUS DROMEDARIES) and four new world (tribe Lamini) species, guanaco (LAMA GUANICOE), llama (LAMA GLAMA), alpaca (LAMA PACOS) and vicuna (LAMA VICUGNA or VICUGNA VICUGNA) at present time. The single-humped camel inhabits Afro-Arabia, Ethiopia and west Central Asia while the double-humped inhabits eastern Central Asia and China). Camel has been historically and economically an important species worldwide especially in the Africa and Asia. Camel has unique characteristics enable it to adapt its desert environment. The total worldwide camel population at present estimated to be about 23 million in the world. Somalia and Sudan together hold approximately 50% of the whole camel population. In the last 40 years, the number of camels has increased by almost 45%. Iranian native species are considered as part of the national capital so their preservation is so important. Due to severe decrease in their population in some areas, more attention to conservation genetics perspective of these species is very important. The aim of this study was to bioinformatics and phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 3 (COX3) in Iranian Camelus dromedaries and Camelus bactrianus.
Materials and Methods For this purpose 10 blood samples were collected from each species (totally 20 samples). After DNA extraction, the fragment with 979 bp length from mitochondrial DNA was amplified using polymerase chain reaction. Sequencing was performed by automated Sanger methods then the obtained sequences were compared with sequences from other studies. The nucleotide sequences obtained were edited using the PHRED software (http://www.phrap.org /phredphrapconsed.html). After editing, basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) were used in order to find the homology of sequences. Further analysis of the sequences were carried out, by using the other software’s such as Chromas Lite (http://www.technelysium.com.au), Bio Edit (http://www.mbio.ncsu.edu/bioedit/bioedit.html) and the obtained sequences, were aligned with other COX3 gene of camel and other species, using CLC Main workbench 5.5 software (http://www.clcbio.com). The sequences were conducted using the maximum composite likelihood method by MEGA software (www.megasoftware.net, version v.5.2). Phylogenetic tree was constructed using the Neighbor-Joining method by the same software.
Results and discussion The results shown that there are no differences between COX3 sequences in both samples from Iranian Camelus dromedaries and Camelus bactrianus and also their sequences have 100 percent homology with Camelus dromedarius (Arabian camel) and Iranian Camelus dromedaries Camelus bactrianus (Bactrian camel), respectively. Comparison of nucleotide and amino acid sequences and also three-dimensional structure of COX3 in Iranian camel species demonstrated that these two species have close genetic distance. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these two species have the most genetic distance with Lama guanicoe among the CAMELIDAE FAMILY. The content of nucleotide sequences showed that the estimated frequencies of A T and C G were in the range of 52.4 and 47.6 percents for Iranian Camelus dromedaries and 53.2 and 46.8 percents for Iranian Camelus bactrianus, respectively.
Conclusion COX3 sequence analysis shown that Iranian Dromedarius and Bactrianus camels had high level homology in sequence and nucleotide content.

Introduction Kurdish sheep breed is one of the most important native breeds of Iran. They are fat-tailed, large-sized, well adapted to the mountainous regions in northern Khorasan province and mainly raising for meat production under pastoral production system (28). Feed efficiency is a major component in the profitability of the small ruminant enterprise, because quality of range and pasture is low in poor environmental conditions in Iran. Growth rate and feed efficiency are two traits of great economic importance in sheep production and also Kleiber ratio has been suggested to be a useful indicator for these traits (2). There was no information regarding genetic parameters for growth traits in Kurdish sheep. Thus, the main objective of the present research was to estimate (co)variance components and genetic parameters for pre- and post-weaning growth traits and Kleiber ratio in Kurdish sheep.
Material and Methods In this study, the records of growth traits from 5144 lambs (from 161 rams and 1982 ewes) were used. The data were collected during a 17-year period (1996–2013) in Kurdish sheep Breeding Station located in Shirvan city of northern Khorasan province. Traits investigated were average daily gain from birth to weaning (ADG0-3), average daily gain from weaning to six months of age (ADG3-6), average daily gain from six to nine months of age (ADG6-9), average daily gain from nine to twelve months of age (ADG9-12) and Kleiber ratios (KR) defined as: KR1=ADG0-3/(BW3)0.75
KR2=ADG3-6/(BW6)0.75
KR3=ADG6-9/(BW9)0.75
KR4=ADG9-12/(BW12)0.75
Test of significance for the fixed effects to be included in the final functional model for each trait and calculation of least squares means was accomplished using GLM procedure of SAS software (24). The considered fixed effects were year of lambing (1996-2013), sex of lamb (male and female), type of birth (single and twin) and age of ewe (1–7 years old). (Co) variance components and genetic parameters were estimated applying restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method fitting six animal models using WOMBAT (18): y =Xb斦 Model 1
y=Xb斦빦鞩篧 Model 2
y =Xb斦빦榾 Cov(a,m)=0 Model 3
y =Xb斦빦榾 Cov(a,m)=Aσam Model 4
y =Xb斦빦榾暗ꥻ Cov(a,m)=0 Model 5
y =Xb斦빦榾暗ꥻ Cov(a,m)= Aσam Model 6
where y: is a vector of records, b: is a vector of fixed effects, a: is a vector of direct additive genetic effects, m: is a vector of maternal additive genetic effects, pe: is a vector of permanent environmental effects due to ewe, X, Za, Zm and Zpe are corresponding design matrices relating the fixed effects, direct additive genetic effects, maternal additive genetic effects and permanent environmental effects due to ewe to vector of y, respectively, e: is a vector of residual effects, and Cov(a,m): is the covariance between direct additive genetic and maternal additive genetic effects.
Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) was used for selecting the best model among the tested models (3): Where logLi: is the maximized log likelihood of model i at convergence and pi: is the number of the parameters in each model. Model with the lowest AIC was considered as the best model for each trait. Estimation of genetic and phenotypic correlations was accomplished using multi-trait analysis (with model 1). The fixed effects included in the multi-trait animal models were those in single-trait analyses.
Results and Discussion The pre-weaning average daily gain in Kurdish lambs was 215.33±0.96 g, while this trait in post-weaning periods had a decreased trend. These values (especially in pre-weaning period) indicated that Kurdish lambs have a good potential for growth. Results from the analysis of variance of ADG and KR in different ages showed that birth year and sex of the lambs significantly influenced studied traits (PConclusion It was observed that maternal genetic models could better explain the genetic variation observed in pre-weaning traits. Estimates of phenotypic and genetic correlations among ADG and KR traits were high in magnitude. These results suggest that selection for Kleiber ratio can result in genetic improvement of growth rate as well as feed effeciency.

Introduction Small ruminants, especially native breed types, play an important role in livelihoods of a considerable part of human population in the tropics from socio-economic aspects. Therefore, integrated attempt in terms of management and genetic improvement to enhance production is of crucial importance. Knowledge of genetic variation and co-variation among traits is required for both the design of effective sheep breeding programs and the accurate prediction of genetic progress from these programs.
Body weight and growth traits are one of the economically important traits in sheep production, especially in Iran where lamb sale is the main source of income for sheep breeders while other products are in secondary importance. Although mutton is the most important source of protein in Iran, meat production from the sheep does not cover the increasing consumer demand. On the other hand, increase in sheep number to increase meat production has been limited by low quality and quantity of forage range. Therefore, enhancing meat production should be achieved by selecting the animals that have maximum genetic merit as next generation parents. To design an efficient improvement program and genetic evaluation system for maximization response to selection for economically important traits, accurate estimates of the genetic parameters and the genetic relationships between the traits are necessary.
Studies of various sheep breeds have shown that both direct and maternal genetic influences are of importance for lamb growth. When growth traits are included in the breeding goal, both direct and maternal genetic effects should be taken into account in order to achieve optimum genetic progress. The objective of this study was to estimate the variance components and heritability, for growth traits, by fitting six animal models in the Sangsari sheep using Gibbs sampling.
Material and Method Sangsari is a fat-tailed and relatively small sized breed of sheep, native and well adapted to Semnan province. The data set and pedigree information used in this study, recorded during 1986–2008, were obtained from the breeding station of Sangsari sheep (in Damghan, Semnan Province, Iran). The data included 9707 records for birth weight (BW), 8524 records for weaning weight (WW) and 3894 records for six months weight (6MW). Records were prepared for analysis using EXCEL 97 software. During the preparation process, abnormal data were removed. The pedigree and data files were prepared using pedigree software.
Firstly, the GLM procedure (SAS, 2002) was used for determining the fixed effects that had significant effect on the traits investigated (P

Introduction As pregnancy progresses, nutrient requirements of fetus and thereby ewe increases and some changes in the levels of blood metabolites including glucose, cholesterol and total protein may occur. During gestation, maternal tissues contribute to supplying energy that required for fetus resulting in changes of ewe blood metabolites; however other factors such as breed, age, feeding type of ewes during gestation and season may influence them. The study of blood metabolic changes in different phases of reproductive cycle can be helpful in detecting abnormal situations of ewes and preventing of metabolic disorders such as pregnancy toxemia and fatty liver syndrome. There is little information about the effect of different genotypes on blood metabolites and the occurrence of metabolic disorders in late pregnancy. Therefore the aim of the present study was to determine changes in blood metabolites of purebred Ghezel and ArkharMerino× Ghezel crossbred ewes during late pregnancy and effect of crossbreeding of Iranian purebred sheep with Merino sheep on metabolite level changes in these two groups of sheep and study of susceptibility to metabolic disease in late pregnancy.
Materials and Methods In the present study, fifty five pregnant Ghezel ewes (36 singles and 15 twins) and 34 pregnant crossbred ewes (20 singles and 14 twins) were used. Estrus synchronization of all ewes was done using CIDR. CIDR were removed 14 days later and all ewes were injected PMSG intramuscularly and then mated with rams. All of the ewes were grazing in the pasture during pregnancy, but in the last two months of pregnancy, feeding of ewes was manually. Blood samples were collected by vacuum tubes during four hours after feeding from the jugular vein of ewes on 15 days prior to mating period and on days 90, 120 and 140 of the pregnancy. Blood samples were centrifuged with 4000 rpm for 12 minutes to extract blood serum and then sera were frozen in -20oC until further analysis of metabolites. Measurement of blood metabolites, including total protein, calcium, glucose, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen and albumin was done by spectrophotometer set. SAS software (2003) was used for statistical analysis. Mixed procedure of SAS software was used for statistical analysis and Tukey- Kramer test was applied for comparison of means. T-test was used for comparison of blood metabolites between ewes with single and twin lambs.
Results and Discussion The results showed that the blood glucose, total protein, albumin and calcium on days 90, 120 and 140 of pregnancy were less than 15 days prior to mating but blood urea nitrogen and cholesterol levels were increased. These variations could originate from fetus metabolism since fetus requirements for tissue growth, muscles and bones increases during pregnancy, which should be supplied from maternal body reserves. The comparison of blood metabolites on the both crossbred and purebred pregnant ewes showed that in the late pregnancy, twin pregnant ewes had less glucose, total protein and calcium and more blood urea nitrogen and cholesterol compared with single pregnant ewes because there is a higher fetus requirement for twin fetuses during gestation. Our results also showed that glucose, total protein, albumin and blood urea nitrogen þlevels of crossbred ewes were higher than purebred Ghezel ewes on 15 days prior to mating period. This may be due to different genetic potential of these breeds. During the gestation period, levels of mentioned metabolites except for blood urea nitrogenþ were higher in both single and twin crossbred pregnant ewes than purebred Ghezel ewes significantly. It is seemed that these differences may be related to variation in the genetic potential of studying animals.
Conclusion The results of present study showed that there were no signs of pregnancy toxemia in the two experimental groups; however some differences among blood metabolites of purebred and hybrid ewes were found, which may originate from genetic potential of these two groups. These differences revealed that hybrid ewes are more resistant against blood metabolite changes during late pregnancy. Study of fluctuations in the blood metabolites during several stages of pregnancy can help us to determine abnormal metabolic cases and prediction of metabolic disorders such as pregnancy toxemia or ketosis, fatty liver syndrome and disease relating to fetus and ewe metabolism.