فصلنامه پژوهشهای علوم دامی ایران
سال چهاردهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1401)

Proper nutrition management during calf rearing is one of the most important factors which influence herd profitability. Environmental stressors and immature immune system of calves, reduce the viability of the animal. Today, attempts are being made to increase immune system postnatal calf life in various ways. Supplying unsaturated fats, which have double bonds on their structure, in starter diet, is one of the suggested solutions to improve the calf’s immune system. Infant ruminants do not have the ability to biosynthesize fat-soluble vitamins (A, D3, E), while these vitamins play a major role in the animal's immune system and their performance. Supplying fat-soluble vitamins in the calves’ diets is critical for the normal growth of muscles and the body skeleton, as they have an improvement role to improve the immune system in animals. The common symptoms of a fat soluble vitamin deficiency in suckling calves are growth retardation, coarse hair, and susceptibility to infectious diseases. In this experiment, twenty eight Holstein female calves with an average weight of 37.74 kg (± 4/76) were used from birth to 56 days. After birth claves were separated from their dam and after weighing they transferred to individual pen. On the fourth day, the calves were randomly assigned to one of four treatments.  All calves received colostrum for the first 3 d and then whole milk at 8% of bodyweight in the two equal part in the morning (4.00 A.M) and evening (16 P.M) until weaning. The experimental treatments included: 1) control: whole milk with starter 2) control diet supplemented with flaxseed oil (0.3ml per kilogram of body weight) 3) control diet and weekly injection of 7 cc of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D3, E) 4) The control diet which supplemented with flaxseed oil (0.3ml per kilogram of body weight) plus weekly injection of 7 cc of fat-soluble vitamins.  Flaxseed oil was mixed into milk (morning feeding) until weaning. During the experiment period, calves had ad libitum access to chopped alfalfa hay and starter diet. Water from a plastic bucket (7 liters), filled twice a day, and was provided throughout the study. Composition of starter did not change throughout the experiment. Starter intake was recorded daily. Body weight gain determined weekly until the end of experiment. Fecal consistencies were scored twice a day. Blood sample were harvested from jugular vein for collection of blood serum. Blood metabolites, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides were analyzed using commercially available colorimetric and enzymatic assay kits. Data were analyzed using SAS version 9.4 as a randomized completely randomized design experiment. For all results, significant differences between treatments were reported at P≤ 0.05 and tendencies were reported at 0.05 < P≤ 0.10. Least square means for each treatment are reported in the tables and were separated using Tukey’s test. The results of this study showed that the use of flaxseed oil and injection of fat-soluble vitamins during pre-weaning period had no significant effect on the starter feed intake, daily weight gain, rectal temperature and skeletal growth parameters of calves.Serum concentrations of total protein, triglyceride, creatinine and urea were not affected by experimental treatments. Claves received flaxseed oil and fat soluble vitamins injection tended to have the lowest serum glucose concentration (P<0.10). Calves received flax seed oil and fat soluble vitamins injection had the highest cholesterol concentration. The results of this study indicated that inclusion of flaxseed oil and injection of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E) had no any marked effects on weight gain, daily feed intake and skeletal bone growth.

In most dairy farms, calves are housed individually during the milk-feeding period and will only introduce to social groups after weaning. Individual housing can help keep calves healthy by reducing disease transmission and incidence behavioral problems such as cross-sucking as well as providing individual feeding and health-care of the calf. Nevertheless, individual rearing systems through lack of social contact can compromise the welfare of the calf. Calves are social animals, thus keeping calves in groups can promote more normal social behavior. Also, social housing results in decreased labor costs associated with calf rearing, increased solid feed intake, weight gains, and less fear of novel social situations. Despite all the performance and behavioral advantages in calves with social housing compared to individually housing, there are concerns about the close relationship between calves and the risk of disease transmission. It has been reported a higher frequency of diarrhea in socially housed calves compared with individually housed calves at week 3. Thereby the risk of morbidity and mortality can be reduced if calves are grouped after 3 weeks of age onwards. Also, no considerable differences were observed for social behaviors between calves housed together from birth compared with those housed together from 3 week of life. Research is needed to establish best practices to rear the calves whilst improving the welfare, health, and growth of dairy calves. Therefore the aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of individual or group housing (from 4 weeks) on performance, blood parameters, ruminal fermentation, behavior, and health of dairy calves. A total of 32 Holstein calves were separated from their dams immediately after birth, weighed, and placed in individual pens. Then at 28 ± 2 d, calves were randomly assigned to either an individual pen (n = 16 calves, 1.5×2 m2) or group pen (4 calves/pen, n = 16 calves, 3×4 m2). All calves were offered a step-up/step-down method of milk feeding (4, 6, 8, 6, 4, and 2 L/d) and weaned at d 63. The study finished when calves reached 90 d of age. Feed intake was determined daily. Calves were weighed at birth, 28, 63, and 90 d of the age. Body measurements including body length, body girth, withers height, heart girth, hip height, and hip width of the calves were measured at the start and end of the study. Blood samples were collected at d 4 before and d 4 after weaning for measurement of glucose, cholesterol, and BUN concentration. Behavior parameters (playing, cross-sucking, grooming, and non-nutritive oral behavior) were monitored by visual observations of all calves at the 60 and 89 d of age for a period of 24 h. Calf health was checked every day for fecal scoring, general appearance scoring, and respiratory scoring. Also, diarrhea and pneumonia diagnoses and treatment of calves were recorded. On 50 and 80 d of age, ruminal fluid samples were collected from male calves for the measurement of pH and analysis of volatile fatty acids. There was no significant difference between housing for starter intake, total dry matter intake, and ADG during pre-weaning, post-weaning, and the total period of the study. Also, BW (birth, 28, 63, and 90 d) and skeletal growth (initial and final of the study) were not affected by housing. We observed no housing effect on glucose and BUN plasma, however, cholesterol concentration was greater in individual calves than group calves at pre- and post-weaning, which is probably related to the greater stress of individual calves than group calves during weaning. Ruminal pH, total VFA concentration, the concentration of acetate, propionate, butyrate, iso-butyrate, isovalerate, valerate, and acetate to propionate ratio in ruminal fluid were similar between treatments. There was no difference between treatments for the frequency and number of days with general appearance (score ≥2), diarrhea (score ≥3), and pneumonia, as well as medicated days for both diarrhea and pneumonia during the pre-weaning, post-weaning, and total period of the experiment, indicating that calves, in general, were healthy. These results are probably attributed to good management of colostrum feeding, bedding, hygiene, regular health monitoring and disease diagnosis, and small group size. In the current study, non-nutritive oral behaviors were greater in individual calves than group calves during pre-weaning. However, cross-sucking, grooming, and playing activities were greater in group calves than individual calves during pre-weaning. During post-weaning, behaviors were not affected by housing. Behavioral results show that group housing improves the welfare of calves at weaning. In general, the results showed that type of housing (group or individual) did not affect performance, rumen fermentation, and health of calves. While group housing can lead to improving the welfare of calves (increase the play and grooming, and decrease the non-nutritive oral behaviors).We suggested that calves can be grouped in good health if housing is properly managed.

Recently, herbal additives have attracted interest for research due to their positive effects on animal health and production. The effects of herbal derived feed additives to their effects on rumen fermentation, gut microflora, immune system and the overall animal performance have been studied extensively and the observed results have been attributed to their antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune regulatory and metabolic effects. Seidelitzia romarinus is one of the medicinal plants that has been used as forage in animal feeding for a long time. Although the nutritional values of halophytes such as S. rosmarinus are relatively good, they make palatable forage when mixed with other pasture plants. In addition, S. rosmarinus has some medicinal effects and used for the treatment of some diseases based on its antimicrobial and anti-oxidative effects. In traditional medicine, S. rosmarinus had been used extensively to attenuate the uterus problems after parturition especially for metritis prevention and treatment. Due to lack of any scientific evidences on the effects of S. rosmarinus on productive and reproductive performance of fresh cows, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Seidelitzia rosmarinus decoction on production and reproduction performance of fresh Holstein dairy cows. One hundred post-parturient Holstein dairy cows were allocated randomly to experimental treatments from their parturition day in a completely randomized design. The experimental groups were 1) control cows and 2) the cows that received the decoction of 500 grams S. rosmarinus for first 3 days after parturition. Milk yield and composition were recorded monthly for five months after parturition. Reproductive performance including conception rate, service per conception and metritis incidence were recorded for three months after parturition. In addition, a blood sampling was done from all cows on day 12 after parturition. All animals were examined at 3-week intervals by rectal palpation until spontaneous estrus. Artificial insemination (AI) was performed by an experienced inseminator with frozen–thawed semen 12 to 18 hours after observed standing estrus and pregnancy was determined using ultrasonography between day 40 and 48 after insemination. Milk production and composition of cows were not affected significantly by drinking S. rosmarinus decoction. The decoction of S. rosmarinus had positive effect on reproduction performance, so conception percentage of cows with lower than 100 days in milk and 100 to 200 days in milk increased when compared to control cows. Percentage of pregnant cows with 1 to 2 services per conception was higher for medical herb group.  Percentage of cows with normal uterus in the decoction received group was higher than control cows, 70 % versus 50.14 %, respectively. Incidence of metritis decreased in cows received S. rosmarinus decoction (20 % versus 31.42 %, respectively). The observed effects from the S. rosmarinus decoction may be attributed to the antimicrobial effects of S. rosmarinus that prevented from new uterine infections or treated some sub-clinical metritis and therefore resulted in healthier uterine and better reproductive performance. Concentrations of blood glucose and non-esterified fatty acids were affected by drinking S. rosmarinus decoction so, the decoction received cows had higher glucose and lower non-esterified fatty acids levels. These blood parameters are the indicators of overall energy status of the cow and the observed results shoes that cows received S. rosmarinus had better energy status. Concentrations of blood cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, urea, and beta hydroxy butyrate and blood enzyme activities including aspartate amino transferase and alkaline phosphatase were not influenced by drinking the herbal decoction. The results proposed that S. rosmarinus decoction may have positive effects on reproductive performance of fresh Holstein dairy cows.

Halophytes are plants with ability to survive in saline and alkaline soils and are drought resistant. In many areas of the world, native and introduced halophytes are forage resources, especially for sustaining grazing livestock when other feeds are scarce. Iran is a typical country of wide deserts and saline ecosystems and halophytes plays a major role in the halophytic and xerophytic vegetation of Iran. kochia is a drought-resistant annual plant that its cultivation is increasing in Iran. Due to the possibility of irrigating this plant with saline water, it can play an important role in providing the required feed to livestock in areas with saline soil and water by producing significant grains with high protein content. The aim of this study was to investigate effect of different levels of kochia seed in high concentrate diets on rumen fermentation. Dietary treatments included control diet (no kochia seed) and three diets levels containing 10, 20 and 30 % of ration DM kochia seed. In all treatments, soybean meal and wheat bran in the diet were substituted with kochia seed. Gas production and dual-flow continuous culture system were used in this study. In the gas production test, treatments arranged as complete randomized design. The amount of gas produced in the samples was recorded at different hours after incubation and the parameters of gas production, organic matter digestibility and metabolic energy were calculated. In the second experiment, eight dual-flow continuous culture fermenters (1320 ml) were used in two periods (7 days adaptation, 3 days sampling). In each period, fermenters were randomly assigned to treatments. Temperature (38.5°C) and liquid and (10%/h) solid (5%/h) dilution rates were kept constant in the fermenters. Anaerobic conditions were maintained by the infusion of N2 at a rate of 40ml/min. Treatments were randomly assigned to fermenters. Fermenters were fed daily with 97 g dry matter. During sampling days, collection vessels were maintained at 4ºC to impede microbial action. Solid and liquid effluents were mixed and homogenized for 1 min, and a 500ml sample was removed via aspiration. Upon completion of each period, effluent from the 3 days of sampling was composited and mixed within fermenter and homogenized for 1 min. Subsamples were taken for total N, ammonia-N, and VFA analyses. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS. Fermenter and period were considered random effects. Comparisons between treatments were completed with Tukey’s test. Effects were considered significant at P<0.05. Inclusion of kochia seed in the diet increased gas production potential and amount of produced gas compared to the control diet. Increasing levels of kochia seed in the diet linearly increased metabolizable energy, organic matter digestibility and short chain fatty acid production. Low lignin content and high hemicellulose digestibility could be the main reasons behind higher metabolizable energy and organic matter digestibility observed in kochia containing diets. The observed increase in gas production potential as well as the volume of produced gas in kochia seed containing diets also supports that this feedstuff does not contain antinutritional factors with antimicrobial properties or the amount of these compounds in the grain is not significant. In the dual flow continuous culture study, dry matter digestibility linearly increased with increasing levels of kochia seed in the diet. Organic matter digestibility tended to increase using kochia seed in the diet (P =0.08). An increase in protein digestibility observed in treatments containing 20 and 30 % kochia seed compared to other treatments. Total VFA concentration increased linearly in diets containing kochia seed (P = 0.01). This finding could be the result of higher organic matter digestibility in kochia seed containing diets. Also, it has been suggested that higher rumen fiber digestibility or partial replacement of starch with a digestible cell wall can increase the total VFA concentration by increasing the population of fiber-degrading bacteria, a mechanism that is especially important in high-concentrate diets. Average ammonia nitrogen concentration, the concentration before feeding and 2 hours after feeding decreased in kochia containing diets compared to control diet. Despite the increase in crude protein digestibility in diets containing 20 and 30% kochia seed, the average ammonia nitrogen concentration in these treatments was lower compared to the control treatment. This finding can be the result of higher use of ammonia nitrogen in these treatments. The higher digestibility of dry matter and the tendency to increase the digestibility of organic matter by increasing level of kochia seed in the diet could support this idea. The results of this study showed that using kochia seed in the diet up to 30% of ration dry matter could support optimal rumen fermentation. Due to the low water requirement and the ability of kochia plant to grow in saline soils on the one hand and the desirable energy and protein content of kochia seeds on the other hand, this grain can be used as a suitable option to meet part of the feed needed for ruminants in saline areas. Limited information is available and more in vivo research is needed in this area.

Corn silage is a major source of forage for ruminants, which provides a higher energy level compared to other forages. But it is susceptible to aerobic deterioration, because yeasts utilize the lactic acid, produced by lactic acid bacteria, as a source of energy. Thus, silages become a favor environment for the growth of mold and bacteria. The susceptibility of a silage to the aerobic deterioration is an important factor since it is directly related to its quality and nutritive value. When silage is exposed to air, increase of temperature and pH may occur, resulting in soluble carbohydrates loss and fermentation of the products of microbial metabolism, reducing its quality. Aerobic stability is an important feature in the evaluation of corn silage quality. Researchers reports that the use of lactic acid bacteria can improve fermentation and aerobic stability of silage. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the chemical compositions and concentration of fermentation end products that occur in corn silages with or without microbial inoculants during aerobic exposure and to select bacterial strains that can improve the aerobic stability after silo opening. This study was conducted to select lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from corn silage, the intestinal contents of broilers, laying hens, Turkey, Ostrich and assess their effects on the quality and aerobic stability of maize silage. The LAB strains were inoculated into aqueous extract obtained from maize to evaluate their production of metabolites, pH reduction and antimicrobial activity. One hundred and twenty-one strains were isolated from various sources in the Laboratory, which all isolates were considered to be LAB as determined by Gram-stain appearance, catalase test and lactic acid productivity. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence of representative strains was used to confirm the presence of the predominant groups. The sequences from the various LAB isolates showed high degrees of similarity to those of the GenBank type strains between 99% and 100%. Five LAB strains that showed the best results were assessed in experimental silos. All treatments were ensiled in laboratory-scale silos for 105 days, and then subjected to an aerobic stability test for 8 days. Silage samples were collected at 0, 4 and 8 days after aerobic exposure to determinate the changes in the chemical compositions, products of fermentation, and to evaluate the silages microbial changes to determine the aerobic deterioration. Data in the experimental design, after opening the silos, were analyzed in a completely randomized design with nine replicates by GLM procedure of SAS software. In aerobic conditions, the data were analyzed as repeated measures in time. The data were analyzed in a completely randomized design by GLM procedure of SAS software. Variance analysis and multiple comparisons of data were performed using the GLM procedure of and the means were separated by Tukey’s test. The results indicated that after 105 days of conservation, all silages had good fermentation characteristics with low pH (<3.80) and ethanol concentration and high lactic acid contents (P<0.01). A linear decrease in pH values and water-soluble carbohydrates contents were observed. Addition of lactic acid bacteria, increased acetic acid, but decreased ethanol contents of inoculated silages compared to the control (P<0.01).  Across treatments, there were significant differences in the yeast populations (P<0.01). The population of yeasts which was initially high in the fresh forage (5.57 log cfu g−1 forage) before ensiling and a drastic reduction in the numbers of yeasts was observed in all silages throughout the experiment. The addition Lactobacillus Fermentum resulted in a higher concentration of acetic acid and reduced populations of yeasts in silage compared to the other silage treatments, and a lower ethanol concentration in the silage (P<0.01). The strains tested were able to modify the fermentative and chemical parameters and the populations of yeasts of silage after aerobic exposure.  Aerobic stability of corn silages was associated with high acetic acid and reduction the populations of yeasts. all Lactobacillus strains promoted an increase in aerobic stability of silage. Addition of lactic acid bacteria, further improved silage aerobic stability with more acetic acid production and reduction the populations of yeasts (P<0.01). After 8 days of aerobic exposure, inoculated silage with Lactobacillus Fermentum remained stable, but the control silage deteriorated as indicated by a reduction in lactic acid and an increase in pH, and numbers of yeast (P<0.01). These results proved the advantage of microbial inoculation. The best Lactobacillus strains is Lactobacillus Fermentum because it provides more stable pH, production higher acetic acid, higher reduction of yeasts and filamentous fungi in maize silage, thereby decreasing the aerobic deterioration by these microorganisms. The results showed that application of inoculants is recommended because it promoted higher production of acetic acid, reducing the populations of yeast and filamentous fungi, a more stable pH and, therefore, improving the aerobic stability of silages. The best inoculation is Lactobacillus Fermentum because it provides higher reduction of yeast and filamentous fungi in maize silage, thereby decreasing the aerobic deterioration by these microorganisms. The Lactobacillus Fermentum strain show the best results in relation to silage aerobic stability.

The use of agricultural and food industry by-products in animal feed leads to a reduction in breeding costs. In addition application of agricultural waste in poultry feed also reduces the environmentally harmful effects. One of these by-products is pistachio green peel, which is produced in food industries. Common pistachio (common pistachio in the market) with the scientific name Pistacia vera is a plant of the genus Anacardiaceae. Iran is the world's largest pistachio producer with 58% of the world's pistachio production. Research has shown that about four hundred thousand tons of pistachio by-products are produced annually in Iran and large volumes in the harvest season and high humidity of these products cause environmental pollution and pistachio orchards. Pistachio green peel has a parenchymal and fibrous structure and contains water, sugars, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, color compounds and terpenes. Green pistachio skin contains 4425.45 Kcal/kg of gross energy, 32.64% of dry matter, 11.24% of crude protein, 15.38% of crude fiber, 13.13% of ash, 5.79% of ether extract, 1.08 of calcium, 0.11% of phosphorus, 0.31% of magnesium, 4.44% of potassium. The concentrations of iron, manganese, copper and zinc in pistachio green peel are 660.68, 23.6, 16.23 and 5.27 mg/kg, respectively. There are significant amounts of alpha-pinene, alpha-terpinolene, flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Food sources rich in phenolic compounds have a set of physiological properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-mutagenicity, lipoprotein oxidation inhibitor and have platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory activity  and strengthen the immune response. The use of pistachio green peel extract improved the growth performance of broiler chickens, blood lipids and abdominal fat. The use of pistachio green skin extract in the diet of broiler infected with Staphylococcus aureus improved growth performance, increased antibody titer against sheep erythrocytes, decreased blood lipids and microbial population of the gastrointestinal tract of broilers. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effect of Green Pistacia of kallequchi and it’s processed with urea on growth performance, blood indices, immune response and jejunum morphology of broiler chickens.

A total of 280 male broilers were randomly distributed in 28 experimental units including 7 treatments, 4 replicates and 10 chicks each. The experimental diets consisted of the levels of 0, 1.5, 3, and 5% of the raw and processed green hull of kallequchi pistachio. The broilers were fed with three dietary programs including starter (1-10 days), grower (11-24 days), and finisher (25-42 days). At the end of each period, the body weight gain and feed consumption were recorded and the feed conversion ratio was calculated. Two birds of each replicate were slaughtered and their blood was gathered to analyze the biochemical blood indices at 42 days of age. The data were analyzed with SAS software and the mean was compared with the Tukey test at 0.05.

The addition of green hull of pistachio and its processed to diets cause a decrease in the feed conversion ratio during the starter and the whole period of the experiment (P≤0.05). In the starter period, adding 3% of the green hull of the pistachio increased the body weight gain compared to the control (P <0.05). The pistachio green hull increased total antibody and immunoglobulin G antibody titer against sheep red blood cells compared to control (P≤0.05). Experimental diets decreased serum cholesterol and LDL concentrations compare to control (P≤0.05). The green hull of kallequchi pistachio and its processed increased the villus height and decreased villus width and the ratio of height to crypt depth compared to the control (P≤0.05). Different levels of kallequchi pistachio green hull and its processed increased relative weight of the breast, heart, burs fabricius and decreased abdominal fat compared to control (P≤0.05). The same findings were reported by researchers that pistachio green hull extract decreased blood lipids and increased the immune response of broiler chickens (Yousefi et al., 2018; Hosseini Vashan et al., 2020).

It is concluded that adding green hull of kallequchi pistachio up to 5% into broiler diets may improve growth performance, however, the addition of 3% could reduce cholesterol, FCR and improve the immune response of broiler chickens.

Humate material was used as feed additives in poultry nutrition. The biochar as a useful fertilizer in agriculture industry is a humate material that increases growth of plants. This fertilizer can as an additive be use in the poultry and animals feed, due to has many minerals material and two organic acid (humic and fulvic) in its compound. The reduce cost of diet in poultry industry for egg production, is an important goal. The biochar as a dietary additive is easily derived from burn organic material and agriculture byproduct. In recent years, several studies have been conducted to determine the effect of humic acid as an additive on performance poultry. In a study, dietary supplementation of laying hens with humic acid improves the performance and egg shape index. Investigating the effect of biochar as replacement of dietary mineral supplements on performance and egg shell quality of laying hens is rare. One of the properties of vitamin C (VC) is chelating properties, and with this property, it increases the intestinal absorption of minerals in birds. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of biochar (as a humate material) in five levels and vitamin C in two levels as replacement of dietary mineral supplements on performance and egg shell quality of laying hens.                        The current experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of biochar with vitamin C as replacement of mineral supplement in diet of laying hen. A total of 400 laying hens of Bovans strain, were randomly assigned to 10 experimental groups in a 5×2 factorial treatment arrangement with five replications and eight laying hens in each replicate during three 30-day periods. Factors tested included biochar levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% replacement with mineral supplements of diet) and vitamin C levels (0 and 100 mg/kg of diet). The feed intake, feed conversion ratio and daily weight gain were determined. Records of the feed intake were taken on by daily basis. Feed conversion ratio was calculated as grams of feed consumed to grams of egg mass. To determine egg shell quality characteristics, the shape index was calculated by using egg height and egg width. The egg specific gravity was evaluated by floating eggs in soluble of water and salt with different density. The egg breaking strength was measured by resistance meter. Replacing biochar levels from 25 to 100% mineral supplement of diet, with and without vitamin C, had no effect on performance characteristics (feed intake, feed conversion ratio and daily weight gain) and egg shell quality traits (egg shape index, egg specific gravity and egg breaking strength) in total of period of the experiment (50 to 61 weeks of age). The levels of 25 and 50% biochar, plus vitamin C in diet decreased feed intake in the first period. Whereas, the level of 75% biochar, plus vitamin C in diet increased feed intake in this period. The egg shape index with the addition of vitamin C in diet decreased in the third period. The reason of no significant effect of biochar on performance and egg shell quality can be due to the different sources and amounts of biochar in poultry diet. The reason of no significant effect of vitamin C on performance and egg shell quality in laying hens can be due to the bird environmental temperature. The use of vitamin C in diet of laying hens under heat stress improves their performance. Whereas, this study was performed in normal environmental temperature. The second reason is the chelating properties of vitamin C,  that can be increased absorption minerals in birds intestinal. But due to advanced digestive tract of laying hens, maybe decrease its properties.    The results of present study showed that biochar across all levels had similar cost with control group, and it had no effect on egg shell quality and performance of laying hens. There was no significant interaction between biochar and vitamin C regrding to performance, egg shell quality traits and cost of diet during 50 to 61 weeks of age, too. Therefore, biochar can be completely replaced with dietary mineral supplements of laying hens due to its low cost, high availability, easy production without adverse effects on performance and egg quality traits.

Application of growth-promoting antibiotics in poultry nutrition improves growth, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and reduces mortality. But, due to their persistent effects and increased drug resistance to pathogenic bacteria and the transmission of bacteria to humans through the food chain, the European Union banned their use. One of the natural alternatives is medicinal plants. Because plant products for reasons such as availability, ease of use, reduction of side effects, antibacterial and antioxidant properties, were used to treat some diseases in humans and animals. Among these medicinal plants we can mention yarrow with the scientific name of Achillea millefolium. This plant in addition to high antimicrobial and antioxidant properties; has antifungal properties, stimulates appetite, improves digestion and feed intake, improves the condition of the gastrointestinal tract, etc. This plant also accelerates digestion and shortens the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract by increasing bile production and enzymatic activity. On the other hand, probiotics are living microorganisms of a nonpathogenic and nontoxic in nature that improve gastrointestinal health and improve performance in birds by improving intestinal microbial balance. According to these cases, this study was performed to evaluate the effect of yarrow essential oil in comparison with a growth-promoting antibiotic and probiotic on performance of broiler chickens. A total of 200 day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were studied in a completely randomized design with five treatments, and four replicates. Experimental diets were: 1) basal diet (control), 2 and 3) basal diets supplemented with 100 and 200 mg/kg of yarrow essential oil, respectively, 4) basal diet supplemented with 200 mg/kg probiotic, and 5) basal diet supplemented with 500 mg/kg antibiotic (flavophospholipol). Body weight and feed intake were measured at the end of each growing period and were used to calculate Performance parameters such as body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio. At the end of the experiment, one bird per each replicate was slaughtered for meat quality tests, including measurements of TBARS, pH, water holding capacity, dripping loss and antibody titer. For TBARS, the amount of fat oxidation of the sample was measured by measuring the amount of malondialdehyde and the microtiter hemagglutination method was used to determine the antibody titer produced against sheep erythrocytes. During the whole experimental period, birds received yarrow essential oil at 100 mg/kg diet, showed significantly higher body weight and lower FCR compared to the control group(P <0.05).  The lowest feed intake was observed in birds that were fed from the level of 200 mg/kg of yarrow essential oil. However, this effect was significant only in comparison with antibiotic treatment, which showed the highest feed intake (P <0.05). Different results have been reported in this regard which can be related to the type of plant, the amount of active ingredients, the level of the medicinal plant used and the interactions with other components of the diet. The TBARS index, indicating lipid oxidation of meat, in chickens fed with different levels of yarrow essential oil and probiotic were lower compared to the control group and antibiotics. In vitro, researchers have shown that plant essential oils, such as yarrow alkaloids, can reduce free radicals and can be a good alternative to synthetic antioxidants. Also in the study of using a mixture of plant extracts increased the concentration of phenols and decreased the amount of TBARS in the meat of broilers. pH, water holding capacity, dripping loss and cooking loss were not affected by the dietary treatments. The antibody titer against sheep red blood cell (SRBC) was lower in the control group in compare to those fed different levels of yarrow essential oil. In some studies, yarrow has increased humoral immunity with its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties; but, the amount used and the concentration of plant material were also effective. Based on the results, the use of 100 mg/kg yarrow essential oil increased body weight, improved feed conversion ratio and also increased antibody titer at 42 days of age. On the other hand, the TBARS index in chickens fed with different levels of yarrow essential oil was lower in compare to control group. Finally, according to the results, it can be concluded that the use of yarrow essential oil at the level of 100 mg/kg can be a good substitute to antibiotics in poultry nutrition.

Feed is the main cost part of poultry production. High feed efficiency poultry produce less feed and less excrement per unit weight gain. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the biological mechanisms that control feed efficiency is crucial for the development of optimal breeding and selection strategies. The serine biosynthesis pathway is one of the most important pathways in animals with high feed efficiency. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of PHGDH, PSAT1 and PSPH genes by real-time PCR in Iranian native turkeys with high and low feed efficiencies.

Iranian native male turkeys (n=500) were reared up to 20 weeks of age under standard production guidelines. Then 75 turkeys were randomly selected and placed in separate cages with free access to water and feed from 20 to 24 weeks. Turkeys were ranked based on feed conversion ratio (FCR) and three turkeys with the highest and three turkeys with lowest feed efficiency were selected as high feed efficiency (HFE) and low feed efficiency (LFE) birds, respectively. After slaughter of turkeys, RNA was extracted from breast tissue. Quantity and purity of the extracted RNAs were determined using a nanodrop device and its quality was evaluated using 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. Sequences of PSPH, PHGDH, PSAT1 and RSP7 genes were collected from the NCBI database. The primer was designed using Primer Premier version 5 software. All primers were synthesized by Sinaclon (Iran). In this study, RSP7 gene was used as a reference gene. Then, cDNA synthesis was performed. The best amplification temperature for simultaneous amplification of target and reference genes was determined. Samples were amplified for each gene with 3 replications using real-time PCR reaction. Significance level between treatments for each gene was determined separately using t-test in SAS software version 9.2 (P<0.05).

Results of ultraviolet light absorption measurements at 260 and 280 nm by the nanodrop device showed that the quantity and quality of RNA extracted from the breast muscle samples were of high purity and not contaminated. The range of RNA concentration of the extracted samples was between 480 to 962 ng/μl and the ratio of absorption at 260 and 280 wavelength was about 2.1, which indicates the good quality of the extracted RNAs. The most suitable temperature was selected for specific binding of primers and simultaneous amplification of target genes and temperature control of 58 °C. To investigate and confirm the specificity of replication, melting curves were created to ensure the specificity of the amplified products, the absence of non-specific bands and secondary structures such as hairpin and primer-dimer structures. The results showed that there was only one narrow peak for each gene. The results of studying the expression of serine biosynthesis pathway genes (PSPH, PHGDH and PSAT1) showed that the expression level of these genes in HFE male turkeys was significantly higher than LFE male. Higher expression of PSPH, PHGDH and PSAT1 genes in HFE animals than in LFE animals indicates activation of the serine amino acid biosynthesis pathway, which itself can provide precursors for the Krebs cycle and purine biosynthesis. Glucose is the main source of metabolic energy in the body. When glucose enters the cell, glycolysis begins in the cytoplasm. The pathway of glycolysis and Glutamine catabolism produces an intermediate metabolite called 3-phosphoglycerate, which is gradually catalyzed to serine by PHGDH, PSAT1, and PSPH. Eventually serine is converted to glycine. Activation of this pathway indicates the higher ability of HFE animals to make better use of energy sources such as glucose, which increases protein production in breast muscle tissue and enhances volume and weight of muscle tissue in HFE turkeys.

The results of this study showed that the expression of serine biosynthesis pathway genes (PSPH, PHGDH and PSAT1) was significantly higher in high feed efficiency turkeys than in low feed efficiency turkeys. In fact, these results at the level of molecular biology show that turkeys with higher feed efficiency cultivate better use of energy received from feed. Activation of this pathway increases the biosynthesis of various amino acids and thus increases protein and muscle mass in birds. The results of this study can be a promising window to introduce genes that affect feed efficiency in order to further investigate the population and larger flocks of birds.

Having a fat tail is a characteristic of some Iranian native sheep breeds, whose main role is usually to store energy for using in limited food conditions. However, the amount of energy required to store fat in this tissue directly affects the efficiency of meat production and carcass quality. In Iran, the average weight of each carcass is about 15.3 kg, of which 15% is the fat tail. It requires 1.7 kg more feed per kilogram of fat tail than meat (protein), and customers pay a lower price per unit of weight for sheep with heavier fat tail. Today, researchers in the field of animal breeding have a special focus on reducing the weight of the fat tail and increasing the marketability of sheep carcasses. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) belongs to the β-metamorphic growth factor of the β family and plays an important role in bone and cartilage development and, therefore, seems to be the best candidate for the fat-tailed phenotype. Comparison of the results of genotype obtained from Ovine SNP50K Bead Chip in tow fat-tailed breeds with the results obtained in 13 thin tail breeds showed a missense mutation in BMP2 gene, with the frequency of different alleles in these two different groups. In this study, in order to detect the polymorphism in BMP2 gene exon 1 and investigation of its relationship with tail fat trait, blood samples from 150 same age ewes of Lori Bakhtiari breed were randomly taken which are maintained in Gahar Dorud sheep breeding center (Dorud, Lorestan). DNA extraction was performed using a special DNA extraction kit (Pars Toos, Iran) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Determination of quality and quantity of extracted DNA was performed using agarose gel electrophoresis and nanodrop spectrophotometer, respectively. BMP2 gene exon 1 was amplified successfully by a pair of specific primer. The accuracy of this process was confirmed by 1.5% agarose gel. Then, using PCR-SSCP technique, 12% polyacrylamide gel and silver nitrate staining, probable polymorphisms were tracked in this position and finally calculation of Chi-square test (χ2) for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) has been assessed by Popgen (Ver. 1.32) software. The relationship between genotypes and average fat tail weight (Corrected by body weight (BW)) has been analyzed with the PROC GLM procedures in Statistical Analysis System (SAS) v. 9.1 version. Based on the results, amplification of BMP2 gene exon 1 was successfully done and three different patterns of polymorphism have been detected through SSCP analysis.  Exon 1 of BMP2 gene in Lori Bakhtiari ewes containing A and B alleles with distributions of 197 and 103 and frequency of 65.7% and 34.33%, respectively, that have generated AA, AB and BB genotypes with distribution of 75, 47 and 28 and frequencies of 50%, 31.33% and 18.67%, respectively. Mean comparison of fat tail weight in each genotype using Duncan procedure showed that the effect of genotype on fat tail weight in Lori Bakhtiari breed was significant (P <0.05). AA genotype with average fat tail weight of 5.16 showed higher performance than AB genotype with average fat tail weight of 4.29 and BB genotype with average fat tail weight of 3.76. The results of statistical analysis also showed that the presence of allele A causes heavier fat tail weight and the presence of B allele causes lower fat tail weight (P <0.05). Heterozygosity and Homozygosity observed in this study are 0.3154 and 0.6846, respectively. The significance of the calculated chi-square genotypic frequency in each population at the level of 0.05 in comparison with the chi-square table shows that the studied populations are not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Which can be attributed to the pressure of selecting on reference population for genetic breeding for fat tail weight at Gahar Dorud sheep breeding center. Today, advances in genomic technologies have multiplied, and if information on loci associated with meat quality traits can be obtained and the genes that control these traits are located on chromosomal sites, they can be incorporated into breeding programs. Breeds should be used with MAS and cause genetic growth and development of these traits. Using molecular detection methods and identifying sheep carrying B alleles and selecting them as the parents of the next generation, we can move towards producing herds with lower fat tail weight and more marketability.

Camels play a major role in the life of people in parts of Africa and Asia, especially in the desert areas. Today, camels are important for sustainable livestock production species in many arid regions of the world. Camels are economically important in terms of meat, milk and wool production in the desert. Due to climate change, camel as a desirable animal for arid areas, requires more extensive scientific view. According to FAO statistics, about 95% of 35 million humped camels worldwide are single-humped camels. The cytochrome b sequence is part of the mitochondrial DNA, passing from mother to offspring’s, can be used to elucidate genetic diversity and evolutionary history within and between different species. The aim of this study was to compare the genetic diversity using cytochrome b sequence in Turkmen camel and its genetic relationship with one and two-humped camels. In addition, the genetic relationship of within and between different species of camels has been objected. After preparing a blood sample from the abdominal vein of Turkmen camel, DNA extraction was performed using salting out method. Turkmen camel sequencing was performed using Illumina HighSeq 2000. Sequencing creates 150 bp reads of the genome sequence. The reads were assembled by Denovo method using CLC software and the contig of containing the cytochrome b gene was isolated based on the reference gene, NC_009849. Relevant data were obtained to compare the CYTB reference gene in new (Lamini) and old (Camelini) world species of camels. To study the genetic diversity of the camel species, a total of 42 one-humped camels, 31 wild tow-humped camels, 121 domestic tow-humped camels, and wild lamas including 31 guanicoe (Lama guanico) And 6 vicogna-vicogna (vicogna vicogna) and domestic llamas including 6 lama glama and 5 alpaca (Lama pacos) were compared. The alignment of CYTB gene sequence samples of different species was performed using CLC Genomics Workbench 12 software. Then the number of gaps, the number of differences and identities were obtained. A phylogenetic tree was drawn to investigate the genetic relationships between and within species. Sequences of Turkmen camels and other Iranian and Arabian one-humped camels along with other species were analyzed for alignment using CLC software. Phylogenetic tree of DNA and proteins sequences of the gene was performed using Neighbor Joining method with Jukes-Cantor protein distance size with 1000 bootstrap replications. DNA extraction based on spectrophotometry was 304 ng/μl and was suitable for sequencing. After sequencing, 589,326,158 readings of 150 base-pairs containing more than 88 billion bases were obtained. Assembling of the obtained reads produced 235978 contigs from which the contig of containing cytochrome b gene was selected based on the reference gene. The sequence of other camel species was extracted from the database and used based on the fact that the data contained the entire cytochrome b gene, which corresponds to 1140 bp of the reference gene. There is the biggest difference between new world of wild and domestic camels. There was a minimal difference between Arabian and Turkmen camels with 100% similarity, followed by Lama Glama and Lama Guanico, as well as between wild and domestic two-humped camels. The Turkmen camel was completely similar to the Arabian camel and had the greatest difference with wild two-humped camels. In the study of Di Rocco et al. (2010) it was shown that the difference of cytochrome b sequence between wild camels (VV and L Cuanicoe) was 6.4%, which in this study was 6.3% which could be due to the larger number of samples in this study. The phylogenetic tree of cytochrome b protein sequence showed that the llamas and one and two-humped camels are located in different branches of the tree. According to the results of DNA phylogenetic tree, llamas were on one side and two-humped camels were on the other side of the tree and one-humped camels were located between them. There was a great diversity within the population of llamas. Some domestic one and two-humped camels are associated with wild two-humped camels. The results indicate that wild two-humped female camels were mated with domestic one and two-humped males that resulted one and two-humped domestic camels phenotype. The same is true of llamas, with domesticated Lama Glama and Lama Pacos locating among the wild species of Lama Guanicoe and Vicogna vicogna phylogenetic branch. Ming et al. (2016) demonstrated that domestic and wild two-humped camel species are genetically distinct from each other. In this study, it was shown that the domestic and wild two-humped camels is phylogenetically close to each other and distanced from one-humped camels. Based on the cytochrome b sequence, Cui et al. (2007) were concluded that one and two-humped camels separated before migrating to Eurasia. Similarly, in this study, it has been shown that one-humped camels are separated from two-humped camels, then wild and domestic two-humped camels are separated from each other. As a result, there is a greater phylogenetic distance between llamas and humped camels. Iranian one-humped camels can be classified into four genetic groups, two of which are originated from wild and domestic two-humped camels and the other two groups are among the one-humped camels. Iranian domestic two-humped camels were also phylogenetically divided into four genetic groups.