An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of glutamine (Gln) on hatching traits, growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, immune response and some of blood parameters in broiler chickens. For this study, 2100 eggs were obtained from 43-wk-old hens. L-glutamine (10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 mg dissolved in 0.5 mL of deionized water) was injected into the albumen on the 14th day of incubation. Hatchability, growth performance, digestive enzyme activities (amylase and lipase), immune response and blood parameters (glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), total protein, alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) were determined during this experiment. Weight of newly-hatched chicks was significantly greater in groups with Gln injection than in control and sham groups. But IOF caused lower hatchability (13.1% than in the control group (not-injection eggs) (p < em><0.05). Chickens from IOF of Gln showed better weight gain and feed conversion ratio (0-42 day of age) when compared to chicks hatched from the control and sham group. The IOF of the Gln significantly increased glucose concentration, number of the lymphocytes and heterophil and the weight of spleen and bursa of fabricius in newly hatched chicks. In addition, immunoglobulins G and M were also markedly increased in chickens treated in ovo with 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg of Gln at 26 days of age. It was concluded that the IOF of the Gln in all doses improved the immune response of broilers and the growth performance of broilers. Manuscript profile

The effect of ionophore and non-ionophore coccidiostats on performance parameters, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical parameters and gut microbial floras in broilers was investigated. A total of 300 one-day-old broilers were randomly allocated into five treatments including: (1) basal diet (control group); (2) basal diet with 60 ppm salinomycin; (3) basal diet with 3.75 ppm maduramicin; (4) basal diet with 1 ppm Diclazuril; and (5) basal diet with 125 ppm amprolium. Supplementing the diet with diclazuril improved weight gain compared to all diets containing ionophore coccidiostats (p < 0.05). Additionally, feed intake significantly increased with broilers fed on diclazuril containing feed compared with broilers fed on maduramicin at 1 to 42 days. For female chicks, the highest carcass yield value was recorded in the control group, followed by the salinomycin, and maduramicin treatments respectively; however, thigh yield was higher in the diclazuril treatment group (p < 0.05). Highest carcass and breast yields for male broilers were obtained in the diclazuril treatment group (p < 0.05). Lactobacilli and Coliform bacterial populations were significantly higher in the diclazuril and control groups when compared to the salinomycin group at 28 and 42 days (p < 0.05). Blood glucose and total protein were significantly increased by feeding diclazuril diets in both male and female broilers (p < 0.05). Blood sodium and potassium concentrations were affected by treatment in male chickens (p < 0.05). The use of diets containing non-ionophore coccidiostats, particularly diclazuril, had beneficial effects on the overall growth performance of broiler chickens. Manuscript profile

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the probiotic effects of different concentrations of four selected native Lactobacillus strains on laying performance and egg quality parameters of quails. To do this, a six-week farm trial was performed in completely randomized design with seven different probiotic treatments of four replicates each consisting of eight quails, resulting in a total of 224 quails. Four native Lactobacillus strains whose probiotic potentials had previously been confirmed at in vitro levels were cultured in a 10 liter batch fermentor and lyophilized (1010 CFU/g). Treatments were as follows: T1: control (basal diet without probiotics); T2: basal diet + Primalac® (454 g/ton); T3: basal diet + Protexin® (50 g/ton); and T4, T5, T6, and T7: four native strains in levels of 50, 100, 150, and 200 g/ton diets, respectively. The native strains and Protexin® could significantly improve egg production, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and egg mass during the laying period (P<0.05), whereas no significant effect was observed on feed intake and egg weight. The probiotic treatments had significant positive effects on the albumen height, Haugh unit, and internal quality unit (IQU) (P<0.05), whereas there was no difference between the treatments in terms of egg shell weight, egg yolk weight, and egg albumen weight of the quails (P>0.05). It can be concluded that the use of native strains (a 50 g/ton diet) improved the performance (egg production, egg mass, and FCR) and egg quality parameters (Haugh unit and IQU) of quails. Manuscript profile