Animal Sciences Commons^™

Divergent Selection For Water Conversion Ratio In Broiler Populations, Joseph Hiltz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water scarcity is a global reality and with the anticipated population growth, freshwater resources will be further strained to meet both human needs and agriculture applications. To ensure a water sustainable and food secure future, all aspects of agriculture must become more efficient. Two strategies were explored. The potential of improving water efficiency in broilers was examined. The first strategy was to develop a more efficient and accurate method for measuring water consumption/inputs in agriculture. To date, water measuring technology has lacked the necessary sophistication to assure accuracy and repeatability of low flow water usage.

After establishing a low flow …

Evaluation Of Two Neonatal Challenge Models For Broiler Chickens And Their Effects On Early Performance Parameters, Callie Selby

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Formaldehyde fumigation in poultry hatch cabinets has been utilized for sanitation of hatching eggs for over a century. Formaldehyde is utilized to minimize pathogenic microbes on the surface of the egg as well as the microbial bloom during the hatching process. While formaldehyde is effective, its use is regulated in the United States and Europe due to its carcinogenic nature. Formaldehyde has been shown to damage the cuticle of the egg, cause embryonic death, and damage the epithelial lining of the respiratory tract of freshly hatched chicks, predisposing them for respiratory infection. Alternatives for formaldehyde fumigation must be identified and …

Genome-Wide Analyses Of Genomic Variation Regulating Differential Stress Responses In Japanese Quail, Steven Anthony Shumaker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As consumer demands for poultry grow, producers work to improve bird productivity in both meat and egg production. This endeavor is multifaceted, as many different factors play a part in influencing the productivity of birds, including environmental conditions, overall health, and genetic potential. One aspect controlled for in all aspects of poultry production optimization is stress management. Mitigation of stress is of primary concern to producers, as improper stress management can have many deleterious effects on chickens. Stress management requires an understanding of poultry stress responses and their physiological mechanisms, which can be more deeply understood through genomic analysis. Chapter …

Development Of Aptamer Rolling Circle Amplification Platform As A Vaccine Adjuvant To Control Salmonella In Broiler Chickens, Abigeal Iyabode Omolewu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella has been a major source of concern in public health and food industry. It is the cause of gastrointestinal illness and fever called salmonellosis. Severe cases of salmonellosis have resulted in hospitalization and even death around the world. Salmonella can be found in the intestinal tract of animals including chickens and can be transmitted to human through contaminated food. Hence, it is highly important to find ways of reducing the transmission of Salmonella from chickens to humans. This work is focused on the control of Salmonella in broiler chicken through the development of novel vaccine adjuvant. Two different aptamer …

Investigation Of Histomoniasis Prevention In Poultry, Lesleigh Beer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Histomonas meleagridis is the etiological agent of histomoniasis, also commonly known as blackhead disease. This protozoal disease of poultry is detrimental to turkeys with flock mortalities often reaching 80-100%, although other gallinaceous birds are susceptible. Since the voluntary removal of nitarsone in 2015, the poultry industry is suffering with no approved prophylactics, therapeutics, or vaccines for this disease. The objectives of this dissertation were to evaluate multiple methods for prevention or control of histomoniasis, including dietary chemoprophylaxis and vaccination. Specifically, this research evaluated quinine as a chemoprophylactic candidate (Chapter 3) or live-attenuated H. meleagridis as vaccine candidates (Chapter 4) in …

Reducing Dietary Crude Protein: Characterization Of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Antagonism In Modern Broiler Chickens, Craig William Maynard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reducing the crude protein content of broiler diets while maintaining performance has been a primary research area in nutrition. During the late 20th century, the bulk of this research has involved supplementing broiler diets with feed-grade amino acids and proving the economic benefits of their additions. To date, widespread adoption of feed-grade amino acids is limited to methionine, lysine, threonine, and to some extent valine. With valine and isoleucine gaining prevalence in commercial formulation, classic data on the antagonisms associated with the branched-chain amino acids has returned to the forefront of practical broiler nutrition research. Therefore, a series of 23 …

Review: Physiological Growth Trend Of Current Meat Broilers And Dietary Protein And Energy Management Approaches For Sustainable Broiler Production, P. Maharjan, D. A. Martinez, J. Weil, N. Suesuttajit, C. Umberson, G. Mullenix, K. M. Hilton, A. Beitia, C. N. Coon

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The food production system needs to be sustainable including poultry sector to feed the increasing global population. An accepted economical and environmental approach of broiler production is to produce larger broilers faster while using less feed. Broiler production is aimed at producing consumable meat and meat products. The global broiler meat market has evolved over the years with increasing selection pressure shifted toward attaining yield characteristics for increased cut-up parts such as breast and thighs. There is a shift toward a big bird market in the U.S. with approximately 70% of the broiler meat produced from large birds (>2.72 …

Local And Systemic Cytokine, Chemokine, And Fgf Profile In Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis (Bco)-Affected Broilers, Alison Ramser, Elizabeth Greene, Robert Wideman, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Complex disease states, like bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO), not only result in physiological symptoms, such as lameness, but also a complex systemic reaction involving immune and growth factor responses. For the modern broiler (meat-type) chickens, BCO is an animal welfare, production, and economic concern involving bacterial infection, inflammation, and bone attrition with a poorly defined etiology. It is, therefore, critical to define the key inflammatory and bone-related factors involved in BCO. In this study, the local bone and systemic blood profile of inflammatory modulators, cytokines, and chemokines was elucidated along with inflammasome and key FGF genes. BCO-affected bone showed …

Embryo Lethality Assay As A Tool For Assessing Virulence Of Isolates From Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis In Broilers, Nnamdi S. Ekesi, Amer Hasan, Alia Parveen, Abdulkarim Shwani, Douglas D. Rhoads

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We used an embryo lethality assay (ELA) to assess virulence for different isolates from cases of bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) in broilers. Lameness is among the most significant animal welfare issues in the poultry industry. Bac-terial infections are a major cause of lameness and different bacterial species have been obtained from lame broilers. Reliable lab-based assays are required to assess relative virulence of bacteria obtained from lame broilers. ELA has been used to assess lethal dosage of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus cecorum. We hypothesized that ELA could substitute for more laborious and costly assessments …

Effects Of Herbal Adaptogen Feed-Additive On Growth Performance, Carcass Parameters, And Muscle Amino Acid Profile In Heat-Stressed Modern Broilers, Elizabeth S. Greene, Clay Maynard, Casey M. Owens, Jean-Francois Meullenet, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Heat stress has strong adverse effects on poultry production and, thereby, threats its sustainability, which energized scientists to search for innovative and effective solutions. Here, we undertook this study to evaluate the effects of in-feed herbal adaptogen (stress response modifier) supplementation on growth performances, meat quality, and breast amino acid profile in chronic cyclic heat-stressed broilers. Day-old male Cobb 500 chicks (n = 720) were randomly assigned, in environmental chambers (n = 12, 24 pens), to three diet-treatments: a three-phase corn-soybean based diet fed as such (Control, C), or supplemented with the herbal adaptogen at 500 g/1000 kg …

Research Note: Evaluation Of Quinine As A Chemoprophylactic Candidate Against Histomoniasis In Turkeys, L. C. Beer, B. M. Hargis, C. N. Vuong

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Histomoniasis, also commonly referred to as blackhead disease, is caused by the protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagridis. Since the removal of nitarsone in 2015, no approved prophylactics are available for mitigating histomoniasis. Disease incidence and high mortalities are frequently associated with turkey flocks, although infection of broiler breeders also occurs. Quinine is a naturally occurring alkaloid with antimalarial properties. In vitro assays have shown strong antihistomonal properties of quinine, leading to our hypothesis that quinine inclusion within the feed could prevent histomoniasis in turkeys. Selected concentrations of quinine were included within a turkey starter diet to evaluate effects on body …

Identification Of Breed Differences In Known And New Fescue Toxicosis Associated Phenotypes In Charolais-And Hereford-Sired Crossbred Beef Cows, Kayla M. Lucas, Dawn A. Koltes, Laura R. Meyer, John D. Tucker, Donald S. Hubbell Iii, Jeremy G. Powell, Jason K. Apple, James E. Koltes

Animal Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Beef cattle phenotypes are affected by the consumption of toxic fescue. Toxic fescue’s impact is dependent on heat stress and breed composition, with genetic variability for robustness to toxin exposure believed to exist within and across breeds. The study objective was to characterize the effect of fescue toxicosis across breeds for known and novel heat and fescue stress-associated phenotypes. One-hundred crossbred fall-calving Charolais- and Hereford-sired cows of parities 1–3 were allocated to graze either toxic fescue (n = 50), non-toxic fescue (n = 25), or a rotation between toxic and non-toxic fescue (n = 25) for 156 …

Current Applications Of Absolute Bacterial Quantification In Microbiome Studies And Decision-Making Regarding Different Biological Questions, Xiaofan Wang, Samantha Howe, Feilong Deng, Jiangchao Zhao

Animal Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

High throughput sequencing has emerged as one of the most important techniques for characterizing microbial dynamics and revealing bacteria and host interactions. However, data interpretation using this technique is mainly based on relative abundance and ignores total bacteria load. In certain cases, absolute abundance is more important than compositional relative data, and interpretation of microbiota data based solely on relative abundance can be misleading. The available approaches for absolute quantification are highly diverse and challenging, especially for quantification in differing biological situations, such as distinguishing between live and dead cells, quantification of specific taxa, enumeration of low biomass samples, large …

Effects Of Hatch Window And Nutrient Access In The Hatcher On Performance And Processing Yield Of Broiler Chicks Reared According To Time Of Hatch, Joshua R. Deines, F. Dustan Clark, Doug E. Yoho, R. Keith Bramwell, Samuel J. Rochell

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The effects of hatch window and hatching basket nutrient availability on organ weights, performance, and processing yield of broilers were investigated. Eggs were hatched in illuminated hatchers. At the end of each hatch window period (HWP), hatched chicks were placed into control (CTL) hatching baskets with no nutrients or baskets providing access to feed and water (FAW). This resulted in 6 treatments in a factorial arrangement of 3 HWP (early, middle, or late) and 2 basket types (CTL or FAW). Chicks remained in experimental baskets until 504 h and were then subjected to a …

Eating, Drinking And Locations Of Broiler Chickens Reared Under Commercial Conditions With Supplementary Feeder Line Lighting, D. J. Aldridge, M. T. Kidd, C. G. Scanes

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study examined the distribution of Cobb 700 broiler chickens in large (1.524 m × 6.096 m) pens under commercial conditions with 2 nipple waterer lines and a single feeder. The light intensity in the house was 4 lx provided by light emitting diode lighting but with supplementary lighting along the feeder line. There was a gradation of light intensity from 100 lx at bird level by the feeders to 4 lx at the edge of the pen. In addition, a limited time budget was estimated. A video system was employed to record the number of birds eating, drinking, standing …

Understanding Corn Variability, Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Corn is the most common feed ingredient used in poultry nutrition. Maize contributes with up to 65% of the metabolizable energy and 20% of crude protein in poultry diets (Gehring et al., 2013; Dei, 2017). Its average nutritional value is well-known, but it is accepted that the variability in its composition and energy value is a very common issue with great impact on poultry performance and health (Cowieson, 2005; Gehring et al., 2013; Latham et al., 2016; Montanhini-Neto et al., 2017). Corn variability affects growth, feed conversion, flock uniformity, digestibility, AMEn, digesta viscosity, gut microbiota composition, …

Assessing Dietary Branched-Chain Amino Acids To Achieve Linear Programming Goals Through Model Extrapolation And Empirical Research, Craig W. Maynard, Ed E. Gbur, Vinh-Loi Ly, Minh-Duc Le, Thi H. Ngan Le Jr, Justina Caldas, Michael T. Kidd

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Renewed interest, especially in the United States, has sparked in assessing branched-chain amino acid interactions in practical diets for broilers. Indeed, as L-valine enters formulation bird nitrogen excesses are reduced as diet protein falls to the new first limiting amino acid (e.g., isoleucine, arginine, or tryptophan). For a United States based example, the result is less oilseeds and more gains, which typically result in increased inclusions in corn or corn by-products, coupled with a concomitant increase in dietary leucine. The proceedings outline the foundations of the branched-chain amino acid early research, antagonism studies, and a meta-analysis conducted on publications with …

Sustaining Competitiveness In Times Of Uncertainty And Volatility: A Latin American Perspective, Antonio Kalinowski

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

The poultry industry has dominated the dynamic livestock sector in Latin America during the last decades, doubling production in the last 20 years (Williams and Anderson, 2019). In the future, poultry production in the region is expected to grow at almost twice the annual global rate: 2.5% and 4.0%, respectively. The rapid expansion of the industry has been fueled by the growing consumer demand for chicken meat and eggs, given its price competitiveness and culinary preference in most Latin American countries. Per capita chicken consumption is among the highest in the world (on average ca. 30 kg/person/year), and represents above …

Amino Acid Responses In Conventional And Slow Growing Broilers, Alex Corzo, Marcelo Silva

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Conventional and slow-growing broilers are both quite responsive to dietary amino acids. However, when reducing dietary balanced protein (BP), the change in rate of gain on the slower-growing broilers results in a growth curve that is not as steep as it would be if using the current conventional broiler. Amino acid supply and balance, in combination with manipulation of dietary energy density, could enable customers to achieve the desired rate of gain when using slow-growing broilers, depending on the Global Animal Partnership or other certification level the integrator is aiming for.

Heat Damage, Maillard Reactions, And Measurement Of Reactive Lysine In Feed Ingredients And Diets, Maryane S. F. Oliveira, Charmaine D. Espinosa, Hans H. Stein

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Feed cost represents 70% of the total cost of poultry and pork production (Patience et al., 2015); therefore, a number of processing techniques have been developed to maximize utilization of nutrients in feed ingredients and diets for optimum animal growth performance. Oilseed meals are commonly exposed to varying degrees of heat to remove solvents used during oil extraction, increase nutrient digestibility, improve storage life, and to reduce anti-nutritional factors (Liener, 1994; Rehman and Shah, 2005; Goebel and Stein, 2011). Heat is also applied in the production of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) from dry grind ethanol facilities …

Practical Pullet And Breeder Nutrition, David J. Burnham

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Modern meat chicken breeding stock have been selected for extremely efficient conversion of feed into protein and rapid growth. As a result, it has become increasingly more difficult to rear pullets and breeders to achieve the healthy chick numbers needed to supply the ever-expanding poultry meat market. There are many factors involved in producing a healthy pullet and breeder chicken. These include; housing, lighting, temperature and air control, health, animal husbandry, feed management and nutrition. This presentation is titled, Practical Pullet and Breeder Nutrition. Feed nutrient composition is important, but feed management is critical to make the nutrition effective. The …

Dietary Fiber From Crude To Refined: Unraveling Its Value On Animal Performance, Gilson Gomes, Tara York, Xavière Rousseau

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Fiber, although a simple five letter word, is like an onion. It is only once you begin to peel back the layers that you discover the complexity within. As nutritionists we are used to thinking in terms of ‘crude fiber’, but as we move into a world without antibiotics and the need to sometimes select alternative ingredients, we are now beginning to separate fiber into its chemical components and functional properties. To understand the functional properties, such as solubility and fermentability, we first need to ensure we can accurately measure the chemical composition of fiber for a wide variety of …

Free Fatty Acid Removal From Oil Using Magnetic Nanoparticles, Daniel Sabo

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Unprocessed crude oils consist of some amount of triglycerides as well as free fatty acids (FFAs). FFAs are virtually absent in oils from living tissue. They are formed by enzymatic action after the animal has been slaughtered. Hydrolysis of ester bonds in lipids, which results in the formation of FFA from the triglycerides, may be caused by enzymatic action, heat, or moisture. This release of short-chain fatty acids is the reason for rancid flavor and odor. Furthermore, the presence of FFAs can self-catalyze and release more FFAs from triglycerides. FFAs are susceptible to oxidation, which leads to oxidative rancidity. This …

Nutrition And Coccidiosis, Po-Yun Teng, Fernanda Castro, Woo Kyun Kim

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Coccidiosis is the most common parasitic disease caused by Eimeria spp., leading to over $14 billion economic loss worldwide annually. The most prevalent Eimeria spp. in poultry include E. tenella, E. maxima, E. acervulina, E. brunetti, E. necatrix, E. praecox, and E. mitis and have different level of pathogenicity and specific infection sites in the intestine. Eimeria spp. invade intestinal epithelial tissues and induce intestinal damage, causing inflammation, oxidative stress, hemorrhage, and diarrhea. Furthermore, coccidiosis causes reduction of growth performance, intestinal integrity, nutrient digestibility, and increase of mortality and mobility in poultry. Nutrition strategies have been evaluated to mitigate detrimental …

Every Part Of Yeast Is The Best Part, Matthieu Baulez, Bruno Bertaud, Lisa Saibi

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Yeasts are single-cell, eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the fungi kingdom. They are generally around 10μm in size, have a nuclear membrane, a cell wall, and a cytoplasmic content. Yeasts are characterized as heterotrophs, which means they rely on organic material as sources of energy and nutrients. Not all yeasts are equal. There are about 60 genera and about 1,500 species of yeasts. Only a few are used commercially. Thanks to its exceptional fermentative capacities and nutritional properties, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main yeast used in food, beverage and baking as well as in animal nutrition. The main types of yeasts …

Mineral Nutrition In Broilers: Where Are We At?, Rick Kleyn, Mariana Ciacciariello

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

Mineral nutrition remains an essential consideration for broiler nutritionists. The complex interactions between different minerals sources, other ingredients, and the broiler itself, coupled with their relatively low costs, have led to the current status of elevated levels of minerals in broiler diets. New perspectives on sustainability have brought about a rethink of the way we formulate practical diets. There are considerable opportunities for reducing macro minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, particularly for older birds. Our understanding of attaining an ideal dietary cation-anion balance is confused by the lack of clarity in measuring the balance and the bird’s ability to …

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2019, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agriculture and associated agricultural activities are major contributors to the Arkansas economy. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural production and processing activities, unless otherwise specified, and includes crop and animal production and processing, agricultural support industries, forestry and forest products, and textile goods. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production and value-added processing, leading to economic activity in other parts of the economy.

This report is the fourteenth in a series that examines agriculture’s economic contribution to the Arkansas economy. The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value added, employment, and …

Pilot Testing A Survey Instrument To Evaluate Eaat Professionals' Views On The Effects Of Equine-Assisted Activities And Therapies On Hope And Depression In Court-Involved Youth, Emily Stewart

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Equine Assisted Activity and Therapy (EAAT) programs have proven beneficial for individuals with mental, physical and psychological ailments. Only in the last few years have court systems begun to utilize the complex nature of the human-horse relationship to benefit the lives of court-involved youth. Despite its novelty, the few existing studies in this field yield positive results (Frederick et al., 2015). To address the need for further research in this area, a pilot study was conducted. An exploratory survey was given to EAAT professionals to determine their views on the effects of EAAT programs on hope and depression in court-involved …

Comprehensive Cultivation Of The Swine Gut Microbiome Reveals High Bacterial Diversity And Guides Bacterial Isolation In Pigs, Xiaofan Wang, Samantha Howe, Xiaoyuan Wei, Feilong Deng, Tsungcheng Tsai, Jianmin Chai, Yingping Xiao, Hua Yang, Charles V. Maxwell, Ying Li, Jiangchao Zhao

Animal Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the substantial progress made in human gut culturomics, little is known about the culturability of the swine gut microbiota. In this study, we cultured swine gut microbiota using 53 bacterial cultivation methods with different medium and gas combinations from three pigs at four different growth stages. Both culture-dependent (CD; colony mixtures from each method) and culture-independent (CI; original fecal suspensions) samples were subjected to 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Increasing microbial diversities were observed in both CI and CD samples from successive growth stages. While a total of 378, 482, 565, and 555 bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were …

Meat Quality Traits And Blunt Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear Characteristics Of Broiler Breast Fillets Affected By Woody Breast Condition And Post-Cooking Meat Temperature, Xiao Sun, Aline Giampietro-Ganeco, Ashleigh Mueller, Clay J. Maynard, Juan P. Caldas-Cueva, Casey M. Owens

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study aimed to investigate meat quality attributes, cooking performance, and water properties of woody breast (WB). A total of 48 broiler breast fillets (7 wk, 3 h debone) of 24 normal (NORM) and 24 severe WB (SEV) were collected. Raw meat characteristics (L*, a*, b*, pH, compression force and energy and) along with the blunt blade of the Meullenet-Owens razor shear (BMORS) properties were determined. Cooking time and internal meat temperature were recorded for each fillet every 5 min on each fillet during cooking. Water/moisture properties and shear values of BMORS …