Journal of Animal Production, Print ISSN: 2008-6776., Online ISSN: 2382-994X

Abstract Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate and evaluate the effects of in-ovo injection of vitamin C, L-glutamine and a combination of Vitamin C and L-glutamine on hatchability traits, growth performance, intestinal development, visceral organ weight, thyroid hormones profiles (T3 , T4) and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of broiler chickens after hatching.
Method: Initially, 800 fertile eggs were obtained from Arbor Acres breeder hens older than 50 weeks of age. On the 18th day of incubation, 600 of these fertile eggs were placed in trays for injection at the site of the sterilizing device, weighing, and uniform distribution. In-ovo injection was performed in five experimental groups. The negative control group received no injection, while the positive control group received 0.5 ml of normal physiological serum. The third group was injected with 6 mg of vitamin C in saline, the fourth group with 6 mg of L-glutamine in saline, and the fifth group with a combination of 6 mg of vitamin C and 6 mg of L-glutamine in saline, each in a volume of 0.5 ml. After hatching, the necessary measurements were made in terms of chick weight, number of healthy chicks hatched, and hatching percentage. Then, all chicks were fed a standard pelleted basal diet during the initial, growth, and final stages.
Results The lowest hatchability rate was observed in the in-ovo Vitamin C injection group (P<0.05). Conversely, the control and in-ovo L-glutamine injection groups exhibited the highest hatchability rates (P<0.05). In-ovo Vitamin C injection resulted in the highest mean hatchling weight, whereas the in-ovo L-glutamine group showed the lowest mean hatchling weight (P<0.05). The combined in-ovo injection of Vitamin C and L-glutamine had no positive effect on hatchability or initial chick weight. Regarding performance, in-ovo injection of Vitamin C, L-glutamine, and their combination did not significantly affect feed intake, body weight gain, or feed conversion ratio (FCR); however, L-glutamine injection improved weight gain and FCR from 1 to 10 days of age (P<0.05). Vitamin C injection significantly decreased carcass, breast, and thigh weights and increased mortality (P<0.05). L-glutamine injection and the combination of Vitamin C and L-glutamine resulted in a relative decrease in thigh weight and a decrease in breast and thigh weights, respectively (P<0.05). The effect of Vitamin C injection on T3 levels at 14 days of age, as well as the effect of experimental groups on malondialdehyde (MDA) levels at 42 days of age, were significant (P<0.05). In-ovo injection of Vitamin C and the combination of Vitamin C and L-glutamine had a negative impact on villus height and the villus height-to-crypt depth ratio in the ileum (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were observed in the morphology of the duodenum and jejunum among the groups compared to the control.
Conclusion: In conclusion, despite the enhancement in initial hatchling weight, in-ovo Vitamin C supplementation proved detrimental, as it significantly reduced hatchability, compromised carcass yield, elevated mortality rates, and adversely affected ileal health. Conversely, in-ovo L-glutamine injection effectively preserved hatchability and optimized early-phase feed conversion, ultimately outperforming the other experimental groups in terms of overall performance.

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of stepwise inclusion of dehulled sunflower meal in the diets of broiler chickens on performance traits, carcass characteristics, and intestinal morphology. Methods: A total of 1,500 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks (mixed-sex, equal ratio) were assigned to  a completely randomized design with ten treatments, five replicates, and 30 birds per replicate. The treatments were as follows: (1) a corn–soybean meal–based diet without sunflower meal throughout the rearing period (control group), and (2-10) groups that received increasing levels of dehulled sunflower meal in the starter, grower, and finisher phases, respectively, as follows: (2) 3, 6, and 9%; (3) 3, 6, and 12%; (4) 3, 6, and 15%; (5) 3, 9, and 9%; (6) 3, 9, and 12%; (7) 3, 9, and 15%; (8) 3, 12, and 12%; (9) 3, 12, and 15%; and (10) 3, 12, and 18%. Live body weight and feed intake were measured on days 10, 24, and 42. Mortality was recorded daily, and feed conversion ratio (FCR), livability percentage, and production index were calculated. At the end of the trial, feed cost per kilogram of live body weight was calculated for each experimental group. At 42 days of age, three birds from each experimental unit were slaughtered, and the empty carcass, breast, thighs, back and neck, abdominal fat, and organs (gizzard, proventriculus, bursa of Fabricius, gallbladder, liver, spleen, and heart) were weighed, and their relative weights to live body weight were calculated. In addition, three-centimeter tissue samples were taken from the middle section of the jejunum of the slaughtered birds, and villus height, villus thickness, crypt depth, villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, number of goblet cells, epithelial layer thickness, and mean villus surface area were evaluated. Results: The results showed that the stepwise inclusion of dehulled sunflower meal in the diet throughout the rearing period had no significant effect on body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, production index, carcass characteristics, or intestinal morphology of broiler chickens. Experimental treatments significantly affected the feed cost per kilogram of live body weight, which was lower in treatment groups 3 (3, 6, and 12%) and 7 (3, 9, and 15%) compared to the other treatments (P<0.05), with a difference from group 1 (control) and all other experimental treatments except treatments 4 (3, 6, and 15%) and 9 (3, 12, and 15%). Conclusion: The results showed that dietary inclusion of dehulled sunflower meal at 3%, 6%, and 12%, and at 3%, 9%, and 15% in the starter, grower, and finisher phases, respectively, did not have negative effects on performance, and due to the low feed cost per kilogram of live weight (about 445 Tomans), the inclusion is economically recommended..

Abstract In order to evaluate the effect of different levels of corn gluten feed on performance, immune responses, intestinal morphology and some blood serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens, an experiment was conducted using 500 male Ross 308 broiler chickens in a completely randomized design with four treatments, five replicates and 25 birds per replication. The experimental treatments included levels  of zero (control), 2.5, 5 and 7.5 percent corn gluten feed in the diet which fed to broilers from 15 to 42 days of age. The results showed that dietary inclusion of corn gluten feed up to 7.5 percent had no significant effect on average weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio
compared to control treatment. Also, jejunal morphological indices and blood biochemical parameters including triglyceride, cholesterol, albumin, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase concentrations, livability, European broiler index and feed cost per kg of weight gain were not affected by dietary treatments. Antibody titer in response to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) injection was higher in treatment containing 2.5 percent corn gluten feed comparing to other treatments (P<0.05). Based on the obtained results, corn gluten feed can be included in grower and finisher diets of broilers (15 to 42 days of age) up to level of 7.5 percent without any adverse effect on performance.