An experiment was carried out with 1200 23-week-old white Dekalb commercial laying hens to investigate production responses, egg quality, and energy utilization of laying hens fed different dietary energy levels at the beginning of lay. Birds were housed and divided in five groups of 240 birds according to dietary apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn): 2700 kcal/kg; 2775 kcal/kg; 2850 kcal/kg; 2925 kcal/kg; and 3000 kcal/kg, with six replicates of 40 birds each. Birds were fed the experimental diets based on corn and soybean meal for 17 weeks. Diets were iso-nutritive, except for energy level. Increasing AMEn levels had a negative effect on egg production and egg mass (p≤0.05). AMEn levels did not influence body weight, egg weight, or livability (p>0.05). Increasing AMEn levels increased (p≤0.05) feed intake and AMEn conversion ratio and feed conversion ratio. AMEn intake remained constant, independently of dietary AMEn level (p>0.05). There were no differences in albumen height, yolk total solids content, or egg component percentages (p>0.05). Egg specific weight improved with increasing AMEn levels (p≤0.05). Therefore, the energy level of 2700 kcal/kg of feed may be fed to young laying hens.

The interference of low or high maternal antibodies titers on the attenuated infectious bursal disease (IBD) virus (IBDV) vaccine infection and its effects on the performance of broilers vaccinated at the 18th day of incubation (in ovo), at one day of age (subcutaneously-SC), or at 15 days of age (drinking water-DW) were investigated. After a series of three live vaccinations, breeders were given or not an IBD oil emulsion vaccine (IBD-OEV) prior to sexual maturity. At day 18 of incubation (in ovo), a commercial vaccine containing HVT and an intermediate IBDV strain or the single HVT vaccine was given. An intermediate IBDV vaccine was given SC at one day of age, or at 15 days of age via DW. The progeny of unvaccinated breeders presented higher neutralizing IBDVspecific antibody (IBDVab) titers at 25 and 40 days of age than those of the progeny of IBD-OEV breeders (p<0.05) at any broilers vaccination age and route. The lower IBDV RNA detection by RT-PCR in the bursa of Fabricius (BF) and the lower IBDV antibody titers in the serum of the groups vaccinated at one and 15 days of age derived from IBD-OEV breeders may indicate antibody-mediated IBDV neutralization. The inovo and one-day vaccinations did not interfere with performance, both in low and high antibody-titered progenies. The in-ovo vaccination against IBD is considered convenient and safe for industrial chickens, irrespective their maternal antibody levels.

The terms "fat" and "oil" refer to triglycerides of several profiles of fatty acids. Fatty acids that are not bound to other organic components as glycerol are the so-called free fatty acids. Lipids constitute the main energetic source for animals and they have the highest caloric value among all the nutrients. Linoleic acid is the only fatty acid whose dietetic requirement has been demonstrated. Besides supplying energy, the addition of fat to animal diets improves the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, decreases pulverulence, increases diet palatability, and the efficiency of utilization of the consumed energy. Furthermore, it reduces the rate of food passage through the gastrointestinal tract, which allows a better absorption of all nutrients present in the diet. The energetic value of oils and fats depend on the following: the length of the carbonic chain, the number of double bonds, the presence or absence of ester bonds (triglycerides or free fatty acids), the specific arrangements of the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids on the glycerol backbone, the composition of the free fatty acid, the composition of the diet, the quantity and the type of the triglycerides supplemented in the diet, the intestinal flora, the sex and the age of the birds. In birds, body fat composition is similar to the composition of the fat from the diet. The apparent digestibility of unsaturated fats is high in the first days of life of birds, whereas apparent digestibility of saturated fats is low. The quantity of oils or fats is assessed by the following methods: titration, moisture, impurities, unsaponifiable, saponification value, percentage of fat, percentage of free fatty acids/acidity and the profile of fatty acids. The methods initial peroxide value, active oxygen method, osi, iodine value, and analysis of the thiobarbituric acid (TBARS) are specific to evaluate the oxidative stability. Considering diets with the same nutritive values, birds fed with rations containing oil present better performance than birds fed no oil. Moreover, the use of oil or fat in diets for broilers may change both the composition and the quality of the carcass.