Reproductive and hormonal responses of two breeds of roosters fed diets containing chromium picolinate with or without vitamin C at high ambient temperature

Adebayo, Francis Bosede; Olarotimi, Olumuyiwa Joseph; Adu, Olufemi Adesanya

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v45i1.58553

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NONRUMINANT NUTRITION • Acta Sci., Anim. Sci. 45 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v45i1.58553 copy

Reproductive and hormonal responses of two breeds of roosters fed diets containing chromium picolinate with or without vitamin C at high ambient temperature

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT.

This study evaluated the effects of chromium picolinate (CrPic) with or without vitamin C on the reproductive potentials of cocks raised under high ambient temperature. Four diets contained CrPic at 0.00 to 1.20 mg kg^-1 without vitamin C and another four diets contained CrPic with 200 mg vitamin C each. A total of 192 White Leghorn and Noiler cocks (96 cocks each) were randomly assigned to the 8 treatments and replicated 4 times with 6 cocks per replicate in a 2 x2 x 4 factorial experiment. At the end of the sixteen weeks study, twelve birds per treatment were randomly sacrificed. The testes were carefully sampled, weighed and processed for estimation of daily sperm production using the homogenate method. The results revealed that the interactions of 0.40 mg CrPic kg^-1 with or without vitamin C significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the gonadal and extra-gonadal weights, semen characteristics among the cocks while the daily sperm production and reproductive hormones were not negatively affected. This study, therefore, concluded that 0.40 mg CrPic kg^-1 diet with vitamin C could significantly reduce the effects of heat stress on cocks raised under high ambient temperature without negatively impacting on their normal reproductive functions.

Keywords:
heat; hormones; reproduction; semen; testes

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E-mail: actaanim@uem.br

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[1] *Author for correspondence. E-mail: olumuyiwa.olarotimi@aaua.edu.ng

Ingredients (kg)	Quantity
Maize	39.00
Soya Bean Meal	3.00
Ground Nut Cake	4.00
Corn Bran	2.60
Palm Kernel Cake	4.00
Wheat Offal	44.00
Limestone	1.20
Bone Meal	1.50
Lysine	0.08
Methionine	0.07
Salt	0.30
Layer Premix*	0.25
Total	100
Calculated values
Crude protein (%)	15.12
ME (kcal kg^-1)	2506.38
Ca (%)	1.05
Crude fibre (%)	5.54
Crude fat (%)	4.48
Lysine	0.84
Methionine	0.32
Phosphorus	0.42

Breeds	Treatment	Levels	LEW (g)	REW (g)	PEW (g)	LVW (g)	RVW (g)	PVW (g)
WLC			0.69 ± 0.02	0.50 ± 0.02	1.19 ± 0.03	0.44 ± 0.02	0.72 ± 0.03	1.16 ± 0.04
NC			0.72 ± 0.02	0.52 ± 0.02	1.24 ± 0.03	0.46 ± 0.02	0.75 ± 0.03	1.21 ± 0.04
	0		0.71 ± 0.02	0.52 ± 0.02	1.23 ± 0.04	0.40 ± 0.02	0.73 ± 0.04	1.13 ± 0.05
	200		0.70 ± 0.02	0.50 ± 0.01	1.20 ± 0.02	0.50 ± 0.01	0.74 ± 0.02	1.24 ± 0.03
		0	0.78 ± 0.01	0.45 ± 0.01	1.23 ± 0.03	0.50 ± 0.03	0.79 ± 0.01	1.29 ± 0.01
		0.4	0.65 ± 0.01	0.56 ± 0.01	1.21 ± 0.03	0.48 ± 0.01	0.73 ± 0.03	1.21 ± 0.04
		0.8	0.65 ± 0.02	0.44 ± 0.01	1.09 ± 0.06	0.42 ± 0.04	0.68 ± 0.05	1.10 ± 0.04
		1.2	0.75 ± 0.03	0.59 ± 0.01	1.34 ± 0.03	0.40 ± 0.02	0.75 ± 0.06	1.15 ± 0.09
	Interactions
Breeds	Treatments	Levels

WLC	0	0.00	0.66 ± 0.01^b	0.43 ± 0.01^b	1.09 ± 0.01^b	0.40 ± 0.01^b	0.43 ± 0.01^b	0.83 ± 0.01^b
WLC	0	0.40	0.80 ± 0.01^a	0.58 ± 0.01^a	1.38 ± 0.01^a	0.56 ± 0.01^a	0.58 ± 0.01^a	1.14 ± 0.01^a
WLC	0	0.80	0.70 ± 0.01^ab	0.47 ± 0.01^ab	1.17 ± 0.01^ab	0.33 ± 0.01^bc	0.39 ± 0.01^bc	0.72 ± 0.01^bc
WLC	0	1.20	0.57 ± 0.01^c	0.40 ± 0.01^c	0.93 ± 0.01^c	0.29 ± 0.01^c	0.33 ± 0.01^c	0.62 ± 0.01^c
WLC	200	0.00	0.67 ± 0.01^b	0.56 ± 0.01^ab	1.23 ± 0.01^ab	0.47 ± 0.01^ab	0.49 ± 0.01^ab	0.96 ± 0.01^ab
WLC	200	0.40	0.83 ± 0.01^a	0.60 ± 0.01^a	1.43 ± 0.01^a	0.58 ± 0.01^a	0.59 ± 0.01^a	1.17 ± 0.01^a
WLC	200	0.80	0.73 ± 0.01^ab	0.57 ± 0.01^ab	1.30 ± 0.01^ab	0.45 ± 0.01^ab	0.50 ± 0.01^ab	0.95 ± 0.01^ab
WLC	200	1.20	0.63 ± 0.01^b	0.53 ± 0.01^b	1.16 ± 0.01^b	0.43 ± 0.01^ab	0.48 ± 0.01^ab	0.91 ± 0.01^b
NC	0	0.00	0.65 ± 0.01^b	0.46 ± 0.01^b	1.11 ± 0.01^b	0.42 ± 0.01^b	0.44 ± 0.01^b	0.86 ± 0.01^b
NC	0	0.40	0.82 ± 0.01^a	0.58 ± 0.01^a	1.40 ± 0.01^a	0.54 ± 0.01^a	0.75 ± 0.01^a	1.29 ± 0.01^a
NC	0	0.80	0.75 ± 0.01^ab	0.48 ± 0.01^ab	1.23 ± 0.01^ab	0.36 ± 0.01^bc	0.38 ± 0.01^bc	0.74 ± 0.01^bc
NC	0	1.20	0.60 ± 0.01^c	0.41 ± 0.01^c	1.01 ± 0.01^c	0.31 ± 0.01^c	0.35 ± 0.01^c	0.66 ± 0.01^c
NC	200	0.00	0.68 ± 0.01^b	0.48 ± 0.01^b	1.16 ± 0.01^b	0.48 ± 0.01^ab	0.50 ± 0.01^ab	0.98 ± 0.01^ab
NC	200	0.40	0.84 ± 0.01^a	0.64 ± 0.01^a	1.48 ± 0.01^a	0.69 ± 0.01^a	0.78 ± 0.01^a	1.46 ± 0.01^a
NC	200	0.80	0.77 ± 0.01^ab	0.52 ± 0.01^b	1.29 ± 0.01^ab	0.45 ± 0.01^ab	0.46 ± 0.01^ab	0.91 ± 0.01^b
NC	200	1.20	0.69 ± 0.01^b	0.48 ± 0.01^b	1.17 ± 0.01^b	0.40 ± 0.01^b	0.45 ± 0.01^ab	0.85 ± 0.01^b
P-values
Breed (B)			0.0616	0.5246	0.3104	0.6267	0.2098	0.1384
Treatment (T)			0.5031	0.7638	0.7909	0.6782	0.4210	0.3329
Level (L)			0.6923	0.6890	0.5132	0.5848	0.5827	0.3015
BxTxL			0.0414	0.0231	0.0001	0.0196	0.0023	0.0412

Breeds	Treatment	Levels	LEL (cm)	REL (cm)	PEL (cm)	LVL (cm)	RVL (cm)	PVL (cm)
WLC			2.74 ± 0.06	3.67 ± 0.22	6.41 ± 0.19	8.32 ± 0.08	9.12 ± 0.08	17.44 ± 0.22
NC			2.76 ± 0.06	3.70 ± 0.22	6.46 ± 0.20	8.37 ± 0.08	9.17 ± 0.08	17.54 ± 0.22
	0		2.91 ± 0.04	4.25 ± 0.20	7.16 ± 0.15	8.83 ± 0.10	9.15 ± 0.09	17.98 ± 0.25
	200		2.58 ± 0.04	3.12 ± 0.16	5.7 ± 0.22	7.86 ± 0.06	9.14 ± 0.08	17.00 ± 0.19
		0	2.81 ± 0.10	3.33 ± 0.31	6.14 ± 0.21	7.64 ± 0.06	8.65 ± 0.01	16.29 ± 0.10
		0.4	2.64 ± 0.08	3.44 ± 0.17	6.08 ± 0.11	8.19 ± 0.05	9.55 ± 0.23	17.74 ± 0.22
		0.8	2.80 ± 0.10	3.93 ± 0.48	6.73 ± 0.17	9.07 ± 0.11	8.77 ± 0.04	17.84 ± 0.09
		1.2	2.75 ± 0.08	4.02 ± 0.07	6.77 ± 0.13	8.49 ± 0.18	9.61 ± 0.06	18.10 ± 0.53
	Interactions
Breeds	Treatments	Levels
WLC	0	0	3.13 ± 0.01	4.33 ± 0.01	7.46 ± 0.01	8.33 ± 0.01	8.34 ± 0.01	16.67 ± 0.01
WLC	0	0.4	2.37 ± 0.01	2.87 ± 0.01	5.24 ± 0.01	8.20 ± 0.01	8.06 ± 0.01	16.26 ± 0.01
WLC	0	0.8	3.10 ± 0.01	5.50 ± 0.01	8.6 ± 0.01	10.20 ± 0.01	8.57 ± 0.01	18.77 ± 0.01
WLC	0	1.2	3.00 ± 0.01	4.23 ± 0.01	7.23 ± 0.01	8.50 ± 0.01	11.53 ± 0.01	20.03 ± 0.01
WLC	200	0	2.47 ± 0.01	2.30 ± 0.01	4.77 ± 0.01	6.90 ± 0.01	8.93 ± 0.01	15.83 ± 0.01
WLC	200	0.4	2.87 ± 0.01	4.00 ± 0.01	6.87 ± 0.01	8.14 ± 0.01	11.00 ± 0.01	19.14 ± 0.01
WLC	200	0.8	2.47 ± 0.01	2.33 ± 0.01	4.8 ± 0.01	7.87 ± 0.01	8.9 ± 0.01	16.77 ± 0.01
WLC	200	1.2	2.47 ± 0.01	3.77 ± 0.01	6.24 ± 0.01	8.43 ± 0.01	7.63 ± 0.01	16.06 ± 0.01
NC	0	0	3.14 ± 0.01	4.38 ± 0.01	7.52 ± 0.01	8.37 ± 0.01	8.36 ± 0.01	16.73 ± 0.01
NC	0	0.4	2.40 ± 0.01	2.88 ± 0.01	5.28 ± 0.01	8.25 ± 0.01	8.10 ± 0.01	16.35 ± 0.01
NC	0	0.8	3.13 ± 0.01	5.53 ± 0.01	8.66 ± 0.01	10.26 ± 0.01	8.65 ± 0.01	18.91 ± 0.01
NC	0	1.2	3.04 ± 0.01	4.26 ± 0.01	7.3 ± 0.01	8.55 ± 0.01	11.59 ± 0.01	20.14 ± 0.01
NC	200	0	2.49 ± 0.01	2.32 ± 0.01	4.81 ± 0.01	6.96 ± 0.01	8.97 ± 0.01	15.93 ± 0.01
NC	200	0.4	2.91 ± 0.01	4.01 ± 0.01	6.92 ± 0.01	8.17 ± 0.01	11.04 ± 0.01	19.21 ± 0.01
NC	200	0.8	2.50 ± 0.01	2.37 ± 0.01	4.87 ± 0.01	7.93 ± 0.01	8.95 ± 0.01	16.88 ± 0.01
NC	200	1.2	2.48 ± 0.01	3.82 ± 0.01	6.3 ± 0.01	8.47 ± 0.01	7.69 ± 0.01	16.16 ± 0.01
P-values
Breed (B)			0.1216	0.4296	0.1115	0.5917	0.2691	0.4190
Treatment (T)			0.6235	0.1708	0.4991	0.4204	0.3411	0.2112
Level (L)			0.1904	0.0990	0.1192	0.6721	0.2902	0.3325
BxTxL			0.1414	0.1931	0.8101	0.2106	0.5623	0.2422

Breeds	Treatment	Levels	RTW (g)	LTW (g)	PTW (g)	RTV (mL)	LTV (mL)	PTV (mL)	LTD (g mL^-1)	RTD (g mL^-1)	PTD (g mL^-1)
			15.17 ± 0.29	13.85 ± 0.14	29.02 ± 0.17	17.96 ± 0.34	17.12 ± 0.39	35.08 ± 0.34	0.81 ± 0.01	0.84 ± 0.01	1.65 ± 0.03
NC			15.20 ± 0.29	13.88 ± 0.14	29.08 ± 0.19	17.98 ± 0.34	17.15 ± 0.39	35.13 ± 0.31	0.81 ± 0.01	0.85 ± 0.01	1.66 ± 0.03
	0		15.37 ± 0.20	14.16 ± 0.10	29.53 ± 0.11	17.18 ± 0.40	16.35 ± 0.04	33.53 ± 0.01	0.87 ± 0.01	0.89 ± 0.01	1.76 ± 0.04
	200		15.01 ± 0.36	13.57 ± 0.15	28.58 ± 0.13	18.76 ± 0.15	17.93 ± 0.24	36.69 ± 0.27	0.76 ± 0.01	0.80 ± 0.01	1.56 ± 0.02
		0	13.55 ± 0.28	13.38 ± 0.20	26.93 ± 0.21	17.34 ± 0.10	17.34 ± 0.30	34.68 ± 0.31	0.77 ± 0.01	0.78± 0.01	1.55 ± 0.03
		0.4	17.10 ± 0.04	14.36 ± 0.09	31.46 ± 0.10	19.35 ± 0.10	17.36 ± 0.40	36.71 ± 0.36	0.83 ± 0.01	0.88 ± 0.01	1.71 ± 0.03
		0.8	14.58 ± 0.06	13.74 ± 0.23	28.32 ± 0.20	18.18 ± 0.15	17.84 ± 0.15	36.02 ± 0.17	0.77 ± 0.01	0.8 0 ± 0.01	1.57 ± 0.06
		1.2	15.52 ± 0.09	13.98 ± 0.16	29.50 ± 0.13	17.01 ± 0.81	16.01 ± 0.90	33.02 ± 0.82	0.87 ± 0.01	0.91 ± 0.01	1.78 ± 0.03
	Interactions
Breeds	Treatments	Levels
WLC	0	0	14.47 ± 0.01^b	14.00 ± 0.01^a	28.47 ± 0.01^a	17.00 ± 0.01^b	16.33 ± 0.01^b	33.33 ± 0.01^b	0.86 ± 0.01	0.85 ± 0.01	1.71 ± 0.01
WLC	0	0.4	16.97 ± 0.01^a	14.67 ± 0.01^a	31.64 ± 0.01^a	19.67 ± 0.01^a	18.67 ± 0.01^a	38.34 ± 0.01^a	0.79 ± 0.01	0.86 ± 0.01	1.65 ± 0.01
WLC	0	0.8	14.77 ± 0.01^b	14.50 ± 0.01^a	29.27 ± 0.01^a	17.67 ± 0.01^b	17.33 ± 0.01^b	35.00 ± 0.01^b	0.84 ± 0.01	0.84 ± 0.01	1.68 ± 0.01
WLC	0	1.2	15.20 ± 0.01^b	13.43 ± 0.01^b	28.63 ± 0.01^b	14.33 ± 0.01^b	13.00 ± 0.01^b	27.33 ± 0.01^b	1.03 ± 0.01	1.06 ± 0.01	2.09 ± 0.01
WLC	200	0	12.60 ± 0.01^b	12.70 ± 0.01^b	25.30 ± 0.01^b	17.67 ± 0.01^a	18.33 ± 0.01^a	36.00 ± 0.01^a	0.69 ± 0.01	0.71 ± 0.01	1.40 ± 0.01
WLC	200	0.4	17.20 ± 0.01^a	12.03 ± 0.01^b	29.23 ± 0.01^b	19.00 ± 0.01^b	16.00 ± 0.01^b	35.00 ± 0.01^b	0.88 ± 0.01	0.91 ± 0.01	1.79± 0.01
WLC	200	0.8	14.37 ± 0.01^b	12.97 ± 0.01^b	27.34 ± 0.01^b	18.67 ± 0.01^a	18.33 ± 0.01^a	37.00 ± 0.01^a	0.71 ± 0.01	0.77 ± 0.01	1.30 ± 0.01
WLC	200	1.2	15.80 ± 0.01^b	14.50 ± 0.01^a	30.30 ± 0.01^a	19.67 ± 0.01^a	19.00 ± 0.01^a	38.67 ± 0.01^a	0.76 ± 0.01	0.8 ± 0.01	1.56 ± 0.01
NC	0	0	15.50 ± 0.01^b	14.05 ± 0.01^a	29.55 ± 0.01^a	17.02 ± 0.01^b	16.36 ± 0.01^b	33.38 ± 0.01^b	0.86 ± 0.01	0.85 ± 0.01	1.25 ± 0.01
NC	0	0.4	17.00 ± 0.01^a	14.68 ± 0.01^a	31.68 ± 0.01^a	19.70 ± 0.01^a	18.70 ± 0.01^a	38.40 ± 0.01^a	0.77 ± 0.01	0.86 ± 0.01	1.63 ± 0.01
NC	0	0.8	14.78 ± 0.01^b	14.52 ± 0.01^a	29.30 ± 0.01^a	17.68 ± 0.01^b	17.38 ± 0.01^b	35.06 ± 0.01^b	0.84 ± 0.01	0.84 ± 0.01	1.68 ± 0.01
NC	0	1.2	14.24 ± 0.01^b	13.45 ± 0.01^b	27.69 ± 0.01^b	14.35 ± 0.01^b	13.02 ± 0.01^b	27.37 ± 0.01^b	1.03 ± 0.01	1.06 ± 0.01	2.09 ± 0.01
NC	200	0	12.63 ± 0.01^b	12.75 ± 0.01^b	25.38 ± 0.01^b	17.68 ± 0.01^a	18.35 ± 0.01^a	36.03 ± 0.01^a	0.69 ± 0.01	0.71 ± 0.01	1.40± 0.01
NC	200	0.4	17.24 ± 0.01^a	11.07 ± 0.01^b	28.31 ± 0.01^b	19.02 ± 0.01^b	16.05 ± 0.01^b	35.07 ± 0.01^b	0.88 ± 0.01	0.91 ± 0.01	1.21 ± 0.01
NC	200	0.8	14.41 ± 0.01^b	12.98 ± 0.01^b	27.39 ± 0.01^b	18.69 ± 0.01^a	18.34 ± 0.01^a	37.03 ± 0.01^a	0.71 ± 0.01	0.77 ± 0.01	1.79 ± 0.01
NC	200	1.2	15.82 ± 0.01^b	14.52 ± 0.01^a	30.34 ± 0.01^a	19.70 ± 0.01^a	19.02 ± 0.01^a	38.72 ± 0.01^a	0.76 ± 0.01	0.80 ± 0.01	1.56 ± 0.01
P-values
Breed (B)			0.1242	0.3452	0.1903	0.3712	0.2456	0.0774	0.2118	0.2121	0.1673
Treatment (T)			0.1657	0.1453	0.3562	0.1616	0.1876	0.2987	0.1317	0.1876	0.2163
Level (L)			0.1564	0.7683	0.1151	0.4320	0.5221	0.2312	0.3412	0.2109	0.4219
BxTxL			0.0025	0.0367	0.0421	0.0182	0.0361	0.0018	0.1224	0.4316	0.6003

Breeds	Treatment	Levels	EV (mL)	SM (%)	SV (%)	SC (x10⁹ mL^-1)	TSC/E (x10⁸)	TLC (x10⁹ mL^-1)	TMC (x10⁹ mL^-1)	MAG
WLC			0.43 ± 0.05	75.25 ± 4.47	89.72 ± 2.36	2.39 ± 0.30	2.72 ± 0.23	2.21±0.29	1.62 ±0.20	+++
NC			0.58 ± 0.05	77.21 ± 4.38	91.03 ± 2.28	2.40 ± 0.27	3.73 ± 0.24	2.23±0.16	1.65 ±0.19	+++
	0		0.58 ± 0.06	71.81 ± 5.98	85.05 ± 2.84	2.22 ± 0.22	3.71 ± 0.17	2.02±0.23	1.65±0.27	++
	200		0.43 ± 0.04	80.66 ± 1.34	95.07 ± 0.51	2.55 ± 0.36	2.74 ± 0.29	2.40±0.33	1.60±0.10	+++
		0	0.50 ± 0.04	90.19 ± 2.04	97.90 ± 0.27	2.42 ± 0.25	3.29 ± 0.27	2.35±0.24	2.27±0.26	+++
		0.4	0.35 ± 0.02	89.81 ± 2.56	95.74 ± 0.93	2.32 ± 0.19	1.9 ± 0.04	2.20±0.16	2.11±0.19	+++
		0.8	0.57 ± 0.04	52.97 ± 8.58	89.70 ± 1.09	1.75 ± 0.11	3.61 ± 0.15	1.56±0.10	0.73±0.12	++
		1.2	0.61 ± 0.12	71.95 ± 0.70	78.18 ± 4.67	3.06 ± 0.75	4.38 ± 0.47	2.73±0.73	1.38±0.30	+
	Interactions
Breeds	Treatments	Levels
WLC	0	0	0.33 ± 0.01^b	53.00 ± 0.01^b	64.44 ± 0.01^b	0.43 ± 0.01^b	2.44 ± 0.01	1.81 ± 0.01^b	1.36±0.01^b	+++
WLC	0	0.4	0.48 ± 0.01^a	87.00 ± 0.01^a	97.53 ± 0.01^a	3.25 ± 0.01^a	2.71 ± 0.01	3.14 ± 0.01^a	3.10±0.01^a	+++
WLC	0	0.8	0.50 ± 0.01^a	80.33 ± 0.01^a	91.99 ± 0.01^a	2.91 ± 0.01^a	2.26 ± 0.01	2.71 ± 0.01^a	2.62±0.01^a	++
WLC	0	1.2	0.22 ± 0.01^c	43.33 ± 0.01^c	51.88 ± 0.01^c	0.56 ± 0.01^b	1.58 ± 0.01	0.31 ± 0.01^c	0.42±0.01^c	+
WLC	200	0	0.45 ± 0.01^a	96.33 ± 0.01^a	97.01 ± 0.01^a	3.59 ± 0.01^a	2.40 ± 0.01	3.49 ± 0.01^a	3.40±0.01^a	+++
WLC	200	0.4	0.47 ± 0.01^a	91.30 ± 0.01^a	98.74 ± 0.01^a	3.67 ± 0.01^a	1.96 ± 0.01	3.60 ± 0.01^a	3.85±0.01^a	+++
WLC	200	0.8	0.45 ± 0.01^a	71.67 ± 0.01^a	92.91 ± 0.01^a	3.05 ± 0.01^a	2.74 ± 0.01	2.81 ± 0.01^a	2.85 ± 0.01^a	+++
WLC	200	1.2	0.41 ± 0.01^ab	69.00 ± 0.01^ab	73.28 ± 0.01^ab	1.51 ± 0.01^b	1.48 ± 0.01	1.61 ± 0.01^b	1.11 ± 0.01^b	++
NC	0	0	0.36 ± 0.01^b	53.88 ± 0.01^b	68.25 ± 0.01^b	0.55 ± 0.11^b	2.99 ± 0.01	1.88 ± 0.01^b	1.35 ± 0.01^b	+++
NC	0	0.4	0.41 ± 0.01^a	87.91 ± 0.01^a	99.42 ± 0.01^a	3.28 ± 0.21^a	2.31 ± 0.01	3.16 ± 0.01^a	3.14 ± 0.01^a	+++
NC	0	0.8	0.52 ± 0.01^a	85.76 ± 0.01^a	93.26 ± 0.01^a	2.97 ± 0.03^a	2.58 ± 0.01	2.74 ± 0.01^a	2.73 ± 0.01^a	++
NC	0	1.2	0.23 ± 0.01^c	41.66 ± 0.01^c	53.56 ± 0.01^c	0.57 ± 0.11^b	2.86 ± 0.01	0.40 ± 0.01^c	0.40 ± 0.01^c	+
NC	200	0	0.56 ± 0.01^a	97.55 ± 0.01^a	97.62 ± 0.01^a	3.10 ± 0.01^a	2.24 ± 0.01	3.55 ± 0.01^a	3.41 ± 0.01^a	+++
NC	200	0.4	0.59 ± 0.01^a	93.00 ± 0.01^a	98.85 ± 0.01^a	3.69 ± 0.01^a	2.07 ± 0.01	3.65 ± 0.01^a	3.52 ± 0.01^a	+++
NC	200	0.8	0.48 ± 0.01^a	82.47 ± 0.01^a	93.19 ± 0.01^a	2.87 ± 0.01^a	2.77 ± 0.01	2.84 ± 0.01^a	2.87 ± 0.01^a	+++
NC	200	1.2	0.40 ± 0.01^ab	75.48 ± 0.01^ab	74.01 ± 0.01^ab	1.56 ± 0.01^b	2.02 ± 0.01	1.44 ± 0.01^b	1.63 ± 0.01^b	++
P-values
Breed (B)			0.4654	0.1690	0.2347	0.1978	0.3288	0.1419	0.0787
Treatment (T)			0.3229	0.8362	0.5890	0.8090	0.9214	0.7819	0.1562
Level (L)			0.3452	0.0876	0.0912	0.7564	0.5555	0.0891	0.4590
BxTxL			0.0191	0.0001	0.0035	0.0327	0.1960	0.0200	0.0325