Resumo em Inglês:

Well being of animals had been historically a public concern, since the beginning of human kind history. As world's population grows there is a need for food including meat. In the last decades there has been a great improvement in poultry production based on the careful control of several aspects, among which nutrition and management (environment, health and rearing systems). Nowadays, the search for good welfare conditions is a global tendency in animal production; however issues surrounding farm animal welfare or well-being, such as definitions, measurements, interpretation, and perception, continue to be controversial. It is known that the result of a broiler not adequately housed is a direct loss in production which leads towards a thought that health, welfare and productivity are intimately connected. In the other hand hints are found in the observation of behavioral responses as well as vocalization, which may provide more precise assessment to welfare. This has been possible due to the use of information technology applied to the field of ethology as well as the multidisciplinary view of the problem. This text provides a review on broiler's welfare issues since its definition to several way of trying to assess it adequately.

Resumo em Inglês:

Three experiments were carried out to analyze the performance and egg quality of Japanese quails throughout the day when submitted to different lighting programs. In each experiment, birds were submitted to a period of 28 days for adaptation to the lighting program. During the following three days, each day - from 7 am to 7 pm or 9 pm - was divided into six or seven periods of two hours each, and the remaining hours corresponded to another single period. All birds were submitted to the same management practices, and received water and feed ad libitum. The experimental diet was formulated according to NRC (1994) standards. It was observed lower feed intake in the period of 9 pm to 7 am, and a higher incidence of lay from 3 pm to 7 pm, as opposite to hens, which peak of egg laying occurs during the morning. Some controversial results were found among experiments as to eggshell quality during the different periods of the day. Variation on the lighting program had little influence on the other performance and egg quality parameters.

Resumo em Inglês:

The present study had the objective of investigating the performance of broilers housed immediately after hatching or after a 12 or 24 hour of post-hatching holding time. One thousand and six hundred male Ross 308 broiler chicks with an initial body weight of 46 grams were used. These chicks were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design with 5 treatments and 8 replications of 35 birds in each treatment. The treatments in this study consisted of the removal of chicks from the hatchery in three different times: after 480, 492 and 504 hours of incubation. In each one of these times, 280 chicks were removed from the hatchery and immediately housed. Another group of an identical number of chicks of each time remained in the hatchery to be housed at 504 hours after hatching. The chick group corresponding to those hatched at 480 and 492 hours performed better until 7 days. However, no differences in body weight or body weight gain were observed at the end of the study. Feed efficiency, however was worse for the birds hatched and placed at 480 hours. There were no differences among treatments for mortality.

Resumo em Inglês:

A study was conducted to compare live performance and digestive metabolism of broiler chickens fed all-vegetable diets (All-Veg) compared to a regular diet including animal by-products. Three feeds were formulated and provided to broilers according to the feeding program: pre-starter from 1 to 10 days, starter from 11 to 21 days, and grower from 21 to 35 days. All feeds had corn and soybean meal as major ingredients; however, two of them were all-vegetable diets having either Degummed Soybean Oil (DSO) or Acidulated Soybean Soapstock (ASS) as fat sources. The third diet included poultry by-product and poultry fat. A total number of 360 day-old broiler chicks were allocated to 1m² battery cages, 10 chicks in each, and 12 replicates per treatment. Live performance was similar between groups of birds receiving the different diets with the exception of weight gain, which was increased for birds fed the All-Veg diet with ASS. Birds fed All-Veg diets had increased water intake and produced more excreta with a concurrent reduced feed metabolizability at both ages, regardless of fat source. Metabolizable Energy was not different for the three diets.

Resumo em Inglês:

An experiment was conduced to evaluate the inclusion of sunflower meal (SBM) in commercial layer diets formulated on total or digestible amino acids basis. One hundred forty-four 41-week-old Lohmann LSL layers were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement with three replications of six birds each. Treatments consisted of a combination of four SBM inclusion levels SBM(0%, 4%, 8%, and 12%) and feed formulation according two amino acid recommendations (total or digestible). The experimental period was divided into five periods of fourteen days. Performance parameters (egg production, feed intake, feed conversion, egg mass) were evaluated for each period. In the last two days of each period, three eggs per replication were collected to evaluate egg quality (Haugh units, specific gravity, egg weight, eggshell thickness, and eggshell percentage). Hens fed on total amino acid recommendation presented the highest values for egg weight. Diets formulated on digestible amino acids basis showed an improvement in eggshell percentage and egg specific gravity. SBM addition in commercial layer diets did not influence performance; however, increasing SBM dietary levels SBM improved eggshell quality.

Resumo em Inglês:

An experiment was carried out at the Research and Development Unit of Brotas aiming at evaluating dietary calcium level and limestone particle size on the production performance of commercial (Hy-Line Brown) layers in the second lay cycle. Experiment duration was 112 days. A total number of 288 hens, with 83 weeks of age in the beginning of the experiment, were used in a completely randomized experimental design in a factorial arrangement of 2x3, with two calcium levels (3.5 and 4.0%) and three limestone particle size compositions: 100% fine limestone (FL), 30% coarse limestone (CL) + 70% fine limestone (FL), and 50% (CL) + 50% (FL), with six replicates of eight birds each. Egg weight (g), egg production (%), egg mass (%), feed intake (g), feed conversion ratio (kg/dz and kg/kg), mortality (%), and egg loss (%) were evaluated. The analysis of variance did not detect significant differences (p>0.05) among treatments on any of the evaluated performance parameters. It was concluded that the tested calcium levels and limestone particle composition did not influence the performance of semi-heavy layers in second production cycle.

Resumo em Inglês:

This work has the objective of verifying the interference of infectious bursal disease virus in the antibody production against Newcastle disease virus and infectious bronchitis virus. The experiment was carried out with 640 day-old-chicks from a 42 weeks old hen flock. The birds were separated into eight experimental groups (n=80/group) and were submitted to different combinations of vaccinations, with live vaccines, to Newcastle disease, avian infectious bronchitis, and infectious bursal disease with diverse combinations of days of vaccination. We verified that the utilization of polyvalent vaccinal programs have a different efficacy comparing to monovalent vaccinations when Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, and infectious bursal disease vaccinations are applied. This way, the use of vaccinations to infectious bursal disease in polyvalent vaccinal programs is desirable due to improvement of NDV response with the presence of IBV by the probable reduction of interference of IBV under NDV.

Resumo em Inglês:

The seasonality of Alphitobius diaperinus population was studied during different seasons during one year, in broiler facilities located in the center-north region of the State of São Paulo. Parasite counting was weekly carried out by the use of traps adapted from the modified model of Arends. During the experimental period, facilities were not submitted to chemical treatment, and the litter was changed between flocks. A lower number of adults and larvae was observed during autumn, with the peak registered in the summer. There was no significant difference between spring and winter averages (adults and larvae), and between spring and summer averages (adults). Average temperatures in the facilities varied from 23.4ºC (winter) to 27.1ºC (spring). The environmentally controlled systems used by the broiler industry provide an adequate habitat for A. diaperinus development. The continuous monitoring of the population of this parasite is essential for designing control strategies, and this can be accomplished by utilizing the traps used in the present experiment.

Resumo em Inglês:

Rotaviruses have been identified as one of the main etiological agents of diarrhea and enteritis in mammals, including humans, and in avian species. Few studies have been published about enteric viruses in Brazilian poultry, including those related to rotavirus infection. Such studies demonstrate significant occurrence and the importance of enteric viruses in poultry presenting intestinal problems. Enteric viruses are the primary cause of injuries to the gut, allowing other agents, especially bacteria, to attach, to penetrate, and to replicate in the enteric tissue, leading to further damage. The aim of the present study was to detect rotavirus in the intestinal contents of layers and broilers by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and virus isolation in MA-104 cell culture. A total of 45.3% of all samples were positive to rotavirus; rotavirus frequencies were 48.7% in samples from flocks with diarrhea, 46.4% in flocks with delayed growth, and 30% in asymptomatic flocks. It was possible to isolate rotavirus in MA-104 cells from the nine rotavirus-positive randomly chosen samples. These results indicate that rotavirus may have an important role in pathogenesis of enteric disease.

Resumo em Inglês:

The objective of this research was to isolate and to verify the sensitivity to antimicrobial agents of strains of Salmonella sp. isolated from poultry products in the state of Ceara, Brazil. A total number of 114 samples was collected from 63 broiler carcasses derived from two processing plants and two supermarkets, and 51 excreta samples were collected in broiler farms located in the state of Ceara, which used three live production stages. Each excreta sample consisted of a fresh excreta pool from 100 birds. Samples were submitted to microbiological analyses, and the isolated Salmonella strains were tested for antimicrobial sensitivity. No Salmonella was isolated from excreta samples, while broiler carcass samples showed a high contamination rate of11.8%. Three serotypes were identified: Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, 50%; Salmonella enterica serovar Panama 33%, and Salmonella enterica serovar Newport, 17%. As to the susceptibility tests to antimicrobial agents, 100% of the isolated Salmonella strains showed resistance to Ampicillin and Tetracycline, and sensitivity to Gentamycin, Netilmycin, Carbenicillin, Chloramphenicol.