Early-age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on physiological, biochemical and productive performance of broiler chickens in hot-tropical environments

Figures & data

Table 1. Diets fed to the chickens at different ages.

Ingredient	Starter	Grower	Finisher
Corn (7.34% CP)	46.00	48.5	52.60
Soybean meal (45.43% CP)	42.00	38.5	33.6
DCP*	1.63	1.60	1.60
Limestone	1.30	1.07	0.84
DL-methionine	0.45	0.42	0.38
L-lysine HCL	0.24	0.16	0.15
L-threonine	0.08	0.05	0.03
Salt	0.30	0.30	0.30
Soy oil	7.00	8.40	9.5
0.5% premix^#	0.50	0.50	0.50
Bile acid/emulsifier	0.50	0.50	0.50
Total	100	100	100
Nutrition levels
ME, kcal/kg	3.02	3.12	3.20
Crude protein, %	23.06	21.55	19.50
Methinine, %	0.74	0.69	1.15
Methionine + Cysteine, %	1.05	0.99	0.63
Lysine, %	1.44	1.29	0.90
Threonine, %	0.97	0.88	0.78
Trypsin, %	0.26	0.24	0.22

*DCP: CaHPO₄·2H₂O.

^#The premix supplied thefollowing per kg of diets: phytase 2,000 U/g, Se 0.3 mg, I 0.4 mg, Mn 80 mg, Zn 75 mg, Fe 80 mg, Cu 10 mg, choline 300 mg, folic acid 1 mg, pantothenic acid 12 mg, nicotinic acid 40 mg, biotin 0.15 mg, vitamin B₁₂ 0.02 mg, vitamin B₆ 4 mg, vitamin B₂ 3.6 mg, vitamin B₁ 4 mg, vitamin K₃ 2 mg, vitamin E 20 IU, vitamin D₃ 3,000 IU, vitamin A 8,000 IU.

Table 2. Effect of early age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on growth performance of broiler chickens at the finisher phase.

Parameter	CC	TC	TS	TV	TVS	SEM	P-value
Final body weight (Kg)	1.70^c	2.02^b	2.05^b	2.11^b	2.28^a	0.044	0.0001
Weight gain (Kg)	1.66^c	1.99^b	2.01^b	2.07^b	2.25^a	0.07	0.0001
Feed intake (Kg)	3.33^b	4.05^a	4.00^a	4.04^a	4.12^a	0.045	0.0001
FCR	2.00^ab	2.04^a	1.99^ab	1.94^ab	1.83^b	0.023	0.0255
Mortality	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Note: ^abc means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: FCR: feed conversion ratio; CC: Control; TC: thermal conditioning; TV: Thermal conditioning with vitamin E; TS: thermal conditioning with selenium; TVS: thermal conditioning with vitamin E and selenium.

Table 3. Effect of early age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on haematological indices of broiler chickens at finisher phase.

Parameter	CC	TC	TS	TV	TVS		SEM	P-value
PCV (%)	33.00	33.75	33.75	36.75	35.00		0.55	0.2204
Hb (g/dL)	11.05	11.72	11.20	12.35	11.38		0.2	0.2505
RBC (×10^6/µL)	2.72	3.00	2.92	3.12	2.82		0.09	0.7392
WBC (×10^9/µL)	14.17	13.85	14.57	15.05	15.05		0.24	0.4318
HET (%)	34.50^a	30.00^b	28.00^bc	25.50 ^cd		23.70^d	0.89	0.0001
LYM (%)	70.00^a	66.50^ab	66.25^ab	64.75^bc		62.00^c	0.69	0.0004
EOS (%)	0.50	0.25	0.5	0.25	0.50		0.11	0.9052
BAS (%)	0.75	0.25	0.75	1.00	0.75		0.13	0.4884
MONO (%)	0.00^b	0.25^b	0.5^ab	1.00^a	0.00^b		0.11	0.0043
MCV (%)	123.22	113.38	116.31	117.86	126..99		3.02	0.6654
MCH (g/dL)	41.20	39.34	38.53	39.66	41.24		0.93	0.8859
MCHC (g/dL)	33.41	34.72	33.19	33.67	32.51		0.29	0.1587
HET/LYM	0.49^a	0.45^ab	0.42^bc	0.39^c		0.38^c	0.01	0.0001

^abc means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: PCV: Packed cell volume; Hb: hemoglobin; RBC: Red blood cell; WBC: white blood cell; HET: heterophil; LYM: lymphocyte; EOS: eosinophils; BAS-: basophils; MONO: monocytes; MCV: mean corpuscular volume; MCH: mean corpuscular hemoglobin; MCHC: mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; CC: Control; TC: thermal manipulation; TV: Thermal manipulation with vitamin E; TS: thermal manipulation with selenium; TVS: thermal manipulation with vitamin E and selenium.

Table 4. Effect of early age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on plasma proteins and lipid profile of broiler chickens at finisher phase.

Parameter	CC	TC	TS	TV	TVS	SEM	P-value
T.PROT^#	5.30^c	6.10^b	6.20^b	6.85^a	7.20^a	0.11	0.0001
Albumin^#	3.72^c	4.07^b	4.10^b	4.47^a	4.75^a	0.08	0.0001
Globulin^#	1.57^c	2.02^b	2.10^b	2.37^a	2.45^a	0.13	0.0001
Glucose^#	245.33^a	228.14^b	221.01^b	198.22^c	187.11^c	4.91	0.0001
Cholesterol^#	144.92^a	138.24^b	132.87^bc	131.42^c	112.67^d	2.53	0.0001
Triglyceride^#	161.35^a	129.80^b	120.80^b	127.50^b	126.77^b	3.44	0.0001
Uric acid (ng/ml)	14.77^a	12.60^b	12.57^b	11.37^c	11.05^c	0.31	0.0001
Na (mmol/L)	121.50^d	137.95^c	136.25^c	153.65^b	176.50^a	4.39	0.0001
K (mmol/L)	3.47^c	4.15^b	4.25^b	4.27^b	5.10^a	0.12	0.0001
Ca (mg/dL)	14.97	14.45	14.60	14.45	14.97	0.23	0.9264
ALB/GLB	2.37^a	2.01^b	1.95^b	1.94^b	1.88^b	0.28	0.0021

Note: ^abcd: means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: T.PROT: Total protein; Na: Sodium; K: Potassium; Ca: Calcium; CC: Control; TC: thermal manipulation; TV: Thermal manipulation with vitamin E; TS: thermal manipulation with selenium; TVS: thermal manipulation with vitamin E and selenium; ^#mg/dL. ^a,b: means differ along the row.

Table 5. Effect of early age thermal conditioning and antioxidant supplementation on the rectal temperature (°C) of broiler chickens.

AGE	CO	TC	TCV	TCS	TCVS	SEM	P-Value
Day 21	41.50	41.25	41.35	41.73	41.43	0.082	0.4631
Day 28	42.85^a	42.53^b	41.75^c	41.75^c	41.5^c	0.1218	0.0001
Day 35	42.78^a	42.45^b	42.13^c	42.18^c	41.68^d	0.0869	0.0001
Day 42	42.18^a	41.43^b	41.35^b	41.25^b	41.25^b	0.1036	0.006

Note: ^abc means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: CO: Control; TC: thermal conditioning; TCV: Thermal conditioning with vitamin E; TCS: thermal conditioning with selenium; TCVS: thermal conditioning with vitamin E and selenium.

Table 6. Effect of early age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on liver and renal function indices of broilers at finisher phase.

Parameter	CC	TC	TS	TV	TVS	SEM	P-Value
AST (U/L)	169.25^a	149.25^b	130.75^c	132.00^c	115.00^d	4.32	0.0001
ALT (U/L)	35.50^a	31.25^b	27.75^c	24.25^d	20.00^e	1.25	0.0001
AST/ALT	4.75^b	4.78^b	4.75^b	5.45^ab	5.78^a	0.11	0.0010

Note: ^abcde means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine transaminase; CC: Control; TC: thermal manipulation; TV: Thermal manipulation with vitamin E; TS: thermal manipulation with selenium; TVS: thermal manipulation with vitamin E and selenium, ^a,b,c,d: means differ along the row.

Table 7. Effect of early age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on antioxidant indices of broiler chickens at finisher phase.

Parameter	CC	TC	TS	TV	TVS	SEM	P-Value
SOD (ng/ml)	1.95^d	3.15^c	3.22^c	4.60^b	6.10^a	0.33	0.0001
GPX^#	8.47^c	11.75^b	12.37^b	14.05^a	15.05^a	0.53	0.0001
MDA*	4.33^a	3.86^b	3.52^c	3.18^d	3.04^d	0.11	0.0001

Note: ^abcd means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: SOD: superoxide dismutase; GPX: glutathione peroxidase; CC: Control; TC: thermal manipulation; TV: Thermal manipulation with vitamin E; TS: thermal manipulation with selenium; TVS: thermal manipulation with vitamin E and selenium, *(nmol/ml), ^#nmol NADPH/min/mg, ^a,b,c,d: means differ along the row.

Table 8. Effects of early age thermal manipulation and supplemental antioxidants on carcass traits of broiler chickens.

Parameter	CC	TC	TS	TV	TVS	SEM	P-Value
Live weight (g)	1892.50^d	2025.00^c	2050.00^bc	2137.50^b	2300.00^a	32.16	0.0001
Carcass (g)	1692.50^d	1842.5^c	1885.00^bc	1962.50^b	2125.00^a	33.85	0.0001
Wings (%)	8.32	8.07	8.14	8.09	8.11	0.06	0.8033
Liver (%)	2.19^d	2.32 ^cd	2.52^cb	2.72^b	2.97^a	0.06	0.0001
GIT (%)	5.82	5.85	4.95	5.08	5.03	0.15	0.1151
Spleen (%)	0.07^c	0.15^b	0.14^b	0.17^ab	0.19^a	0.009	0.0001
Breast Muscle	19.37	19.68	20.04	20.23	20.11	0.21	0.7386
Thigh (%)	10.59^c	12.23^bc	13.69^ab	11.83^bc	15.15^a	0.41	0.0003
Drum Stick (%)	9.56	8.5	8.31	8.26	8.36	0.31	0.7044
Neck (%)	3.71	4.00	3.68	3.4	3.72	0.20	0.9466
Shank (%)	1.85	1.63	1.46	1.99	1.8	0.08	0.3241
Gizzard (%)	2.64	2.32	3.22	2.75	3.02	0.13	0.2828
Heart (%)	0.46	0.53	0.54	0.44	0.49	0.02	0.6616
Proventriculus (%)	0.59	0.59	0.59	0.58	0.56	0.03	0.9967
Kidney (%)	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.001	0.8683
Abd fat (%)	2.30^a	1.75^b	1.53^bc	1.41 ^cd	1.18^d	0.08	0.0001

Note: ^abcd means value having different superscript are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Abbreviations: GIT: gastrointestinal tract; BRT MUS: breast muscle; DRM STK: drum stick; PROVEN: proventriculus; ABD FAT: abdominal fat; CC: Control; TC: thermal manipulation; TV: Thermal manipulation with vitamin E; TS: thermal manipulation with selenium; TVS: thermal manipulation with vitamin E and selenium, ^a,b,c: means differ along the row.