Effects of Early Nutrition Programming on Post-Hatching Performance and Small Intestine Characteristics of Kampung Chicken

Abstract

This study was conducted to elucidate the efficacy of early nutrition programming on the performance of Kampung chicken.The study consisted of two stages: pre-hatching (in ovo feeding [IOF]) and post-hatching (neonatal nutrition [NN]).In total 180 hatching eggs were used in the pre-hatching stage, which were distributed into five groups: IOF-0 (negative control), IOF-1 (positive control), IOF-2 (0.5% Arginine), IOF-3 (1% Arginine), and IOF-4 (2% Arginine).Twenty newly hatched chickens (NHCs) from each IOF group were selected and divided into NN0 (0.2% saline) and NN1 (a mix of commercial probiotics, inulin, and lysine diluted in 0.2% saline) which were provided in drinking water.In addition, 100 NHCs were used arranged as a 52 factorial based on a completely randomized design.A commercial diet was used in the second stage.Performance, daily feed and water intake, body weight (BW), gross-morphometric indices of small intestine segments, and histo-morphometric indices of the ileum were evaluated.The final BW improved significantly (P<0.05) at IOF-3 and IOF-4, and NN effectively supported further increases.IOF and NN did not significantly affect feed intake during the experiment.Examinations of gross-and histo-morphometric showed an increased capacity for digestion and absorption of small intestinal segments, which was indicated by increasing the length/weight ratio and expanding the absorption villus surface area of the ileum.In conclusion, the best beneficial synergistic effect of early nutrition programming on Kampung chickens was achieved by the combination of IOF 1% L-Arginine and NN, which indicated by BW gain and feed conversion ratio.

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