Abstract

In the past, taurine was not considered essential in poultry diet; however, heavy reliance on plants derived feed ingredients and environmental stresses have compelled its application inevitable. Six hundred day old male broilers (Hubbard) were supplementation with taurine at the level of 0 (TAN0), 2.5 (TAN2.5), 5 (TAN5) and 7.5 g/kg (TAN7.5) in drinking water during heat stressed conditions for a period of 35 days. On overall basis, feed intake was not significantly (p>.05) different between the treatments. At the end of the experiment, weight gain was significantly (p<.05) higher in the treatment groups. On the overall basis, FCR was significantly (p<.01) lower in the treatment groups. Abdominal fat weight was significantly (p<.01) lower in TAN5 and TAN7.5 compared to the control group. On the slaughter age (35 days) muscle fibre diameter (MFD), muscle fibre cross sectional area (MFCSA), muscle fascicle diameter (MFASD) and muscle fascicle cross-sectional area were significantly (p<.05) higher in TAN7.5 compared to the control. The results indicated that growth performance was enhanced in taurine supplemented birds irrespective of the inclusion levels during the heat stress. Abdominal fat was significantly decreased in TAN5 and TAN7.5 levels; however, muscle histological features were significantly higher in all treatment groups.

• Highlights

• Heat stress (HS) adversely affect the performance of broilers.

• Taurine improved the performance of birds during HS.

• Taurine reduced the abdominal fat in HS broilers.

摘要

过去，牛磺酸不被认为是家禽饮食中必不可少的；然而，严重依赖植物来源的饲料成分和环境压力迫使其应用不可避免。在热应激条件下，600 日龄雄性肉鸡 (Hubbard) 在饮用水中补充了 0 (TAN0)、2.5 (TAN2.5)、5 (TAN5) 和 7.5 g/kg (TAN7.5) 水平的牛磺酸为期 35 天。总体而言，处理之间的采食量没有显着差异 ( p >.05)。在实验结束时，治疗组的体重增加显着（p <.05）更高。总体而言，治疗组的FCR 显着降低 ( p <.01)。腹部脂肪重量显着（p<.01) 与对照组相比，TAN5 和 TAN7.5 较低。在屠宰年龄（35 天），TAN7.5 中的肌纤维直径 (MFD)、肌纤维横截面积 (MFCSA)、肌束直径 (MFASD) 和肌束横截面积显着较高( p <.05)与对照相比。结果表明，无论热应激期间牛磺酸的添加水平如何，添加牛磺酸的家禽的生长性能都得到了提高。腹部脂肪在 TAN5 和 TAN7.5 水平上显着减少；然而，所有治疗组的肌肉组织学特征都显着更高。

• 强调

• 热应激 (HS) 会对肉鸡的生产性能产生不利影响。

• 牛磺酸提高了鸡群在 HS 期间的表现。

• 牛磺酸减少了 HS 肉鸡的腹部脂肪。