| Popis: |
This study aimed to investigate an experimental procedure of coccidial challenge in battery cages and the anticoccidial effect of a bioactive olive pomace extract from Olea europaea (OE) in broiler chickens. To this end, four hundred 1-day-old male chicks were randomly assigned to 5 experimental treatments (10 cages/treatment; 8 birds/cage). One group was fed the control diet without any additives and not challenged (NCU). The other 4 groups were challenged and fed the control diet with no additives (NCC) or supplemented with 500 ppm of coccidiostat or with 500 or 1,500 ppm of OE. At 0, 7, and 14 d, all challenged birds, except the NCC group, were orally gavaged with a live Eimeria spp. oocyst vaccine at 1x, 4x, and 16x of the manufacturer's recommended dose, respectively. Feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined at 7, 14, 20, and 28 d. At 20 d of age, 1 bird per cage was euthanized to analyze duodenum and jejunum morphology, ileal mucosa gene expression, and plasma cytokine, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, and carotenoid (CAR) concentrations. Coccidial vaccine challenge lowered BW (P |
