Impact of Dietary Egg Yolk IgY Powder on Behavior, Meat Quality, Physiology, and Intestinal Escherichia coli Colonization of Broiler Chicks

Ibrahim F Rehan; Ahmed F Rehan; Ahmed F Abouelnaga; Mohamed A Hussein; Waleed R El-Ghareeb; Nesreen Z Eleiwa; Asmaa Elnagar; Gaber E Batiha; Mohamed A Abdelgawad; Mohammed M Ghoneim; Amin A Hafiz; Hossam E Gadallah; Shereen El Abdel-Hamid; Gamal R Hasab El-Naby; Barbara M Benowitz; Mohamed A Maky

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.783094

Impact of Dietary Egg Yolk IgY Powder on Behavior, Meat Quality, Physiology, and Intestinal Escherichia coli Colonization of Broiler Chicks

Front Vet Sci. 2022 Mar 29:9:783094. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.783094. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ibrahim F Rehan¹, Ahmed F Rehan², Ahmed F Abouelnaga³, Mohamed A Hussein², Waleed R El-Ghareeb^{4

2}, Nesreen Z Eleiwa⁵, Asmaa Elnagar⁶, Gaber E Batiha⁷, Mohamed A Abdelgawad⁸, Mohammed M Ghoneim⁹, Amin A Hafiz¹⁰, Hossam E Gadallah¹¹, Shereen El Abdel-Hamid¹², Gamal R Hasab El-Naby¹³, Barbara M Benowitz¹⁴, Mohamed A Maky¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Husbandry and Development of Animal Wealth, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Menofia University, Shibin Alkom, Egypt.
² Department of Food Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
³ Department of Husbandry and Development of Animal Wealth, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Food Hygiene, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
¹² Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
¹³ Tanta Provincial Laboratory, Animal Health Research Institute, Tanta, Egypt.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA, United States.
¹⁵ Department of Food Hygiene and Control (Meat Hygiene), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of different concentrations of purified egg yolk immunoglobulin Y (IgY) supplemental food on the growth performance, behaviors, cecal contents of Escherichia coli, and the meat quality of broiler chicks. Four dietary groups were given to 180 female Ross broiler chicks at random (n = 45 for each). The control group was fed a standard diet only, whereas the other three experimental groups were fed the same basic diet supplemented with 1,500, 3,000, and 4,000 μg/ml IgY for a duration of 42 days. Significant greater behavioral activities, including, feeding, drinking, and dust bathing (p < 0.05), in the birds fed 4,000 μg/ml of IgY compared to the control group were observed. Greater weight gains of the crop, proventriculus, gizzard, and intestine (p < 0.05) were observed for broiler chicks fed 4,000 μg/ml of IgY when compared to the control group. After 3 weeks of feeding, the groups fed 3,000 and 4,000 μg/ml IgY had significant lower E. coli counts in the muscle and cecal contents (p < 0.05) when compared to the control group. Moreover, dietary supplementation with 4,000 μg/ml IgY in the third week and 3,000 μg/ml IgY in the sixth week resulted in greater weight gain (p < 0.01) when compared to the control group. Also, at week 3, chicks fed 4,000 μg/ml of IgY had a lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). At week 6, chicks fed 3,000 μg/ml of IgY had lower FCR than the control (p < 0.05). The circulating heterophile/lymphocyte ratio was simply altered in birds fed variable IgY concentrations (1,500, 3,000, and 4,000 μg/ml), with no significant differences compared to the control group due to the individual resistance of each bird to physiological stress. The addition of 4,000 μg/ml IgY to the diet enhanced the nutritive value of meat, including protein, fat, and ash content (p < 0.05). Our study concluded that dietary supplementation of 3,000 and/or 4,000 μg/ml IgY improved the growth rates, behavioral activities, intestinal health indices, and meat quality of broiler chicks.

Keywords: E. coli; behavior; broiler; immunoglobulin Y; meat quality; performance.