om www.scholarsresearchlibrary.c t Available online a Scholars Research Library Annals of Biological Research, 2012, 3 (8):3818-3824 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN 0976-1233 CODEN (USA): ABRNBW 3818 Scholars Research Library The effects of egg powder application in pre-starter diet on serum metabolites of male broiler chickens 1 Ladan Esmailzadeh * , 2 Mahmood Shivazad, 1 Ali Asghar Sadeghi, 3 Mohammad Amir Karimi Torshizi 1 Department of Animal Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran 3 Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT A completely randomized design was conducted to evaluate the effect of egg powder application in pre-starter diet (0-7 d of age) of male broiler chickens. 320 male broiler chickens (ROSS 308) consumed different levels of egg powder (0, 2, 4 and 6 percent of diet) in their pre-starter diet from hatch until 7 d of age. Each treatment had 4 replicates with 20 male broiler chickens. Experimental sampling was carried out in 7 and 42 d of age. Results showed that relative weight of liver was not affected by egg powder application in pre-starter diet (p>0.05), while, increase in egg powder inclusion level of pre-starter diet led to gall bladder weight increase in both 7 and 42 d of age (p≤0.05). At 7 d of age, concentration of Ca ion reduced (p≤0.05) in serum of chickens which consumed egg powder in their pre-starter diet. Experimental treatments, however, had no effect on serum Ca concentration at the end of experiment (p>0.05). Cholesterol and triglyceride concentration in serum of chickens, which consumed egg powder in their pre-starter diet rose at 7 d of age (p≤0.05); the reverse trend was observed at 42 d of age though (p≤0.05). As a result of egg powder application at both 7 and 42 d of age, Serum concentration of total protein increased (p≤0.05) and malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased (p≤0.05). Result presented in this study showed that application of egg powder in pre-starter diet of broiler chicken significantly affected bird’s metabolism which is reflected by change in serum metabolites. Key words: egg powder, pre-starter diet, broiler, blood metabolites. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Intensive research on genetic, nutrition, and management of broiler chickens during the past years has allowed the poultry industry to produce heavier and healthier chickens in a more efficient manner and the age to market has been gradually reduced in broiler chickens. The early days after hatch are considered as an important period of a broiler’s life which a lot of research have been conducted on it. Whereas, at this period of time the gastrointestinal system of young chickens has not fully developed [1] and chickens at this age are not capable of utilizing common feed ingredients. Also at this time meeting nutritional needs of young chickens is essential. The main reason for this high level of requirement is high levels of growth and development in gastrointestinal system and related organs [2]. Since the first week of post-hatch represents a more critical part of the broiler’s productive life, and as chickens digestive capabilities are limited, special attention is needed to be given to the nutritional requirements of the chicken in order to maximize their performance.