Effects of Medicago sativa meal-induced molting on production performance,serum biochemical,and immune indexes in Bashang Long-tail chickens
SHEN Yaqian
XIE Jiale
DUAN Xiaoyan
LI Jiawei
LI Shang
LIU Yu
CHEN Zhaohan
ZHANG Liyong
Abstract：The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of different substitution levels of Medicago sativa meal on the production performance,serum biochemical,and immune indexes in Bashang Long-tail chickens.A total of 600 Bashang Long-tail chickens aged 450 days were randomly divided into five groups with three replicates per group and 40 chickens per replicate.Group Ⅰ was forced to molt using the traditional starvation method,while groups Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ,and Ⅴ were induced to molt using 30％,50％,70％,and 90％Medicago sativa meal as a substitute for the basal diet,respectively.The pre test period was seven days,and the formal test period was 87 days.The results showed that groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ failed to achieve successful molting,whereas groups Ⅰ,Ⅳ,and Ⅴ all completed molting.During the second laying peak,the egg production rate of group Ⅳ significantly increased by 8.95％compared to group Ⅰ(P＜0.05).On the first day of molting cessation,serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT)activity in group Ⅰ was extremely higher than in groups Ⅳ and Ⅴ(P＜0.01).During the second laying peak,serum creatinine(CRE)content in group Ⅴ was significantly higher than in group Ⅰ(P＜0.05),while the urea nitrogen(BUN)/CRE ratio in group Ⅰ was significantly higher than in groups Ⅳ and Ⅴ(P＜0.05).During the second laying peak,serum immunoglobulin M(IgM)content in group Ⅴ was significantly higher than in groups Ⅰ and Ⅳ(P＜0.05).On first day of molting cessation,the serum immunoglobulin G(IgG)content in group Ⅳ was extremely higher than that in groups Ⅴ and Ⅰ(P＜0.01).During the second laying peak,the serum IgG content in groups Ⅳ and Ⅴ was extremely higher than that in group Ⅰ(P＜0.01).On the first day of molting cessation,the serum secretory immunoglobulin A(SIgA)content in group Ⅳ was significantly higher than that in groups Ⅰand Ⅴ(P＜0.05).The results indicates that Medicago sativa meal-induced molting effectively shortens the molting cycle of Bashang Long-tail chickens,improves laying performance,and enhances immune function,with the 70％substitution level showing optimal effects.
Keywords：Medicago sativa mealinduced moltingBashang Long-tail chickensproduction performanceserum biochemical indexesimmune indexes
Publication Date：2025-11-16
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 59-63 )