UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Author: search.filters.author.Bonilla Carrero, Paola IvetteSubject: search.filters.subject.poultry

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    The Effects of Tryptophan and Probiotic Treatment on Behavior and Production Parameters of Laying Hens
    (2021) Bonilla Carrero, Paola Ivette; Dennis, Rachel L; Animal Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Dietary supplementation can impact behavior expression through microorganism’s activity in the gut microbiome and influence productivity in animal husbandry. Adding supplements to production animals’ diet can impact behaviors and productivity via gut-brain axis activity. We investigated the effects of either probiotic or antibiotic supplementation in addition to the effects of additional tryptophan (Trp) on overall behavior and production parameters. White Leghorn chickens (n=12) were supplemented with six dietary treatments in a 2 x 3 factorial design: probiotics (1 x 109 CFU/L) or the antibiotic erythromycin (125 mg/L) in combination with either normal (0.16%) or high (0.48%) Trp in drinking water. Results indicate that probiotics with tryptophan increased locomotion (P = 0.04), social (P = 0.04), and eating behavior (P = 0.02). Antibiotics with tryptophan increased fat pad (P = 0.04) and heart weight (P = 0.04). Supplementation affected behavioral expression of normal, comfort, and pecking behavior, potentially impacted by metabolic competition at the level of the gut microbiome.