Abstract:
Femoral Head Separation (FHS) is one of the problems found in fast growing broilers worldwide. This can result in joint inflammation leading to lameness, reduced growth performance and culling. The aim of this study was to examine whether omega 3 fatty acid and meloxicam could reduce the incidence of FHS in relation to changes in serum TNF-α and IL-1β. Total of 1,152 male, Cobb 500 broilers, were divided in to 4 groups of 6 replicate pens as T1 = control, T2 = FHS induction by Speed Bump, T3 = T2 + 2%All-G-Rich™ (16%DHA) in feed and T4 = T2 + meloxicam in tap drinking water (0.5 mg/kg BW). On d 42 of age, blood samples were collected for serum inflammatory cytokines, triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol (CL) analysis. Birds were euthanized using CO2 inhalation, gross and histopathological lesions of femoral head were scored individually at d 43. The results showed that, the incidence of FHS was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in T4 (42.20±4.20%) compared to others. Moreover, an osteochondrotic clefts can be defined by histopathology technique even though gross lesion score is normal. Serum TNF-α, IL-1β, TG and CL were not changed among all groups (p > 0.05). From this study, the dosage of DHA (700 mg/day) may be inadequate to reduce the incidence of FHS or alter pro-inflammatory cytokines. In contrast, meloxicam can reduce the incidence of FHS by its activity to inhibit COX-2 enzyme, resulting in decreased degradation of articular cartilage. In conclusion, anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam helped to alleviate the gross appearance of FHS in fast growing broilers. There was no alteration of serum TNF-α, IL-1β, TG and CL in both DHA and meloxicam groups. Furthermore, histopathology finding is able to specify changes in detail of the beginning of FHS lesion.
