AGE-RELATED GROSS AND HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN SMALL INTESTINE OF SAKINI CHICKEN

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess the histo-morphological changes in small intestine of Sakini chicken from October 2021 to March 2022. Ninety-two, day-old chicks of Sakini breed of both sexes were considered for the study. These birds were reared under the standard husbandry practices and fed with layers starter pellet feed containing 20% crude protein, 3000 Kcal/kg metabolizable energy and ad libitum water for 56 days.  Forty birds of five different age groups from day 1, day 14, day 28, day 42 and day 56 (eight birds per age group) of trial period were sacrificed. The findings indicated that live body weight gained significantly from 25.22 gm to 533.63 gm as age progressed from day one to day 56. Amongst sex, males had significantly higher body weight (582.25 gm) than females (485.00 gm) at day 56. Length and weight of duodenum, jejunum and ileum increased significantly up to day 28 and day 42 and became steady thereafter. A significant increase in the relative weight of small intestine was observed up to day 28 showing the growth of the small intestine was higher than the rest of the body at an earlier age. Histologically, villus length of duodenum, jejunum and ileum increased from 375.65 µm, 259.25 µm and 209.25 µm at day one to 834.18 µm, 610.57 µm and 447.01 µm at day 56 while apparent villus area increased from 23266.55 µm², 14053.17 µm² and 12430.71 µm² at day one to 109351.55 µm², 69702.34 µm² and 44702.80 µm² at day 56 respectively. The result showed that delayed stabilization of relative weight and length resulted in slower growth of Sakini chicken which indicates digestion and absorption capacity increased with advancement of age after stabilization of relative weight and length. An increase in villus height and villus surface area of Sakini chicken were the compensatory mechanism to fulfill the increase in nutrient demand of the body. Villus length, villus width, apparent villus area and ratio of villus height and crypt depth were highest for duodenum followed by jejunum and ileum at all ages. These parameters are positively associated with the live body weight so at the initial stage of life duodenum plays the vital role for maintaining the body weight as it is principal site for digestion and absorption. This present research provides novel findings on the baseline information on histo-morphological changes in small intestine of Sakini chicken which can be used as reference for further digestive studies.