Effect of Prednisolone supplementation on the primary sex ratio of Fayoumi chicken’s offspring

M. S. Hassan2, M. A. M. Sayed1, M. El-Sagheer1, and M. S. G. Hassanien2
1Dept. of Poultry Production, Fac. of Agric., Univ. of Assiut, Egypt.
2Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt.

Abstract:

The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of supplementing the diets with different pharmacological doses of the glucocorticoid drug Prednisolone on; the primary sex ratio of Fayoumi chicken offspring, egg-laying performance, and birds' general health, during the period 32-36 wks of age. Birds were assigned to 4 treatment groups, according to the glucocorticoid level in the diet, each with 3 replicates of 10 females + 1 male. Birds in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 were fed a commercial diet having glucocorticoid level of 0, 5, 10 or 20 mg Prednisolone/kg diet, respectively. The results showed that all pharmacological doses of Prednisolone affected offspring sex ratios which became more female-biased compared to the control group (P<0.05). Feeding Prednisolone had no effect on fertility rate, hatchability percentage, hen-day egg production and feed conversion ratio. Providing birds with 5 and 20 mg Prednisolone/kg feed reduced body weight by 2.53 and 6.41%, respectively as compared to control group. Hens provided with 20 mg Prednisolone/kg feed consumed less amount of feed and had smaller eggs compared to the control group. No significant differences were observed among treatment groups in plasma concentrations of liver enzymes (AST and ALT) and of estrogen, cortisol, cholesterol, creatinine, calcium, and phosphorus. Hens offered diet with 20 mg Prednisolone/kg feed had higher plasma total protein levels; while those receiving 10 mg Prednisolone /kg feed had higher urea levels when compared to the control. From these results, it can be concluded that; Prednisolone supplementation through feed is capable of altering offspring sex ratio in Fayoumi chickens without having negative effects on the hens' general health. Prednisolone dosage of 5 mg/kg is economically preferable and has no effect on egg weight.