Chapter one Introduction

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1.1 Introduction

Poultry feed is food for farm poultry , including chickens , ducks , geese

,quails and domestic fowl . Poultry were mostly put on general farms before the

twentieth century, and feed of their, grain, eating insects, and plants near the

farm (Scherf, 2000; Romanov et al., 2009) In the poultry industry ,the poultry

feed is an essential part , also the demands are of the same importance as the

industry itself. The poultry farms and hatcheries are the source of the poultry

feed . A large quantity of animal feeds purchase from abroad and with the

increased emphasis on animal resources, this amount is expected to increase

substantially in coming years. It is necessary to have quality control of the feed

because the feed can have a great effect on the weight and mortality of

birds(Beg et al., 2005; Shareef, 2010) . Poultry feed prepared for broiler starter,

broiler finisher, and layer mash (Beg et al., 2005). The feeds for poultry consist

largely of grain, material supplements such as protein and as soybean oil meal,

vitamin supplements and mineral supplements (Steenfeldt et al., 2007;

Ravindran , 2013) .Poultry feed industry is closely in relation with the primary

agricultural production and acts as an essential component of the food chain.

Feed is considered the major cost of poultry production that lies between 65 and

75%. , therefore , any effect on the feed leads to change on the performance of

broilers and layers (Ashraf et al., 2014 ).Balance in diets includes the mixture

of the right quantity of various ingredients to produce diet with all necessary

nutrients. Unbalanced diets may produce economic loss in terms of poultry

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health (Gizzi and Givens, 2004). Feed quantity, and the nutritional

requirements depend on the age and weight of the poultry, the rate of growth,

the rate of egg production, the weather (cold or wet weather causes higher

energy exhaustion), and the quantity of nutrition the poultry from foraging , so

to give good nutrition, feed must remain dry and clean (Gillespie and Flanders

2012). The storage conditions are necessary to safe feed , so weather extremes

unsuitable storage practices and improper feeding conditions can cause feed

contamination , especially with mycotoxins (Dowd, 2004). Poultry feed is

frequently contaminated by mycotoxins (Glenda et al., 2006 ; Hassan et al.,

2012) . Poultry feed is more susceptible to fugal growth during processing,

therefore identification of fungi with the ability to produce mycotoxins is

essential (Rosa et al. 2006). There are many clinical signs as result of

mycotoxins effected with low concentration were always observed in different

broiler, broiler breeder and layer farms : decreased weight gain; anorexia;

reduced feed conversion efficiency; decreased egg production; poor egg shell

quality (Radziejewska et al.,2013) , Molds can grow and produce mycotoxins in

preharvest or during storage, transport, processing or feeding and during these

periods, humidity and temperature play an important role in the fungi growth

and mycotoxins contamination (Krnjaja et al., 2008) . In wet feeds, higher

moisture levels allow mold growth if oxygen is available (Lanyasunya et al.,

2005). Feeds containing more than 12-15% moisture suitable to grow fungi and

Because most molds are aerobic, high moisture concentrations can eliminate air

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and prevent mold growth (Whitlow and Hagler, 2008). The conditions most

suitable for mold growth and for mycotoxin production are not necessarily the

same (Simpson et al., 2001). More than 100.000 fungal species are considered

as natural contaminants of agricultural and food products.

1.2 The Aim of Study

1. Detection of the occurrence of mycoflora in poultry feed.

2. Determination of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus falvus .

3. Confirmation of presence of aflatoxin by DNA sequencing .