The ability to resist Newcastle disease through inherited immunity in different strains of broilers in Nineveh governorate

Abstract

Background: Newcastle disease (ND) is a viral disease that affects numerous bird species and is still present in many places, including Iraq.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare maternal derived antibodies against against ND vaccination in 1-dayold imported Cobb 500 and Ross 308 chicks.

Methods: From April to October 2020, four locations in Mosul governorate were chosen to compute the maternal derived antibodies from 1-day-old  broiler chicks. Seven hundred and seven blood samples (451) from imported 28 Ross 308 flocks and 256 from 17 Cobb 500 flocks were obtained and  tested for antibody levels using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay assay (BioChek commercial kit, UK).

Results: The Cobb 500 broiler chicks outperformed the Ross 308 broiler chicks in that all of the Cobb 500 broiler chicks had maternal antibody titers  (100% positivity) versus 97.78% of the Ross 308 chicks, had a mean Maternal antibody titer of 9,871.47 versus 8,647.76, and had a mean CV percentage of  12.41% versus 15.18%, respectively. The mean vaccination index of Cobb 500 broiler chicks was 966.59 versus 821.60 for Ross 308 broiler chicks.

Conclusion: Although both broiler types produced chicks with high and uniform maternal antibody titers, Cobb 500 produced chicks with higher  protective titers than Ross 308.