Effects of Dietary Vitamin and Mineral Combinations on Production Performance and Immune Response in Pigeons.

BACKGROUND

Pigeon farming represents an important component of the poultry sector in Bangladesh; however, productivity is frequently constrained by infectious diseases, particularly Newcastle disease (ND).

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with different vitamin and mineral combinations on production performance and humoral immune response to ND vaccination in adult pigeons.

METHODS

Sixteen pairs of 3-month-old Gola pigeons were randomly assigned to four groups: T0 (basal diet, unvaccinated control), T1 (basal diet supplemented with vitamins A, D and E and selenium), T2 (basal diet supplemented with vitamin B-complex) and T3 (basal diet supplemented with vitamins A, D, E and B-complex and selenium). Birds in T1, T2 and T3 were vaccinated against ND, whereas the control group remained unvaccinated.

RESULTS

Body weight, feed intake and egg weight were not significantly affected by treatments (p > 0.05). However, feed conversion ratio and egg production differed significantly (p < 0.05), with higher egg production observed in T1. Hemagglutination inhibition antibody titres differed significantly among groups (p < 0.05), with the highest titre observed in the T1 group (272 ± 16). Most immune organ weights were unaffected, although thymus length and width increased significantly following supplementation.

CONCLUSIONS

Dietary supplementation with vitamins and selenium had limited effects on growth performance in adult pigeons. However, supplementation with vitamins A, D and E and selenium was associated with improved egg production and enhanced the humoral immune response to ND vaccination. These findings suggest that targeted vitamin-mineral supplementation may be beneficial for improving reproductive performance and vaccine-induced immunity in pigeons.