Average Egg Weight Research Articles

Dominance genetic and maternal effects for genetic evaluation of egg production traits in dual-purpose chickens

ABSTRACT1. A study was conducted to study direct dominance genetic and maternal effects on genetic evaluation of production traits in dual-purpose chickens. The data set consisted of records of body weight and egg production of 49 749 Mazandaran fowls from 19 consecutive generations. Based on combinations of different random effects, including direct additive and dominance genetic and maternal additive genetic and environmental effects, 8 different models were compared.2. Inclusion of a maternal genetic effect in the models noticeably improved goodness of fit for all traits. Direct dominance genetic effect did not have noticeable effects on goodness of fit but simultaneous inclusion of both direct dominance and maternal additive genetic effects improved fitting criteria and accuracies of genetic parameter estimates for hatching body weight and egg production traits.3. Estimates of heritability (h2) for body weights at hatch, 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age (BW0, BW8 and BW12, respectively), age at sexual maturity (ASM), average egg weights at 28–32 weeks of laying period (AEW), egg number (EN) and egg production intensity (EI) were 0.08, 0.21, 0.22, 0.22, 0.21, 0.09 and 0.10, respectively. For BW0, BW8, BW12, ASM, AEW, EN and EI, proportion of dominance genetic to total phenotypic variance (d2) were 0.06, 0.08, 0.01, 0.06, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.07 and maternal heritability estimates (m2) were 0.05, 0.04, 0.03, 0.13, 0.21, 0.07 and 0.03, respectively. Negligible coefficients of maternal environmental effect (c2) from 0.01 to 0.08 were estimated for all traits, other than BW0, which had an estimate of 0.30.4. Breeding values (BVs) estimated for body weights at early ages (BW0 and BW8) were considerably affected by components of the models, but almost similar BVs were estimated by different models for higher age body weight (BW12) and egg production traits (ASM, AEW, EN and EI). Generally, it could be concluded that inclusion of maternal effects (both genetic and environmental) and, to a lesser extent, direct dominance genetic effect would improve the accuracy of genetic evaluation for early age body weights in dual-purpose chickens.

Productive performance and blood profiles of laying hens fed Hermetia illucens larvae meal as total replacement of soybean meal from 24 to 45 weeks of age

The aim of the research was to study the effects of an insect meal from Hermetia illucens larvae (HILM) as complete replacement of soybean meal (SBM) on productive performance and blood profiles of laying hens, from 24 to 45 wk of age. A total of 108 24-week-old Lohmann Brown Classic laying hens was equally divided into 2 groups (54 hens/group, 9 replicates of 6 hens/group). From 24 to 45 wk of age, the groups were fed 2 different isoproteic and isoenergetic diets: the control group (SBM) was fed a corn-soybean meal based diet, while in the HILM group the soybean meal was completely replaced by Hermetia illucens larvae meal. Feed intake, number of eggs produced, and egg weight were recorded weekly along the trial. At 45 wk of age, blood samples were collected from 2 hens per replicate. The use of HIML led to a more favorable (P <0.01) feed conversion ratio in hens but lay percentage, feed intake, average egg weight, and egg mass were higher (P <0.01) in hens fed the SBM diet. Hens fed insect meal produced a higher percentage of eggs from small (S), medium (M), and extra-large (XL) classes (P <0.01) than SBM, while the SBM group had a higher percentage of eggs from the large (L) class (P <0.01). The levels of globulin and albumin to globulin ratio were, respectively, higher and lower (P <0.05) in HILM than the SBM group. Cholesterol and triglycerides were higher (P <0.05 and P <0.01, respectively) in hens from SBM than in the HILM group. Blood levels of Ca were higher (P <0.01) in hens fed insect meal, while creatinine was higher (P <0.01) in blood of hens fed SBM. Hermetia illucens larvae meal can be a suitable alternative protein source for laying hens even if the complete replacement of soybean meal needs further investigation to avoid the negative effects on feed intake.

Nutritional Quality of Eggs of Amberlink and Hyline Layers Fed on Different Levels of Provitamin A-Biofortified Maize

ABStRACt The study was conducted to determine the interaction of types of maize (Provitamin A-biofortified maize (PABM) versus white maize) and strain of laying birds (Amberlink and Hyline) on nutritional quality of eggs. Twenty-one of each of Amberlink and Hyline laying hens were fed on three diets for 30 days. Birds were distributed in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement constituting three diets (0, 50 or 100 % of PABM) and two strains (Amberlink & Hyline). There was a diet × strain interaction on egg shell weight, average daily feed intake, egg production, egg weight and egg shell thickness. Eggs produced by layers under 100 % PABM had lighter eggshell weight and lower eggshell percentage. In contrast, eggs produced by layers under 50 % PABM diet had signi-ficantly higher eggshell percentage, heavier egg shell weight and thicker eggshell. As the level of PABM increased, the yellow and red hue (Hunter a* and b* values) significantly increased while the lightness values (Hunter L* values) decreased. As the level of PABM in the ration increased, the vitamin A content of the egg yolk also significantly increased. Assimilation of vitamin A from feed to egg yolk in Amberlink and Hyline hens was similar. Hence, egg enrichment with vitamin A can be achieved by using PABM in layers ration. The use of high level of PABM had a negative effect on the eggshell quality traits.

Complexo multienzimático na dieta das galinhas poedeiras

The main purpose of this work was to evaluate the effects of supplementation of laying hen diets with increasing levels of enzymatic complex composed of α-amylase, β-glucanase, cellulase, xylanase, protease and phytase in the forms “on top”, with reductions in the levels of PB, MS, Ca, P available and amino acids. Semi-heavy 384 layers were used with Isa Brown hens, with an initial age of 29 weeks, distributed in six treatments with eight replications, with eight birds per experimental plot, using a completely randomized design (CRD) with sub installments on time (4 periods of 28 days each). The treatments were: Positive Control (PC) 2.750 kcal kg-1 MS, 17.2% PC and 0.41% available P; Negative Control (NC) 2.600 kcal kg-1 MS, 16.7% PC, 0.26% available P; Positive Control + 350 g ton-1 of feed of enzymatic complex (PC350); Negative Control + 250 g ton-1 of feed of enzymatic complex (NC250); Negative Control + 350 g ton-1 of feed of enzymatic complex (NC350) and; Negative Control + 500 g ton-1 of feed of enzymatic complex (NC500). The variables analyzed for growth performance were: feed intake (g bird-1 day-1), egg production (% bird-1 day-1), average egg weight (%) and feed conversion per egg mass (kg kg-1 of feed/eggs). The internal and external quality variables of the analyzed eggs were shell thickness (mm), bark percentages of albumen and yolk, Haugh unit and specific gravity (g cm-3). The addition of enzymatic complex did not interfere in the results of zoo-technical importance or quality of eggs from hens aged 29-44 weeks. Increased consumption of feed/bird/day was enough to supply the reduced nutritional levels of NC diets and maintain balance in the results to the rest of the variables. For some growth performance variables sometimes during the trial period, a negative influence of the inclusion of high levels of enzymatic complex was observed where the NC350 and NC500 diets had a high feed intake and a worst feed conversion than the other diets.

Effect of biochar, zeolite and bentonite feed supplements on egg yield and excreta attributes

Bond Brown Layer (BBL) pullets (n = 200, 18 weeks old) were randomly assigned to 10 dietary treatments involving biochar, zeolite and bentonite at nil, 1%, 2%, and 4% w/w supplementation of commercial layer feed. Each treatment was applied to four cages, with five birds per cage, a total of 20 birds per treatment. Birds were maintained on these diets for 25 weeks. Feed conversion ratio was significantly improved (P = 0.001) with biochar-supplemented feed compared with the control and other treatments. Average egg weight was also significantly improved in the treatment groups compared with the control; however, shell weight, shell breaking strength, shell thickness, shell deformation and shell reflectivity, and internal egg-quality traits of albumen height and Haugh unit were not consistently different (P &gt; 0.05). Yolk colour score was decreased significantly (P = 0.001) with the use of increased rate of additives. Intestinal villi height and crypt depth were increased on amended diets. Egg yield was decreased when birds were placed on a fungal contaminated feed. The feed amendments ameliorated this effect, with the best result achieved on a 2% biochar diet. Improved egg production was also noted under commercial certified organic production conditions trialling 2% biochar feed supplementation compared with the control. Thus, supplementation of feed with biochar, zeolite and bentonite improved production performance traits of egg yield and feed conversion ratio, with these additives potentially acting as detoxifiers or inhibiting growth of microbial pathogens, slowing digestion or altering the gut anatomy and microbiota to improve feed conversion ratio.

Effect of supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on the performance of Vanaraja laying hens

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on the performance of Vanaraja laying hens. Five experimental diets were formulated by supplementing without (T0), and with MOLM @ 0.5 kg (T0.5), 1.0 kg (T1.0), 1.5 kg (T1.5) and 2.0 kg (T2.0) per 100 kg basal diet. Sixty laying hens (22 weeks) were divided into 5groups (each group had 4 replicates with 3 laying hens per replicate)and were randomly fed the above 5 experimental diets. All the birds were reared on wire mesh floored cages during the experimental period of 8 weeks. The MOLM contained 27.27% CP, 3.76% EE, 18.53% CF, 11.50% TA and 0.37% AIA. There was improvement (P&lt;0.05) in egg production and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in T0.5 than T0. The average egg weight in T2.0 was lower compared to T0 and T0.5. The egg quality characteristics viz. albumen (%), yolk (%), shell (%), shape index and shell thickness (mm) were similar for all the treatments.The feed cost to produce dozen egg was highest for T0 (rupees 27.98) and lowest for T0.5 (rupees 22.33). It can be concluded that supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal @ 0.50 kg/100kg diet in Vanaraja laying hens was beneficial in terms of improved egg production, better FCR and reduced cost of feed to produce dozen eggs.

Effects of Zinc Glycinate on Productive and Reproductive Performance, Zinc Concentration and Antioxidant Status in Broiler Breeders.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of zinc glycinate (Zn-Gly) supplementation as an alternative for zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) on productive and reproductive performance, zinc (Zn) concentration and antioxidant status in broiler breeders. Six hundred 39-week-old Lingnan Yellow broiler breeders were randomly assigned to 6 groups consisting of 4 replicates with 25 birds each. Breeders were fed a basal diet (control group, 24mg Zn/kg diet), basal diet supplemented with 80mg Zn/kg diet from ZnSO4 or basal diet supplemented with 20, 40, 60 and 80mg Zn/kg diet from Zn-Gly. The experiment lasted for 8weeks after a 4-week pre-test with the basal diet, respectively. Results showed that Zn supplementation, regardless of sources, improved (P < 0.05) the feed conversion ratio (kilogram of feed/kilogram of egg) and decreased broken egg rate, and elevated (P < 0.05) the qualified chick rate. Compared with the ZnSO4 group, the 80mg Zn/kg Zn-Gly group significantly increased (P < 0.05) average egg weight, fertility, hatchability and qualified chick rate, whereas it decreased (P < 0.05) broken egg rate. The Zn concentrations in liver and muscle were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in 80mg Zn/kg Zn-Gly group than that in ZnSO4 group. Compared with ZnSO4 group, 80mg Zn/kg Zn-Gly group significantly elevated (P < 0.05) the mRNA abundances of metallothionein (MT) and copper-zinc superoxide (Cu-Zn SOD), as well as the Cu-Zn SOD activity and MT concentration in liver. Moreover, the 80mg Zn/kg Zn-Gly group had higher (P < 0.05) serum T-SOD and Cu-Zn SOD activities than that in the ZnSO4 group. This study indicated that supplementation of Zn in basal diet improved productive and reproductive performance, Zn concentration and antioxidant status in broiler breeders, and the 80mg Zn/kg from Zn-Gly was the optimum choice for broiler breeders compared with other levels of Zn from Zn-Gly and 80mg/kg Zn from ZnSO4.

Iluminação artificial com fitas de LED em substituição à lâmpada fluorescente para poedeiras comerciais

O objetivo do estudo foi de avaliar os efeitos da iluminação artificial por fitas de diodo emissor de luz (LED) vermelhas em substituição às lâmpadas fluorescentes, no regime de iluminação de poedeiras comerciais em fase de produção, por meio da avaliação dos índices zootécnicos e qualidade e peso dos ovos. Foram utilizadas 200 poedeiras comerciais da linhagem Bovans White, com 30 semanas de idade, distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com dois tratamentos: fita de LED vermelha e lâmpada fluorescente, com 10 repetições de 10 aves cada. As avaliações de desempenho e de qualidade e peso dos ovos foram realizadas nos últimos três dias de cada ciclo, foram avaliados três ciclos, cada um com 28 dias. Os resultados foram analisados no programa estatístico Assistat, submetidos à análise de variância e, em caso de efeito significativo (p0,05) para desempenho produtivo (consumo de ração, produção de ovos/dia e conversão alimentar kg/kg e kg/dz) e qualidade dos ovos (peso médio dos ovos, unidade Haugh, porcentagem de albúmen, gema e casca) para os ciclos avaliados, entre os tratamentos. Para o peso médio dos ovos nos ciclos avaliados ocorreu maior peso para as aves expostas a luz de LED vermelha (p

Impact of rearing Rajasri birds on the livelihood and nutritional security of BPL families in Northern Telangana state

Under Rastriya Krishi Vikasa Yojana of Government of India, an improved variety for backyard i.e. Rajasri birds were distributed among the rural farmers in Karimnagar district of Telangana to improve their livelihood and nutritional security through backyard rearing. In the present study, the Rajasri birds achieved sexual maturity at the age of 165 days with an average body weight of 1300–1400 grams under scavenging conditions. The average annual egg production/bird was 165 with an average egg weight of45-55g. Less mortality rate was observed in Rajasri under scavenging conditions. The results revealed a significant increase in subsidiary income @ Rs 8950/-per family/annum by sale of eggs and male birds and also noticed significant increase in consumption of eggs and meat among below poverty line (BPL) families. Moreover, rearing of Rajasri birds enhanced the confidence levels of poor farmers and rural women by generating income source for themselves.

Effect of Supplemental Oregano Essential Oils in Diets on Production Performance and Relatively Intestinal Parameters of Laying Hens

This study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary oregano essential oils on 150 30-week-old Hy-Line Layers’ productive performance, egg quality characteristics, cecal microbiota, digestive enzyme activities, mucosa structure of the duodenum and jejunum and glucose and small peptides transporters expression in the duodenum and jejunum. All hens were allocated into one of five different groups: negative control (NC; basal diet only), antibiotics control (CS; basal diet plus 100 mg/kg of 10% colistin sulfate) and treatments I, II, and III (basal diet supplemented with 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg oregano essential oils, respectively). The results showed that the laying rate, average egg weight, feed conversion ratio and the activities of amylase and trypsin were significantly improved by a diet supplemented with 100 mg/kg oregano essential oils (P 0.05), significantly increased duodenum villus-height-to-crypt-depth ratios (P 0.05).

PENGARUH BOBOT TELUR TETAS ITIK TERHADAP PERKEMBANGAN EMBRIO, FERTILITAS DAN BOBOT TETAS

EFFECT OF DUCK EGG WEIGHT ON FERTILITY, EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT AND HATCHING WEIGHT OF DAY OLD DUCK. This study was done to evaluate embryonic development for determination of egg fertility and hatching weight of day old duck (DOD). This study involved 160 eggs of duck with the average egg weight (EW) classified into 55g ≤ EW &lt; 60g, 61g ≤ EW &lt; 65g, 65g ≤ EW &lt; 70g and 71g ≤ EW &lt; 75g. Data collection was conducted over 28 days, as long as the period of hatching process. The design method used in this study was completely randomized design. Existing data were analyzed using analysis of variance. Treatments in this study were 4 treatments and 4 replications at each treatment. The variables measured were the percentage of egg fertility, embryo development and hatching weight. Results showed that duck embryo development during the hatching process was in good condition process. The results of variance analysis showed that treatments of egg weight did not affect significantly the percentages of egg fertility. The percentages of fertility were ranging between 85 – 95%. Hatching weights were ranging between 31g – 51g per DOD. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that egg weight had no effect on the process of embryonic development and fertility, except those for the hatching weight of DOD. Key words: Duck egg weight, embryonic development, fertility, hatching weight.

QUALIDADE DE OVOS E DESEMPENHO PRODUTIVO DE POEDEIRAS EM SEGUNDO CICLO DE POSTURA ALIMENTADAS COM MICROMINERAIS QUELATADOS A AMINOÁCIDOS

Resumo Objetivou-se com esta pesquisa avaliar o desempenho produtivo e a qualidade de ovos de poedeiras em segundo ciclo de postura alimentadas com microminerais de fonte orgânica. O tratamento controle foi composto por dieta basal e microminerais inorgânicos e os demais tratamentos consistiram da inclusão dos microminerais cobre, ferro, manganês e zinco orgânicos, em substituição total à fonte inorgânica, em níveis de 100%, 90%, 80% e 70%. Análises físicas e bromatológicas foram realizadas para avaliar a qualidade dos ovos. O peso médio dos ovos diminuiu nas dietas teste; no entanto, a massa de ovos bem como as demais variáveis de desempenho avaliadas não sofreram influencia dos tratamentos. O percentual de proteína do ovo diminuiu; entretanto, a matéria mineral do conteúdo interno e casca aumentaram com o uso de minerais orgânicos, assim como houve melhora nos parâmetros de qualidade da casca. A suplementação de microminerais de fonte orgânica a dieta das poedeiras não comprometeu a qualidade interna dos ovos. A total substituição da fonte inorgânica por níveis de minerais orgânicos nas dietas das aves proporcionou manutenção no desempenho zootécnico e melhorias na qualidade de casca.

Northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) effects on metabolism, body temperatures, skin condition, and egg production as a function of hen MHC haplotype

The northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum, is the most damaging ectoparasite on egg-laying hens in the United States. One potential strategy for management is breeding for mite resistance. Genes of white leghorn chickens linked to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) were previously identified as conferring more (B21 haplotype) or less (B15 haplotype) mite resistance. However, immune responses can be energetically costly to the host and affect the economic damage incurred from mite infestations. We tested energy costs (resting metabolic rate) of mite infestations on egg-laying birds of both MHC B-haplotypes. Resting metabolic rates were documented before (pre-) mite infestation, during (mid-) infestation, and after peak (late) mite infestation. Mite scores, economic parameters (egg production, feed consumption), and physiological aspects such as skin inflammation and skin temperature were recorded weekly. Across experiments and different infestation time points, resting metabolic rates generally were not affected by mite infestation or haplotype, although there were instances of lower metabolic rates in infested versus control hens. Skin temperatures were recorded both at the site of mite feeding damage (vent) and under the wing (no mites), which possibly would reflect a systemic fever response. Ambient temperatures modified skin surface temperature, which generally was not affected by mites or haplotype. Feed conversion efficiency was significantly worse (4.9 to 17.0% depending on trial) in birds infested with mites. Overall egg production and average egg weight were not affected significantly, although there was a trend toward reduced egg production (2 to 8%) by infested hens. The MHC haplotype significantly affected vent skin inflammation. Birds with the mite-resistant B21 haplotype showed earlier onset of inflammation, but a reduced overall area of inflammation compared to mite-susceptible B15 birds. No significant differences in resting energy expenditure related to mite infestation or immune responses were detected. Potential breeding for resistance to mite infestation using these two haplotypes appears to be neutral in terms of impact on hen energy costs or production efficiency, and may be an attractive option for future mite control.

Genetic parameters of body weight, egg production, and shell quality traits in the Shan Ma laying duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

Three hundred and four female ducks of the Chinese indigenous Shan Ma breed, progeny of 11 sires and 104 dams, were used to study laying traits. Among them, 264 ducks were used to study the egg shell quality traits of eggs laid at 300days of age. The mean age at first egg was 109days with an average egg weight of 49.6±3.7g. Between 210 and 300days of age, egg weight increased from 65.0±3.9g to 67.0±4.2g and the mean of the number of eggs laid up to 300days was 161±15.0. Egg length was 59.57±3.01mm and egg width was 45.02±1.98mm, leading to a shape index of 1.32±0.08. Egg shell thickness was about 0.31mm whatever the shell region, and the breaking strength was 28.80±8.29N. The heritability's estimated using restricted maximum likelihood ( REML: ) methodology were high for egg weights (ranging from 0.43 to 0.61), intermediate for the number of eggs laid (ranging from 0.38 to 0.43), and low for the age at first egg (0.13). Heritability's for egg shell quality traits varied from 0.20 for the breaking strength to 0.44 for egg length, with in-between values of 0.28 for shell thickness and 0.34 for the shape index. The number of eggs laid was not genetically correlated with the age at first egg or egg weight, but was correlated with body weight (rg = +0.54±0.23). High positive correlations were found between egg weight and body weight traits, and both of these traits (except egg weight at first egg) were highly and positively correlated with egg length and width. Breaking strength was genetically correlated with egg shell thickness (rg = +0.54±0.19) and the shape index (rg = +0.71±0.23). These results suggest that an efficient selection strategy could be implemented to improve the egg production of the pure Shan Ma duck line.

Metabolic effects of iodine in poultry for its deficiency or excess in the diet

The article is a generalization of the literature on the impact fn the iodine om a birds, depending on the amount in the diet. In particular, we show that lack of iodine in the body of animals with food and water leads to metabolic disorders, the development of organs and body systems, weakening the function of the reproductive organs and the body's resistance to infection, resulting disruption of the thyroid gland. Iodine deficiency is characterized by the development of secondary immunodeficiency, which manifests a high propensity to disease. This weak immune response correlated with impaired thyroid function. The absorption of bioelements may affect the availability of natural feed goitrogenes. However, it is shown that an excess of cobalt, iron, boron, manganese poultry diets may correlate with the biosynthesis of thyroid and promote the development of endemic goiter. Noted features integrated application of iodine with other trace elements, as well as the need for admission with food vitamin A. From the standpoint of modern scientific research proved that the metabolism of iodine and selenium are closely related and can affect each other manifestations of deficiency of essential bioelements. Shown that excess of iodine in laying hens, reduced their egg production and average egg weight in breeding poultry hatching degrade the quality of the eggs. Permanent, but reduced vitellogenesis that continues for a period of excess consumption of iodine and inhibiting ovulation is associated with the formation of progesterone violation largest follicle, resulting in blocked signal for preovulatory allocation of luteinizing hormone, which leads to the cessation of egg. Excess iodine in the diet inhibits puberty young male and female birds. Thus, there is a reverse chronological relationship between feeding forages with high iodine content and the expected time of puberty. According to a toxic level of iodine in the diet, the liver bird aminotransferase increased activity and blood – alkaline phosphatase, decreased phagocytic activity of neutrophils. Thus, the deficit and surplus iodine leads to metabolic disorders, reproductive functions of animals and birds and lost productivity.

Digestible arginine concentrations in the diet of Japanese quails

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different levels of arginine in the diet of Japanese quails and to determine which provides the best egg production indices. We used 400 birds with an initial average weight of 180 g at 140 days of age. These were distributed among experimental units in a randomized design. Five levels of digestible arginine were studied (1.148, 1.256, 1.364, 1.472, and 1.580%) in reference to a fixed level of digestible lysine (1.083%; for arginine to lysine ratios of 1.06, 1.16, 1.26, 1.36, and 1.46). Each treatment was replicated 10 times for a total of 50 experimental units, each with eight quails. Feed rations, leftovers, and dead animals were weighed to calculate and adjust performance parameters. The variables analyzed were: daily feed intake (DFI), egg laying rate (ER), average egg weight (EW), total egg mass (EM), feed conversion per egg mass and per dozen eggs (FCEM and FCDE), yolk, skin, and albumen weights (AYW, ASW and AAW), relative weights of yolk, albumen and shell (RYW, RAW and RSW), the Haugh unit (HU), and the percentage of eggs suitable for market (EP). The variables associated with performance and internal and external quality were not affected (P &amp;gt; 0.05) by different levels of arginine, except for EP, which decreased linearly (P = 0.009) with increasing arginine according to the equation: ? = -3.44x + 103.13, r² = 0.94. We conclude that the best concentration of arginine in quail diets is 1.148%, corresponding to an arginine to lysine ratio of 1.06.

Effect of Led Lighting Colors for Laying Japanese Quails

Time of exposure and light intensity rearing house may affect the performance and egg quality of laying quails. This research aimed at evaluating the live performance, egg quality, biometry of the reproductive system, and the gastrointestinal tract of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) exposed to artificial light-emitting diodes (LED) of different colors in comparison with fluorescent lamps. A total of 240 Japanese quails were distributed in completely randomized experimental design with four treatments (fluorescent lamp, and green, red, or blue LED lamps) with six replicates of 10 birds each. Average egg weight and eggshell thickness were different (p 0.05). The oviduct of 64-d-old hens exposed to green LED lighting was shorter (p<0.05) than those exposed to the fluorescent lamp. Red LED can be used to replace the fluorescent lamps, as they promote the same live performance, egg quality, and morphological development of the reproductive tract of laying Japanese quails.

Relação treonina: lisina digestíveis na dieta de poedeiras leves de 42 a 58 semanas de idade

RESUMO Este estudo foi realizado para determinar a relação ideal de treonina:lisina digestíveis para poedeiras leves no período de 42 a 58 semanas de idade. Foram utilizadas 240 poedeiras Hy Line W-36 com 42 semanas de idade durante 16 semanas. Os tratamentos foram distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com oito repetições e seis aves por unidade experimental. As dietas experimentais foram formuladas com cinco níveis de treonina digestível (0,461; 0,515; 0,569; 0,622 e 0,676%) proporcionando as cinco relações treonina:lisina digestíveis (60; 67; 74; 81 e 88%) estudadas. As variáveis analisadas foram: produção de ovos; consumo de ração, de lisina e de treonina; massa e peso médio dos ovos; eficiências de utilização da lisina por massa e ovos produzidos; conversões alimentares por massa e dúzia de ovos; pesos médios de: gema, albúmen e de casca; ganho de peso; peso corporal final das aves; e balanço de nitrogênio. As relações treonina:lisina digestíveis na dieta não influenciaram as variáveis analisadas, exceto o consumo de treonina que apresentou efeito linear. A relação ideal de treonina:lisina digestíveis na dieta para galinhas poedeiras leves de 42 a 58 semanas de idade é de 60%, que corresponde ao nível de 0,461% de treonina digestível na dieta e ao consumo diário de treonina digestível de 446mg/ave.

Comparative performances of hilly chicken and naked neck hilly chicken at Naikhongchari hilly areas of Bangladesh

A total of 115 hilly chickens (92 female and 23 males) and 35 naked neck hilly Chickens (28 females and 7 males) were reared in open sided poultry house for 10 months period to compare their productive and reproductive performances. The mean body weights of adult female and male hilly birds and naked neck hilly birds were 2244, 2005 and 2664, 2576 g respectively. The age at first egg of both type of birds were 147 and 159 days respectively and hen-day egg production were 27±1.4 and 35±3.3 respectively. The average egg weight was 41±4 and 38±3.6 g respectively. Both type of bird per day average feed consumption were 97.61±11 and 102±22 g and mortality were 15.56±3.7 and 11.42±2.7 percent respectively. The average hatchability percentage performed by 14 broody hens reared on litter floor was 67.5±10 and 57±22 percent respectively. The average hatching egg weight and chick weight were 47.28±3, 41.48±1 and 31.4±3, 29.6±4 g respectively. The body weight of growing hilly bird and Naked Neck hilly bird after eleven weeks of age were 727.3±17.4 and 645±97.6g, respectively and Feed conversion ratios (FCR) were 3.39 and 3.34 respectively. It was concluded that Hilly chicken improved by body weight than previous year and both feathered and Naked Neck Hilly chicken given an indication of meat type native chicken and required to reproduce to have large stock for undertaking conservation and further improvement programme.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2016, 2(2): 348-351

EGG PRODUCTION AND HATCHABILITY OF LOCAL DUCKS UNDER SEMI INTENSIVE VS EXTENSIVE MANAGEMENTS

The study aimed to compare the egg production and hatchability of local ducks under different management systems, namely semi-intensive and extensive. The research conducted was an experimental one-way classification withtwo treatments.Each treatment used 15 male and 120 females (mating ratio 1:8), and ducks aged 13-14 months. Eggs production was recorded during three weeks period. About300 eggs were selected from each treatment to be hatched. Fertility was observedat 4th days of hatching process using egg candler. Data of eggs production, eggs weight, fertility,and hatchability were analyzed using unpaired two sample Student’s t-test. The results showed that average of egg weight, fertility and hatchability were notdifferent under two managementsystem, but egg production in the semi-intensive maintenance was significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) thanthose inthe extensive system.Egg production in the semi-intensivewas 12.3% higher than those in the extensive.In conclusion, the semi-intensive system that is applied in this study the number of eggs production but did not affect the average of egg weight, fertility and hatchability.