2. Higher rates of fertility and hatchability of Japanese quail eggs were observed from parents of 10 to 19 weeks of age, with peak fertility and hatchability at 14 and 12 weeks of age, respectively.
3. Sex ratios of 1:2 to 1:5 gave comparable fertility and hatchability results.
4. The hatching performance of quail eggs from cage and deep litter reared breeders was comparable.
5. Fertility and hatchability were directly proportional to the egg weight.
6. Quail egg shell colour, tints and blotches were found to influence hatching performance.
7. Storing quail eggs at 16 ± 2°C and 75 ± 5% relative humidity for more than 4 d reduced hatchability.
8. Hatchability of eggs stored at room temperature was improved if they were sealed in polyethylene bags.
9. Provision of light during the first 14 d of incubation resulted in a photo‐acceleration of about 3.2 h. 相似文献
2. Hyperphagia, amounting to twice the intake of control birds early in the experiment, occurred on the repletion day.
3. Final body weight attained 80% of that of the controls.
4. Body fat concentration decreased at first but returned to that of controls after 3 weeks.
5. A consistent hyperlipaemia was observed after food deprivation or restoration.
6. There was a marked increase in the digestive enzymes found in the small intestine, but not in the pancreas during the repletion day.
7. These responses may be considered as mechanisms to reduce the physiological manifestations of starvation. 相似文献
2. An Individual Poultry Weighing System (IPWS) was developed to record time, duration, location and body weight of visits of individual hens to 4 weighing scales.
3. The number of hens that visited the weighing scales per 3 h period varied from less than 10 during the dark‐period to more than 60 during the light‐period.
4. The average number of visits per individual hen was 1–4 and the average number of successful weighings per hen was 0–6 during the light‐period.
5. Body weight showed a diurnal rhythm: the difference between the maximum body weight at night and the minimum body weight in the morning was 63 g.
6. The location of the scales influenced number of visits, number of weighings, mean body weight, flock‐uniformity and duration of visits.
7. Body weight per 3 h period did not differ between hens which were individually recognised and those which were not.
8. Flock‐uniformity was 2–6% higher during the light‐period if it was based on weighings of identified hen visits.
9. The average duration of the visits to the scales in the middle of the feeding tier during the light‐period was 63 s.
10. Of all the hens that visited the scales during a 24 h period, 54% visited them only once.
11. Automatic weighing systems without individual hen recognition can deliver reliable management information on mean body weight and flock‐uniformity in aviary systems if the weighing scales are located on the feeding tier in the middle of the house and if they are used during the light‐period. 相似文献
2. All semen characteristics, with the exception of pH, were significantly influenced by season.
3. The semen quality of the Iraqi breed was similar to that of the New Hampshire breed. 相似文献
2. Breeder hens fed ad libitum and subjected to either conventional or intermittent lighting ingested respectively, 25 g and 14 to 17 g more than hens restricted to 115 g/d.
3. Body weight was greater in hens fed ad libitum irrespective of the lighting pattern and of the amount of food intake.
4. Persistency of egg production was impaired by intermittent lighting.
5. Ad libitum feeding reduced egg fertility. The decrease was larger in breeder hens on intermittent lighting.
6. Hatchability was increased in hens submitted to the symmetrical lighting pattern (0.5L:3.5d).
7. Egg and chick weights were higher in hens fed ad libitum.
8. Shell index and shell breaking strength increased in restricted hens on the intermittent lighting pattern (0.5L:3.5d) × 6.
9. The best performance was obtained in restricted hens on the conventional lighting pattern. 相似文献
2. Fluorescent light showed the same positive correlation between light intensity and physical activity at all activity levels as was found previously for incandescent light.
3. Light‐dependent physical activity under fluorescent light was higher than under incandescent light at illuminances of 5 lux and above, indicating the fowl's ability to perceive qualitative light differences.
4. Total and activity‐related energy expenditure were positively associated with illuminance; resting energy expenditure was not influenced.
5. Total, resting and activity‐related energy expenditure were not statistically significantly different between light sources.
6. The results are discussed in relationship to Teichmuller's concept of adequate lighting and the characteristics of the fowl's visual system. 相似文献
2. Lighting affected growth pattern but had no effect on body weight at 118 d or overall food to gain ratio.
3. Both INC and DID lighting reduced overall mortality in comparison to CON light primarily because of a reduction in the incidence of skeletal disease and spontaneous cardiomyopathy. INC and DID lighting increased the incidence of cannibalism.
4. Turkeys given INC or DID lighting had a superior ability to walk in comparison to those birds given CON light.
5. INC and DID males stood, ate and drank more frequently, and sat less often than CON turkeys during behavioural observation.
6. There were no lighting effects on carcase composition except that INC and DID birds had heavier keel bones. The ultimate force per cm2 (stress) required to break femora was greater for turkeys given INC and DID lighting (P = 0.065).
7. Plasma testosterone concentrations at 117 d were 272.5, 115.2 and 29.5 pg/ml for turkeys given CON, INC and DID lighting, respectively (P= 0.072). Testosterone concentration was not related to growth rate. 相似文献
2. The weight, length and cross-sectional area of tibiae and femora were measured, densitometric measurements and tests of strength were determined and dimensions were calculated.
3. Breed and caponisation did not influence bone weight and length. Higher mechanical strength of the femur was found in entire males, mainly in the Polbar breed. Tibial strength was reduced in capons of the Green Partridge breed. Maximum elastic strength was greater in the Polbar, irrespective of caponisation. Bone cross-sectional area was influenced by breed, while caponisation reduced femoral bone mineral density in both breeds.
4. Caponisation thus increased growth rate but had adverse effects on bone development.
5. Caponisation had fewer negative effects in the Polbar than in the Greenleg Partridge. 相似文献
2. The first experiment on a small sample (n = 64) of light breed Iraqi local fowls showed that this ratio could be used as an indicator of heat stress resistance.
3. The second experiment on a large sample (n= 1160) of heavy parent stock confirmed the results. It showed that there was a different H/L ratio for the two strains and that there was much individual variability in the H/L ratio within‐strain that could be utilised for individual selection for heat resistance.
4. The H/L ratio was highly heritable; Resistant and Sensitive groups, defining all individuals with an H/L ratio over the upper 95% confidence limit as ‘Sensitive’ and those below as ‘Resistant’, produced progeny with significantly different H/L ratios.
5. There were indications of differences in mortality between the progeny of the Resistant and the Sensitive groups.
6. The H/L indicator could be used as a criterion to select for heat stress resistance. 相似文献
2. Chicks on treatments 1 and 2 were fed continuously while those on treatments 3 and 4 were fed during the day (from 06.00 h to 18.00 h) and night (from 18.00 h to 06.00 h) respectively. Chicks on treatment 1 received only natural light during the day, while those on treatments 2, 3 and 4 received supplementary lighting during the night in addition to natural light during the day.
3. Food consumption by birds on treatment 2 was significantly higher at 56 days of age, followed by birds on treatments 1, 4 and 3.
4. The pattern of body weight gains was similar to the order of food consumption.
5. Efficiency of food utilisation was poorest for birds on treatment 2.
6. Mortality rates were not influenced significantly by the feeding regimen and lighting pattern.
7. Dressing percentage and proportion of abdominal fat were greatest for birds on treatment 2. 相似文献
2. Because the traditional method of determination of droppings digestibility coefficients of nitrogen may lead to systematic errors in estimating the feeding value of foodstuffs, a method is proposed to determine the ileal digestibility coefficients. The ileal method is compared with the droppings method for a mixed food and for two foodstuffs: wheat and solvent‐extracted soyabean meal.
3. Birds selected for efficient food conversion showed distinctly higher digestibility coefficients for all nutrients than birds selected for high growth potential or birds from a commercial strain.
4. The influence of age on digestibility coefficients was not consistent.
5. Female birds showed digestibility coefficients which were, in general, 3% higher than those of male chickens.
6. Interactions between genotype and sex and between genotype and age for energy metabolisability were the only interactions observed for digestibility measurements.
7. The method of determination influenced the amino acid digestibility coefficients of the mixed food and the relative feeding values of wheat and soyabean meal.
8. It is important to use well defined animals (genotype, sex, age) in evaluating foodstuffs.
9. The preferred method for determination of digestibility coefficients of nitrogen and amino acids is based on ileal sampling, although the differences in amino acid digestibility coefficients were small between methods. 相似文献
2. Protein and energy metabolism were studied in males from these selected lines fed on a diet of intermediate protein content.
3. All selected birds retained more nitrogen than those studied 10 years previously.
4. There was no difference in nitrogen retention between groups, although relative growth rate of group B birds was higher.
5. Heat productions relative to gross energy intake were 0.38 (group B) and 045 (group A). Energy retentions relative to gross energy intake were 0.39 (group B) and 0.35 (group A); the difference being primarily due to higher fat retention in group B.
6. Using a common maintenance requirement for metabolisable energy, group B utilised metabolisable energy for growth (0.78) better than did group A (0.71).
7. At 53 d of age plasma glucose (10%) and insulin (50%) were higher in group B than in group A. 相似文献
2. The Sinai egg was smaller and its shell thicker and stronger than the Leghorn egg. All the differences were statistically significant.
3. Shell thickness and strength of Leghorn eggs were in accordance with values predicted on the basis of egg mass, while those of the Sinai and the two crosses were considerably higher than predicted.
4. The apparent differences in mean egg mass between Sinai and Leghorn breeds did not explain the differences in egg‐shell quality, neither did the shape index which was very similar among all breeds.
5. The findings suggest that the differences in egg‐shell properties are of a genetic origin.
6. The thick, strong and less permeable egg‐shell of the Sinai breed may reflect adaptations to its arid environmental origin and to incubation in the open.
7. These genetically‐determined egg‐shell characteristics might serve in a future selection for improved egg‐shell quality in poultry. 相似文献
2. The Leghorn egg was characterised by a thinner and weaker shell compared with the Sinai and the crossbreds, at all the experimental temperatures.
3. In contrast to other reports, high ambient temperatures for a long period had only mild effects on egg‐shell quality.
4. The results suggest that gradual acclimation to high ambient temperatures might improve the efficiency of the physiological mechanisms involved in the hen's response to heat. Consequently, the reproductive process adapts to the hot environmental conditions.
5. The results indicate that the Sinai breed might be used for future selection of a breed, highly resistant to extreme environmental conditions and with an improved shell quality. 相似文献
2. The data conformed to a mixed model and adjustments were made for the fixed effects sex, hatch date and location. Adjustment improved the precision of the estimates by reducing the error variances significantly.
3. Rearing equal numbers of birds from each family at different locations made the interactions negligible.
4. Weight gain was greater if illumination intensity up to 35 d was less.
5. Females were not heavier on the 1st day but were heavier on the 14th and 35th days than males.
6. Variance components and genetic parameters were estimated. 相似文献
2. Agonistic interactions were both more numerous and more severe (fights and peck avoidances) in groups of the local breed than in those of Rhode Island Reds.
3. The outcome of severe interactions favoured local males and Rhode Island females in the first experiment and Rhode Island males in the second.
4. Small body and comb size might account for the relatively high number of agonistic interactions and the submissiveness of local females and young males while physical strength or some other breed characteristic might account for the high number of agonistic interactions of local males as well as their dominance in breed encounters. 相似文献
2. Food intake was least when restrictions were started at 3 weeks.
3. Sexual maturity was delayed in proportion to the severity of restriction and resulted in lower percentages of small eggs.
4. Egg numbers decreased as restriction increased.
5. Mortality in restricted groups during rearing and laying was higher.
6. Optimal restriction was apparently intermediate between treatments producing 88 or 76% of ad libitum‐fed body weight. Body weight was so excessively affected by the most severe restriction that total production was adversely affected.
7. Restriction from 3 weeks was more profitable than restriction from 6 or 9 weeks, resulting in lower food cost during rearing and higher total egg production. 相似文献
2. Rocking embryo cultures during the first half of incubation enhanced embryo growth.
3. Embryos explanted into ‘surrogate’ eggshells of either other individuals or other species have been successfully ‘hatched’.
4. A normal chorioallantois is formed in these surrogate eggshells. This enables a functional albumen sac to form and eggshell resorption to be achieved.
5. Embryos grown in ‘surrogate’ eggshells are slightly smaller than controls but otherwise normal.
6. The technique provides opportunities for genetic engineering experiments. 相似文献
2. The Sinai egg was found to be smaller and less permeable to water vapour than the eggs of the Leghorn and crossbreds. The differences were statistically significant.
3. The measured egg‐shell water vapour conductance of the Sinai breed was 25% lower than predicted on the basis of egg mass.
4. The low permeability of the Sinai egg shell might be related to its higher than predicted thickness, which did not interfere with the shell functional pore area.
5. The low water vapour conductance of the Sinai egg shell may reflect adaptations to its dry habitat. 相似文献
2. Hens of the population with the high incidence of whitening appeared to be more fearful than hens of the population with the low incidence of whitening.
3. Brown colouration of the egg shell and the incidence and degree of shell whitening declined as the hens aged.
4. Brown colouration and egg shell whitening were most pronounced on the blunt ends of the eggs.
5. A large part of the variation in egg shell whitening was attributable to the individual (hen) component of variance.
6. Differences in egg shell whitening, between the two populations, were detectable throughout the 26 weeks of the experiment.
7. Oviposition intervals were similar for normal and coated eggs when birds were not exposed to disturbance.
8. Disturbance of hens increased oviposition intervals and the incidence and degree of shell whitening, to a similar extent, in both populations.
9. It is concluded that stress‐related egg retention is not the sole factor responsible for abnormal egg shell whitening. Shell whitening may occur as a consequence of the premature termination of shell pigmentation as well as a consequence of the retardation of oviposition which occurs when hens are disturbed. 相似文献