2. In Experiment 1, performance, gizzard weight and content of grit in the gizzard of broiler chickens given access to granite-type grit was investigated. In Experiment 2, the effect of grit stones on performance and gizzard development was assessed in diets with or without whole wheat.
3. In Experiment 3, the effect of grit in the form of zeolite, granite or marble on gizzard development and digestive tract grinding and passage was studied in diets with or without whole wheat.
4. Grit stones had no effect on performance of broiler chickens, which may be explained by the fact that grit stones did not stimulate gizzard development to the same extent as with other structural materials.
5. The lack of stimulation is at least partly due to the fact that a majority of the grit stones eaten pass through the small intestine without being retained in the gizzard.
6. Grit in the form of marble reduced feed intake and weight gain. 相似文献
2. Chicks given 2 000, 4 000 or 6 000 mg zinc/kg diet from 2 to 6 weeks of age grew poorly, many showing gizzard erosion and lesions of the exo‐crine pancreas. Dissecting aneurysms occurred in a few birds receiving 6 000 mg zinc/kg.
3. Pancreatic lesions were found in chicks maintained on 1 000, 2 000 or 4 000 mg zinc/kg from 0 to 4 weeks and the two higher concentrations reduced body weight and increased the incidence of gizzard erosion.
4. Histologically, gizzard lesions varied from excessive desquamation of epithelial cells, heterophils and erythrocytes into an abnormally spongi‐form koilin, to erosion of koilin, glands and pits. Pancreatic lesions could be detected only microscopically and consisted of dilation of the acinar lumina, cytoplasmic vacuolation, cytoplasmic globule formation and necrosis of the exocrine cells with interparenchymal fibrosis.
5. Similar lesions of the gizzard and pancreas were found in hens after they had received 10 000 or 20 000 mg zinc/kg diet for only 4 d.
6. Hens given 10 000 mg zinc/kg for 4 d followed by a normal zinc intake for 28 d had normal gizzards and pancreata. 相似文献
2. Male broilers grew linearly up to 76 d whereas the females grew more slowly after 35 d. At 364 d the difference in live body weight was small.
3. Up to 56 d, males had a slightly higher eviscerated yield. There was no significant difference between the sexes beyond this age.
4. The proportional yield of breast muscle was variable with age, whereas that of thigh and drumstick increased with age in the male, particularly at 175 and 364 d.
5. After 35 d the proportion of skin was larger in females, whereas the gizzard as a proportion of live body weight in both sexes decreased rapidly between 21 and 76 d. Blood loss during killing was always higher in male broilers after 21 d. 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. Dry plucking increased weight loss due to plucking and eviscerating, and reduced chilled carcass yield.
3. Dry eviscerating increased carcass water uptake during chilling.
4. Pre‐chilling with running water increased carcass water uptake compared with chilling in ice and water alone.
5. Water uptake during chilling appeared to be increased by longer eviscerating time. 相似文献
2. In 4 consecutive trials, 4752 hens were recorded for keel bone status. Evaluation of plumage condition was made for 1440 hens and bone breaking strength was recorded for 1200 hens. A total of 4962 eggs were analysed for internal and external egg quality traits. Analyses involved 30 small group compartments per trial.
3. The layer line had a much more pronounced influence on humerus breaking strength than on tibia breaking strength.
4. Plumage condition, particularly on the neck, was positively correlated with humerus breaking strength in both layer lines.
5. An average of 34% of LB and 23% of LSL hens showed keel bone deformities, with higher proportions of slight deformities.
6. Slight keel bone deformities, rather than moderate to severe, increased significantly during the laying period.
7. Stocking density had no influence on bone breaking strength, keel bone status and egg quality traits.
8. LB layers had a 1.4-fold higher humerus, but only a 1.06-fold higher tibia breaking strength compared to LSL layers.
9. Tibia breaking strength was significantly affected by the interaction of group size and layer line. LSL layers in small groups had lower tibia breaking strengths than those of the large groups. 相似文献
2. The different varieties of wheat investigated contained different proportions of water‐soluble to water‐insoluble hemicelluloses.
3. By comparison of the arabinose to xylose ratios it was concluded that water‐soluble and insoluble arabinoxylans of wheat were branched to the same degree.
4. Starch from six wheat varieties grown in the U.K. was very well digested by adult cockerels and true metabolisable energy values of the wheats were high.
5. Small amounts of cell wall carbohydrates were digested by adult cockerels. 相似文献
2. A circadian system was postulated to control the restriction of ovulation to an 8‐h period of the day under conventional 14 h light: 10 h dark regimes.
3. The final phase of follicular maturation was postulated to commence after ovulation of the preceding ovum in the hierarchy.
4. Ovulation was postulated to occur when a mature follicle was present in the ovary during the appropriate phase of the circadian‐linked system.
5. The predicted times of oviposition were within the standard error of the observed times of oviposition under 21‐, 24‐ and 28‐h photoschedules.
6. It was concluded that this hypothesis for the control of the ovulatory cycle of the hen is consistent with current knowledge. 相似文献
2. Protein content generally increased with age in all muscles and decreased in skin. Protein content in skin of males was always higher than that in females.
3. Moisture content in all muscles decreased with age. In the skin, moisture decreased with age considerably more in females than in males.
4. Fat content increased with age in all tissues, while ash content of breast, thigh and skin decreased with age.
5. Phosphorus, chloride, magnesium and potassium all decreased with age in all the tissues. Thigh and skin calcium content were affected by age, as was the sodium content of drumstick and skin.
6. The sex effect on the inorganic constituents was variable. 相似文献
2. The Na and water contents of skeletal muscles were increased by TA treatment while K was unaltered.
3. The extracellular space expressed as a proportion of starved body weight was unaffected by TA implantation.
4. Plasma or serum concentrations of P, Ca, Mg, Na and K and activities of the enzymes aspartate aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.1], creatine kinase [EG 2.7.3.2] and γ‐glutamyl transferase [EC 2.3.2.2] were not changed by TA treatment.
5. Packed cell volume was significantly increased by TA implantation after a delay of some 2 to 3 weeks while plasma protein concentrations were immediately decreased for a period of two weeks before nearly normal concentrations were obtained again.
6. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was decreased by TA treatment, but serum protein electrophoretic pattern was unchanged. 相似文献
2. Restricted birds were lighter throughout the experiment.
3. Relative adrenal weight tended to be greater in restricted birds but the difference decreased with time.
4. There was no depletion of adrenal cholesterol: from week 5 there was a significantly greater amount in the adrenals of restricted birds.
5. After 1 week of restriction plasma corticosterone concentration was 73% greater than in controls. It decreased progressively, falling within the normal range at 5 weeks.
6. Restricted birds were hypoglycaemic from weeks 2 to 7 and hyper‐lipacidaemic throughout. A negative correlation between plasma glucose and free fatty acids was found. 相似文献
2. Half the hens had undergone beak trimming at 18 weeks, but in many cases regrowth had occurred.
3. Plumage damage and loss was significantly reduced in beak‐trimmed birds compared with birds with normal beaks. Tier and cage design had no effect.
4. This finding supports the idea that feather pecking is the important factor in causing plumage damage, rather than abrasion.
5. A comparison between 64 birds in which beak regrowth had occurred, and 64 in which it remained truncated, showed that both groups had similar plumage scores.
6. It appears to be the beak‐trimming procedure which is important; subsequent regrowth being irrelevant. 相似文献
2. A randombred control population of known pedigree was used to measure the environmental trends.
3. Selection in pure lines resulted in concomitant improvement in the crosses for the selected as well as the correlated traits.
4. Cross performance was comparatively more than expected on the basis of mid‐parent values, indicating involvement of non‐additive gene action in the expression of cross performance.
5. Crosses responded better to independent culling level selection for egg weight than their parents.
6. Heterosis appeared to increase in later generations as compared with initial generations of selection. 相似文献
2. A total of 1056-d-old Cobb male broilers were housed in experimental pens (22 chickens per pen) for 42 d. Three levels of CaMont (0, 2.5 and 5 g/kg) and two levels of aflatoxins (0 and 3 mg/kg) were assayed. Each treatment had 8 replicate pens of 22 broiler chickens each.
3. Of all the chickens tested in the experiment, the ones treated with aflatoxins were the most adversely affected. CaMont treatment at concentrations of 2.5 and 5 g/kg improved body weight of chickens at 42 d of age by 13.3% and 22.7%, increased daily feed intake by 9.7% and 24.7%, and improved the productive efficiency index of chickens by 53% and 66.5%, respectively.
4. Dietary CaMont positively affected parameters such as weight of liver, heart and gizzard; however, serum potassium concentration decreased by 15.3% compared with that of chickens given only the aflatoxin-contaminated diet.
5. CaMont did not cause adverse effects in chickens that did not receive aflatoxins.
6. CaMont at pH 8.5 partially reduced the toxic effects of aflatoxins in broilers when included at levels of 2.5 and 5 g/kg in the diet. 相似文献
2. Growth rate, food intake, food utilisation and proportion of dietary nitrogen retained were much poorer in chicks receiving salseed meal.
3. The chicks receiving salseed meal developed pathological lesions in liver and kidney.
4. The red blood cell count, white blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume of the chicks receiving salseed meal were lower than those of chicks receiving maize.
5. The apparent metabolisable energy value of salseed meal was determined as 6.83 MJ/kg. 相似文献
2. At 8 weeks of age, birds receiving 50 and 75 g sand/kg diet were significantly heavier than those receiving the basal diet and 100 g sand/kg diet.
3. Birds receiving 0 and 100 g sand/kg diet consumed similar quantities of basal diet and yielded similar corrected food:gain ratios.
4. Dietary dilution with sand had no significant effect on mortality, apparent carcase yield, preventriculus weight, gizzard weight and intestinal length. Crop weights were significantly greater in birds given 100 g sand/kg diet to the age of 4 weeks.
5. The litter moisture content was significantly less in pens containing birds receiving 75 or 100 g sand/kg diet after 5 weeks of age. 相似文献
2. A comparison with an unselected control flock (C) over 50 weeks of lay in the final generation indicated a number of statistically significant correlated responses in commercially important traits in the S line in addition to the direct response of + 0.004 in specific gravity.
3. With an increase in specific gravity, there was a decrease of 3.4 in the percentage of soft‐shelled eggs laid.
4. The weight and albumen height of eggs measured within 1 hour of lay declined by 1.8 g and 2.1 Haugh units respectively.
5. There were reductions in the weight and albumen height losses of eggs stored over a 10‐d period (C 0.74, S 0.62 g and C 17.9, S 15.0 Haugh units respectively), so that at the end of this period the albumen heights in both lines were the same.
6. Average body weight and daily food intake were less by 0.28 kg and 7.5 g respectively.
7. Although there was no change in egg production, the average age at first egg was reduced by 11.3 d. 相似文献
2. No difference was found in the qualitative electrophoretic patterns of the anterior pituitary homogenates at different ages and between the sexes.
3. Pituitary PRL concentrations in males were generally higher than in females.
4. Pituitary PRL concentrations in castrated immature cockerels were higher than in intact birds, while PRL concentration was depressed by the injection of testosterone propionate or oestradiol benzoate.
5. Prolactin concentration in intact immature cockerels was decreased by daily injection of testosterone or oestradiol for 3 weeks but not by injection of the hormones for 1 week. 相似文献
2. Reduction in the duration of illumination did not impair growth rate.
3. The sexes showed a differential response to the treatments.
4. There was evidence that the enhanced performance of females was due to an improvement in food conversion efficiency. 相似文献