1. The aim of this study was to increase the n-3 fatty acid (n-3 FA) content of eggs without affecting their sensorial and/or technological properties or the laying performance of hens. Laying hens from line 477 were divided into 5 groups corresponding to 5 different diets over the laying period: control diet (C) and diets containing extruded linseed with a high level of fibre (ELHF), extruded linseed with a low level of fibre (ELLF), microalgae, or a combination of 75% ELLF and 25% MA (ELLF+MA).

2. Dietary enrichment with n-3 FA had no effect on the laying performance, hen body weight or egg white viscosity. The egg yolks produced by hens fed the diet containing microalgae were redder than egg yolks from the other groups, suggesting the presence of red pigments in the microalgae preparation. However, the colour difference was low and not perceptible to the human eye. Moreover, colour measurement of egg yolks by sensorial analysis panellists using the Roche colour fan did not reveal a diet effect on this parameter.

3. Egg yolk lipid content was not affected by diet. The egg yolk of hens fed on diets containing linseed and/or microalgae had greater n-3 FA content (×2.5 to 2.9 compared to group C). Linseed mainly increased the linolenic acid content (×3.0 to 3.4 compared to group C) and the microalgae increased the LC n-3 FA content (×4.1 compared to group C). Dietary enrichment with n-3 FA had no effect on the sensorial quality of shell cooked eggs except for the “unusual flavour” criterion for which the score was higher for the MA group compared to the other groups and corresponded to a fishy flavour.

1. The aim of this study was to evaluate the tolerance of laying hens for an excessive L-valine (L-val) supply on laying performance, egg quality, serum free amino acids, immune function and antioxidant enzyme activities of laying hens.

2. A total of 720 HyLine Brown hens were allocated to 5 dietary treatment groups, each of which included 6 replicates of 24 hens, from 40 to 47 weeks of age. Graded amounts of L-val were added to the basal diet to achieve concentrations of 0 (control), 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/kg, respectively, in the experimental diets.

3. Supplementing the diet with L-val did not affect egg production, egg mass, egg weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR) or egg quality. The average daily feed intake response to supplemental L-val was quadratic and was maximised at 2.0 g L-val/kg diet. No differences were observed for total protein, total amino acids, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), Ca and P concentrations among the treatments.

4. Serum albumin concentration increased significantly in response to supplemental L-val and was also maximised at 2.0 g/kg. In addition, serum glucose increased quadratically to peak at 2.0 g L-val/kg diet. Serum free valine increased as L-val concentration increased to 2.0 g/kg diet and then decreased linearly.

5. Supplementation of L-val did not affect the serum concentrations of total antioxidative capability (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). L-val supplementation did not affect the concentrations of immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, IgM and complements (C3 and C4). Serum concentration of triiodothyronine (T3) increased significantly at 2.0 g L-val/kg diet.

6. It is concluded that high concentrations of L-val are tolerated and can be successfully supplemented into diets without detrimental effects on laying performance or immune function of laying hens.

1. The main dietary challenge in organic laying hen production is to fulfil the digestible methionine (MET) requirement in a diet consisting of ingredients of organic origin only.

2. The aim of the present experiment was to determine the response of organic housed laying hens (26–34 weeks of age) to dietary energy and MET during a summer and winter trial. Per trial, a total of 128 17-week-old Brown Nick hens were allotted to 16 pens, which were connected to an outdoor run. Each experiment comprised 8 dietary treatments according to a 4 × 2 factorial design. The factors were AFD MET level (2.3, 2.7, 3.1 and 3.5 g/kg) and energy content (10.9 and 12.1 MJ).

3. Dietary energy content did not affect energy intake (1361 kJ/d) in summer, whereas energy intake in winter was increased in hens that were fed on the 12.1-MJ diets (1514 vs. 1421 kJ/d). Maximal egg mass in summer was achieved if a diet with 3.5 g/kg MET was given, corresponding to a digestible MET intake of 421 mg/d. During winter, maximal egg mass was achieved with a digestible MET intake of 360 mg/d, which was already realised with a MET content of 2.7 g/kg.

4. Because digestible MET content for maximal egg performance differed between the summer and winter trial, dietary energy to MET ratio might be adjusted to seasonal conditions.

1. A total 120 laying hens (60 TETRA BLANCA white egg layers and 60 TETRA SL brown egg layers) were selected from 250 TETRA BLANCA and 250 TETRA SL pullets based on their predicted body fat content by means of computed tomography (CT) at 16 weeks of age. Three groups of pullets were chosen for the investigation with the highest (n = 20), lowest (n = 20) and average (n = 20) body fat content.

2. Changes in the live weight, body fat content, egg production and egg composition of the chosen animals were recorded at 32, 52 and 72 weeks of age.

3. Based on the results, it was established that differences in starting body fat content of the hens remained the same during the experimental period. The differences between the two extreme groups were statistically significant at each age.

4. The starting body fat content of the hens affected the rate of egg production, i.e. hens with high starting body fat content produced 11–14 eggs fewer than the hens with a low or average body fat content but had no effect on the composition of the eggs.

5. Genotype affected almost all of the examined traits: TETRA BLANCA hens had lower live weight and higher body fat content during the experimental period and produced fewer eggs with lower albumen and higher yolk, dry matter and crude fat content than the TETRA SL hens.

1. In this study, 6 dietary DL-methionine (Met) levels (2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0?g/kg) were tested to estimate the dietary Met requirements of Longyan ducks from 19 to 46 weeks of age, and to investigate its effect on the glutathione redox system.

2. In total, 1080 Longyan ducks aged 19 weeks were allocated randomly to the 6 dietary treatments, where each treatment comprised 6 replicate pens with 30 ducks per pen.

3. Met had no effects on egg production, yolk weight, yolk colour or the glutathione redox system, but the egg weight, egg mass and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were improved significantly by dietary Met supplementation. As the dietary Met concentration increased, the eggshell thickness and breaking strength decreased significantly, whereas the albumen weight increased significantly.

4. According to broken-line regression analysis, the optimum Met requirements for egg weight, egg mass, FCR and albumen weight are 686, 661, 658 and 731 mg/bird/d, respectively, with a dietary crude protein level of 170 g/kg.

1. The trial was performed with 80 laying hens belonging to two Tuscan autochthonous breeds: 40 birds of the Mugellese (MU) breed and 40 of the White Leghorn (WL) breed.

2. The animals were allotted to 4 groups of individually caged 20 hens each: two groups were fed on a commercial diet and worked as the control groups (MUC and WLC); the other two groups received the same diet, integrated with 2 g of chestnut tannin (CT) extract per kg of diet (MUT and WLT).

3. A sample of 70 eggs were randomly collected and analysed for cholesterol content, fatty acid (FA) profile, weight, thickness of shell and colour of yolk.

4. Physical parameters, including yolk colour, and indices of egg quality were not affected by the treatments.

5. The concentration of unsaturated FAs increased, whereas cholesterol was significantly decreased: ?17% in WLT and ?9% in MUT. Dietary supplementation with CT extract resulted in a modification of lipid composition, towards a more healthy quality of eggs.

1. The advantage of supplemental sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) on eggshell quality in laying hens changes with age. Besides increasing calcium (Ca) secretion in the eggshell gland, it may improve Ca absorption in the intestine or kidney.

2. Hy-Line Brown layers (n = 384), 25 weeks of age, were allocated to two treatment groups in two experiments, each of which included 4 replicates of 24 hens. Hens were fed a basal diet (control) or the basal diet containing 3 g NaHCO₃ g/kg for 50 or 20 weeks in Experiment 1 or 2, respectively. A 24-h continuous lighting regimen was used to allow hens to consume the dietary supplements during the period of active eggshell formation.

3. In Experiment 1, particularly from 25 to 50 weeks of age, and in Experiment 2, NaHCO₃ supplementation favoured hen-d egg production at the expense of lower egg weight. The increased eggshell thickness should have nothing to do with the additional eggshell formation, because of the unchanged egg mass and daily eggshell calcification.

4. At 35 weeks of age in both experiments, NaHCO₃ supplementation increased duodenal expression of calbindin-d28k (CaBP-D28k) protein, contributing to higher Ca retention and balance.

5. From 50 to 75 weeks of age in Experiment 1, the hens had little response to NaHCO₃ supplementation and showed a negative trend on eggshell thickness and strength.

6. It is concluded that dietary supplementation with 3 g NaHCO₃ g/kg improves Ca absorption and eggshell quality of laying hens during the peak but not late production period, with the introduction of continuous lighting.

1. There is much interest in quantifying the nutritional value of UK wheat distillers dried grains with solubles (W-DDGS) for livestock species. A study was designed to evaluate caecal parameters (pH, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and bacterial diversity) in layer hens fed on balanced diets containing graded concentrations of W-DDGS.

2. A total of 32 layer hens (Bovans Brown strain at 27 weeks of age) were randomly allocated to one of 4 dietary treatments containing W-DDGS at 0, 60, 120 or 180 g/kg. Each treatment was fed to 8 replicate individually housed layer hens over a 5-d acclimatisation period, followed by a 4-week trial. Individual feed intakes were monitored and all eggs were collected daily for weeks 2, 3 and 4 of the trial, weighed and an assessment of eggshell “dirtiness” made. All hens were culled on d 29 and caecal pH and SCFAs measured. Polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the bacterial 16 S rDNA gene was used to assess total bacterial diversity of luminal caecal content from hens fed the 0 and 180 g W-DDGS/kg diets. Unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrograms were generated from DGGE banding patterns.

3. Increasing W-DDGS dietary concentrations resulted in a more acidic caecal environment. Caecal SCFAs were unaffected by diet aside from a quadratic effect for molar proportions of isobutyric acid. Diversity profiles of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from luminal caecal contents were unaffected by W-DDGS inclusion.

4. The results of the current study suggest that W-DDGS can be successfully formulated into nutritionally balanced layer diets (supplemented with xylanase and phytase) at up to 180 g/kg with no detrimental effects to the caecal environment.

1. The shift of the yolk during a storage period of 7 d at a temperature of 20 °G

2. The height of the thick albumen directly after lay, and at the end of the storage period

3. The diameter of the yolk

4. The shape index of the egg.

The correlation, on a hen basis, between the shift of the yolk and the other above‐mentioned traits was only of very minor importance. This means that one of the arguments on the basis of which the height of the thick albumen was used as a criterion for the internal quality of eggs—the influence of the thick white on the central position of the yolk—has lost much of its significance.

In addition the same measurements were made on eggs from 12 entries at the Random Sample Testing Station at Putten. Here samples of 20 eggs per entry were taken. Contrary to expectation the combination of a large amount of thick albumen and a large shift of the yolk proved to be the rule rather than the exception.  相似文献   

1. The serum biochemical profiles, thyroid hormones, body weights and the production and quality of eggs subsequent to moulting, were compared in laying hens subjected to conventional forced moulting or forced moulting with a diet high in zinc.

2. A total of 200 Dekalb White laying hens in their second production cycle were studied. Blood sampling was conducted in a factorial experimental design (2 × 3) with two methods of moulting (fasting or zinc) and three sampling periods (pre-moult, moult and subsequent peak).

3. Total egg protein content, including globulins, was greater with the zinc diet, whereas egg weight and albumen percentage were greater after fasting. The zinc method resulted in an increased shell thickness and calcium percentage but lower percentage of phosphorus. During the moulting period, the hens in the zinc group had heavier mean body weights.

4. It was concluded that moulting with a high-zinc diet could replace fasting, without negative effects on body weight, biochemical variables or subsequent egg quality and production. The zinc method was also better for the birds’ welfare.

1. Two experiments were carried out in parallel with male Ross 308 broilers over 37 d. An experiment with a total of 736 broilers was performed to study the effect of dietary inclusion of crimped kernel maize silage (CKMS) on broiler production and meat quality. Another study with 32 broilers was carried out from 21 to 25 d to investigate the inclusion of CKMS on nutrient digestibility.

2. In both trials, 4 dietary treatments were used: wheat-based feed (WBF), maize-based feed (MBF), maize-based feed supplemented with 15% CKMS (CKMS-15) and maize-based feed supplemented with 30% CKMS (CKMS-30).

3. Compared with MBF, the dry matter (DM) intakes of broilers receiving CKMS-15 and CKMS-30, respectively, were numerically 7.5 and 6.2% higher and feed conversion ratio 6 and 12% poorer (significant for 30% CKMS), although there were no significant differences in AME content between the three diets. At 37 d, the body weight of birds receiving 15% CKMS was similar to birds fed with MBF. However, the inclusion of 30% CKMS decreased broiler growth. Dietary supplementation with CKMS significantly reduced the apparent digestibility of phosphorus. The fat digestibility was significantly lower for CKMS-30 than for the other three diets.

4. Broiler mortality decreased significantly when CKMS was added to the diet.

5. The consumption of drinking water was significantly lower in all maize-based diets as compared to WBF and was lowest in broilers fed with CKMS-30.

6. An improved litter quality in terms of DM content and a lower frequency of foot pad lesions was observed with broilers supplemented with both dietary levels of CKMS.

7. The addition of CKMS to maize-based diets increased juiciness, tenderness and crumbliness of the meat.

8. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of 15% CKMS had no negative effect on broiler growth and positively influenced bird welfare in terms of mortality and foot pad health. Therefore, the addition of 15% CKMS to maize-based diets is considered an advantageous feeding strategy in broiler production.

1. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of thymol, synbiotic (Biomin, IMBO) and their combination in laying hen diets on laying performance, egg quality and serum metabolic profile from 24 to 36 weeks of age.

2. Treatment groups were fed on a control diet, the control diet supplemented with thymol (250 mg/kg), the control diet supplemented with synbiotic (250 mg/kg) or the control diet supplemented with a combination of thymol (250 mg/kg) and synbiotic (250 mg/kg).

3. Supplementation of thymol and synbiotic, separately as well as combined, improved egg weight, egg production, egg mass and feed conversion ratio from 24 to 36 weeks of age. The eggs obtained from thymol, synbiotic or their combination treatments displayed higher values of shell thickness, Haugh unit and shell percentage compared to the control.

4. Serum cholesterol significantly decreased in the single or combined form of thymol and synbiotic supplementation treatments.

1. the force required to shear egg shell material can be measured with high precision by pressing a narrow, flat‐ended plunger on to the shell;

2. shearing force falls and the precision of its measurement rises as the radius of the plunger is reduced;

3. shearing force is related linearly to shell thickness ;

4. the regression line of shearing force on shell thickness does not pass through the origin but has a substantial positive intercept on the thickness axis, at about a third of the mean thickness ;

5. there are differences between hens and between strains of hen in the magnitude of the intercept, but not in the slope of the regression;

6. shearing force is affected also by the glossiness of the shell;

7. shearing force was not significantly affected by stripped membrane thickness, number of mammillae per unit area of shell, shell organic content (standardised for shell thickness), shell curvature, shell colour, mottling score, translucent patch score, speckling score, age of the egg or age of the hen that laid it;

8. measured with a plunger of radius 165 μm, the mean shearing strength of incremental shell was 57 kg wt/mm² (3–7 ton/in²).

The findings suggest that the shearing strength of egg shells might be increased by direct selection and by selection for shell glossiness.  相似文献   

1. The present study was conducted to determine the effects of acetylated wood powder (AW) as a new feed additive on performance, liver and muscle metabolism of amino acids and fatty acids and nucleotide-related substances of meat in broiler chickens. It was hypothesised that acetic acid desorbed from AW during intestinal digestion affects tissue metabolism.

2. Two-week-old broiler chicks were divided into four groups and fed on diets supplemented with wood powder (30 g/kg) less than 106 µm in diameter, except for controls. The AW was added to diets at 0, 10 and 30 g/kg to replace the non-acetylated wood powder (NAW) for 26 d. Plasma, liver tissue and breast muscle were taken from half of birds at 40 d of age under the fed condition. After the remaining chickens were fasted for 14 h, breast muscle was taken and refrigerated for 24 h.

3. Consumption of wood powder with or without acetyl groups had no effect on growth performance including tissue weights of abdominal fat and breast muscle and plasma metabolites.

4. Feeding AW decreased total free amino acid concentrations in the liver compared to the group only fed on the NAW. This response was dependent mainly on reduced non-essential and glucogenic amino acid concentrations. However, in breast muscle, alterations of free amino acid concentrations were observed only for histidine and tryptophan. In addition, the fatty acid composition of liver and breast muscle was not affected by feeding AW.

5. In breast meat obtained from fasted chickens, the higher level of AW increased the concentration of inosine 5′-monophosphate, a taste-active compound, and in contrast, decreased the subsequent catabolites (inosine and hypoxanthine). However, the concentration of glutamic acid, a taste-active compound, was lowered at this level of AW ingestion.

6. Therefore, this study suggested that feeding AW as a new feed additive regulates ante-mortem amino acid utilisation in the liver and contributes to retard post-mortem degradation of inosine 5′-monophosphate as a taste-active compound in chicken meat.

1. The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the advantages of using a good theory as the basis for designing and conducting research, using personal experience of developing a simulation model to predict food intake in laying hens and broiler breeders.

2. To develop such a model, research projects were designed to measure, among others, the effect of lighting programmes on age at sexual maturity, changes in internal cycle length, egg and body component weights over time, effects of temperature on performance, and to determine whether these birds would make use of body lipid reserves as an energy source.

3. Most of the experiments described here were conceived and conducted only because they were seen as a means of collecting information required for the development of empirical and mechanistic models, both of which have contributed to a better understanding of the birds themselves, as well as to the basis for predicting food intake in broiler breeders and laying hens.

4. For those researchers seeking ideas for further study, there is no better way of generating such ideas than by first developing a theory of the subject to be studied, the greatest benefit from this approach being that such targeted research is bound to be new, innovative and useful.

1. The study assesses the effectiveness of reversible head-only and back-of-the-head electrical stunning of chickens using 130–950 mA per bird at 50 Hz AC.

2. Three trials were conducted to compare both stunning systems: (a) behavioural assessment of return of consciousness, (b) insensibility to thermal pain, and (c) assessment of return of brain activity with visually evoked potentials (VEPs).

3. Assessment of behaviour suggested that the period of unconsciousness following head-only electrical stunning was shorter in hens compared to broilers.

4. Stunning across the back-of-the-head delayed the time to return of brainstem function compared to stunning with standard head-only electrodes. Additionally, back-of-the-head stunning produced a more prolonged period of electroanalgesia compared to head-only.

5. Based on examination of return of brain function with VEPs in hens, back-of-the-head stunning produced a shorter-lasting stun than standard head-only. However, even for standard head-only, the stun was notably shorter than previously reported. In some birds, brain function had returned within 9 s after the end of stunning.

6. The results suggest that some birds may recover consciousness prior to or during the neck cut. Based on these findings, back-of-the-head stunning and standard head-only stunning of hens should not be recommended without further development.

1. most cracks that occur in a battery cage are produced when the egg drops on to the floor at oviposition;

2. they are located predominantly in the two polar thirds of the shell;

3. their incidence is determined mainly by the effective mass of the cage floor, the mean drop height and the mean attitude of the eggs at emergence from the cloaca (broad or narrowpole first) ;it is affected only slightly by the mean shell thickness and the overall mean shell curvature (egg size);

4. if a hen is kept on a floor with a high effective mass, an indirect estimate of her mean drop height can be obtained quickly, easily and with high precision from observations made on her eggs after they have been laid; the observations required are the incidence of eggs with poorly formed shells, the type, location and incidence of cracks in eggs with well‐formed shells and the mean weight of the eggs;

5. the incidence of cracking on a heavy cage floor can be used to predict the incidence on a normal floor;

6. the incidence of cracking is heritable and responds rapidly to downward selection.

It is suggested that breeders should test the technique described, with a view to adopting it as a method of selecting for low crack incidence.  相似文献   

1. The estimation of sulphur amino acid requirement is a vital key to providing appropriate nutrition in poultry. The estimation of amino acid requirement depends on what production parameter is taken into consideration for optimisation.

2. A complete randomised block design was performed with 5 treatments and 6 replicates of 8 Hy-line layers (W-36) each from 32 to 44 weeks of age. The blocks were made to have a replicate of each treatment. The dietary treatments were consisted of 5 concentrations of digestible sulphur amino acid (DSAA) at 5.1, 5.6, 6.1, 6.6 and 7.1 (g/kg).

3. Egg production, egg mass, egg weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly affected by an increase in DSAA intake. However, feed intake, egg component yield, Haugh unit, specific gravity, eggshell thickness, egg protein and dry matter (DM) were not altered by DSAA intake.

4. A significant increment in plasma high-density lipoprotein was concomitant with a reduction in low-density lipoprotein when DSAA intake was increased. However, triglyceride, cholesterol, uric acid and total protein in plasma were not affected by DSAA intake.

5. The DSAA requirements estimated by the linear broken-line model to optimise egg production, egg mass, egg weight and FCR were 678, 673, 641 and 656 mg/bird.d in the whole experimental period, respectively.

6. The DSAA requirement estimated by the quadratic broken-line model to optimise egg production, egg mass, egg weight and FCR were 4.71%, 7.87%, 8.73% and 7.62% higher than those estimated by linear broken-line fit model in the whole experimental period, respectively.

1. Genetic parameters were estimated for 5 economically important egg production traits using records collected over 9 years in chickens reared under tropical conditions in Thailand. The data were from two purebred lines and two hybrid lines of layer parent stocks.

2. The two purebred lines were Rhode Island Red (RIR) and White Plymouth Rock (WPR) and the hybrid lines were formed by crossing a commercial brown egg laying strain to Rhode Island Red (RC) and White Plymouth Rock (WC), respectively.

3. Five egg production traits were analysed, including age at first egg (AFE), body weight at first egg (BWT), egg weight at first egg (EWFE), number of eggs from the first 17 weeks of lay (EN) and average egg weight over the 17th week of lay (EW).

4. Fixed effects of year and hatch within year were significant for all 5 traits and were included in the model.

5. Maternal genetic and permanent environmental effects of the dam were not significant, except for EN and EW in RIR and BWT and EW in WPR.

6. Estimated heritability of AFE, BWT, EWFE, EN and EW were 0.45, 0.50, 0.29, 0.19 and 0.43 in RIR; 0.44, 0.38, 0.33, 0.20 and 0.38 in WPR; 0.37, 0.41, 0.38, 0.18 and 0.36 in RC; and 0.46, 0.53, 0.36, 0.38 and 0.45 in WC lines, respectively.

7. The EN was negatively correlated with other traits, except for BWT in RC and AFE and BWT in WC.

8. It was concluded that selection for increased EN will reduce other egg production traits in purebred and hybrid chicken and therefore EN needs to be combined with other egg production traits in a multi-trait selection index to improve all traits optimally according to a defined breeding objective.

1. the force required to produce tensile failure did not vary linearly with the width of the piece of shell under test, but with its two‐thirds power;

2. it varied linearly with the thickness of the shell;

3. the line relating force at tensile failure to shell thickness did not pass through the origin but intercepted the thickness axis at between about 90 and 130 μm, indicating that the inner layers of a shell, up to about a third of its thickness, contributed little or nothing to its tensile strength;

4. the slope of the line did not vary with hen or strain of hen, indicating that the shells did not differ in the tensile strength of the material constituting their outer layers (i.e. about the outer two‐thirds);

5. there were differences between hens and strains in the magnitude of the intercept: shells of the same thickness but from different hens or strains differed in force at tensile failure;

6. the existence of between‐strain differences in intercept constitutes prima facie evidence that the variation in this trait is under genetic control;

7. there was a fairly large within‐egg residual component of the variance of force at tensile failure; it represents real variation in tensile strength between apparently similar pieces of the same shell and is believed to be an effect of chance in the distribution of flaws in the shell material;

8. for any one hen the intercept is the same as that found when shearing strength is measured, so shearing strength (which can be determined easily, quickly and precisely) can be used as a predictor of tensile strength.

Implications for poultry breeders are discussed; it is suggested that they should select for shell strength instead of shell thickness, measuring strength as shearing strength.  相似文献