• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.831-837
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• 2013

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of Rhodobacter capsulatus KCTC-2583 on egg-yolk and serum cholesterol, egg production and quality parameters during the late laying periods in hens. A total of 160 Hy-Line Brown layers (54 wk-old) were randomly allotted to 4 treatment groups on the basis of laying performance. Each treatment had 4 replicates with 10 birds each (40 birds per treatment). Two hens were confined individually with cage size $35{\times}35{\times}40$ cm and each 10 birds (5 cages) shared a common feed trough between them forming one experimental unit. Dietary treatments were; basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15% R. capsulatus KCTC-2583. Experimental diets were fed in meal form for 56 d. Dietary supplementation of increasing levels of R. capsulatus KCTC-2583 reduced (linear, p<0.05) egg-yolk cholesterol and triglycerides (d 28, 42 and 56) concentrations. Also, serum cholesterol and triglycerides (d 21, 42 and 56) concentrations were linearly reduced (p<0.05) with increasing dietary R. capsulatus KCTC-2583. Laying hens fed a diet supplemented with increasing levels of R. capsulatus KCTC-2583 had increased (linear; p<0.05) overall egg production, egg weight, egg mass and feed efficiency. However, dietary treatments had no effect (linear or quadratic; p>0.05) on feed intake of laying hens. At d 28 and 56, breaking strength and yolk colour of eggs were linearly improved (p<0.05) in laying hens fed dietary increasing levels of R. capsulatus KCTC-2583. Dietary treatment had no effects (linear or quadratic; p>0.05) on albumin height, shell thickness and shell weight at any period of experiment. These results indicate that dietary supplementation of R. capsulatus KCTC-2583 has the potential to improve the laying hen performance and lead to the development of low cholesterol eggs during late laying period in Hy-Line Brown hens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.1015-1019
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• 2003

A 50 day feeding trial was conducted with White Leghorn (WL) laying hens, 42 weeks old, to determine if feeding of varying levels of aflatoxin (AF), ochratoxin A (OA) or their combinations has any effect on their performance and egg quality parameters. Feeding of $T_4$, $T_7$, $T_8$, $T_9$ and $T_10$ caused significant reduction in feed intake of hens. Hen day egg productions were significantly reduced at all the levels of toxins except 0.5 ppm of AF. Maximum reduction in egg production was noticed at 2 and 4 ppm of AF and OA, respectively. Average body weight and egg weight were not affected by toxin feeding. The feed efficiency in terms of net feed efficiency and feed consumed per dozen egg produced was significantly reduced at higher levels of both the toxins and their combinations. Feed consumption for production of 1 kg egg mass remained uninfluenced due to aflatoxin feeding whereas significant increase in the value of the same was noticed at 4 ppm level of OA and combination of 1 and 2 ppm of AF and 2 and 4 ppm of OA ($T_9$ and $T_10$), respectively. Various levels of OA (1-4 ppm) and all the combination of two toxins ($T_8$, $T_9$ and $T_10$) significantly altered the shape index of eggs in laying hens. The shell thickness was significantly reduced by higher level of AF (2 ppm), OA (2 and 4 ppm) and their combination. Albumen index, Haugh Unit and yolk index remained unchanged due to incorporation of toxins in the diet. It is concluded that AF, OA either singly or in combination at higher levels could depress the performance in terms of egg production and feed efficiency significantly. The egg quality parameters i.e. shape index and shell thickness were also significantly affected.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.255-265
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• 2020

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of available phosphorus (AP) levels with or without supplemental phytase on the performance, egg quality, and serum biochemical parameters of laying hens. A total of 540 laying hens (40-week-old) were housed in cages and assigned to 6 dietary treatments with 5 replicates each, for 20 weeks. The treatments consisted of 0.20%, 0.25%, and 0.30% AP diets with or without phytase supplementation. During the 20-week period, egg production was lowest in hens fed the 0.20% AP diet; however, phytase supplementation in the diet completely corrected the adverse effect (P<0.05). No consistent difference was observed in egg production between hens fed the 0.25% and 0.30% AP diets and those fed the 0.20% and 0.30% AP diets with phytase supplementation. Similarly, egg mass was lowest in the 0.20% AP diet-fed group, and no difference in egg mass was observed in the 0.25% and 0.30% AP diet as well as the phytase-supplemented diet groups; however, egg mass was improved in the phytase-supplemented diet groups(P<0.05). Egg quality traits did not differ with dietary treatments. Serum alkaline phosphatase level showed a linear decrease (P<0.05) in the phytase-treated groups with increasing AP levels; moreover, a numerically linear increase (P<0.05) in serum Ca and P levels was observed in the phytase-treated groups. The results of this study indicate that phytase supplementation in the diet of laying hens could increase egg production and may lead to greater mineral absorption.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.323-337
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate whether adding different levels of raw or differently processed chickpea into different diets of laying quails affected live weight, feed intake, feed efficiency, egg weight and internal and external egg quality. Chickpea was used as raw, autoclaved or microwave-processed, and it was involved in the diets on two different levels (20% and 40%). The sample was divided into 7 groups including the control, 20% and 40% raw, 20% and 40% autoclaved, and 20% and 40% microwave-processed groups. 336 ten-week-old female laying quails were used in the study, and the experiment continued for 19 weeks. In the study, the differences among the groups were insignificant in terms of live weight, feed intake, feed efficiency, egg weight and egg quality characteristics such as shell thickness, shell weight, yolk weight, yolk color and albumin index. The differences were significant in terms of the shape index, Haugh unit (p<0.05) and yolk index (p<0.01). Consequently, it was observed that different thermal processes on chickpeas did not usually have a significant effect on the yield performance of the quails, and the results that were obtained were similar to the other groups. However, it was determined that some egg quality characteristics were affected by the autoclaving and microwaving processes. Between the thermal processes, it may be stated that autoclaving provided better results.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1164-1170
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• 2008

In this study, the effects of propolis and vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) supplementation in diets were investigated on feed intake (FI), body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion rate (FCR) and digestibility and on egg production and qualities (weight, mortality, shell thickness) in laying hens exposed to heat stress. A total of 150 Hyline White Leghorn, aged 42 weeks, hens was divided into five groups of 30 hens. Chicks were randomly divided into 1 positive control, 1 control and 3 treatment groups. The chicks were kept in cages in temperature-controlled rooms at $22^{\circ}C$ for 24 h/d (positive control, Thermoneutral, TN group) or $34^{\circ}C$ for 9 h/d from 08.00-17.00 h followed by $22^{\circ}C$ for 15 h (control, heat stress, HS group) and fed a basal diet or basal diet supplemented with vitamin C (250 mg/kg of L- ascorbic acid/kg of diet) or two levels of propolis (2 and 5 g of ethanol extracted propolis/kg of diet). Increased FI (p<0.05) and improvement in FCR (p<0.05), hen day egg (p<0.05) and egg weight (p<0.05) were found in Vitamin C and propolis-supplemented laying hens reared under heat stress conditions. Mortality rate was higher in the control group than TN, vitamin C and propolis groups (p<0.05). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and ether extract improved with increasing of both dietary vitamin C and propolis (p<0.05). Vitamin C or propolis supplementation did not affect either the percentage shape index, yolk index or haugh unit and albumen index (p>0.05). However, the egg shell thickness and egg shell weight appeared to be increased in Vitamin C and propolis groups in comparison to HS group birds (p<0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation of laying hens with anti-oxidants (vitamin C and propolis) can attenuate heat stress-induced oxidative damage. These positive effects were evidenced by increased growth performance and digestibility, improvement of egg shell thickness and egg weight in comparison to non-supplemented birds. Moreover, supplementation with propolis (5 g/kg diet) was the most efficient treatment.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2023

This study was to investigate the relationship between chick weight in the growing period and the laying performance of Korean native chicken (KNC) breeders. We measured the body weights of 1,384 KNC breeders at 1-140 days of age at two-week intervals. The age at first egg laying, hen-day and hen-housed egg production, and the egg weights were investigated. Correlation coefficients between the body weight and egg production traits were analyzed. The results showed that the correlation coefficients between body weight and age at first egg laying were significantly positive before 4 weeks, but negative after 8 weeks of age. The correlation coefficients between body weight and egg production rate were estimated to be negative before 8 weeks and positive after 12 weeks of age. Coefficients of hen-day and hen-housed egg production were similar. There was little correlation between body weight and egg weight at 32 weeks of age, whereas a low positive correlation was with egg weight at 50 weeks. In conclusion, there was little correlation between body weight and laying performance before 8 weeks of age, whereas a significant positive correlation was with body weight after 12 weeks. The results suggest that as the chick's weight increases in the late growing stage, sexual maturity is faster, the egg production rate is higher, and the egg weight increases. Therefore, the weight management of KNC female breeders is very important in the late growing stage, and the body weight of chicks must be maintained above the standard weight.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.980-985
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• 2000

Influences of Japanese green tea powder (GTP) supplementation to commercial diet on laying performance and egg quality were studied by using 60 laying hens. The experimental diet with or without 0.6% GTP was given ad libitum to the birds during the period from 6 to 71 weeks of age. The birds started egg production from 21 wk of age regardless GTP feeding. Body weight, feed intake, egg weight tended to decrease with GTP supplementation, while egg production rate tended to increase. Haugh unit score was significantly increased with GTP, which accompanied with the increased albumen height. These were observed almost throughout the laying period over 50 wk. Gel proportion in thick albumen was decreased as storage time is prolonged, then higher values of the gel proportion were recorded in the eggs from GTP group. Thick albumen of the eggs from GTP-fed layers had more carbohydrate than that from control layers. All these indicate physical stability of thick albumen in the eggs from GTP group. Thiobarbituric acid content of egg yolk tended to remain lower in the eggs from GTP group during 5-10 days of storage at room temperature. Levels of egg yolk cholesterol and yolk lipid were significantly reduced by GTP feeding. There were no significant differences in eggshell weight, shell thickness and shell strength between the two groups. Thyroid gland and liver from hens slaughtered at 71 wk of age did not differ in weight irrespective of GTP feeding. The present results suggest that GTP could modify components of edible part of egg, leading to the characteristics favourable to consumers such as high durability of thick albumen and less cholesterol in yolk, without altering general performance of the layers throughout this year round experiment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.772-776
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary domestic Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) extracts (SCE) on laying performance and egg quality in laying hens. There were no significant differences in feed intake, egg production, or relative liver and spleen weights. The egg weights in groups fed diets containing SCE were significantly increased as compared with the control. The number of cecal total microbes in the group fed a diet containing 0.5% SCE was significantly reduced as compared with other groups. The malondialdehyde contents in stored eggs were significantly lowered by feeding SCE. The Haugh unit in the groups fed diets containing SCE tended to be increased after 2 weeks storage, but not significantly. This result indicated that dietary domestic SCE may delay lipid oxidation in eggs when added to laying hen diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2006

A total of 120 male and 240 female quail (Coturnix coturnix Pharaoh) were used to determine the effect of feeding time on laying and reproductive performance of Pharaoh quail. They were fed ad libitum between 09:00 to 17:00 or full day, daily. Each female-male pair was housed in multiple-bird cages and colony cages. Initial and final body weight, quail-day egg production, feed consumption per egg and mortality were measured to determine laying performance of breeders. A total of 960 eggs were used to determine reproductive performance of quail in each treatment group. Eggs were incubated in a commercial setter and hatcher in standard conditions. Embryonic mortality, apparent fertility, hatchability of total and fertile eggs were calculated to determine the reproductive performance. Results indicated that feeding between 09:00 to 17:00 h reduced final body weight and egg production (p<0.001, p<0.001). Whereas, limited time of feeding improved hatchability of total (p<0.001) and fertile eggs (p<0.001) and reduced embryonic mortality (p<0.001) when compared with the effects of feeding full day. It was found that there were no significant differences for the egg production of quail housed in different cage systems. Quail caged in multiple-bird cages consumed less feed (p<0.01) compared to quail housed in colony cages. There were significant differences for the mortality (p<0.05), hatchability of total (p<0.001) and fertile eggs (p<0.001), and embryonic mortality (p<0.001) during the incubation due to main effect of cage systems. There were significant cage $systems{\times}feeding$ time interactions for hatchability of total and fertile eggs and embryonic mortality (p<0.001). As a conclusion; feeding from 09:00 to 17:00 reduced laying performance of quail and improved the reproductive traits compared to full day feeding of quail breeders. But, further investigations are needed to determine the optimum length of feeding time and egg production of breeders in quail fed limited time must be evaluated in comparison with its beneficial or detrimental effects.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2012

This experiment was conducted to investigate the dietary effects of turmeric powder (TP) on laying performances, egg qualities and its transfer into eggs. A total of two hundred, 60-wk-old, Lohmann Brown layers were divided into 4 groups, placed in to 5 replicates per group (10 layers each) and fed each one of four diets containing 0% TP (control), 0.10, 0.25 or 0.50% TP, respectively, for 7 wks. Egg production in the all groups fed diets containing TP were significantly higher than that in control (P<0.05). No differences in feed intakes, egg and eggshell qualities were observed among the treatments, but Roche color fan number (yolk color) in group fed diet with 0.5% TP was significantly higher than in control (P<0.05). In the groups fed diets containing TP, Haugh units after 2 wk of storage were significantly higher than that of control (P<0.05). The curcumin content of egg yolk in the groups fed diet containing 0.50% TP was significantly higher than those in the other groups (P<0.05). The cholesterol levels of egg yolk were not influenced by dietary TP. It was concluded that dietary TP was effective in improving laying performance and internal egg qualities. TP can be also used as a feed additive for the production of value-enhanced eggs with increased yolk color and curcumin content.