2. It was fed at 16 weeks of age to five separate groups (groups 2 to 6) each of 50 to 60 birds.
3. Group 2 was fed on a normal layers’ diet at 23 weeks of age, group 3 at 27 weeks, group 4 at 31 weeks, group 5 at 35 weeks and group 6 at 55 weeks while the control group (group 1) of similar size to groups 2 to 6 was subjected to a normal commercial treatment for laying stock.
4. In all the experimental groups the onset of sexual maturity occurred normally, but only one or two eggs were laid before laying ceased under the influence of the treatment.
5. Laying re‐started when the hens were fed on a normal diet and production rapidly rose to a high level.
6. Groups 1, 2 and 3 differed little in the total number of eggs produced up to 72 weeks of age.
7. In all experimental groups there were fewer very small, small and medium eggs than in the control group.
8. It is suggested that the use of a low‐calcium diet before the onset of lay may have advantages which could be exploited on a commercial scale. 相似文献
2. Food consumption and egg production decreased as dietary calcium decreased. Shell weight was unaffected on diets 1 and 2; on diet 3 there was slight reduction of shell weight and on diets 4 to 8 the reduction was marked. The proportion of calcium in the shell was affected particularly on diets 7 and 8, though those from diet 5 also showed a decreased shell calcium.
3. The values for calcium intake and calcium loss in the egg showed that, generally, birds restricted calcium loss to less than intake. Only on the very low concentrations of calcium (diets 6, 7 and 8) did output appear to exceed input.
4. The main mechanism for controlling calcium loss involves the regulation of the number of eggs produced, i.e. the number of ovulations. Alterations in shell quality are of less importance with respect to calcium balance, although shell strength was impaired on the more restrictive diets (5 to 8). 相似文献
2. A mating of the chocolate‐coloured female with a black male, F2 and backcross matings demonstrated that the chocolate phenotype is caused by a recessive sex‐linked gene to which I assign the symbol ?CHOC.
3. A mating of ‘chocolates’ inter se yielded all chocolate offspring. 相似文献
2. The F2 generation consisted of 5 phenotypes, three of which could be attributed to the effect of Pg in the absence of Ml. The other two phenotypes were double lacing and an intermediary between double lacing and pencilling, with presumed genotypes Ml/Ml and Ml/ml+ respectively, indicating that Pg and Lg are one and the same gene for which I retain the symbol Pg.
3. The action of Ml when homozygous is therefore to both add an outer lace and increase the width of the inner rings of eumelanin, so changing pencilling into double lacing. 相似文献
2. The double‐laced phenotype had been presumed to be caused by the addition to the laced genotype of the gene Pg which causes pencilling. The error of this presumption was demonstrated by the appearance of double‐laced bantams in the F2 generation of a mating specifically designed to avoid the addition of Pg to the laced genotype.
3. Examination of the F2 generation demonstrated that the elimination of the eumelanin restrictor gene Co from laced fowl permits the double‐laced phenotype to be manifest. 相似文献
2. Further examination of these apparently conflicting results suggests the possibility that there may be a single gene producing the wheaten phenotype which appears to be dominant if melanin restriction genes are present at other loci, or recessive by interaction with melanin intensifier genes. This gene may also require the presence of down‐diluting gene(s) to produce the wheaten phenotype. 相似文献
2. This could indicate that reserpine or its derivatives should not be used for breeding poultry. 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. The caeca open ventro‐laterally from the cranial end of the colon. At this level a muscular ring of tissue, formed from the circular muscle of the lamina muscularis of the ileum, projects into the colon lateral to the caecal openings. The location of this muscular ring is discussed in relation to the possible mechanisms of caecal filling.
3. The longitudinal muscle of the lamina muscularis of the caudal region of each caecum is continuous with that of the colon and ileum. The circular muscle of the lamina muscularis of each caecum begins in the muscularis mucosa of the colon at a distance of 1 to 2 mm from the caecal openings. At the level of the caecal openings the musculature is complex, consisting of parts of the lamina muscularis of the colon, caeca and ileum.
4. The openings of the caeca from the colon are narrow and filled with villi. It is suggested that the junction may be involved in filtering material during the filling of the caeca. 相似文献
2. Data from a population selected for increased egg production over four generations as well as from a random‐bred control population were available.
3. Heritability of egg number during the first production period was considerably higher than estimates for a second production period, induced by appropriate lighting.
4. Egg weight and body weight were highly heritable. 相似文献
2. — The first eggs laid are of low weight and shell porosity but generally by the fifth week of lay both characteristics have increased to the values found in the mature flock.
3. —For mature flocks porosity decreases in the summer and the consequences of this are considered in relation to the observed decrease in hatch‐ability at this time. 相似文献
2. Some of these embryos were injected with primordial germ cells (PGCs) after 55 h of incubation to attempt to repopulate the gonads.
3. Primordial germ cells transfected with a defective retrovirus containing the reporter gene lac Z were shown to settle in these sterilised gonads.
4. Quantitative histology of 6‐d embryos showed that busulphan produced 75% sterilisation but that PGCs could repopulate these gonads.
5. The technique of producing such germ line chimaeras is of value in studying cell kinetics, gonad differentiation and the production of transgenics. 相似文献
2. Differences in plasma concentrations of testosterone and oestradiol between cockerels and hens were clearly reflected in faecal hormone concentrations. Faecal concentrations of oestradiol were low in males and did not overlap with much higher concentrations in females, whereas there was some overlap between the sexes in faecal concentrations of testosterone.
3. The correlation coefficients (r2) between plasma and faecal steroid concentrations were 0.464 for testosterone and 0.852 for oestradiol (log‐transformed data). The coefficients did not increase when the mean hormone concentrations for several droppings produced by each bird during a collection period were used.
4. Faecal steroid concentrations can be used as a measure of plasma steroid concentrations and hence of gonadal activity in chickens. The resolution of the faecal steroid method is less than if plasma measurements were used, but it offers a practical alternative to blood sampling that is non‐invasive and does not require birds to be handled. 相似文献
2. Contraction of warm eggs in ice‐cold colloidal iron caused flooding of pore canals and contamination of the underlying shell membranes with this element.
3. Appreciable contamination of the inner shell membrane with iron persisted for 25 d in infertile eggs stored at 37.5 °C. 相似文献
2. Crambe meals were prepared to differ in E‐PG (19, 36 and 40 g/kg) and CHB contents (0.1, 0.7 and 1.9 g/kg), and with either active or inactive thioglucosidase.
3. Meals were fed to 7‐d‐old broiler chicks at 50 or 100 g/kg of the diet for 12 or 13 d. In separate studies, isolated E‐PG or CHB were mixed into the diet or administered by gavage to 7‐d‐old broiler chicks in amounts equivalent to 50 or 100 g/kg crambe meal diets for 10 and 12 d, respectively.
4. Weight gain decreased (P<0.05) in chicks fed on the high glucosinolate crambe diets or isolated E‐PG. Food consumption decreased (P<0.05) in chicks fed on the diet containing the high E‐PG meal with active enzyme.
5. Mild liver lesions and increased serum aspartate aminotransferase were found in chicks fed on the diet containing the high glucosinolate meal with active enzyme. Other organs, including thyroids, were normal.
6. Commercially‐processed crambe meal appeared safe at an inclusion rate of 50 or 100 g/kg diet, but could not be recommended at this point for long term feeding. 相似文献
2. Egg weight and shell quality characteristics were recorded for the eggs and the cuticle was then removed from one egg of each pair.
3. Egg weight and shell quality were re‐assessed for the eggs from which the cuticle had been removed.
4. The cuticle made a significant (P<0.01) contribution to shell thickness and removal of it appeared to reduce shell strength when measured directly, but the method of measurement was too variable to establish this with statistical significance. 相似文献
2. Four different rearing treatments with a subsequent constant 16‐h photoperiod during laying were used.
3. A 15‐h rearing photoperiod resulted in delayed sexual maturity, increased mature body weight and decreases in both total egg numbers and the proportion of smaller eggs, compared with a 6‐h photoperiod.
4. Continuous light to 56 d, although associated with a high incidence of subsequent blindness, resulted in satisfactory egg production.
5. Abrupt reduction in the photoperiod from 15 to 6 h for the 112 to 167 d period resulted in unsatisfactory subsequent performance, especially when the day‐length was only slowly increased to 16 h during laying.
6. In the two laying treatments, in which the photoperiod was increased gradually from 6 to 16 h during the 168 to 238‐d period, a decrease in the number of smaller eggs occurred, compared with the treatments in which a single abrupt increase in photoperiod was used. 相似文献
2. Chicks fed on the HPLE diet consumed significantly less food than those fed on the LPHE diet during periods A and B, but not in G. They also produced a significantly larger amount of droppings during periods B and C. Food‐to‐droppings ratio, which was consistently and significantly lower in chicks fed on the HPLE diet, decreased markedly in period C only in these birds.
3. Absolute and relative retention (RR) of dry matter (DM) and starch, and RR of nitrogen (N) from birds fed on the HPLE diet, were consistently and significandy lower than from those fed on the LPHE diet, but fat retention (absolute and relative) was higher. RR of DM and of N in period C was significantly lower than in periods A and B, while RR of fat and of starch was not affected by age. The effect of age on RR of N was observed only with the HPLE diet.
4. AMEn of the HPLE diet, but not of the LPHE diet, in period C was significandy lower than in periods A and B, resulting in a significant interaction between age and diet and a general reduction with age. The calculated AMEn contents of the maize in periods A and B were essentially the same (14.91 and 14.85 MJ/kg, respectively), and lower than in period C (15.28 MJ/kg). It is concluded, therefore, that because of its effect on AMEn of the HPLE reference diet in chicks older than 17 d, bird age is of considerable importance in the determination of AMEn in grains when substituted for the entire diet. 相似文献