To investigate the effects of the bottom third of shiitake mushroom stalk (SMM) on growth performance, carcass yield and blood composition, 280 Arbor Acre broilers were given ad libitum access to a commercial pellet diet (CP, 21% ; ME, 3kcal/g) until first week, and then they were divided to 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% dietary SMM groups (SMM was mainly substituted for rice bran on the weight basis) of each four replications of 14 birds. The crude protein of these diets was adjusted to 21, 19 and 17% at 2-3, 4-6 and 7 weeks, respectively. The metabolizable energy of all diet groups was 3kcal/g on air dry throughout the experimental period. Compared with the 0% SMM group, feed intake and body weight gain did not show difference up to the 7.5% SMM group, but both were lower in the 10% SMM group (P<0.05). Feed efficiency was almost similar in all groups. Carcass yield was higher in the 2.5 and 5% SMM groups (P<0.05) than in the 0% SMM group. The weight of the breast with bone, wings, drum-sticks and thighs did not show differences among groups. Visceral organ weight did not show any differences. Blood triglyceride increased in the 5% SMM group (P<0.05). Blood glucose, cholesterol and uric acid were not different among groups. The present results suggest that the stalk of the shiitake mushroom can increase carcass yield and serum triglyceride at the 5% level. These carcass and triglyceride seem to be improved by the medicinal function of the SMM. In conclusion, SMM can be incorporated up to the 5% level for broiler diets without negatively affecting growth performance or carcass yield.

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The aim of this study was to determine whether ghrelin is produced in the oviduct of Japanese quail. Japanese quail laying hens and 20-days-old immature ones were used. The matured birds were examined at two different times of ovulation cycle, namely just after oviposition (preovulation group) and 6h after oviposition (5-h-postovulation group). The oviductal tissues were processed for paraffin sections and immunostained for ghrelin. The expression of ghrelin mRNA in the oviduct of preovulation group was examined by RT-PCR. In the preovulation group, we observed positive immunostaining of ghrelin in the epithelial cells of the mucosal folds in the infundibulum (tubular region) and magnum. The density of immunoreactive products was stronger in the cephalic and middle parts than in the caudal part in the magnum. No immunoreactivity was observed in the tissues of isthmus, uterus and vagina. RT-PCR analysis confirmed that mucosal tissue of the infundibulum and magnum, but not other oviductal segments, expressed mRNA for ghrelin. The intensity of immunostaining for ghrelin in the infundibulum, cephalic and middle parts of magnum was reduced in 5-h-postovulation group compared with preovulation group. In immature birds, no immunoreactivity for ghrelin was observed in both magnum and uterus tissues. These results suggest that the mucosal epithelium in the oviduct of quail hens produces ghrelin, and it may be secreted during the passage of eggs through oviduct. Ghrelin may not be produced in the oviduct of immature birds, and the production may occur in association with a development of oviduct.

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Raw Mucuna pruriens seed meal contains 30-32% crude protein, but also contains toxic substances, which limit its use as a feed ingredient for non-ruminant animals. Results on the use of M. pruriens seed in poultry nutrition have shown that heat treatment alone could only improve the nutritive value of Mucuna bean to the extent of 10% dietary level for broilers. A 28-day feeding trial was conducted to determine the performance of broiler chickens fed diets containing cracked, soaked and cooked velvet bean seed meal. The seeds were cracked, soaked in water and cooked before drying and milling. The processed meal contained 28.64% crude protein, 6.75% crude fibre, 6.00% ether extract and 2.20% ash. The cracked, soaked and cooked meal (CSCM) was included in a broiler chicken starter diet at 0,20,25 and 30% respectively. None of the three dietary levels of the seed meal significantly (P>0.05) affected the performance of the birds in terms of feed intake and growth rate. Birds fed 30% CSCM had the lowest growth rate and grew to 83.3% of the control. At 30% dietary level, the feed conversion ratio was significantly (P<0.05) decreased relative to the control. We conclude that cracking Mucuna seed prior to soaking in water and cooking, partially destroys its growth inhibiting factor(s), allowing successful use of up to 25% CSCM in broiler starter rations. Higher levels of CSCM reduced broiler performance although the results were much better than those of processed Mucuna bean in literature.

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The nutritional value of khesari (Lathyrus sativus), a grain legume, was determined for growing and laying pullets. Chemical analyses indicated khesari to be high in crude protein (283g/kg) and low in fat (12.0g/kg) with estimated true metabolizable energy concentration of 12.0MJ/kg. Four hundred Shaver 579 brown pullets belonging to same source were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments with 100 pullets each. Least-cost isocaloric and isonitrogenous diet containing raw khesari at 0, 100, 150 or 200g/kg were formulated and fed to grower and pullet developer birds separately during 12-18 weeks and 19-22 weeks respectively. This was followed by feeding layer diets during 23-34 weeks of age. The performance of grower chicks during 12-18 wks of age showed no significant effect on body weight gain and FCR but feed intake increased linearly (P<0.05) and differed significantly when the dietary level of raw khesari was 200g/kg. On the other hand, during 19-22 weeks, the birds showed increased body weight gain and feed intake and improved FCR (P<0.01) when they consumed the highest level of khesari (200g/kg). Layer performance in terms of egg production, egg mass and FCR were declined as the dietary levels of khesari was increased showing a clear-cut linear effect. It was concluded from the study that khesari supported growth performance in pullets either similar to or better than the control birds at the levels tested and that it is well tolerable for layers up to 150g/kg dietary level without experiencing any remarkable deleterious effects. Khesari did not show any symptoms typical to lathyrism in both grower and layer birds at the levels tested.

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Chicks were offered a choice between diets added with or without quinine hydro-chloride (HCl) to elucidate the role and efficacy of feeder color (gray or orange) or feeder position (fix or change) in the two-choice preference test. In the first experiment, chicks were given a choice between a basal diet and a diet containing 0.4% quinine HCl by two feeders with different colors for 24h. They had a strong aversion to the quinine- added diet, regardless of fix or change of feeder positions. After replacing the quinine-added diet by the basal diet next morning, chicks initially avoided to eat the diet from feeders previously delivering the quinine-added diet. However, they consumed the diet from both feeders with time. From these results, it was shown that chicks were able to differentiate between the gray and orange feeders, and associated these colors with the diet contained in each feeder. At the same time, chicks occasionally sampled the diet in the other feeders. Feeder color itself had little effect on feed intake when the basal diet was given by two feeders. In the next experiment, supplemental level of quinine HCl was reduced to 0.2%. As a result, the individual differences in sensitivity to quinine became apparent. Some chicks had an aversion to the quinine-added diet from the first 2h, but others not. The aversion to quinine became evident, especially in the latter chicks when feeders with different colors were used or feeder positions were fixed. Therefore, feeder color or feeder position acts as a cue in the choice feeding and it is effective in minimizing the individual differences among choice-fed chicks.

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U.S. broiler integrators commonly reduce dietary amino acid density as a way of reducing overall diet cost since feed represents the majority of live production costs. It has been shown, however, that the former may not be necessarily true, and that perhaps maximization in production may lead to higher financial returns. A popular strain cross (Ross x Cobb 500) used for small bird markets was reared from 0 to 35d of age. Broilers were separated by sex, and data were analyzed as a factorial arrangement of treatments. Feeding high amino acid density diets to broilers was only beneficial if fed throughout the entire growout period. Benefits, however, were limited to improvements in feed consumption, feed conversion, and abdominal fat. No other parameters evaluated were affected by dietary treatments, perhaps as a consequence of the strain cross used in this study. Males had higher BW and lower feed conversion than females, as well as higher breast meat yield values. In conclusion, feeding broilers H nutrient density diets reduced cumulative conversion and abdominal fat, but did not affect uniformity or other carcass parameters.

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The aim of this study was to determine the profiles of mRNA expressions of gallinacin (Gal)-1, -2 and -3, which are the antimicrobial peptides, in the oviduct of laying hens. The oviductal tissues of White Leghorn laying hens were collected. Expressions of Gal-1, -2 and -3 mRNA were examined by semiquantitative RT-PCR and localized in the vagina by in situ hybridization. The expressions of Gal-1, -2 and -3 were observed in infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, uterus and vagina by RT-PCR. The expressions of Gal-1, -2 and -3 were greater in the infundibulum and vagina, except for Gal-2 in the vagina. The signals of each Gal mRNA were identified in the basal cells of surface epithelium of vagina. These results suggested that antimicrobial peptide, Gal-1, -2 and -3 were expressed in the oviduct with a greater expression in the infundibulum and vagina, and surface epithelium were the major site for the synthesis of Gals in the vagina.

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To investigate the transfer and accumulation of ingested dioxins, the concentra-tions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar-polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) in the muscle, abdominal fat, liver, and egg of hens (Dekalb TX-35) at 1, 58, 184, and 462 days of age were measured. The levels of these three components in the four diets-starting, early growing, late growing, and laying-fed to the experimental birds were also measured. Using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, the concentration of each isomer of PCDD, PCDF, and Co-PCB was measured. The concentration of each component was multiplied by the individual toxic equivalency factor (TEF), the values for the isomers of each dioxin component were added together, and a toxic equivalency quantity (TEQ) was derived for each component. The total dioxin concentration (sum of TEQs for PCDDs, PCDFs, and Co-PCBs) in the muscle rose 5-fold from 58 to 462 days of age due to an increase in the amount of ether extract from muscle. These dioxin values were within the range reported for domestic chicken meat (0.0007 to 0.265pg-TEQ/g). However concentrations in the abdominal fat and liver did not increase during the same period, suggesting that the liver is not a leading dioxin accumulation site for fowl. Dioxin concentrations in whole egg did not differ between 184 and 462 days of age and were within the reported range (0.009 to 0.138pg-TEQ/g). This finding suggests that most of the ingested and stored dioxin did not enter the egg during the early laying period.

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These experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of egg storage position and injection of solutions into stored eggs on hatchability in chickens. In experiment 1, a total of 689 eggs were randomly divided into two groups (Normal position : eggs with small end down, Opposite position : eggs with small end up) and were stored at 15°C and 60% relative humidity (RH) for one, two or three weeks in one of the two positions. Eggs were then incubated at 37.5°C and 60% RH. In experiment 2, a total of 120 eggs were divided into two groups (Rotation : the egg box was rotated 45° on the long axis twice a day, Non-rotation : eggs were stored without movement). These eggs were stored for 3 or 4 weeks then incubated as in experiment 1. In experiment 3, a total of 240 eggs were divided randomly into 4 groups (Control : no treatment, Needle : pricked with a needle, Saline : injected with physiological saline, MEM : injected with MEM solution). After storing at 15°C and 60% RH for 2 or 3 weeks, eggs were injected with different solutions and then incubated at 37.5°C and 60% RH. In experiment 1, egg weight loss% differed significantly (P<0.01) within the storage period but no difference due to the storage position was observed. Hatchability was significantly higher (p<0.05) in eggs stored for 2 or 3 weeks in the opposite position. Early mortality was the highest after 3 weeks for the normal position group. In experiment 2, rotation had no significant effect on hatchability. There was a sharp decline in hatchability when eggs were stored for 4 weeks. In experiment 3, injection of physiological saline and MEM solutions did not improve hatchability after 3 or 4 weeks of storage.

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Low fertility and hatchability rate is a hindrance in chicken-quail hybridization. An investigation was undertaken to increase fertility and consequently hatchability of quail eggs inseminated with chicken semen through increasing quantity of semen used and modifying the insemination schedule. Pooled fresh and non-diluted semen from two males each pertaining to three breeds (Chandigar Dark Cornish, Red Cornish and White Plymouth Rock) inseminated into Japanese quails twice a week. From 400 eggs set, seven hybrids (1.74 per cent) hatched on the nineteenth days of incubation. The hybrids obtained weighed 5.3-7.6g with an average of 6.42 at hatch (1.28g heavier than quail chicks from the same hatch) and 23.5g at 7 days of age (10g heavier than quail chicks). Further examination of non hatched eggs showed 25.29 per cent fertility with 17.74, 1.82, 2.20 and 1.25 per cent very early dead (preincubation and 0-2 days), early dead (3-5 days), death at 6-14 days and death at 15-19 days, respectively. The remarkable achievement of the present study was considerably greater fertility per cent of the eggs obtained from quails inseminated with chicken semen. Higher fertility rate could be attributed to insemination method as 150μL neat semen inseminated to each quail hen twice a week and insemination postponed by 12 hours for any bird with an advanced egg in oviduct.

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In order to produce nuclear transferred PGCs, fusion of primordial germ cell (PGC) with embryonic blood cell (EBC) was attempted. PGCs and EBCs were isolated from the blood of stages 13-15 embryos. The collected PGCs and EBCs were mixed, and fusion of these cells was carried out using inactivated Sendai virus (HVJ) or electrical stimulation. PGC-EBC fused cells were identified by the morphology and difference in size of the two nuclei. The mean fusion rate of PGC with EBC was 0.96% using inactivated HVJ and 5.2% using electrical stimulation. The present results provide useful information for nuclear transfer in PGCs.

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