Five rotary spray systems, each calibrated to deliver 10 liters of disinfectant per min, were installed on cross-beams (2.3m above the floor) with intervals of about 10m in each of two 7.3×51.0m cage-type houses: one served as a control and the other as an experimental. In each house, approximately 5, 000 birds of White Leghorn pullets were kept. In experimental house, the rotary system was operated for 120 sec twice daily at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. throughout the raising period up to 71 days of age in Experiment 1 and up to 105 days of age in Experiment 2. The disinfectant sprayed was 0.5% invert soap type disinfectant (PACOMA^®, Eisai Co.). The sanitary environment was evaluated by the number of falling bacteria counted by a routine technique and the quantity of airborne dust measured by a Dust Meter (Shibata Type-P). Body weight and the rate of raising were recorded. In Exp. 2, five birds in each of the experimental and control group were autopsied and their respiratory, digestive and urinary organs were examined histologically.
The number of falling bacteria and the weight of the airborne dust were decreased significantly by the spraying (Table 1, 2). A minor increase in the body weight and a significant increase in the viability were observed in the experimental group (Table 3, 4). No pathological change was observed in the birds of the experimental group, whereas in the brds of the control group some pathological changes were found in the mucosa of concha nasalis superior (Photo. 1), trachea (Photo. 2) and the secondary bronchus of the lung (Photo. 3). The results suggest that the long term spraying of the disinfectant by the rotary system may serve for the improvement of the sanitary environment, without any harmful effect on the birds kept in cages, in a windowless house.

View full abstract

Horizontal polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoretograms of egg yolk proteins of Galliformes bird species: chicken, quail, golden pheasant and silver pheasant, Anseriformes bird species: duck and muscovy duck, and a Columbiformes bird species: pigeon were studied. A step gradient gel of 8, 4 and 10% acrylamide concentration was used. The egg yolk protein bands were separated into 10 electrophoretic zones (Nos. 1-10) in 10% gel.
Different electrophoretic patterns were observed in the different bird species. In Galliformes and Anseriformes, zone No. 5 was the most dense bands and No. 6 was the second most dense bands. The electrophoretograms of the pigeon was much different from those of Galliformes and Anseriformes bird species.
The zone Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 8 of chicken egg yolk, the protein polymorphisms were observed. Proteins of zone No. 8 were transferrins with 3 valiants which were controlled by 2 autosomal codominant alleles: Tf^B and Tf^C. The gene frequency of Tf^B and Tf^C was 0.844 and 0.156, respectively. Zone No. 3 had 3 valiants controlled by 2 autosomal codominant alleles: Pa-1^A and Pa-1^B. The gene frequency of Pa-1^A and Pa-1^B was 0.244 and 0.756, respectively. The protein polymorphisms in zone Nos. 1 and 2 were newly found in the present study. Zone No. 2 had 3 valiants controlled by a autosomal codominant alleles: Pa-2^A and Pa-2^B. The gene frequency of Pa-2^A and Pa-2^B was 0.412 and 0.588, respectively. Zone No. 1 had 3 valiants controlled by 2 autosomal codominant alleles: Pa-3A and Pa-3B. The gene frequency of Pa-3A and Pa-3B was 0.722 and 0.278, respectively.
Protein polymorphisms were observed in zone Nos. 1, 2 and 8 in the quail yolk and in zone nos. 1 and 2 in the duck yolk.

View full abstract

Blood samples taken from 602 fowls of 24 Japanese native fowl breeds were analyzed for protein polymorphisms using starch gel or agarose gel electrophoresis. The genes on 8 loci, i.e. Ct, Akp, Akp-2, Amy-1, Es-1, Alb, Pas A and Tf, are polymorphic and other genes on 8 loci, i.e. Grb I, Grb II, LDH-A, LDH-B, MDH, GPI, To and Hb, are monomorphic. Genetic distances among 16 main Japanese native fowl breeds of Onagadori (long tailed fowl, 1), Shokoku (long saddle, 2), Totenko (long saddle and long crower, 3), Ohiki (long saddled bantam, 4), Uzurao (rumpless, 5), Tosajidori (small Japanese old style, 6), Gifujidori (medium Japanese old style, 7), Oshamo (Japanese game, 8), Koshamo (Japanese game bantam, 9), Chabo (Japanese bantam, 10), Tomaru (long crower, 11), Minohiki (long saddle, 12), Satsumadori (Japanese new game, 13), Koeyoshi (long crower, 14), Jitokko (creeper, 15) and Ukkokei (silkie, 16) were calculated based on the frequencies of genes on 16 loci using NEI'S equation10). A dendrogram was drawn by adopting the unweighted-pair group (UPG) method of clustering in numerical taxonomy by SNEATH and SOKAL6). A closer relationship was observed between Onagadori And Totenko than between Onagadori and Shokoku. It is plausible that Totenko was more possible ancestor of Onagadori.

View full abstract

Estradiol benzoate (1mg/kg/day) and testosterone propionate (0.5mg/kg/day) were injected intramusculaly into 36 White Leghorn pullets at 65 days of age every other day for a period of 20 days. On the days of 9th and 10th (final) injections, two groups of the birds received additional injection of progesterone at the dose level of 1mg/kg/day or 4mg/kg/day, and the remaining one group received oil injection. In all groups, half of the birds received injection of reserpine (1mg/bird, i.m.) 12 and 24h prior to experiments. On the next day of the final injection of the sex steroid hormones, spontaneous action potentials of the oviduct uterus were recorded in vivo under pentobarbital anethesia by using a polygraph with the time constant of 0.01sec, in the same manner as reported earlier (6). Recordings were also made following the intravenous infusion of α-adrenergic drug (norepinephrine), α-adrenergic bocking agent (phenoxybenzamine), β-adrenergic drug (isoproterenol) and β-adrenergic blocking agent (propranorol).
In the progesterone injected birds, the spike bursts were more vigorous than in the oil injected birds. The myographic activity was depressed by the injection of reserpine. After the infusion of the α-adrenergic drug, norepinephrine, a temporal increase in the myographic activity was obserbed except for the birds pretreated with reserpine and without progesterone. The activity was inhibited following the infusion of the α-adrenergic blocking agent, phenoxybenzamine. The infusion of the β-adrenergic drug, isoproterenol, caused transient pauses in the spike bursts, while the infusion of the β-adrenergic blocking agent, propranorol, caused an increase in the activity. The terms form the beginning of the isoproterenol infusion to the pausing of the spike bursts were delayed by the pretreatment with reserpine and similar results were also obtained in the birds receiving progesterone pretreatment. The duration of the pausing of the spike bursts following the isoproterenol infusion shortened by reserpine and progesterone.
The results suggest that there exist not only β-receptors but also α-receptors in the musculature of the oviduct uterus, and that progesterone causes an increase in the number of these receptors as well as in the translocation of catecholamines.

View full abstract

Experiments were carried out to investigate the possibility of reabsorption of urinary water in the large intestine of Single Comb White Leghorn male chickens. The results obtained were as follows:
1) Water balance of the chickens with an artificial anus, which was placed at a position 1/8, 1/2 or 2/3 of the length of the upper rectum from the cloaca, was compared with that of sham-operated chickens. Irrespective of the position of dissection of the intestine for the artificial anus operation, the bird with the artificial anus drank 70-80% more water than its sham-operated counterpart. It was noticed that when the remaining portion of the rectum with the artificial anus was relatively shorter, there was a tendency towards an increase in water secretion into the feces and a decrease into the urine.
2) Water absorption from the rectum and ceca was measured through the use of the in situ perfusion technique whereby the chicken urine was re-circulated. The urinary water absorbed from the rectum and ceca was, respectively, 6.9 and 3.7ml/10cm² surface area of the intestine/hour.
These results indicate that the urinary water could be reabsorbed in the large intestine of the chicken after the excretal water flow retrograde from the cloaca.

View full abstract

Excesses of single amino acids given in the diets of chicks from day 8 to day 18 depressed growth and food intake to varying degrees, which were dependent on the kind of amino acid supplemented. L-Methionine and L-phenylalanine caused the severest growth depression. L-Tryptophan, L-threonine, L-lysine, L-histidine, L-tyrosine and L-leucine were apparently toxic. All other amino acids tested, L-arginine, glycine, L-valine, L-cystine and L-isoleucine, showed no or only a slight effect.
An increase in the blood plasma concentration of the amino acid in dietary excess was observed, and the possible existence of a branched-chain amino acid antagonism was suggesested in chicks.

View full abstract

Available energy and phosphorus availability of two samples of yeast grown on methanol, a sample of yeast grown on ethanol, two samples of bacteria grown on methanol, and two samples of brewer's yeast as a kind of reference were determined by bioassay procedure developed and reported by the authors.
Crude protein contents of the yeasts were 50-56%, while those of the bacteria were over 70%. Conventional procedure of feed analysis for crude fat by ethyl ether extraction was found unsatisfactory to get true value of lipid content. That of crude ash burning the sample at 600°C for 2 hours was also unsatisfactory because of residual organic matters.
Available energies of the samples except brewer's Yeast N were from 3.01 to 2.26kcal/g. The sample of Yeast N had low gross protein value, which was improved in a new sample produced by revised heating process. Available energy of the new sample of Yeast N would be higher than 1.72kcal/g determined in this bioassay.
Phosphorus availabilities of the samples except brewer's yeasts and Bacteria P were from 89.4 to 57.4. Low availability of phosphorus in methanol Yeast K, methanol Bacteria P, and brewer's Yeast O were significantly improved from 28-14 to 83.9-63.7, by modifying the heating process after cultivation of single cell protein.

View full abstract

The oviposition times of 300 pullets of two strains of White Leghorn at 40 weeks of age which were received for various light regimens were observed by use of automatic recording device.
When the lighting schedule was changed from 14L:10D to 8L:16D, 11L:13D, 14L:10D (unchanged), 19L:5D and 24L:0D, the oviposition times of birds except those under continuous light were adjusted at 3rd or 4th day after treatment. Under continuous light the dispersion of oviposition times became large from 5th day after treatment. Mean oviposition times in each treatment were moved to the time corresponding to the half of increased or decreased hours of lighting.

View full abstract

Nervous disorder chicks appeared in the Gifu Native Fowl and they frequently trembled and shaked shier heads horizontally since hatched. Most of these chicks showed extreme difficulty in food and water intake, and subsequently died within a week. These nervous disorder chicks were obtained from only mating between males and females previously produced nervous disorder chicks. From this mating it was resulted in producing 44 normal and 14 nervous disorder chicks, closely fitting to 3:1 ratio. It is suggested that these males and females may be heterozygous for the nervous disorder and that the gene leading to the nervous disorder may be autosomal recessive. These results indicate that such hereditary disease found in the Gifu Native Fowl is simillar to the congenital tremor in chicks reported by HUTT and CHILD (1934).

View full abstract