The experiment was conducted to compare the growth response of chicks to varying levels of supplemented urea, diammonium citrate (DAC) and L-glutamic acid. The chicks were fed the amino acid diets which contained all essential amino acids at their requirements and were supplemented with urea, DAC and glutamic acid as a non-essential nitrogen source at the levels of 3.17, 6.35, 9.52, 12.69 and 15.87 g N/kg diet, respectively. As dietary level of urea increased, body weight gain and nitrogen retention increased until the level of 6.35 g N/kg diet and beyond this level no further improvement in the performance was not observed. Above the level of 6.35 g N/kg diet body weight gain and nitrogen retention were significantly higher than those of the basal diet except for body weight gain at the level of 9.52 g N/kg diet, whereas they were significantly inferior to those of glutamic acid at all dietary levels. With the increase of dietary DAC, body weight gain and nitrogen retention increased until the level of 6.35 g N/kg diet and thereafter decreased by the inhibitory effect which presumably responsible for dietary citrate level on chick growth. At the levels of 3.17, 6.35 and 9.52 g N/kg diet the performance of chicks was significantly improved as compared to that of the basal diet, and growth promoting effect of DAC under the level of 6.35 g N/kg diet was comparable to that of glutamic acid. From the regression curves the dietary level (g N/kg diet) of urea above which and the levels of DAC and glutamic acid at which, chicks could retain nitrogen most, were 6.13, 6.27 and 11.3, respectively.

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1. To elucidate which tissues play a role as amino acids source for egg white protein synthesis in the steady state, 17.5 μCi of L-lysine-U-¹⁴C was injected intravenously into hens at the predicted ovulation time. Single Comb White Leghorn hens aged 60-70 weeks with 100% egg production rate were supplied a diet containing 0.71% of lysine. They were housed in a metabolic cage to monitor respiratory carbon dioxide for 5 or 10 hrs. At 5, 29 and 53 hrs after injection (29 and 53 hrs meant 5 hrs after predicted ovulation time on the second and third day after injection), three hens each were killed. Radioactivity in eggs, excreta, liver, oviduct and other tissues were determined.
2. The recovery of ¹⁴C in respiratory carbon dioxide for 10 hrs was 8.70% and those in excreta were 2.39, 2.49 and 2.88% of dose at 5, 29 and 53 hrs after injection.
3. The recoveries of ¹⁴C in the liver were 7. 15, 5.85 and 4.35% of dose at 5, 29 and 53 hrs after injection. The specific activities in duodenum, jejuno-ileum and pancreas at 5 hrs after injection, but the sizes of them were so small as a source of amino acids for egg white protein.
4. The recovery of ¹⁴C in the plasma was 14.30% of dose at 5 hrs and decreased to 5.50% at 29 hrs and 4.26% of dose at 53 hrs after injection. That in the nonprotein fraction of plasma was 0.14% at 5 hrs after injection.
5. The recoveries of ¹⁴C in yolks and follicles were 3.36, 11.89 and 14.38% of dose at 5, 29 and 53 hrs after injection, respectively. Eight yolks and follicles incorporated ¹⁴C at 5 hrs after injection. Second to fifth follicles incorporated almost the same amount of ¹⁴C at each period.
6. The recoveries of ¹⁴C in the first, second and third egg whites were 5.08-7.13, 8.98-9.88 and 2.04% of dose, respectively. Those in the magnum were 14.59, 5.34 and 4.35% of dose, respectively. The sums of recovery of ¹⁴C in the egg white and in the magnum were 19.41-23.40% 0f dose. The magnum proteins with high radioactivity were synthesized during the radioactivity in the plasma was high. Then a portion, not all of synthesized protein in the magnum was transported into the first egg.

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Three leaf protein concentrates (LPCs), A: a mixture of alfalfa and barnyard grass (32.4% CP/DM), B: a mixture of oat and annual meadow grass (38.5% CP/DM) and C: ladino clover (58.4% CP/DM), were investigated for digestibility and biological value of protein. LPCs were used as the sole source of protein to provide about 10% crude protein in the diets given to six 5-month-old colostomized White Leghorn cockerels. The birds fed a protein-free diet voided the metabolic fecal nitrogen of 92mg per 100g of consumed feed and the endogenous urinary nitrogen of 14mg per 100g of body weight. The gross energy, metabolizable energy, true digestibility and biological value of LPCs A, B and C were 18.4, 17.4 and 24.2kJ/g DM; 12.7, 14.1 and 22.3kJ/g DM; 62.0%, 72.4% and 68.9%; and 78.3%, 73.3% and 78.5%, respectively. The ladino clover LPC had a higher metabolizable energy value when compared to the other LPCs, whereas the digestibility and biological value of protein were not so much different between them. According to the amino acid analysis data, the first limiting amino acid was arginine, and the chemical score calculated on the basis of NRC requirements were 75, 91 and 60 in the diets A, B and C, respectively. In LPCs A and B, however, methionine and histidine gave the lowest digestibility instead of arginine. Apparent amino acid digestibilities were about 6% lower than the corresponding true amino acid digestibilities. Total amino acid digestibility was significantly lower in LPC A than in LPCs B and C.

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In the first experiment, body weight gain, energy retention and GEE were increased by the dietary arginine up to 0.75%. Arginine intake increased as the content of dietary arginine increased from 0.25 to 1.25%. Arginine requirement by growing chicks could be slightly below the 1.0% level. Arginine deficiency did not decrease the metabolizability. In the second experiment, supplementation of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0% arginine to the control80 Japan. Poultry Sci., 21 (2), 1984diet (1.0% arginine) did not significantly decrease body weight gain, feed intake, energy retention or GEE.
The relation of energy retention with metabolizable energy intake was investigated with regression analysis. The regression equation indicates that the energy retention increase with increase in ME intake.

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Experiments were carried out to investigate the changes of feeding behaviour of laying hens with the rise of environmental temperature. Observations were made every two hours on the feeding behaviours, namely, the feed intake, the number of pecks and the time spent for pecking, of twelve hens reared on the pelleted feed under the constant temperature (25, 30, 32.5 or 35°C) conditions.
1) The rate of decrease in daily feed intake was 1.7% per centigrade rise of environmental temperature.
2) The number of pecks and the time spent for pecking per day did not change with different temperatures.
3) The feed intakes per peck and per minute decreased with the rise of temperature. This may be due to the fact that the "pecking for leisure", which occupied more than a half the total number of pecks at feed under the 25°C condition, increases as the environmental temperature is risen.
4) The diurnal patterns of feeding behaviour were not affected by different temperatures.

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True amino acid digestibility and protein utilization of oat and annual meadow grass LPC (LPC B), ladino clover LPC (LPC C) and soybean protein were determined using colostomized cockerels as the experimental animals. Since the diets used here were deficient in some amino acids, 0.14% arginine, 0.30% arginine+0.03% methionine and 0.07% methionine were supplemented to the LPC B, LPC C and soybean protein diets, respectively. The mean of true digestibility of total amino acids of arginine supplemented LPC B (90%) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of arginine and methionine supplemented LPC C (87%) and lower than that of methionine supplemented soybean protein(97%), and amino acid supplementation to the LPCs improved the digestibility. True protein digestibility was also improved by amino acid supplementation (from 72% to 84% in LPC B and from 69% to 81% in LPC C), but they were still lower than that of methionine supplemented soybean protein (95%). There was no significant difference in biological value between LPCs and soybean protein when these proteins were supplemented with deficient amino acids.

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In order to determine the effect of variety of barley on susceptibility to hydrolyzation of phytin by water-soaking, changes of phytate phosphorus and inorganic phosphorus contents by water-soaking were measured with nine varieties of domestic barley, which included four two-row types and four six-row types of barley and one naked barley.
By soaking in water for 16 hours at 40°C, 37-79% of phytate phosphorus in all barley was hydrolyzed to inorganic phosphorus. Based on the extent to hydrolyzation of phytin by soaking, nine varieties of barley could be devided into two groups. Group-1, which included Daisengold, Hoshimasari, Katorimugi, Kikaihadaka, Kawahonami and Minorimugi, was higher susceptibility and group-2, which included Saikaikawa-No.9, Sanadamugi and Seijo-No. 17, was lower susceptibility to hydrolyzation of phytin by soaking. Both area of production and type of barley had no influence on the susceptibility to hydrolyzation of phytin by soaking.

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Experiments were conducted to evaluate of effect of washing by jet stream (Exp. 1 and Exp. 2) and of disinfection by spraying disinfectant solution (Exp. 3) on reduction of bacteria on a chicken cage house.
In Exp. 1, test pieces (1×5 cm) made with slate, cedar, plywood and zinc sheet were contaminated artificially. The each piece was contaminated with 10^5.9 to 10^6.1 of Staphylococcus aureus. The pieces were placed in several locations in the house, slate on attic, cedar on upper and down faces of wooden beam, plywood on wall and zinc sheet on cage stand. The house was washed by jet stream with 3l/m² of water. The greatest reduction of bacteria was observed on cage stand. A number of bacteria on the pieces placed on cage stand reduced to 10^3.2. No visible effect was observed on reduction of bacteria on the pices placed on beam of the house.
In exp. 2, contamination with bacteria was occurred naturally with keeping chickens in the house during 2 weeks. Washing was carried out by jet stream with 3 or 4l of water per m². Reduction of bacteria contaminating on the house was less than 1/10. A degree of contamination with bacteria after washing was not different remarkably between 2 treatments washed with 3 and 4.5l of water per m².
In Exp. 3, disinfectant solution invert soap diluted 1 to 300 or to 1000 was sprayed the washed house. Reduction of bacteria contaminating on the house was less than 1/10. Effect of concentration of the solution on the reduction of bacteria was not markedly.

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Genetic resistance to MD was examined by using two lines, H and L, selected for high and low competences in GVHR, and two B genotypes, B⁹B⁹ and B¹¹B¹¹. MD virus was inoculated at one day (Experiment I) or at 2 weeks (Experiment II) of age of chicks.
Although the L line seemed to be more resistant than the H line, the differences were generally small. The differences between the B genotypes were signiflcant statistically and the B¹¹B¹¹ chicks were resistant ones. Among the four groups of the GVHR-line and B genotype combination, L-B¹¹B¹¹ was extremely resistant to MD compared to the other three groups. The interaction of the GVHR-line and the B genotype was highly signiflcant statistically.
The correlation coefflcients of the GVHR competence with the post-inoculation days at MD incidence or MD death were all negative but not significant except one case.

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