We analysed our irradiated sperm transformed (IST) chicken DNA for minisatellite loci by DNA fingerprinting and the microsatellite DNA by PCR method.
The direct coordination between brownish egg shell color and DNA fingerprint bands was not recognized under this study condition. The genetic similarities of WL-γ 5 (IST line), WLG (recipient line) and RIRY8 (donor line) by using band sharing (BS) values were calculated from the number of DNA fingerprint bands derived from mixed DNA. The value of BS between WL-γ5 and WLG was 0.61 in HaeIII digestion bands and 0.48 in HinfI digestion bands. The BS value between WL-γ5 and RIRY8 was 0.26 in HaeIII digestion bands and 0.15 in HinfI digestion bands. Comparison of the DNA fingerprint of mixed DNA for each strain was made and the common band in both WL-γ5 and RIRY8 was detected. This band was not detected in WLG. Strain specific band was detected from DNA fingerprint used in mixed DNA. The major band was common in WL-γ5 and WLG. In PCR analysis, the common band in both WL-γ5 and RIRY8 was found. From these results, it was thought that the WL-γ5 genome was, for the most part, common with the recipient WLG genome, except for a few genome from RIRY8 donor DNA. We thought that a few parts of donor DNA in WL-γ5 were transferred through the irradiated sperm of donor RIRY8 male under successive selections for the brownish egg shell color from generation to generation.

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Egg production in laying hens was characterized by clutches. This study sought to examine the variability of the clutch characteristics and predictability of annual egg production by the multiphasic model of KOOPS and GROSSMAN (1992) with consideration of internal laying.
Oviposition time of 135 and 123 hens in high and low lines, respectively, of a population divergently selected for yolkalbumen ratio, wree observed at four stages of a laying period. Observation duration in each stage was about 30 days. Clutch characteristics considered in this study were LAG (mean lag of oviposition time within clutch) and DELAY (mean delay of pause day between clutches) estimated by a multiphasic model, rate of internal laying (IP), the number of clutches (CN), average length of clutches (CL) and average size of clutches (CS).
LAG in both lines did not significantly vary over the four observed stages. DELAY, IP, and CN markedly increased, while CL and CS significantly decreased by stages in both lines. LAG in high line was significantly shorter than that in low line, which suggested that egg production in high line should be higher than that in low line. However, because the rate of internal laying in high line was higher than that in low line, the egg production in two lines was not significantly different.
Correlation of LAG with CN was high and positive, and that with CL and CS was medium and negative. LAG and IP showed negative correlation resulting from the inclusion of internal laying in the clutch definition.
The information of clutch characteristics in stages 1 and 2 at 120 and 188 days from onset of lay, respectively, was used to predict egg number of individual hens for the periods of 270 and 360 days of egg production by the multiphasic model. Mean of predicted values was about 35 eggs higher than that of actual number of eggs with correlation coefficients from 0.6 to 0.8.

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Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of diurnal fasting on broiler performance reared under hot summer condition on litter floor. Equal number of sexed birds, total 800 birds per trial, were raised to 21 days. The birds were divided into 16 pens in each trial at 21 days, 50 birds per pen, and the trial finished at 49 days for trial 1 or 56 days for trial 2. Both trials had four treatments with four pen each, 3 fasting groups and one nonfasting group.
Fasting started at 22 days for 5, 6 or 7 hours per day comparing with the nonfasting group in trial 1. Significant (p<0.05) high mortality due to heat stress and poor weight gain per pen were observed in nonfasting group compared with 3 fasting groups. There were no significant difference among 3 fasting groups in mortality due to heat stress and weight gain per pen with heaviest weight gain per pen for 6 hours fasting group.
In trial 2, fasting started at 22, 29 or 36 days for 6 hours each per day compared with nonfasting group. Significant high mortality due to heat stress and poor weight gain per pen were observed in nonfasting group compared with 3 fasting groups.
There were no significant difference among 3 fasting groups in mortality due to heat stress and weight gain per pen with heavier weight gain per pen for 22 and 29 days fasting groups.These results indicate that diurnal fasting for broilers after 3 weeks of age is effective to alleviate heat stress on broiler reared under hot summer condition. Judging from the result weight gain per pen in 2 trials, the best performance were obtained from the group starting at 22 or 29 days with 6 hours fasting.

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To evaluate a degree of genetic differentiation among laboratory quail populations, 25 enzymes and proteins encoded by 34 presumed loci were examined by starch or agar gel electrophoresis. Five laboratory quail populations maintained in Japan and one Canadian laboratory population were investigated in this survey. Data of gene frequencies in three wild and five Japanese laboratory quail populations (KIMURA & FuJII, 1989), four Canadian laboratory quail populations (KIMURA et al., 1990: CHENG et al., 1992) and two foreign commercial quail populations (CHENG et al., 1992: SANG et al., 1994) were quoted for genetic analysis.
Mean of the proportion of polymorphic loci (Ppoly) and the average heterozygosity per individual (H) estimated for the six laboratory quail populations in this survey were 0.261 and 0.091, respectively. Those for the fifteen laboratory quail populations were 0.283 and 0.089, respectively. These values are lower than those for nine commercial quail populations reported by SANG et al. (1994).
The fixation index (F_ST) value of 0.123 was calculated for the six laboratory populations. It was 0.194 for fifteen laboratory populaions.
It is approximately 3.5 times higher than that estimated for the nine commercial populations.According to the results of the genetic distance and the principal component analysis, the twenty quail populations examined in the present survey could be classified into following three clusters: (1) wild quail populations, (2) laboratory quail populations and (3) the quail populations selected for heavy body weight.

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In Trial I on growing chickens conducted in Japan, 7 dayold malebirds were fed a caseinbased diet (control group) in which 50% casein protein (N×6.25) was substituted by protein originated from a commerciallymanufactured Pigmented Leaf Extract (PLEX group) from lucerne (alfalfa Medicago sativa). A significant (P<0.01) reduction in total (133mg⁄100ml) and highdensitylipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (97mg⁄100ml) in blood plasma was recorded after 14 days feeding the chickens with the PLEXsupplemented diet as compared to the control diet without PLEX (23.1% and 20.5% reduction respectively). Lowdensitylipoprotein (LDL)cholesterol in the PLEX group (36mg⁄100ml) was also noticeably lower (29.4%) but statistically to the lesser degree (P<0.05). This was associated with a significant (P<0.05) reduction (by 13.2%) in the concentration of total cholesterol in the breast muscle (M. pectoralis profundus) of chickens fed the PLEX diet as compared to casein control (623 and 718g⁄kg muscle respectively). Also, chickens fed a diet supplemented with PLEX gained a 26.4% higher (P<0.01) live weight with considerably (but statistically not confirmed P>0.05) lower by 15.1% feed conversion ratio as compared to chickens fed the casein control diet (1.52 and 1.79 respectively).
When the same PLEX product was fed to White Leghorn hens in Australia (Trial II) at the level of 2.5% of a commercial wheatbased ration over a 14 month period, there was a significant (P<0.01) reduction in plasma total cholesterol and triglycerides (by 27.5% and 34.3% respectively), with a simultaneous significant (P<0.05) lowering in the levels of total cholesterol (by 12.5%) as compared to hens fed a commercial ration without the PLEX. Hens fed the PLEX diet maintained a 73% egg production in the 14th month and were laying larger eggs (average 64.4g) as compared to hens fed the diet without PLEX (69% and 61.3g respectively). Egg yolk pigmentation in both groups scored 11 according to the Roche Yellow Colour Fan, with a bright yellow gold tone of pigment in hens fed the PLEX diet. There was no difference (P>0.05) in the egg shell weight with egg yolks showing statistically (P<0.05) lower weight and higher (P<0.05) weight of the egg white which was distinctively more dense and has less watery consistency as compared to eggs from the group of hens fed a diet without PLEX.
The results indicate that by including pure leaf extract into formulations for growing chickens and laying hens, not only are the nutritional properties of the eggs improved and the desired pigmentation of the egg yolks attained from a natural pigment source but there is a substantial reduction in the total cholesterol in egg yolks as well as lower cholesterol in chicken meat obtained from use of PLEX as a dietary supplement.

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Nitrogen balance and apparent digestiblity of dietary nitrogen were determined in cockerels subjected to treadmill exercise for 20 days after they had been maintained at slightly positive nitrogen balance and marginal energy equilibrium. The nitrogen balance and apparent digestibility of nitrogen were decreased under the conditions given in the experiment.

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