By starch-gel electrophoresis, the chicken blood plasma was examined and genetically controlled variants of α-naphthyl butyrate esterases were detected.
The buffer system used was a modification of POULIK (LUSH, 1961) in which the gel buffer (pH, 8.65) contained 0.076M citric acid, and the electrode buffer (pH, 8.81) contained 0.3M boric acid and 0.1M NaOH. Electrophoresis was carried out horizontally for three hours at 10°C with a potential gradient of 250 volts across the gel (0.5×12.0 ×20.5cm). After the electrophoresis, the starch gel was sliced horizontally into halves and each half was stained for esterases in the following mixture which was prepared immediately before use by the method of PETRAS (1963):
Fast blue RR salt 50mg.
0.1M, pH 6.8 Phosphate buffer 16ml.
1% Acetone soln. of α-naphthyl butyrate 2ml.
Distilled water 180ml.
In the fastest migrating region, tentatively designated ES-1 bands was intensely stained, and in this region the three phenotypes, ES-1F, ES-1FS, and ES-1S, were observed in both sexes. The mobility of ES-1^F was greater than ES-1S. ES-1FS contained the two bands, ES-1F and ES-1S.
From mating results, it is proposed that these phenotypes were controlled by a pair of the autosomal codominant alleles, ES-1^F and ES-1S.
The region was inhibited by Tri-cresyl phosphate and Parathion, whereas it was resistant to eserine. Both aliphatic and aromatic esters were hydrolyzed by the esterases, suggesting these esterases are aliesterases.

View full abstract

As the first trial to get energy sources for poultry feed which are supplied without cultivating the land or fishing in the sea, nutritive value of glycols, one of petrochemicals, was studied with growing chicks by bioassay technique.
In the preliminary trial 40 7-day-old male White Leghorn chicks were fed diets containing either 0 or 5% of 1, 2-propanediol (propylene glycol, PG) for 9 days and thereafter dietary level of PG were steped up to 10 and 20% at every 9 days. Growth rate of the chicks fed diet with 5% of PG throughout 27 days of the experimental period was slightly better than and feed efficiency, appearance and health of the chicks and droppings were similar to those of chicks on the control diet without PG. On the other hand, the performance of chicks fed the diets with 10% PG after feeding the diets with either 0 or 5% PG for 9 days and that of chicks fed the diets with 20% PG after feeding the diets containing 0, 5 or 10% PG for another 9 days were inferior to those of the chicks on the diets of either 0 or 5% PG throughout the experimental period. Especially, droppings of the chicks on high PG level was loose with peculiarly bad smell. Apparently chicks were not accustomed on PG at levels higher than 5%. The findings was not agreeable with those obtained with rat2).
Based on the findings of the preliminary experiment, dietary levels of all the glycols tested was kept constant at 5%, except two of them for which 2.5 or 3% was tested in bioassay of available energy6, 8), with 822 4-week-old chicks and 82 one-week-old chicks in total. Following results were obtained.
1. It was unexpected that chicks can utilize 58% of gross energy of ethanediol (ethylene glycol, EG), i.e. 4.60kcal/g, which was reported to be toxic, without any ill signs in the appearance, except with significantly loose droppings of 83% of moisture comparing with 75% on control diet.
2. Chicks can almost completely utilize the gross energy of 1, 2-PG, 5.68kcal/g, without any ill effect in the performance at dietary level of 5%.
3. Chicks can almost completely utilize gross energy of 1, 3-buthanediol (1, 3-butylene glycol, 1, 3-BG), 6.44kcal/g, without any ill eflect at dietary level of 5%.
4. 1, 4- and 2, 3-BG depress growth rate and appetite of chicks. It will be hopeless to use them as energy source for poultry feed.
5. Chicks can utilize about 35% of gross energy of diethylene glycol but not utilize that of dimer of PG and trimers and tetramers of both EG and PG. Polymers of PG with average molecular weight of 2, 000 and 3, 000 were both inert for chicks. It was suggested that chicks has no enzyme or ehzymes to cleave the ether-bond of the polymers of EG and PG.

View full abstract

Experiments were conducted to determine the antithiamine activity of two thiamine antagonists, dimethialium (3-[2-methyl-4-amino-5-pyrimidinyl)-methyl]-4, 5-dimethyl thiazolium nitrate) and amprolium (1-[(4-amino-2-n-propyl-5-pyrimidinyl)-methyl]-2-picolinium chloride hydrochloride) by symmetrical 5-point slope ratio assay. Thiamine activity of vitamine supplement for formula feed stored at two different temperature were also determind by 3-point slope ratio assay.
After two preliminary experiments, corn-soy type diet with 5mg of thiamine•HNO₃ and either 1.2g of dimethialium or 3g of amprolium per kg of diet was found to be satisfactory for the basal diet. Either growth rate or feed efficiency (gain/feed) of 10-day-old White Leghorn male chick was depressed linearly by increasing dietary levels of dimethialium up to 2.0g/kg and of amprolium up to 5.0g/kg or by decreasing dietary levels of thiamine•HNO₃ to 3mg/kg of the basal diet. The linear relation ship was observed already after 7 days on the test diets. On the most deficient diet, some of the 10-day-old chicks showed slight deficiency symptoms of thiamine after 14 days, so that the experimental period was decided to be 10 to 14 days.
Combined variance analysis of two 5-point slope ratio assays on dimethialium revealed that 179mg of dimethialium counterbalanced to 1mg of thiamine•HNO₃ on growth rate of chicks with 95% fiducial interval between 253 to 105mg.
Combined variance analysis of two 5-point slope ratio assays on amprolium revealed that 666mg of amprolium counterbalanced to 1mg of thiamine•HNO₃ on growth rate of chicks with 95% fiducial interval between 848 to 484mg. Antithiamine activity of dimethialium was 3.7 times as high as that of amprolium.
No significant difference of thiamine activity was observed by 3-point slope ratio assay between vitamine supplement stored at -4°C and 30°C for 5 months. The activity corresponding to 1.47 and 1.45mg of thiamine per g of supplement, respectively.

View full abstract

Two explorative experiments were carried out in 1966 and 1967, with 8 lots of 8 females and one male each of White Cornish breed in each of the experiments, to obtain a fundamental idea on the limit of dietary levels of nutrients and of restricted feeding program for meat-type growing pullets. The experiments were the preliminary one to develop further the knowledge obtained in the first paper1) on this subject and to pave the way for the proceeding experiments in collaboration with the Prefectural Poultry Experiment Stations.
1) Pullets fed high energy diet throughout growing and laying periods grew normally with better feed conversion (feed/gain) than and comparable egg production and hatchability to those on the control diet. Unexpected as it was, carcass fat content of this group at 51 week-old was similar to that of the control, indicating no obesity.
2) Pullets on alternative day feeding throughout growing and laying periods grew slowly mainly due to 16% less feed intake than of the pullets fed every day. Maturity, shown by date of 50% lay was delayed and body weight at 44 week-old was 11% less than those of the control pullets fed every day. Little difference was observed between the 2 groups in egg production, feed conversion, hatchability after 82 week-old and viability.
3) Pullets on extremely high energy, low protein grower diet, composed of 95% of yellow corn, 2% of fish meal and minerals and vitamins, grew slowly but showed good egg production on balanced layer diet fed every or alternative day, although maturity was delayed.
4) Pullets on extremely low energy grower diet composed mainly of 77.7% of extracted rice bran took more feed but grew slower than those on the control. The egg production on balanced layer diet was normal except delayed maturity.
5) Pullets on extremely high protein diet composed mainly of 87% of soybean meal and 9.7% of fish meal, on which male White Leghorn chicks grew slowly but developed normal reproductive ability2), grew slowly but their egg production after feeding balanced layer diet was similar to those of the control.
6) Regardless of type of grower diet tested, the procedure of feeding balanced layer diet alternative day resulted in good egg production except delayed maturity with significantly smaller body weight throughout laying period than that on full-feeding program. The procedure is certainly worthy of further examination, since smaller body weight rewires less maintenance feed, resulting in better feed efficiency of egg production.
7) Highly significant linear correlation with r 0.969 was observed between carcass fat content and abdominal fat content as shown in Fig. 2. Abdominal fat content will be a useful guide to check obesity of the layers without any chemical procedure.

View full abstract

Definite seasonal variation was observed in daily feed intake and weight of egg produced per bird of a flock, in which layers of low ability were replaced with young pullets at almost regular interval, so that the egg production of the flock was kept stationary at over 50% lay. The variation could be expressed by a sine curve and had highly significant correlation with seasonal variation of average atmospheric temperature.
Daily feed intake per bird, w, can be separated into 3 and shown as a function of the difference between body and atmospheric temperature, t. The first part of w was constant regardless to t, the second proportional to the change in t and the last proportional to the speed of the change in t. The relationship between t and w could be shown by a loop as shown in Fig. 4. The long axis of the loop indicated the linear relationship between t and w. Close relationship was also observed between the third part of w, proportional to the speed of the change in t, and the change in egg production.
It was discussed that feed intake will be more than that required by layers during a half of a year corresponding to the upper half of the loop, resulting possible deposition of energy in layers' body and the intake will be less than that required by layers during the rest of the year corresponding to the lower half of the loop.

View full abstract

Metabolizable energy of diets containing various levels of acellulose product or agar-agar powder for reagent grade and digestibilities of crude fibre and crude protein in the diets were determined to study the effect of cellulose product and agar-agar diet as inert diluents in chick feed. Biologically available energy of cellulose product was also estimated by bioassay technique of energy.
The data indicated that the cellulose product has actually no biologically available energy and has neither growth-promoting nor growth-depressing effect. It is completely inert so that it is safely used as a diluent of chick feed in nutritional experiment and in bioassay of energy.
On the other hand, agar-agar powder, having a merit to be easily mixed in the diet, was excreted in feces including part of dietary energy, protein and probably all of the other nutrients otherwise utilized by chicks. Therefore, agar-agar powder is not suitable for a diluent of experimental diet.

View full abstract