The laying performance of two strains of hens offered diets containing dried poultry manure during the laying stage

1. Light‐weight (Babcock B300) and medium‐weight (Warren‐SSL) hens were offered diets, containing 0, 100 or 200 g dried poultry manure (DPM) and 11.49, 11.12 or 10.83 MJ metabolisable energy/kg respectively, between 18 and 70 weeks of age. The true protein, metabolisable energy, calcium and phosphorus contents of the DPM, from caged layer hens, were used in the diet formulation.

2. The hen‐housed laying performance of hens offered the DPM‐containing diets was significantly better for number of eggs laid and total egg mass produced but the performance of the control groups was lower than would normally be expected of those stocks. The reason for the lower rate of lay and higher mortality of hens fed on the control diet was not identified. The amount of food consumed increased as the energy content of the diet decreased and the efficiency of food conversion (EFC) of the lightweight strain was reduced; there was no significant effect on the EFC of the medium‐weight hens.

3. The inclusion of DPM in the diets had no effect on albumen quality or on the incidence of hair‐cracked, cracked or broken eggs. However, with both strains of hens, shell weight and shell thickness were poorer when 100 or 200 g DPM/kg diets were fed.     

Ulceration and stricture of the right dorsal colon after phenylbutazone administration in four horses

Four cases of ulceration and stricture of the right dorsal colon were encountered. Ulceration of the right dorsal colon is generally associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) toxicosis but there are few reports of stricture following ulceration. All four horses had recent phenylbutazone use: three had been given doses well in excess of the recommended dose and in one the dose was marginally above those recommended but was combined with administration of other NSAIDs. All four horses presented with intermittent low-grade colic, weight loss and ventral oedema. Diarrhoea was also seen in three of them. All had hypoproteinaemia due to severe hypoalbuminaemia, and hyperfibrinogenaemia. Hypoalbuminaemia was less severe in one horse and this horse was successfully managed medically. Two cases were definitively diagnosed at exploratory celiotomy and two at necropsy. Exploratory celiotomy was performed in two horses: one was euthanased at surgery and one was managed successfully with medical treatment and remained normal 1 year after surgery. Medical management included feeding of a low-roughage pelleted ration, corn oil, psyllium mucilloid, and discontinuation of NSAID administration.     

The crocodile project in Papua New Guinea

Crocodilians throughout the world are under very heavy pressure from habitat destruction, human displacement and deliberate hunting for skins. In Papua New Guinea crocodiles of two species are still relatively plentiful and play an important part in the economy of many remote settlements. An attempt is being made by the national government to implement a policy intended to bring about the harvesting of wild crocodiles on a sustained yield basis and provide an economic incentive for conserving wild stocks in their natural habitat. Low human population density and the existence of vast swamplands make this a possibility. In recognition of the policy and the exceptional circumstances, Papua New Guinea has been exempted from trade restrictions imposed by a number of countries under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).     

The validity of the use of SEM/EDAX as a tool for the detection of UF resin penetration into wood cell walls in particleboard

Summary The interpretation of data from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) is dependent on the size of the excitation volume, the magnitude of which for organic materials such as wood has been little studied. From the analysis of a model system comprised of a thin layer of gold sandwiched between two layers of an epoxy plastic, it was shown that about 90% of all excitations arise from a volume about 6 m wide and 4 m deep. However, these dimensions vary with the orientation of the gold relative to the specimen surface, and the specimen tilt. Theoretical predictions based on these data support, but not conclusively, the previously published SEM/EDAX evidence of the penetration of urea formaldehyde resins into the wood cell wall in particleboard manufacture.This paper was written while A. J. Bolton was Heritage Visiting Scientist at the Forest Products Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Visiting Professor at the Department of Forestry, University of Wisconsin, both at Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A. This support is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance of E. Edwards in machining the SEM specimens     

Occurrence,Virulence Genes and Antibiotic Resistance of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) from Twelve Bovine Farms in the North‐East of Ireland

Cattle faecal samples (n = 480) were collected from a cluster of 12 farms, and PCR screened for the presence of the intimin gene (eae). Positive samples were cultured, and colonies were examined for the presence of eae and verocytotoxin (vtx) genes. Colonies which were positive for the intimin gene and negative for the verocytotoxin genes were further screened using PCR for a range of virulence factors including bfpA, espA, espB, tir ehxA, toxB, etpD, katP, saa, iha, lpfA_{O157/OI‐141} and lpfA_{O157/OI‐154.} Of the 480 faecal samples, 5.8% (28/480) were PCR positive, and one isolate was obtained from each. All 28 isolates obtained were bfpA negative and therefore atypical EPEC (aEPEC). The serotypes detected included O2:H27, O8:H36, O15:H2, O49:H+, O84:H28, O105:H7 and O132:H34 but half of the isolates could not be serogrouped using currently available antisera. Twenty‐two (79%) of the isolates carried the tir gene but only 25% were espB positive, and all other virulence genes tested for were scarce or absent. Several isolates showed intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, minocycline and tetracycline; full resistance to nalidixic acid or tetracycline with one isolate (O?:H8) displaying resistance to aminoglycosides (kanamycin and streptomycin), quinolones (nalidixic acid) and sulphonamides. This study provides further evidence that cattle are a potential source of aEPEC and add to the very limited data currently available on virulence genes and antibiotic resistance in this pathogenic E. coli group in animals.