Performance of lines selected for fast‐and slow‐hatching times and crosses among them 1

1. Males of a control line and two lines selected for fast‐ and slow‐hatching were mated to females of the same three pure lines and three crosses between them. Hatchability, egg weight and hatching time were measured.

2. No significant differences were found between genetic groups in hatchability.

3. Groups containing the fast‐hatching line genotypes were significantly smaller in egg weight than those not containing this line.

4. Significant differences in hatching time existed between male lines and between female lines within pure and cross‐line parent types while no differences were observed between the female parent types and no interactions of male by female lines occurred.

5. It was concluded that inbreeding in the pure lines (10%) did not affect any of the variables measured.

6. The results on hatching time support the conclusion that little genetic variance other than additive variance is involved for this trait.     

Defective egg production in a population of dwarf white leghorns 1

1. The incidence of defective eggs during the first 60 weeks of age increased with time due to significant increases in broken and membranous eggs in a population of dwarf White Leghorn hens.

2. The production of double‐yolked eggs/100 hen d, high during the initial weeks of lay, rapidly declined and disappeared by 30 weeks of age.

3. The frequencies of broken, membranous and soft‐shelled eggs were significantly correlated with each other and with the frequency of multiple daily ovulations indicating a common aetiology for these defective egg types.

4. Double‐yolked eggs were produced by the heavier, earlier‐maturing pullets in the population.

5. Normal egg production in dwarf White Leghorns may be enhanced by reducing the incidence of defective eggs.     

Artificial light sources and their influence on physical activity and energy expenditure of laying hens

1. The influence of fluorescent and incandescent artificial lighting in a 16L:8D day/night schedule on number and intensity of movements, and on total, resting and activity‐related energy expenditure was investigated.

2. Fluorescent light showed the same positive correlation between light intensity and physical activity at all activity levels as was found previously for incandescent light.

3. Light‐dependent physical activity under fluorescent light was higher than under incandescent light at illuminances of 5 lux and above, indicating the fowl's ability to perceive qualitative light differences.

4. Total and activity‐related energy expenditure were positively associated with illuminance; resting energy expenditure was not influenced.

5. Total, resting and activity‐related energy expenditure were not statistically significantly different between light sources.

6. The results are discussed in relationship to Teichmuller's concept of adequate lighting and the characteristics of the fowl's visual system.     

The hen's egg: Incidence and inheritance of some egg abnormalities

1. More than 9000 eggs, each laid by a known hen, were examined and malformations of six types recorded: double‐yolked, A, B, rough, shell‐less and thin‐shelled.

2. A and B malformations are those seen in, respectively, an egg that is held in the shell gland for an abnormally long period and one that reaches the shell gland while an A‐egg is still there; many of the eggs recorded as rough‐shelled were probably A‐eggs for which the corresponding B‐eggs had been lost.

3. The birds were of three strains: a medium‐body‐weight brown‐egg‐laying strain and a White Leghorn strain, both of commercial origin, and a laboratory strain of Brown Leghorns.

4. The incidences of egg malformation in the three strains were 8.3, 9.2 and 0.5%.

5. A‐, B‐ and rough‐shelled eggs constituted more than two‐thirds of all malformed eggs.

6. Evidence from two generations suggests that these malformations have a high heritability.     

Long‐term selection for increased egg production 1

1. Results are presented of a closed White Leghorn flock selected for increased egg production over a period of 17 years.

2. During the last 7 years a random breeding sample of the production flock served as a genetic control.

3. Regressions of deviations of the production flock from the control flock on years, were highly significant for age at sexual maturity (‐2.18 d), egg production up to 275 d old (3.04 eggs), egg production to 500 d old (5.04 eggs) and egg weight at 14 months old (October) ( — 0.79 g).

4. The heritability of egg production up to 275 d old declined significantly from 0.35 to 0.19.

5. The realised heritability of egg production up to 275 d old was estimated to be 0.14.

6. The genetic correlation between egg production up to 275 d old and production in the residual part of the year was 0.48.

7. The rate of inbreeding in the production flock was 0.515% per generation and the expected rate of inbreeding in the control flock 0.21% per generation.     

Further studies on the attachment of bacteria to skin

1. A proportion of the bacterial flora of the skin is present in the surrounding water film and can be removed by adequate rinsing.

2. The remainder of the flora is attached to the skin in such a manner that numbers can be reduced only 10‐fold during spray‐cooling or spin‐chilling.

3. The reduction process was found to be independent of bacterial type or the extent of previous contamination.

4. The significance of the “water film flora” is discussed with respect to the attachment of bacteria and the cleaning of carcasses.     

Egg discolouration effects of including screw‐press cottonseed meal in laying hen diets and their prevention

The egg discolouration effects of including a screw‐press cottonseed meal (CSM), containing 68.2 g residual lipid/kg, 290 mg cyclopropenoid fatty acids (CPFA)/kg and 1226 mg free gossypol/kg, in laying hen diets at 300 g/kg were examined.

2. Discolouration prevention methods included treating the meal with ferrous sulphate heptahydrate (FSH), in solution or as crystals, at a 4:1 weight ratio of iron to free gossypol (experiment 1), and reducing its residual lipid (CSL) content to 4.2 g/kg by hexane extraction (experiment 2).

3. In freshly laid eggs, no discolouration was observed when hens were fed a CSM‐based diet containing 250 mg free gossypol/kg and 87 mg CPFA/kg in experiment 1, but slightly brown yolks were produced in experiment 2.

4. Storage of the eggs at 22°C led to yolk mottling, an effect believed to be the initial stages of the brown yolk discolouration.

5. Storage of the eggs at 5°C resulted in enhancement of the brown yolk discolouration, apricot discolouration on surfaces of most yolks and pink albumen discolouration. These effects were prevented when the CSM was extracted with hexane. Apricot yolk and pink albumen discolourations were also produced when hens were fed a non‐CSM diet containing crude CSL at 20.5 g/kg.

6. Dietary CSL increased egg fat saturation, altering the ratios of stearic to oleic, palmitic to palmitoleic and heptadecanoic to hepta‐decenoic fatty acids.

7. Treatment of CSM with FSH reduced the slight brown yolk discolouration in fresh eggs (experiment 2) and the yolk mottling in warm‐stored eggs. Both in solution and as crystals, FSH prevented the enhancement of brown yolk discolouration in cold‐stored eggs, leaving most eggs with apricot yolk and pink albumen discolourations.

8. Treatment of CSM and CSL with FSH reduced the CPFA‐related effects on yolk fat saturation, and the colour and pH changes in cold‐stored eggs.

9. Exposure of yolks to ammonia vapour provided a useful test to predict the development of the gossypol‐related brown discolouration in stored eggs.     

Comparison of nutritive values of groundnut oil cake and Niger oil cake for laying pullets

1. The nutritive value of Niger oil cake (Guizotia abyssinica, Cass.) as a protein supplement for layers’ diets has been assessed.

2. Replacing groundnut oil cake (GNC) by Niger oil cake (NC) on an isonitrogenous basis, did not affect egg production, egg weight or the amount of food required per dozen eggs.

3. The percentage retention of nitrogen from diets containing 30% GNC or 30% NC was similar.

4. The ME value of NC used was 3025 kcal/kg.

5. It is concluded that NC can replace GNC in layers’ diets.     

Plumage loss in medium‐bodied hybrid hens: The effect of beak trimming and cage design

1. Plumage loss was assessed by visual scoring in 288, 78‐week‐old hens, housed as groups of four in battery cages, which differed in the design of the cage front and the position of the nipple drinkers.

2. Half the hens had undergone beak trimming at 18 weeks, but in many cases regrowth had occurred.

3. Plumage damage and loss was significantly reduced in beak‐trimmed birds compared with birds with normal beaks. Tier and cage design had no effect.

4. This finding supports the idea that feather pecking is the important factor in causing plumage damage, rather than abrasion.

5. A comparison between 64 birds in which beak regrowth had occurred, and 64 in which it remained truncated, showed that both groups had similar plumage scores.

6. It appears to be the beak‐trimming procedure which is important; subsequent regrowth being irrelevant.     

Replacement of groundnut cake by dried poultry manure in the diets of laying hens

1. The effect on food consumption by pullets when dried poultry manure (DPM) replaced part of dietary groundnut cake depended on the strain of the birds: in two of the three hybrids food consumption was not affected when up to 100 g DPM/kg was fed.

2. Increases in food consumption were accompanied by increases in egg production.

3. The food required per dozen eggs was improved by up to 100 g dietary DPM/kg and variation in the sizes of eggs laid depended on the hybrid.

4. Concentrations of DPM up to 100 g/kg did not affect the water‐soluble nitrogen content of the egg but the crude albumen nitrogen content was depressed at concentrations of 80 g/kg or above.

5. Feeding DPM to laying pullets depressed body weight.     

Fermentation of poultry manure for poultry diets

1. The fermentation of poultry manure in an attempt to increase its value for poultry diets was studied.

2. Microbial strains for the efficient elimination of uric acid were isolated.

3. Suitable, cheap carbon sources (methanol, glycerol, glucose) were tested in attempts to increase cell yield.

4. These criteria were used to study the 41 bacterial and 8 yeast strains which were the most prolific on slants and which were isolated from experiments with a shaker. A strain was selected for experimentation with a fermentor.

5. Fermentor experiments were done on a laboratory scale (101) and in a non‐sterile semicontinuous system (150 1), cell mass production being similar in both systems.     

Automatic weight separation of broiler chickens

1. The individual weight gains of 371 broiler chickens in a commercial flock were monitored to establish individual growth patterns.

2. The relationship between early and final body weight was investigated for individual chickens.

3. The feasibility of automatic separation of birds into different weight groups was evaluated and consideration given as to whether this technique could be used for sex‐separation of an as‐hatched flock.

4. The results suggest that the present commercial practice of male selection at flock depopulation may be less reliable than many producers believe.     

Cross performance as influenced by selection in pure lines

1. The resultant genetic gains in cross performance due to the individual, dam family and sire family (IDS) method of index selection for increased part‐period egg number in their parent lines are described.

2. A randombred control population of known pedigree was used to measure the environmental trends.

3. Selection in pure lines resulted in concomitant improvement in the crosses for the selected as well as the correlated traits.

4. Cross performance was comparatively more than expected on the basis of mid‐parent values, indicating involvement of non‐additive gene action in the expression of cross performance.

5. Crosses responded better to independent culling level selection for egg weight than their parents.

6. Heterosis appeared to increase in later generations as compared with initial generations of selection.     

A comparison of the energy and nitrogen metabolism of broilers selected for increased growth rate,food consumption and conversion of food to gain

1. Calorimetric measurements were made on 5‐week‐old male chickens sampled from the third generation of three lines selected for either increased live‐weight gain (W), food consumption (F), or food conversion efficiency (E). A control line (C) was also measured.

2. Food intake and food conversion ratio were greater (P<0.05) in the F line than in the E and C lines.

3. Metabolisability of the diet was 0.8% higher in the E line than in the other lines.

4. Metabolisable energy (ME) intake and heat production were greater (P<0.05) in the F line than in the E and C lines, and energy balance was greater (P<0.05) in the F than in the W and E lines.

5. During starvation, excreta energy and heat production were greater (P < 0.05) in the F than the other lines.

6. Availability of ME (net energy) was the same (85%) for all lines but calculated daily maintenance energy requirements (kJ ME/kgW) were W, 860; F, 937; E, 796 and C, 810.

7. By 9 weeks the F line contained more fat and less water than lines E and C.     

Concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone,prolactin, progesterone and androgens during the ovulatory cycle of the Turkey

1. Changes in the concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin, androgen and progesterone were measured during the ovulatory cycle of the turkey.

2. Single pre‐ovulatory peaks of plasma LH, androgen and progesterone were observed which took 8, 8 and 12 h respectively, to increase and return to base‐line values. The concentration of plasma prolactin tended to be elevated between 6 h before and 6 h after the LH peak with the maximum values occurring after the peak.

3. The changes in the concentrations of plasma LH and progesterone were 3‐ and 7‐fold respectively while 2‐fold changes were observed in the concentrations of plasma androgen and prolactin.

4. The pre‐ovulatory concentration of plasma progesterone and prolactin began to decrease 4 and 6 h respectively, after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

5. Ovulation and oviposition occurred 6 to 8 h and 36.10+ 0.57 h (SEM) ( n= 11) respectively after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

6. In birds kept on 14 h light/d, pre‐ovulatory peaks of LH were initiated only during a 10 to 11‐h period starting within 2 h after the onset of darkness.

7. A comparison between these data and those from the fowl suggest that the egg is retained in the turkey's oviduct for about 3 to 4 h longer than in the fowl.     

Traits influencing the hatching performance of Japanese quail eggs

1. Japanese quail eggs from moderately heavier sires showed superior fertility; while fertile eggs from moderately heavier dams hatched slightly better than the eggs from lighter dams.

2. Higher rates of fertility and hatchability of Japanese quail eggs were observed from parents of 10 to 19 weeks of age, with peak fertility and hatchability at 14 and 12 weeks of age, respectively.

3. Sex ratios of 1:2 to 1:5 gave comparable fertility and hatchability results.

4. The hatching performance of quail eggs from cage and deep litter reared breeders was comparable.

5. Fertility and hatchability were directly proportional to the egg weight.

6. Quail egg shell colour, tints and blotches were found to influence hatching performance.

7. Storing quail eggs at 16 ± 2°C and 75 ± 5% relative humidity for more than 4 d reduced hatchability.

8. Hatchability of eggs stored at room temperature was improved if they were sealed in polyethylene bags.

9. Provision of light during the first 14 d of incubation resulted in a photo‐acceleration of about 3.2 h.     

Effects of cage shape,colony size,floor area and cannibalism preventatives on laying performance

1. Wire cages of variable width and depth, with a floor slope of 1 : 12, were used in two experiments to study the effects of cage depth, feeding space (= cage width), floor area, colony size and two methods of controlling cannibalism in White Leghorn x Australorp laying hens.

2. The least floor area (0.035 m²/bird) depressed production in two‐bird cages. Floor area had little effect on the performance of larger colonies.

3. Birds in colonies of three, four or six laid and survived equally well when feeding space/bird and floor area/bird were constant.

4. Production per hen d and food intake were higher, but return on estimated capital outlay was lower, with 102 mm than with 76 mm feeding space/bird when colony size and floor area/bird were constant.

5. Production and food intake of birds which were not treated to prevent cannibalism declined, and mortality increased, as cage depth increased from 385 to 915 mm concomitantly with increasing colony size from 2 to 7 birds and decreasing feeding space from 152 to 43 mm/bird.

6. Increasing cage depth did not increase the proportion of cracked eggs.

7. Mortality was higher among birds fitted with plastic spectacles than among debeaked birds.     

Time relationships between oviposition,ovulation and egg formation in khaki campbell ducks

1. Ten‐month‐old Khaki Campbell ducks were killed between 5 min and 15 h after oviposition. Time of oviposition and interval between eggs were recorded prior to killing.

2. Oviposition generally occurred between 04.00 and 06.00 h, 7 to 9 h after the onset of the dark period the previous day. Ninety‐seven percent of eggs were laid by 07.00 h.

3. The mean ± SD time interval between consecutive ovipositions was 24.0 ± 0.3 h, with a range from 23.5 to 24.5 h.

4. It was estimated that ovulation occurred on average 10 min after oviposition, and the ovum spent 15 to 30 min in the infundibulum, 2.5 to 3 h in the magnum, 2 to 2.5 h in the isthmus and 18.6 h in the shell gland.     

The effect of time of lay on fertility and hatchability

1. Eggs from an egg‐type breeding flock were collected at 08.00, 11.00, 14.00 and 17.00 h each day.

2. Eggs laid between 05.00 and 11.00 h had higher fertility than eggs laid between 11.00 and 17.00 h.

3. Hatchability of fertile eggs was highest in eggs laid between 05.00 and 08.00 h. Hatchability decreased progressively for eggs laid later in the day.

4. It may be more economic to use eggs laid from 14.00 to 17.00 h as table eggs rather than hatching eggs.     

Welfare assessment of broiler breeder and layer females subjected to food restriction and limited access to water during rearing

1. A factorial experiment was conducted to assess the welfare at different ages of two strains of broiler breeder and one layer strain during rearing using a range of indicators. The birds were fed ad libitum or restricted and provided with free or limited access to water.

2. Food‐restricted birds spent a large proportion of time scratching and pecking the litter compared with birds fed ad libitum.

3. The heterophil/lymphocyte ratio and the proportion of basophils were raised at 8, 12 and 16 weeks, and the plasma concentrations of corticos‐terone were higher at 8 and 12 weeks of age in restricted birds compared with those fed ad libitum.

4. Creatine kinase activity was higher in broiler breeders fed ad libitum compared with layers and restricted broiler breeders. The activity of aspartate transaminase was higher in restricted layers compared with birds fed ad libitum and was similar in broiler breeders.

5. Plasma viscosity was lower in food‐restricted compared with ad libitum‐fed birds.

6. Limiting access to water had little or no effect on the welfare indicators although food‐restricted birds with free access to water spent more time drinking than birds fed ad libitum.

7. There were no important differences between the two broiler strains. Layers spent less time resting than broiler breeders and had higher plasma corticosterone concentrations at 3 and 16 weeks of age.

8. It was concluded that there was evidence for physiological stress associated with restricted feeding at least between 8 and 16 weeks of age. It was suggested that the altered behaviour of broiler breeders kept on litter may indicate that they can cope with food restrictions and that this may be acceptable in relation to the long‐term benefits of limiting body weight during rearing. The same may not be true for layers.