Influence of stocking density and layer age on production traits and egg quality in Japanese quail

1. Japanese quail hens were housed from 6 to 26 weeks of age in cages providing areas of 150, 180, 210 and 240 cm²/bird.

2. Body weight gain, age at 50% egg production, mortality, hen‐day egg production and food conversion values showed significant improvement with proportionate increase in cage space per layer.

3. Egg weight gradually increased with age but shell thickness was influenced neither by age of the hen nor by stocking density.

4. Yolk index and colour were superior in the lowest stocking density (more cage space) group; other egg quality traits and egg weight were not influenced by stocking density.

5. The albumen index, internal quality unit, yolk index and yolk colour values increased with age.     

Estimation of the relative bioavailability of copper sources in chicks fed on conventional dietary amounts

1. Tissue accumulation of Cu from dietary additions of 0, 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg Cu as reagent grade Cu acetate and feed grade Cu carbonate was determined in day‐old chicks fed on conventional maize‐soyabean meal starter diets (5.41 mg/kg Cu as‐fed basis) for 3 weeks.

2. Average daily food intake, daily weight gain and food conversion were similar among treatments.

3. There were linear increases in plasma and liver Cu concentrations (P< 0.01) as dietary Cu increased.

4. Bioavailability of Cu as carbonate was 0.66 that of Cu in the acetate based on the multiple regression slope ratio of liver Cu concentration on added dietary Cu. Although responses for the two Cu sources did not differ significantly, the relative bioavailability of the Cu carbonate was similar (0.66 vs 0.68) to that obtained in an earlier study (Ledoux et al., 1991) with greater dietary Cu contents (150, 300 and 450 mg/kg) in which the slopes of the equations representing the two sources differed (P<0.05).     

Book reviews

The Avian Egg: Chemistry & Biology, by R. W. Burley and D. V. Vadehra, 1989. v+472 pp. illustrated. New York. John Wiley & Sons. £66.70. ISBN 0–471–849952.

A Colour Atlas of Avian Anatomy, by J. McLelland. 1990. 127 pp. illustrated. London, Wolfe Publishing Ltd. £30. ISBN 0–7234–1575–7.

The Tropical Agriculturalist—Poultry, by A. J. Smith, 1990. vi + 218 pp. CTA/Macmillan, London. ISBN 0–333–52306–7.     

Correlated responses from selection for income minus food cost in pullets on traits in older hens

1. After 5 generations of selection on income minus food cost between 21 and 40 weeks of age (SECR), a correlated genetic improvement of 14.5% and 16.3% of the base population mean could be observed for income minus food cost between 41 and 60 weeks (IF60) in two lines of laying hens. The total responses up to 60 weeks amounted to 17.2% and 17.3% of the base population mean. A heritability of 0.30 for IF60 and a genetic correlation of 0.61 between SECR and IF60 were estimated.

2. The correlated relative genetic responses for 5 traits of the period between 41 and 60 weeks of age for the two lines were: 4.3% and 5.2% in egg number, 5.8% and 7.4% in egg weight, 8.4% and 10.8% in egg mass, ‐2.7% and ‐0.6% in body weight at 60 weeks, and ‐5.2% and ‐6.3% in food efficiency.

3. The estimated heritabilities of these 5 traits from the whole data set were 0.36, 0.75, 0.34, 0.71 and 0.17. The estimated genetic correlations between SECR and the same 5 traits were 0.30, 0.46, 0.61, ‐0.22 and ‐0.49.

4. A high genetic correlation of income minus food cost with egg weight and a low one with egg number were found in pullets, but the relationships were reversed in older hens.     

The possible role of methionine in the detoxification of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) tannins in chick diets

1. A metabolism trial was designed to investigate the role of methionine as a specific detoxifying agent of the condensed tannins present in faba beans (Vicia faba L.).

2. A 5 x 5 factorial approach was employed where 5 concentrations of dietary methionine were obtained (ranging from 3.9 to 12.15 g/kg diet dry matter) by the addition of DL‐methionine, and 5 concentrations of condensed tannins (ranging from 0.5 to 19.7 g/kg diet dry matter) by altering the ratio of tannin‐free and tannin‐containing faba bean hulls added to a basal diet.

3. The intake of condensed tannins had a significant, depressive effect on apparent available nitrogen (P< 0.001) and nitrogen corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AME_n ) (P< 0.001). There was no interaction between methionine and tannin (P>0.05). Thus the depressive effect of tannin was independent of methionine levels in the diet.

4. Methionine does not act as a specific detoxifier of faba bean condensed tannins.     

The nutritional value of low lathyrogenic Lathyrus (Lathyrus sativus) for growing chicks

1. The feeding value of new low β‐N‐oxalyl‐amino‐L‐alanine (BOAA) lines of Lathyrus sativus (lathyrus) and the benefits of dehulling the seed or of pre‐adapting chicks to lathyrus‐based diets were examined in several experiments.

2. Chicks fed on diets containing 400 g/kg of the low (1.3 g BOAA/kg seed) and medium (2.2 g BOAA/kg seed) BOAA lines did not differ (P>0.05) in weight gain (WG) or in apparent fat and protein digestibilities compared to birds fed on a wheat‐based diet.

3. Consumption of 600 g low BOAA lathyrus/kg diet caused a slight, but significant (P< 0.05), decrease in WG. Food efficiency decreased as the amount of dietary lathyrus was increased, suggesting that lathyrus may contain an antinutritive factor(s) other than BOAA.

4. Removal of the hull (70 g hull/kg seed) from the seed did not affect chick performance (P> 0.05).

5. Pre‐adapting chicks for 7 d to diets containing up to 600 g medium line lathyrus/kg diet did not reduce the detrimental effects of the lathyrus.

6. Although dehulling and pre‐adaptation of chicks to lathyrus were not beneficial, the low and medium lines of lathyrus tested show potential for use in chick diets up to at least 400 g lathyrus/kg diet.