The effects of space allowance and group size on egg production traits and profitability 1

1. The productivity and profitability of two commercial strains of WL were measured simultaneously at space allowances of 0–0310, 0–0387 and 0.0464 m² per bird and in groups of three, six and 12 birds per cage.

2. Space and group effects were independent and additive, the latter being the more important in determining profitability.

3. A space allowance of 0–0310 m² per bird adversely affected production and increased food consumption, possibly the result of increased interaction between birds.

4. Depopulation at 12 to 13 months of lay was calculated to maximise average monthly egg margin over food and bird costs and to minimise the problems of egg quality associated with the aging pullet.     

Fire Risk in Revegetated Bunchgrass Communities Infested with Bromus tectorum

In rangeland ecosystems, invasive annual grass replacement of native perennials is associated with higher fire risk. Large bunchgrasses are often seeded to reduce cover of annuals such as Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass), but there is limited information about how revegetation reduces fire risk over the long term. We assessed how revegetated community composition influences fire risk at three sites in Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Grant County, Washington that were revegetated with large bunchgrasses 8 ? 18 years before the study. At each site, five replicates of 10 plots (10 × 10 m) were established. Fire risk was determined as the probability that a plot would completely burn following ignition at a randomly located point in each plot (i.e., if 8 of 10 plots burned, then fire risk was 80%). Preignition, cover of bunchgrasses, cheatgrass, forbs, and surface characteristics were determined for each plot. Fire risk was < 100%. However, fire risk was still relatively high around 73% and did not differ significantly among sites despite differences in cheatgrass and bunchgrass cover, which may have been attributable to other characteristics, such as high total fuels cover (> 80% at all sites) and unvegetated gap cover (soil and soil cryptogams, < 17%). This information can provide guidance for future studies with larger ranges of cover characteristics to develop robust fire risk models, which ultimately will be used to aid rangeland managers who need to specify reduction of fire risk after reestablishing large bunchgrasses in rangelands infested with cheatgrass.     

Lack of correlation between antibody titers to fibrinogen-binding protein of Streptococcus equi and persistent carriers of strangles.

Previously published studies have neither used nor reported the results of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) to measure serologic responses in natural outbreaks of strangles. The concept of using serologic responses to identify persistent carriers of Streptococcus equi has been proposed but not scientifically evaluated. The specific aims of the current study were to determine the duration and level of truncated fibrinogen-binding protein-specific (SeM allele 1) antibody production in ponies involved in a natural outbreak of strangles and to determine if test results from this serologic iELISA could predict persistent carrier status. Serologic samples were obtained before and after an outbreak of naturally occurring strangles infection. Persistent carriers of S. equi were identified via culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of lavage fluid collected from the guttural pouches and nasopharynx or swabs of the nasopharynx after recovery from acute disease and at postmortem examination. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine if an association existed between serologic response and persistent carrier state. The ELISA reported in the current study definitively confirmed a recent exposure to S. equi. However, the measured serologic response did not predict carrier status in this strangles outbreak. Therefore, a guttural-pouch endoscopy with subsequent culture or PCR testing to detect S. equi remains the most accurate method available for the identification of persistent carriers.     

Book reviews

Comparative Nutrition of Fowl and Swine: the Gastrointestinal Systems. Edwin T. Moran, Jr. Published by E. T. Moran Jr. distributed by Office for Educational Practice, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario NIG 2W1, Canada. 1982. 253 pp., illustrated. ISBN 0–88955–010–7.

A Manual of Recommended Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Poultry and Poultry Products. Edited by R. T. Parry, L. Haysom, N. L. Thomas and R. Davis. British Poultry Meat Association Ltd., High Holborn House, 52–54 High Holborn, London WC1V 6SX. 1982. 96 pp. £4.95.     

Development and validation of residue methods for the determination of the pyrethroids lambda-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in natural waters

This paper describes the development of methods suitable for the sampling and analysis of the pyrethroid insecticides lambda-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in natural waters. A solid-phase water-sampling method which avoids the requirement for transport and storage of large volumes of water is described. This method is shown to be capable of extracting trace levels (ng litre^?-1) of the title compounds from natural waters with efficiencies of at least 80%. Chromatographic analysis of processed samples by gas chromatography–electron capture detection enables determination of residues at levels of 1–2 ng litre^?-1 in water.     

Polioencephalomalacia in cattle in New Zealand fed chou moellier (Brassica oleracea)

Polioencephalomalacia was diagnosed clinically in 26 heifers from a herd of 99 grazing chou moellier (Brassica oleracea). Clinical signs included ataxia, recumbency, blindness and aimless walking. Characteristic polioencephalomalacic autofluorescence was seen under long ultraviolet radiation of four fresh brains examined in the veterinary clinic and two formalin-fixed brains sectioned and examined in the laboratory. Haemorrhage and malacia were noted grossly and microscopically in the cranial colliculus, thalamus and hippocampus of two brains sectioned in the laboratory, while multifocal vasculitis was seen in one brain. High sulphur concentrations of 8500 mg/kg DM in the chou moellier and a recent change in grazing management were the most likely causes of the outbreak.