Polyphenols in Eucalyptus leaves improved the egg and meat qualities and protected against ethanol‐induced oxidative damage in laying hens

Polyphenols in Eucalyptus leaves (PE) were value resources due to various pharmacological activities, but data on the effect on laying hens are very scare. This study was conducted to determine the effect of PE on the laying performance, egg traits, meat quality, antioxidant status and liver tissues of laying hens. One hundred and twenty 256‐day‐old Yueqinhuang laying hens were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (different levels of PE at 0, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2 g/kg diet) for 63 days with 15 replicates per group. Addition of 0.8 g/kg PE not only improved the egg trait by increasing the eggshell thickness and decreasing MDA production and cholesterol content in the egg yolk, but also significantly enhanced meat quality of hens, as suggested by the increase pH_45 min (p < .01) and a* value, and decrease drip loss rate (p < .01). Meanwhile, under acute ethanol‐induced oxidative damage condition, supplementation of 0.8 g/kg PE enhanced the serum antioxidant status by increasing enzymatic activities (GSH‐PX, T‐SOD, T‐AOC), inhibited oxidative damage and provided protective effect to liver tissue. In conclusion, addition of 0.8 g/kg PE not only improved the egg traits and meat quality without obvious adverse effects, but also increased the serum antioxidant status of the hens and protected their liver tissue from ethanol‐induced oxidative damage. This study indicated that PE could be utilized as an effective feed additive for laying hens to improve health performance and egg traits.     

Effects of Alternative Molting Programs and Population on Layer Performance: Results of the Thirty-Fifth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test

A study involving 7 white-egg and 3 brown-egg commercial layer strains was conducted at the North Carolina Piedmont Research Station to assess the effects cage population 3-bird vs. 4-bird cages and alternative molt programs on performance through 113 wk of age (791 d). The flock was divided into 3 groups; not molted (NM), maintained in continuous production; molted using feed restriction (FR), an industry-type 14-d feed withdrawal molting program initiated at 463 d of age; and molted using a nonfasted/anorexic program (NF), in which an ad libitum supply of a low protein, low energy molt feed was provided. Productivity, egg size, and egg quality were monitored at 28-d periods throughout the test providing the performance data for the white-egg and brown-egg strains with regard to these management factors. Detailed results by strain are available on the following Web site: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/tech_info.html#layer. The performance for the 3-bird or 4-bird cage groups for either type of layer was similar, except that birds in 4-bird cages had higher feed consumption in the first production phase than did the birds in 3-bird cages. In the same time period the white-egg birds in the 3-bird cages had a greater percentage of cracked eggs and a smaller percentage of Grade A large eggs than those in 4-bird cages. No differences were observed in egg income for the 2 population sizes for either type of layer. However, due to their higher feed consumption, the white egg birds in the 4-bird cages had higher feed cost per hen for the first cycle, which was offset by the egg income component due to their increased production rate. The molted layers outperformed the nonmolted layers for both types of layers in terms of overall income over feed costs. The FR molted hens, under a program that has traditionally been used by commercial producers, outperformed NF-molted hens, indicating that further refinements are needed to make the NF program economically competitive with the FR molting program.     

饲粮代谢能和粗蛋白质水平对蛋鸭产蛋性能的影响

本试验旨在研究饲粮代谢能(ME)和粗蛋白质(CP)水平对蛋鸭产蛋期不同阶段产蛋性能的影响。采用3×3两因子完全随机试验设计,ME水平分别为10.88、10.46和10.04 MJ/kg,CP水平分别为18.26%、17.07%和16.42%,选取刚开产的福建龙岩麻鸭1 674羽,随机分为9个组,每组6个重复,每个重复31羽。试验共持续32周。结果表明:1)产蛋初期(16~18周龄),饲粮ME和CP水平均未显著影响蛋鸭产蛋率、平均蛋重、日产蛋重和料蛋比(P>0.05)。饲粮ME和CP水平对蛋鸭平均蛋重有显著的交互作用(P<0.05)。2)产蛋高峰期(19~39周龄),饲粮ME水平显著影响蛋鸭平均蛋重(P<0.05)。饲粮ME水平为10.88和10.46 MJ/kg组的平均蛋重显著高于10.04 MJ/kg组(P<0.05)。饲粮CP水平未显著影响蛋鸭产蛋率、平均蛋重、日产蛋重和料蛋比(P>0.05)。饲粮ME和CP水平对蛋鸭产蛋率、平均蛋重、日产蛋重和料蛋比没有显著的交互作用(P>0.05)。3)产蛋后期(40~47周龄),饲粮ME水平为10.46 MJ/kg组的产蛋率和日产蛋重显著高于10.04 MJ/kg组(P<0.05);10.88 MJ/kg组的平均蛋重显著高于10.46和10.04 MJ/kg组(P<0.05)。饲粮CP水平为18.26%组的产蛋率、日产蛋重显著高于17.07%和16.42%组(P<0.05),料蛋比显著低于17.07%和16.42%组(P<0.05)。饲粮ME和CP水平对蛋鸭日产蛋重有显著的交互作用(P<0.05)。综合考虑产蛋性能指标,产蛋初期、高峰期和后期龙岩麻鸭饲粮适宜的ME和CP水平分别为10.88、10.46、10.46 MJ/kg和17.07%、17.07%、18.26%,每日ME和CP需要量分别为1.47、1.60、1.48 MJ和22.96、26.16、25.81 g,饲粮的蛋能比分别为15.62、16.35、17.44 g/MJ。     

Effect of dietary defatted diatom biomass on egg production and quality of laying hens

Background： This study was to determine if feeding laying hens with defatted diatom microalgal biomass （DFA） from biofuel production affected their egg production and health status. Methods： Five replicates of 5 individually caged ISA Babcock White leghorn hens were fed 4 diets, including a corn-soybean meal control diet, a diet containing 7.5% DFA substituting for soybean meal, and diets containing 7.5% or 15% DFA substituting for corn and soybean meal. Body weights, feed intake, feed conversion ratio （FCR）, rate of egg production, egg size, egg mass, and several characteristics of eggs were determined at 4 and 8 wk. Venous blood was sampled at 4 and 8 wk for measurement of 5 biomarkers of health. Results： The15% DFA diet decreased （P 〈 0.05） feed intake, egg production, and plasma uric acid concentrations as compared with the control diet, but increased （P 〈 0.05） egg albumen weight and height compared with the 7.5% DFA diets. The two levels of DFA produced dose-dependent （P 〈 0.05） changes in three color measures of egg yolk, without affecting four hen plasma biochemical indicators of health. Conclusions： Feeding laying hens with 7.5% DFA in the corn-soybean meal diet for 8 wk had no adverse effect on their health, egg production, or egg quality, but 15% inclusion reduced feed intake, egg production, and efficiency of feed utilization.     

酶制剂、益生素对杂粕饲粮品质改善效果的研究

采用单因素完全随机设计,研究杂粕日粮中添加0.015%的酶制剂和0.15%的益生素与豆粕日粮饲喂蛋鸡的效果差异。结果表明,与豆粕相比,加酶或加益生素的杂粕日粮降低蛋鸡产蛋率、产蛋量、蛋重和蛋鸡采食量;通过添加益生素或酶制剂,杂粕日粮在饲料转化率上与豆粕日粮效果相当;与豆粕日粮相比,加酶或加益生素的杂粕日粮不影响蛋壳厚度和软破蛋率,也不影响能量和蛋白质代谢率,但显著降低排泄物中蛋白质含量。可见,一定程度上加酶或加益生素能可提高杂粕的利用率,但其实用效果与豆粕日粮还有一定差距。     

Effects of Cage Location and Tier Level with Respect to Light Intensity in Semiconfined Housing on Egg Production and Quality During the Late Laying Period

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of cage location and tier level with respect to light intensity on egg production and egg quality of hens housed in a semiconfined facility. Hens (ISA Brown, n = 225) at 75 wk of age were placed into 3-tier cages as top (T), middle (M), and bottom (B) tiers located in cages illuminated artificially (EI), by window (FW), or between corridors (C) for 2 mo. Light intensity was measured monthly for each cage at 5 cm from feeders every 6 h. Egg production was recorded daily and egg quality was assessed biweekly. Light intensity was the greatest for cages in the FW group (151.9, 119.8, and 89.8 lx for tiers T, M, and B, respectively), followed by EI (52.6, 54.5, and 51.0 lx for tiers T, M, and B, respectively), and C (44.5, 23.4, and 4.7 lx for tiers T, M, and B, respectively). Hens at location EI had greater egg production than hens at FW and C. Egg production for hens at tier T was also greater than for hens at tiers M and B. Egg production for hens at EI and C decreased quadratically, whereas that for hens at FW decreased linearly from tiers T to B. Cage location, but not tier level, affected egg weight. Hens at EI and FW produced heavier eggs than hens at C. Shape index, yolk color, and yolk index were independent of cage location and tier level. Hens at EI and FW produced eggs with thinner and weaker shells than hens at C. Moreover, eggshell strength increased linearly from tier T to B. Both albumen index and Haugh unit were the greatest for hens at FW, followed by EI and C. Their responses to cage location varied with tier levels. In conclusion, variation in light intensity in multitier cage systems in semiconfined laying hen houses may be a contributing factor for depressed laying performance and egg quality.     

Nutritive constituents of Silky fowl eggs: comparison with hen eggs of White Leghorn origin

In the present study, proportional parts, amounts of major constituents, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids composition of Silky fowl eggs were examined compared with those of hen eggs. The ratio of egg yolk weight to whole egg weight of Silky fowl egg was significantly larger than that of egg yolk of hen egg. The amount of cholesterol of Silky fowl eggs were significantly (P < 0.01) less than those of hen eggs. The amount of vitamins (B2, B6, D and E), calcium and potassium in Silky fowl eggs were significantly higher than those of hen eggs. Unsaturated fatty acids in Silky fowl eggs were 62.5% among total fatty acids, the unsaturated fatty acids of hen eggs were 53.9%. Especially, the contents of arachidonic acid, docosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in Silky fowl eggs were significantly larger than in hen eggs.     

牛磺酸的生物学功能及其在蛋鸡生产中的研究应用

牛磺酸是一种具有广泛生物学功能的营养物质,它在畜牧业生产中的应用已引起人们的密切关注,成为当今研究的一个亮点。本文概述了牛磺酸的结构、性质、分布、合成代谢、生物学功能及其在蛋鸡生产中的研究应用进展,并指出了今后需解决的问题和发展前景。