• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.245-251
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• 2007

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of modification of a herbal recipe(Herb $Mix^{(R)}$) on the growth of pullet and laying performance of hens. The formula of Herb $Mix^{(R)}$, a mixture of Rehmannia glutinosa, Angelica gigas, Discorea japonica, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Schisandra chinensis and Ligusticum jeholense, was modified in mixing ratio. A total of 1,120 pullets(Hy-Line Brown) of 14 wks old were assigned to seven treatments; control, Herb $Mix^{(R)}$(HM), R. glutinosa fortified HM, A. gigas fortified HM, D. japonica fortified HM, G. uralensis fortified HM, S. chinensis fortified HM, L. jeholense fortified HM and Flavomycin supplemented diet. Each treatment had 8 replicates of 20 birds each housed in 2 birds cages. Body weight at 10% egg production was significantly(P<0.05) influenced by treatments. Birds fed A. gigas fortified HM diet were heaviest followed by L. jeholense fortified HM, HM-original and D. japonica fortified HM, Flavomycin supplemented diet and R. glutinosa while those fed control diet were lightest. Also, age reaching 50% egg production and peak production was earliest in A. gigas fortified HM and latest in the control. Egg production, feed intake, feed conversion and egg weight were significantly influenced by treatments. Significant improvement in egg production and feed intake was shown in A. gigas fortified HM treatment. Feed conversion ratio was lowest in antibiotic(Flavomycin) treatment and egg weight was heaviest in L. jeholense fortified HM treatment. There were no significant differences among treatments in intestinal microflora but cfu of Cl. perfringnes and E. coli tended to be lower in HM treatments than the control. Among the leucocytes of blood, the HM treatments were lower than the control in counts of white blood cell and heterophils. It was concluded that modification of Herb $Mix^{(R)}$ fortifying with A. gigas, D. japonica and L. jeholense significantly influence growth and laying performance of birds.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2007

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of fermented wild-ginseng culture by-product on egg production, egg quality and blood characteristics in laying hens. A total of 216 ISA Brown laying hens, 55 wk of age, were used in the 6-wk feeding trial. Experimental diets were consisted of basal diet (CON), 2.5% fermented wild-ginseng culture by-product replaced lupin in basal diet (WG1) and 5.0% fermented wild-ginseng culture by-product replaced lupin in basal diet (WG2). Birds were randomly allotted to 18 replicate pens. There were 6 replicates per treatment, and 12 laying hens per replicate. Through the 6-wk feeding trial, egg production was significantly increased in WG1 and WG2 treatments compared to CON (P<0.05). Egg weight was significantly higher in WG2 than CON (P<0.05). WG1 resulted higher yolk color than CON (P<0.05). Albumen height and Haugh unit were significantly improve in WG1 compared to WG2 (P<0.05). Red blood cell was significantly lower in WG2 than CON (P<0.05). LDL-cholesterol was significantly decreased in CON compared to WG2 (P<0.05). In conclusion, fermented wild-ginseng culture by-product could improve egg production and egg weight in laying hens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.271-276
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• 2013

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of feedstuff of Chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris) to replace of antibiotic in the diets of broiler chickens. A total of 720 1-d-old straight run broiler chicks (Ross ${\times}$ Ross) was randomly assigned into six treatments with four replicate pens (30 birds/replicate pen) for 5-wk. A corn-soy bean meal basal diet was formulated, the treatment groups were negative group (NC, antibiotic-free diet) and 0.1% virginiamycin in as antibiotic growth promoters (PC), 1.0% fresh liquid Chlorella (T1), 1.0% dried Chlorella powder (T2), 1.0% commercial Chlorella product and 1.0% (T3) and commercial Chlorella product 0.5% (T4) were added to the basal diet to form six dietary treatments. No significant differences were found among the treatments for feed intake and feed conversion of broiler chickens during the whole experimental period, but the BW gain was significantly higher (P<0.05) in commercial Chlorella product supplemental groups than the control group (NC and PC groups). Dietary supplementation of Chlorella significantly (P<0.05) increased the plasma IgA, IgM and IgG concentration of chicks compared to NC and PC groups. Supplemental AGPs and commercial chlorella product did not affect the E. coli and Salmonella concentration in the intestinal microflora of broiler chicks; however, the population of Lactobacillus was significantly increased (P<0.05) when birds were fed commercial Chlorella product groups. It is concluded that commercial Chlorella product supplementation could be used as an alternative of antibiotics to promote growth and immune response by increasing the production of lactic acid bacteria in the intestinal microflora of broiler chickens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2013

This work was carried to evaluate effect of different raising periods on fatty acids and amino acids properties of Korean native commercial ducks. Korean native ducks (n = 90) from National Institute of Animal Science (RDA, Korea) were divided into 6 groups (15 birds/group) and were fed with meat-type duck diets for 8 wk old. When ducks grew at specific wk (6, 7 and 8 weeks), 2 ducks per group were slaughtered at 6, 7 and 8 wk old. Myristic acid (C14:0) and palmitic acid (C16:0) of saturated fatty acid (SFA) were the highest and arachidonic acid of unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) was the lowest at the age of 6 weeks old (P<0.05) at the age of 6 weeks old among treatments. Stearic acid of SFA was the highest at the age of 7 weeks old among treatments. There was no significant difference on other fatty acids among treatments. SFA and USFA have significant difference at the age of 8 weeks (P<0.05). Histidine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine and threonine of essential amino acid increased with passing weeks (P<0.05). There was no significant difference on isoleucine and valine (P>0.05). Every non-essential amino acids were the highest at the age of 8 weeks among treatments (P<0.05). In conclusion, fatty acid contents and amino acid contents increased until the age of 8 weeks old, but further research was needed because of deficiency of data to suggest the correct shipping time.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.171-178
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sperm viability, normal acrosome and mitochondrial activity in the frozen-thawed fowl semen by different cryoprotectants. The experiment was carried out on 10 sexually adult roosters of Ogye. The semen was collected twice a week and pooled semen was diluted 1:1 EK extender containing no cryoprotectant at $5^{\circ}C$. After equilibration for 30 minutes, diluted chicken semen was diluted 1:1 extender containing either 7% dimethylacetamide (DMA), 7% dimethylformamide (DMF) or 7.5% methylacetamide (MA) at final concentration and was put in 0.5 mL plastic straws and frozen for 30 minutes by exposure to liquid nitrogen vapor 4 cm above the surface of liquid nitrogen, followed by plunging into liquid nitrogen. Frozen semen was thawed in water bath at $5^{\circ}C$ for 2 minutes. For cytometric analysis, the frozen-thawed semen was diluted with EK extender to a final concentration of 90 million spermatozoa per mL. Sperm membrane integrity was evaluated as SYBR-14 and propidium iodide (PI). Acrosome integrity was assessed with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled PSA and PI. The percentage of mitochondrial function was estimated by using Rhodamine123 (R123) and PI. In conclusion, freezing rooster semen by using 7% DMF as cryoprotectant was significantly highest in rates of survival and mitochondrial function while its rate of damage of acrosome was significantly lowest. As a result, DMF is the cryoprotectant that has the lowest influences on sperm membranes and acrosome integrity. Therefore it could be used for freezing method of animal genetic conservation method for poultry diversity.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.263-270
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• 2013

The vent sexing and the auto-sexing by using sex-linked traits are general sexing methods of day-old chicks. Currently, the feather sexing which is based on the differences in the feather characteristics at hatching is the representative sexing method of chicken, because the late-feathering is sex-linked trait. The feather sexing can be used if the breed has dominant feathering gene (K) in maternal and recessive gene ($k^+$) in paternal. Therefore it is necessary to identify the association of feathering genes and quantitative traits in chickens. In this study, we investigated the influence of the rate of feathering on productive traits in Korean Native Chicken. In results, there was no significant difference between early-feathering chickens and late-feathering chickens in reproductive performance such as fertility and hatchability. Livability, body weights, egg production, egg weight and egg quality also did not significantly differ between early- and late-feathering chickens. Age at first egg was the only trait of those tested in which significant difference was observed. The early-feathering chickens laid eggs 3 days earlier than late-feathering chicken. As a result, there is no influence of feathering phenotypes on productive performance in Korean Native Chickens. Consequentially, establishing the feather sexing strain is available using the Korean Native Chicken breed without considering of the effect of feathering genes on productive traits.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.253-262
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• 2013

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of floor type and heating system on performance, housing environment and health status of ducks reared in three types of duck house (OD : Open floor house-Direct heating system, OF : Open floor house-Floor heating system and LD : Loft type house-Direct heating system). In OF treatment, PVC pipes were installed for heating under concrete floor and covered with litter. In LD treatment, plastic mesh was installed 50 cm above the floor so that duck's droppings can pass through it. Each treatment had four replicates of 25 birds (Cherry Valley duck breed) per pen. There were no significant differences in weight gain and feed intake of ducks for 6 weeks among all treatments. However, feed conversion ratio in LD was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that in OF. No differences were found in carcass charac- teristics, with the exception of abdominal fat weight where OF were higher than the others. Concentrations of $CO_2$ and $NH_3$ gas in OD were higher than those of OF and LD at 3, 4 and 5 weeks. Moisture content in litter of OF was lower than that of OD. In contrast, the amount of dust in the air was higher in OF than in OD. The amount of fuel used for 6 weeks in LD was lower about 21% than that in OD. Some of unusual symptoms were observed in open floor house and loft type house, such as lying, spraddle legged, twisted ankle and legs, wounded sole, or etc. No components of leukocyte and erythrocyte of blood were significantly different among all treatments. The results of this experiment showed that OF and LD systems had no positive effects on performance of meat type commercial duck. However, there were some positive effects of certain house type for the improvement of environmental condition in duck house for hygienic production. In the future, more research on the effect of various facilities and systems for duck house is needed.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.207-216
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• 2013

This study was conducted to establish the method for preserving PGCs that enables long-term storage in liquid nitrogen for developmental engineering or preservation of species. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of freeze-thaw treatment on viability of PGCs in chickens. PGCs were collected separately from a germinal gonad of an early embryo of 5.5~6 day (stage 28) of Isa brown, Korean Oge (KO), White Leghorn and Commercial breeds. PGCs separated from a germinal gonad of an early embryo of 5.5~6 day (stage 28) are suspended in a freezing medium containing a freezing and protecting agents (e.g. dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol). The PGCs were then purified using magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) method. The viability of PGCs after thawing was $87.4{\pm}0.4%$ and $89.4{\pm}0.2%$ with the 10% EG treatments with no significant difference between the Isa brown and Commercial breeds. The viability of PGCs after freeze- thawing was significantly higher for Isa brown ($87.4{\pm}0.4%$) and Commercial breeds ($89.4{\pm}0.2%$) than Korean Oge (KO) ($77.6{\pm}1.1%$) and White Leghorn ($76.2{\pm}0.9%$)(p<0.05) using 10% EG cryoprotectant. This study established a method for pre- serving chicken PGCs that enables systematic storage and labeling of cryopreserved PGCs in liquid ($LN_2$) at agermplasm repository and ease of entry into a data base. In the future, the importance for this new technology is that poultry lines can be conserved while work is being conducted on improving the production of germline chimeras.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.197-205
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• 2013

This study established a method for preserving chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs) that enables long-term storage in liquid nitrogen ($LN_2$) for preservation of the species. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Ethylene Glycol (EG) and Propylene Glycol (PG) on viability of cryopreserved PGCs with vitrification in Korean Native Chicken (Ogye), and to fine should be find or to the optimal protocol for PGCs freezing. One of the important components of cryopreservation process is cryopreservation medium that plays a vital role in preventing cellular injury during freeze-thawing. Cryoprotective agents have been known to improve cell viability after freeze-thawing. PGCs obtained from the germinal gonade of 5.5~6 day (stage 28) chick embryos, using the MACS method were suspended in a freezing medium containing a freezing and protecting agents. Gonads were harvested from stage 28 chick embryos and pooled in groups of 10E embryos, contributing gonads to the cell suspension. The gonadal cells, including PGCs, were then frozen in 1 of the following cryoprotectant treatments: 2.5% EG, 5% EG, 10% EG, 2.5% PG, 5% PG, 10% PG, and 0% cryoprotectant as a control. Effects of exposure to vitrification solution and vitrification, with different concentrations of the cryoprotectant solution, were examined. After freezing and thawing, survival rates of the frozen-thawed PGCs from the 0, 2.5, 5, 10 and 15% EG plus FBS treatment were 44.24%, 64.51%, 85.63%, 80.51% and 73.52% (p<0.05), respectively. The viability of PGCs after freeze-thawing was significantly higher for 10% EG plus FBS treatment than for 10% PG + FBS treatment (p<0.05)(85.63% vs 66.81%). Therefore, these systems may contribute in the improvement of cryopreservation for a scarce species in birds preservation. This study established a method for preserving chicken PGC that enables systematic storage and labeling of cryopreserved PGCs in liquid N at a germplasm repository and ease of entry into a database. In the future, the importance for this new technology is that poultry lines can be conserved while work is being conducted on improving the production of germline chimeras.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2013

This study was investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of Yacon by-products and pine needle powder on growth performance, carcass characteristics, pH, TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance), WHC (water holding capacity), shear force, and meat color of chicken thigh meat. Broiler chicks were fed diets for five weeks containing 0% Yacon by-products and pine needle powder (Control), 0.5% Yacon by-products powder (T1), 1.0% Yacon by-products powder (T2), 0.5% pine needle powder (T3), and 1.0% pine needle powder (T4). There was no significant difference in growth performance among treatments, but mortality was decreased in diets by the supplementation of Yacon by-products and pine needle powder than that of control. The chicken fed control diet had higher cholesterol. LDL-cholesterol. triglyceride compared to those chicken fed Yacon by-products and pine needle powder regardless of concentrations, and HDL-cholesterol of control was lower than treatment. The pH and TBARS were significantly decreased by the supplementation of Yacon by-products and pine needle powder compared to the control (P<0.05), especially, pine needle powder group was significantly more effective in improving freshness compared to other test groups (P<0.05). The WHC and shear force were not significantly different. CIE $L^*$ and $a^*$ value of test groups showed significantly higher value compare to the control, however, no difference in the CIE $b^*$ values was observed among test groups. In conclusion, a supplementation of Yacon by-products and pine needle powder were effective in decreasing pH, TBARS, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol and increasing HDL-cholesterol concentration. Pine needle powder supplementation was most effective (T3 and T4).