• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.1558-1564
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• 2018

Objective: We report monitoring conservation effect for a Chinese indigenous chicken (Langshan) breed using major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and DNA barcords. Methods: The full length of MHC B-G gene and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene in generations 0, 5, 10, 15, 16, and 17 was measured using re-sequencing and sequencing procedures, respectively. Results: There were 292 single nucleotide polymorphisms of MHC B-G gene identified in six generations. Heterozygosity (He) and polymorphic information content (PIC) of MHC B-G gene in generations 10, 15, 16, and 17 remained stable. He and PIC of MHC B-G gene were different in six generations, with G10, G15, G16, G17 >G5>G0 (p<0.05). For the COI gene, there were five haplotypes in generations 0, 5, 10, 15, 16, and 17. Where Hap2 and Hap4 were the shared haplotypes, 164 individuals shared Hap2 haplotypes, while Hap1 and Hap3 were the shared haplotypes in generations 0 and 5 and Hap5 was a shared haplotype in generations 10, 15, 16, and 17. The sequence of COI gene in 6 generations was tested by Tajima's and D value, and the results were not significant, which were consistent with neutral mutation. There were no differences in generations 10, 15, 16, and 17for measured phenotypic traits. In other generations, for annual egg production, with G5, G10, G15, G16, G17>G0 (p<0.05). For age at the first egg and age at sexual maturity, with G10, G15, G16, G17>G5>G0 (p<0.05). Conclusion: Combined with the results of COI gene DNA barcodes, MHC B-G gene, and phenotypic traits we can see that genetic diversity remained stable from generations 10 to 17 and the equimultiple random matching pedigrees conservation population conservation effect of Langshan chicken was effective as measured by these criteria.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1526-1531
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• 2014

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are key enzymes involved in cell and tissue remodeling during ovarian follicle development and ovulation. The control of MMP9 transcription in ovarian follicles occurs through a core promoter region (-2,400 to -1,700 bp). The aim of this study was to screen genetic variations in the core promoter region and examine MMP9 transcription regulation and reproduction performance. A single cytosine deletion/insertion polymorphism was found at -1954 $C^+/C^-$. Genetic association analysis indicated significant correlation between the deletion genotype ($C^-$) with total egg numbers at 28 weeks (p = 0.031). Furthermore, luciferase-reporter assay showed the deletion genotype ($C^-$) had significantly lower promoter activity than the insertion genotype ($C^+$) in primary granulosa cells (p<0.01). Therefore, the identified polymorphism could be used for marker-assisted selection to improve chicken laying performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.433-440
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• 1993

Means and standard errors of 285 Taiwan's local chicken and 429 Single Comb White Leghorn pullets at 35 wk of age were: egg weight (g) $48.3{\pm}0.3$, $54.6{\pm}0.3$, shell index $73.39{\pm}0.26$, $73.20{\pm}0.18$, shell color $15.23{\pm}0.40$, $0.88{\pm}0.27$, shell whiteness $72.61{\pm}0.57$, $90.00{\pm}0.35$, shell strength ($kg/cm^2$) $3.77{\pm}0.07$, $3.35{\pm}0.05$, shell thickness (mm) $0.38{\pm}0.003$, $0.38{\pm}0.002$, Haugh units $85.26{\pm}0.50$, $91.81{\pm}0.38$ and yolk percent (%) $30.17{\pm}0.18$, $27.32{\pm}0.16$ respectively. Theestimated heritabiliities of Taiwan's local chicken based on sire and dam components of variance were as follows: egg weight 0.20, shell index 0.1, shell color 0.87, shell whiteness 0.79, shell strength 0.37, shell thickness 0.14, Haugh units 0.24 and yolk percent 0.16. Genetic correlations based on sire and dam components of variance and covariance were also estimated. Generically, the shell index was positively correlated with egg weight, shell strength and yolk percent, and egg weight was negatively correlated with shell thickness, Haugh unit and yolk percent.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.1418-1427
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of Bacillus-based probiotics supplemented at two different levels to modulate the productive performance, egg quality, tibia traits, and specific cecal bacteria counts of Hy-Line Brown layers from 25 to 37 weeks of age. Methods: A total of 216 twenty-five-week-old hens were randomly distributed into 3 experimental diets with 12 replicates of 6 birds per cage. Diets included basal diet supplemented with 0 (CON), 3×10⁸ (PRO1), or 3×10⁹ (PRO2) colony-forming unit (CFU) of the test probiotic containing Bacillus subtilis PB6, Bacillus subtilis FXA, and Bacillus licheniformis G3 per kilogram of feed. Results: Improved egg weights and mass at 29 weeks; and feed intake at 31 weeks (p<0.10) were noticed with the probiotic-supplemented PRO1 and PRO2 diets. Considering egg quality, the shell thickness, Haugh units, and yolk color were improved; but yolk cholesterol was lowered (p<0.05) with PRO1 and PRO2 diets at 29 weeks. At both 33 and 37 weeks, the egg-breaking strength, shell color and thickness, albumen height, Haugh units, and yolk color were improved; but yolk cholesterol was similarly lowered (p<0.05) with the PRO1 and PRO2 diets. Improved tibia Ca, ash, weights, and density; and raised cecal counts of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli (p<0.05) were noticed with PRO1 and PRO2 diets. Improved tibia P but reduced Clostridia counts (p<0.10) were also observed with the PRO1 and PRO2 diets. Conclusion: Probiotic supplementation of Bacillus subtilis PB6, Bacillus subtilis FXA, and Bacillus licheniformis G3 at 3×10⁸ CFU/kg of feed is adequate to significantly improve egg quality, lower yolk cholesterol, enhance several tibia traits, and raise the populations of beneficial cecal bacteria. Modest improvements in several productive parameters and tibia P but reduced Clostridia were also observed; and could warrant further investigation of probiotic effects beyond the current test period.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 1986

A total of 749 Korean native Ogol fowl[Natural Monument No, 265] and 45,340 Ogol eggs were used to investigate the various performances of Ogol, I. e., fertility, hatchability, viability, body weight, and rate of egg production. The studying periods was from May, 1985 to Sept., 1986. The results obtained are summarized as follows. 1. The mean rates of fertility and hatchability were 82.2${\pm}$1.37(X${\pm}$S.E.) and 79.0${\pm}$1.91%, respectively. 2. The mean rates of fertility and hatchability during brooding, growing and laying periods were 90.5${\pm}$1.69, 79.9${\pm}$2.28% and 80.6${\pm}$3.06%, respectively. 3. Average body weight at hatch, at ages of 18, 24, 44 and 72 weeks were 31.5, 0.43, 1209.3${\pm}$17.29, 1646.1${\pm}$25.90, 1975.3${\pm}$40.56 and 2096.7${\pm}$40.83g, respectively. 4. The age of the first egg was 166.5${\pm}$1.69 days old. Egg weights at first egg, at ages of 44 and 72 weeks were 35.7${\pm}$0.49, 48.8${\pm}$0.47 and 502${\pm}$0.44g, respectively. The numbers of egg production age to of 44 and 72 weeks were 69.5${\pm}$3.10 and 129.3${\pm}$5.56 eggs, respectively. 5. Between body weights and age at the first egg showed lower negative correlation. Body weights at ages of 24, 44 and 72 weeks showed highly positive correlation with egg weight, but a significant negative correlation with the number if egg production to ages of 44 and 72 weeks. The age at first egg was positively correlated with egg weight at first egg, but that was negatively correlated with the number of egg production to ages of 44 and 72 weeks.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 2019

In this study, viability, growth performance and egg production performance were investigated to determine the productive characteristics of 12 Korean domestic chicken varieties which have been collected and conserved for over 25 years in National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Korea. The 1,134 hens were tested and their production traits including survival rate, body weight, age at first egg laying, hen-day and hen-housed egg production, egg weight, and egg quality were measured. Survival rate was the highest in Korean Rhode-D and Korean Native Chicken (KNC) White and the lowest in Korean Cornish Brown (92.2% and 54.3%, respectively). Body weights from 4 to 50 wks were consistently high in the order of Korean Cornish, Korean Rhode, KNC, Korean Ogye, and Korean Leghorn breeds. There was no significant difference in weight between varieties within a breed. Age at first egg laying was the shortest in Korean Leghorn, while it was the longest in Korean Cornish. The hen-day egg production from $1^{st}$ egg to 57 wks was the highest in Korean Leghorn-K, and the lowest in Korean Cornish Brown. Egg weight was the heaviest in Korean Leghorn-F and the lightest in KNC White. The Haugh unit was the highest in Korean Rhode-C and the lowest in Korean Ogye. Taken together, these results suggest that it is desirable that the Korean Cornish variety is improved as the Korean meat breed because of its excellent growth ability, the Korean Leghorn variety is improved as the Korean layer breed because of its good laying performance, and the Korean Rhode and KNC varieties are improved as strong viable breeds because of their good survival rate.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2005

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of feldspar on laying Performance and e99 qualify in hens. A total of 96 'Tetra Brown' layers were assigned to 4 treatments in a completely randomized design. Each treatment consisted 4 replicates accommodating 6 layers per replication. Experiment diets were a control diet without feldspar and supplemented 0.5, 1.0 and $1.5\%$ feldspar. The egg Production rate was significantly increased in layers 134 diets supplemented 0.5 and $1.0\%$ feldspar compared to that of control (P<0.05). Egg weight, egg mass, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, egg shell strength and egg yolk color were not significantly different among the treatments (P>0.05). The haugh unit and blood spot of the eggs were significantly increased in $1.5\%$ feldspa. diets compared to that of control (p<0.05). However, the albumen index and meat spot in the eggs were not statistically different among treatments (P>0.05). Sensory evaluation traits were not significantly differed in terms of appearance, color, texture flavor and overall acceptability of eggs (P>0.05). The juiciness of boiled eggs was significantly increased in eggs of birds fed $1.0\%$ feldspar diets(P>0.05).

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.896-907
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• 2024

Objective: The potential of aqueous extract of Christ's thorn jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) leaves (SLAE) to reduce the negative impacts of heat stress on production performance and physiological traits was investigated in dual-purpose layers under subtropical farming. Methods: A total of 200, 25-week-old laying hens (Inshas strain) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments including SLAE at 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mL/kg, respectively. The average temperature-humidity index value was 26.69 during the experimental period. The SLAE contained saponin (0.045%), total flavonoid content of 17.9 mg of quercetin equivalent/100 g and overall antioxidant capacity concentration of 17.9 mg of ascorbic acid equivalent/100 g. Results: The maximum final body weight (BW), BW gain, egg weight, number, and mass occurred at the level of SLAE7.5 inclusion. The egg quality was significantly higher in SLAE groups than in control, and overall, SLAE7.5 had the most favorable influence at 28 and 32 weeks. Liver and kidney function, as well as lipids profile, improved significantly by SLAE inclusion; the lowest concentrations of these parameters were in SLAE7.5 hens. Treatment with SLAE7.5 increased total antioxidant capacity and endogenous antioxidant enzymes compared to control, whereas no effect on superoxide dismutase was noticed. Conclusion: The addition of SLAE at 7.5 mL/kg diet improved egg laying performance and quality, metabolic profiles, and antioxidant status during hyperthermia conditions.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.203-212
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• 2023

This study conducted a diallel-crossbreeding test using four Korean native chicken parent stock lines (YC, YD, CK, and CF) to develop a native commercial layer with high egg-laying performance. A total of 312 chickens in six combinations were examined for various traits, including livability, body weight, age at first egg-laying, hen-day, and hen-housed egg production, egg weight, and egg quality, from hatching to 60 weeks of age. The results showed that the average survival rate was 77.1±18.8% with the YDYC combination having the highest survival rate along with excellent specific combining ability. The YDYC combination exhibited significantly higher body weight compared to the other combinations (P<0.01). The average age at first egg-laying was 121.3±2.5 days, with no significant difference between the combinations. The average hen-day egg production was 74.0±6.4%, and the hen-housed egg production was 181.4±33.8 eggs with the YDCF and YCCK combinations demonstrating the highest laying performance, while the YDYC and CKCF combinations had the lowest (P<0.05). Laying performance was more influenced by specific combining ability than general combining ability. The eggs from the YDYC combination were significantly lighter and had the darkest shell color (P<0.01), whereas the YDCF combination exhibited the thickest eggshells. There was no difference in internal egg quality among combinations, except the YDCF combination had the darkest yolk color. Overall, we concluded that the YCCK combination, characterized by high laying performance and livability, and the YDCF combination with high laying performance and good egg quality are the most desirable combinations for Korean native commercial layers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.993-998
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• 2015

Possibilities of predicting eggshell ultrastructure from direct non-destructive and destructive measurements were examined using 120 Fayoumi eggs collected from the flock at 45 weeks of age. The non-destructive measurements included weight, length and width of the egg. The destructive measurements were breaking strength and shell thickness. The eggshell ultrastructure traits involved the total thickness of eggshell layer, thickness of palisade layer, cone layer and total score. Prediction of total thickness of eggshell layer based on non-destructive measurements individually or simultaneously was not possible ($R^2=0.01$ to 0.16). The destructive measurements were far more accurate than the non-destructive in predicting total thickness of eggshell layer. Prediction based on breaking strength alone was more accurate ($R^2=0.85$) than that based on shell thickness alone ($R^2=0.72$). Adding shell thickness to breaking strength (the best predictor) increased the accuracy of prediction by 5%. The results obtained indicated that both non-destructive and destructive measurements were not useful in predicting the cone layer ($R^2$ not exceeded 18%). The maximum accuracy of prediction of total score ($R^2=0.48$) was obtained from prediction based on breaking strength alone. Combining shell thicknesses and breaking strength into one equation was no help in improving the accuracy of prediction.