• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.361-368
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• 2013

This experiment was conducted to determine optimum levels of dietary crude protein for productivity and egg quality in laying hens during early stage. A total of seven hundred and twenty 24-wk-old Hy-Line Variety Brown layers were randomly assigned to 4 experimental diets varying with 16%, 17%, 18%, and 19% CP and fed the diets for 12 wks. There were no significant differences in egg production, daily egg mass and feed intake among experimental diets. Although no difference was found on egg weight among experimental diets, decreasing levels of dietary crude protein tended to reduce the egg weight. Haugh unit and egg shell quality were not affected by different levels of dietary crude protein. Although there was no difference on yolk color among experimental diets, increasing levels of dietary crude protein slightly reduced the yolk color. It is concluded that laying hens did not need more than 16% CP to maximize egg production.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.169-176
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• 2021

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of varying levels of hydrolyzed yeast on egg production and egg quality in aged laying randomly allotted to three dietary treatments such that egg production was similar in each treatment (6 replicates of 10 birds each). The layers were fed diets containing 0, 0.1, or 0.2% hydrolyzed yeast for eight weeks. No significant difference was observed in egg production during the first half of the experiment. Egg production and daily egg mass in groups fed diets containing hydrolyzed yeast were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of the control groups during the second half of the experiment. Egg weight was not affected by the dietary treatment. Eggshell strength and thickness in groups fed diets containing hydrolyzed yeast were significantly higher than those of the control groups during the overall experimental period (P<0.05). Although no significant differences were observed in the Haugh units, yolk color in the group fed diets containing 0.1% hydrolyzed yeast was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The mammillary layer thickness increased in a linear manner and significantly following treatment with dietary hydrolyzed yeast (P<0.05). Antibody titer against avian influenza virus in the group fed diets containing 0.2% hydrolyzed yeast was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in the control group. In conclusion, dietary hydrolyzed yeast improved egg production and eggshell quality of laying hens in the late stages of production.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2011

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of supplementing different levels of kaolin (Exp. 1) and effects of age of layers and levels of kaolin (Exp. 2) on the performance, egg and shell quality parameters of laying hens. In Exp.1, 64 laying hens of 58 wks age were randomly allotted to 4 treatments of 16 hens in each. Dietary treatments were basal diet supplemented with 0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6% kaolin. In Exp. 2 96 laying hens were divided into 6 groups of 16 hens each in a 2 ${\times}$ 3 factorial arrangement (two different ages, 30 and 58 wk and three levels of kaolin, 0.0, 0.2 and 0.4%). In both the experiment there were linear decreases in feed intake (P<0.001), improvement in FCR (P<0.05), and egg production (P<0.05), with increasing dietary kolin level. Supplementation of kaolin had no effect on the egg and shell quality parameters in both experiments. Thus, it is concluded that kaolin may improve performance, and 0.2% level showed the best laying performance.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

We investigated the effects of breed, laying age, and egg storage period on the vitality of chicks using the Hwanggalsaek Jaeraejong, Korean Rhode Island Red, and Korean White Leghorn chicken breeds. Their eggs were collected during the early laying period (27~29 weeks) and late laying period (50~52 weeks) and were stored for 3 days, 7 days and 14 days. After the eggs hatched, the hatching time, production performance, and organ weight of chicks were investigated. IL-6 gene expression level and relative length of telomeres were analyzed to determine the physiological activity of the chicks. HSP gene expression level and heterophil to lymphocytes ratio were also analyzed to examine the degree of stress response in the chicks. The results showed that breed and laying age influenced the vitality of chicks, but the egg storage period did not. Korean Leghorn chicks were considered the weakest breed in terms of vitality owing to their low survival rate, small heart size, low physiological activity, and high stress response level. Although the survival rate of chicks produced in the early laying period was low, their high physiological activity and low stress response indicated that they had a high vitality than the chicks produced in the late laying period. In conclusion, to obtain chicks with high vitality, it would be desirable to select a high vitality breed and avoid the use of chicks produced in the late laying period.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.773-777
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• 2013

This study examined the effects of cage rearing system and backyard raising system on fatty acid profile of egg in laying hens during 9 weeks. Two hundred hens, 70-wk-old, Hy-line Brown, were used in this study and fed basal diets. 100 hens, randomly collected from facility, were transferred to cage rearing system and 100 remaining hens were moved to backyard raising system. For overall period, higher unsaturated fatty acid percentages in two different rearing systems than did saturated fatty acid (SFA) were observed. In unsaturated fatty acid compositions, both rearing system showed a higher mono unsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) contents than poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents. Egg quality traits of laying hens reared in backyard system had considerably lower contents of SFA and higher contents of MUFA compared with eggs from cage rearing system (P<0.05). In addition, eggs from cage rearing system resulted in a significantly lower n-3 contents and higher n-6:n-3 ratios and CLA contents in comparison with backyard raising system (P<0.05). However, no significant effects of two different rearing systems on PUFA, PUFA:SFA ratio, and n-6 contents were observed during the experimental period. In conclusion, this result suggests that cage rearing system and backyard raising system will play an important role in improving egg production as functional foods.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.980-983
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• 2004

A 16 week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacement of soybean meal (SM) by extracted cottonseed meal (CSM) on laying performance and haemoglobin levels in practical diets for breeder Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). One hundred ninety two quails (6 weeks old) were divided randomly into eight groups. The diets were isocaloric containing 2,900 kcal/kg of ME and isonitrogenous (% 20 crude protein) as fed basis. SM was replaced by 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0 and 17.5% of CSM, respectively. Average egg production (quail day, %; quail house, %), egg weight (g), daily feed intake (g/bird), feed efficiency ratio (g feed/g egg) data indicated no significant differences among the treatments; while, blood haemoglobin levels (% g Hb) of 7th (15.0% CSM) and 8th (17.5% CSM) group were lower than the control (0% CSM) diet (p<0.05). This experiment indicated that 17.5% CSM could replace SM (providing 44% of SM protein) in practical diets of breeder Japanese quails without any significant impairment on laying performance.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 1979

The present study was undertaken to observe the immune status of breeding hens and laying hens against Newcastle disease (ND). The methods of extraction of hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody from egg yolk, the detection of HI antibody in egg albumen and the correlation between HI antibody titers in maternal sera and egg yolks were discussed. For the purposes of these experiments, 9 flocks of breeding hens and 16 flocks of laying hens immunized against Newcastle disease virus were investigated. The vaccination program of tested flocks was 3-3-3 or 4-4-4 in general. The results obtained are summerized as follows: Freezing-thawing was the best method far antibody extraction from egg yolk for HI test. The HI antibody against NDV was found in egg albumen (geometric mean, 4.5), but lower than that found in egg yolk (32.1). The geometric mean of HI antibody titers of egg yolks (84.1) was higher than that of maternal sera (68.4) and day-old chicken sera (25.3). There was correlation between HI antibody titers of maternal sera(Y) and those of egg yolks(X). The coefficient correlation was r=0.63, and the line of regression of Y on X was $\hat{Y}$=35.91+0.35X.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.311-323
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the impact of Bacillus subtilis-based probiotics and oregano essential oil on the production performance, egg quality, and intestinal morphology of late-phase laying hens (69-weeks). A total of 150 laying hens of 69-week-old were randomly allotted into 6 treatment groups with 5 replicates of 5 birds in each replicate. Laying hens were divided into high (H) and average (A) egg production groups prior to the trial. The hens in each group were supplemented with Bacillus subtilis, or oregano essential oil: CON, a basal diet; BS, basal diet plus 3 × 10⁸ CFU/kg feed Bacillus subtilis; OEO, basal diet plus 0.3 g/kg feed oregano essential oil. Egg performance, blood characteristics, egg quality, and intestinal morphology of the late-phase laying hens were evaluated. Both BS and OEO significantly enhanced (P<0.05) egg production compared to CON in high egg production. The blood characteristics indicated no significant differences based on the egg production and the supplementation of BS and OEO in the late-phase laying hens. The eggshell strength was significantly improved (P<0.05) in both OEO compared to both CON. A significantly decreased (P<0.05) the villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH/CD) in the ileum compared to H, and in the treatment groups supplemented with BS and OEO, VH/CD showed a significant increase (P<0.05) compared to both CON. These results suggest that the supplementation of Bacillus subtilis and oregano essential oil in the diet of late-phase laying hens could serve as a potential strategy to enhance egg production, egg quality, and gut health.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.282-304
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of carotenoid supplementation on the performance, egg quality, and immunity of laying hens using a meta-analysis approach. The database was searched using Google Scholar and Scopus, from 2012 to 2022. The literature was published in English. 47 Articles were selected for meta-analysis. Analyses were performed using the Open Meta-analyst for Ecology and Evolution (OpenMEE) software. The heterogeneity and data validation against publication bias were analyzed using JASP 0.16.2 software. Overall, the results showed that carotenoid supplementation improved feed intake by 0.32 g/day/hen [95% confidence interval (CI)=0.02 to 0.61], final body weight by 0.33 g/hen (95% CI=0.05 to 0.60), egg production by 0.38% (95% CI=0.14 to 0.63), egg weight by 0.29 g (95% CI=0.09 to 0.5), yolk colour by 2.11 (95% CI=1.71 to 2.51), Haugh unit (HU) by 0.26 (95% CI=0.11 to 0.42), yolk carotenoids by 1.17 ㎍/kg (95% CI=0.59 to 1.75), immunoglobulin A (IgA) by 0.74 mg/L (95% CI=0.18 to 1.29), and lower yolk cholesterol by -0.38 mg/g (95% CI=-0.59 to -0.16). Feed conversion ratio (FCR), eggshell thickness, and white blood cells were unaffected by the application of carotenoids. The heterogeneity analysis showed variability in all studies (<0.05). In conclusion, carotenoid supplementation can elevate productivity, enhance egg quality, and improve immunity. However, based on Kendall's test, there was a publication bias in several parameters, namely FCR, egg weight, HU, yolk carotenoids, and IgA.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.261-268
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary ceramic powder on laying performance, Pathogenic bacterial (E. coli, salmonella) counts in caecal contents and excreta, malodorous substances $(NH_3,\;H_2S,\;VFA)$ in excreta and fatty acid composition of e99 yolk in laying hens. Three hundred sixty layers at 34 weeks of age were divided into three groups of 120 hens each and each group was fed diets containing 0 (control), 0.4, or 0.8 ceramic powder for six weeks. It is concluded that $0.4\%$ ceramic powder supplementation of diets decreased of E. coli, salmonella counts in the intestine and emission of $NH_3$ and VFA gas from excreta, and improved the laying Performance and ratio of egg yolk fatty acids contents.