• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.1030-1034
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• 2003

Two experiments of four-week duration were conducted to investigate the effect of caecectomy on the intestinal characteristics, body weight gain and gas production in the caeca of White Roman goslings. In experiment I, forty eight 2-wk-old female goslings with similar body weight were randomly divided into four treatments: sham (SHAM), left side caecum removed (LSCR), right side caecum removed (RSCR) and both caeca removed (CAECECTOMY). Smimilarly, experiment II was conducted with twelve 5-wkold male goslings in two treatments: SHAM and CAECECTOMY. Free choice water with ad libitum feed was provided during experiment. At the end of experiment I, goslings were sacrificed and gut length and weight were determined. At 7 and 9 wks of age, birds in experiment II were subjected to respiration calorimetry studies. In both experiments, final body weights were not affected by caecectomy. Results of experiment I indicated that caecectomy did not significantly affect the relative weight (g/100 g BW) of gizzard, small intestine, rectum and colon (p>0.05); however, the relative length of colon and rectum did increase (p<0.05). The remaining caecum did not show compensatory growth in both LSCR and RSCR treatments. In experiment II, results indicated that the average enteric methane production from the caecetomised goslings was significantly lower than that from the bird in SHAM goslings (p<0.05). In comparison with SHAM goslings, calorific loss from entric methane in caecetomised birds was lower (p<0.05). There was no effect of age on methane production. The enteric nitrous oxide production in caeca of goslings was very low with no significantly different between two treatments.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.1450-1454
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• 2000

This study was conducted to examine the effects of dietary crude fiber levels on the growth and intestinal carbohydrases of goslings. Thirty-two, 2 week old female White Roman goslings were divided into four groups of 4 goslings with 2 replicates. Diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous, containing 40, 80, 120 or 160 g/kg crude fiber. At the end of the 4 weeks of the experimental period, all goslings were sacrificed and the carbohydrases activities were measured. Feed intake was significantly higher in the 120 and 160 g/kg crude fiber groups over that in the 40 and 80 g/kg groups (p<0.05). The average daily gosling weight gain significantly increased with increasing crude fiber levels from 40 to 120 g/kg. However, both the daily gain and feed conversion of the 160 g/kg crude fiber diet group decreased significantly. Amylase, maltase and ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ activities in the duodenum significantly decreased as the dietary crude fiber level increased. The maltase and ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ activities in the jejunum-ileum showed a similar trend with those in the duodenum. By increasing the levels of crude fiber, cellulase activity in the caecum content significantly increased. There was, however, an adverse effect on the amylase activity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1463-1469
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• 2020

Objective: The effects of maternal and offspring dietary vitamin A (VA) supplementation on early body weight, digestive tract function and immune function in goslings were studied. Methods: Yangzhou geese (180 d old) were randomly divided into 5 experimental groups of 15 females and 3 males (the males were kept until slaughter). Eggs were collected for hatching during the peak laying period. A total of 96 goslings were selected from each treatment group (each fed a basic diet supplemented with 0, 4,000, 8,000, 12,000 or 16,000 IU/kg VA) and randomly divided into 2 groups, with 6 replicates in each group and 8 goslings in each replicate. The gosling diet was supplemented with 0 or 9,000 IU/kg VA. Results: i) Villus length, villus width and the muscle thickness of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were increased and the crypt depth was reduced after adding 12,000 IU/kg VA to the goslings' diet (p<0.05). Adding 9,000 IU/kg VA to the offspring diet increased the length of the duodenal villi and width of the ileum and decreased the crypt depth of the ileum (p<0.05). ii) Supplementing the maternal diet with 12,000 IU/kg VA increased immune organ weight, the immune organ index and immunoglobulin content in goslings (p<0.05). The bursa weight and immunoglobulin G content of offspring were higher in the 9,000 IU/kg VA supplementation group than in the group with no supplementation (p<0.05). Conclusion: Offspring growth and development were affected by the amount of VA added into maternal diet. The negative effect of maternal VA deficiency on offspring can be compensated by adding VA to the offspring diet. Continued VA supplementation in the offspring diet after excessive VA supplementation in the maternal diet is unfavorable for gosling growth and development.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.841-847
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• 2005

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the development of gastrointestinal tract and activities of pancreatic enzymes in White Roman geese. Thirty developing embryos at the 22th, 24th and 26th day of incubation and at hatching, and sixteen or eight goslings, half males and half females, at the 1, 3, 7 or 11, 14, 21 and 28 days of age were sampled, respectively. The weights of the yolk, gastrointestinal tract and intestinal length, and the activities of pancreatic enzymes were measured. Residual yolk weight decreased rapidly during late incubation and was nearly depleted at 3 days of age. The protein and energy contents in the residual yolk of goslings at 3 days of age were significantly (p<0.05) less than those at the late incubation. From 6 days before hatching to 28 days of age, the absolute weights of gizzard, proventriculus, liver, pancreas, small intestine and large intestine in goslings increased by 48, 457, 94, 2334, 89 and 76 times, respectively. The relative weights of proventriculus, gizzard, liver, pancreas, small intestine and large intestine reached peaks at 3, 3, 14, 14, 11 and 11 days of age, respectively, and then decreased gradually. However, the relative lengths of small intestine and large intestine reached peaks at 3 days of age and at hatching, respectively. The activities of pancreatic trypsin and chymotrypsin increased sharply from hatching to 14 day of age, and then decreased gradually until 21 days of age. The activity and specific activity of pancreatic amylase were increased following by age and peaked at 7 to 11 and 21 days of age, respectively. The activity and specific activity of pancreatic lipase reached a plateau from 11 to 28 days of age. These results indicate that the gastrointestinal tract and activities of pancreatic enzymes developed more rapidly than body weight through the early growing period of goslings.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1443-1450
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• 2016

The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of dietary ${\omega}-6/{\omega}-3$ polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratios on lipid metabolism in goslings. One hundred and sixty 21-day-old Yangzhou geese of similar weight were randomly divided into 4 groups. They were fed different PUFA-supplemented diets (the 4 diets had ${\omega}-6/{\omega}-3$ PUFA ratios of 12:1, 9:1, 6:1, or 3:1). The geese were slaughtered and samples of liver and muscle were collected at day 70. The activities and the gene expression of enzymes involved in lipid metabolism were measured. The results show that the activities of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC), malic enzyme (ME), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) were lower (p<0.05), but the activities of hepatic lipase (HL) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) were higher (p<0.05), in the liver and the muscle from the 3:1 and 6:1 groups compared with those in the 9:1 and 12:1 groups. Expression of the genes for FAS (p<0.01), ME (p<0.01) and ACC (p<0.05) were higher in the muscle of groups fed diets with higher ${\omega}-6/{\omega}-3$ PUFA ratios. Additionally, in situ hybridization tests showed that the expression intensities of the high density lipoprotein (HDL-R) gene in the 12:1 and 9:1 groups were significantly lower (p<0.01) than that of the 3:1 group in the muscle of goslings. In conclusion, diets containing lower ${\omega}-6/{\omega}-3$ PUFA ratios (3:1 or 6:1) could decrease fat deposition by inhibiting fat synthesis in goslings.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.950-969
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• 2022

This study aimed to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with Acremonium terricola culture (ATC) on the quality, conventional characteristics, and flavor substances of Hortobágy goose meat. A total of 720 one-day-old goslings were divided into four dietary treatments, each consisting of six cages of 30 goslings. The dietary conditions consisted of the control group and three treatment groups supplemented with 3, 5, or 7 g/kg ATC. In male geese, supplementation with 3 g/kg ATC elevated the crude ash (CA) content of the thigh muscle compared to the control group, and the CA content of the pectoralis major was significantly elevated when geese were supplemented with 5 g/kg ATC (p < 0.05). In females, compared with the control group, supplementation with 7 g/kg ATC enhanced the crude protein (CP) content of the pectoralis major. Supplementation with 7 g/kg ATC also increased the crude fat (CF) content of the pectoralis major in females as well as in both sexes; moreover, this supplementation dose increased the inosinic acid content of the thigh muscle in males and in both sexes. In contrast, supplementation with 5 g/kg ATC decreased the pH of the thigh muscle at 12 h postmortem (p < 0.01). No significant changes in meat color, water loss rate, shear force, moisture content or amino acid (AA) levels were observed after ATC supplementation (p > 0.05). Levels of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) in the pectoralis major and levels of SFAs, monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs), and PUFAs in the thigh muscle were not affected by the supplementation. Overall, ATC supplementation had positive effects on the pH, and CA, CP, CF, inosinic acid contents as well as on the FA composition of gosling meat. The optimal level of ATC supplementation was 7 g/kg in goslings from 1 to 70 days of age.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.421-428
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare carcass traits, meat quality and sensory attributes in two different genotypes of geese according to age and sex. Methods: The experiment was carried out on 160 birds of two genotypes of geese: the Czech Goose (CG) breed and a Eskildsen Schwer (ES) hybrid. One-d-old goslings were divided into four groups according to genotype and sex. Two dates for slaughtering (at 8 and 16 wk of age of goslings) were undertaken. Results: The slaughter weight, cold carcass weight and dressing percentage were affected by all the studied factors, and significant interactions between age, genotype and sex were detected in the slaughter weight (p<0.001) and cold carcass weight (p = 0.004). The pH was not affected by any of studied factors, whereas in terms of meat colour parameters there were observed significant effects of age on $L^*$ and $b^*$ value and a significant effect of sex on $a^*$ value. The meat fat content was higher (p = 0.002) in ES. Higher score for overall acceptance of goose meat was recorded for ES at both ages compared to CG. Conclusion: ES had higher dressing percentage and better sensory attributes, whereas CG exceled in the favourable nutritional value of the meat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.881-887
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• 2011

Feathers are one of the integument appendages that form the outer covering, or plumage, on birds. The goslings hatch with a downy coat of feathers formed in embryonic development. They moult the natal plumage into juvenile feathers between 3-5 weeks of age and than moult that juvenile plumage into adult plumage between 8-11 weeks of age. Feather weight of an adult goose makes up about 6.2% of its total body weight. Heritability of the feather production ability is relatively low ($h^2$ = 0.35). Within species or genotype, the quantity and composition of the plumage are affected by genetics (age, body weight or body surface area, feathering rate, sex) and environmental factors (nutrition and production system, weather, microclimate). After slaughter some 90-220 g marketable feathers can be obtained per goose. The yield of feathers and down from each hand-harvesting amounts to between 80 to 120 g per goose, depending upon the frequency and degree of completeness of the harvesting.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1043-1047
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• 2009

Three experiments were conducted to determine the conversion rate of formic and acetic acids into methane in the gastrointestinal tracts of geese. In experiment I, two sets of two 4-month-old male White Roman geese were allocated to one of two treatment groups. Each set of geese was inoculated either with formic acid or with phosphate buffer solution (PBS). After the acid or the PBS was inoculated into the esophagi of the geese, two birds from each treatment were placed in a respiratory chamber as a measurement unit for 4 h in order to determine methane production rate. In experiment II and III, 6- and 7-wk-old male White Roman goslings were used, respectively. Birds were allocated to receive either formic acid or PBS solution injected into the ceca in experiment II. Acetic acid or PBS solution injected into the cecum were used for experiment III. After either the acids or the PBS solution were injected into the cecum, two birds from each treatment were placed in a respiratory chamber as a measurement unit for 3 h; each treatment was repeated 3 times. The results indicated that formic acid inoculated into the oesophagi of geese was quickly converted into methane. Compared with the PBS-injected group, methane production increased by 5.02 times in the formic acid injected group (4.32 vs. 0.86 mg/kg BW/d; p<0.05). Acetic acid injected into the ceca did not increase methane production; conversely, it tended to decrease methane production. The present study suggests that formic acid may be converted to methane in the ceca, and that acetic acid may not be a precursor of methane in the ceca of geese.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1285-1290
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• 2018

Objective: This study shows the effects of dietary fiber levels on cecal microbiota composition in geese at day 70 according to pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Methods: A total of 468 1-day-old healthy male Yangzhou goslings with similar body weight were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 replicates per group and 26 geese per replicate. Geese were fed diets with fiber levels of 2.5% (low fiber level diet, Group I) and 6.1% (Group III) during days 1-70, respectively, or 4.3% for days 1-28 and 6.1% for days 29-70 (Group II). Results: Low fiber level diet decreased body weight, average daily gain during, increased lower feed conversation rate of geese during day 1 to 70 (p<0.05). Low fiber level diet decreased the total operational taxonomic units, Chao1 index and Shannon index, whereas increased the Simpson index of cecal microbiota in geese at day 70. Low fiber level diet decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Bacteroides, and Paraprevotella in cecum of geese at day 70. The similarity of cecal microbiota between low fiber level diet group and other groups was smaller. Conclusion: This study indicates that the low fiber level diet decreased diversity of microbiota, and relative abundance of some beneficial microbiota in cecum of geese at day 70, implying that the low fiber level diet has negative influence on performance by altering the diversity and population of cecal microbiota in geese.