• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding diets supplemented with ${\beta}-glucan$ products on the performance, small intestinal microflora and immune response in laying hens. The ${\beta}-glucan$ products used in the experiment were $BetaPolo^{(R)}$ ; soluble ${\beta}-glucan$ of microbial cell wall origin, $HiGlu^{(R)}$ ; microbial cell wall origin, $OGlu^{(R)}$ ; oat origin, $BGlu^{(R)}$ ; barley origin. A total of 720 Hy-Line Brown laying hens of 40wks old were divided into 5 dietary treatments : T1 ; Control( C), T2 ; $BetaPolo^{(R)}$, T3 ; $HiGlu^{(R)}$, T4 ; $OGlu^{(R)}$, T5 ; $BGlu^{(R)}$. Each treatment was replicated 4 times with 36 birds/replicate housed in 2 bird cages, and arranged according to completely randomized block design. Feeding trial lasted 40ds under 16 h lighting regimens. There were significant differences among treatments in hen-house egg production feed intake and feed conversion. HiGlu treatment was significantly higher than OGlu treatments in hen-house egg production. ${\beta}-glucan$ supplemented treatments were lower than the control in feed intake and feed conversion ratio. All ${\beta}-glucan$ supplemented treatments were significantly higher than the control in eggshell strength. Eggshell color and Haugh unit tended to be lower in the supplemented group than the control. IgY concentration was not significantly affected by treatments. At $5^{th}$ week of experiment, however, IgY concentration tended to increase in the supplemented groups. Among the leucocytes parameters, WBC, heterophil, lymphocytes, monocyte and eosinophil concentration were lower in the supplemented groups than those of the control. Among erythrocytes, HCT(hematocrit) and MCV(mean corpuscular volume) were significantly affected by treatment. MCV of supplemented groups were higher than that of the control. Immunoglobulin concentrations in the birds were not significantly different among treatments. However, IgA concentration tended to be low in the supplemented groups than the control. The cfu of small intestinal microflora were not significantly different among treatments, but that of Cl. perfringens tended to be lower than the control. The result of this experiment indicateted that feeding ${\beta}-glucan$ to laying hens improve feed conversion ratio and eggshell strength. Also intestinal microflora and immune responses are modified.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.197-203
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• 2008

A total of one hundred and ninety five nutritionists selected based on population scale in high schools in Gyunggi Province were questioned about utilization of eggs in school meals. Almost half of those nutritionists have utilized eggs in school meals $3{\sim}5$ times per month. Most frequent cooking methods of eggs were boiled eggs. Eggs obtained from food distributors and egg distributors were 80.8% and 13.2%, respectively. Also, the nutritionists in middle population area prefer to purchase graded eggs. The most frequently occurring problems in cooking eggs were egg shell braking and related food safety. The present study revealed that egg is good for school meals, but various menus for easy cooking are yet to be developed.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.131-136
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and oil containing unsaturated fatty acid supplementation on egg production and quality in laying hens. Two hundred-eighty eight, 36 week old ISA brown commercial layer, were employed in a 5 week feeding trial. Dietary treatments are 1) BO (basal diet + 1% soybean oil + 1% oat), 2) BS (basal diet + 1% safflower oil + 1% oat), 3) BF (basal diet + 1% free fatty acid + 1% oat), 4) CD (basal diet + 1% CLA containing diglyceride + 1% oat), 5) CT (basal diet + 1% CLA containing triglyceride + 1% oat) and 6) CP (basal diet + 1% CLA by-product + 1% soybean oil). For overall period, hen-day egg production was not significant among treatments (P>0.05). Egg shell breaking strength at 3 weeks in CP treatment was significantly lower than BS, BF, CD and CT treatments (P<0.05) and that at 4 weeks in BO and CP treatments was significantly lower than others (P<0.05). Egg shell thickness at 3 and 4 weeks in CP treatment was significantly lower than BS, BF, CD and CT treatments (P<0.05). Egg weight at 3 and 4 weeks in CP treatment was significantly lower than others (P<0.05). Yolk height at 4 weeks in BF and CT treatments was significantly highest compared to BO, CD and CP treatments (P<0.05) and among BO, CD and CP treatments, that in BO and CD treatments was significantly higher than CP treatment (P<0.05). At 4 weeks, yolk color in CP treatment was significantly higher than BO and BS treatments (P<0.05). Haugh unit at 3 and 4 weeks in BO and CP treatments was significantly lower than others (P<0.05). In conclusion, supplementing CLA and oil containing unsaturated fatty acid for laying hens improved egg shell breaking strength, egg shell thickness, egg weight, yolk height, yolk color and haugh unit.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.177-189
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• 2016

This study was conducted to verify the relationships between the expression values of stress-related markers and their production performances in 25 strains of Korean domestic chicken breeds. For stress response markers, the amount of telomeric DNA; expression levels of heat shock protein (HSP)-70, $HSP-90{\alpha}$, and $HSP-90{\beta}$; and comet scores were analyzed. Production performances were measured by the survival rate, body weights, days at first egg laying, egg weight and hen housed egg production. The results showed that the production traits and values of stress-related markers showed significant differences between strains. In general, the stress response of pure bred chickens with heavy weights was relatively high, while that of hybrid chickens with light weights was relatively low. The correlation coefficients between telomere contents and body weights showed that there were weak negative relationships. However, the correlations of telomere content with the survival rate and egg production were weakly positive after 20 weeks old. The expression levels of HSP genes and DNA damage rate (comet scores) were positively correlated to body weight, but were negatively correlated to the survival rate and egg production. The results implied that increasing body weight was associated with increasing HSPs expression and the DNA damage rate was associated with decreasing telomere content. In addition, increasing HSPs expression and the DNA damage rate decreased the survival rate and egg production, but the relationships with the telomere content was the reverse. Correlations among the stress-related markers showed that there were significant correlation coefficients between all of the marker values. HSPs expression was negatively correlated to the telomere content, while it was positively correlated to the DNA damage rate. There was a highly negative correlation between the telomere content and DNA damage rate. In conclusion, increasing the HSP values and DNA damage rate can promote telomere reduction, which led to a decrease in disease resistance and robustness of the chicken. Thus, increasing the stress response was verified to adversely affect the laying performance and viability of chickens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate the effects of the stocking density (standard stocking density (SSD, $495cm^2/bird$)) vs. high stocking density (HSD,245cm2/bird) and challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5mg/kg BW) on the stress-related physiological indicators in chicks. There was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in body weight, but not in the weight of immune organs, between the SSD and HSD groups. The LPS group resulted in a significant (p<0.05) increase in the weights of the thymus and bursa of fabricius compared with the SSD group. Plasma biochemical components, including aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen, Ca, P, creatine kinase and uric acid, markedly (p<0.05) increased in the LPS birds, although no difference in these parameters was observed between the SSD and HSD birds. Furthermore, the birds challenged with LPS showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the plasma corticosterone level, although this hormone did not differ between the SSD and HSD groups. In the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, hepatic $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and iNOS in the LPS group significantly (p<0.05) increased compared with those in the SSD group. Thymic mRNA expression of $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and IL-18 in the LPS group also significantly (p<0.05) increased compared with those in the other groups. In addition, mRNA expression of $IL-1{\beta}$ in the bursa of fabricius of the LPS group increased (p<0.05) without affecting the other cytokines. Under high stocking density, thymic $IL-1{\beta}$ was the only cytokine that was up-regulated compared with the SSD group. In conclusion, an acute stress induced by LPS challenge profoundly affected immune organ weight, blood biochemical profiles and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, while chronic stress did not markedly affect biochemical and immunological parameters, suggesting that chicks under high stocking density could be adapted to prolonged stressors.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.189-198
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• 2017

This study was conducted to develop a new synthetic breed of Korean native chicken. The combining ability and reciprocal effects for production traits were estimated on 1,157 hens from a $5{\times}5$ diallel cross-mating design using grand parent stock (GPS) lines of Korean native chicken. Body weight, viability, age at first egg laying, egg weight, and hen-day egg production were measured and analyzed. The results showed that the general combining ability (GCA) of the survival rate during laying periods was -9.6 to 11.1, with the highest value obtained in the W strain. Additionally, the GCA of the body weight at 12 weeks was -209.7 to 162.2, with the highest value obtained in the F strain. The GCA for age at fist egg laying was estimated to be -2.8 to 3.7, while the GCA of egg weight was -0.91 to 0.96, and the GCA of hen-day egg production was -4.9 to 6.0. In the estimation of specific combining ability, the YW combination showed the highest survival rate, FW showed the highest body weight at 12 weeks, and GW showed the highest hen-day egg production. The reciprocal effects were significantly different among crosses for almost all productivity traits. In identical breeding combinations, differences in ability were observed when the maternal or paternal breeds were switched. The mean value based on combining ability was higher in WY, WF, and GW combinations for survival rate; GF, HG, and HF combinations for body weight at 12 weeks; and GW, YW, and FW combinations for hen-day egg production. It is concluded that the GF and HF combinations, which have excellent growth performance and moderate survival rate, are the most desirable paternal parent stock (PS) strains, and the GW and FW combinations, which have great laying performance and moderate body weight, are the most desirable maternal PS strains.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2017

This study was conducted to establish new synthetic lines of Korean Native Chicken. We performed $5{\times}5$ diallel crossings with GPS lines of Korean Native Chicken for the selection of parent stock. The production traits including viability, body weight, age at first egg laying, egg weight, hen-day egg production, and hen-housed egg production were measured and analyzed for 25 crosses with 1,157 hens. The heterosis effects of these traits were also estimated. The results showed that the average survival rate during laying periods was 67.7% in the pure lines and 77.1% in the crosses. The 25 cross combinations were shown to be distinctly divided into three groups according to body weight; nine crosses in the high-weight group, 12 crosses in the medium-weight group and four crosses in the light-weight group. The average body weight at 12 weeks of age was $1,873.8{\pm}43.0g$ in the high group, $1,595.4{\pm}56.6g$ in the medium group and $1,152.7{\pm}24.7g$ in the light group, and $1,560.2{\pm}339.3g$ in the pure lines and $1,640.9{\pm}213.7g$ in the crosses. In terms of egg production performance, the age at first egg laying was $139.7{\pm}4.9$ days in the pure lines and $135.8{\pm}5.1$ days in the crosses. The average egg weight was $52.3{\pm}1.6g$ in the pure line and $53.0{\pm}1.6g$ in the crosses. The average hen-housed egg production from 20 to 40 weeks was $58.3{\pm}12.9$ eggs in the pure line and $69.2{\pm}10.4$ eggs in the crosses. The average heterosis effect was 16.9% for survival rate, 5.4% for body weight at 12 weeks, -2.7% for age at first egg laying, 1.3% for egg weight, and 14.3% for hen-day egg production. Generally, the heterosis effect for viability and egg production traits was higher than that for growth trait. On the basis of these results, it is expected that the selection of the HF combination, which had excellent growth performance, is the most desirable as the paternal strain, and the selection of GW and FW combinations, which had excellent laying performance, are preferable as the maternal strain.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.83-92
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to estimate the inbreeding level and effective population size of Korean indigenous chickens. In the study, two variables were considered to evaluate the pedigree completeness: (1) the proportion (%) of animals with complete pedigree, and (2) the proportion of animals with inbreeding coefficients greater than zero. In the proportion of animals having complete pedigree, all strains reached almost 100% completeness in 1~2 years. In the proportion of animals with inbreeding coefficients greater than zero, all strains reached almost 100% completeness in 5~6 years. We considered that the pedigree recoding system is well managed and that the inbreeding coefficient is a reliable measure. Over the past 20 years, the increase of inbreeding coefficients in Korean indigenous chicken strains has been 7.6~10.9%. The S strain showed the most rapid increase of inbreeding coefficient of 8.2% in 10 years. The reason for this rapid increase is considered to be associated with the fact that the numbers of sires and dams involved in reproduction was 115 and 91, respectively, which are lower than those of the other strains. According to average rates of increase in inbreeding coefficients (${\Delta}F$), all strains have ${\Delta}F$ values of 0.39~0.85%, which is lower than 1%, and the effective population size is above 50. The results showed that inbreeding levels were within the acceptable range and that Korean indigenous chicken population scan be regarded as safe from the threat of extinction.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.86-92
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• 1984

Present study was carried out to estimate phenotypic and genetic parameters influencing body weight (BW) at 4 weeks of age egg breadth (EB), egg length(EL), egg shape index (SI) and egg weight (EW) at 32 weeks of age and egg numbers (EN) up to 38 weeks of age in broiler male and female lines. The data were collected from closed White Plymouth Rock (female line; G) and Cornish (male line; C) flocks involving 1193 pullets from 211 dams and 48 sires in 1982. The results obtained are summarized as follow: 1. General performance for various trails of lines C and G. The means and standard deviations of BW, EB, EL, SI, EW and EN were 668.34${\pm}$47.18, 4.23${\pm}$0,11, 5.49 ${\pm}$0.19, 77.06${\pm}$2.98, 55.73${\pm}$3.54 and 59.72${\pm}$13.39 in line C, respectively and 487.89${\pm}$ 41.43, 4.22${\pm}$0.11, 5.51${\pm}$0.19, 76.72${\pm}$3.20, 55.43${\pm}$3.26 and 76.93${\pm}$12.17 in line G, respectively. 2. Heritability Heritabilities were estimated from sire, dam and combined components. Estimates for BW, EB, EL, SI, EW and EN from combined components were 0.30, 0.29, 0,40, 0.22, 0.45 and 0.60 in line C, respectively and 0.33, 0.23, 0.28, 0.13, 0.49 and. 0.33 in line G, respectively. 3. Correlation Genetic and phenotypic correlations showed similar trend in line C and G. Genetic correlations, estimated EW with EB and EL, were high and positive (line C; 0.99, 0.75, respectively and line G; 0.94, 0.82, respectively), also correlation of EB with EL was 0.58 (both lines; 0.58). High and negative genetic correlations were shown between SI and EL in line C and G (-0.70, -0.65, respectively). Genetic correlations between SI and EW were relatively low and negative in line C and G (-0.11, -0.19, respectively) and between SI and EN were relatively low and positive in line C and G (0.25, 0.17, respectively). Between other traits, low genetic correlations were shown in both lines, High and positive correlation was estimated between hatchability and egg shape index and polynomial regression of egg shape index on hatchability was estimated; Y=-216.77＋7.6216X-0.0146939X$^2$.

• 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.