• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.137-143
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• 2004

The fractional synthesis rates(FSR) were measured with 2l-wk and 3l-wk-old broiler breeder pullets and hens to investigate the effect of sexual maturity on FSR. The FSR were obtained from chicken tissues and blood samples using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry(HPLC/MS). A L-l-13C, 15N -leucine saline solution was infused by bolus injection as a tracer into broiler breeder pullets in the experiment. A rapid HPLC/MS method was developed to measure the isotopic enrichments of leucine in plasma, tissue samples, and eggs. The enrichments of stable isotope leucine incorporated into protein and the enrichments of the stable isotope free leucine were measured in liver, breast muscle and blood samples. Two sets of experiments were conducted. In experiment one, 2l-wk-old, sexually immature broiler breeder pullets were divided into groups of three and blood samples were collected at 20 or 30 min intervals until 1.5 h from initial injection. The pullets were sacrificed in groups of three at varying time intervals for 7 h after injection. The liver, breast muscle and blood samples were removed for analysis. The FSR were estimated to be 8.7l%/day for liver, 4.06％/day for breast muscle, and 5.08％/day for blood samples in 30 minutes after injection from the enrichment ratios. In experiment two, sexually matured 3l-wk-old broiler breeder hens were assorted into groups of three and blood samples were obtained at 20 or 30 min intervals for 2 h. The FSR for blood samples were determined. The broiler breeder hens were sacrificed in groups of three at various time intervals until 7 h after injection and liver, breast muscle and blood samples were removed for analysis. The FSR were calculated to be 5.96％/day for liver. Eggs were collected from five chickens daily for 10 days after large bolus injection. The average of total enrichments of stable isotope in egg albumin was increased by 0.064% at 4 days after injection and was back to normal in 7 days.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1258-1265
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• 2007

Metabolizable energy (ME) required for basal metabolism, activity and growth was considered as the criterion for targeting specific increases in body weight (100 g/week) of broiler chicks during the grower phase (5-20 weeks) and its impact was evaluated on breeder performance. Broiler female chicks (460) from a synthetic dam line were randomly distributed to 4 test groups with 23 replicates of 5 birds each and housed in cages. The first group (ME-100) was offered a calculated amount of ME by providing a measured quantity of grower diet (160 g protein and 2,600 kcal ME/kg) which increased with age and weight gain (133-294 kcal/bird/day). The other three groups were offered 10 or 20% less ME (ME-90 and ME-80, respectively) and 10% excess ME (ME-110) over the control group (ME-100). From 21 weeks of age, a single breeder diet (170 g protein and 2,600 kcal ME/kg) was uniformly fed to all groups and the impact of grower ME restriction on breeder performance evaluated up to 58 weeks. The targeted body weight gain of 1,600 g in a 16-week period was achieved by pullets of the ME-100 group almost one week earlier by gaining 8.7 g more weight per week. However, pullets in the ME-90 group gained 1,571 g during the same period, which was closer to the targeted weight. At 20 weeks of age, the conversion efficiency of feed (5.21-5.37), ME (13.9-14.1 kcal/g weight gain) and protein (0.847-0.871 g/g weight gain), eviscerated meat yield, giblet and tibia weights were not influenced by ME restriction, but the weights of abdominal fat and liver were higher with increased ME intake. Reduction of ME by 10% in the grower period significantly delayed sexual maturity (169.3 d), but increased egg production (152.5 /bird) with better persistency. Improved conversion efficiency of feed, ME and protein per g egg content were also observed in this group up to 56 weeks. The fertility and hatchability at 58 weeks of age were higher in the ME-90 group compared to the control and 10% excess ME feeding. In conclusion, the present study revealed the possibility of achieving targeted weight gain in broiler growers by feeding measured quantities of ME during the rearing period with consequential benefits in breeder performance.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2022

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and a probiotic mixture on egg quality, blood parameters, and corticosterone content in broiler breeder stock in summer in Korea. A total of 72 broiler breeders (Arbor Acres) at 49 weeks old were randomly divided into the following three groups of 24 heads each: control, GABA, and probiotics (1 × 10⁸/g Bacillus licheniformis, 1 × 10⁷/g Lactiplantibacillus plantaru, and 1 × 10⁷/g Clostridium butyricum). The hens were fed a diet containing 50 mg of GABA/kg of feed and 0.1% probiotics for 6 weeks. Egg quality, blood parameters, and stress levels (corticosterone concentration) of the broiler breeders were evaluated. No significant differences were observed in the egg weight, albumen height, Haugh units, yolk color, shell thickness, or shell strength between the groups. There were no significant between-group differences in the blood biochemical profile, including total cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, and inorganic phosphorus concentrations. The corticosterone concentration was significantly lower in the GABA and probiotics groups than the control group (P < 0.05) at 6 weeks of age. In conclusion, these results suggest that dietary probiotics and GABA significantly improve the stress levels of broiler breeders in summer in Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1299-1304
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• 2005

An experiment was conducted to study the production performance of broiler breeder females (25 to 40 weeks of age) fed either reference diet or low non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) diet with or without microbial phytase (500 FYT/kg) supplementation. A weighed (160 g/b/d) quantity of feed from each diet was offered daily to 40 replicates of one bird each housed in California type cage having individual feeders. Each cage was considered as a replicate. A continuous 16-h light per day was provided using incandescent bulbs. Body weight, egg production, egg weight, feed per egg mass, egg specific gravity, egg breaking strength, shell thickness, tibia ash and serum Ca and protein concentrations were not affected by reducing the NPP level from 0.30 to 0.18% in the broiler breeder diet. Supplementation of phytase (500 FYT/kg) enzyme to the diet containing 0.18% NPP had no added advantage on any of the above production parameters. The serum inorganic P was increased significantly (p<0.05) by either enhancing the NPP content from 0.18 to 0.30% or supplementing phytase @500 FYT/kg to the diet containing low P which were found comparable. Retention of Ca and P was positive on all the diets. P retention decreased significantly (p<0.05) with either increase in NPP content or phytase supplementation in the diet. Neither NPP nor phytase supplementation influenced bone mineralization in terms of tibia ash and strength. The hatchability was not influenced by either increasing the NPP content or supplementing the enzyme phytase. Similarly, the P concentration in the egg yolk and day old chick, day old and 14th day body weight and leg score was not altered by increasing the level of NPP or supplementing phytase enzyme. The mortality was within the normal limits in all the three dietary groups. Thus, it can be concluded that 0.18% NPP (288 mg NPP intake/b/d) in the broiler breeder' diet is adequate in sustaining the optimum performance from 25 to 40 wks of age. Enhancing the NPP content or supplementation of phytase (500 FYT/kg diet) to diet containing 0.18% NPP had no added advantage on performance.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 1990

In order to study the effect of diet supplemented with 0.015% (150ppm) of L-tryptophan on the performance of broiler breeder, the performance of parent stock of 1768 breeder(Hubbard) fed on the diet supplemented with L tryptophan was compared with those of 1105 breeders fed on the basal (control) diet Henday egg and settable egg production, fertility, hatchability and number of quality chicks per settable egg were recorded during 133 days(34－52 week－old) of experimental feeding period. Also during 28 days of after experimental feeding period(53－56 week－old) the henday egg and settable egg production were recorded. The henday egg production of breeder fed L-tryptophan was similar with that fed the control diet during 7 weeks of the peak laying period(34－41 week－old) after beginning of the experimental feeding but which was significantly(P＜0.05) higher during 84 days of the post peak laying period(41－52 week－old) and 28 days of after experimental feeding period(53－56 week－old) than those of control And birds fed the L-tryptophan layed significantly (P＜0.01) higher numbers of the sellable eggs than those fed control diet during the post peak laying and after experimental feeding periods. While the coefficient of variance for the henday egg and settable egg production were shown lower values in birds fed the diet supplemented with L-tryptophan compared with those fed the control diet Also the diet containing L-tryptophan did not affect fertility and hatchability of settable egg though the number of quality chicks per sellable egg was higher significantly(P＜0.05) in birds fed the L-tryptophan than that fed the control diet.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2002

This study was performed to evaluate effects of different holding temperatures and storing periods during the pre-incubation period on egg hatchability of hens egg in broiler breeders. For the treatments 1(T1)~7(T7), which were stored fur 1(T1) to 7 days(T7) before egg incubation, respectively. There were three replicates per treatment and forty eggs per replicate. This study was performed twice, which were 40(Summer) and 50 weeks of age(Autumn) in broiler breeders. Storing ambient temperature of egg, egg weight, at 0 and 18 days during incubation, fertility, hatchability and embryo mortality were examined. Average hatchability was rapidly decreased only in Summer. Although it was not significantly different in Autumn. This experiment was concluded that storing periods of hatchery egg was influenced hatchability, especially in high ambient temperature conditions(Summer, above $25^{\circ}C$ ). In conclusion, we found out that optimum hatchability can be achieved with a storage temperature of 13 ~$19^{\circ}C$ for broiler breeder eggs stored for up to 7 days.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.225-229
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• 2001

This experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of storage temperature and time on hatch-ability of the commercial Ross broiler breeder eggs. In Trial 1,720 eggs collected in the morning were allotted to four storage time treatments (3, 5, 7 and 9 days), with three replicates per treatment. The storage temperature was fixed at $4^{\circ}C$. In Trials 2 and 3, similar protocol was used as in Trial 1 except that the storage temperature was fixed at $17^{\circ}C$ and $28^{\circ}C$respectively. In Trial 1, hatchability was significantly (P<0.05) reduced when the eggs were stored more than 3 days. In Trial 2, no significant difference was found among all treatments, indicating that, at 17$^{\circ}C$ storage temperature, the eggs could be stored up to 9 days without reducing hatchability. In Trial 3, however, hatchability of eggs stored for 9 days was significantly reduced compared to the other treatments. In conclusion, we found out that optimum hatchability can be achieved with a storage temperature of $17^{\circ}C$ for Ross broiler eggs stored for up to 9 days.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 1983

In an effort to understand epizootiological aspects of infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT), a total of 56 chicken flocks in six farms comprised of 35 broiler breeder, 13 commercial layer and 6 layer breeder flocks. were investigated. The farms experienced ILT during the period of one year from June, 1982. In most farms the birds were vaccinated against ILT just before or after the disease outbreak. In two of the farms in which ILT broke out in winter, it was possible to contain the disease in only one or two fleets without transmitting it to the remaining 5 to 7 flocks in the farms by adopting strict isolation procedures for the affected flocks. In regarding inter- flock spreading speed, it took an average of 6 days for flocks rearing on floor and 11 days for those in cages. Among the flecks in rearing cages. transmission among laying flocks was much faster. taking an average of 8 days, compared to non-laying flocks of 17 days, suggesting spreading of the disease by means of egg trays or egg collection process. Peak mortality was observed between 5 and 10 days after from the time of appearance of first dead birds from the disease and the period of mortality, with an average of 18 days, was not influenced by rearing systems, breeds and age of birds. Mortalities in the affected flocks ranged from lo/e to 19.8%, with an average of 6.5 %, and was also not influenced by the above variables except significantly lower mortality in immature broiler breeder flocks (2.9%) compared to immature layer (11.8%) and mature broiler breeder flocks (6.9%). In one breeder farm in which all the birds were kept on floor and ILT broke out in summer, mortality in male birds in all seven flocks of 37 weeks of age or older was as high as twice of that in female birds in the same flocks. This trend was not observed in one 31 weeks old flock and was reversed in another 14 weeks old flock in the farm.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.229-233
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• 2003

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of different BW control methods during rearing on laying performance of broiler breeder pullets. D-old 540 female breeder chicks (Arbor Acres) were assigned to three treatments consisted of standard BW (Control), 110% of standard BW at 12 wk of age (T1), and 90% of standard BW at 12 wk of age (T2), with three replicates of 60 birds per replicate (pen) for each treatment. At 20 wk of age, all birds from three treatments reached the BW reqired in the Arbor Acres Manual. There were no significant differences in egg production, egg weight and viability during laying period(p>0.05). However, total egg production rates were improved in T2 and T3. Average egg weight was the highest in T1 among all treatments. Fertility and hatchability were similar among treatments, but T2 tended to be higher than other treatments at 37 and 53 wk of age. No significant difference was found in hatchability among three treatments. The number of hatching egg of T2 reached 168 per year, showing higher number of eggs than did the other treatments. The number of hatched chicks in T2 was 131, which was also higher than the other treatments, but the difference was not significant. It appears that the laying performance of broiler breeder hens could be improved when their BW at 12 wk of age are kept at 90% of standard BW, and reach the standard BW at 20 week of age.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.698-710
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different degrees of maternal dietary energy restriction on lipid deposition in embryonic tissues during the medium laying period (37 to 39 weeks) in Arbor Acres (AA) broiler breeders. Methods: A single factor design was adopted, and 400 AA broiler breeders (20 weeks of age) with a similar weight were randomly allocated into four groups. The birds in the control group were fed a corn-soybean meal based diet, and those in trial groups were fed diets with 80%, 70%, and 50% energy levels of the basal diet. Incubated eggs from the medium laying period were collected. Samples of developing embryos at various stages were prepared for composition analysis. Results: The embryo weight in the 80% energy group was higher than those of the other groups on embryonic day (E) 13, but at 21 E, they were significantly decreased with decreasing energy intake of the broiler breeders (p<0.05). Additionally, the levels of crude fat in tissues in the restriction groups were significantly decreased (p<0.05). The long axis and area of adipocytes in breast muscle, thigh muscle and the liver were significantly decreased (p<0.05) at 21 E in the 80%, 70%, and 50% energy groups. Conclusion: The effects of the 80% maternal dietary energy restriction energy affects egg production performance, egg quality, and nutrient deposition in egg weights, which then directly impacts on the developmental process of embryos, especially on fat utilization and deposition.