• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1355-1360
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• 2008

Effects of dietary ${\delta}$-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) supplementation on serum iron status, blood characteristics, egg production and quality were examined in laying hens in an 8-week feeding trail. Two hundred and forty (Hy-line brown, 40-week-old) layers were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with ten replications (six layers in adjacent three cages). Dietary treatments included: 1) CON (basal diet), 2) ALA1 (CON+ALA 5 ppm), 3) ALA2 (CON+ALA 10 ppm) and 4) ALA3 (CON+ALA 15 ppm). All nutrient levels of diets were formulated to meet or exceed NRC (1994) recommendations for laying hens. During the entire experimental period, differences of serum iron concentration and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were significantly increased in ALA1 supplemented treatment (quadratic effect, p<0.05). The difference of total protein between 8 and 0 weeks was significantly higher in ALA2 treatment than CON treatment (quadratic effect, p<0.05). No significant effects were observed on hemoglobin, WBC, RBC, lymphocyte and albumin concentrations. Egg production and egg weight were not influenced by the ALA supplementation. Egg yolk index was also significantly higher in ALA3 treatment than CON treatment at the end of 4 and 8 weeks (linear effect, p<0.05). Haugh unit was increased in ALA3 treatment compared to CON and ALA1 treatments at the end of 8 weeks (linear effect, p<0.05). However, egg shell thickness, breaking strength and yolk color unit were not affected by the ALA supplementation. In conclusion, dietary ALA supplementation at a level of 5 ppm can affect iron concentration in serum while higher levels (10 or 15 ppm) have some beneficial influences on blood profiles and egg quality.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2004

The effect of supplemental yellow ${\beta}$-8-Apo-carotenoic acid ethyl ester (ACA) (0~300mg/kg feed) on its accumulation in each body part of laying hens and the pigmentation in egg yolk was determined. The chickens used in this study were 78-wk-old ISA brown laying hens. ACA significantly affected the color of the bodies of laying hens. The yellowness ($b^*$) but not the redness ($a^*$) and, the lightness ($L^*$) of the skin, and muscle as measured by a colorimeter significantly (P < 0.05) increased when ACA was fed at 50~100 mg/kg feed. Egg yolk color was also significantly affected by feeding ACA longer than 2 days (P < 0.05) at the levels higher than 50 mg/kg feed. Conclusively, ACA is recommended for improving yellowness of skin.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.255-263
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• 2004

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the feeding values of sesame oil meal (SOM) and to investigate the effects of its dietary supplementation on egg production in laying hens. In experiment I, the values of true metabolizable energy (TME), nitrogen corrected true metabolizable energy (TMEn) and true amino acid availability (TAAA) were determined by force-feeding 16 ISA-Brown roosters and collecting the total excreta from the birds, The TME and TMEn of SOM were 2.30 and 1.99 kcal/g, respectively, and the average TAAA of 15 amino acids was $76.93\%$. In experiment 2, a total of ninety, 48 weeks old ISA-Brown layer were randomly divided into 9 groups of 10 birds each and assigned to three experimental diets containing 0, 5 and $10\%$ SOM for 4 weeks (30 birds per treatment). The inclusion of SOM into laying hen diets at the 5 and $10\%$ level did not affect production and quality of egg. The C18:3 $\omega$3 content of egg yolks in the $10\%$ SOM group was higher than the other groups, but not significantly. There were no adverse effects on blood parameters in layers fed treated diets containing $5\%$ or $10\%$ SOM, The results indicate that SOM can be used for layers diet up to $10\%$ without any significant negative effects on egg production and quality.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.619-628
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to determine and compare the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in soybean meal (SBM), cottonseed meal (CSM), and low-gossypol cottonseed meal (LCSM) fed to broiler chickens and laying hens. Methods: Three semi-purified diets containing the identical crude protein concentration at 20% were formulated to contain SBM, CSM, or LCSM as the sole source of N. A N-free diet was also formulated to estimate the basal ileal endogenous losses of AA for broilers and hens. A total of 300 male Ross 308 chicks at one-day-old and 144 Hy-Line Brown laying hens at 30-week-old with initial egg production rate of 88.3%±1.0% were randomly allocated into 1 of 4 dietary treatments, respectively. Results: CSM and LCSM showed more Arg and Cys+Met while less Lys, Ile, Leu, and Thr relative to SBM. Significant interactions existed between species and experimental diets for AID (except for Arg, Asp, Glu, Gly, and Pro) and SID (except for Arg, His, and Phe) of most AA. Most AA in diets showed higher AID (except for Lys) and SID (except for Lys, Met, and Ser) in broilers relative to laying hens. The AID and SID of all AA were significantly different between the three diets. In broilers, the AID and SID of most indispensable AA except for Arg in SBM and LCSM was higher than CSM. In laying hens, the AID and SID of most indispensable AA except for Arg, Met+Cys, and Phe in SBM was higher than CSM and LCSM. Conclusion: The accurate determination of AID and SID of AA in CSM and LCSM for broilers and layers benefits the application of CSM and LCSM in chicken diets. The cottonseed by-products CSM or LCSM showed the species-specific AA digestibility values for broilers and layers.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2007

This study was conducted to evaluate effects of dietary pine cone meal on egg production, egg quality, serum cholesterol and cholesterol content and fatty acid composition of egg yolk in laying hens. The total of 252 (51-wks) Hy-line brown commercial hens were used for 5 weeks. Dietary treatments included 1) T1 (basal diet + 1% cottonwood sawdust), 2) T2 (basal diet + 0.5% cottonwood sawdust + 0.5% pine cone meal) and 3) T3 (basal diet + 1% pine cone meal). During the overall period, there was no significant difference in egg production, egg weight and egg quality among the treatments. Lipids profile(total, HDL, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride) in serum was not affected by treatments. Egg yolk cholesterol was not significantly different among the treatments. In fatty acid contents of yolk, C18:3 was higher in T1 treatment than T3 treatment(P<0.05). Total SFA, PUFA, MUFA and UFA/SFA were not significantly different in experimental period. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of pine cone meal affected C18:3 fatty acid content of yolk in laying hens, without any adverse effect on egg production.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2007

This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of betaine on immune response in laying hens. A total of 72 ISA-brown laying hens were divided into four groups of 18 hens each and fed corn-soybean meal based diets with addition of 0, 300, 600 and 1,200 ppm betaine for four weeks. The effect of betaine on splenocyte proliferations with mitogens, concanavalin A(Con A) and pokeweed mitogen(PWM), were assayed after incubation using [3H] thymidine uptake. Proliferations of splenocyte were significantly increased by activation of mitogen Con A or PWM. Mitogen effects of Con A were increased by Con A plus betaine injection(0.1 mM), whereas PWM effects did not affect in PWM plus betaine injection(0.1 mM) in vitro. Splenocyte of laying hens fed betaine tended to proliferate in the presence of PWM, but appeared to be slightly suppressed in the presence of Con A in vivo. Proliferation of splenocytes which were stimulated by Con A or Con A+betaine injection(0.1 mM) were increased in dietary 600 ppm betaine, but inhibited in dietary 1,200 ppm betaine supplementation. Spleen weights and sheep red blood cell(SRBC) titers of hens fed betaine tended to increase compared to those of control, but were not significantly different. These results suggested that betaine could increase splenocyte proliferation in vitro.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of stocking density on feather condition, egg quality, blood parameters, and corticosterone levels of laying hens reared in conventional cages. A total of 500, 28 weeks-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens were evenly assigned to two stocking densities (750 and 500 ㎠/bird). There were 50 replicates of each treatment, each consisting of 750 ㎠/birds (n=6) or 500 ㎠/bird (n=4) birds in a cage, respectively. We observed an increase in the laying period of, the group that was assigned 500 ㎠/bird, however, this group experienced significant feather damage when compared with the group allotted 750 ㎠ bird. There was no effect of stocking densities on egg quality. These results suggest that the 500 ㎠/bird stocking density in the conventional cage can negatively affect feather condition and cause the birds to experience more stress than the group allotted 750 ㎠/bird.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.3_spc
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• pp.371-384
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• 2021

Objective: Wheat bran (WB) was co-fermented with Aspergillus oryzae and phytase (Phy) to determine whether co-fermentation improve WB phosphorus and fiber utilization in Isa-brown layers. Methods: A total of 112 Isa brown layer were randomly divided into 7 treatments with 8 replicates per a treatment and 2 hens per a replicate. The treatments included basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with 250 unit/kg Phy (control+Phy), diet with 10% WB (10% WB), diet with 5% WB and 250 unit/kg Phy (5% WB+Phy) diet with 10% WB and 250 unit/kg Phy (10% WB+Phy), diet with 5% fermented WB supplemented with molasses and phy (PCFWH) and 125 unit/kg Phy (5% PCFWH), and diet with 10% PCFWH (10% PCFWH). The intestinal microbial population, intestinal morphology, serum antioxidant enzyme activities, and excreta phosphorus content were assessed. Results: In PCFWH, spore counts, protease activity, xylanase activity, and ferulic acid were 8.50 log/g dry matter (DM), 190 unit/g DM, 120 unit/g DM, and 127 ㎍/g, respectively. Xylobiose and xylotriose were released in PCFWH, while they were not detectable in WB. Antioxidant capacity was also enhanced in PCFWH compared to WB. The 10% WB+Phy and 10% PCFWH groups produced higher egg mass, but hens fed 5% WB+Phy had the lowest amount of feed intake. Eggs from 10% PCFWH had better eggshell weight, eggshell strength, and eggshell thickness. Birds fed with 10% PCFWH also had higher serum superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Compare to control, 10% PCFWH significantly reduced excreta phosphorus content. Conclusion: Diet inclusion of 10% PCFWH improved egg quality, antioxidant status, and excreta phosphorus content of laying hens.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.807-811
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• 2019

The present study aimed to examine the effects of dietary illite as a feed additive on the Haugh unit and fatty acid profiles of eggs. One hundred and twenty laying hens (48-week-old Hy-line Brown) were randomly assigned to one of the following two treatments: control or 2% illite powder. At 2 and 4 weeks, the Haugh unit values between the control and 2% illite powder groups were not significantly different (p>0.05). In addition, individual fatty acid content at 2 and 4 weeks did not differ between the treatments (p>0.05), except for palmitic (C16:0) and palmitoleic acid (C16:1) content. The addition of 2% illite powder caused no difference between the total saturated and total unsaturated fatty acids at 2 and 4 weeks (p>0.05). In conclusion, the addition of dietary illite at a rate of 2% did not improve the Haugh unit values or fatty acid profiles of eggs.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.318-326
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• 1990

This experiment was conducted to determine the economic housing density levels on caged laying hens The experiment was carried out with 600 ISA Babcock strain of white coder and 450 ISA Brown strain of brown color for production period(21－72 weeks) from May 11. 1987 to June 27. 1988. The levels of housing density was employed 5 or 6 by hen's color from 272 to 920$\textrm{cm}^2$/per hen. The results obtained were summarzed as follows ： 1. Although there were not statistically significant among the housing density levels, The body weight gain for pullet period(14－20 weeks) were in case of white pullet the lowest at the group of high crowding density (272$\textrm{cm}^2$/per pullet) and in case of Brown pullet was the lowest at the group of high crowding density(306$\textrm{cm}^2$/per pullet). 2. Viabillity of pullet from 14 to 20 weeks were more 97% and there urere not statistically significant among the housing density. 3. Viabillity of laying hens was increased as increasing housing density through the etire product period(21－72 weeks) but 453$\textrm{cm}^2$/per hen group(in case of brown hen) showed a significant difference (P＜.05). 4. Rate of egg production through the etire production period(21－72 weeks) were significantly increased by increasing housing density (P＜.05 or .01). 5. Average egg weight through the entire production period(21－72 weeks) was not significantly different among housing density levels at all laying kent 6. In case of white strain, egg mass per hen among treatment during the age of 63－72 weeks were decreased by increasing housing density, meanwhile, in case of brown strain were increased by decreasing housing density during the whole period and there were significant different among the all treatment 7. There were no significant different in feed intake among the all treatment through the entire production period(21－72 weeks) at the white strain laying hens but in case of brown strains, Feed intake were increased by increasing housing density and feeding spece/per hen, and there were significant different among the all treatment 8. Feed requirements per egg at white strain was the highest when the 272$\textrm{cm}^2$/per hen levels and at the brown strains was the highest when the 306$\textrm{cm}^2$/per hen levels, however, among the other treatment were no significant.