• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.249-254
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• 1994

An experiment was conducted to investigate the performance and production cost of Pekin ducklings fed varying levels of dietary protein. One hundred and twenty ducklings in four separate groups received either 16, 18, 20 or 22% CP in the starter period (day-old to 3rd week of age). These four groups ate either 12, 14, 16 or 18% CP respectively during the grower-finisher period (4th week to 12th week of age). The results of the study indicated that in a tropical country like Bangladesh, the protein needs of Pekin ducklings should be satisfied depending on the age at which the birds are to be marketed. If the ducklings are to be marketed at 6 weeks, 22/18% CP would be sufficient. When the marketing is aimed at 9 weeks of age, 20/16% would be adequate. For ducklings which are to be marketed at 12 weeks of age, a protein level of 18/14% would be required. All these results should help the producers to keep production cost to a minimum. The exceptional capacity of ducklings for compensatory growth would help keep birds on low protein levels if they are reared upto 9 or 12 weeks before marketing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.773-780
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• 2017

Objective: "Hatchability" is an important economic trait in domestic poultry. Studies on poultry hatchability focus mainly on the genetic background, egg quality, and incubation conditions, whereas the molecular mechanisms behind the phenomenon that some ducklings failed to break their eggshells are poorly understood. Methods: In this study, the transcriptional differences between the livers of normally hatched and assisted ducklings were systematically analyzed. Results: The results showed that the clean reads were de novo assembled into 161,804 and 159,083 unigenes (${\geq}200-bp$ long) by using Trinity, with an average length of 1,206 bp and 882 bp, respectively. The defined criteria of the absolute value of log2 fold-change ${\geq}1$ and false discovery rate${\leq}0.05$ were differentially expressed and were significant. As a result, 1,629 unigenes were identified, the assisted ducklings showed 510 significantly upregulated and 1,119 significantly down-regulated unigenes. In general, the metabolic rate in the livers of the assisted ducklings was lower than that in the normal ducklings; however, compared to normal ducklings, glucose-6-phosphatase and ATP synthase subunit alpha 1 associated with energy metabolism were significantly upregulated in the assisted group. The genes involved in immune defense such as major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen alpha chain and MHC class II beta chain 1 were downregulated in the assisted ducklings. Conclusion: These data provide abundant sequence resources for studying the functional genome of the livers in ducks and other poultry. In addition, our study provided insight into the molecular mechanism by which the phenomenon of weak embryos is regulated.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.43-48
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• 2001

Ducklings collected from three farms, having history of rapid onset and spread of nerve signs including kick spasmodically with legs and opisthotonos, were pathologically, barteriologically, virologically examined. Grossly, multiple petechial to ecchymotic hemorrhages were detected in the swollen liver. Histopathologically, diffuse coagulative necrosis of hepatocytes was characteristic in acute cases. Chronic cases revealed marked bile duct hyperplasia rather than hepatocyte necrosis. Some of these cases exhibited multiple granulomas consisting of macrophages, heterophil, fibrin and necrotic cell debri. Filtered homogenate of livers sampled from ducklings caused embryo death with marked hemorrhage and swollen of liver after inoculation into chorioallantoic membrane. Three strains of Salmonella app.,S montevideo, S hadar, and S give, which were biochemically and serologically identified, weir isolated from ducklings of three farms, respectively. From these results, these ducklings were concurrently infected with duck hepatitis virus and Salmonella spp.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1386-1390
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• 2009

A dose-response experiment with five lysine levels (0.65, 0.80, 0.95, 1.10, and 1.25%) was conducted to evaluate the lysine requirement of male White Pekin ducklings from 7 to 21 days of age. Two hundred and eighty, 7-day-old, male White Pekin ducklings were allocated to 5 experimental treatments, each containing 8 replicate pens with 7 birds per pen. Feed and water were provided ad libitum from 7 to 21 days of age. At 21 days of age, weight gain, feed intake, feed/gain, breast meat weight, and breast meat yield relative to body weight of ducklings from each pen were all measured. As dietary lysine level increased, weight gain, feed intake, feed/gain, breast meat weight, and breast meat yield of ducklings were all improved significantly (p<0.05). According to broken-line regression analysis, the lysine requirement of male White Pekin ducklings from 7 to 21 days of age for weight gain, feed/gain, breast meat weight, and breast meat yield was 0.84, 0.90, 0.97, and 0.98%, respectively. Considering that Pekin duck production is directed to meat production, the lysine requirement of male starter Pekin ducklings during this period is suggested to be 0.98%.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2011

In January 2010, high mortalities of ducklings occurred in two adjacent farms. Ducklings in farm A showed neurologic signs including paddling, opisthotonus and lameness, but ducklings from farm B had no specific clinical signs. At post mortem, diffused hemorrhagic spots in the liver and hemorrhages in the small intestine were observed in ducklings from farm A, and ducklings from farm B had only proventricular ulceration. Microscopically, multiple necrosis of hepatocytes, hyperplasia of the bile ducts, hemorrhages, infiltration of lymphocytes and bacterial colonies were commonly observed in the liver of ducklings from both farms. Also, type A and C duck hepatitis virus (DHV) were isolated from farm A and farm B, respectively and Salmonella typhimurium was commonly isolated and identified serologically and biochemically. To our knowledge, this is the first report about the co-infection of DHV and Salmonella typhimurium in ducklings, and co-circulation of type A and C duck hepatitis viruses in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.110-116
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• 2000

Duck viral hepatitis is an acutic, highly infectious viral disease of young ducklings. The most practical means for controlling duck viral hepatitis is the vaccination of ducklings or of a breeding stock. We attempted to develop a vaccine strain of duck hepatitis virus (DHV) using a Korean isolate by serial chicken embryo passages. The propagation of DHV in chicken embryos was carried 140 passages. After the $50^{th}$ passage, of which the virus was non-pathogenic for ducklings, approximately every $20^{th}$ passage of the virus was tested for vaccinal efficacy. Both the $70^{th}$ and $90^{th}$ passage of the virus gave good protection against challenge infection to a DHV-DRL reference strain(type 1) and a virulent Korean isolate. The $110^{th}$, $125^{th}$ and $140^{th}$ passage of the virus were less protective than the $70^{th}$ and $90^{th}$ passage, which means that more than $110^{th}$ passage may lead to over-attenuation of the virus. Ducklings vaccinated with the chicken-embryo-adapted virus by oral, intramuscular or eye drop administration showed earlier resistance to challenge infection from 3 to 7 days postvaccination. Of the above methods, ducklings vaccinated intramuscularly presented the most rapid resistance against challenge. The minimum immune dose of the chicken-embryo-adapted virus in ducklings was also studied. Ducklings inoculated with a dose of $10^{2.0}\;ELD_{50}$ and below were not fully protected against challenge with a virulent DHV, showing a protection rate of 67% to 73%, but ducklings inoculated with a dose of $10^{3.0}\;ELD_{50}$ and over were completely protected. The virus yield of the chicken-embryo-adapted DHV was examined at 24hrs and 48hrs of the incubation time in the allantoic fluid, embryo head and embryo minus head of the embryonating egg. In all three components, the titer of the virus was higher at 48 hours than that at 24 hours after incubation. And the titer of the virus was higher in the embryo minus head, embryo head and the allantoic fluid, in order. Field trials for evaluating the efficacy of the attenuated DHV as a live vaccine were done in duck farms with about 25% mortality of flocks resulting from duck viral hepatitis. After the use of the experimental vaccine, the mortality due to duck viral hepatitis was dramatically reduced in the farms. These results indicated that the attenuated DHV using a Korean isolate could be a good candidate as a live vaccine strain of DHV in Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.643-646
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• 1996

Experiments were conducted to determine potassium (K) requirement of mule ducklings. One-day-old ducklings with equal number of both sexes were fed diets containing graded levels of K for three weeks. In experiment 1, corn-soybean meal diet (CP 18.7%, ME 2,890 kcal/kg, K 0.80%) was used. The addition of K (0.00, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40%) to the diet by potassium carbonate resulted in a decrease in weight gain and feed efficiency with the group fed on basal diet having the best performance. This means that the existing K in the basal diet is adequate for the growth of ducklings. In experiment 2, low K corn-isolated soy protein diet (K, 0.19%) was used. The supplementation of K (0.00, 0.16, 0.32, 0.48, 0.64%) resulted in an increase in weight gain and feed efficiency with the control group having the lowest performance. The minimum K requirement was found to be 0.49% for both maximum growth and best feed efficiency as determined by using bent-stick model.

• Journal of the korean veterinary medical association
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.543-553
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• 1990

This report describes the cellular changes induced in the livers of ducklings by a sin91e administration of aflatoxin B$_1$ produced by Korean Industrial Strain of the Aspergillus flavus, in order to examine the toxicity of the minimum dose of

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.93-99
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• 1993

This study was conducted to investigate the cause of a new duck disease occured in southern part of Korea. A meat type duck farm located in Kangjin, Chonnam Province had experienced outbreaks of septicemic disease at around 20 days of age in nearly every batch of ducklings from early spring to early summer in 1989. Main symptoms of the birds were eye and nasal discharge, depression, inappetence, diarrhea and nervous signs such as tremor and ataxia. Some birds died suddenly without any signs. Mortality reached from 20% to 80% in severe cases. The autopsy findings of the affected ducklings revealed consistantly severe airsacculitis, fibropericarditis, perihepatitis and occasionaly enteritis and distended ureter with urate deposit. A rod shaped gram-negative bacterium was isolated purely from brain and liver of the diseased ducks by culturing the specimens on blood agar for 48 hours in candle jar. The isolate neither produced hemolysis nor grew on MacConKey Agar. It formed colony relatively slowly being recognizable at least 36 hours after culturing, reaching colony size of about 1mm in diameter at 48 hours culture. The colony looked iridescent under oblique light and had muddy odor. The isolate did not ferment carbohydrates tested but produced gelatinase, hippuricase and oxidase which were considered as characteristics of P anatipestifer. The isolate induced similar signs and lesions when infected experimentally into ducks of 3 to 38 days age via intraperitoneum or intratrachea. However it did not produce any clinical signs wen inoculated via intranasal route. It produced only mild signs in chicken just injected with a very large dose. The bacteria did not produce any signas or lesions in mice. It was concluded through biochemical and physiological tests and animal inoculation tests that the new disease was caused by P anatipestifer.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.101-109
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• 2000

Duck viral hepatitis is an acute, highly infectious viral disease of young dacklings aged from two days to three weeks. The significant lesion associated with the disease was enlarged liver including necrotic foci and numerous hemorrhagic spots. We have isolated five strains of duck hepatitis virus (DHV) from field cases showing about 20% mortality with a sign of opisthotonos. When a-day-old ducklings were intramuscularly inoculated with one of the isolates, 92% of the birds were died within 5 days. We attempted to develop an attenuated strain of duck hepatitis virus (DHV) using one of the isolates by serial chicken embryo passages. The propagation of DHV in chicken embryos was carried 140 passages. The virus titer increased gradually from the $21^{st}$ through the $50^{th}$ passage, but there was no significant increase of virus titer in subsequent passages after then. Through the serial passages, the virulence of the virus for chicken embryos was gradually increased but decreased for ducklings. The pathogenicity of the virus for ducklings was preserved up to the $21^{st}$ passage but disappeared at the $50^{th}$passage. An attenuated Korean isolate which was passaged 140 times in chicken embryos gave good protection in ducklings against both challenge infection to a Korean virulent strain and to a DHV-DRL strain, a type 1 reference strain of DHV, which indicated that the Korean isolates could be classified as DHV type 1. And the above results suggest that an attenuated Korean isolate can be used for developing a live DHV vaccine.