• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.299-305
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• 2015

The production performance and egg quality traits among five strains of Korean native chickens (KNC) were evaluated in conventional cages. A total of 240 KNC were housed in a controlled environment. Each strain had 12 replicates with 4 chickens per cage. Feed intake, body weights, egg production and egg quality were measured at 24, 28 and 32 of weeks. Egg quality parameters were analyzed using 150 eggs. Results indicated significant (P<0.05) difference in average body weights, egg production and egg weight among five strains of KNC. In contrast, KNC strains effect was non-significant (P>0.05) for feed efficiency. The difference among those KNC strains on egg shell color, egg shell strength and egg shell density were not different (P>0.05) at the age of week 24 while it was significant (P<0.05) at the age of week 28 and 32. There was no effect (P>0.05) on egg length and egg shape index from five strains of KNC. The significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in egg width with KNC strains during early ages (week 24 and 28) and it was not significant (P>0.05) at the age of 32 weeks. Regarding internal quality parameters, albumen height and Haugh unit were significantly (P<0.05) affected with KNC strains while the effect on yolk color was not significant (P>0.05). Based on the egg weight and the production performance, GS-10 KNC strain was superior when compared with the other strains.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.249-256
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• 2023

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the influence of providing laying hens with extra feed on egg production and egg quality parameters. A total of 480 laying hens (38-weeks old), were divided into five treatment groups (eight replicate cages/treatment and 12 layer/replicate) according to their starting body weight (1.98 ± 0.05 kg) in this four-week feeding trial. Five different feed allowances of the same diet (105, 110, 115, 120, and 125 g·day^-1·bird^-1) were assigned to layers. Daily inspections of remaining feed (around 0.1g) and layer mortality (0%) showed no harmful impact of supplying extra feed to layers. Providing 120 and 125 g of feed per day to layers resulted in the highest final body weight, large-egg ratio, and improved yolk color among all treatment groups. Layers receiving 125 g of feed daily had the highest egg weight, but the highest egg production ratio was observed in layers receiving 110 g of feed/day. The additional supply of feed did not have a negative impact on the productive performance or egg quality of the layers. The provision of 125 g feed per day led to an improvement of large-egg ratio, egg weight, and yolk color, but likely led to obesity of the layers, which manifested as an increase in body weight and a decline in the egg production ratio. We concluded that 110 grams of feed was the proper quantity after taking into consideration the significance of the health of the laying hen to the overall production performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1476-1481
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• 2010

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with chito-oligosccharide (COS) on egg production, nutrient digestibility, egg quality and blood profiles in laying hens. A total of 240 Hy-line Brown laying hens were randomly allocated into one of the following 5 dietary treatments: i) CON, basal diet; ii) ANT, basal diet+44 mg/kg avilamycin; iii) COS0.2, basal diet+200 mg/kg COS; iv) COS0.4, basal diet+400 mg/kg COS; v) ANTCOS, basal diet+200 mg/kg COS+22 mg/kg avilamycin. The experiment lasted for 6 wk. No change in egg weight (p>0.05) was observed during the trial period. Egg production in ANTCOS treatment was improved (p<0.05) when compared to CON during weeks 4-6. The birds in the COS0.2, COS0.4 and ANTCOS groups had higher (p<0.05) Haugh unit than those fed CON and ANT diets at the end of the $6^{th}$ wk. The apparent digestibility of nitrogen in CON group was lower (p<0.05) than in other treatments. The white blood cell (WBC) concentration of birds in the COS0.4 and ANTCOS group was higher (p<0.05) than that of birds in other groups at the end of the $6^{th}$ wk. In addition, the differences of WBC counts between the beginning and end of the experiment in COS0.4 and ANTCOS groups were higher (p<0.05) than in CON and ANT groups. At the end of the experiment, the birds fed ANTCOS diet showed higher (p<0.05) total blood protein concentration than those fed CON or ANT diets. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of COS appeared to increase egg production and quality by increasing nutrient digestibility. Additionally, COS improved WBC and total protein concentration.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.161-168
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• 2021

The present study investigated production traits, including body weight, egg production, egg weight, and egg quality in Korean indigenous parent stocks. Parent stocks produced from a nine-combination association from five pure line strains (C, D, F, K, and Y) were used. The body weight analyses results showed that the CY combination had the highest body weight (1,604.9 g) and the DK combination had the lowest (1,424.4 g). The average age at first egg of the nine combinations was 118.6 days; however, that of the YD combination was 111.6 days, making it the fastest growing combination, whereas the DK combination was the slowest, at 126 days. Hen-day egg production was 74% or more for the CF, CK, and DK combinations. The DK combination hens showed excellent persistence in egg laying. Hen-housed egg production exhibited results similar to those of hen-day egg production. Egg weight was significantly higher in the DK combination than in the other combinations and was observed to increase from 20 (43.9 g) to 40 (58.1 g) weeks. The egg quality analyses results showed that the combinations based on the F and K strains had a bright eggshell color, with relatively high egg weights. Eggshell strength and thickness were the highest in the DK combination (3.8 kg/cm², 0.38 mm). In summary, the CF and DK combinations showed excellent egg production ability and egg quality, while the YC, YD, and YK combinations with the Y strain as the paternal strain exhibited poor performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.694-699
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• 2009

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chilled drinking water on the productivity of laying hens under constant high ambient temperature. A total of seventy-two, 123-day-old Hy-line brown layers was divided into two equal groups. The first group (UDWG) was given unchilled water ($23.0{\pm}2.5^{\circ}C$) as a control, and the second group (CDWG) was given chilled water ($16.0{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$). The laying hens were kept at $30^{\circ}C$ constant temperature with 50% relative humidity and were exposed to 17 h of light per day. Feed intake, egg production, egg quality (egg weight, shell weight, shell thickness, egg color, yolk color, and Haugh unit), and blood samples were collected and analyzed. The results showed that the feed intake of CDWG laying hens was significantly higher (11.64%) than the UDWG counterparts (p<0.01). Egg production of CDWG was also significantly higher (11.27%) than the UDWG counterparts (p<0.001). Furthermore, we observed that the CDWG laying hens had significantly higher (11.72%) levels (p<0.10) of blood calcium, with a corresponding value of 21.92 mg/dl compared to the UDWG hens (19.62 mg/dl). The higher calcium concentration in the CDWG animals may contribute to increased egg production. The CDWG laying hens also contained higher (12.53%) phosphorus concentrations in blood compared to the UDWG (4.22 mg/dl vs. 3.75 mg/dl), although not statistically different (p>0.10). Egg weight and egg quality were not affected by chilled drinking water. In conclusion, providing chilled drinking for laying hens under high ambient temperature improved feed intake and egg production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1447-1455
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• 2011

Sixty four, 30-week-old, Lohmann Brown-Lite laying hens were randomly allocated to one of four treatments with eight replicates per treatment and two hens per replicate for a 10 week study. The control diet was a high energy (11.81 MJ/kg) diet and the moderate energy (11.39 MJ/kg) diets were formulated dropping the level of animal fat. The three moderate energy diets were fed either unsupplemented (0.0%) or supplemented with 0.05 or 0.10% glycine. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in hen-day egg production, egg weight, feed intake or feed conversion between birds fed the unsupplemented moderate energy and high energy diets. Significant differences were detected concerning egg components and quality measurements as assessed by albumen percentage (p = 0.02), yolk weight (p = 0.02), yolk percentage (p<0.01), yolk to albumen ratio (p<0.01) and yolk color (p = 0.01) between birds fed the unsupplemented moderate and high energy diets. Glycine supplementation of the moderate energy diet linearly increased (p<0.01) egg weight and feed intake with no significant (p>0.05) effects on egg production or feed conversion. Glycine supplementation significantly increased egg content (p<0.01), albumen weight (p<0.01) and percentage (p<0.01) as well as yolk weight (p<0.01) while yolk percentage (p = 0.04), yolk to albumen ratio (p = 0.01) and egg shell percentage (p<0.01) were linearly decreased. Supplementation with glycine produced a tendency (p = 0.09) towards an increase in the percentage of large eggs (63-72.9 g) produced with a concomitant decrease in the percentage of small (below 53 g) eggs (p = 0.09). The overall results of this study indicate that glycine supplementation of laying hen rations has the potential to increase egg production and weight. These increases appeared to be mediated through increases in feed intake and the ileal digestibility of fat and energy.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.260-265
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dietary effects of persimmon peel (PP) and PP ethanol extract (PPE) on egg production, egg quality, and liver lipids in the late stage of egg production in laying hens. One hundred and twenty 50-wk-old Hy-Line Brown layers (n = 120) were fed different diets. Four replicate groups of 6 hens each were randomly assigned to 5 dietary treatments. The 5 dietary treatments were as follows: i) CON, basal diet; ii) PP 0.15, CON+0.15% PP (0.035% tannin); iii) PP 0.5, CON +0.5% PP (0.117% tannin); iv) PPE 0.075, CON+0.075% PPE (0.03% tannin); and v) PPE 0.25, CON+0.25% PPE (0.11% tannin). The total tannin concentration of PPE was higher (p<0.05) than that of PP. Egg production in the PP 0.5 group was higher than in the other groups. Egg production and mass of hens in the PPE 0.25 group showed a greater decrease than that in the other groups (p<0.05). Eggshell color in the PP 0.15, PP 0.5, and PPE 0.075 groups was lighter than that of the control group (p<0.05). The Haugh unit for the groups that were fed PP and PPE were significantly higher than that in the other groups after 7 d of storage (p<0.05). Therefore, PP seems an effective feed additive for improving the production performance and egg quality in late stage laying hens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.396-400
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• 2010

This experiment investigated the effects of increasing dietary vitamin E (VE) on production performance and egg quality traits of Indian reared Kadaknath (KN) hens. One hundred and eighty (180), day old female KN chicks were randomly distributed to three dietary treatment groups for a period of 30 weeks. Each treatment comprised three replicates, each containing 20 chicks. The basal diet ($T_1$) contained 15 IU VE/kg and the two experimental diets were supplemented with 150 and 300 IU VE/kg (diets $T_2$ and $T_3$, respectively). DL-${\alpha}$-tocopherol acetate was used as the source of VE. All chicks were provided feed and water ad libitum. Production performance in terms of body weight, egg weight and hatchability did not differ significantly (p>0.05), whereas sexual maturity, egg production and fertility differed significantly (p<0.05) in $T_2$ compared to the other two groups. Egg quality traits in terms of albumin weight, yolk weight, shell thickness, albumin index and yolk index did not differ significantly (p>0.05), whereas the Haugh unit score was significantly higher (p<0.05) in $T_2$ than the control ($T_1$) and high dose treatment group ($T_3$). From this study, it can be concluded that lower levels of dietary VE may be beneficial for production performance and Haugh unit score but have no effect on egg quality traits in Indian reared KN hens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.840-846
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• 2015

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary corticosterone on egg quality. For 2 weeks hens received either control or experimental diet containing corticosterone at 30 mg/kg diet. Feed intake and egg production were monitored daily, and body weight measured weekly. Egg weights and egg quality were measured daily. Corticosterone treatment resulted in a remarkable increase in feed intake and sharp decrease in egg production compared with control (p<0.05) whereas body weight remained unchanged. Decreased albumen height, but no changes in egg weight, led to decreased Haugh unit (p<0.05). Corticosterone caused elevated eggshell thickness (p<0.05) without altering weight and strength, suggesting possible changes in shell structure. Yolk color and redness were increased by corticosterone (p<0.05) but lightness and yellowness were either not changed or inconsistent over the time period of measurements. Increased concentrations in plasma were also found for corticosterone, glucose, cholesterol, creatinine, uric acid, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, total protein, and amylase (p<0.05), suggesting that corticosterone increased protein breakdown, renal dysfunctions and pancreatitis. Together, the current results imply that dietary corticosterone affects egg quality such as yolk colors and shell thickness, in addition to its effects on feed intake and egg production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 1988

To study the effects of utilizing extruded full fat soybean (FFS) in layer diets, 300 White Leghorn pullets were put in trial divided into 5 treatments; control (commercial soybean meal as protein source), FFS 50% (replacing 50% of soybean meal with FFS), FFS 100% (replacing all amount of soybean meal with FFS), soybean oil and tallow added treatment. Each treatment consisted of 5 replicates of 12 birds. Egg production and feed efficiency from hens fed control diet were significantly lower than from hens fed the other diets. Significant differences in egg production and feed efficiency were found between the control and the other treatments. Cholesterol concentration of serum and egg yolk were not affected by any dietary treatment. Feeding extruded full fat soybean did not cause pancreatic hypertrophy nor change in mortality. There was an indication that linoleic acid (C18:2), linolenic acid (C18:3) and iodine contents increased in the thigh and egg yolk lipid of the groups fed FFS or soybean soybean can serve as effective protein source for layer diets if economically justified.