• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.559-568
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• 2012

White (Lohmann LSL) and Brown (ATAK-S) laying hens, were reared under organic and conventional cage rearing systems, and the effects of the rearing system on performance parameters, egg production, egg characteristics, and immune response were investigated. For this purpose, a total of 832 laying hens of two commercial hybrids, i.e., 416 white (Lohmann LSL) and 416 Brown (ATAK-S) layers, were used. The experiment lasted between 23 and 70 wk of age. In this study, the white layers yielded more eggs as compared to the brown layers in both organic and conventional production systems. Egg weight exhibited a similar pattern to that of laying performance. However, the total hen-housed egg number for the white birds in the organic system was fewer than that of white birds in the conventional cage facility; conversely, a contradictory tendency was observed for the brown birds. Livability of the white layers in the organic system was remarkably lower (14%) than that of the brown line, whereas the white line survived better (3.42%) than their brown counterparts in conventional cages. The feed conversion ratio of the white hens was markedly inferior in the organic system as compared to that of the white hens in the conventional system, whereas relatively lower deterioration was reported in brown layers when reared in an organic system. The organic production system increased egg albumen height and the Haugh unit in eggs of the brown layers. The yolk color score of organic eggs was lower than that of conventional eggs for both brown and white hens. The egg yolk ratio of eggs from white layers was found to be higher in organic eggs as compared to those obtained in the conventional system. All organic eggs had heavier shells than those produced in the conventional system. Eggs from brown layers had more protein content than eggs from white layers. Neither housing systems nor genotype influenced egg yolk cholesterol concentration. When compared to conventional eggs, n-3 fatty acid content was lower in organic eggs, and the n-6:n-3 ratio was higher in organic eggs. In conclusion, two hen genotypes showed different responses in terms of performance and egg quality to two different rearing systems. A commercial white strain produced more eggs with higher egg quality as compared to a native brown strain. The brown strain was found to have adapted well to organic production conditions when survival and total egg number was taken into consideration.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2014

This study was investigated spawning behavior, structure of egg masses and egg development in Aplysia kurodai inhabiting the coastal waters of Jeju Island, Korea. The mating and courtship behavior of A. kurodai occurred in the form of unilateral copulating with chain formation. In chain copulation, only the first animal acted as a female; the second and succeeding animals acted as males (sperm donors) to the animals in front and as females to the animals behind. The fertilized eggs were packaged in capsules that are embedded in jelly to form a cylindrical string called an egg masses. The number of capsule per cm of the egg masses was 55 to 60 capsules and each capsule within the egg masses held 15 to 25 eggs. After spawning, the egg masses were bright yellow or orange in color. This egg masses color not changed until embryos developed into trochophore stage. Thereafter, as embryo developed from trochophore stage to veliger stage the egg masses color became brownish. The fertilized eggs were spherical, with a diameter of approximately $80{\pm}1{\mu}m$ at spawning. At 5 to 6 days after spawning, the embryo developed into trochophore stage and began to rotate within the egg capsule. In the trochophore stage, the precursor of the velum, called the prototroch or prevelum, developed. At 10 days after spawning, the prevelum is transformed into the velum, and the trochophore developed into veliger stage. Between 10 to 15 days after spawning, the veligers broke out of the egg capsule, and hatched as free-swimming larvae.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.1367-1373
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• 2014

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of heating hatching eggs on the number of day-old chicks, egg temperature and egg weight during extended storage, and to provide basic information for improving hatchability to livestock producers. Eggs (Hy-line) were subjected to the following treatments: "control": eggs were maintained in an incubator after storage for 8 days; "T1": eggs were preheated for 8 hours at $23.9^{\circ}C$ after storage for 8 days in a hatchery; "T2": eggs were initially heated for 8 hours at $37.8^{\circ}C$ in an incubator and then preheated for 8 hours at $23.9^{\circ}C$ in a hatchery after storage for 8 days. The results were as follows: First, at the end of the experiment, the total number of day-old chicks was higher in T1, followed by T2 and then the control. This indicated that chick hatchability may be improved when eggs are preheated. Second, compared with the control, the number of day-old female chicks was expected to be higher in treatments with pre-heating; however, the results indicated the opposite effect. Third, as storage time lengthened, the factor that influenced preheating (the main effect and interactions) was not egg weight but egg temperature measured in the upper, middle and bottom parts of incubator. The temperatures recorded in all treatments ranged from 37.97 to $38.40^{\circ}C$ in the upper parts of incubator, 37.80 to $38.26^{\circ}C$ in the middle parts of incubator, and 37.94 to $38.59^{\circ}C$ in the bottom parts of incubator over storage. In conclusion, preheating was very effective in improving hatchability, and egg temperature was the main factor affecting preheating and hatchability.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.391-398
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding probiotics(gene modified yeast) on the egg quality in laying hens. The laboratory method of this study is as follow: In hens, 300, 36 weeks old ISA brown commercial layer, were employed in 13weeks feeding trial with a 7 days adjustment period. Dietary treatments are 1) control (basal diet) 2) Y0.3 (basal diet+0.3% probiotics), 3) Y0.5% (basal diet+0.5% probiotics), 4) PY0.3% (basal diet+0.3% plasmid modified probiotics), 5) PY0.5% (basal diet+0.5% plasmid modified probiotics). For overall period, hen-day egg production, egg weight (p<0.05) by dietary probiotic supplementation were recorded. Eggs were collected and weighed every day. Egg production number and egg production rate, egg weight, failure egg ratio and trouble egg ratio were recorded for 13weeks days. Diets PY0.3 and PY0.5 improved Egg production rate, egg production number and egg weight, compared to control diet (linear effect. p<0.05). And, diets PY0.3 and PY0.5 improved Egg production rate, egg production number, compared to Y0.3 and Y0.5 (linear effect. p<0.05). But, in Inferior egg and cracked egg, diets PY0.3 and PY0.5 did not tended to increase by dietary probiotic supplementation compared to control diet and Y group (0.3, 0.5) (linear effect. p<0.05). The productivity enhance on the egg quality in laying hens is considered from the effects of feeding probiotics(gene modified yeast).

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

The present study was carried out with the aim to evaluate the viability of layings (delivery of fertilized and unfertilized eggs) with egg laying duration of elite bivoltine races. The temporal aspect of mating in terms of egg layings duration may also have impact on the number of eggs laid, pattern of egg laying and their viability. After different interval of egg laying duration, moth of Bombyx mori are removed from oviposition site after they have completed egg laying. Present investigation confirmed that there are no significant difference in relation to the occurrence of viable (fertilized) and non viable (unfertilized) eggs and duration of oviposition. Percentage of unfertilized eggs varied from 2.41 to 3.42% in case of CSR-3, 2.59 to 3.62% in case of CSR-6, 2.82 to 3.66% in case of CSR-16 and 2.58 to 3.40% in case of CSR-17 in different treatments. The occurrence of unfertilized eggs are also not significant in the different treatments specially in those eggs which were laid 24 hours after oviposition and kept for 4 months hibernation schedule.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1674-1678
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate genetic correlations between the behavioural profile and performance in laying hens as an indirect answer to the question whether the observed behavioural responses are associated with increased levels of stress in these birds. Methods: The assessment of birds' temperament was carried out using the novel objects test. The behavioural test was conducted in two successive generations comprising 9,483 Rhode Island White (RIW) birds (approx. 4,700 individuals per generation) and 4,326 Rhode Island Red (RIR) birds (approx. 2,100 individuals per generation). Based on the recorded responses, the birds were divided into two groups: a fearful profile (1,418 RIW hens and 580 RIR hens) and a brave/curious profile (8,065 RIW hens and 3,746 RIR hens). The birds were subjected to standard assessment of their performance traits, including SM, age at sexual maturity; ST, shell thickness; SG, egg specific gravity; EW, mean egg weight; IP, initial egg production; and HC, number of hatched chicks. The pedigree was three generations deep (including two behaviourrecorded generations). Estimation of the (co)variance components was performed with the Gibbs sampling method, which accounts for the discrete character of the behavioural profile denotation. Results: The analyses revealed negative correlations between the performance traits of the laying hens and the behavioural profile defined as fearful. In the group of fearful RIW birds, delayed sexual maturation (0.22) as well as a decrease in the initial egg production (-0.30), egg weight (-0.54), egg specific gravity (-0.331), shell thickness (-0.11), and the number of hatched chicks (-0.24) could be expected. These correlations were less pronounced in the RIR breed, in which the fearful birds exhibited a decline in hatchability (-0.37), egg specific gravity (-0.11), and the number of hatched chicks (-0.18). There were no correlations in the case of the other traits or they were positive but exhibited a substantial standard error, as for the egg weight. Conclusion: To sum up the results obtained, it can be noted that behavioural responses indicating fearfulness, i.e. escape, avoidance, and approach-avoidance may reflect negative emotions experienced by birds. The negative correlations with performance in the group of fearful hens may indirectly indicate a high level of stress in these birds, especially in the white-feathered birds, where stronger performance-fearfulness correlations were found. Fearful birds should be eliminated from breeding by inclusion of the behavioural profile in the selection criterion in the case of laying hens.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.1172-1175
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• 2003

Mutagenicity of white layer cake including 20 kGy-gamma irradiated egg white manufactured as a research on the practical approaches of gamma irradiation for the reduction of egg allergy was evaluated by Salmonella typhimurium reversion assay (Ames test). The water-soluble and organic solvents mixture of methanol: chloroform (2 : 1)-soluble fractions of the white layer cake including 20 kGy-gamma irradiated egg white were examined in S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100. Both with and without metabolic activation, the number of revertant colonies were not increased in each extract compared with negative controls. No significant difference in the formation of the colonies was observed at the non-irradiated and 20 kGy-irradiated samples. The results indicate that there is no evidence of mutagenicity in white layer cake including 20 kGy-gamma irradiated egg white.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Poultry Science Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.113-114
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• 2003

The observed ranges of genetic and phenotypic changes per generation were as follows, for the body weight at 150 days, -3.66 ∼ -8.99 and -27.07 ∼ -63.61 g ； for the body weight at 270 days, -2.89 ∼ -9.69 and 7.39 ∼ -27.45 g； for the age at first egg, -0.31 ∼ -0.57 and -0.23 ∼ -6.67 g ; for the egg weight at the first egg, -0.02 ∼ -0.06 and 0.65 ∼ 0.26 g ； for the egg weight at 270 days, 0.53 ∼ 0.35 and 1.62 ∼ 0.01, respectively. In general, the genetic and phenotypic change were decreased In body weight and the age at first egg and increased in egg weight and the number of egg production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.767-771
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• 2005

In order to understand the molecular basis of chicken heterosis in reproduction traits, mRNA differential display (DDRT-PCR) methods were used to analyze the differential gene expression of ovary tissue between hybrids and their parental lines in a 4${\times}$4 diallel cross, involving 4 chicken breeds, which were White Plymouth Rock (E), CAU Brown (D), Silkies (C) and White Leghorn (A). Total of 331 differential displayed cDNA bands from 1,161 were displayed in the 4${\times}$4 diallel cross combinations with 30 pairs of primers, which shows the differences of gene expression between hybrids and their parental lines were very obvious in quantity and quality. Seven types of differential expression patterns were found: Co-dominance expressed pattern (T1), under-expression of parental fragments in hybrids (T2), over-expression of parental fragments in hybrids (T3), hybrid-absence expressed pattern (T4), single parentspecific expressed pattern (T5), dominant expression fragments of single parent in hybrids (T6), hybrid-specific expressed pattern (T7). Correlation analysis indicated that there were significant correlations between the pattern of T3 and the heterosis percentage of egg number of 32-week and 42-week old chickens(p<0.01), while there were negative significant correlations between the pattern of T7 and the heterosis percentage of egg number of 32-week and 42 week-old birds (p<0.01).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.171-175
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• 2006

The aim of this in vitro study was to test the effect of microinjection (Mi) of foreign gene into the rabbit egg pronucleus and epidermal growth factor (EGF) addition on the blastocyst rate, the cell number and the diameter of embryos, and to determine possible relationships between embryo cell number and embryo diameter. Blastocyst rate was significantly decreased in gene- Mi (G-Mi/E0) group (63.1%) comparing to intact ones (83.5%, $p_1$<0.05). The addition of EGF at 20ng/ml (G-Mi/E20) or 200 ng/ml (GMi/ E200) to gene-Mi embryos did not affect blastocyst rate (65.6 and 55.2% resp.). As a control for Mi, the eggs were microinjected with the same volume of phosphate-buffered solution (PBS-Mi) instead of the gene construct solution. Cell numbers and embryo diameters were measured from embryo images obtained on confocal laser scanning microscope. Bonferroni-modified LSD test showed that the embryo cell number in PBS-Mi group was significantly lower ($p_1$<0.05) and in gene-Mi group was tended to decrease compared with intact embryos. Embryo diameter was not different among experimental groups. No effect of EGF given at any doses both on the cell number and embryo diameter was found. A positive correlation between cell number and embryo diameter was observed in all groups of embryos. Since embryo diameter was not changed under the influence of Mi or EGF addition in this study, this seems to be more conservative characteristics of the embryo morphology. These results suggest that the pronuclear microinjection compromises developmental potential of embryos, decreasing blastocyst rate and embryo cell number, whilst embryo diameter is not affected. No effects of EGF on studied parameters were confirmed. Declined quality of Mi-derived embryos is caused by the microinjection procedure itself, rather than by the gene construct used.