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Individual cage housing affects feed intake and induces sex-specific effects on body weight in Japanese quails
137-142Views:249Individual cage housing in poultry production could be a potentially stressful environment for the birds that can alter feed intake, consequently induce negative effects on performance. Previous studies used individual bird-based experiments to extract the detailed molecular, physiological, and fitness outcomes of treatments. Understanding sex-specific effects of isolation on social birds such as Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) may reveal important considerations. To understand this phenomenon, birds were kept in groups of 10 for one week and they were kept in individual cages for another week. Daily feed intake (DFI) was measured each day and body weight was measured at the beginning, middle, and end of group rearing and at the beginning and end of individual rearing. It was found that both males and females showed a reduction DFI in response to individual rearing (p<0.0001). Females consumed on average 29.38% higher amount of feed than males. Additionally, females showed a pronounced reduction in body weight after isolation, while the effect on males was not significant. Similarly, females had on average 17.61% higher body weight than males. The body weight to DFI ratio was higher in males than females. The finding of this research revealed an important implication of isolation and sex differences.
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Effect of genotype on the hematological parameter of TETRA-SL and Hungarian Partridge coloured chickens at young age
99-104Views:312Indigenous chickens are well known for their dual-purpose function and palatable meat. However, the information on their hematology parameters is lacking and hence hampering the poultry industry production of local breeds. The main objective of this study was to examine the hematological parameters of Hungarian Partridge Coloured hen (HPC) and TETRA-SL (TSL) genotype and determine the hematological reference interval values. This trial was part of the larger experiment where a total of 200 chicks (HPC + TSL) were reared. For this trial the blood samples were obtained from brachial wing veins of 8 chicks of each genotype for blood hematological analysis. The results indicated that some of the hematological parameters such as red blood cells-RBC, white blood cells-WBC, hemoglobin-Hb, hematocrit-Ht, platelets-Plt, lymphocytes-LYM, and granulocytes-GRAN were significantly affected by the genotypes (p < 0.05). The genotype did not affect the mean corpuscular volume-MCV, mean corpuscular hemoglobin-MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration-MCHC, and GRAN (p > 0.05). The hematological reference interval values were slightly higher in the TSL genotype compared to HPC chicks. It is concluded that genotype has a significant effect on the hematological parameters. The results from this trial will be help and design the baseline reference values for the HPC genotype which will be useful in assessing the health status of these indigenous chickens.
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The effect of different dietary manipulations on haematological properties in Japanese quail
35-41Views:76Quantitative and qualitative dietary conditions are crucial for physiological functions. Blood haematology, the indicator of immune regulation, is critically affected by dietary conditions. Despite their importance, the effect of macro- and micronutrient manipulation remains unknown. We used feed restriction, energy or protein restriction, and supplementation of leucine, methionine, or both on top of restricted-feeding to study the effect on haematological properties in Japanese quail. Fifty-six birds of six weeks of age were distributed into seven treatments; control, 20% feed restriction, 20% energy restriction, 20% protein restriction, supplementing 20% leucine, 20% methionine, or both on top of restricted feeding. Haematological properties, including white blood cell count, number and percent of lymphocytes, mid-range (eosinophil + basophil), granulocytes, red blood cell count, haemoglobin levels, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular haemoglobin were analysed. We found that quantitative feed restriction, energy restriction, and amino acid supplementations showed no significant effect compared to the control group. However, protein restriction reduced all indices, suggesting the importance of proteins in maintaining leukocyte and erythrocyte indices. The present study revealed that neither moderate calorie restriction nor moderate specific amino acid supplementation have an impact on blood haematology, while 20% protein restriction has a notable effect.
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Assessment of backfat thickness and its relationship with reproductive performance of sows – preliminary findings
25-30Views:112Backfat thickness (BFT) is an important trait that influences reproductive performance in sows. This study investigated the relationship between sow BFT at farrowing and the number of live born (LB), stillborn (SB), and Mummies (Ms) in different parities (P) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8). Backfat thickness was measured at point P2 (BFT at the last rib, at the junction of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae 3–5 cm from the midline of the spine (mm). In total, 216 sows were measured on day 109 of gestation (when they entered farrowing). Descriptive statistics showed that the mean BFT was 14.55 mm SEM 0.171 SD 2.576. Parity had a significant effect on BFT, with a Kruskal-Wallis chi-squared value of 22.728 (df = 7, p = 0.002). Post-hoc pairwise comparisons using Dunn's test in R revealed that P1 exhibited a significantly higher BFT than P3 (p = 0.001) and P4 (p = 0.025). Spearman’s correlation coefficient indicated a very weak negative relationship between BFT and LB, whereas there was a strong relationship between BFT and SB and Ms. However, the correlations were not significant p>0.05. This finding suggests that assessing the BFT before farrowing is a helpful tool for guiding sow management and pig production. Additionally, these findings offer data that can be used to inform culling policies.