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Thyroprotein and Fat in Laying Diets
Thyroprotein and Fat in Laying Diets ROBERT J. LILLIE, J. R. SIZEMORE, J. L. MILLIGAN AND H. R. BIRD Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland (Received for publication April 15,1952)
C
Turner (1948) observed no effect of estrogens and androgens upon egg production of White Plymouth Rock pullets. Administration of thyroprotein and dianisylhexene in combination was equally effective as administration of thyroprotein alone. Berg and Bearse (1951) reported a highly significant decrease in egg production and lowered body weights of White Leghorn pullets fed 15 grams of thyroprotein per 100 pounds of feed. According to Savage, Turner, Kempster and Hogan (1952), thyroprotein had no effect on the first year egg production of White Leghorns but it did cause a decrease in body weights and a slight improvement in shell quality. Since the response of laying hens to thyroprotein might be influenced by the character of the diet, especially its energy content, experiments were set up at the Agricultural Research Center with various dietary modifications in an attempt
to resolve the disagreement existing in the literature. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
General Rhode Island Red pullets at 22 weeks of age were distributed into 12 groups of 25 each on the basis of body weight and sexual maturity. The dates of housing were August 17, 1949 and August 23, 1950 for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The groups were placed in a multiple-unit open-front laying house equipped with concrete floors, automatic waterers, and trapnests. The sawdust litter in the experimental pens was changed at approximately 4-week intervals. Feed was supplied ad libitum. Daily egg production records were kept and the birds were weighed individually at intervals of 4 weeks. There was no culling in either experiment. The diets were prepared at 10-day intervals. The lard for the high-fat diets was melted and premixed with ground corn before being incorporated with the rest of the feed ingredients. During an 8-week period from January to March 1951, feed efficiency studies were analyzed for both experiments. The feed efficiency index was expressed in terms of a modification of the formula of Byerly (1941), as reported by Bird and Whitson (1946). The equation for the feed efficiency index calculations was as follows:
1037
F=0.9968 W + A W + E , where F=feed consumption per pen per 28 days W=average live weight per pen per 28 days
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
ONFLICTING conclusions concerning the effect of thyroprotein (iodinated casein) upon the reproductive performance of chickens have been reported by different investigators. Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn females of all ages responded to thyroprotein administration by greater egg production according to Turner, Kempster, Hall and Reineke (1945): Turner, Kempster and Hall (1946); Turner and Kempster (1948); and Turner (1948). Negative results were reported by Hoffmann and Wheeler (1948), Hutt and Gowe (1948) and Godfrey (1949).
1038
R . J . LlLLIE, J . R . SlZEMORE, J . L . MlLLIGAN AND H . R . BlRD
AW = to tal change in live weight per pen per 28 days E = number of eggs per pen multiplied by 56.8 56.8 = assumed average weight of all eggs laid in terms of grams Feed efficiency index=
Calculated feed consumption ; Actual feed consumption
Since the dietary treatments did not significantly affect mortality, hatchability, egg shell quality or interior egg quality these data are not included here.
sary in restoring thyroid weights to normal when thiouracil was fed at the rate of 0.1 percent. Experiment 1. At housing time the pullets were continued on a standard growing mash until September 14, 1949, when basal diet 311 was fed. Exactly 5 weeks later on October 19, 1949, the feeding of the experimental diets began. Each of 6 diets was fed to duplicate groups.
Experiment 1. 1949-51
Ingredient 311 Ground corn Alfalfa meal Soybean meal Steamed bonemeal Ground limestone Butyl fermentation solubles* Salt (with 6% MnS0 4 ) Iodized salt Feeding oilf Lard Choline Vitamin Bi2 supplement,! % Thyroprotein, % Dienestrol diacetate,§ %
%
T
%
TFCDB
%
TFCB
%
Experiment 2. 1950-51 TCDB
%
FCDB
%
B
%
FB
%
57.0 5.0 30.0 4.2 2.3
57.0 5.0 30.0 4.2 2.3
46.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
46.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
54.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
46.27 5.0' 30.0 4.2 4.83
57.0 5.0 30.0 4.2 2.3
46.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5 0.2 0.3 — —
0.5 0.2 0.3 — —
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 — 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 — —
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
0.1 0.022
0.1 —
0.1
0.1
0.005
0.005
— —
— 0.022
0.1 0.022
—
—
0.005
0.1 0.022 —
* 250 meg. riboflavin per gram. f400-D+l,000 A units. | Merck animal protein factor feeding supplement No. 3. § Discontinued on March 6, 1950.
The potency of the 2 samples of thyroprotein was determined by a biological assay with chicks. When thiouracil was incorporated in the chick diet at the rate of 0.2 percent, the thyroid weights were restored to normal when either of the 2 samples of thyroprotein used in our studies was fed at the rate of 0.007 percent. This finding is in close agreement with that of Turner, Kempster, Hall and Reineke (1945) who reported a level of 0.009 percent of thyroprotein to be neces-
Composition of the diets is summarized in Table 1. To facilitate study of the charts, the diets were designated by the initial letters of the supplements they contained; for example, diet TFCDB contained all the supplements, namely, thyroprotein, fat, choline, dienestrol diacetate, and B12 concentrate. The extra fat was added in order to increase the energy content of the diet. Choline was not studied as an independent variable but was included in the
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
TABLE 1.—Composition of experimental diets
THYROPROTEIN AND FAT IN LAYING DIETS
sistent differences among the diets in either the first or second laying years. The results of experiment 2 agreed with the results of experiment 1 in showing that thyroprotein did not increase egg pro-
3 1 T FCDB
*„„. T FCB
sSLSL
^<3k
0 FCOB
1 t *"•\
Dienestrol discontinued " on March 6,1950
"W'i
/^iX - " / ^ / \ \ """^^^rr • ^
0^**"**'
t Level of thyroprotein doubled in TFCB
9/14/49 11/9 2/1 11/8 1/31/50 4/25
4/26 7/19 10/11 7/18 10/10 1/2/51
1/3 3/27
3/28 6/20 6/19 7/17/81
FIG. 1. Effect of diet on egg production. (Experiment 1)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figures 1 and 2 show the effect of dietary treatment on egg production in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The data plotted in Figure 1 show no con-
8/23/50 11/15 2 / 7 11/14/50 2/6/51 5/1
5/2 8/23/50 11/15 7/24 11/14 2/6/51
2/7 5/1
FIG. 2. Effect of diet on egg production. (Experiment 2)
5/2
7/24
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
high-fat diets with the thought that the increased level of fat might increase choline requirement. The effect of vitamin B12 was studied because at the time the first experiment was planned it had become evident that B12 had been an unknown variable in many earlier experiments. Dienestrol diacetate was tried not only because of the possibility of a direct effect on egg production but also with the thought that it might influence fat metabolism. The dienestrol was discontinued on March 6, 1950 because of limited supply and because it was without effect. After that time the 2 groups that had been on diet TFCDB were on diet TFCB, making 4 groups on this diet. Each pair of duplicate pens was consolidated on July 19, 1950 and transferred to open-front colony houses for the second year of the experiment. After consolidation, there were 2 groups on diet TFCB. The level of thyroprotein was doubled in the diet of one group and remained the same for the other. Experiment 2. The pullets were fed" their respective experimental diets immediately at housing time. Two basals, B and FB (Table 1) were employed. Diet B was the same as diet 311 with a vitamin B12 supplement included; diet FB was a modification of diet B in which 8 percent of lard and 0.2 percent of choline chloride were added at the expense of corn and the level of limestone increased. Each of these 2 basal diets was fed to duplicate groups without supplement, with 0.033 percent of thyroprotein, and with 0.044 percent of thyroprotein.
1039
1040
R. J. LlLLIE, J. R. SlZEMORE, J. L. MlLLIGAN AND H. R. BlRD
duction when fed with or without added fat (Figure 2). The added lard in diet FB did not improve egg production. Body weight data are plotted in Figures 3 and 4, respectively, for experiments 1 and 2. As is illustrated in Figure 3, the incorporation of thyroprotein alone had no effect on body weight. (Compare 311 and T, Figure 3.) However, among the combinations represented in Figure 3 the 1
!
!
-
N^
2,800
=£2
3 2600
s
~~~—
-** ^
o
t
OIENESTROL C I S CONTINUED ON 2 2 0 0 " M A R C H 6,1950
t
2,600 • • • * '
LEVEL OF PBOTAMONE DOUBLED IN TFCB ON JULY 19 , I 9 S 0
* 2,400
311 T TFCOB
X
1
1600
_
1
1
1
2,200
1
"
B+0.033% .....
THYROPROTEIN
FB
3/„ ;
/49
'%0
6/.. 10/! / z l "'" DATE OF WEIGHING
7.
,.-'"
_
TCDB FCOB
X
^^
/ 2 9
FIG. 3. Effect of diet on body weight. (Experiment 1) one containing lard and no thyroprotein maintained the highest body weight and the one containing thyroprotein and no lard maintained the lowest. The two combinations containing both lard and thyroprotein were intermediate. In experiment 2 (Figure 4) whether or not fat was included in the diets, the presence of thyroprotein resulted in a lower body weight maintenance. Whether thyroprotein was present or not, the presence of fat in the diet resulted in greater body weight. The effect of dietary treatment upon the feed efficiency index of experiments 1 and 2 is summarized in Table 2. In experi-
2,000
°
10/18
°FB * 0 . 0 4 4 % THYROPROTEIN
l/IO/SI 4/4 OATE OF WEIGHING
6/27
FIG. 4. Effect of diet on body weight. (Experiment 2) efficiency values were higher for the fatsupplemented groups than for their counterpart groups fed no fat. Irrespective of fat, the efficiency decreased as the level of thyroprotein increased. Under the conditions of these experiments, thyroprotein did not possess any nutritional significance in laying diets from the standpoint of egg production. Our results confirm the findings of Hutt and Gowe (1948), Hoffmann and Wheeler (1948), Godfrey (1949) and Berg and Bearse (1951).
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
1
ment 1, in the second period, every group that was fed lard regardless of the other supplements showed a greater feed efficiency index than the control group. In the first period only one group (TFCB) exhibited a higher feed efficiency value than the control group. In both periods those groups that were fed thyroprotein without fat (T and TCDB) exhibited the lowest feed efficiency values. The data from experiment 2 reveal that in every case in periods 1 and 2 the feed
THYROPROTEIN AND FAT IN LAYING DIETS
TABLE 2.—Effect of dietary treatment upon feed efficiency index* of Rhode Island Reds Experiment 1
Period Supplement to basal 311 None T TFCDB TFCB TCDB FCDB
1 Jan. 3, 1951 to Jan. 30, 1951
2 Jan. 31, 1951 to Feb. 27, 1951
0.876 0.772 0.814 0.935 0.764 0.857
0.836 0.790 0.844 0.909 0.791 0.871
Experiment 2
Period Diet
B B+0.033% T B+0.044% T FB FB+0.033% T FB+0.044% T
1 Jan. 10, 1951 Feb. 6, 1951
to
2 Feb. 7, 1951 to Mar. 6, 1951
0.895 0.842 0.829 1.039 0.944 0.869
0.817 0.805 0.752 0.957 0.904 0.802
* Bird and Whitson (1946).
2 | is supported by the results of these experiments. According to this ratio a diet with 8 percent of added fat replacing an equal quantity of corn would be approximately 11 percent more efficient than the counterpart group without added fat. In experiment 2 (Table 2) in the absence of thyroprotein, the fat-containing diet was 16 percent and 17 percent more efficient than the basal diet in the two periods studied. With the lower level of thyroprotein, the fat-containing diet was 12 percent more efficient in both periods than the diet without added fat. With the higher level of thyroprotein the diet containing fat was 5 and 7 percent more efficient in the two periods than was the diet without fat. The hope that feeding thyroprotein with two different energy levels might help to explain the different effects on egg production observed at different laboratories was not realized. Thyroprotein was without effect on egg production in these experiments regardless of energy level and the above-mentioned discordant results remain unexplained. SUMMARY Studies were undertaken to determine the effect of thyroprotein in laying diets with Rhode Island Reds maintained in a multiple-unit laying house. Different combinations of thyroprotein, lard, choline, dienestrol diacetate and vitamin B12 were fed in experiment 1 for a period of 22 months; different combinations of thyroprotein and fat were fed in experiment 2 for a-period of about 11 months. Thyroprotein did not increase egg production in either of the experiments with any of the dietary combinations. It decreased body weight and feed efficiency. The inclusion of 8 percent of lard in the diet resulted in an increase in body weight and feed efficiency.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
The effectiveness of dietary fat in maintaining body weight and improving feed efficiency was demonstrated. It did not affect rate of egg production. As a result of solvent extraction of both plant and animal protein supplements there has been a tendency in recent years to take more and more of the fat out of poultry feeds. In view of the results of these experiments, it is questionable whether this trend is justified by present prices. If it be assumed that the energy value of corn approximates that of pure carbohydrate and the energy value of fat is 2\ times as great, then with corn at $1.83 per bushel, fat would be worth 7.4ff per pound as feed. The price of crude tallow at this writing is 6ff per pound and that of soybean oil is 10.5 ff per pound. The validity of a ratio at least as great as
1041
1042
E. A. SAUTER, W. J. STADELMAN A N D J. S. C A R V E R REFERENCES
Factors Affecting the Incidence of Blood Spots and Their D e tection in Hen's Eggs* E. A. SATJTER, W. J. STADELMAN AND J. S. CARVER Department of Poultry Science, The State College of Washington, Pullman, Washington (Received for publication April 15, 1952)
INTRODUCTION
B
LOOD spots in chicken eggs represent a serious loss to the poultry industry. The reduction or elimination of blood spots presents a complex problem involving genetic, nutritional and environmental factors. Blood spots are one of the most serious obstacles to the marketing of high quality eggs. Loss is due not only to eggs candled out in grading but also to possible decreased consumer demand because of the effect on the consumer of blood spots overlooked in grading. The importance of blood spots as a Pi * Scientific Paper No. 1115, Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations, Pullman, Project 801.
factor in consumer demand was brought out by Stadelman (1950). Results of a survey showed that 7 percent of all consumer complaints about egg quality concerned blood and meat spots. Since the study was on a graded egg basis, these would be mainly spots overlooked in candling. Most of the previously reported work on this problem has been by use of the candle for identifying the blood spots, with relatively few reports of observations on a broken out basis. The objective of the study reported here was a comparison of the effect of breeds, strains within the New Hampshire breed, and certain nutritional factors upon the incidence of blood spots,
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
Berg, L. R., and G. E. Bearse, 1951. Effect of iodinated casein and thiouracil on the performance of laying birds. Poultry Sci. 30: 21-28. Bird, H. R., and D. Whitson, 1946. Effect of diet on efficiency of egg production. Poultry Sci. 25: 210-214. Byerly, T. C , 1941. Feed and other costs of producing market eggs. U. Maryland Bui. A l : 1-29. Godfrey, G. F., 1949. The effect of feeding thyroprotein on egg shell quality and hatchability. Poultry Sci. 28: 867-873. Hoffmann, E., and R. S. Wheeler, 1948. The value of thyroprotein in starting, growing and laying rations. IV. Effect on the egg production, shell quality, and body weight of year-old pullets during hot weather. Poultry Sci. 27; 609-612. Hutt, F. B., and R. S. Gowe, 1948. On the supposed
effect of iodocasein upon egg production. Poultry Sci. 27:286-293. Savage, J. E., C. W. Turner, H. L. Kempster and A. G. Hogan, 1952. The effects of vitamin B 12 and thyroprotein on egg production, egg weight, shell quality and hatchability. Poultry Sci. 31: 22-31. Turner, C. W., 1948. Feeding thyroprotein and sex hormones to laying hens. Poultry Sci. 27: 613620. Turner, C. W., and H. L. Kempster, 1948. Mild hyperthyroidism maintains egg production with advancing age. Poultry Sci. 27: 453-458. Turner, C. W., H. L. Kempster and N. M. Hall, 1946. Effect of continued thyroprotein feeding on egg production. Poultry Sci. 25: 562-569. Turner, C. W., H. L. Kempster, N. M. Hall and E. P. Reineke, 1945. The effect of thyroprotein on egg production. Poultry Sci. 24: 522-533.
C
Turner (1948) observed no effect of estrogens and androgens upon egg production of White Plymouth Rock pullets. Administration of thyroprotein and dianisylhexene in combination was equally effective as administration of thyroprotein alone. Berg and Bearse (1951) reported a highly significant decrease in egg production and lowered body weights of White Leghorn pullets fed 15 grams of thyroprotein per 100 pounds of feed. According to Savage, Turner, Kempster and Hogan (1952), thyroprotein had no effect on the first year egg production of White Leghorns but it did cause a decrease in body weights and a slight improvement in shell quality. Since the response of laying hens to thyroprotein might be influenced by the character of the diet, especially its energy content, experiments were set up at the Agricultural Research Center with various dietary modifications in an attempt
to resolve the disagreement existing in the literature. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
General Rhode Island Red pullets at 22 weeks of age were distributed into 12 groups of 25 each on the basis of body weight and sexual maturity. The dates of housing were August 17, 1949 and August 23, 1950 for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The groups were placed in a multiple-unit open-front laying house equipped with concrete floors, automatic waterers, and trapnests. The sawdust litter in the experimental pens was changed at approximately 4-week intervals. Feed was supplied ad libitum. Daily egg production records were kept and the birds were weighed individually at intervals of 4 weeks. There was no culling in either experiment. The diets were prepared at 10-day intervals. The lard for the high-fat diets was melted and premixed with ground corn before being incorporated with the rest of the feed ingredients. During an 8-week period from January to March 1951, feed efficiency studies were analyzed for both experiments. The feed efficiency index was expressed in terms of a modification of the formula of Byerly (1941), as reported by Bird and Whitson (1946). The equation for the feed efficiency index calculations was as follows:
1037
F=0.9968 W + A W + E , where F=feed consumption per pen per 28 days W=average live weight per pen per 28 days
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
ONFLICTING conclusions concerning the effect of thyroprotein (iodinated casein) upon the reproductive performance of chickens have been reported by different investigators. Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn females of all ages responded to thyroprotein administration by greater egg production according to Turner, Kempster, Hall and Reineke (1945): Turner, Kempster and Hall (1946); Turner and Kempster (1948); and Turner (1948). Negative results were reported by Hoffmann and Wheeler (1948), Hutt and Gowe (1948) and Godfrey (1949).
1038
R . J . LlLLIE, J . R . SlZEMORE, J . L . MlLLIGAN AND H . R . BlRD
AW = to tal change in live weight per pen per 28 days E = number of eggs per pen multiplied by 56.8 56.8 = assumed average weight of all eggs laid in terms of grams Feed efficiency index=
Calculated feed consumption ; Actual feed consumption
Since the dietary treatments did not significantly affect mortality, hatchability, egg shell quality or interior egg quality these data are not included here.
sary in restoring thyroid weights to normal when thiouracil was fed at the rate of 0.1 percent. Experiment 1. At housing time the pullets were continued on a standard growing mash until September 14, 1949, when basal diet 311 was fed. Exactly 5 weeks later on October 19, 1949, the feeding of the experimental diets began. Each of 6 diets was fed to duplicate groups.
Experiment 1. 1949-51
Ingredient 311 Ground corn Alfalfa meal Soybean meal Steamed bonemeal Ground limestone Butyl fermentation solubles* Salt (with 6% MnS0 4 ) Iodized salt Feeding oilf Lard Choline Vitamin Bi2 supplement,! % Thyroprotein, % Dienestrol diacetate,§ %
%
T
%
TFCDB
%
TFCB
%
Experiment 2. 1950-51 TCDB
%
FCDB
%
B
%
FB
%
57.0 5.0 30.0 4.2 2.3
57.0 5.0 30.0 4.2 2.3
46.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
46.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
54.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
46.27 5.0' 30.0 4.2 4.83
57.0 5.0 30.0 4.2 2.3
46.27 5.0 30.0 4.2 4.83
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5 0.2 0.3 — —
0.5 0.2 0.3 — —
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 — 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3 — —
0.5 0.2 0.3 8.0 0.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
0.1 0.022
0.1 —
0.1
0.1
0.005
0.005
— —
— 0.022
0.1 0.022
—
—
0.005
0.1 0.022 —
* 250 meg. riboflavin per gram. f400-D+l,000 A units. | Merck animal protein factor feeding supplement No. 3. § Discontinued on March 6, 1950.
The potency of the 2 samples of thyroprotein was determined by a biological assay with chicks. When thiouracil was incorporated in the chick diet at the rate of 0.2 percent, the thyroid weights were restored to normal when either of the 2 samples of thyroprotein used in our studies was fed at the rate of 0.007 percent. This finding is in close agreement with that of Turner, Kempster, Hall and Reineke (1945) who reported a level of 0.009 percent of thyroprotein to be neces-
Composition of the diets is summarized in Table 1. To facilitate study of the charts, the diets were designated by the initial letters of the supplements they contained; for example, diet TFCDB contained all the supplements, namely, thyroprotein, fat, choline, dienestrol diacetate, and B12 concentrate. The extra fat was added in order to increase the energy content of the diet. Choline was not studied as an independent variable but was included in the
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
TABLE 1.—Composition of experimental diets
THYROPROTEIN AND FAT IN LAYING DIETS
sistent differences among the diets in either the first or second laying years. The results of experiment 2 agreed with the results of experiment 1 in showing that thyroprotein did not increase egg pro-
3 1 T FCDB
*„„. T FCB
sSLSL
^<3k
0 FCOB
1 t *"•\
Dienestrol discontinued " on March 6,1950
"W'i
/^iX - " / ^ / \ \ """^^^rr • ^
0^**"**'
t Level of thyroprotein doubled in TFCB
9/14/49 11/9 2/1 11/8 1/31/50 4/25
4/26 7/19 10/11 7/18 10/10 1/2/51
1/3 3/27
3/28 6/20 6/19 7/17/81
FIG. 1. Effect of diet on egg production. (Experiment 1)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figures 1 and 2 show the effect of dietary treatment on egg production in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. The data plotted in Figure 1 show no con-
8/23/50 11/15 2 / 7 11/14/50 2/6/51 5/1
5/2 8/23/50 11/15 7/24 11/14 2/6/51
2/7 5/1
FIG. 2. Effect of diet on egg production. (Experiment 2)
5/2
7/24
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
high-fat diets with the thought that the increased level of fat might increase choline requirement. The effect of vitamin B12 was studied because at the time the first experiment was planned it had become evident that B12 had been an unknown variable in many earlier experiments. Dienestrol diacetate was tried not only because of the possibility of a direct effect on egg production but also with the thought that it might influence fat metabolism. The dienestrol was discontinued on March 6, 1950 because of limited supply and because it was without effect. After that time the 2 groups that had been on diet TFCDB were on diet TFCB, making 4 groups on this diet. Each pair of duplicate pens was consolidated on July 19, 1950 and transferred to open-front colony houses for the second year of the experiment. After consolidation, there were 2 groups on diet TFCB. The level of thyroprotein was doubled in the diet of one group and remained the same for the other. Experiment 2. The pullets were fed" their respective experimental diets immediately at housing time. Two basals, B and FB (Table 1) were employed. Diet B was the same as diet 311 with a vitamin B12 supplement included; diet FB was a modification of diet B in which 8 percent of lard and 0.2 percent of choline chloride were added at the expense of corn and the level of limestone increased. Each of these 2 basal diets was fed to duplicate groups without supplement, with 0.033 percent of thyroprotein, and with 0.044 percent of thyroprotein.
1039
1040
R. J. LlLLIE, J. R. SlZEMORE, J. L. MlLLIGAN AND H. R. BlRD
duction when fed with or without added fat (Figure 2). The added lard in diet FB did not improve egg production. Body weight data are plotted in Figures 3 and 4, respectively, for experiments 1 and 2. As is illustrated in Figure 3, the incorporation of thyroprotein alone had no effect on body weight. (Compare 311 and T, Figure 3.) However, among the combinations represented in Figure 3 the 1
!
!
-
N^
2,800
=£2
3 2600
s
~~~—
-** ^
o
t
OIENESTROL C I S CONTINUED ON 2 2 0 0 " M A R C H 6,1950
t
2,600 • • • * '
LEVEL OF PBOTAMONE DOUBLED IN TFCB ON JULY 19 , I 9 S 0
* 2,400
311 T TFCOB
X
1
1600
_
1
1
1
2,200
1
"
B+0.033% .....
THYROPROTEIN
FB
3/„ ;
/49
'%0
6/.. 10/! / z l "'" DATE OF WEIGHING
7.
,.-'"
_
TCDB FCOB
X
^^
/ 2 9
FIG. 3. Effect of diet on body weight. (Experiment 1) one containing lard and no thyroprotein maintained the highest body weight and the one containing thyroprotein and no lard maintained the lowest. The two combinations containing both lard and thyroprotein were intermediate. In experiment 2 (Figure 4) whether or not fat was included in the diets, the presence of thyroprotein resulted in a lower body weight maintenance. Whether thyroprotein was present or not, the presence of fat in the diet resulted in greater body weight. The effect of dietary treatment upon the feed efficiency index of experiments 1 and 2 is summarized in Table 2. In experi-
2,000
°
10/18
°FB * 0 . 0 4 4 % THYROPROTEIN
l/IO/SI 4/4 OATE OF WEIGHING
6/27
FIG. 4. Effect of diet on body weight. (Experiment 2) efficiency values were higher for the fatsupplemented groups than for their counterpart groups fed no fat. Irrespective of fat, the efficiency decreased as the level of thyroprotein increased. Under the conditions of these experiments, thyroprotein did not possess any nutritional significance in laying diets from the standpoint of egg production. Our results confirm the findings of Hutt and Gowe (1948), Hoffmann and Wheeler (1948), Godfrey (1949) and Berg and Bearse (1951).
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA on July 6, 2015
1
ment 1, in the second period, every group that was fed lard regardless of the other supplements showed a greater feed efficiency index than the control group. In the first period only one group (TFCB) exhibited a higher feed efficiency value than the control group. In both periods those groups that were fed thyroprotein without fat (T and TCDB) exhibited the lowest feed efficiency values. The data from experiment 2 reveal that in every case in periods 1 and 2 the feed
THYROPROTEIN AND FAT IN LAYING DIETS
TABLE 2.—Effect of dietary treatment upon feed efficiency index* of Rhode Island Reds Experiment 1
Period Supplement to basal 311 None T TFCDB TFCB TCDB FCDB
1 Jan. 3, 1951 to Jan. 30, 1951
2 Jan. 31, 1951 to Feb. 27, 1951
0.876 0.772 0.814 0.935 0.764 0.857
0.836 0.790 0.844 0.909 0.791 0.871
Experiment 2
Period Diet
B B+0.033% T B+0.044% T FB FB+0.033% T FB+0.044% T
1 Jan. 10, 1951 Feb. 6, 1951
to
2 Feb. 7, 1951 to Mar. 6, 1951
0.895 0.842 0.829 1.039 0.944 0.869
0.817 0.805 0.752 0.957 0.904 0.802
* Bird and Whitson (1946).
2 | is supported by the results of these experiments. According to this ratio a diet with 8 percent of added fat replacing an equal quantity of corn would be approximately 11 percent more efficient than the counterpart group without added fat. In experiment 2 (Table 2) in the absence of thyroprotein, the fat-containing diet was 16 percent and 17 percent more efficient than the basal diet in the two periods studied. With the lower level of thyroprotein, the fat-containing diet was 12 percent more efficient in both periods than the diet without added fat. With the higher level of thyroprotein the diet containing fat was 5 and 7 percent more efficient in the two periods than was the diet without fat. The hope that feeding thyroprotein with two different energy levels might help to explain the different effects on egg production observed at different laboratories was not realized. Thyroprotein was without effect on egg production in these experiments regardless of energy level and the above-mentioned discordant results remain unexplained. SUMMARY Studies were undertaken to determine the effect of thyroprotein in laying diets with Rhode Island Reds maintained in a multiple-unit laying house. Different combinations of thyroprotein, lard, choline, dienestrol diacetate and vitamin B12 were fed in experiment 1 for a period of 22 months; different combinations of thyroprotein and fat were fed in experiment 2 for a-period of about 11 months. Thyroprotein did not increase egg production in either of the experiments with any of the dietary combinations. It decreased body weight and feed efficiency. The inclusion of 8 percent of lard in the diet resulted in an increase in body weight and feed efficiency.
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The effectiveness of dietary fat in maintaining body weight and improving feed efficiency was demonstrated. It did not affect rate of egg production. As a result of solvent extraction of both plant and animal protein supplements there has been a tendency in recent years to take more and more of the fat out of poultry feeds. In view of the results of these experiments, it is questionable whether this trend is justified by present prices. If it be assumed that the energy value of corn approximates that of pure carbohydrate and the energy value of fat is 2\ times as great, then with corn at $1.83 per bushel, fat would be worth 7.4ff per pound as feed. The price of crude tallow at this writing is 6ff per pound and that of soybean oil is 10.5 ff per pound. The validity of a ratio at least as great as
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E. A. SAUTER, W. J. STADELMAN A N D J. S. C A R V E R REFERENCES
Factors Affecting the Incidence of Blood Spots and Their D e tection in Hen's Eggs* E. A. SATJTER, W. J. STADELMAN AND J. S. CARVER Department of Poultry Science, The State College of Washington, Pullman, Washington (Received for publication April 15, 1952)
INTRODUCTION
B
LOOD spots in chicken eggs represent a serious loss to the poultry industry. The reduction or elimination of blood spots presents a complex problem involving genetic, nutritional and environmental factors. Blood spots are one of the most serious obstacles to the marketing of high quality eggs. Loss is due not only to eggs candled out in grading but also to possible decreased consumer demand because of the effect on the consumer of blood spots overlooked in grading. The importance of blood spots as a Pi * Scientific Paper No. 1115, Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations, Pullman, Project 801.
factor in consumer demand was brought out by Stadelman (1950). Results of a survey showed that 7 percent of all consumer complaints about egg quality concerned blood and meat spots. Since the study was on a graded egg basis, these would be mainly spots overlooked in candling. Most of the previously reported work on this problem has been by use of the candle for identifying the blood spots, with relatively few reports of observations on a broken out basis. The objective of the study reported here was a comparison of the effect of breeds, strains within the New Hampshire breed, and certain nutritional factors upon the incidence of blood spots,
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Berg, L. R., and G. E. Bearse, 1951. Effect of iodinated casein and thiouracil on the performance of laying birds. Poultry Sci. 30: 21-28. Bird, H. R., and D. Whitson, 1946. Effect of diet on efficiency of egg production. Poultry Sci. 25: 210-214. Byerly, T. C , 1941. Feed and other costs of producing market eggs. U. Maryland Bui. A l : 1-29. Godfrey, G. F., 1949. The effect of feeding thyroprotein on egg shell quality and hatchability. Poultry Sci. 28: 867-873. Hoffmann, E., and R. S. Wheeler, 1948. The value of thyroprotein in starting, growing and laying rations. IV. Effect on the egg production, shell quality, and body weight of year-old pullets during hot weather. Poultry Sci. 27; 609-612. Hutt, F. B., and R. S. Gowe, 1948. On the supposed
effect of iodocasein upon egg production. Poultry Sci. 27:286-293. Savage, J. E., C. W. Turner, H. L. Kempster and A. G. Hogan, 1952. The effects of vitamin B 12 and thyroprotein on egg production, egg weight, shell quality and hatchability. Poultry Sci. 31: 22-31. Turner, C. W., 1948. Feeding thyroprotein and sex hormones to laying hens. Poultry Sci. 27: 613620. Turner, C. W., and H. L. Kempster, 1948. Mild hyperthyroidism maintains egg production with advancing age. Poultry Sci. 27: 453-458. Turner, C. W., H. L. Kempster and N. M. Hall, 1946. Effect of continued thyroprotein feeding on egg production. Poultry Sci. 25: 562-569. Turner, C. W., H. L. Kempster, N. M. Hall and E. P. Reineke, 1945. The effect of thyroprotein on egg production. Poultry Sci. 24: 522-533.