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Effect of Nitrofurizone and Furazolidone on Reproduction in Chickens
1642
RESEARCH NOTES
lated frequency of the gene for the abnormal hemoglobin in this population is .042, slightly less than for the abnormal gene producing the similar pattern in chickens. REFERENCES Baker, C. M. A., and C. Manwell, 1967. Molecular genetics of avian proteins VIII. Egg white proteins of the migratory quail, Coturnix. New concepts of hybrid vigor. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 23: 21-42. Manwell, C , C. M. A. Baker and W. Childers, 1963. The genetics of hemoglobin in hybrids, I. A molecular basis for hybrid vigor. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 10: 103. Marks, H. L., 1967. A Japanese quail control population. The Quail Quarterly, 4 : 2-4. Sanders, B. G., S. Friedman and C. Bleifeld, 196S. Electrophoretic, solubility and crystalline studies of gallinaceous hemoglobins. Proc. Pennsylvania Acad. Sci. 18: 79. Washburn, K. W., 1968. Inheritance of an abnormal hemoglobin in a randombred population of domestic fowl. Poultry Sci. 47 : 561-564.
EFFECT OF NITROFURIZONE AND FURAZOLIDONE ON REPRODUCTION IN CHICKENS P . A . KONDEA AND W . GuENTER Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Received for publication August 22, 1968)
The drugs nitrofurizone and furazolidone are frequently used in poultry feeds because of their bactericidal properties. But due to difference in these properties, the two drugs are used at different levels and for different purposes. Errors have occurred resulting in the use of nitrofurizone, instead of furazolidone (NF-180), at the high level of 220 mg. per kg. of breeder ration, with concern for possible adverse effects. Dean and Stephenson (1958) used furazolidone at levels of 12.5 to 50.0 gms. per ton of breeder diet. Their tests show that the drug had beneficial effects on egg production, fertility, hatchability and feed utilization in breeding hens.
Heywang (1965) and Sauer et al. (1967) have carried out tests on the effect of furazolidone on laying hens at levels ranging from 3 mg. to 110 mg. of the drug per kg. of feed. Heywang (1965) observed slight improvement in egg production when furazolidone was fed at 27.5 mg. per kg. of diet. Sauer et al. (1967) noted that continuous feeding of furazolidone at 110 mg. per kg. of diet resulted in retardation of natural egg weight increase. There appears to be no information on the effect of feeding high levels (200 mg./kg. diet) of nitrofurizone or furazolidone to breeding hens. Two tests were carried out, the first on commercial White Leghorn hybrid egg production stock and the second on White
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Purdue University Libraries ADMN on May 27, 2015
and a faster moving minor component. Thirteen of the 155 birds in this population had hemoglobin characterized by one major, but two minor components. The additional minor component migrated at a faster rate than the normal minor component. No individuals were observed to have only the faster moving minor component. A similar pattern of two minor components in a randombred population of chickens is due to heterozygosity for a pair of co-dominant genes (Washburn, 1968). The frequency of the gene for the abnormal hemoglobin in the population of chickens was .060. Since the electrophoretic mobility of hemoglobin is dependent on the tertiary protein structure, which is determined by the gene, the two minor components observed are assumed to be due to heterozygosity of the loci which control the production of the globin chain unique to these components. On this assumption the calcu-
1643
RESEARCH NOTES TABLE 1.—Performance of breeding hens fed nitrofurizone or furazolidone at 220 mg./kg. diet White Rocks
White Leghorns Trait % Egg Prod.
1
nitro
NF-180
control*
nitro
NF-180
90.0 92.7 55.2 57.3 2.0 1.9 2.58 56.6 95.0
88.1 83.4 53.7 56.3 2.0 1.9 2.62 65.3 89.2
84.3 88.4 55.3 56.4 2.1 2.2 2.62 77.3 94.7
62.7 76.2 57.6 58.1 3.1 3.2 4.56 85.1 88.2
44.1 62.3 58.1 59.6 3.1 3.0 4.57 79.0 91.6
55.2 70.1 59.1 60.4 3.1 3.3 4.01 71.9 84.6
* Control—No drugs added. 1 b.t. —before treatment (feeding of drugs). 2 a.t. —after treatment (feeding of drug) for four weeks.
Rock broiler breeders. Furazolidone was fed to a pen of 16 laying hens at the rate of 220 mg. per kg. of breeder diet and another similar pen was fed nitrofurizone added also at 220 mg. per kg. of the breeder diet. Both pens had been maintained previously on the same breeder diet without the above drugs for over two months. A third control pen of hens was continued on the breeder diet without drugs. Fertility and hatchability tests were commenced after the birds had been on the drug for two weeks whereas body weights and egg weights were taken prior to the commencement of the test and again after four weeks on the drug diets. From the summary of data (Table 1) it is evident that the performance of both the
egg and the meat type breeders was not affected adversely by the use of either the nitrofurizone or the furazolidone at the rate of 220 mg. /kg. of diet, with the possible exception that egg production may be affected by nitrofurizone. REFERENCES Dean, W. F., and E. L. Stephenson, 1958. The influence of dietary furazolidone on egg production, hatchability, fertility and feed efficiency of laying and breeding hens. Poultry Sci. 37: 124-128. Heywang, G. W., 1965. The effect of some antibiotics and furazolidone on performance of laying chickens during hot weather. Poultry Sci. 44: 1523. Sauer, N. G., L. S. Jensen and J. V. Shutze, 1967. The effect of dietary furazolidone (NF-180) upon chicken egg weight. Poultry Sci. 46: 1316.
NEWS AND NOTES (Continued from page 1630) for the Advancement of Science, and the Poultry Science Association. In 1960 he was the recipient of the Ralston Purina Teaching Award of the Poultry Science Association. He is also a member of the World's Poultry Science Association, the Canadian Biochemical Society, the Nutrition Society of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies, and the Animal Nutrition Research Council. He has served on a number of National Research Councils, federal and provincial agriculture department committees.
TEXAS NOTES L. S. Pope, Head of the Animal Science Division, Institute of Animal Sciences and Industry, Oklahoma State University, has been named to the newly created position of Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs in the College of Agriculture, Texas A and M University. Dr. Pope has been associated with Oklahoma State University since 1949 and was made Head of the Animal Science Department in 1963. He assumed his new duties on August 1. His activities will be concerned with
(continued on page 1650)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Purdue University Libraries ADMN on May 27, 2015
—b.t. —a.t. 2 Egg Wt. g. —b.t. —a.t. Body Wt. kg. —b.t. —a.t. Gms. feed/gm. egg—a.t. Fertile % —a.t. Hatch % —a.t.
control*
RESEARCH NOTES
lated frequency of the gene for the abnormal hemoglobin in this population is .042, slightly less than for the abnormal gene producing the similar pattern in chickens. REFERENCES Baker, C. M. A., and C. Manwell, 1967. Molecular genetics of avian proteins VIII. Egg white proteins of the migratory quail, Coturnix. New concepts of hybrid vigor. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 23: 21-42. Manwell, C , C. M. A. Baker and W. Childers, 1963. The genetics of hemoglobin in hybrids, I. A molecular basis for hybrid vigor. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 10: 103. Marks, H. L., 1967. A Japanese quail control population. The Quail Quarterly, 4 : 2-4. Sanders, B. G., S. Friedman and C. Bleifeld, 196S. Electrophoretic, solubility and crystalline studies of gallinaceous hemoglobins. Proc. Pennsylvania Acad. Sci. 18: 79. Washburn, K. W., 1968. Inheritance of an abnormal hemoglobin in a randombred population of domestic fowl. Poultry Sci. 47 : 561-564.
EFFECT OF NITROFURIZONE AND FURAZOLIDONE ON REPRODUCTION IN CHICKENS P . A . KONDEA AND W . GuENTER Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Received for publication August 22, 1968)
The drugs nitrofurizone and furazolidone are frequently used in poultry feeds because of their bactericidal properties. But due to difference in these properties, the two drugs are used at different levels and for different purposes. Errors have occurred resulting in the use of nitrofurizone, instead of furazolidone (NF-180), at the high level of 220 mg. per kg. of breeder ration, with concern for possible adverse effects. Dean and Stephenson (1958) used furazolidone at levels of 12.5 to 50.0 gms. per ton of breeder diet. Their tests show that the drug had beneficial effects on egg production, fertility, hatchability and feed utilization in breeding hens.
Heywang (1965) and Sauer et al. (1967) have carried out tests on the effect of furazolidone on laying hens at levels ranging from 3 mg. to 110 mg. of the drug per kg. of feed. Heywang (1965) observed slight improvement in egg production when furazolidone was fed at 27.5 mg. per kg. of diet. Sauer et al. (1967) noted that continuous feeding of furazolidone at 110 mg. per kg. of diet resulted in retardation of natural egg weight increase. There appears to be no information on the effect of feeding high levels (200 mg./kg. diet) of nitrofurizone or furazolidone to breeding hens. Two tests were carried out, the first on commercial White Leghorn hybrid egg production stock and the second on White
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Purdue University Libraries ADMN on May 27, 2015
and a faster moving minor component. Thirteen of the 155 birds in this population had hemoglobin characterized by one major, but two minor components. The additional minor component migrated at a faster rate than the normal minor component. No individuals were observed to have only the faster moving minor component. A similar pattern of two minor components in a randombred population of chickens is due to heterozygosity for a pair of co-dominant genes (Washburn, 1968). The frequency of the gene for the abnormal hemoglobin in the population of chickens was .060. Since the electrophoretic mobility of hemoglobin is dependent on the tertiary protein structure, which is determined by the gene, the two minor components observed are assumed to be due to heterozygosity of the loci which control the production of the globin chain unique to these components. On this assumption the calcu-
1643
RESEARCH NOTES TABLE 1.—Performance of breeding hens fed nitrofurizone or furazolidone at 220 mg./kg. diet White Rocks
White Leghorns Trait % Egg Prod.
1
nitro
NF-180
control*
nitro
NF-180
90.0 92.7 55.2 57.3 2.0 1.9 2.58 56.6 95.0
88.1 83.4 53.7 56.3 2.0 1.9 2.62 65.3 89.2
84.3 88.4 55.3 56.4 2.1 2.2 2.62 77.3 94.7
62.7 76.2 57.6 58.1 3.1 3.2 4.56 85.1 88.2
44.1 62.3 58.1 59.6 3.1 3.0 4.57 79.0 91.6
55.2 70.1 59.1 60.4 3.1 3.3 4.01 71.9 84.6
* Control—No drugs added. 1 b.t. —before treatment (feeding of drugs). 2 a.t. —after treatment (feeding of drug) for four weeks.
Rock broiler breeders. Furazolidone was fed to a pen of 16 laying hens at the rate of 220 mg. per kg. of breeder diet and another similar pen was fed nitrofurizone added also at 220 mg. per kg. of the breeder diet. Both pens had been maintained previously on the same breeder diet without the above drugs for over two months. A third control pen of hens was continued on the breeder diet without drugs. Fertility and hatchability tests were commenced after the birds had been on the drug for two weeks whereas body weights and egg weights were taken prior to the commencement of the test and again after four weeks on the drug diets. From the summary of data (Table 1) it is evident that the performance of both the
egg and the meat type breeders was not affected adversely by the use of either the nitrofurizone or the furazolidone at the rate of 220 mg. /kg. of diet, with the possible exception that egg production may be affected by nitrofurizone. REFERENCES Dean, W. F., and E. L. Stephenson, 1958. The influence of dietary furazolidone on egg production, hatchability, fertility and feed efficiency of laying and breeding hens. Poultry Sci. 37: 124-128. Heywang, G. W., 1965. The effect of some antibiotics and furazolidone on performance of laying chickens during hot weather. Poultry Sci. 44: 1523. Sauer, N. G., L. S. Jensen and J. V. Shutze, 1967. The effect of dietary furazolidone (NF-180) upon chicken egg weight. Poultry Sci. 46: 1316.
NEWS AND NOTES (Continued from page 1630) for the Advancement of Science, and the Poultry Science Association. In 1960 he was the recipient of the Ralston Purina Teaching Award of the Poultry Science Association. He is also a member of the World's Poultry Science Association, the Canadian Biochemical Society, the Nutrition Society of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies, and the Animal Nutrition Research Council. He has served on a number of National Research Councils, federal and provincial agriculture department committees.
TEXAS NOTES L. S. Pope, Head of the Animal Science Division, Institute of Animal Sciences and Industry, Oklahoma State University, has been named to the newly created position of Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs in the College of Agriculture, Texas A and M University. Dr. Pope has been associated with Oklahoma State University since 1949 and was made Head of the Animal Science Department in 1963. He assumed his new duties on August 1. His activities will be concerned with
(continued on page 1650)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Purdue University Libraries ADMN on May 27, 2015
—b.t. —a.t. 2 Egg Wt. g. —b.t. —a.t. Body Wt. kg. —b.t. —a.t. Gms. feed/gm. egg—a.t. Fertile % —a.t. Hatch % —a.t.
control*