Effects of Continuous Feeding of Hygromycin B on Performance, Fertility and Hatchability of a Commercial Laying Stock

176

L. R. RICHARDSON, S. HAYES AND R. H. RIGDON

identity and biological activity. Sci. 142: 1191— 1192. Richardson, L. R., and A. G. Hogan, 1946. Diet of mother and hydrocephalus in infant rats. J. Nutrition, 32: 459-465. Richardson, L. R., S. Wilkes, J. Godwin and K. R. Pierce, 1962. Effect of moldy diet and moldy soybean meal on the growth of chicks and

poults. J. Nutrition, 78: 301-306. Sao, T., G. Buchi, M. M. Abel-Kader, S. B. Chang, E. L. Wick and G. N. Wogan, 1963. Anatoxins B & G. Amer. Chem. Soc. 85: 1706-1707. Van der Merwe, K. J., L. Fourie and de B. Scott, 1963. On the structure of the anatoxins. Chem. Indus. 4 1 : 1660-1661.

FERIAL ABD EL-MAGUID AND J. H. QUISENBERRY1 Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843 (Received for publication June 16, 1966)

A

NUMBER of antibiotics have been tested and reported to bring improvement in growth, egg production and overall performance. Some have likewise been found effective against a wide variety of bacterial and viral-borne agents. The antibiotic, hygromycin B, has been shown to have beneficial effects upon the rate of lay of a commercial egg production stock. It has also been effective in reducing internal parasites of poultry and swine. In a study to evaluate the anthelmintic properties of hygromycin B under practical conditions, Quisenberry et al. (1958) reported that hygromycin B at a level of 12 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed was effective in reducing the parasite load during the earlier part of the growing period of replacement pullets but that a reduction in the parasite count appeared somewhat variable after the birds were mature. Llorico et al. (1962) reported a significant reduction of ascarids and cecal worms in growing pullets as a result of the continuous feeding of hygromycin B. They stated that helminth reduction was propor1

Graduate Assistant and Head Science Department, respectively.

of

Poultry

tional to the dietary level of hygromycin B and that feeding the higher levels (16 and 24 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed) during the laying period depressed egg production. Quisenberry et al. (1960) showed that hygromycin B at 6 and 12 gm. levels significantly reduced ascarid and cecal worm counts in growing pullets. They stated that the lower level of 6 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed resulted in a higher rate of production during the laying period than the 12 gm. level. Grimes and Moreng (1964) reported a significant depression in the fertility of Single Comb White Leghorns when hygromycin B was added to the basal diet at a level of 12 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed. They reported no significant depression in the fertility of Delawares under the same treatment. Hatchability was significantly depressed in the treated Delawares, whereas there was no significant depression among the Leghorns. These data showed an accompanying depression in egg weight for the Leghorns. The experiment to be reported herein was undertaken as a means of evaluating further the beneficial effects of hygromycin B on laying house performance when fed

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Effects of Continuous Feeding of Hygromycin B on Performance, Fertility and Hatchability of a Commercial Laying Stock

HYGROMYCIN B AND REPRODUCTION

continuously, starting at 21 weeks of age, and to determine the effects on fertility and hatchability when hygromycin B was fed to females only. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

TABLE 1.—Composition of the basal diet Ingredients

Percent

Grain Sorghum Yellow Corn Soybean Meal (44% protein) Poultry By-Product Meal (58% protein) Distillers Dried Solubles Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal (20% protein) Defluorinated Rock Phosphate Oyster Shell Flour Salt Manganese Sulfate Zinc Oxide Vitamin Mix* Total

48.50 20.00 11.20 5.00 2.00 3.00 2.50 5.00 0.25 0.025 0.025 2.50 100.00

* 9.07 kgs. Dry Fish Solubles 4.54 kgs. Delactosed Whey 2.27 kgs. Antibiotic Fermentation Solubles 1.81 kgs. Choline Chloride (25%) 454 gms. Stable Vitamin A (10,000 I.U. per gram) 454 gms. Vitamin D 3 (3,000 I.C.U. per gram) 454 gms. Vitamin-Antibiotic Mixture(1> 45 gms. 3-Nitro-4-hydroxy-phenylarsonic Acid 3.63 kgs. Soybean Meal (1) Contained: Riboflavin, 4 gms.; Vitamin Bi 2 , 12 mgs.; Niacin, 25 gms.; Calcium Pantothenate, 10 gms.; Penicillin, 10 gms.; Bacitracin, 10 gms.; Vitamin E, 5,000 I.U.; Vitamin K (Menadione Sodium Bisulfite), 2 gms.

Treatment Group No. 1. This was used as the control group and received only the basal diet given in Table 1. Treatment Group No. 2. For this group a supplement of 12 gms. of hygromycin B per 907 kgs. of feed was added to the basal ration and fed continuously beginning at the age of 21 weeks. Treatment Group No. 3. Chlormadinone acetate at a level of 12 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed was added for three weeks to the basal diet. Treatment Group No. 4. A combination of hygromycin B and chlormadinone acetate, each at 12 gms. per ,907 kgs. of feed, was given to the birds of this treatment group. Body weight, egg production, egg size and feed efficiency were recorded for each replicate. Daily egg size was recorded for each replicate for the first seven 28-day pe-

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One hundred and sixty commercial incrossbred egg-type pullets hatched April 23, 1963, were used for this experiment. The birds were brooded and reared on shavings in floor pens and were given, per bird, one square foot of floor area to eight weeks and two square feet thereafter until transferred to laying cages at 21 weeks of age. They were vaccinated for Newcastle, bronchitis and fowl pox. Nutritionally, they received a well-fortified 2 1 % protein starter diet to eight weeks and an 18% developer to 21 weeks of age. For the laying experiment there were four replications of 10 birds each, or a total of 40 birds per treatment with one replicate of each of the four treatment groups on each cage row to equalize any effects due to water supply, air movement and temperature. The experiment started when the birds were 21 weeks of age and was continued thereafter for twelve 28-day periods. In this experiment chlormadinone acetate, a progestin compound, was included at a level previously found to be appropriate to test its efficacy for delay of sexual maturity with and without hygromycin B. Results of the chlormadinone acetate feeding will be reported elsewhere. Inclusion of Treatment Groups Three and Four in the present paper is to make the hygromycin B results complete. The chlormadinone acetate was added to the ration of the birds at 22 weeks of age when they reached 2-3% production. It was fed for three consecutive weeks thereafter. Three weeks plus the recovery period were considered to afford sufficient delay in sexual maturity. Detailed descriptions of the treatments used in this experiment are as follows:

177

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F. A. EL-MAGUID AND J. H. QUISENBEERY

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In Table 2 the performance traits as influenced by hygromycin B, chlormadinone acetate and the combination are given. Statistical analyses of the data for body weight, egg production, average egg size, feed efficiency and mortality of the birds for periods 2 through 12 were made. Period one was not included in the analyses be-

cause period means were used for variance analyses and since the birds were just coming into lay during the first period, the means were low and would have unnecessarily reduced ability to separate means that differed significantly. Some scientists prefer to start data collection after the birds are in higher production, but because of the chlormadinone acetate feeding, to be reported elsewhere, data collection was started early in this experiment. Duncan's multiple range test was used to separate the treatment means and identify statistically significant differences. Body weight. A statistically significant difference (p < .05) between treatment groups was obtained for average body weight. Although the body weight of the basal or control group was the heaviest, it was not significantly heavier than the hygromycin B lot. Those receiving the chlormadinone acetate were significantly lighter than the control lot. They were not significantly different from the hygromycin B group. Those receiving the combination of hygromycin B and chlormadinone acetate were significantly lighter than any of the other lots. It appeared as if the hygromycin B and chlormadinone were cumulative in their effects on body weight (Table 2). Egg Production. There were statistically significant differences between treatment

TABLE 2.—Effects of feeding hygromycin B and chlormadinone acetate singly and in combination on laying house performance of a commercial egg-type slock. For eleven 28-day periods

Treatment

Basal 12 gms. hygro. B per 907 Kgs. 12 gms. CA per 907 Kgs. 12 gms. hygro. B + 12 gms. CA per 907 Kgs.

Beg. No. of Birds

Average Body Weight (gms.)

40

Hen-Day Prod. (%)

Average Egg Size (gms.)

% of Eggs 52.0 Gms. or above

Feed/ Kg. Eggs

1,455a

64.49c

54.78b

78.37a

2.87a

10.0a

40

l,442ab

72.38a

55.01ab

81.40a

2.54b

2.5a

40

1,426b

68.69b

55.19a

86.17a

2.62b

15.0a

40

1,399c

68.84b

54.75b

81.88a

2.57b

7.5a

Means with different letters differ at the .05 level of significance.

Mortality (%)

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riods. After the seventh 28-day period, egg size was determined daily by replicates for the last seven days of each 28-day period. Fertility and hatchability studies started when the average egg size reached 52.0 gms. per egg. Twenty-five Single Comb White Leghorn mature males were used for the artificial insemination. The females were inseminated once weekly with 0.05 cc. of pooled semen. As soon as the eggs had reached the predetermined setting size, thirteen consecutive weekly egg settings were made. Three additional settings were made during the last 28-day period of the experiment. The latter settings were made to determine if cumulative effects after a long feeding period would affect fertility and hatchability. All unhatched eggs were broken out and classified as infertile, D x (dead week one), D 2 , D 3 , or pips. Results are given in Table 3.

HYGROMYCIN B AND REPRODUCTION

than for the other three treatment groups (Table 2). The kilograms of feed required to produce a kilogram of eggs for each of the other three treatment groups did not differ significantly. Mortality. Mortality was not significantly affected by feeding hygromycin B nor chlormadinone acetate singly or in combination (Table 2). Fertility and hatchability. Two series of fertility and hatachability determinations were made. The first involved 13 consecutive weekly settings and the second was on three consecutive weekly settings during the last 28-day experimental period (Table 3). Statistical analyses were made of the percent embryonic mortality in the first week (Dt), second week (D 2 ), third week (D3) of incubation and after pipping, for each of the series separately and for them combined. No significant differences were found. These data on fertility and hatachability are in partial conflict with those obtained by Grimes and Moreng (1964). These workers reported a significant depression in the fertility of Single Comb White Leghorns when hygromycin B was added to the basal diet at a level of 12 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed. Hatchability was not significantly affected. However, in the work reported by Grimes and Moreng both the males and females were fed the hygromycin B, whereas in the experiment reported here only the females were fed the hygromycin B. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Hygromycin B and chlormadinone acetate were fed singly and in combination at levels of 12 gms. per 907 kgs. of feed in an experiment carried out using 160 commercially incrossbred egg-type pullets. Egg production was significantly increased over the controls by hygromycin B when fed both singly and in combination

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groups (p < .05) for egg production. Birds that received the 12 gms. of hygromycin B per 907 kgs. of feed had the highest egg production rate (72.38%). Their egg production was significantly higher than any other group. The control or basal birds produced significantly fewer eggs than any of the other groups. The chlormadinone acetate and combination groups were intermediate in egg production and did not differ significantly from each other (Table 2). The results suggest that the beneficial effects of hygromycin B may be more pronounced when hygromycin B is fed singly than when it is fed in combination with chlormadinone acetate. These data substantiate the earlier reports of Foster et al. (1960), Quisenberry et al. (1960), Llorico (1962), and Llorico and Quisenberry (1965) that supplementation of the ration with hygromycin B improves egg production. Average egg size. Egg size was generally low for all treatment groups, probably influenced by the low body weight and severely hot weather. During the early part of the production period the chlormadinone and hygromycin B groups had the largest egg size. There were few significant differences in egg size between the treatment groups. There were no statistically significant differences between any of the treatment groups for the percentage of eggs that weighed 52.0 gms. or more. The mean egg sizes and their statistical differences are given in Table 2. Feed efficiency. Feed efficiency was expressed as the number of kilograms of feed required to produce a kilogram of eggs. Feed efficiencies generally reflected the rate of lay. Significant differences between treatments (p < .05) were observed when the treatment means were separated by Duncan's multiple range test. Feed efficiency for the basal group was significantly poorer

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F. A. EL-MAGUID AND J. H. QUISENBERRY

TABLE 3.—Fertility, katchability and stage of embryonic mortality as affected by dietary hygromycin B and chlormadione acetate. Summary of hatches 1 through 13, 14 through 16 and 1 through 16

Treatment

Hatch No.

No. of Eggs Set

No. Eggs Fertility Hatched %*

Hatch of Fertile Eggs

D,

D,

D3

Pipped

%*

%*

%*

%*

%*

Embryo Mortality

2,032 341 2,373

1,522 266 1,788

83.71 84.75 83.86

89.48 92.04 89.85

5.91 3.52 5.56

0.69 1.17 0.76

0.94 0.59 0.88

1.28 1.47 1.31

12 gms. hygro. B per 907 kgs. Feed

1-13 14-16 1-16

2,023 486 2,509

1,461 372 1,833

79.39 83.74 80.23

90.97 91.40 91.06

4.65 3.70 4.46

0.74 1.24 0.84

1.14 1.44 1.20

0.64 0.82 0.68

12 gms. Chlormadione Acetate per 907 kgs. Feed

1-13 14-16 1-16

2,055 374 2,429

1,487 270 1,757

81.12 82.89 81.39

89.20 87.10 88.87

5.79 5.35 5.72

0.54 1.34 0.66

1.27 1.60 1.32

1.17 2.41 1.36

12 gms. hygro. B + 12 gms. Chlormadione Acetate per 907 kgs. Feed

1-13 14-16 1-16

2,029 417 2,446

1,497 317 1,814

80.53 82.26 80.83

91.62 92.42 91.76

4.98 3.36 4.70

0.49 0.72 0.53

0.44 0.48 0.45

0.84 1.68 0.98

* For the statistical analyses the original percents were converted to arcsines. The figures given in this table are the original unconverted percentages.

with chlormadinone acetate. Chlormadinone acetate alone also significantly increased egg production over the controls. Hygromycin B alone significantly improved egg production over chlormidnone acetate alone or in combination with hygromycin B. Feed efficiency was improved significantly over the basal for all of the other groups. In this case, differences in feed efficiency tend to reflect differences in rate of egg production. The basal group had the lowest feed efficiency and the lowest rate of lay. Average body weights, taken for the second through the twelfth 28-day periods, differed significantly between certain of the experimental groups. The combination of chlormadinone and hygromycin B resulted in body weights significantly below the other groups. The control birds had the heaviest body weight but were not significantly heavier than the hygromycin B group. The hygromycin B and the chlormadinone groups were intermediate in body weight.

Egg size was also significantly influenced by the dietary treatments. The hygromycin B and the chlormadinone acetate, fed singly, resulted in the heaviest eggs. The combination of these compounds and the controls gave the lightest eggs, which were almost of the same size. Fertility and hatachability were not significantly affected by the treatments used in this study. Only the females were fed hygromycin B and chlormadinone acetate. Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding hygromycin B on fertility and hatchability where both males and females were fed the hygromycin B. REFERENCES Foster, R. G., I l l , C. B. Ryan, R. D. Turk and J. H. Quisenberry, 1960. Continuous feeding of hygromycin as a poultry anthelmintic and its effect upon laying house performance. Poultry Sci. 39: 492-499. Grimes, G. R., and R. E. Moreng, 1964. The effect of hygromycin B on the reproductive performance of laying hens, Poultry Sci. 4 3 : 1324.

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Basal

1-13 14-16 1-16

HYGROMYCIN B AND REPRODUCTION Llorico, B. F., 1962. Effects of hygromycin B feeding on the growing and laying performance of a commercial inbred cross laying stock. Master of Science Thesis, A. & M. College of Texas, College Station, Texas. Llorico, B. F., and J. H. Quisenberry, 1965. Effects of hygromycin B on the growing and laying performance of chickens. Poultry Sci. 44: 1565-1571.

181

Quisenberry, J. H., C. B. Ryan and R. D. Turk, 1958. Continuous feeding of hygromycin as a poultry anthelmintic. Proc. 1958 Texas Nutrition Conf., pp. 67-69. Quisenberry, J. H., R. G. Foster and A. Latif, 1960. Some effects of continuous hygromycin feeding on performance of chickens during the growing and laying periods. Poultry Sci. 39: 1286.

R. H. HARMS, B. L. DAMRON AND P. W. WALDROUP2 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Gainesville, Florida 32603 (Received for publication Tune 18, 1966)

T

HE National Research Council (1960) suggests that commercial egg production type pullets require 15% protein in a diet containing approximately 2024 kilocalories of productive energy per kilogram. They have further refined this requirement to indicate that the diet should contain 0.28% methionine and 0.25% cystine or a total of 0.53% sulfur containing amino acids. It is an accepted fact that the performance of birds is limited by the specific amino acid content of a diet rather than the total protein content. Although this is true most of the research with laying hens has been involved in studying the total protein requirement rather than specific amino acids. This is due to the fact that the calculated level of amino acids in a diet has been dependent upon the table of values used for the calculations. In the past the protein requirement of laying hens has been reported to be as high as 17% or as low as 11%. A review of the literature concerning the pro1

Florida Agr. Exp. Sta. Journal Series No. 2425. Present address: Department of Animal Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. 2

tein requirement of the laying hen was made by Harms et al. (1962) in a paper in which it was reported that the energy content of the diet and season of the year would influence this requirement. With the increased use of linear programming, it is essential that the specific amino acid requirements of the hen be determined. Therefore, these studies were initiated to determine the methionine and sulfur amino acid requirements of the hen using diets formulated with the use of linear programming. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

Two strains of commercial egg production type pullets (Kimber K-137 and HyLine 934-H) were used in these studies. They were purchased from commercial hatcheries where they had been debeaked, dubbed and vaccinated inter-ocularly for bronchitis and Newcastle disease at one day old. Fowl pox vaccination was given at four weeks of age and bronchitis and Newcastle vaccinations were repeated at eight and twenty-two weeks of age. For the first eight weeks of life these pullets were fed a starter diet containing

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Evaluation of the Sulfur Amino Acid Requirements of Commercial Egg Production Type Pullets1