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Hatchability Unaffected by Feeding Poultry Litter
HATCHABILITY U N A F F E C T E D BY F E E D I N G P O U L T R Y LITTER J. B . COOPER AND B . L. HUGHES
Department of Poultry Science, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29631 (Received for publication December 15, 1975)
ABSTRACT Poultry litter from laying pens was added to a basal chicken breeder diet at levels of zero, two, and five percent and fed to S.C. White Leghorn hens in individual wire cages. Each diet was fed for 20 weeks to 81 hens divided equally among three experimental treatments. Weekly inseminations were made using 0.05 ml. of pooled semen. Fertility and hatchability data were kept on an individual hen basis. There were no significant differences among treatments for fertility or hatchability. Fertility varied from 89.8 percent for the zero poultry litter diet pens to 88.1 for both the two and five percent litter diet pens. Hatchability of fertile eggs was 80.4, 80.0, and 80.2 percent respectively, for hens fed diets containing zero, two, and five percent litter. POULTRY SCIENCE 55: 1138-1140,
INTRODUCTION
N
UMEROUS references can be cited, showing that chicken breeders on litter produce eggs which have higher hatchability than those produced by chickens not exposed to litter. Sunde et al. (1951) reported that hatchability of eggs produced on all vegetable diet improved with the age of the built-up litter. Hatchability was also improved when vitamin B 1 2 was added to the basal diet. Kennard et al. (1947) wrote "built-up litter served as a potent source of the supplemental dietary factors, including the unidentified animal protein factor or vitamin factor(s) necessary to an all-plant protein diet for the production of maximum hatchability." Carter et al. (1972) reported no significant difference in hatchability for broiler breeders on wire or litter. However, hatchability was consistently higher when the hens were on litter. Cooper and Barnett (1972) reported on two experiments using broiler strain breeders kept in wire cages, on slat floors, and slat litter floors. In one experiment there was no difference in hatchability of eggs from hens on any treatment. However, in the other experi-
1976
ment eggs from hens in wire cages had significantly lower hatchability than eggs from hens on slat or slat-litter floors. The National Research Council's publication, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry (1971), lists both riboflavin and vitamin B 1 2 among required vitamins for breeding hens. In the publication it is stated that both vitamins are essential for high hatchability. Lamoreux and Schumacher (1940) found more riboflavin in feces from hens on a riboflavin deficient diet than found in the diet. They also reported more riboflavin was in old feces than in fresh feces. Cooper and Hughes (1974) reported significantly higher hatchability of eggs from hens on litter than of eggs from hens in wire cages even though the diet was adequate in riboflavin and vitamin B 1 2 . This suggested that something was obtained from the litter or that some other factor among floor housed birds was favorable to hatchability. This paper is a report of an experiment conducted to determine whether or not feeding litter to hens in wire cages would improve hatchability. PROCEDURE
Published with approval of the Director of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station as Technical Contribution No. 1316.
Three levels of litter, zero, two, and five percent, were mixed with a chicken breeder diet (Table 1). The litter had been used in
1138
1139
RESEARCH NOTES
scopically to determine fertility. A statistical analysis was made using the analysis of variance test (Steel and Torrie, 1960).
TABLE 1.—Composition of diets Litter diets
Basal diet Ingredients Ground| yellow corn Soybean meal (49% protein) Coastal Bermuda meal Fat Limestone Defl. phosphate Premix<'> MnS0 4 Salt
%
%
Basal 65.42 Litter
98 2
95 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
22.00 2.50 1.00 6.50 2.00 0.25 0.03 0.30
100.00 100.00 Total 100.00 1. Supplied per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 8800 I.U.; vitamin D 3 , 2200 I.C.U.; vitamin E, 8.2 I.U.; vitamin B, 2 , 8.8 |xg.; riboflavin, 4.4 mg.; niacin, 16.5 mg.; d, pantothenic acid, 8.8 mg.; choline, 385 mg.; menadione sodium bisulfite complex, 2.2 mg.; folic acid, .55 mg.; ethoxyquin, 62.4 mg.; biotin, 55 ug.; pyridoxine Hcl., 1.1 mg.
a laying house for a year previous to this experiment. Each of the three diets was fed to three groups of nine hens each for 20 weeks, making a total of 27 hens on each diet and 81 hens in the experiment. The birds used were S.C. White Leghorn hens which had been kept in individual wire cages for about 13 months of lay. The hens were artificially inseminated each week with 0.05 ml. of pooled semen from a broiler strain of males. The males were fed the basal diet containing no litter. Eggs were marked so that fertility and hatchability could be calculated on a per bird basis. Eggs were set weekly for 20 weeks. All eggs candled as being infertile or early dead were examined macro-
T A B L E 2.-—Fertility
Treatment l 2 Reps. a b c Av.
%
%
Fert.
Hatch.
84.9 92.7 91.8 89.8
85.7 73.1 82.5 80.4
Fertility was good in all treatments, 89.8, 88.1, and 88.1 percent for those hens on zero, two, and five percent litter in the ration, respectively, (Table 2). There was no significant difference due to treatment. The percent hatchability was 80.4, 80.0, and 80.2, respectively, for zero, two, and five percent litter diets (Table 2). There were no significant differences among treatments. The litter as used must not have contained any deleterious microorganisms if mortality of hens was an indication. Only one hen died on each of the zero and five percent litter diets, and two died on the two percent litter diet. These were old hens at the start of the experiment. There was no indication that the addition of litter at two or five percent had any adverse effect upon feed consumption. Hen-day feed consumption was 113.5, 107.2, and 104.5 g. for diets containing zero, two, and five percent litter, respectively. No statistical analysis was made on feed consumption. This experiment suggests that the earlier observations, (Cooper and Hughes, 1974) that floor housed birds which produced eggs of greater hatchability than caged birds was not due to nutrients obtained from the litter or that five percent added litter in this experiment was an inadequate level.
and
hatchability1
Treatment 2
Treatment 3
%
%
%
%
Reps.
Fert.
Hatch.
Reps.
Fert.
Hatch.
a b c Av.
82.3 88.9 93.6 88.1
89.2 66.5 84.3 80.0
a b c Av.
79.8 89.8 94.6 88.1
82.8 77.1 80.8 80.2
'Treatment 1, 2, 3—zero, two and five percent litter in diet, respectively. There were no significant differences among treatments.
2
1140
RESEARCH NOTES
REFERENCES Carter, T. A., G. O. Bressler and R. F. Gentry, 1972. Wire and litter management systems for broiler breeders. Poultry Sci. 51: 443-448. Cooper, J. B., and B. D. Barnett, 1972. Experimental Housing of Broiler Breeders. South Carolina Experiment Station Tech. Bui. 1042. Cooper, J. B., and B. L. Hughes, 1974. Vegetable diet with or without fish meal and hatchability of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 53: 1849-1852. Kennard, D. C , R. M. Bethke and V. D. Chamberlin, 1947. Built-up floor litter, a source of dietary factors essential for hatchability of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 27: 477-481.
Lamoreux, W. F., and A. E. Schumacher, 1940. Is riboflavin synthesized in the feces of fowl? Poultry Sci. 19: 418-423. National Research Council, 1971. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Sunde, M. L., W. W. Cravens and J. H. Halpin, 1951. The effect of vitamin B ,2, antibiotics and deep litter on laying and breeding hens. Poultry Sci. 30: 932. Steel, R. G. D., and J. H. Torrie, 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, N.Y.
WATER CONSUMPTION AND URINE VOLUME IN POLYDIPSIC AND NORMAL WHITE LEGHORN CHICKENS 1 F. H. BENOFF 2 AND E. G. BUSS
Department of Poultry Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (Received for publication December 15, 1975)
ABSTRACT Experiments were conducted to study the route of passage of water by chickens exhibiting hereditary diabetes insipidus (di). Results showed that the excessive quantities of water consumed by the di chickens passes through the kidneys. Water reabsorption failure in the di chickens appears to occur in the kidneys. POULTRY SCIENCE 55: 1140-1142, 1976
INTRODUCTION
A
aspects of the condition by Dunson et al.
LTHOUGH hereditary diabetes insipi-
dus (di) has been studied extensively in
mammals (Silverstein et ai.,
1961; Valtin,
1967); there is only meager evidence on this condition in the domestic fowl. A strain of
(1972). To gain further insight into the nature of this metabolic disorder, experiments were conducted to determine where the abnormality in water absorption/reabsorption occurs.
White Leghorn chickens exhibiting di was MATERIALS AND METHODS
reported by Dunson and Buss (1968), with a subsequent discussion of the physiological
Stocks
and Management.
White Leghorn
females from two inbred lines, one normal and the other exhibiting di, were utilized in 1. Journal Paper No. 4977, The Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802. Project No. 1933. Authorized November 24, 1975. 2. Present Address: Department of Poultry Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.
these experiments. All chickens were approximately one year of age and were maintained by the Poultry Science Department of the Pennsylvania State University in individual cages prior to the start of the experiment. During this period the chickens were
Department of Poultry Science, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29631 (Received for publication December 15, 1975)
ABSTRACT Poultry litter from laying pens was added to a basal chicken breeder diet at levels of zero, two, and five percent and fed to S.C. White Leghorn hens in individual wire cages. Each diet was fed for 20 weeks to 81 hens divided equally among three experimental treatments. Weekly inseminations were made using 0.05 ml. of pooled semen. Fertility and hatchability data were kept on an individual hen basis. There were no significant differences among treatments for fertility or hatchability. Fertility varied from 89.8 percent for the zero poultry litter diet pens to 88.1 for both the two and five percent litter diet pens. Hatchability of fertile eggs was 80.4, 80.0, and 80.2 percent respectively, for hens fed diets containing zero, two, and five percent litter. POULTRY SCIENCE 55: 1138-1140,
INTRODUCTION
N
UMEROUS references can be cited, showing that chicken breeders on litter produce eggs which have higher hatchability than those produced by chickens not exposed to litter. Sunde et al. (1951) reported that hatchability of eggs produced on all vegetable diet improved with the age of the built-up litter. Hatchability was also improved when vitamin B 1 2 was added to the basal diet. Kennard et al. (1947) wrote "built-up litter served as a potent source of the supplemental dietary factors, including the unidentified animal protein factor or vitamin factor(s) necessary to an all-plant protein diet for the production of maximum hatchability." Carter et al. (1972) reported no significant difference in hatchability for broiler breeders on wire or litter. However, hatchability was consistently higher when the hens were on litter. Cooper and Barnett (1972) reported on two experiments using broiler strain breeders kept in wire cages, on slat floors, and slat litter floors. In one experiment there was no difference in hatchability of eggs from hens on any treatment. However, in the other experi-
1976
ment eggs from hens in wire cages had significantly lower hatchability than eggs from hens on slat or slat-litter floors. The National Research Council's publication, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry (1971), lists both riboflavin and vitamin B 1 2 among required vitamins for breeding hens. In the publication it is stated that both vitamins are essential for high hatchability. Lamoreux and Schumacher (1940) found more riboflavin in feces from hens on a riboflavin deficient diet than found in the diet. They also reported more riboflavin was in old feces than in fresh feces. Cooper and Hughes (1974) reported significantly higher hatchability of eggs from hens on litter than of eggs from hens in wire cages even though the diet was adequate in riboflavin and vitamin B 1 2 . This suggested that something was obtained from the litter or that some other factor among floor housed birds was favorable to hatchability. This paper is a report of an experiment conducted to determine whether or not feeding litter to hens in wire cages would improve hatchability. PROCEDURE
Published with approval of the Director of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station as Technical Contribution No. 1316.
Three levels of litter, zero, two, and five percent, were mixed with a chicken breeder diet (Table 1). The litter had been used in
1138
1139
RESEARCH NOTES
scopically to determine fertility. A statistical analysis was made using the analysis of variance test (Steel and Torrie, 1960).
TABLE 1.—Composition of diets Litter diets
Basal diet Ingredients Ground| yellow corn Soybean meal (49% protein) Coastal Bermuda meal Fat Limestone Defl. phosphate Premix<'> MnS0 4 Salt
%
%
Basal 65.42 Litter
98 2
95 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
22.00 2.50 1.00 6.50 2.00 0.25 0.03 0.30
100.00 100.00 Total 100.00 1. Supplied per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 8800 I.U.; vitamin D 3 , 2200 I.C.U.; vitamin E, 8.2 I.U.; vitamin B, 2 , 8.8 |xg.; riboflavin, 4.4 mg.; niacin, 16.5 mg.; d, pantothenic acid, 8.8 mg.; choline, 385 mg.; menadione sodium bisulfite complex, 2.2 mg.; folic acid, .55 mg.; ethoxyquin, 62.4 mg.; biotin, 55 ug.; pyridoxine Hcl., 1.1 mg.
a laying house for a year previous to this experiment. Each of the three diets was fed to three groups of nine hens each for 20 weeks, making a total of 27 hens on each diet and 81 hens in the experiment. The birds used were S.C. White Leghorn hens which had been kept in individual wire cages for about 13 months of lay. The hens were artificially inseminated each week with 0.05 ml. of pooled semen from a broiler strain of males. The males were fed the basal diet containing no litter. Eggs were marked so that fertility and hatchability could be calculated on a per bird basis. Eggs were set weekly for 20 weeks. All eggs candled as being infertile or early dead were examined macro-
T A B L E 2.-—Fertility
Treatment l 2 Reps. a b c Av.
%
%
Fert.
Hatch.
84.9 92.7 91.8 89.8
85.7 73.1 82.5 80.4
Fertility was good in all treatments, 89.8, 88.1, and 88.1 percent for those hens on zero, two, and five percent litter in the ration, respectively, (Table 2). There was no significant difference due to treatment. The percent hatchability was 80.4, 80.0, and 80.2, respectively, for zero, two, and five percent litter diets (Table 2). There were no significant differences among treatments. The litter as used must not have contained any deleterious microorganisms if mortality of hens was an indication. Only one hen died on each of the zero and five percent litter diets, and two died on the two percent litter diet. These were old hens at the start of the experiment. There was no indication that the addition of litter at two or five percent had any adverse effect upon feed consumption. Hen-day feed consumption was 113.5, 107.2, and 104.5 g. for diets containing zero, two, and five percent litter, respectively. No statistical analysis was made on feed consumption. This experiment suggests that the earlier observations, (Cooper and Hughes, 1974) that floor housed birds which produced eggs of greater hatchability than caged birds was not due to nutrients obtained from the litter or that five percent added litter in this experiment was an inadequate level.
and
hatchability1
Treatment 2
Treatment 3
%
%
%
%
Reps.
Fert.
Hatch.
Reps.
Fert.
Hatch.
a b c Av.
82.3 88.9 93.6 88.1
89.2 66.5 84.3 80.0
a b c Av.
79.8 89.8 94.6 88.1
82.8 77.1 80.8 80.2
'Treatment 1, 2, 3—zero, two and five percent litter in diet, respectively. There were no significant differences among treatments.
2
1140
RESEARCH NOTES
REFERENCES Carter, T. A., G. O. Bressler and R. F. Gentry, 1972. Wire and litter management systems for broiler breeders. Poultry Sci. 51: 443-448. Cooper, J. B., and B. D. Barnett, 1972. Experimental Housing of Broiler Breeders. South Carolina Experiment Station Tech. Bui. 1042. Cooper, J. B., and B. L. Hughes, 1974. Vegetable diet with or without fish meal and hatchability of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 53: 1849-1852. Kennard, D. C , R. M. Bethke and V. D. Chamberlin, 1947. Built-up floor litter, a source of dietary factors essential for hatchability of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 27: 477-481.
Lamoreux, W. F., and A. E. Schumacher, 1940. Is riboflavin synthesized in the feces of fowl? Poultry Sci. 19: 418-423. National Research Council, 1971. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Sunde, M. L., W. W. Cravens and J. H. Halpin, 1951. The effect of vitamin B ,2, antibiotics and deep litter on laying and breeding hens. Poultry Sci. 30: 932. Steel, R. G. D., and J. H. Torrie, 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, N.Y.
WATER CONSUMPTION AND URINE VOLUME IN POLYDIPSIC AND NORMAL WHITE LEGHORN CHICKENS 1 F. H. BENOFF 2 AND E. G. BUSS
Department of Poultry Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (Received for publication December 15, 1975)
ABSTRACT Experiments were conducted to study the route of passage of water by chickens exhibiting hereditary diabetes insipidus (di). Results showed that the excessive quantities of water consumed by the di chickens passes through the kidneys. Water reabsorption failure in the di chickens appears to occur in the kidneys. POULTRY SCIENCE 55: 1140-1142, 1976
INTRODUCTION
A
aspects of the condition by Dunson et al.
LTHOUGH hereditary diabetes insipi-
dus (di) has been studied extensively in
mammals (Silverstein et ai.,
1961; Valtin,
1967); there is only meager evidence on this condition in the domestic fowl. A strain of
(1972). To gain further insight into the nature of this metabolic disorder, experiments were conducted to determine where the abnormality in water absorption/reabsorption occurs.
White Leghorn chickens exhibiting di was MATERIALS AND METHODS
reported by Dunson and Buss (1968), with a subsequent discussion of the physiological
Stocks
and Management.
White Leghorn
females from two inbred lines, one normal and the other exhibiting di, were utilized in 1. Journal Paper No. 4977, The Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802. Project No. 1933. Authorized November 24, 1975. 2. Present Address: Department of Poultry Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.
these experiments. All chickens were approximately one year of age and were maintained by the Poultry Science Department of the Pennsylvania State University in individual cages prior to the start of the experiment. During this period the chickens were