1. The aim was to test whether provision of foraging material and food form influence feather pecking and feather damage in laying hens. 2. From week 19 of age, 16 groups of 11 hens (white Lohman Selected Leghorn hybrids) were kept in pens with or without access to long-cut straw as foraging material and fed on either mash or pellets. 3. Foraging behaviour was increased in hens with access to s...

AIM Sugarcane press residue (SPR), a by-product of sugarcane industry, which is rich in inorganic salts was assessed at different levels in both soya based and fish based diets of layers for egg shell and yolk quality characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS SPR was incorporated in 32-week-old white leghorn layer diets at 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% either in the soya based or fish based diets to form ...

eggs l A preliminary study showed that maximum enrichment of egg lipid with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) had not occurred after about 5 days on dietary oil regimens. When cod liver oil, canola oil or linseed oil was added at 7% to layer diets for 12 weeks, production parameters were usually better than on the commercial layer diet; e g g w e i g h t was normally higher on the oi...

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential for dietary garlic to influence egg yolk cholesterol concentrations and overall performance in different layer strains. Thirty-six, 28-wk-old, Hisex Brown,Isa Brown, Lohmann, Starcross, Babcock, and Starcross-579 strains (six hens per strain) were fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10% sun-dried garlic paste for 6 wk. The...

Many laying hen producers are transitioning from conventional cages to new housing systems including multi-tier aviaries. Aviary resources, such as litter areas, are intended to encourage hens' expression of natural behaviors to improve their welfare. Little research has examined the influence of laying hen strain on distribution and behavior inside aviaries, yet differences could influence a s...

Two balance trials were conducted to examine the response in metabolizable energy and metabolizability of both fat and amino acids to graded levels of zinc bacitracin (ZnB; Albac registered trade name of Alpharma, Oslo, Norway) in practical broiler and layer diets varying in their nutrient density. Broiler diets were supplemented with either 0, 20, or 50 mg ZnB/kg and layer diets were supplemen...

A study was conducted to determine the effect of different limestone particle sizes in layer diets on bone quality characteristics at end-of-lay hens. Calcitic limestone (360 g Ca/kg DM) that is extensively used in commercial poultry diets was obtained from a specific South African source. Limestone particles were graded as small (<1.0 mm), medium (1.0 2.0 mm) and large (2.0 3.8 mm) and include...

A tissue culture procedure was utilized to compare tissue cell invasion by Salmonella enteritidis from molted and full feed hens. Three identical trials were performed in which 80-wk-old active laying hens were divided into 2 groups of 6 birds each. The molted hen group was subjected to a 14-d feed withdrawal, and the full-fed hen group was administered a standard layer ration. After feed treat...

Tonic immobility reaction and heterophil:lymphocyte ratio were studied in hens laying pink eggs from three brown egg Spanish breeds (Barred Red Vasca, Red Vasca, Red Villafranquina). There was no significant difference among breeds in terms of tonic immobility duration or heterophil:lymphocyte ratio. Tonic immobility duration was significantly shorter in the pink (220 + or - 23 s) than in the n...

An experiment was conducted to determine whether a commercial strain of turkey hens exhibits relative photorefractoriness (rPR) during a reproductive cycle and to ascertain whether plasma levels of certain hormones early in the reproductive cycle might be associated with subsequent expression of rPR or absolute photorefractoriness (aPR). Twenty-seven percent of hens maintained on a stimulatory ...