artificial neural networks (ann) have shown to be a powerful tool for system modeling in a wide range of applications. the focus of this study is on neural network applications to data analysis in egg production. an ann model with two hidden layers, trained with a back propagation algorithm, successfully learned the relationship between the input (age of hen) and output (egg production) variabl...

Aim of the present study was the comparative evaluation of the effect of ground oregano, anise and olive leaves as feed additives on performance and some egg quality characteristics of laying Japanese quails. A total of 189 Coturnix japonica quails (126 females and 63 males), 149 days old, were randomly allocated into seven equal groups with three subgroups of 9 birds each (6 females and 3 male...

sodium bentonite can bind to dietary pigment and decreases yolk color scale. sodium bentonite is one of the main parts of formycine® gold, the effect of different levels of formycine® gold and dietary pigment on egg quality, egg yolk color and performance criteria of laying hens from 26 to 34 week of age were studied. one hundred ninety two hy-line hens were divided into 24 groups of 8 birds ea...

OBJECTIVE A study was conducted to test six threonine (Thr) levels (0.39%, 0.44%, 0.49%, 0.54%, 0.59%, and 0.64%) to estimate the optimal dietary Thr requirements for Longyan laying ducks from 17 to 45 wk of age. METHODS Nine hundred Longyan ducks aged 17 wk were assigned randomly to the six dietary treatments, where each treatment comprised six replicate pens with 25 ducks per pen. RESULTS...

A study was conducted to examine the effect of yeast culture residue (YCR) on the suppression of aflatoxicosis in broiler breeder hens. One hundred twenty, 35-wk-old, Cobb broiler breeder hens of the same cross were fed diets supplemented with aflatoxin (AF) (0 or 3 mg/kg) and YCR (0 or 2 lb/ton) singly and combined in a 2 × 2 factorial designed experiment. The birds were randomly assigned to p...

Heat-stress remains a costly issue for animal production, especially for poultry as they lack sweat glands, and alleviating heat-stress is necessary for ensuring animal production in hot environment. A high γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producer Lactobacillus strain was used to investigate the effect of dietary GABA-producer on laying performance and egg quality in heat-stressed Hy-line brown hens...

one experiment was conducted with a total of 2000 broiler breeders (lohman strain) at 74 weeks of age, which lasted for 10 weeks. birds were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments varying in dietary crude protein (cp). the reduced-cp diet had dietary cp level approximately 1.5 percentage units lower than the control (15.5 vs 14.0%). by supplementing 0.13 and 0.1% of dl-methionine and l-hcl...

Concerns regarding the welfare of laying hens raised in battery cages have led to the development of enriched cages that allow hens to perform natural behaviors including nesting, roosting, and scratching. This study was conducted to compare indices of production and welfare in birds housed in 2 different caging systems. Shaver White hens were housed from 21 to 61 wk in either conventional batt...