An experiment was conducted to assess the optimum nutrient requirement and ideal mating ratios for Alabio ducks for production of fertile eggs and hatchability under rural feeding management. A total of 135 forty weeks old females and 27 males were used in the study. They were fed on low (17.5%), medium (19.5%) and high (21.5%) crude protein (CP) in diets containing approximately 3050 kcal of m...

the aim of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary levels of walnut leaves powder and vitamin e supplementation on blood antioxidant status, production performance and egg quality characteristics in commercial laying hens. a total number of 216 leghorn hy-line w-36 (70 week old) strain laying hens used the completely randomized design were divided into 6 groups with 3 replic...

this experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of crude protein and probiotic in diets on performance, egg quality  and blood biochemical and immunity parameters of laying hens. a completely randomized design with factorial method (2×4) was conducted in which two levels of crude protein (nrc and 10% lower than nrc recommendation) and 4 levels of probiotic (0, .025%, 0...

The smooth softshell Apalone mutica is a North American trionychid turtle typically found in moderate to fast moving rivers and streams. Such habitats contrast with more resource rich environments (e.g., marshes and swamps) inhabited by other turtle species for which parental investment and egg and hatchling components have been studied. We measured components of eggs, embryos, and hatchlings a...

We used a recent passerine phylogeny and comparative method to evaluate the macroevolution of body and egg mass, incubation and fledging periods, time to independence and time with parents of the main passerine lineages. We hypothesised that passerine reproductive traits are affected by adaptation to both past and present environmental factors and phenotypic attributes such as body mass. Our re...

—We describe egg characteristics, and analyze between and within clutch variation in egg size and mass in a natural population of Greater Rheas (Rhea americana). We assess the effect of this variation on nesting success and egg success. Yolk represented 29.5% of egg mass whereas albumen was 63.9%. Yolk mass increased with egg width but not with egg length, while mass of albumen increased mainly...

Two studies were conducted to compare bioefficacy of liquid DL-methionine hydroxy analogue-free acid (MHA-FA) and DL-methionine (DL-Met). Biological efficacy was determined for egg production, feed consumption, egg mass, and egg weight using linear and nonlinear regression models. In Experiment 1, five levels of DL-Met (0.023, 0.045, 0.068, 0.090 and 0.113%) and MHA-FA (0.026, 0.051, 0.077, 0.1...

The aim of this experiment was to determine the productive performance and egg quality of Japanese quails fed different types of processed rations (mash, extruded, or pelleted). One hundred and fortyfour 18-w-old quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were housed in galvanized wire cages and fed a 21.50% CP and 2850 kcal ME/kg basal feed supplied in mash, extruded, or pelleted form. Experimental d...

Egg white proteins provide essential nutrients and antimicrobial protection during embryonic development. Although various biological functions of major egg white proteins have been investigated via embryogenesis, understanding of global changes in low-abundance proteins has been limited. In the current study, a proteomic analysis of low-abundance egg white proteins was conducted using combinat...

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...