WEB lab. Unggas UGM

The ascites syndrome in broiler flocks has been increasing at an alarming rate, and this condition has become one of the leading causes of mortality and whole carcass condemnations throughout the world. Ascites represents a spectrum of physiological and metabolic changes leading to the excess accumulation of fluid in abdominal cavity. These changes occur in response to a number of dietary, environmental and genetic factors. Improvements in growth performance and decreases in mortality rates, as well as benefits in alleviating ascites have been observed in recent trials with BIOMIN’s acidifier product Biotronic^® SE.

Definition:

The term "ascites" actually refers to the fluid accumulation in abdominal cavity (or so called "waterbelly"). The disease is more scientifically known as pulmonary hypertension syndrome. Ascites is most commonly diagnosed at 4 – 5 weeks of age. Total mortality due to ascites is higher in the male parent lines, which have the capability of faster growth and higher muscle deposition compared to the female lines (Dewil et al., 1996).

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1) First and foremost, the H5N1 virus causing problems in Asia, Europe, and Africa has not been detected anywhere in North, Central or South America at this time.

2) Properly cooked poultry meat is safe to eat in any case as cooking destroys the virus. It is recommended that poultry meat should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit throughout each piece.

3) A National Surveillance Program is being done in the USA. All poultry flocks are tested for Influenza before processing. Again, H5N1 has never been detected in US poultry.

4) Biosecurity measures in commercial poultry operations throughout the US are at maximum levels.

5) Biosecurity measures, surveillance efforts, and veterinary practices in place in the commercial poultry industry;
a) greatly reduce the possibility that disease will enter into commercial poultry flocks
b) would quickly detect presence of this disease
c) would result in immediate quarantine and depopulation of a poultry farm where H5N1 was detected
and stringent containment, cleaning and disinfection measures would occur.

6) It is possible that migrating birds may spread the virus out from Asia this summer or fall. Surveillance testing is continuing and H5N1 was not detected in thousands of samples collected in Africa this past winter. Surveillance efforts of migratory birds in the USA to date have also not detected this virus.

7) All deaths from H5N1 virus in foreign countries to date have been attributed to prolonged or direct contact with infected poultry or due to backyard or market processing practices that are not used in the commercial poultry industry in the U.S. Only one case of “possible” human to human spread is known, but there has been no sustained human to human transmission.

The primary concern about the H5N1 virus that has been reported in the news is the possibility of mutation that would enable readily and sustainable transmission from person to person. This mutation has not been detected in the virus to date. Furthermore, even if such a mutation were to occur, it does not mean that a pandemic is imminent.

9) Since the first recorded death from H5N1 avian influenza virus strain in humans in 1997, there have been about 205 confirmed known human infections with 115 confirmed deaths throughout the world.

10) While these deaths are tragic, it should be recognized that there are 32,000-35,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone from human influenza virus.

11) Basic hygiene is recommended by health experts to prevent contracting influenza (practices such as covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing and then washing your hands afterwards).

12) Considerable research is being conducted throughout the world on new vaccine development and other technologies that will help in preventing and/or slowing the spread of H5N1. It is believed these new vaccines and technologies will lessen the possibility of an H5N1 pandemic.

By Dr. Walter Bottje, Director Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, University of Arkansas

Published 07/03/2008

Source: Univ.of Arkansas Division of Agriculture factsheet Technorati Tags: Perkuliahan

The main goal of broiler breeder management is producing eggs. However, the only good broiler breeder egg is a fertilized egg. Fertility, the percentage of eggs laid that are fertilized, is very important in poultry production. If an egg is not fertilized, then, of course, it will not contain an embryo and will not hatch. Simply put, "Hatchability can never be better than fertility."

Hatchability is around eight percentage points lower than fertility because many chick embryos are usually lost during incubation. For example, even if 93 percent of the eggs laid are fertilized, then under normal incubation conditions only 85 percent of the eggs will hatch. This example illustrates how fertility must be very good to get above average hatchability and hatch bonus pay.

Breeders need to be kept under ideal conditions for maximum life of flock fertility. The chicken’s reproductive system is very sensitive to the bird’s environment, and under poor conditions the reproductive system will dwindle. For example, the environment can cause a rooster’s testes to increase or decrease in size by several hundred fold. But, before we can understand which management factors influence fertility, we must first examine the fascinating process of fertilization in poultry.

Fertilization in any animal depends on production of eggs from the female and sperm from the male. A problem with either sperm or egg production can decrease fertility. The rooster’s reproductive system is simple when compared to humans or other mammals. The rooster does not have a prostate gland or any of the accessory reproductive glands. Like all other animals, chicken sperm carry the genetic material from the rooster and are produced within the testes. The rooster has two very large testicles within the abdominal cavity on each side of the backbone. After sperm leave the testes, they enter the epididymis, where they gain the ability to swim. Next, the sperm enter the vas deferens, where they are stored until the rooster mates with a hen.

Sperm formation takes about 15 days. The rooster’s semen contains around 5 billion sperm per cc, about 40 times as much as that of a human. Once a rooster is mature and if he is maintained properly, he will manufacture about 35,000 sperm every second of his life. However, just like the males of many animal species, the fertilizing potential of roosters varies, even within a flock. For example, some roosters are extremely fertile and create a maximum number of quality sperm; other roosters are subfertile and do not make enough good sperm. This variation in rooster quality is caused by management, environment, nutrition, and genetics.

The hen does not produce nearly as many eggs as the rooster produces sperm, but during her 40 weeks of production, the broiler breeder hen lays about 180 eggs. Egg formation requires about 25 hours. Since egg formation requires more than 24 hours, even the best hens cannot lay an egg every day in succession throughout their productive life. As is the case with roosters, some hens are more productive than others, and management has a major impact on variability among hens.

The hen’s reproductive system can be divided into two major components: the ovary and the oviduct. The ovary produces the egg yolk. The oviduct adds the white, shell membranes, and shell to the yolk to complete egg formation.

The hen has only one ovary, which is on the left side of her abdomen. The ovary has several thousand ova (egg yolks) in different stages of development and looks like a bunch of grapes. Very immature yolks contain only genetic material from the hen, and as the yolks grow to around 1 mm in diameter, they become white. If the hen is managed properly, many of these developing egg yolks will mature in about 19 days into large, 35 mm, yellow yolks. As the egg yolk develops it will get water, sugars, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals from the hen’s blood. These are all necessary for the embryo to develop. The egg yolk is surrounded by the perivitelline membrane. This keeps all of these nutrients in a ball-shaped package. One particularly visible region of the perivitelline membrane is the germinal disc. The germinal disc is a small white dot about half the size of a pencil eraser on the surface of the yellow egg yolk. Fertilization takes place here, and embryonic development begins.

When the egg yolk is mature, it leaves the ovary, and within 20 minutes it is captured by the infundibulum, the first part of the oviduct. Here fertilization takes place. Following mating, sperm enter the hen’s oviduct and are stored within sperm storage glands. Only sperm that can swim will enter these sperm storage sites. These glands can store more than half a million sperm. Sperm can remain alive in these glands and fertilize eggs for up to 3 weeks.

A hen will have maximum fertility for only about 3 to 4 days after one mating. For this reason, the male-to-female ratio in a flock must be enough to ensure mating of every hen every 3 days or so. Sperm do not break through the eggshell. Instead they travel up the oviduct to the infundibulum to join with the egg yolk.

The sperm bind to the perivitelline membrane and make a hole as they enter the egg. Hundreds of sperm may enter the yolk. As a matter of fact, the more sperm that enter the yolk, the more likely the egg will be fertilized. Around 30 sperm must enter the egg near the germinal disc to insure a 95 percent chance of fertilization. While it is true that only one sperm is necessary to fertilize an egg, the probability of an egg’s being fertilized by only one sperm’s reaching and penetrating it is very low.

After about 15 minutes, the yolk leaves the infundibulum (fertilized or not) and receives the egg white, shell membranes, and shell over the next several hours from the magnum, isthmus, and uterus sections of the oviduct. When the hen lays a fertilized egg, the chick embryo has already developed for about 25 hours into approximately 20,000 embryonic cells and is a live, breathing organism. If this fertilized egg is handled properly before and during incubation, a healthy baby chick is the result.

By Dr. Chris McDaniel, Associate Professor, Poultry Science Department, Mississippi State University – MSU Cares Information Sheet – Mississippi State University Extension Service

Published 06/26/2008

Source: Mississippi State University Extension Service Technorati Tags: Perkuliahan

Managing the modern broiler breeder female so that she will produce a large number of high quality hatching eggs is a delicate combination of both art and science. Over the past few decades, broiler breeders have undergone intensive selection for faster growth rate, increased yield and improved feed conversion. Although these traits are measured at the broiler level, they impact the breeder hen in ways we often do not consider. The objective with broiler breeders is to have them consume an “ideal” amount of nutrients within a given time period to produce a bird whose weight, body condition and frame allow the reproductive organs to mature and function at their best. How do we combine art and science to manage the sexual maturation of today’s broiler breeder female?

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Problem

* Is there a relationship between eggshell color and eggshell quality?
* Is computer-based image analysis technology a reliable indicator of shell color?

Introduction

Throughout the world, preference for a shell color in table eggs has differed and is based mainly on the visual appeal of the egg. For example, in North America the preference is for white-shelled eggs while in Asia the preference is for brown-shelled eggs. Shell color has very little to do with the nutritional value of a table egg. But is there a possible relationship between eggshell quality and shell color?

Previous studies have shown that there is a correlation between shell color and shell quality in eggs of a single strain. The overall finding was that darker brown eggs had a higher shell quality than lighter brown eggs. Shell quality was determined by specific gravity, egg weight loss (due to storage) and shell strength. While an association was found, it was too small to conclude that shell color was a more reliable measure of shell strength than specific gravity. Also, the measurement of shell color used in these past studies was subjective and may have been biased.

Approach

To determine if a relationship exists between eggshell color and eggshell quality, four different strains of broiler breeders were used. Each strain was subjected to three different feeding programs. The four strains of broiler breeders used in this study were the Cobb 500, Shaver Starbro, Hubbard Hi-Y and Avian 24K. To maintain anonymity, these strains were randomly and irrespectively assigned a code of either W, X, Y, or Z. These birds were part of a larger study (by Dr. Frank Robinson) testing the effects of different feed treatments on four strains of broiler breeders. The three feeding programs were ad libitum (AL), fast feed (FF) and slow feed (SF).

At 50 weeks of age, eggs were collected and weighed over a one-week period. The eggs were weighed and their specific gravity was determined. Shell color was determined using image analysis software, Northern Exposure (Empix Imaging Inc.). An egg was placed in a small (2.5 cm) aluminum cylinder with its large end up. A video camera placed directly above the egg records a picture of the egg and projects this image onto a computer monitor. The image was saved in black and white and stored for future measurements. The computer recorded a total of 818 images. Shell color was assessed as an average gray value on a scale of 0 to 255; with 0 being black and 255 being white. Average gray value was referred to as shell color units (scu) for the purposes of this study (Figure 1). After the images were taken, each egg was opened, the yolk and albumen were emptied and the shell was rinsed under warm water and placed in egg flats to dry so that they can be weighed.

Specific gravity was not influenced by feed treatment. This was unexpected, as the AL fed birds laid the largest eggs of the three groups (Figure 2), we assumed that they would have a lower specific gravity. The AL fed birds also produced the lightest eggshell color than either the FF or SF groups (Figure 3). There were strain differences in shell color with strain W producing the darkest colored eggshells and strain X producing the lightest. However, differences in shell color across strains or feeding programs could not be consistently correlated to any specific shell quality parameter (i.e. specific gravity, shell weight or egg weight loss).

Image analysis was an effective tool for measuring shell color in broiler breeder eggs. Strain appeared to have a great influence on shell color but it was not the only factor involved. There are several experiments that are being proposed to further study the effects of shell color on shell quality.

By Nancy Joseph (Source: Poultry Research Centre News – Vol. 7 No. 2)
Published on the Government of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development website

Published 08/12/2008

Source: Govt. of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development Technorati Tags: Perkuliahan

Light intensity during the rearing period

Light intensity is important during the first days of the rearing period in order to encourage the activity of the chicks to discover their environment and to find very quickly the water and the feed.

In semi dark house or naturally lit houses,
- Houses where the light penetration from outside exceeds 0.5 lux), the light intensity should be adapted to the degree of darkness of the house to avoid any interference with the light stimulation.
- Artificial light intensity should be, if possible, 12 times the light intensity coming from outside. If the difference is not big enough, birds will consider the day length as the natural day length and not the artificial day length if the artificial duration of light is shorter than the natural day length.

Mortality and activity
- In battery cages, we sometimes find considerable differences in light intensity at different levels. The birds close to the light source demonstrate a more important activity leading to more risks of pecking and mortality.
- Control of the mortality per tier could lead to different level of mortality as the following

Effect of light intensity of performance

Publication date: 08/29/2006 Technorati Tags: Perkuliahan

Antibiotik telah membuktikan sangat berguna dalam pemberantasan penyakit-penyakit tertentu. Salah satu pengaruh pemberian khlortetrasiklin dan oksitetrasiklin yang baik adalah berkurangnya gejala penyakit mencret pada anak sapi dan anak babi sapihan. Terutama pada anak sapi, penyakit mencret tersebut merpakan masalah penting yang dapat mengakibatkan kerugian, infeksi sekunder dan kematian.

Penggunaan antibiotik dalam kadar tinggi, yaitu 100 sampai 200 gram per ton ransum dalam waktu pendek pada ayam yang menderita infeksi menahun tertentu, seperti penyakit alat pernafasan, dapat mempercepat penyembuhan dan mempercepat pemulihan ayam dalam pertumbuhan dan produksi telur.

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