AIM The present study was aimed to investigate the immunological competence of endosulfan insecticide after limited oral administration in White Leghorn layer chickens. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 20 White Leghorn birds were given endosulfan in drinking water at 30 ppm/bird/day (no observable effect level dose) for a period of 3-months. Immune competence status of layer birds and chicks ...

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has a devastating impact on poultry production in developing countries. This study examined the transcriptome of tracheal epithelial cells from two inbred chicken lines that differ in NDV susceptibility after challenge with a high-titer inoculum of lentogenic NDV. The Fayoumi line had a significantly lower NDV load postchallenge than the Leghorn line, demonstrating...

s of papers 71 307 Broilers compared to Leghorns show an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. W.J. Kuenzel*1 and R. Grossmann2, 1University of Maryland, College Park, MD/USA, 2Institute of Animal Science and Behavior, Celle,Germany. The following experiment tested the hypothesis that the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) of broilers dominates over the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) a...

Very low density apolipoprotein-II (apoVLDL-II) is a major constituent of very low density lipoprotein and is involved in lipid transportation in chickens. The current study was designed to investigate the associations of an apoVLDL-II gene polymorphism on chicken growth and body composition traits. The Iowa Growth and Composition Resource Population was established by crossing broiler sires wi...

We have studied the structure of myosin heavy chain (MHC) in the pectoralis muscle of genetically dystrophic (Connecticut Strain) and White Leghorn chicks. MHC was alkylated with N-ethylmaleimide, purified by Sepharose-4B chromatography, and cleaved with cyanogen bromide. The MHC CNBr peptides were analyzed by one-dimensional and two-dimensional isoelectric focusing/sodium dodecyl sulfate gradi...

Racotumomab is a murine anti-idiotype cancer vaccine targeting NeuGcGM3 on melanoma, breast, and lung cancer. In order to characterize the immunogenicity of alum-adsorbed racotumomab in a non-clinical setting, Leghorn chickens were immunized in dose levels ranging from 25 μg to 1600 μg. Racotumomab was administered subcutaneously in the birds' neck with three identical boosters and serum sample...

1. Nutritional encephalomalacia may be induced in chicks up to the age of approximately 2 months. As the preliminary feeding period on a natural foods diet is increased, the percentage incidence of the disease becomes progressively less. The average time between institution of diet and appearance of the disease tends to diminish. 2. There is no correlation between growth and incidence of the di...

A selection experiment was initiated in 1996 in which selection for (HP line) and against (LP line) feather pecking was performed. The foundation stock was a White Leghorn layer strain established in 1970 and maintained since then as a random bred control line at the Institute. Six hatches were produced over three generations. At the age of 68 weeks (generation 0, 1996), 35 weeks (generation 1,...

This study tests the hypothesis that hens that are reared in aviaries but produce in furnished cages experience poorer welfare in production than hens reared in caged systems. This hypothesis is based on the suggestion that the spatial restriction associated with the transfer from aviaries to cages results in frustration or stress for the aviary reared birds. To assess the difference in welfare...

Osteoporosis, a progressive decrease in mineralized structural bone, causes 20 to 35% of all mortalities in caged White Leghorn hens. Previous research has focused on manipulating the egg laying environment to improve skeletal health, with little research on the pullet. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of perch access on pullet health, bone mineralization, muscle d...