An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of bacteriophage supplementation on egg performance, egg quality, excreta microflora, and moisture content in laying hens. A total of 288 Hy-line brown commercial laying hens (36-wk-old) were randomly allotted to 4 treatments in this 6-wk trial and dietary treatments included: i) CON, basal diet; ii) T1, CON+0.020% bacteriophage; iii) T2, CON+...

A series of incubation and broiler growth studies were conducted using one strain of broiler chicken (fast feathering dam line) observing incubation effects on femoral bone ash % at hatch and the ability of the bird to remain standing at 6 weeks of age (Latency-To-Lie). Egg shell temperatures during incubation were consistently recorded. Parsimonious models were developed across eight studies u...

Eggs were collected from a single inline processing facility weekly for 3 wk (replicates). The eggs were stored at 4 degrees C and 80% RH. Sampling began the day after collection and continued each week for 10 wk. During analysis, 24 eggs were examined for egg weight, albumen height, Haugh units (HU), shell strength, and vitelline membrane strength for each replicate. Egg weight decreased (P < ...

Loss of shell colour in brown-egg layers is a shell quality issue in Australia and is periodically associated with free range egg production. This study investigated the loss of shell colour that occurs in some flocks of free range laying hens. Hens laying pale-coloured egg shells on a commercial free range farm were transferred to cages in an experimental facility. Egg quality was measured imm...

Titanosauria is a globally distributed clade of sometimes extremely large Mesozoic herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs. On the basis of current evidence these giant dinosaurs seem to have reproduced in specific and localized nesting sites. However, no investigations have been performed to understand the possible ecological and geological biases that acted for the selection of these nesting sites wor...

This study was aimed at determining the effect of irradiation of shell eggs on the physiochemical and functional properties of liquid egg white during storage. Color and textural parameters of irradiated liquid egg white after cooking were also determined. Shell eggs were irradiated at 0, 2.5, 5, or 10 kGy using a linear accelerator. Egg white was separated from yolk and stored in at 4°C up to ...

The Drosophila gene nudel may encode a spatially restricted serine protease involved in producing the ligand for the receptor Toll and linking dorsal-ventral polarity in the egg chamber to the developing embryonic axis. One of the important insights to have emerged from the study of early pattern formation in the Drosophila embryo is that the basic embryonic axes have their origins in the polar...

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and conventional microbiological methods were used to detect bacterial contamination of egg shells and egg content in different commercial housing systems, open house system and evaporative cooling system. A PCR assay was developed for direct detection using a set of primers specific for the invasion by A gene (invA) of Salmonella spp. PCR detected the pres...

Eggs obtained from 46 and 42 weeks old meat (Hybro) and layer (Leghorn) breeders flocks, respectively were used to examine the effects of genetic type of birds and egg size (small, medium and large) on variables of eggshell characteristics and hatchability traits. The variables measured were egg weight (EW), egg surface area (ESA) and eggshell characteristics (shell conductance (EC), per cent s...