PARTUM AND POST-PARTUM BEHAVIOURS OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF DOES AND KIDS

Seventeen West African Dwarf does housed intensively were used for this study. Does were naturally mated and pregnancy was confirmed by non-return to oestrus. The predicted parturition date was calculated. Two days to the predicted date of parturition, the does were closely monitored until the day they actually kidded. The behaviours of the does (duration of parturition, and latency to groom kids) and the kids (latency to stand) were recorded. Data were subjected to independent T-test of SPSS statistical package. The mean duration of parturition in WAD does was 9.5±2.65 min and the latency of kids to stand was 10.5±3.45mins. Duration of parturition was greater (P<0.05) in the 1st than 2nd parity does. A significant negative correlation was established between parity and duration of parturition (r =-0.635, P˂0.05). Kids from 1st parity does stood up earlier (P<0.05) compared to those from the 2nd parity does. A positive correlation was established between parity and the latency of the kids to stand (r = 0.598, P˂0.05). In conclusion, the duration of parturition and latency of kid to stand were not affected by the sex of the kid delivered, however WAD does groomed female kids earlier than the male kids.    &nbsp

EFFECT OF UROMAIZ ON SPERM CHARACTERISTICS IN WEST AFRICAN DWARF BUCKS

The effect of uromaiz, slow ammonia releasing urea product, produced by autoclaving and drying ofgerminated maize and urea on semen characteristics was investigated in twenty West African Dwarf(WAD) bucks in a completely randomized design experiment. The bucks were 11 and 13 months oldand they weighed 9.26+1.33kg. The bucks were assigned to five treatment groups and fed 0, 25, 50,75 and 100% uromaiz inclusion in the diet for eight weeks while data collection was carried out weeklyat the last four weeks. The results showed that important semen characteristics such as semen volume,sperm motility, sperm concentration and Sperm number per ejaculate increased (p<0.05) at 25and 50% levels of inclusion and reduced at higher levels of 75% and 100%. Primary abnormality locatedin the head, midpiece and tail increased (p<0.05) with increasing levels of uromaiz inclusion butvalues obtained were within the acceptable range for optimal fertility. The findings of this study indicatethat uromaiz at 25% or 50% could be included in the diet of WAD bucks to enhance sperm quality

EFFECTS OF ASCORBIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE PERFORMANCE INDICES OF STARTER PULLETS IN A HOT - HUMID ENVIRONMENT

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the nutritional effects of supplementary ascorbic acid (AA) at levels of 0, 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg in the diets of starter pullets reared at different seasons (harmattan season and rainy season) in a hot humid environment. Two hundred and forty day-old Harco pullet chicks were used in each trial, they were randomly assigned to each of the four dietary treatments in three replications of twenty chicks per replicate. Each trial lasted 8 weeks during which data were collected and a 2 X 4 factorial arrangement was employed in the analysis of data collected.  Results showed significant (p<0.05) effect of treatments on feed conversion ratio of birds fed dietary treatments. Season of presentation of ascorbic acid significantly affected (p<0.05) feed intake with higher value obtained in the rainy season compared to the dry season (41.89g vs. 39.59). &nbsp

GROWTH RESPONSE OF BROILER BIRDS FED Asystasia gangetica LEAF MEAL IN HOT HUMID ENVIRONMENT

A 35- day feeding trial was conducted to study the effects of inclusion of Asystasia gangetica leaf meal (AGLM) on the growth response of broiler chickens. Samples of Asystasia gangetica leaves were sourced from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta environment. The leaves were chopped and wilted, sun dried to reduce the moisture level to the minimal level. The dried leaves were milled to produce leaf meal. Asystasia gangetica leaf meal contain 19.38% crude protein, 15.30% crude fibre, 12.70% ether extract, 1.70% ash and 36.34% NFE.  A total number of 120 day old Marshal Strain of broiler chicks was used. A standard starter diet was fed to the birds prior to the commencement of the experiment. At the end of the 3rd week, birds were allotted into four treatments having three replicates of 10 birds each. Four experimental diets were formulated with varying levels of A. gangetica leaf meal (0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 %) respectively.  Final live weight and daily weight gain varied significantly (P<0.05) among treatment groups. The feed intake and feed conversion ratio were not significantly influenced (P>0.05) by dietary treatments. Final weight and weight gain values were found to decrease across the dietary treatments with increasing level of A. gangetica leaf meal. The results of the experiment show that the use of A. gangetica as feed ingredient in broiler production significantly depressed growth.Â

Nigerian indigenous hens show more discomfort-related behavior with visual separation than physical separation from their chicks: An exploratory study

The Nigerian indigenous hens exhibit their full natural behavior repertoires, including maternal care. The strong maternal bond between the hen and her chicks is established prior to hatching. Maternal care of chickens is essential for both exotic and indigenous chickens. This study compared the behaviors of six hen-chick pairs in a physical (PHY) and visual (VIS) separation test for 10 min. All the six hen-chick pairs were subjected to PHY separation on the 8th day of post-hatch and a VIS separation on the 12th day of post-hatch. The PHY separation involved the use of a wire mesh to separate the hen from her chicks, while the VIS separation involved the use of a trampoline to separate the hen from her chicks. The hen's behavior was recorded during the 10-min separation period. Behaviors recorded included sitting, body shaking, pecking, movements toward the chicks, jumping, pacing, defecation, movements away from the chicks, and preening. We further grouped these nine behaviors into two categories: discomfort-related (pacing, movement toward chicks, body shaking, defecation, and jumping) and comfort-related (sitting, pecking, preening, and movement away from the chicks) behaviors. Before and after each separation, the hens were gently restrained, and a drop of blood was sampled from the wing vein to determine the blood glucose level. Their heart rate and eye temperature were also measured. A two-related samples test (Wilcoxon) was used to compare the behavior of the hens when subjected to the PHY and VIS separation. Eight out of the nine behaviors monitored did not differ between the separation types. However, the frequency of pacing by the hens was greater (z = −2.201, P = 0.028) in the VIS separation than in the PHY separation. Also, discomfort-related behavior was greater (t(5) = −2.717, P = 0.042) during the VIS separation than the PHY separation. Comfort-related behavior did not differ between the separation types. The change in eye temperature, heart rate, and blood glucose was similar in the two separation types. In conclusion, Nigerian indigenous hens displayed more discomfort-related behavior to the VIS separation from their chicks, but this was not associated with physiological responses indicative of stress.Peer Reviewe

Resting Regulatory CD4 T Cells: A Site of HIV Persistence in Patients on Long-Term Effective Antiretroviral Therapy

BACKGROUND: In HIV-infected patients on long-term HAART, virus persistence in resting long-lived CD4 T cells is a major barrier to curing the infection. Cell quiescence, by favouring HIV latency, reduces the risk of recognition and cell destruction by cytotoxic lymphocytes. Several cell-activation-based approaches have been proposed to disrupt cell quiescence and then virus latency, but these approaches have not eradicated the virus. CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a CD4+ T-cell subset with particular activation properties. We investigated the role of these cells in virus persistence in patients on long-term HAART. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found evidence of infection of resting Tregs (HLADR(-)CD69(-)CD25(hi)FoxP3+CD4+ T cells) purified from patients on prolonged HAART. HIV DNA harbouring cells appear more abundant in the Treg subset than in non-Tregs. The half-life of the Treg reservoir was estimated at 20 months. Since Tregs from patients on prolonged HAART showed hyporesponsiveness to cell activation and inhibition of HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte-related functions upon activation, therapeutics targeting cell quiescence to induce virus expression may not be appropriate for purging the Treg reservoir. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify Tregs as a particular compartment within the latent reservoir that may require a specific approach for its purging

Effect of nutritional enrichment with forage (Tridax procumbens) on the behavior and growth performance of conventionally reared broiler chickens

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the provision of forage in a short-term feeding trial on the behaviour and growth performance of broilers. A total of 32, 5 weeks old Marshall broilers (average weight of 1.2kg) of mixed sex were divided into two treatments namely concentrate and concentrate-forage fed birds, each treatment had 4 replicates (4 birds/replicate). Each replicate of birds were housed in separate pens (1.2 × 2.0 cm). During the feeding trial period (a 30 minute period, 4 times/week for 2 weeks), birds in treatment A were offered 200g of concentrate while those in treatment B were offered concentrate-forage (100 g each). Data were collected on the feeding and drinking behaviour, feed intake, water intake and weight gain. The behaviour of the birds was scanned at every 5 minute interval for 30 minute and the percentage of birds feeding or drinking was recorded. Weight gain was determined at the end of the 2 weeks experimental period. Data were analysed using SPSS statistical package (version 16). Result showed that the percentage of birds feeding was greater (P<0.001) in concentrate-forage fed than concentrate fed birds. Concentrate fed birds displayed higher (P<0.001) drinking behaviour than concentrate-forage fed birds. In addition, a greater percentage of concentrate fed birds were drinking and drank more (P<0.001) water compared to concentrate-forage birds. Concentrate-forage birds showed preference for concentrate than forage (P<0.05). In conclusion, feeding broilers concentrate and forage (Tridax procumbens) simultaneously improved the feeding behaviour of broilers by 17%, reduced concentrate intake by 34% without negatively affecting their weight gain. Hence, farmers could consider this as a strategy for conserving expensive feed resources.Keywords: behaviour, body weight gain, broiler, concentrate, forage