Plasma progesterone profile and ovarian activity of forced-moult layers

Different techniques of moult induction were used to force moult 360 commercial old layers, aged 85 weeks. The techniques were: natural day length with feed and water ad libitum, natural day length with water but no feed, natural day length with no feed and no water, reduced day length with feed and water ad libitum, reduced day length with water but no feed, reduced day length with no feed and no water, designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively. The T1 served as the control. Sixty hens wererandomly assigned to each treatment which was replicated 3 times. The moult induction period was for 10 days coupled with 50 days of recovery period when the birds were fed low protein moult diet. At day 7, the ovaries of T2, T3, T5, T6 regressed weighing 3.43, 7.03, 5.00, 4.80 g, respectively. These were significantly (P<0.05) lower than the ovarian weights of 34.73 and 35.13 g of T4 and control (T1), respectively. By day 35 of moult induction, the ovaries of T2, T3, T5 showed the greatest recoveryincreasing to 18.53, 20.73, 13.27 g, respectively, while T4 decreased to 13.00 g. The number of large yellow follicles of T2, T3, T5, T6 decreased from 3.33 on day 0 to 0.00 on day 7. By day 21 the large yellow follicles of T2, T3, T5 and T6 started regenerating, ranging between 2.33 and 3.00 and by day 49 were significantly (P<0.05) higher than T4 (1.67). Plasma progesterone levels decreased from between 0.50 and 0.60 ng/ml on day 0 to undetectable levels by days 7 and 14 in T2, T3, T5, T6. By day 21,plasma progesterone levels (ng/ml) started rising in T2 (0.40), T3 (0.33), T5 (0.40), T6 (0.33) although these were significantly (P<0.05) lower than those of T1 (0.77) and T4 (0.81). As the number of large yellow follicles increased, the concentration of progesterone in the plasma increased

Morphological characteristics and egg production of forced-moult layers under different moult induction techniques

A study was conducted to investigate the morphological characteristics and egg production of forcedmoult layers. Different feeding patterns designated T1, T2 and T3 representing ad libitum supply of feed and water, no feed but water given ad libitum and no feed or water, respectively, were used to induce moult. T1 served as the control. One hundred and twenty 84-week old layers in their 64 weeks in lay were randomly assigned to each treatment, which was replicated 4 times with 30 hens per replicate.Forced-moult treatments were imposed for 10 days, after which the moulting hens were fed moult diet for 50 days and returned to the same feed as the control. The results of the study revealed that morphological characteristics following moult induction included loss of feathers, dullness of theeyeballs, shriveling and paleness of the comb, wattle and ear lobes. Also the moulting birds emaciated with T2 and T3 losing 18.18 and 25.97%, respectively, of their initial body weights by day 7 of moult induction. The forced-moult groups T2 and T3 stopped egg production by  6 days of moult induction and resumed egg production by day 25. T2 and T3 attained a peak egg production of 71% by the second month following resumption of lay. On the other hand, in the T1 egg production progressively decreased with age

Assay of Serum Gonadotropic Hormones during Estrous Cycle in Vitamin E Supplemented Gilts

Eight mature cycling gilts randomly selected and placed into two groups (vitamin E supplemented and non-supplemented) and replicated four times were compared for serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing hormone (LH) levels. Vitamin E supplementation significantly affected the serum levels of the pituitary gonadotropins. The values of leutinizing hormone (LH) in the supplemented groups was 5.06 ng/ml versus 4.65 ng/ml for the non-supplemented animals (p<0.05). The same pattern was observed for follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (2.94 miu/ml versus 2.79 miu/ml) (p<0.05). The highest values of LH were observed during the period of estrus (late follicular phase), while the least values were at the metestrus (early luteal phase). Vitamin E appears to exert some influence on the pituitary hormones in pigs by increasing their levels significantly

A radiologic study on the urinary bladder following dorsal and ventral cystotomy in mongrel dogs

Pneumocystography and positive contrast cystography using solutrast® were carried out immediately after surgery and on the second operative day following dorsal and ventral cystotomy in 22 adult mongrel dogs. In all the radiographs, there was no contrast observed in the abdominal cavity and the apex of the bladder had a straight border margin (rather than a curved margin). In both cystotomies, the bladder showed mural defects, which appeared as irregular outline along the bladder suffered. Luminal filling defects were observed in the dorsal cystotomies and in the dorsal cystotomies an obvious indentation was observed on the dorsal surface of the bladder. The absence of contrast in the abdominal cavity suggested that there was no urine leakage from the bladder following the surgery at the second postoperative day. The strait border on the apex was most probably as a result of extra mural pressure produced by the small or large bowel on the bladder. The mural defects observed wee due to the incision wounds while the luminal fillings defects observed would most probably be due to the presence of blood clot and or air in the cavity of the bladder at the time the radiographs obtained. The obvious dorsal indentation observed is most probably due to the inflammatory response of the surgical wound

Does vitamin e supplementation influence serum oestradiol and progesterone concentrations in gilts?

Eight mature gilts, randomly selected, individually housed and placed into two groups – vitamin E supplemented and non-supplemented were compared for serum ovarian levels of progesterone and estradiol. This was to access the influence of vitamin E supplementation on the concentrations of progesterone and estradiol using Enzyme Linked Assay. The estradiol concentration was 36.719 pg/mL in the supplemented group, while in the non supplemented group it was 37.344 pg/Ml. Progesterone values were 3.738 (ng/ml) in the supplemented group and 5.313 (ng/ml) in the nonsupplemented group. The progesterone values were seen to be on the decline after estrus with a value of 4.425 ng/ml in the supplemented group and 2.250 ng/ml for the non-supplemented animals. The highest values of estradiol was observed during the period of estrus (follicular phase),while the least values were at the diestrus (luteal) phase. This study is therefore in agreement with the theory of vitamin E's mechanism of action in improving fertility by sparing progesterone. Keywords: Vitamin E, Enzyme linked assay, progesterone, estradiol, gilt

Morphometric changes following pregnancy in large white sows

A study was conducted to ascertain the morphometric changes that occur following pregnancy in sows. Eight large white sows of about 18 months of age were used for the study. They were divided into two groups with each group consisting of four animals and each animal serving as a replicate. Group A was mated while group B was not. The data collected included body weight, abdominal circumference/diameter, length of front, middle and back teats, vulva circumference and length of the vulva. Data collection was at weekly intervals and the study lasted for 15 weeks. The results of the investigation showed significant changes in body weight, abdominal diameter, length of the different sections of the teat and circumference of the vulva of pregnant and non-pregnant sows. On the other hand the length of vulva in the pregnant and non-pregnant sows were not significantly different. Keywords: Pig; sow; pregnancy; large white Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 2 (3) 2006: pp 189-19

Effects of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) on the Haematology of Broiler Chicks Following Experimental Coccidial Infection

This investigation into the effect of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) on the hematologic indices was conducted using 180 broiler chicks experimentally infected with sporulated coccidial oocysts. The broiler chicks were divided into four groups of 45 birds each and further replicated three times with 15 birds per replicate. They were subjected to experimental coccidial infection through drinking water. Infection was confirmed by fecal microscopy following administration of an infective dose of about 100 sporulated oocysts per bird. After the experimental infection, the chicks were subjected to 7 days treatment with graded levels (0, 5, 10 and 15 g Basil/300g feed) of Basil in the diet with 0g basil/300g feed serving as control treatment. At the end seventh day, four chicks per treatment were randomly slaughtered for blood analysis. Results from the study revealed that Basil had no significant (p>0.05) effect on Mean Cell Volume (MCV) and Mean Cell Hemoglobin (MCH) in the main plot. In the subplots (Basil levels), 5g basil/300g feed group had the highest MCV (92.30 pg), against the control (85.30 pg). Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Mean Cell Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Hemoglobin (Hb), Red Blood Cell (RBC) and White Blood Cell (WBC) counts were not significantly (p>0.05) different across subplots. The study reveals that Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) has no major effects on the hematological parameters of broiler chicks at the different levels of inclusion studied. Keywords: Broiler, coccidiosis, sporulated oocysts, Ocimum basilicum, feed, hematolog

Effect of dietary supplementation with ascorbic acid in coccidial infections on broiler chicken

The effect of dietary supplementation with ascorbic acid on broiler chicken challenged with coccidial oocysts was studied. The percentage mortality was significant (

Performance of pure and crossbred progenies of Red Sokoto and West African Dwarf goats in the Rainforest Zone of South Eastern Nigeria.

This study is a report of part of a planned breeding programme to evaluate the performance of pure and crossbred progenies of Red Sokoto (RS) and West African Dwarf (WAD) goats in a rainforest zone of South Eastern Nigeria. A total of 56 kids produced by four breeding goat units consisting of pure Red Sokoto (RS x RS), pure West African Dwarf (WAD X WAD), main cross (RS x WAD), and reciprocal cross (WAD X RS) were used to investigate performance and cost benefit of producing progenies of these indigenous goats. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with genetic group and sex as the factors of interest. Results showed that at birth, the male RS X RS kids weighed significantly (P<0.05) highest (1.84±0.23kg), followed by WAD X RS (1.43±0.14kg), RS X WAD (1.37±0.56kg) while the WAD X WAD kids had the lowest birth weight (1.15±0.39kg). However, the RS X WAD female kids, at birth weighed significantly highest (1.5±0.54kg), followed by the RS X RS (1.33±0.98kg), WAD X RS (1.31±0.17kg) and WAD X WAD (1.09±0.12kg).Body weight at 18 weeks was significantly higher for RS X RS (9.82±0.79kg) than the RS X WAD (8.34±0.85) which in turn was significantly higher than the WAD X RS (7.61±0.13kg) and WAD X WAD (7.51±0.61kg). The male and female kids of the RS X WAD had improved body weight and the linear body measurements namely, body length, height-at-withers and heart girth. This genetic group had a higher average daily gain (46.03 ± 1.41g/d) and better feed conversion ratio (5.38 ± 0.27) than the RS x WAD (6.64 ± 0.18) and WAD x WAD (7.02 ± 0.21). It also had the lowest cost of production (N953.40=$6.60) and as such the highest gross margin (N2,111.06 =$14.60) in 18 weeks. Individuals in this group appeared more promising hybrid goats for commercial meat goat production in the rainforest zone of South Eastern Nigeria.Keywords: Red Sokoto and WAD goats, crossbreeding, linear body measurements, cost benefit, rainforest zone