Economic analysis of interventions to improve village chicken production in Myanmar.

A cost-benefit analysis using deterministic and stochastic modelling was conducted to identify the net benefits for households that adopt (1) vaccination of individual birds against Newcastle disease (ND) or (2) improved management of chick rearing by providing coops for the protection of chicks from predation and chick starter feed inside a creep feeder to support chicks' nutrition in village chicken flocks in Myanmar. Partial budgeting was used to assess the additional costs and benefits associated with each of the two interventions tested relative to neither strategy. In the deterministic model, over the first 3 years after the introduction of the interventions, the cumulative sum of the net differences from neither strategy was 13,189Kyat for ND vaccination and 77,645Kyat for improved chick management (effective exchange rate in 2005: 1000Kyat=1$US).

Prevalence and incidence of Newcastle disease and prevalence of Avian Influenza infection of scavenging village chickens in Timor-Lesté.

A longitudinal study to monitor prevalence and incidence of antibodies against Newcastle disease (ND) virus and prevalence of antibodies against Avian Influenza (AI) virus in scavenging village chickens was conducted in 20 villages within 4 districts of Timor-Lesté. A total of 3600 blood samples was collected from 1674 individual birds in 300 household chicken flocks during three sampling periods (December 2008-February 2009, March-May 2009, and June-August 2009). The mean interval between household visits was 101.

Evaluation of strategies to improve village chicken production: controlled field trials to assess effects of Newcastle disease vaccination and altered chick rearing in Myanmar [corrected].

Previous research identified Newcastle disease and poor management of chicks (birds younger than 6 weeks of age) as major constraints to village chicken production in Myanmar. Based on these findings, controlled trials were conducted in 124 randomly selected households in nine villages in Myanmar over a period of 12 months to evaluate strategies to enhance survival of village chickens. Two intervention strategies were assessed: Newcastle disease vaccination using the thermostable I-2 vaccine and changes to the management of chick rearing (confinement and supplementary feeding).

Animal handling as an integrated component of animal and veterinary science programs at the University of Queensland.

Students in animal science and veterinary science at the University of Queensland (UQ) have similar introductory courses in animal handling in year 1 of their degree programs. Veterinary students take animal-handling instruction in farm and companion animals, whereas animal science students are instructed in handling farm animals, horses, and rodents. Veterinary students are introduced to rodents, and animal science students to dogs and cats, in subsequent years of the curriculum.

Protein utilisation and turnover in lines of chickens selected for different aspects of body composition.

1. Protein utilisation and turnover were measured in male chickens sampled from a line selected for high breast yield and a randombred control line (lines QL and CL, experiment 1) and in male chickens sampled from lines selected for either high or low abdominal fatness (lines FL and LL, experiment 2). In each experiment, 18 birds per line were given iso-energetic (12.

Response of broilers selected on carcass quality to dietary protein supply: live performance, muscle development, and circulating insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and -II).

The effect of dietary protein supply on muscle development and circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factors (IGF)-I and -II was examined in chickens selected for increased breast yield and decreased fatness (quality, QL) and in its control line (CL). CL and QL chickens were fed isoenergetic diets containing 121.5 or 215.

Transcripts of the MHM region on the chicken Z chromosome accumulate as non-coding RNA in the nucleus of female cells adjacent to the DMRT1 locus.

The male hypermethylated (MHM) region, located near the middle of the short arm of the Z chromosome of chickens, consists of approximately 210 tandem repeats of a BamHI 2.2-kb sequence unit. Cytosines of the CpG dinucleotides of this region are extensively methylated on the two Z chromosomes in the male but much less methylated on the single Z chromosome in the female.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I but not IGF-II promotes lean growth and feed efficiency in broiler chickens.

The efficacy of exogenous IGFs to stimulate growth and modulate protein and fat deposition was examined in a number of broiler chicken lines. From around 600 g body weight the chickens received a continuous infusion of vehicle (0.1 M acetic acid), human recombinant IGF-I or [Gly1]IGF-II at 300 microg/kg body weight per day, or a combined infusion of 150 microg/kg/day of each IGF for 2 weeks.

Muscle protein turnover in chickens selected for increased growth rate, food consumption or efficiency of food utilisation: effects of genotype and relationship to plasma IGF-I and growth hormone.

1. Rates of muscle protein turnover, growth, and food consumption were determined in 4 lines of chickens selected for either weight gain (line W), food consumption (line F), efficiency of food conversion (line E), or at random (line C) and in two Australian commercial broiler strains (S and H). These measures were related to body composition and the circulating concentrations of plasma growth hormone (GH) and IGF-I.

Inheritance of plasma insulin-like growth factor-I and growth rate, food intake, food efficiency and abdominal fatness in chickens.

1. The inheritance of, and genetic and phenotypic correlations between, plasma insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and 28-(28dW) and 56-d (56dW) body weight, 28- to 56-d body weight gain (BWG), food intake (FI), food conversion ratio (FCR) and abdominal fatness (AF) at 56 d were determined by sib analyses in a population of 327 pedigreed progeny produced by matings between 18 cockerels and 72 pullets from a broiler strain of chickens bred at random for 8 generations. 2.

Effects of dietary calcium, available phosphorus and vitamin D on growth rate, food utilisation, plasma and bone constituents and calcium and phosphorus retention of commercial broiler strains.

1. The effects of different dietary concentrations of calcium (Ca), available phosphorus (AP) and vitamin D (D) on 5- to 16-day growth performance, and aspects of calcium and phosphorus (P) metabolism of chickens from three commercial strains were studied in two experiments. 2.

The effect of dietary calcium upon growth rate, food utilisation and plasma constituents in lines of chickens selected for aspects of growth or body composition.

1. The effect of increasing dietary calcium from 10.3 to 20 g/kg on 5- to 17-day growth performance and plasma minerals, electrolytes, total protein, albumin and glucose in chickens from 4 lines selected for: high 8-week body weight (W), low abdominal fat (L), high abdominal fat (F) or at random (C) was studied in two experiments.

Rates of muscle protein breakdown in chickens selected for increased growth rate, food consumption or efficiency of food utilisation as assessed by N tau-methylhistidine excretion.

1. N tau-methylhistidine excretion, growth rate, food consumption and body composition was determined in 12 4 to 5 week old chickens sampled from each of 4 lines selected for increased body-weight gain (line W), for increased food consumption (line F), for improved efficiency of food utilisation (line E) or at random (line C), after 12 generations of selection. 2.

Energy and nitrogen metabolism of broilers selected over ten generations for increased growth rate, food consumption and conversion of food to gain.

Energy and nitrogen (N) metabolism were studied in 6-week-old male birds taken from 4 lines of chickens selected for 10 generations for increased weight gain (line W), increased food consumption (line F), increased conversion of food to gain (line E) or at random (controls, line C). Calorimetric measurements were made 8 times on each line while fed ad libitum in large open-circuit respiration chambers for 3 d, and 11 to 13 times without food in smaller closed-circuit respiration chambers for 24 h. The F line ate 60% more food, produced 90% more excreta and 34% more heat and retained 80% more energy and 35% more N in their bodies than lines E and C.

Comparison of plasma very low density lipoproteins and lipogenic enzymes as predictors of fat content and food conversion efficiency in selected lines of broiler chickens.

Activities of lipogenic enzymes and plasma very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) concentrations were measured in lines of chickens with large differences in food conversion efficiency (FCE) and body fat. Hepatic activities of malate dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.

Calorimetric measurements of the energy and nitrogen metabolism of Japanese quail.

1. Respiration calorimetry measurements were made over 4 d on normally-fed groups of 10 male or 10 female quail during three periods commencing at 12, 19 and 26 d of age. Carcass compositions were determined on groups of birds of each sex at 2 and 5 weeks of age.

A comparison of the energy and nitrogen metabolism of broilers selected for increased growth rate, food consumption and conversion of food to gain.

Calorimetric measurements were made on 5-week-old male chickens sampled from the third generation of three lines selected for either increased live-weight gain (W), food consumption (F), or food conversion efficiency (E). A control line (C) was also measured. 2.