Chick quality is dependent upon conditions in the laying house, egg handling systems, and the hatchery. If any of these areas are sub-optimal, chick quality, in addition to hatchability, may deteriorate. Alternative methods to improve chick quality are warranted, especially in chicks from young broiler breeder flocks. Moreover, antibiotic compounds that improve early growth and prevent bacterial infections in broilers are becoming increasingly less available to commercial poultry producers. This paper is concerned with breeder hen nutrition as a means to improve chick quality. Published reports concerned with hen nutritional deficiencies and sufficiencies on progeny performance, rather than toxicities, are primarily discussed. The areas of protein, energy, fat, mineral, and vitamin hen nutrition that impact progeny status are reviewed. Non-nutritional substances (i.e., toxins) that impact progeny when present in the hen's diet are reviewed. Specific ingredients and nutrients fed to hens that influence progeny growth, carcass attributes, enzyme functions, and immunity are discussed.

This report will cover studies of the metabolism of a supplemental source of L-methionine (L-met), Alimet® feed supplement. The goal of these studies was to gain an understanding of how this methionine precursor is converted to L-methionine and how it is used by the chick, in order to optimise the conditions for its use. The methionine precursor in Alimet is 2-hydroxy-4- (methylthio) butanoic acid (HMB). HMB differs from methionine by having a hydroxyl group on the alpha carbon rather than an amino group. Like synthetic DL-met, HMB has one asymmetrical carbon atom and therefore occurs as a mixture of 50% L-isomer and 50% D-isomer. Because HMB bears a hydroxyl group instead of an amino group, it is an organic acid. Until it is converted to L-met antimicrobial properties of HMB resemble those of organic acids such as lactic acid. Once inside the tissue of the animal, however, HMB is rapidly converted to L-met. Following conversion to L-met, HMB will have the same availability for methyl group transfer or cysteine synthesis as L-met from any other source. This report will cover the bioavailability of HMB polymers, the conversion of HMB to L-met and the role of HMB in normal L-met intermediary metabolism. It will also include a discussion of HMB absorption and incorporation into protein.

The weight of poultry manure produced per day approximately equals the weight of feed eatenby poultry each day. Diet reformulation may reduce valuable nutrient waste but feed waste in manure can be used economically as a source of fertilizer, fuel and ruminant feed. Its value as apoultry feed is uncertain and needs further investigation.

Despite the use of pigeons (Columba livia domestica) since 2500 BC by man for meat production, ornamentals, sports and experimental animals, limited information is available on their nutrient requirements and feeding. This could partly be attributed to the rearing of growing chicks (squabs) to mature body weight at 28 days by the parents. Squabs have an extraordinary high rate of maturing (0.1466 to 0.1945 g/d) in comparison to other domesticated avian species such as poultry (0.0450 g/d) and quail (0.077 to 0.097 g/d). This growth rate is achieved by regurgitation of a holocrine substance (crop milk) by both parents, formed in response to prolactin secretion and triggered by brooding. Crop milk consists primarily of protein (11.0 to 18.8% on as is basis) and fat (4.5 to 12.7% on as is basis), and lacks significant levels of carbohydrates. Furthermore, adult pigeons are mainly fed mixtures of whole grains. Special feeding characteristics inherent to the pigeon thus prevent extrapolation of nutrient requirements determined with other avian species. A dietary crude protein content of between 12 and 18%, and metabolizable energy (ME) content of around 12 MJ/kg, based on production of offspring, is recommended for feeding of adult pigeons. Apparent metabolizable energy, corrected for nitrogen retention (AMEn) for maize (14.76 MJ/kg), barley (12.36 MJ/kg), sorghum (13.87 MJ/kg) and peas (14.01 MJ/kg) did not differ substantially from values derived for poultry. Pigeons could utilize lipids better than carbohydrates as energy sources. Feed additives and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Development of chicken embryo culture techniques provides precise methods for the manipulation of early chicken embryos and has made it possible to analyse the results of themanipulation in hatched chickens. Various attempts have been made to introduce exogenous DNA into the chicken germline, but an efficient method for producing transgenic chickensby non-viral methods has not yet been devised. Since the system for producing germline cimaeric chickens has been established by the transfer of primordial germ cells isolated from early stage embryos, manipulation of primordial germ cells seems to be one of the mostpromising methods for genetic manipulation in chickens.

Current European Union legislation prohibits the washing of Class A eggs. This is in stark contrast to countries such as the United States of America and, more recently Japan, which have embraced egg-washing technology. The emergence in the UK of egg associated Salmonella enteritidis as a significant cause of food poisoning has, combined with the increase in non-cage egg production systems, increased interest in technologies that might improve the microbial quality of the egg. This paper reviews the history of egg washing in the European Union and more specifically its restricted use in the UK and contrasts this with its uptake in the United States among other countries. Similarly the technological advances in egg washing are reviewed, in the context of the underpinning science.

Fungi may develop in stored grains following field inoculation. In the course oftheir development fungi utilize plant nutrients, contributing to a reduction in their content. This reduction is obviously related to the degree of fungi development, but may become relevant in extreme cases. During the process of host colonization fungi may also produce toxins that are harmful for humans and animals. This occurs mainly under specific conditions of plant stress, such as those produced by adverse weather conditions, for instance drought has been shown to prompt aflatoxin production in peanuts. Differences in mycotoxin production are also related to plant genotype. Aflatoxin B1 produced by Aspergillus flavus is the most carcinogenic natural substance known. It is frequently charged with the reduction in performance of domestic birds, even when its concentration in the feed is very low. Approaches to eliminate mycotoxins from contaminated grains are not always worthwhile in practical and economical terms. Strategies used to reduce mycotoxin levels in cereal grains include the dilution of infected with healthier grains or the addition of adsorbents to the feeds. Several compounds such as activated charcoal, aluminosilicates and processed cell wall of Saccharomyces sp. (esterified glucomannan) have shown to be effective as mycotoxin adsorbents in poultry feeds. Adsorbent effectiveness has been reported with in vitro and in vivo techniques; however, it is still very difficult to quantify their benefits in commercial operations.

Microbiological risk assessment (MRA) is now a key feature in the world-wide management of food safety risks, including those associated with poultry meat. This paper presents a review of MRA from the perspective of poultry meat. The methodology is outlined and key issues such as uncertainty, model complexity and model validation are highlighted. To demonstrate the use of the tool, a MRA for campylobacter infection within Great Britain (GB) is summarised and example results are presented. Presentation of the model demonstrates the way in which MRAs can be usedto investigate the effects of risk mitigation strategies and identify data gaps. It is anticipated that this presentation, together with the overview of the general methodological issues, will promote an increasing understanding of the technique amongst those that have a concern in the control of campylobacter in poultry, for example, producers, microbiologists and risk managers.

The high cost of rearing pathogen-free poultry, coupled with increases in importation from non-European countries where hygienic measures may be less stringent indicates that biological approaches to control of infection with food-borne pathogens will continue to be important. The major measures are dealt with in this review, together with the positive and negative aspects of each of these approaches. They include antibiotic therapy and prophylaxis, competitive exclusion using intestinal flora preparations, live and killed vaccines and the increasing interest in exploiting natural genetic resistance to infection and disease.

The first attempts in producing table-eggs for the Turkish market on commercial egg farms were initiated in Basmakci County in 1974. Since then farmers have started to produce table-eggs through their own efforts, and as a result of rapid development Basmakci is now the main egg-centre of Turkey. However, there have been several factors having negative impacts on egg production in the region. This study involved investigations into the nutritional and husbandry characteristics of egg production. The present work outlines the structure of egg production along with the present problems of management, nutrition and environment. Egg production for Basmakci's producers can be considered as a secondary commercial activity within the farm enterprise. The producers have set up the Association of Basmakci Egg Producers (ABEP) to deal with the problems of supplying the laying stock and marketing the eggs. However, some important problems were encountered in the form of egg production drops during the course of the present investigation. The older conventional cage systems (A-type and California type) are still preferred by the farmers. Leading international commercial breeds of laying hens have been imported for egg production, but field tests of these breeds have not yet been carried out by the commercial breeding companies under local conditions. Neither laying house environmental conditions nor least-cost feed formulation were found to be well controlled in interests of optimum egg production. The producers failed to keep continuous and meaningful production records, and this causes difficulties in implementing different feeding programmes and management solutions. Manure management and other health-related issues are still being ignored. However, in order to improve the production level we suggest that poultry extension works should be established here with the strong collaboration between the universities, Egg Association, breeding companies and the Agricultural Ministry

Genetic parameters of traits of interest in ducks and geese are reported. Recent achievements of research, specially to improve the Brown Tsaiya laying duck; the intergeneric crossbreeding in duck; the meat ducks Pekin and Muscovy; the goose reproduction ability; the meat and fatty liver production in geese and ducks were analysed. A linear genetic selection index based on MT-BLUP animal model of breeding values with objectives to maintain body weight, egg weight at current levels, to increase egg shell strength and egg number, used for four generations in Brown Tsaiya laying ducks was evaluated. A seven generations selection experiment was successful in increasing the duration of fertility of Brown Tsaiya female ducks by artificial insemination with pooled Muscovy semen. The genetic parameters of growth and laying traits in a selected Muscovy line in Taiwan were estimated. Favourable genetic trends for body weight at given age, without decreasing egg production, were found in this selected Muscovy line. The selection of grandparent stocks (White Tsaiya and Pekin) for white plumage mule ducks in Taiwan was efficient. The genetic parameters of laying and gosling production traits of Landaise geese and of a White plumage goose strain, bred in two systems, respectively outdoors with natural photoperiodism and in indoors with short daylight conditions were reported. The more advantageous system in selecting for laying traits in geese is discussed. Fatty liver weight was found to be highly heritable in geese and male Muscovy ducks. The genetic parameters of overfed mule duck traits were estimated in the Pekin dam population. It is concluded that future research should focus on biotechnology, quantitative trait loci detection and genome analysis.