Effect of Combined Vitamin C and Vitamin E Supplementation on Reproductive Performance and Hatching Rate in Japanese Laying Quail

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of vitE(Vitamin E)supplementation in combination with vitC(Vitamin C)on reproductive performance and hatching rate of Japanese quail at the age of 59-114 days.A total of 132 laying quails were arranged in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 4 replicates,each replicate being 9 female quails and 2 male quails at 59 days of age.The experimental treatments were as follows:control fed the basal diet(KPCS),E125C75 including KPCS supplemented with 125 mg vitE/kg feed combined with 75 mg vitC/kg feed and E125C125 including KPCS supplemented 125 mg vitE/kg feed combined with 125 mg vitC/kg feed.Research results showed that the highest WG(Weight Gain)was in E125C125(30.32 g)and lowest in E125C75(17.37 g).There were no statistically significant differences between treatments in terms of laying rate,feed conversion ratio,egg mass and egg weight.However,hatching rate and bodyweight of quails at 1 day of age were significantly different between treatments,the highest was E125C125(74.37%and 7.43 g),followed by E125C75(70.02%and 7.03 g)and the lowest was control(65.89%and 6.82 g).It can be concluded that E125C125 not only improved laying rate but also increased hatching rate and bodyweight of quail chick.

Effects of Quercetin on Performance and Lipid Metabolism in Laying Hens

Quercetin has a variety of biological activities. However, its application as a feed additive in poultry production is limited. In this study, the effects of quercetin on performance and lipid metabolism in Hessian laying hens were investigated and the possibility of quercetin to decrease cholesterol in eggs and Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol（LDL-cholesterol） in laying hens were explored. A total of 240 laying hens at 29-week-old were randomly assigned to four treatments, with six replicates of 10 birds per replicate. The treatments were fed with basal diet supplemented with 0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 g · kg-1 quercetin for 8 weeks. Layer performance, lipid concentration in livers, yolks and serum were measured at the end of the experiment. The results showed that laying rate had a quadratic correlation with the level of quercetin（p=0.056） and was maximized by the supplement level of 0.2 g · kg-1 diet. When the level of dietary quercetin increased, feed-egg ratio decreased. Crude fat and the total cholesterol of livers decreased by supplementation of quercetin. The total cholesterols of yolks also decreased and had a quadratic correlation with the levels of quercetin（p=0.019）. Insulin increased by supplement of quercetin. In conclusion, quercetin improved the performance and reduced egg yolk cholesterol by affecting serum hormone levels.

Effect of Bee Pollen on Reproductive Performance of Broiler Breeders

[Objective]The paper was to verify whether chestnut bee pollen can be used as feed for breeding chickens and its appropriate addition proportion.[Method]A total of 92444-week-old Ross 308 broiler breeders of parent generation with a male to female ratio of 1∶10 were randomly divided into 4 groups,with 3 replicates in each group and 7 cocks and 70 hens in each replicate.The broiler breeders in the control group were fed with the basal diet,and those in experimental groups were fed with the diets supplemented with 0.5%,1.0%and 1.5%chestnut bee pollen.The feeding trial lasted 35 d.[Result]Addition of chestnut bee pollen at different proportions improved the laying rate of breeder hens in different degrees.The experimental group supplemented with 1.5%chestnut bee pollen increased the laying rate by 9.1%,reduced the rate of unqualified eggs(broken eggs,cracked eggs,thin shelled eggs and hard shelled eggs)by 71.4%,increased the fertilization rate of hatching eggs and healthy chick rate by 4.4%and 5.2%,and improved the concentrations of testosterone(T),follicle stimulating hormone(FSH)and luteinizing hormone(LH)in breeder cocks by 60.8%,32.3%and 61.4%,respectively.Statistical analysis showed that the results were significantly different.[Conclusion]Addition of chestnut bee pollen at certain concentration can improve the reproductive performance of breeder cocks and breeder hens,and improve the body immunity.