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| Articles
by
M.A. Oguike |
Total Records (
3 ) for
M.A. Oguike |
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M.A. Oguike
,
G. Igboeli
,
S.N. Ibe
and
M. Uzoukwu
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Investigations were carried out to ascertain the effectiveness of some conventional restriction techniques on feather moult. The techniques used to induce moult, which were imposed for 10 days, 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, with T1 as the control. A total of 60 old layers aged 85 weeks were randomly assigned to each treatment in a completely randomized design, with three replicates. After the 10 days of moult induction, all the moulting hens were returned to the same conditions as the control. The results of the study revealed that shedding of feathers began 10 days from the beginning of moult induction with the feathers of the moulting birds appearing ruffled. There were no regular patterns in the shedding of wing and body feathers. Also the shedding of the two wings occurred simultaneously. The duration of shedding of wing feathers by birds in T4 was significantly (P<0.05) longer than for the other groups, probably because of the severity of restriction of light, feed and water for T2, T3, T5 and T6. Shedding of primary and secondary wing feathers ranged from 7 to 51 days. The T4 showed significantly (P<0.05) lower % egg production than T2, T3, T5, T6, after feather moulting. Also the T4 attained peak production later than the other groups following induction of feather moult. |
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M.A. Oguike
,
G. Igboeli
and
S.N. Ibe
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Influence of induced-moult
on small ovarian follicles and egg production of old laying flock was
investigated. Small follicles were graded thus: small yellow follicles
(SYF), large white follicles (LWF) and small white follicles (SWF).
A total of 360 old layers in their 64 weeks in lay were used in a 2x3
factorial arrangement in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The induced-moult
treatments 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, represented as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively.
Each treatment was replicated 3 times with 20 hens per replicate. At
the commencement of the experiment the numbers of the small follicles
of the Control (T1) were 7.67 ± 0.88, 18.33 ± 0.88, 2121.67 ±
5.78,
for small yellow, large white and small white follicles, respectively.
The results showed that with the exception of T4, the numbers of all
the small follicles of the rest of the induced-moult groups were significantly
decreased (P< 0.05) by day 7 of moult induction. The numbers of the small
follicles of T2, T3, T5 and T6 gradually increased and became Significantly
higher (P< 0.05) than the control (T1) by day 49 of moult induction.
By day 49, the numbers of the small follicles of the induced-moult hens
ranged from 2500± 17.56 to 3670.00± 4.05 (SWF), 24.33±0.88
to 41.00±
0.58 (LWF) and 5.00± 0.58 to 6.67± 0.20 (SYF). The mean egg production
of the flock was about 50 % prior to moult induction. The hen-day percent
production of the moult groups ranged from 50 to 79 % whereas that of
the unmoulted control ranged from 35 to 55 %. In conclusion, moulting
initiated regeneration and rejuvenation of follicles. This in turn led
to increase in post moult egg production of the induced-moult groups. |
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M.A. Oguike
and
N.E. Udeh
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Twelve locating West African Dwarf (WAD) ewes averaging 14 kg in weight and age between 2-3 years were used in 12-weeks study to determine the partial daily milk yield (PDM), haematological and serum biochemical parameters of ewes fed the ethnoveterinary and ethnomedical plant Spondias mombin. The lactating ewes were assigned to 2 treatment groups of 6 ewes per group, designated as T1 and T2, respectively. The ewes in T1 were the treated group fed Spondias mombin L. post partum while those in T2 served as a control and were not fed Spondias mombin. Haematological parameters measured include the Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and total white blood cell count while serum biochemical parameters were liver enzyme assay (including Aspartate Transaminase, (AST); alanine amino transferase, (ALT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) as well as total and conjugated bilirubin. Kidney function tests highlighting urea and creatinine concentrations as well as potassium, sodium, bicarbonate and chlorine ion concentrations were conducted on the control and treated groups. Results showed that S. mombin increased the PDM yield of the lactating ewes in the treatment group over their counterparts in the control group in all the 12 weeks of lactation. These increases were significant (p<0. 05) in the 3rd and 8th weeks. Weeks 3 and 8 PDM values were 61.66 ; 35.44 and 40.31 g; 21.28 g for the treated and control groups, respectively. Spondias mombin did not significantly (p>0.05) influence PCV and WBC values within experimental groups. Also, liver enzymes (ALT, AST and ALP) as well as total and conjugated bilirubin were also not significantly (p>0.05) affected by S. mombin. However, creatinine concentration was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the treated group (0.73 mg dL 1) than the control group (0.65 mg dL 1). These results suggest that S. mombin could be useful in improving on the milk production of our WAD ewes; without any adverse effects on their general health and performance. |
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