—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. November 27, 1971
12
Hens Help Scientists Study Bones in Humans
Hens are helping scientists at
Pennsylvania State University
study the process of bone for
mation and bone destruction. The
experiments may help to
diagnose and treat bone diease, a
serious problem in older people.
Such bone formation and
destruction proceeds con
tinuously, even in adults. The
rapid turnover of calcium in
laying hens offers a unique
system for studies of this mineral
metabolism, says Dr. Werner J.
Arizona Feedlot-
Fewer and Bigger
It’s not hard to tell in a few
words the main story of Arizona’s
important cattle feeding in
dustry—feedlots are getting
fewer and larger, according to
the USDA.
As Americans have stepped up
their beef consumption, the in
dustry has boomed, and Arizona
has become one of the top 10
States in cattle feeding. From
1950 to 1970, Arizona had a
sevenfold increase in the number
of cattle on feed.
Unlike the Cron Belt, where
cattle are traditionally fed on
farms, Arizona has concentrated
its feeding in large feedlots.
Last year, 14 feedlots—each
with a capacity of more than
16,000 head—marketed 70 per
cent of that State’s fed cattle. In
all, there were 61 feedlots m 1970,
and they marketed 860,000 cattle.
As recently as 1962 there were 189
feedlots, though they marketed
far fewer cattle—s6B.ooo
The trend toward larger
feedlots is Arizona is expected to
continue, principally because of
the economies of size. Such costs
as labor and land and buildings
go down markedly on a per unit
basis as the number of cattle fed
increases.
An Arizona study indicates
We are Pleased to Announce the Acquisition of the
Mr. Paul Hiestand will be Associated with our Organization.
As of Dec. Ist, 1971 All Sales & Services will be handled through our office. We
are in a better position to service your needs as we carry a full line of the
following equipment:
- Beacon Cage for Layers & Pullets
• Hart Cup Watering Systems
- Stanomatic Feed Carts, Egg Carts and
Manure Removal Equipment
- Quakermade Egg Collectors
- Bramco Mechanical Feeders for Broilers
& Pullets
- Aerovent, Coolair, Acme, & Air-0 »Ma tic
Ventilation
- Acme Fan Jet Convection-Tube Ven
tilation
- Brock Bulk Feed Bins
- Brock Dual Purpose Grain Drying &
Storage Bins
Mueller, Penn State professor of
poultry science.
Each egg shell contains about
two grams of calcium, he ex
plains. In producing 250 eggs a
year, about average, a hen puts
into shells an amount of calcium
equaling 20 times the calcium
content of her body.
Bone metabolism is very rapid
in hens, Dr. Mueller and
associates have determined.
Using radioactive calcium, they
found that a hen’s skeleton
provides 30 to 40 per cent of the
egg shell calcium—mostly late at
variable costs (excluding feed)
decline from $24.07 per head in
feedlots of up to 5,000 capacity, to
$16.10 a head in those with a
capacity of 20,000. Likewise,
fixed costs decline from $11.53
per head to $6.52 in the larger
feedlots.
Total annual fixed and variable
costs of owning and operating the
feedlot, exclusive of feed,
amounted to $35.60 per head for a
5,000-head unit contrasted with
$22.62 for the 20,000-head unit.
This is one reason the number
of feedlots with a capacity of
fewer than 1,000 head dwindled
from 95 in 1962 to 9 by 1968. Those
with a capacity of fewer than
4,000 head also decreased in
number, as well as in the volume
of cattle handled. Only those
feedlots with a capacity of more
than 16,000 head marketed more
cattle in 1968 than in 1962.
One of the most common forms
of cattle feeding in the State is
custom feeding. The customer
furnishes cattle for the feedlot
and pays a charge for each ton of
feed consumed plus veterinary
fees. The feedlot is responsible
for feeding the cattle and,
generally, for providing,
marketing service as well.
ATTENTION!!
HIESTAND, INC. EQUIPMENT BUSINESS.
WE SELL, SERVICE '& INSTALL
night when little feed calcium is
left in the digestive tract.
Medullary bone is the main
reservoir of calcium in hens latp
at night. This medullary bone is
first deposited in the central
marrow cavities of the long bones
of pullets about 10 days before
they start to lay eggs. This unique
bone is found only in hens—it
does not occur in rooster, im
mature poultry, or mammals.
This medullary bone shows
amazingly rapid shifts from
destruction or resorption, as shell
is formed, to bone formation
when no shell is being formed.
Loss of calcium in older per
sons is attributed generally to a
lack of balance between bone
formation and destruction. Most
people, especially women, lose
bone mineral gradually after age
50. This usually goes unnoticed.
However, in one out of four
women over 65, increased
porosity of bone leads to frequent
fractures, collapse of vertebrae
with back pain, and deformation
of the spine known as dowager’s
hump. Treatment of these
disorders is hampered by the fact
that little is known about the
mechanism of bone resorption in
man.
Bone destruction in hens is
associated with increased acid
production and slowed cir
culation of blood. Dr. Mueller
believes both of these changes
may increase the acidity of the
fluids which bathe bone mineral,
leading to its being dissolved. The
two factors were determined by
sampling blood before it entered
and after if left the bone
From various experiments, he
concludes that acid production is
also a limiting factor in egg shell
formation. The Penn State
studies have observed that
considerable amounts of acid are
released into the blood by the
shell gland during shell for
mation.
Dr. Mueller and associates
were the first to find that hens
which lay thin shelled eggs have
a more acidic shell gland fluid
- John Bean Power Sprayers
- Brower Hog & Livestock Equipment
- Cardinal Augers & Elevators
- Hudson Hog Equipment
- Shenandoah Equipment
- Burch Egg Room Coolers & Doors
- Egomatic Egg Packers
- Chore-Time
- Vent-O-Matic
- Diversified Waterers
- Grau-Matic Feedmeters
- Marco Medicators
- Kal Glo
- Fox Products
than hens laying thick shelled moreover, has been found
eggs. Feeding acidic substances, reduce shell thickness.
TROJAN HYBRIDS
TXS IO9N
TXS 11 IN
TXS 113 N
All Trojan Seed will be of normal cytoplasm.
Get Your Trojan Gold Book.
EUGENE HOOVER
Lititz R.D. 3 569-0756
LANCASTER COUNTY
TROJAN DEAI
For good production next lactation,
FEED PURINA
DAIRY CONDITIONER
As a dairyman, you know that good milk production
doesn’t just happen. It’s something you plan for by
establishing a herd with the genetic potential for good
production, then managing and feeding your cows so
they’ll produce up to their bred-in ability.
Many successful local dairymen also plan for good pro
duction with a proven program of dry cow feeding.
They need Purina Dairy Conditioner, a research
proven ration to help give dry cows body condition
they need for good production after they freshen.
Purina Dairy Conditioner is an extra-palatable 12%
percent protein ration. It’s fortified with vitamins A
and D plus extra phosphorus to help guard against milk
tever.
Purina Dairy Conditioner is low-cost, too, because the
amounts you feed depend on your cows’ condition and
on the quality of the roughages you feed. For example,
a cow dried off in good condition being fed high-quality
roughages would require less Dairy Conditioner than
a cow in oniy fair condition being fed fair quality
roughages.
Drop in soon and get your free copy of the
Purina Dry Cow Program folder. We’ll be glad
to show you how Purina Dairy Conditioner can
help you prepare your dry cows.for good pro
duction next lactation.
John J. Hess, 11, Inc.
Ph- 442-4632
Paradise
West Willow
Farmers Assn., Inc.
Ph: 464-3431
West Willow
John B. Kurtz
Ph: 354-9251
R. D. 3, Ephrata
AVAILABLE
Order Your Seed From
Ira B. Landis
Ph: 394-7912
1912 Creek Hill Rd., Lane.
James High & Sons
Ph; 3544)301
Gordonville
Wenger's Feed Mill
TX 115 N
TXS 118 N
TXS 119 N
Inc.
Ph: 367-1195
Rheems