12
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Sept. 7, 1974
Gizzard Size Linked
Differences in the weight of giz
zards and in the separation be
tween the glandular stomach and the
gizzard may be the key to solving some
of the problems of producing cage
reared broilers.
Research indicates that cage-reared
broilers receiving a basal diet like that
used in commercial operations, have
significantly lighter gizzards, when ex
pressed as a percentage of body weight,
than do floor-reared broilers on litter
diets. The separation between the pro
ventriculus (glandular stomach), and
the gizzard is also less prominent in
caged broilers on the basal diet.
Nutritionist Leon F. Kubena, and his
associates, working at the ARS South
Central Poultry Research Laboratory,
Mississippi State, Miss., hare dis
covered that gizzard size is influenced
by diets containing ground litter or
ground oak shavings. The gizzard, the
muscular posterior stomach of chickens,
grinds and crushes coarse, heavy food
particles foi better digestion.
Gizzard size ma\ have some effect on
~ J*V '*•
In Australia, it was believed that carnehans would cure
tumors and respiratory diseases, strengthen the voice and
stop bleeding!
TRY A CLASSIFIED AD
PHONE
626-2191 or 394-3047
SK
Now
- more than ever -
the ORTHO approach
can help.
Some things in life never change
Like employing sound approaches to quality agriculture
That s why our advice on fertilizer practices and programs
may sound the same from year to year it's based upon
solid agronomic experience, and aimed at
perennially desirable objectives
Like maximizing the farmer’s net profits
Using fertilizer properly
And protecting the integrity of the environment
The Ortho team tries its best to help the farmer
realize these objectives, too
Our people work together-the salesman, the agronomist,
and the dealer-to help customers develop and prosper
After all, we're all in the same basic business
Let us help where we can
Smoketown, Pa
TM’s ORTHO. CHEVRON DESIGN-REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.
» *** »
m K
717-299-2571
injuries to cage-reared broilers. Prob
lems encountered with cage-reared
broilers include broken bones, leg prob
lem*. breast blisters, and body fat con
tent during meat production; and fatty
liver syndrome, cage fatigue, brittle
bones, and shell problems during egg
production.
Dr. Kubena’s research, conducted in
an environmental controlled house,
involved commercial broilers of both
sexes. All broilers were fed a basal diet
containing 23-percent protein with
a metabolizable energy value of 3,306
kilocalories per kilogram of diet for the
first 4 w eeks. During the second 4 weeks,
the diet consisted by 21-percent protein
with a metabolizable energy value of
3,372 kilocalories per kilogram of diet.
Test groups consisted of floor-reared
and cage-reared broilers fed only the
basal diet, cage-reared broilers fed a
basal diet plus 3-pcrccnl ground litter,
and cage-reared broilers fed a basal diet
plus 3-percent ground oak shavings.
In each trial, at 8 weeks of age, ap
proximately 30 males and 30 females
Merrill Lynch
Seminar On
Hedging Set
A seminar on hedging
farm products has been
scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on
Thursday, September 12, at
the Lancaster Stock Yards
auction pavilion. The
seminar will be conducted by
representatives of the
Merrill Lynch brokerage
firm.
o
o
Dwayne Swarts, a broker
with the firm, said that the
public is invited to sit in on
the seminar. More in
formation can be had from
Swarts by calling him at 717-
232-8611, extension 207.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
WE THINK THE AIR AN ANIMAL BREATHE
HELPS TO DETERMINE THE QUALITY
OF MEAT AND MILK PRODUCED.
IF YOU THINK LIKE US YOU Will WANT TO
ABOUT THE SOLAIR SYSTEMS
The barn with the roof louvers that
automatically open and close to Keep you
and your animals comfortable.
To Broiler Problems
A
'
DAIRY, BEEF, AND SWINE BARNS.
were randomly selected, weighed, and
their gizzards removed. The gizzards
were then cleaned with the lining intact
and immediately weighed.
Analysis of variance for gizzard
weight was performed by Arcsine Per
centage Transformation (tabular con
version to percentiles), for gizzard
weight as a percentage of body weight.
Cage-reared broilers on the 3-percent
litter diet had significantly heavier giz
zards (3.85 grams greater) than the
cage-reared broilers on the basal diet.
Both groups had gizzard weights lower
than those of the floor-reared broilers.
The cage-reared males receiving the
diet w ith 3-percent ground shavings had
fid
1
a L-
X „ 'M \
N.
gizzards equal in weight to the floor
reared males on the basal diet, while the
cage-reared females on the diet with 3-
percent ground shavings had gizzards
heavier (.71 grams greater) than the
floor-reared females on the basal diet.
Increases in gizzard weight in the
floor-reared broilers and the cage-reared
broilers on 3-perccnt litter or ground
shavings diets might be a developmen
tal response of muscle tissue produced
by the physical features of the ground
litter or shavings, Dr. Kubena said. It
is also possible that physical exercise
might be a factor, since the caged broil
ers are more confined than the floor
reared broilers.
mmm
IMMIi
Vs V,