New technique speeds maturity in chickens COLLEGE PARK, Md - A relatuffijfcy- surgical operation oft - the brain of baby cockerels appears to speed up the onset of sexual development in the birds and promises to have an' impact on the poultry industry, according to a University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station poultry science professor For reasons that are still unclear, the surgery procedure causes Volumatic®m silage distriburtar-unlaader by JAMES WAY Install any time Another reason why all ring-drive silo unloaders are not alike: Whether your silo is empty, partly empty or full, we can install a Volumatic in silage distributor-unloader. Wide-stance hexapod 3-point suspension installation system lets you replace your present unloader with the ring-drive distributor unloader others can’t match in features or perfor mance. So, why wait? See us for systems and service that help make the good life better. AGRI EQUIPMENT INC. 2754 Creek Hill Rd Leola, PA 17540 717-656-4151 I. G. SALES Rt. 113, Box 200 Silverdale, PA 215-257-5135 G. HIRAM BUCHMAN, INC. Rte 519 - N off Rte 46 P.O Box 185 Belvidere, NJ 07823 ERB & HENRY EQUIP., INC. 22-26 Henry Avenue New Berlinville, PA 215-367-2169 enlargement of the testes to about times-, their normal size by the - ninth week after hatching At that point, the young chickens are capable of producing sperm, a development that usually takes place about 20 to 24 weeks of age “We’re decreasing the generation time,” says Wayne Kuenzel, the poultry science professor who, with a graduate student, Heidi Mass, made the discovery Presently, scientists seeking , -' I »»UUU ll»U UUUU U * U UTT ft ° Q OOo "CftOOO‘ fl »° o - DEPENDABLE MOTORS ROVENDALE SUPPLY Honey Brook, PA RD2. Watsontown, PA 17777 215-273-3131 717-538-5521 215-273-3737 HENRY S. LAPP SOLLENBERGER SILOS RDI, Cams. Gap, PA 17527 RFD 2, Chambersburg, PA 717-442 8134 717-264-9588 HARRY L. TROOP Rt 1 Cochranville, PA 19330 215 593-6731 DETWILER SILO REPAIR ED LIPSCOMB EQUIPMENT to breed traits such as in creased size and egg-laying ability in chickens are restricted by the length of time it takes the birds to reach maturity If it is possible to reduce the time it takes the chickens to reach maturity, then the desired traits will show up faster. Kuenzel has earned a Fulbnght Fellowship to pursue further study at the poultry science center 'in Edinburgh, Scotland, a federally funded institution Rt 2, Newviile, PA 717-776-7533 devoted to study of the nutrition and physiology of fowl There, he will spend one year studying appetite control in fowl by examining brain function. Kuenzel and Ms Mass made the discovery while studying appetite in chickens, specificially “what do we do to the chicken’s brain to increase appetite and get them to market in less than seven weeks 7 Kuenzel said He was also trying to I. A. SVSfIPE Box 121, RDI Myerstown, PA 717-933-4758 Rt 1, Box 321 Eglon, WV 304-735 6286 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 13,1980—D9 suppress the appetite in those chickens selected to be breeding stock in order to keep the birds from becoming too large and obese. Size itself has become a major poultry industry problem, Kuenzel says, because the young roosters bred to have large, meaty breasts are having difficulty “mounting” hens during the breeding process During the appetite studies, the two researchers literally needed a map in order to investigate the brain to determine how it could be manipulated to alter appetite To make the map, they had to remove the brain from the chicken and freeze it, make very thin slices of the brain, photograph those and then make drawings from the photos. The drawings, taken together, form a virtual “Atlas” of the chicken’s brain Because there are no pam receptors in the bram-either of chickens or humans-there is minimal pain to the chicken during surgery. The operation is done by making lateral cuts in the hypothalmus, an area of the brain that controls appetite Ms Mass performed all of the surgical operations on the birds, which show no ill effects from the operation Ms Mass made the in cisions in the medial hypothalmus with some expectation that she would observe an increased ap petite by manipulating that structure In rats, for example, if the medial hypothalmus is cut, then the growth rate increases. In the case of chickens, however, “we did not get a significantly greater growth rate,” Kuenzel said “In stead, body growth was suppressed ” However, the large red comb that normally tops the heads of mature roosters developed “much earlier than normal,” Kuenzel said “Yes, it was a ‘red flag’ for us It indicated that perhaps (Turn to Page DIO)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers