D4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 7,2001 OSU Researcher Giving Turkeys A Stronger Leg To Stand On COLUMBUS, Ohio - A model developed to measure bone strength in poultry may help farmers choose breeds that meet market demand for meaty birds while eradicating bone deformi ties associated with rapid weight gain. Alfred Soboyejo, an Ohio State University agricultural en gineering researcher, studied physical and biochemical factors associated with poultry breeding to determine what combinations increase tibia and femur bone strength in turkeys and broiler chickens. Genetic selection of poultry breeds to improve body weight increases weight gain without compensating for increased bone strength to support that weight. The result is leg bone de formities, such as “bowing” and “buckling” that cause lameness, broken bones and inflamma tions, and cost the poultry in dustry $32 million a year in production losses. Karl Nestor, an animal sci ence researcher from Ohio Agri cultural Research and Development Center in Woos ter, Ohio, collaborated with So boyejo on the project. Soboyejo found that specific poultry breeds play a role in increasing bone strength and believes that See pages 819-826 bone deformities could eventu ally be eliminated through genetic selection in much the same manner it has paved the way for bigger birds with good meat. “Species are very important. We can’t select birds on body weight alone. We have to find ways to increase the body weight and breast muscle with corre spondingly higher bone strength in the legs to • promote good health of the bird,” said So boyejo. “By identifying poultry breeds that exhibit the best bone strength, we can then recom mend to farmers which birds are best for the market.” The project is the first of its kind to combine the principles of biomechanics and probabilis tic structural mechanics with bi ology to identify and control physical and biochemical parameters as they relate to bone structure. Soboyejo, look ing for a quantitative tool useful to farmers, developed new models for the quantification of bone strength and body weight gains in turkeys and broiler chickens, as they relate to physi cal and biochemical parameters. Some of these parameters of bones include elasticity of the cellular structural material of the bone, density and collagen content. Soboyejo found that certain chemical factors, such as colla gen content of bone and the presence of pryridinoline and deoxypridinoline, also enhance overall bone strength. Collagen, a protein that largely makes up the organic layer of bone, com bines with calcium salt crystals that form a cellular bone mate rial with high mechanical prop erties of tensile and compressive strengths. Pyridinoline and deoxypridinoline are crosslinks of bone collagen used as mark ers to test bone diseases because they are released into the blood during bone degradation. So boyejo suggested that a change in diet or addition of vitamins to a diet might enhance the effects of those chemical indicators to improve bone strength. Soboyejo believes that such indicators used to measure bone strength in poultry can also have practical applications in other scientific fields such as veteri nary medicine and orthopedic medicine. “People suffering from osteoporosis, for example, could benefit from this type of work, because the factors that contribute to bone strength can be clearly identified and con trolled,” he said. 1979 Cat 225 excavator, CONSTRUCTION 36" bucket, new thumb, EQUIPMENT runs good, $14,500. 4lO-593-9866 C. BETZ Lift Truck Sales & Service Used Forklifts Gas, L.P.G., Diesel, Electric 615 N. Clear Ridge Rd. Hustontown, PA 17229 717»485*0410 Gehl 5625 SX Skid Loader 824 hrs. $12,900 717/484-2233 Jonestown Ag Repair Shop Complete Skid Loader Repairs Our Specialty < Loader > A Rentals > Galaxy skid loader tires & other brands Painting & Sandblasting 170 Old Rt. 22, Jonestown, PA 17038 Damn Weaver 717-865-9427 717-865-9096 Fax Turbo. New Service and New 5ea15..524,500 080 Excel. Cond Fresh Paint Crawler Loader D B B B QS * ‘■'l. tlft -—«^t.-ies£2SkniJ^!^ i ,:l>. .*' •,..; *■l*. CAT DB-2U 11’ Hyd. Blade, 600 Hrs. On Overhauled Motor. 70% U.C. Good Working Condition. $4,500.00 570/875-0368 iHHHaaaEM^uaaaHaHHa^^ Wholesale Inter National Buying & Selling Lift Trucks For Indoor & Outdoor Use. Many Makes & Models To Choose From 215/773-9660
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