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The aim of the study was to determine the effect of Cu and Zn chelates on the levels of these microelements in the blood of broiler chickens in successive weeks of rearing. The re-search material was Ross 308 broiler chickens. The study was carried out in two buildings with 30,000 chickens in each. From each building, 50 chickens were randomly selected to form the experimental and control groups. Blood for analysis was collected from the wing vein every 7 days, from the first day of fattening to day 42. In the experimental group the microelements zinc and copper contained in the feed were in organic form. The effect of the feed additive containing selected microelements in organic form on broiler chickens was assessed from weeks 1 to 6 of fattening. During the experiment the average body weight gains were monitored. Mortality was monitored, and feed consumption per kg weight gain was estimated. To conclude, the addition of organic Cu and Zn chelates to the diet of broiler chickens affected their average body weight gain, increasing body weight at the start and end of the fattening period (fifth and sixth weeks of age) while increasing feed conversion.

Background The chicken egg is a food product with a rich content of nutrients, such as proteins, vitamins, lipids, and minerals with high bioavailability. Furthermore, eggs are easy to prepare and a relatively inexpensive component of the human diet. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of eggs from an organic and a conventional farm and their content of Na and K. Methods The research material consisted of eggs from laying hens reared in two different systems - organic (according to standards for organic farming and with access to a chicken run) and cage. Forty eggs from each group were analysed. Egg quality traits were divided into destructive and non-destructive. In addition, potassium (K) and sodium (Na) contents were determined in the whole egg, yolk and albumen. Results The research results indicated slightly better quality of eggs from organic farming compared to eggs from cages in the case of most physical properties. The data clearly show that the content of sodium and potassium in the albumen, yolk and whole egg was higher in the eggs of chickens raised organically compared to the eggs of chickens reared in cages (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions The research results indicate a slightly better quality of eggs from the organic farm compared to eggs from cages in the case of most physical properties, as well as the content of macro-elements. Eggs in both systems are produced following scientific management practices. There are many myths among consumers regarding the nutritional quality of eggs produced in different systems. This information can be useful for raising awareness among consumers selecting eggs.

BACKGROUND Eggs have been considered an important component of the human diet for centuries. There is currently a wide assortment of eggs available to consumers, varying in terms of weight (from S to XL), housing system (0 to 3), diet, packaging, etc. Although the egg’s nutritional value is most important to consumers, their perceptions are unfortunately generally based not on facts, but on popular opinion. Most commercial lines of laying hens used in Poland are of foreign origin. However, some farms use commercial lines from Polish breeding farms. Therefore, research was undertaken to determine selected characteristics of eggs obtained from hens of different origins raised in an intensive system, i.e. industrial production of eggs. METHODS The research material consisted of eggs from Hy-Line Brown and Messa 43 hens from large-scale production. The eggs were obtained from hens at the ages of 35, 40 and 45 weeks. The analysis included selected external and internal characteristics of eggs laid during the study period. The eggs were evaluated immediately after laying, and the following quality parameters were determined: egg weight, shell weight, shell thickness, white weight, yolk weight, and pH of white and yolk. Chemical analysis of dry matter, total protein, crude fat and crude ash content in the whites and yolks was performed. The cholesterol content and fatty acid profile in the yolk were analysed as well. A statistical analysis of the results was performed. RESULTS The analyses revealed significant differences in the weight and morphological composition of eggs depending on the genotype of the hens. Compared to eggs obtained from Hy-Line Brown hens, eggs from Messa 43 hens had significantly lower shell thickness, greater weight between 35 and 45 weeks of age, a larger proportion of shell, and a smaller proportion of albumen. Yolks and whites of eggs from Hy-Line Brown hens contained significantly more dry matter and total protein than those of Messa43 chickens, while the cholesterol content in the yolks of both groups was similar. The fatty acid profile of the egg yolk was similar irrespective of the origin of the hens. CONCLUSIONS Significant differences in egg weight and the parameters of morphological components of eggs were found between the experimental groups. Genotype did not influence cholesterol content or the fatty acid profile in the yolk.

The aim of this study was to assess the reproductive parameters of privately bred ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri). The study was carried out in an amateur breeding facility in the Masovian voivodeship in 2013–2017. Observations were carried out on four pairs of ring-necked parakeets kept year round in outdoor aviaries. The analysis was based on the following indicators: number of eggs laid, number of chicks hatched, and number of chicks reared from two broods each year. The reproductive parameters of the pairs of ring-necked parakeets were varied. There were marked differences between individual pairs of birds concerning both the number of eggs in the clutch and the number of chicks reared. Most pairs reared two broods each year. In the first year of observation, the birds reared eight chicks from 13 laid eggs, while in the last year of data collection they reared 11 chicks from 16 eggs.

The aim of this study was to analyze the biological components of eggs as well as lysozyme activity in relation to the age of hens. The research material consisted of eggs from parent stock of Ross 308 meat chickens. The eggs were evaluated at peak laying, i.e. eggs from 30-week-old hens, and after peak laying, i.e. from hens aged 60 weeks. Ninety eggs were evaluated in each period (180 eggs in total). Egg quality traits were divided into destructive and nondestructive traits. In addition, lysozyme activity in the albumen of the eggs was assessed. The quantitative characteristics of the eggs were found to increase with the age of the hens, with a smaller proportion of albumen and a larger of yolk. Egg weight, egg shape index, albumen and yolk weight, and air cell depth were increased with the hen?s age. The eggshell qualitative traits were changed with the hen?s age. Analyses showed that the shell weight and color of shells increased with the decrease of the density and strength of this element. In eggs from older hens marbled shells and pimples were found significantly more frequently. The lysozyme activity in the egg albumen also changed with the age of the hens. The activity of this enzyme was higher in the eggs of older hens.

Many of the methods used to stain semen result in very pronounced coloring of the sperm, but unfortunately they do not distinguish their individual structures, which play a key role in the fertilization process. Hence the aim of this study was to identify sperm structures using two staining techniques in the semen of roosters from breeding flocks. The subject of the study was the sperm of roosters from a Ross 308 breeding flock. To capture the differences in the dimensions of sperm subjected to the effect of different chemical substances in dyes, microscope slides were stained by two techniques: with an AgNO3 solution and by a differential method (eosin-nigrosin test). Assessment was made of the degree of coloration and the number of details that could be identified in the morphological structure of the sperm. The use of AgNO3 allowed accurate identification of the acrosome, nucleus, and midpiece, which were visible in the slides stained with eosin-nigrosin, but only in dead spermatozoa. The AGNO3 staining technique used in this study reveals the cell nucleus within the head and can be an alternative method to analysis with a scanning electron microscope. This staining technique can be used to stain sperm structures that cannot be seen in other methods of slide preparation, which means that it can be considered for routine use in assessing the fertility of roosters in breeder flocks.

The aim of the research was to analyse the effect of the housing system on selected reproductive traits of parental stock of Ross 308 meat chickens. The study was conducted on two flocks, one of which was kept in a chicken house on a concrete floor entirely covered with litter, and the second in a chicken house in which one-third of the floor was a plastic slated floor and the other two-thirds was a concrete floor covered with litter. During the 38-week laying period, an average of 179.7 eggs were obtained from laying hens kept in the chicken house with a litter floor, including 168.2 hatching eggs, and 187,4 and 175.6 eggs, respectively, from hens kept in the chicken house with a slatted/litter floor (differences not statistically confirmed). The housing system non-significantly influenced feed intake and the number of eggs laid depending on where they were laid (inside or outside the nest). In the litter system, eggs outside the nest accounted for 3.1% and in litter/slatted floor system 9.8% of the total number of eggs laid; the differences were statistically non-significant.

The present study was conducted to evaluate some parameters of external and internal egg quality of some pure dual chicken breeds. A total of 500 eggs (100 eggs from each breed) were collected to study for egg (weight, shape index), albumen (weight, percentage), yolk (weight, percentage) and shell (weight, percentage, thickness, strength) quality. The eggs were analysed in the laboratory of Department of Poultry Science and Small Animal Husbandry of Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. The results showed that the egg weight and egg length of New Hampshire were significantly higher (P 0.05). Differences in albumen weight, albumen percentage, yolk weight and yolk percentage of tested dual chicken breeds were statistically no significant (P>0.05). Albumen height was significantly higher (P 0.05) in egg shell thickness and strength.

The aim of the study was to evaluate geometrical parameters of tibiotarsal bones in geese depending on age, sex and place in the bone and conditions of breeding. The inner structure of tibiotarsal bones of White Kołuda® geese (W31) subjected to intensive breeding was analyzed using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT ). The analyzed bones were derived from birds representing five age groups: one-day-old as well as birds of 2, 4, 6 and 8 wk of age. Bones of 10 males and 10 females were isolated from each group. The analysis was conducted at two levels of the bone: the area of the proximal metaphysis and at half the length of the diaphysis. The proximal metaphysis was selected for the research as it had higher content of the cancellous bone than the distal metaphysis. It was known that the cancellous bone was characterized by a higher rate of metabolic changes. The following geometric parameters were determined: total bone area (TOT _A), trabecular area (TRAB _A), cortical area (CRT _A), cortical thickness (CRT _TH K_C), periosteal circumference (PERI C), endocortical circumference (ENDO _C) and Strength Strain Index (SSI ). It was found that 6 wk of life may be considered as critical in the postnatal development of geese. In the group of 6 wk males in the shafts of the tibial bones, there was a decrease in the values of the following parameters: TOT _A, TRAB _A, PERI _C, ENDO _C. Whereas in 8 wk, an attenuation of the values of all geometric parameters of tibiotarsal bones was observed in both sexes (with the exception of CRT _TH K_C), which may have a negative influence on bone resistance to fractures. In this period, a significant decrease in the values of geometric parameters of tibiotarsal bones could be observed, negatively affecting the resistance of the bone to fractures in 8 wk. The values of SSI parameter at the proximal metaphysis of the tibiotarsal bone decreased in both males and females in 8 wk. In turn, at mid-diaphysis, the SSI values decreased only in males in 8 wk. The achieved results and observations justify the use of optimal environmental and nutritional conditions in geese in order to improve the quality of their skeletal system and to minimize the risk of the occurrence of deformities and fractures of the pelvic limb during the breeding.

Sperm morphometry has some value as an indicator of reproductive capacity in males. In laboratory practice a variety of slide-staining methods are used during morphological evaluation of semen to predict male fertility. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of staining of semen using four different techniques on the morphometry of the bull sperm cell. The material for the study consisted of semen collected from test bulls of the Black-and-White variety of Holstein-Friesians. The results obtained in the study indicate differences in the dimensions of bull sperm heads when different slide staining techniques were used. The most similar results for sperm head dimensions were obtained in the case of SpermBlue(®) and eosin+gentian violet complex, although statistically significant differences were found between all the staining techniques. Extreme values were noted for the other staining techniques - lowest for the Papanicolaou and highest for silver nitrate, which may indicate more interference in the cell by the reagents used in the staining process. However, silver nitrate staining was best at identifying the structures of the sperm cell. Hence it is difficult to determine which of the staining methods most faithfully reveals the dimensions and shape of the bull sperm.

This study was an attempt to evaluate sperm chromatin structure in the semen of insemination boars. Preparations ofsemen were stained with acridine orange, aniline blue, and chromomycin A3. Abnormal protamination occurred more frequentlyin young individuals whose sexual development was not yet complete, but may also be an individual trait. This possibilityis important to factor into the decision regarding further exploitation of insemination boars. Thus a precise assessmentof abnormalities in the protamination process would seem to be expedient as a tool supplementing morphological andmolecular evaluation of semen. Disruptions in nucleoprotein structure can be treated as indicators of the biological value ofsperm cells. Keywords: boar, sperm, protamine, histone. Introduction Evaluation of semen is a basic tool in thediagnosis of male fertility. However, routinelyperformed tests of basic semen parameters appear tobe insufficient to determine fertility. This takes ongreater importance in the case of breeders used atinsemination centres. The costs of purchasing andkeeping selected males are not always commensuratewith the quality of the semen obtained from them andits fertilisation capacity. Hence it would be worthexpanding preliminary semen diagnostics to includeadditional tests, at least at the start of a breeder’sexploitation. A lack of success in fertilisation mayhave deeper causes (23). Some authors suggest that inaddition to standard semen analysis, functional testsshould be used as well, as the fertilisation ratedepends to a large extent on the quality of the semenused for insemination (10, 26). Research on theintegrity of boar sperm DNA has been conducted byFraser and Strzezek (16), Perez-Llano (29), andHu

In this study an attempt was made to analyse morphological changes in sperm with particular attention to sperm with a cytoplasmic droplet, taking into account the age and breed of the boar. The material for the study consisted of ejaculates of insemination boars of five breeds. Morphological examination of sperm was carried out in 30 randomly selected boars--6 individuals from each breed. The morphology of 500 spermatozoa was evaluated in each slide. The percentage of sperm with normal morphology in the semen of the boars varied between breeds and was dependent in varying degrees on the age of the boar. The primary defects in sperm occurred more frequently in Duroc and Pietrain boars than in other breeds and were more dependent on the age of the boar. The high percentage of primary defects in the sperm of young Duroc boars was determined by the frequency of sperm cells with a proximal cytoplasmic droplet on the midpiece. A particularly high percentage of sperm cells with secondary defects was noted in the initial stage of the reproductive life of the boars. The high number of sperm cells with secondary defects noted in the semen of the Duroc and Pietrain boars and the changes occurring with age in the frequency of secondary morphological defects were mainly determined by the frequency of sperm cells with a distal protoplasmic droplet in the middle piece and to a lesser degree by that of sperm cells with a pseudodroplet.

Hens weighed 813 g and cocks 1039 g at the age of 20 weeks. Males compared to females were characterized by significantly larger slaughter value (71.8 and 68.9 %, respectively) and eviscerated carcass weight (735.7 and 550.4 g, respectively). The males and females were typified by similar breast musculature (27.5 and 27.7 %, respectively) and leg musculature (19.3 and 19.1%, respectively), however, lower fatness of cock carcasses (6.6%) than that of hen carcasses (7.8%) was found.

The normalised values of characteristics of the chickens belonging to the eleven commercial lines were added. In this way one value of the so-called synthetic variable was obtained for each commercial line, and, on the basis of this variable, the eleven commercial lines of broiler chickens were ranked. The best final assessment was obtained for the line which was characterised by three most favourable characteristics and no trait with the least beneficial values. The line that was ranked last was characterised by as much as four traits for which the least favourable values were obtained and only two traits with the best values. The “average” line (six rank) was characterised by one most and one least favourable characteristic.

The aim of the study was to analyse densitometric and geometric parameters of healthy and deformed tibiotarsal bones of male turkeys of heavy type with the use of computed tomography. The influence of a bone type (healthy or deformed) and the area of the measurements (the proximal metaphysis and middle of the diaphysis) on these parameters were studied. It was found that the diaphysis of the deformed tibiotarsal bones (45 g) had higher values of the studied parameters than healthy bones (36 g) and they were as follows: BMC - 60.04 mg/mm, vBMD - 549.11 mg/cm3, TRAB_A - 48.34 mm2, CRT_A - 55.57 mm2, PERI_C - 37.55 mm, ENDO_C - 25.42 mm, SSI - 151.19 mm3. The studied parameters were significantly lower in the proximal metaphyses of the deformed tibial bones and amounted to: BMC - 29.48 mg/mm, TRAB_A - 42.22 mm2, CRT_A - 21.44 mm2, PERI_C - 34.64 mm, ENDO_C - 28.06 mm, SSI - 44.87 mm3. On the basis of the conducted research, it was found that significant differences in the densitometric and geometric parameters between the proximal metaphysis and the middle of the diaphysis of the deformed bones may result in deformities and fractures of tibiotarsal bones.