1. An experiment (21 d) was conducted to determine if the response of chicks to a cocktail of xylanase, amylase, and protease (XAP) or Escherichia coli-derived phytase individually or in combination when fed a nutritionally marginal maize-soybean meal diet is age-dependent. 2. A total of 250 one-day-old Ven Cobb broiler chicks were allocated to 5 dietary treatments in a randomised complete block design. The treatments were as follows: (1) positive control with supplemental inorganic P; (2) negative control (NC) marginal in P and ME; (3) NC plus XAP to provide (per kg of diet) 650, 1650 and 4000 U of xylanase, amylase, and protease, respectively; (4) NC plus phytase added to provide 1000 phytase units/kg; and (5) NC plus a combination of XAP and phytase. 3. Low ME and P in the NC diet depressed weight gain and gain:feed. A cocktail of XAP alone did not improve performance, but phytase supplementation improved weight gain. The enzymes were additive in their effects on growth performance. 4. The enzymes had no effect on ileal digestible energy. Ileal N digestibility was higher in diets with XAP or phytase individually compared with NC. Both phytase and XAP individually and in combination improved ileal P digestibility compared with NC. 5. Total tract nutrient retention and ME increased as the birds grew older. There were age x diet interactions in total tract retention of P and Ca; improvement in P retention due to phytase use decreased by 50% as the chicks matured. 6. The current study shows that a combination of XAP and phytase improved performance, but the enhancement in performance appears to be due mainly to phytase. Both XAP and phytase were effective in improving P digestibility and retention of chicks receiving nutritionally marginal maize-soybean meal. 7. The data also showed that the chicks benefited more from the enzyme addition at a younger age and that the contribution of the enzymes to nutrient retention decreased with age in chickens.

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A study has been conducted in Haryana to analyze the various constraints faced by animal husbandry officials in implementation of "Integrated Murrah Development Scheme" (IMDS). Data were collected from 40 animal husbandry officials from four districts namely Kurukshetra, Mahendragarh, Bhiwani and Jhajjar. Garett's ranking technique was used to prioritize the different sets of constraints. "Heavy work-load due to multidimensional activities of the project during peak season" and "Inadequacy of staff in the scheme" were the major administrative constraints in order of severity. Under technical constraints "lack of mass media approach" followed by "No provision for the refresher courses for the programme functionaries" were the most severe. "Inadequate number of staff at field level and large area of operation under a single supervisor" followed by "lack of involvement of NGO and PRIs in enhancing community participation" were important infrastructural and operational constraints. Untimely release of fund by the parent department and misguidance of farmers by the middlemen/ Brokers were the economic and socio-psychological constraints, respectively. Lack of technical expertise in the field of extension, lack of emphasis on educating the dairy farmers were other important miscellaneous constraints faced by animal husbandry officials. Removal of these constraints should receive priority over the considerable focus on the implementation of such scheme.