Laying hens were fed for a 48-wk period with a basal diet supplemented with a selected strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus at levels up to four million viable cells per gram of feed. Levels of egg production and feed conversion were significantly higher (8 and 14.8%, respectively) than in the control flock, and cholesterol values in yolks were decreased by 18.8%. It is suggested that the latter effect was a reflection of lower serum cholesterol concentrations in treated birds; a maximum reduction of over 55% followed incorporation of the culture into the feed. The level of viable cells in the feed was confirmed as being critical to register the above effects.

1. The influence of Lactobacillus acidophilus alone or in combination with zinc bacitracin on the performance of laying hens was monitored over a period of 4 months. 2. Lactobacillus acidophilus improved egg production, food conversion and reduced the cholesterol concentration in the eggs, but zinc bacitracin had no effect when administered alone. 3. In combination, bacitracin had an adverse effect on the otherwise beneficial activity of the culture.

Typical samples of the solid waste (50% moisture) from olive oil processing were subjected, after an alkaline pretreatment, to deligni®cation by Phanerochaete chryosporium, Phlebia radiata, Pleurotus ostreatus or Dacrymyces stellatus. The fermented material was then sacchari®ed by Trichoderma spp to provide a substrate for the yeasts, Candida utilis or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Success was judged by the level of crude protein generated, and a combination fermentation involving Phan chryosporium, T reesei and S cerevisiae increased the level of crude protein from 5.9% in the raw pomace to 40.3% in the fermented material. It is suggested that this solid-state fermentation process could be used to manufacture an animal feed for the poultry industry in Jordan.

The influence of Lactobacillus acidophilus and zinc bacitracin alone, or in combination, on the growth of broiler chickens was monitored over a period of 8 weeks. 2. The maximum improvement in body weight over the controls was 10.8% with both additives in the diet but the use of bacitracin alone induced a 9.1% improvement. 3. Food conversion was reduced by zinc bacitracin alone but was improved by the use of L. acidophilus and bacitracin in combination. 4. The combination treatment increased abdominal fat deposition in the female chickens by 31%.

A two phase experiment was conducted with Leghorn pullets to study the effect of graded levels (0 to 18 Mg/kg feed) of vitamin D 3 , 25-OH-D 3 , l,25-(OH) 2 -D 3 , and la-OH-D 3 on production parameters and hatchability of eggs. Phase 1 was conducted with 21-week-old pullets for a period of 13 weeks. There were 10 treatments with four replicates of 10 hens in each cage. Eggs were incubated weekly for a period of 8 weeks beginning when the hens were 26 weeks of age. Another phase of the experiment was started when the first phase was terminated and all hens in the different treatments were fed the same basal diet continuing with 1100 ICU D 3 /kg feed for a period of 12 days to study the daily changes and recovery in hatchability and egg production.The results of the first phase showed that egg production, egg shell weight, egg weight, and the percentage of eggs with soft shells were similar for all treatments. Only the highest level (9 Mg/kg feed) of both 1,25-(OH) 2 -D 3 and la-OH-D 3 showed slightly lower egg production and feed consumption. Vitamin D 3 and 25-OH-D 3 supported excellent hatchability of eggs. In contrast, both levels of l,25-(OH) 2 -D 3 and the lower level of la-OH-D 3 were ineffective in improving hatchability over that obtained with the unsupplemental diet.During the recovery phase (phase 2), egg production and hatchability of eggs from pullets previously fed the vitamin D 3 deficient diet recovered to normal after 8 and 10 days, respectively. Hatchability of eggs from pullets previously fed l,25-(OH)-D 3 and la-OH-D 3 was normal after 3 and 4 days on the vitamin D 3 supplemented diet.