The objectives of this experiment were to calculate energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) requirements of Arabic chicken hens in the tropical climates during the early laying period by a choice feeding method. One hundred and thirty-eight of 22-week old Arabic chicken hens were allotted into 12 sheltered pens with 10-14 chicks each. The no free-choice group hens fed a standard diet conforming with the Hy-line Brown Commercial Management Guide, whilst the free-choice group hens fed with a standard diet, an energy-protein rich diet, an energy-rich diet, a protein-rich diet, and an energy-protein poor diet. Feed consumption, energy and protein consumptions, energy (kcal of ME/kg) and protein (g of CP/kg) dietary concentrations were recorded weekly, and egg production was recorded daily. All performance data were taken repeatedly during the first 28 weeks of egg production and were analyzed after summarizing weekly data into seven 28-d periods using the Mixed Procedure in SAS. The dietary treatments had no clear effect on feed and protein consumption but had a significant effect on energy consumption, energy and protein concentrations, and egg production. Energy consumption of the no free-choice group hens was lower than those in the free-choice group hens (1580 vs. 1718 kcal of ME/ kg/hen; p<0.05). Energy and protein concentration in the diet of the no free-choice group hens were lower (p<0.01) than those in the free-choice group hens (2814 vs. 3050 kcal of ME/kg and 184 vs. 189 g of CP/kg, respectively). The no free-choice group produced less egg (p<0.01) than those of the free-choice group (56% vs. 61%). Arabic chicken hens consumed more feed from an energy-protein rich diet and an energy-rich diet and consumed less feed from a protein-rich diet and an energy-protein poor diet. Based on the choice feeding, ME and CP requirements for Arabic chicken hens during early egg production were higher than ME and CP contained in the control diet. An average hen day production was higher in the free choice group compared to the control diet group.

Objective: The research was conducted to determine β-carotene and antioxidant activities and screening of phytochemical substances of Moringa oleifera extraction using organic solution. Materials and Methods: 550 gm of M. oliefera leaf flour was macerated. This research was conducted by laboratory experiments using the maceration method. The extraction was performed using three kinds of solvents, which are n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol; for 3 x 24 h, they were concentrated with a rotary evaporator. Then, the flavonoid, phenolic, β-carotene isolation, and antioxidant tests were conducted using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl on each fraction (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol). Results: The results of weighing each concentrated extract from the maceration process of each fraction (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol) were 12.67, 35.67, and 49.29 gm, with the total phenolic content (1.4595 ± 0.361, 46.5489 ± 1.832, and 39.74574 ± 0.786) and total flavonoid content of each fraction (3.3056 ± 0.039, 58.6389 ± 2.051, and 48.9056 ± 0.0809), respectively. The antioxidant activity test on the crude extract from the ethyl acetate fractionation showed that the IC50 value was 30.309 mg/ml. The ethyl acetate fraction has a high total phenolic and flavonoid content. The results of the isolation of β-carotene from M. oleifera leaf flour were 0.4798 gm, or equivalent to 0.956% carotenoids. Conclusions: Based on the results of the research, M. oleifera leaves are identified to have a fairly high antioxidant activity, which is 30.309 mg/ml, resulting from the potential compounds in M. oleifera leaves that function as inhibitors of antioxidant activity, which are the groups of phenolic and flavonoid compounds.

The feeding standard for local chicken breeds in Indonesia has not been published yet. The present study were aimed to measure egg production and quality while estimating the ME and CP needs during production for local female chickens reared under semi-scavenging system in the tropics (Indonesia) through dietary self-selection. A total of 138 twenty two week-old chicks were randomly distributed into 12 sheltered pens, 10-14 birds each. Two feeding methods (control and self-selection) were assigned to pens, so each treatment consisted of 6 replicates. The control group received a control diet complying with the Hy-line Brown Nutrient Requirements Standard, whereas the self-selection group had access to the control and four other diets (high energy-high protein, low protein-high energy, high protein-low energy, and low protein-low energy diet). Feeds and drinking water were provided ad libitum to 53 weeks of age. Feed consumption (FC), CP intake, ME intake, concentration of dietary CP and ME and egg production were recorded weekly. Egg quality was measured three times. Daily temperature and relative humidity in the morning (07:00), noon (12:00), and afternoon (17:00) were 21.8 to 28.1°C and 46 to 88%; 24.7 to 34.5°C and 35 to 72%; and 23.5 to 34.5°C and 36 to 80%, respectively. Data were analyzed using Proc Mixed of SAS, but egg quality was analyzed by ANOVA. The results showed that feeding method had apparent effect on CP intake (P=0.018) and ME intake, dietary concentration of CP and ME, egg production (P<0.001) but not on FC. The effect of week and feeding method by week interaction were also very significant for all performance, except egg production was not affected with feeding method by week interaction. Weekly CP and ME intake of the self-selection group were greater than those of the control (105.8 vs. 101.3 g/bird; P=0.018 and 1,709 vs. 1,575 kcal/bird; (P<0.001), respectively). Dietary concentrations of CP and ME in the self-selection group was higher (P<0.001) than those in the control group (189.3 vs. 180.7 g/kg and 3,053 vs. 2,810 kcal/kg, respectively). Egg production of the self-selection group was higher (P<0.001) than those of the control (60.5% vs. 55%). Over all, egg quality (eggshell thickness, shell strength, shell weight, egg weight, Hmm, color, compare, HU, and yolk weight) was similar, except color and compare were higher in choice-fed birds when they grew older. Local female chickens were able to select diets to adjust their nutrient requirements by selecting more of an energy-rich diet and less of a protein-rich diet. CP and ME requirement by local female chickens were more likely greater than the current formulated for them in order to increase egg production.

The ability of chickens to retain calcium and phosphorus at high temperatures is low, so a lot of calcium and phosphorus is wasted through feces. This study aimed to calculate the calcium and phosphorus requirements of female Arab chicken until the first age of laying eggs in a semi-scavenging system with a free choice feeding system in tropical climates. The research design was a completely randomized design with four treatments and each treatment was repeated 4 times and each replication consisted of 18-day old chick female Arab chickens. The treatments were (a) control feed, (b) high calcium high phosphorus feed and high calcium low phosphorus feed, (c) high calcium high phosphorus feed, high calcium low phosphorus feed and low calcium high phosphorus feed, and (d) high calcium high phosphorus, high calcium low phosphorus, low calcium high phosphorus, and control feed. The protein and energy content of all the feeds were based on the results of research by Adrizal et al (2017), while calcium and phosphorus were based on standards from Hy-line International in 2018. The data collected are feed consumption, calcium and phosphorus consumption, calcium, and phosphorus concentrations in the feed consumed. Data were analyzed by using ANOVA. This research has only been going on for 3 weeks. Consumption of feed was not different (P> 0.05) between treatments until week 3. Calcium intake was different (P<0.05) between treatments in weeks 2 and 3, Phosphorus intake was different (P< 0.05) between treatments in week 3. The calcium concentration of the feed consumed was significantly different (P <0.05) between treatments each week. Calcium concentration in control diets was significantly lower between treatments each week, except between T2 in week 3. Calcium concentration in T2 was lower than T3 in week 2, but it was similar to T3 dan T4 in week 3. The phosphorus concentration of T1 was lower than that of T3 and T4 in week 1 and of T2 and T3 in week 3. The body weight gain did not differ between treatments (P> 0.05) each week. It can be concluded that the concentration of calcium and phosphorus in the control diets was the limiting factor to support the growth of female Arab chicken as shown a numerically higher growth rate based on the free-choice feeding system.