Resilience of Lambs to Limited Water Availability without Compromising Their Production Performance

Water scarcity is a common phenomenon in arid and semi-arid regions, which could have tremendous effects on livestock production. This study aimed to determine the level of water restriction that lambs fed on a pelleted diet can tolerate without compromising their production performance. A total of 24 male Najdi lambs were housed individually and randomly allocated into three equal groups, namely ad libitum water intake, 33% water-intake restriction, and 67% water-intake restriction. Dry-matter intake, feed conversion ratio, and average daily gain were decreased (p < 0.05) with the increasing level of water restriction. Water restriction had also reduced (p < 0.05) nutrient digestibility. The water-conserving ability of the water-restricted lambs was manifested by the production of concentrated and lower (p < 0.05) quantities of urine and feces. Meanwhile, serum osmolality and concentrations of albumin, total protein, urea-N, glucose, and non-esterified fatty acids were increased (p < 0.05) with the increasing levels of water restriction. It is surprising that lambs subjected to 67% water restriction retained more (p < 0.05) nitrogen relative to intake and had better (p < 0.05) efficiency of nitrogen utilization. It was strongly evident that lambs could tolerate water-intake restriction of up to 33% without compromising their production performance.

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Dietary inclusion of ensiled avocado oil cake affects growth, nutrient digestion, and carcass characteristics of pigs

South African Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.4314/sajas.v50i6.11 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 50 (6) ◽

Author(s):

M.L. Seshoka ◽

P.J. Fourie ◽

A.T. Kanengoni ◽

I.M.M. Malebana ◽

R.S. Thomas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Carcass Characteristics ◽

Live Weight ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Large White ◽

Avocado Oil ◽

Conversion Rates ◽

Daily Gain

In this experiment, the effects were evaluated of various dietary inclusion levels of avocado oil cake (AOC) silage on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics in pigs. A mixture of 70% AOC, 25% wheat bran, and 5% sugarcane molasses was ensiled in 200 L drums for 90 days. It was then incorporated at 0%, 3% and 5% in the experimental diets. Twenty-seven Large White cross Landrace (LW x LR) weaner pigs, with an average live weight of 22 kg, were stratified by weight and randomly allocated to the three experimental diets (9 pigs/diet). Pigs were weighed individually each week throughout the trial. Daily feed intake, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion rates (FCRs) were recorded. A nutrient digestibility study was carried out on completion of the growth trial. At the end of the experiment, pigs were fasted for twelve hours and weighed to determine the final weight. The pigs were then slaughtered, and carcass samples were collected and analysed. The growth performance of pigs was not affected by diet, irrespective of fibre levels in the AOC silage. However, the addition of 3% AOC silage improved the digestibility of fibre fractions. The weights of the cold carcass, chops, and backfat thickness were reduced with AOC silage addition.

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Pengaruh Buka-Tutup Kandang terhadap Kenyamanan dan Kinerja Produksi Sapi Peranakan Ongole (The Effects of Opening and Closing of House on the Ongole Crossbred Cattle’s Comfort and Performances)

Buletin Peternakan ◽

10.21059/buletinpeternak.v33i2.123 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 106

Author(s):

Panjono (Panjono) ◽

Endang Baliarti

Keyword(s):

Water Intake ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Physiological Conditions ◽

Randomized Design ◽

Room Condition ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Opening And Closing ◽

Difference Test ◽

Daily Gain

This experiment was conducted to observe the effects of opening and closing of house on the Ongole Crossbred cattle’s comfort and performances. Nine bulls were divided into three groups of housing. The first group was taken care in the house which was opened in the noon and closed in the night (open-closed house), the second was in the closed house, and the third was in the opened house. The experiment was held for 90 days. The data collected were room condition (wind speed, temperature and humidity), physiological conditions, behaviors, feed and water intake, average daily gain and feed conversion. The data were analyzed by analysis of variance for completely randomized design. The analysis was continued by least significant difference test if there were differences. The result showed that wind’s speed in the open-closed house was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in the closed house in the noon and significantly lower (P<0.05) than that in the opened house in the night. There was no significantly difference on the room’s temperature among three types of house. Room’s humidity in the open-closed housed was significantly lower (P<0.05) than that in the closed house in the daytime and significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in the opened house in the nighttime. There were no significant difference on the cattle’s physiological conditions, behaviors, physiological conditions, behaviors, feed and water intake, average daily gain and feed conversion among three groups. It was concluded that opening in the daytime and closing in the nighttime of house had no effect on the Ongole Cross Breed cattle’s comfort and performances. (Key words: Open-closed house, Comfort, Performance, Ongole crossbred cattle)

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Performance and total tract nutrient digestibility of growing pigs fed hulless low phytate barley

Canadian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.4141/cjas2012-038 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 92 (4) ◽

pp. 505-511 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

T. A. Woyengo ◽

O. O. Akinremi ◽

B. G. Rossnagel ◽

C. M. Nyachoti

Keyword(s):

Dry Matter ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Growing Pigs ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Initial Body Weight ◽

Nutrient Utilisation ◽

Daily Gain ◽

Matter Energy ◽

Hulled Barley

Woyengo, T. A., Akinremi, O. O., Rossnagel, B. G. and Nyachoti, C. M. 2012. Performance and total tract nutrient digestibility of growing pigs fed hulless low phytate barley. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 92: 505–511. An experiment was conducted to determine the performance and nutrient digestibility of growing pigs fed hulless low phytate (HLP) barley without or with phytase for 28 d. Twenty-four growing pigs (average initial body weight=25.3 kg) were fed three diets in a completely randomised design. The diets included a regular-hulled barley-based diet, and a HLP barley-based diet without or with phytase at 500 phytase units kg−1. Pigs fed the HLP barley-based diet without phytase had greater (P<0.05) average daily gain (0.911 vs. 0.717 kg), and apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, energy, P, Mg, and Na were higher (P<0.05) than the regular barley-based diet. Supplementation of phytase to the HLP barley-based diet resulted in improved (P<0.05) feed conversion efficiency (0.506 vs. 0.547 kg kg−1), and apparent total tract digestibility of N, P and K. In conclusion, pigs fed the HLP barley-based diet had higher growth performance and nutrient digestibility than those fed the regular-hulled barley-based diet, indicating that the HLP barley is a better source of nutrients for pigs than regular barley. Phytase supplementation to the HLP barley-based diet can result in a further increase in nutrient utilisation by pigs.

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Dietary Supplementation with Compound Probiotics and Berberine Alters Piglet Production Performance and Fecal Microbiota

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10030511 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 511

Author(s):

Xiaoxiang Xu ◽

Canyu Yang ◽

Juan Chang ◽

Ping Wang ◽

Qingqiang Yin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Average Daily Gain ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Fecal Microbiota ◽

Diet Group ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Production Performance ◽

Control Group ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Relative Abundances

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with compound probiotics and berberine (CPB) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and fecal microflora in weaned piglets. A total of 200 piglets 35 days old were randomly allocated to 5 groups, 4 replications in each group, and 10 piglets in each replication. Group A was the basal diet; group B was supplemented with antibiotics and zinc oxide; groups C, D and E were supplemented with 0.06%, 0.12% and 0.18% CPB, respectively. The experimental period was 42 d. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion rate (FCR) among five groups (p > 0.05). However, mortality, diarrhea and rejection rates in the control group were higher than that in other groups. CPB could increase protein digestibility and serum IgG content (p < 0.05), while it could decrease serum urea nitrogen content and alkaline phosphatase activity (p < 0.05). Analysis of fecal microbiota showed that the relative abundances of Bacteroides and Firmicutes were increased, while the relative abundances of opportunistic pathogens such as Spirochaetae and Protebactreria were dramatically decreased in piglets fed with CPB or antibiotics, compared with the control group. Furthermore, CPB intervention increased the relative abundances of Prevotella_9, Megasphaera and Prevotella_2, while decreased the relative abundance of Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group. Correlation analysis revealed that there was good correlation between serum indexes and fecal microbiota. It was suggested that CPB might be a promising antibiotic alternative for improving piglet health and immunity, decreasing mortality by positively altering gut microbiota.

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Meat quality and performance of pigs fed diets with fish silage meal

Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira ◽

10.1590/s0100-204x2017001000010 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (10) ◽

pp. 905-913

Author(s):

Rayssa Santos Cândido ◽

Pedro Henrique Watanabe ◽

Paula Joyce Delmiro de Oliveira ◽

Alysson Lira Angelim ◽

André de Freitas Siqueira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Meat Quality ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Metabolizable Energy ◽

Economic Viability ◽

Finishing Pigs ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Inclusion Level ◽

And Performance ◽

Daily Gain

Abstract: The objective of this work was to determine the nutrient digestibility and metabolizable energy (ME) of fish silage, as well as to evaluate the effect of the dietary inclusion of fish silage meal (FSM) in diets on the performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, sensory analysis of meat and mortadella, and economic viability of growing and finishing pigs. In the digestibility assay, 16 barrows (33.20±4.93 kg) received diets with and without FSM. The fish silage had 39.01% crude protein and 4,032 kcal kg-1 ME. In the performance assay, 32 barrows (26.00±1.68 kg) were fed diets containing different inclusion levels of FSM (0, 25, 50, and 75%). FSM, obtained from the mixture (1:1) of fish silage with corn, showed a quadratic effect on average daily gain, and the best result was obtained with the inclusion level of 25.83%. The results for feed conversion and economic viability indicate that up to 25% FSM, corresponding to 5.87% of fish silage based on dry matter, can be used in the pig growing and finishing phases.

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Feeding kampong chickens with infertile eggs: effects on 6-weeks performance

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/902/1/012025 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 902 (1) ◽

pp. 012025

Author(s):

N Akhirini ◽

W P S Suprayogi ◽

A Ratriyanto ◽

R F Hadi ◽

W Setyono ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Average Daily Gain ◽

Production Performance ◽

National Standard ◽

Control Treatment ◽

Performance Parameters ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Final Body Weight ◽

Dietary Treatments ◽

To Receive ◽

Daily Gain

Abstract The present study evaluated the effect of dietary inclusion levels of infertile eggs powder (IEP) from the hatchery processing industry on the performance of kampong chickens measured at 6 weeks. A total of 120 birds at 21 d (327±18 gram) were equally distributed to receive 10%, 20%, and 30% of IEP with control treatment without IEP. Each treatment group was replicated five times with eight birds in each, giving three dietary treatments including control. Diets were formulated to meet the Indonesia National Standard of the nutrient requirement for kampong chickens. Results showed that increasing dietary IEP at 10% and 20% significantly increased average daily gain (ADG), final body weight (BW), and decreased feed conversion when compared to control (p<0.05). When given at 30%, no effect on production performance parameters was observed. In conclusion, the present study suggests that infertile eggs powder can be partially used to substitute conventional protein sources in kampong chickens. Dietary inclusion of IEP up to 20% given in mixed with corn in the formula improves the performance of kampong chickens without negatively affecting feed intake.

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Effect of BioPlus YC Probiotic Supplementation on Gut Microbiota, Production Performance, Carcass and Meat Quality of Pigs

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061581 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1581

Author(s):

Artur Rybarczyk ◽

Elżbieta Bogusławska-Wąs ◽

Alicja Dłubała

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Meat Quality ◽

Bacillus Licheniformis ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Production Performance ◽

Probiotic Bacteria ◽

Control Group ◽

Production Traits ◽

Feed Conversion

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of probiotic bacteria Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis on microbiological properties of feed mixtures and on the digestive tract content as applicable to production traits and carcass characteristics of fatteners. The experiment was performed on 83,838 fatteners from four successive (insertions) productions in two groups. From the seventy eighth day of age till marketing to the slaughter plant, the pigs were supplied with BioPlus YC probiotic (Chr. Hansen) in the amount of 400 g/t. The preparation contained a complex of probiotic bacteria Bacillus licheniformis DSM 5749, and Bacillus subtilis DSM 5750 spores in a 1:1 ratio. From the fourth insertion, after reaching a body weight of approximately 112 kg, 60 fatteners were selected from each group to measure carcass quality and half of them for meat quality evaluation. Moreover, microbiological analyses in feed and colon were performed. The study showed that BioPlus YC probiotics supplementation resulted in a significantly higher count of B. subtilis and B. licheniformis in the feed, a higher count of B. subtilis, B. licheniformis and LAB, as well as a lower count of Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, Clostridium and Bacillus sp. in the mucosa and in the colorectal content of the test pigs. Our work has shown that supplementation with the BioPlus YC probiotic had a positive effect on the production traits of pigs mainly by reducing mortality (2.83%, p = 0.010), lowering feed conversion ratio—FCR (2.59 kg/kg, p = 0.013), better average daily gain—ADG (0.95 kg/day, p = 0.002) and shorter fattening period (77.25 days, p = 0.019) when compared to the control group (4.19%; 2.79 kg/kg; 0.89 kg/day; 92.8 days, respectively). The addition of the specific Bacillus bacteria did not influence carcass and meat characteristics of the test fatteners.

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Determination of Maintenance Energy Requirements for Fattening Castrated Korean Black Goats (Capra hircus coreanae)

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061543 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1543

Author(s):

Sang-Ho Moon ◽

Yeong Sik Yun ◽

Na Yeon Kim ◽

Sanguk Chung ◽

Qi Man Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Energy Intake ◽

Energy Levels ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Metabolic Energy ◽

Energy Requirements ◽

Capra Hircus ◽

Maintenance Energy ◽

Daily Gain

Twelve adult (10 months old) castrated Korean black goats, with an average initial body weight of 24.98 ± 3.7 kg, were used in this experiment to determine their maintenance energy requirements. Dry matter intakes (g/d, p = 0.945) were not affected by energy levels, but metabolic energy intake (kcal/d, p < 0.002) and average daily gain (g/d, p < 0.001) were significantly increased at higher energy levels. Nutrient digestibility was similar in the treatments, but crude fat digestibility increased with the addition of protective fat powder (p = 0.001). The energy required for fattening the castrated Korean black goats was estimated using the correlation between metabolic energy intake per dietary body weight and average daily gain per dietary body weight. The Y-axis intercept value was calculated to be 108.76 kcal/kg BW0.75 (p < 0.05, r2 = 0.6036), which was the metabolic energy requirement for maintaining the lives of the fattening Korean black goats. The estimated energy requirements of the black goat can improve specification techniques, such as the energy level and the amount of feed supply required for domestic black goats.

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Dietary Inclusion of Blood Plasma with Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Supplementation Enhanced the Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Lactobacillus Count, and Reduced Gas Emissions in Weaning Pigs

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11030759 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 759

Author(s):

Vetriselvi Sampath ◽

Dong Heon Baek ◽

Sureshkumar Shanmugam ◽

In Ho Kim

Keyword(s):

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽

Phase 1 ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Phase 2 ◽

Phase 3 ◽

Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽

Yeast Phase ◽

Weaning Pigs ◽

Daily Gain

This experiment was performed to examine the hypothesis that blood plasma (BP) with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplement in the diet of weaning pigs could provoke the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microbial, and reduce harmful gas excretion. A total of one hundred and eighty healthy piglets were taken and assigned (complete random blocks) to three dietary treatments as: Phase 1: Treatment (TRT) 1-6% BP; TRT 2-3% BP + 3% yeast; TRT 3-6% yeast. Phase 2: TRT 1-3%; BP., TRT 2-1.5% BP + 1.5% yeast; TRT 3- 3% yeast. Phase 3: TRT 1- Control (CON) (Basal diet); TRT 2- CON; TRT 3- CON for six- weeks. Each treatment had twelve replicates and five (three gilts and two barrows) pigs per pen. Dietary inclusion of BP with yeast supplementation significantly increased the body weight of piglets during phase 2 (p = 0.003) and phase 3 (p = 0.032). In addition, TRT2 group piglets had a significant improvement in average daily gain at the end of each phase and overall (p = 0.047, 0.025, 0.018 and 0.012, respectively). At phase 3, TRT2 group piglets showed a significant improvement on nutrient digestibility of dry matter (p = 0.012) and nitrogen (p = 0.040). The fecal microbiota of TRT2 group piglets showed a tendency to increase the number of Lactobacillus counts at phase 1 (p = 0.07) and phase 2 (p = 0.06) as well as, a significant improvement at phase 3 (p = 0.021). In addition, TRT2 group piglets had trend to decrease NH3 (p = 0.074) and H2S (p = 0.069) during phase 2, and significantly reduced NH3 (p = 0.038) and H2S (p = 0.046) at phase 3. However, the fecal score of piglets remains unaffected during the entire trial. At the end of phase 1 piglets’ IgG (p = 0.008) was significantly increased with the inclusion of BP with yeast supplementation. Based on the positive effects on body weight, average daily gain, nutrient digestibility, Lactobacillus count, and reduced gas emission, we suggest that dietary supplement with BP and yeast in the diet of weaned piglet could serve as an excellent alternative to antibiotics growth promoters.

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Live Yeast or Live Yeast Combined with Zinc Oxide Enhanced Growth Performance, Antioxidative Capacity, Immunoglobulins and Gut Health in Nursery Pigs

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061626 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1626

Author(s):

Shenfei Long ◽

Tengfei He ◽

Sung Woo Kim ◽

Qinghui Shang ◽

Tadele Kiros ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Average Daily Gain ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Conversion Ratio ◽

Gut Health ◽

Total Volatile ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Nursery Pigs ◽

Serum Iga ◽

Daily Gain ◽

Live Yeast

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary LY or LY combined with ZnO supplementation on performance and gut health in nursery pigs. 192 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets (weaned on d 32 of the age with 9.2 ± 1.7 kg BW) were allocated into four treatments with eight replicate pens, six piglets per pen. The treatments included a basal diet as control (CTR), an antibiotic plus ZnO diet (CTC-ZnO, basal diet + 75 mg/kg of chlortetracycline + ZnO (2000 mg/kg from d 1 to 14, 160 mg/kg from d 15 to 28)), a LY diet (LY, basal diet + 2 g/kg LY), and a LY plus ZnO diet (LY-ZnO, basal diet + 1 g/kg LY + ZnO). The results showed that pigs fed LY or LY-ZnO had increased (p < 0.05) average daily gain, serum IgA, IgG, superoxide dismutase, fecal butyric acid, and total volatile fatty acid concentrations, as well as decreased (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio and diarrhea rate compared with CTR. In conclusion, pigs fed diets with LY or LY combined with ZnO had similar improvement to the use of antibiotics and ZnO in performance, antioxidant status, immunoglobulins, and gut health in nursery pigs.

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