Partial replacement of dried Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit leaves for noug (Guizotia abyssinica) (L.f.) Cass. seed cake in the diet of highland sheep fed on wheat straw

This study investigated the effect of replacing noug (Guizotia abyssinica) (L.f.) Cass. seed cake by dried Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit leaves on feed intake, live weight gain, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen balance of highland sheep in Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia. Twenty intact yearling male highland sheep weighing16.9?±?1.62 kg were used in a randomized complete block design and included the following four treatments: T1 (control, wheat straw ad libitum?+?200 g noug seed cake (NSC)?+?150 g wheat bran (WB)); T2 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?170 g NSC?+?44.3 g dried L. leucocephala (DLL)?+?150 g WB); T3 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?140 g NSC?+?87.3 g DLL?+?150 g WB); and T4 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?110 g NSC?+?130.2 g DLL?+?150 g WB). Sheep fed on T4 diet consumed higher total dry matter (658 g/head/day) and recorded the highest average daily weight gain (59 g/head/day). Sheep fed on T4 diet had higher dry matter (61 %), organic matter (63 %), and crude protein (75 %) digestibility values than the other treatments. Sheep fed on T3 diet demonstrated higher feed conversion ratio (11.93) than sheep kept on the other treatments. All sheep exhibited positive nitrogen balance, with the highest nitrogen retention being measured in T4 (12 g/head/day). It is concluded that partially replacing NSC by DLL can improve total dry matter intake, digestibility of nutrients, and body weight gain in highland sheep fed on wheat straw as the basal diet.     

Effects of dietary probiotic inclusion on performance, eggshell quality, cecal microflora composition, and tibia traits of laying hens in the late phase of production

Ninety-six White laying hens (64 weeks old) were used to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of Bacillus subtilis on performance and eggshell quality. Hens were randomly distributed into three treatment groups and fed basal diet (control), basal diet plus 0.5 g/kg B. subtilis (Probiotic-0.5), or basal diet plus 1 g/kg B. subtilis (Probiotic-1) for 10 weeks. Probiotic-1 group exhibited the maximum (P?<?0.05) increase in egg production, egg weight, egg mass, eggshell weight, and eggshell thickness, compared with Probiotic-0.5 and the control groups. During the last week of the study, eggshell densities were 94.9, 88.7, and 65.6 mg/cm² in Probiotic-1, Probiotic-0.5, and the control group, respectively. The average unmarketable eggs were 1.3 %, 2.2 %, and 6.4 % in Probiotic-1, Probiotic-0.5, and the control group, respectively. Tibia weight, density, and ash content increased significantly. The average time required by B. subtilis to establish a significant effect was 3 weeks for Probiotic-1and 6 weeks for Probiotic-5. B. subtilis improved gut microflora balance, which has the potential to improve gut health and absorption efficiency. It should be possible to improve egg performance and eggshell quality of aged laying hens by dietary inclusion of B. subtilis, which will be of importance for farmers.     

Feeding value of different levels of malt sprout and katikala atella on nutrient utilization and growth performance of sheep fed basal diet of Rhodes grass hay

Nonconventional agro-industrial by-products such as traditional liquor residues (locally called katikala atella) are widely used by livestock farmers in Ethiopia. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the supplementary value of katikala atella and malt sprout (MS) on performance of sheep fed a basal diet of Rhodes grass hay. Thirty intact yearling male sheep with an average initial body weight of 17.4?±?0.74 kg (mean?±?SD) were assigned to the treatments in a completely randomized block design: atella alone (T1), 75 % atella?+?25 % malt sprout (MS) (T2), 50 % atella?+?50 % MS (T3), 25 % atella?+?75 % MS (T4), MS alone (T5), and Rhodes grass hay alone (T6). Grass hay was fed ad libitum to all treatments. The total dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intakes of sheep fed T4, T5, and T3 diets were the highest (P?<?0.05), while sheep receiving T6 had the lowest DM intake. The highest (P?<?0.05) total crude protein (CP) intake was for sheep fed T5 diet, while the lowest was for those fed T6 diet. Sheep receiving T3 diet had higher (P?<?0.05) DM, OM, CP, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility as compared with those fed T1, T2, and T6 diets. Sheep supplemented with 50–100 % malt sprout had similar (P?>?0.05) DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility. The highest (P?<?0.05) average daily gain was for sheep fed T3, T4, and T5 diets, while sheep in T6 lost body weight. Sheep fed T5 diet had the highest (P?<?0.05) nitrogen retention, while those fed T6 diet had the lowest. The study has shown that a mixture diet consisting of equal parts of katikala atella and malt sprout (T3) are found to be superior in most of the required nutrient characteristics.     

Performance of laying pullets fed on cereal-free diets based on maize offal, cassava peel and reject cashew nut meal.

1. A 70-d experiment was conducted to determine the response of 26-week-old laying pullets to cereal-free diets based on maize offal, cassava peel and full-fat cashew nut meal (CNM) in comparison with a standard 550 g maize/kg reference diet. The 4 test diets all contained 315 g CNM/kg 232.5, 155.0, 77.5 and 0.0 g/kg of maize offal in combination with 77.5, 155.0, 232.5 and 315.0 g/kg of cassava peel, respectively. 2. Pullets fed on the 4 CNM-based diets consumed (P<0.05) less food than those fed on the reference diet; they also had lower (P<0.05) rates of lay, produced less (P<0.05) egg mass, had lower (P<0.05) food conversion efficiencies and their eggs had a lighter (P<0.05) yolk colour. Pullets fed some of the CNM-based diets also gained more (P<0.05) weight, the heaviest (P<0.05) being birds reared on the diet containing 315 g/kg cassava peel. Egg weight, shell thickness and albumen height from all eggs were similar. Pullets fed on the CNM-based diets had inferior (P<0.05) retention of dry matter and protein. 4. It was concluded that feeding full-fat CNM allowed for high dietary inclusion rates of cassava peel and maize offal and the resultant diets, which contained no maize, supported satisfactory performance of laying hens.     

Productive and reproductive performance and egg quality of laying hens fed diets containing different levels of date pits with enzyme supplementations

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of phytase and/or multienzymes (protease, amyloglucoidase, xylanase, B-glucanase, cellulose, and hemicellulase) on improving the utilization of date pit (DP) in laying hens. In the first one, DP completely replaced corn in four isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets: (1) DP50 without additives, (2) DP50?+?500 FTU phytase/kg, (3) DP50?+?0.1 % multienzymes, and (4) DP50?+?500 FTU phytase/kg?+?0.1 % multienzymes, in addition to the diet without DP. In the second experiment, DP was included at 0 %, 15 %, and 30 % in isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets. Meanwhile, diets containing 15 % and 30 % DP (DP15 and DP30) were fed without or with 500 FTU phytase/kg diet and/or 0.1 % multienzymes. In both experiments, each diet was fed to six groups of five hens housed individually (520 cm² per hen) during 30–42 and 28–42 weeks in the first and second experiment, respectively. In the first experiment, productive performance and shell quality of laying hens significantly decreased due to complete substitution of corn, but fertility and hatchability were not affected. Phytase, multienzymes supplementation did not restore laying performance to the control level. The results of experiment 2 indicated that DP could be included in laying hens diets up to 30 % when supplemented with multienzymes.     

Digestibility of Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)-based diets supplemented with four levels of Gliricidia sepium hay in hair sheep lambs

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of supplementing increasing levels of Gliricidia sepium hay (GS) with different levels of inclusion of Buffel grass (BG) hay on digestibility by hair sheep lambs (2.5 to 3.5 months of age). Eight male lambs were used in a replicated 4?×?4 Latin square design with 21-day experimental periods (n?=?4). Animals were fed with BG with different levels of GS: 100 % BG (T1, control), 90 % BG?+?10 % GS (T2), 80 % BG?+?20 % GS (T3), and 70 % BG?+?30 % GS (T4). Dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) intakes were not affected by treatments. The intake of crude protein (CP), organic matter (OM), and gross energy was higher (P?<?0.05) in those lambs fed with T4 diet than control. NDF and ADF digestibilities were higher (P?<?0.05) in T1 than in the other treatments. CP digestibility was higher (P?<?0.05) in T4 compared to T1, T2, and T3. The study showed that inclusion of GS up to 30 % with BG in forage-based diets of sheep does not affect DM and fiber intake nor influence DM and OM digestibilities but it increases CP intake and reduces NDF and ADF digestibilities.     

Predatory activity of Pochonia chlamydosporia fungus on Toxocara (syn. Neoascaris) vitulorum eggs

Toxocara (Neoascaris) vitulorum is a gastrointestinal nematode parasite of young ruminants, responsible for high mortality rates in parasitized cattle and buffalo calves. The objective of this work was to compare the predatory capacity under laboratory conditions of four fungal isolates of the nematophagous fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia (VC1, VC4, VC5 and VC12) on T. vitulorum eggs in 2% water-agar (2% WA). T. vitulorum eggs were plated on 2% WA Petri dishes which contained cultured fungal isolates and control plates without fungi. After 10 and 15 days one hundred eggs were removed and classified according to the following parameters: type 1, biochemical and physiological effect without morphological damage to the eggshell, type 2, lytic effect with morphological alteration of the eggshell and embryo and type 3, lytic effect with morphological alteration of eggshell and embryo in addition to hyphal penetration and internal egg colonization. The fungal isolates were effective in the destruction of T. vitulorum eggs presenting the type 3 effect at 10 and 15 days after contact with the fungus. No nematophagous fungi were observed in the control group during the experiment. There was no variation in the predatory capacity of the fungal isolates (P?>?0.01) at the intervals of 10 and 15 days. These results indicate that P. chlamydosporia (VC1, VC4, VC5 and VC12) negatively influenced the development of T. vitulorum eggs and can be considered a potential candidate for the biological control of nematodes.     

Replacement of berseem hay by Salix tetrasperma on physiological performance of New Zealand White rabbits under subtropical conditions of Egypt

Forty-eight growing New Zealand White male rabbits aged 6 weeks (874?±?1.3 g initial body weight (BW)) were used to study effects of partial replacement of berseem hay (BH) with Salix tetrasperma hay (ST) on growth and physiological responses. Rabbits were allotted to one of four diets of 12 rabbits each for 75 days in a completely randomized design. The treatments were as follows: control (30 % BH), ST25 (7.5 % ST?+?22.5 % BH), ST50 (15 % ST?+?15 % BH), ST75 (22.5 % ST?+?7.5 % BH). Nutrient digestibility coefficients, nutritive value and N utilization of rabbits fed with the ST50 rations were higher (P?P?P??ST25 and ST50?>?control. Glucose level was higher (P?P?P?相似文献   

Effects of dietary crude protein and electrolyte balance on production parameters and blood biochemicals of laying hens under tropical summer condition

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different levels of crude protein (CP) and dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) on productive performance, egg quality, and blood biochemical parameters of laying hens reared during hot summer months. The average minimum and maximum room temperatures recorded from 32 to 42 weeks of age were 27.2 and 36.5 °C, respectively, with relative humidity ranging from 48 to 56 %. A total of 144 Lohmann LSL-Lite laying hens were assigned to each of four dietary treatments with six replicate cages of six birds. The treatments were as follows: CP 15.4 % + DEB 165 mEq/kg (group 1), CP 15.4 % + DEB 250 mEq/kg (group 2), CP 13.9 % + DEB 165 mEq/kg (group 3), and CP 13.9 % + DEB 250 mEq/kg (group 4). In groups 3 and 4, feed conversion ratio and blood uric acid were decreased (P?<?0.05); but the plasma triglyceride level was increased (P?<?0.05) compared to groups 1 and 2. Low-CP diet with DEB 250 (group 4) also induced significant increases of average egg production and eggshell thickness compared to group 1. Blood pH, Na⁺, and HCO₃ ^? values were also higher (P?<?0.05) in groups 2 and 4 than in the other groups. These results indicate that, under tropical conditions, using a DEB of 250 mEq/kg achieves a correction of the lay-induced metabolic acidosis and induces a positive effect on eggshell quality when the hens were fed low-protein diet.     

Effects of replacing fish meal with soy cake in a diet based on urea-treated rice straw on performance of growing Laisind beef cattle

The present study was to test if different ratios of fish meal to soy cake as protein supplements in the diet are not significantly different in effects on feed intakes and performance of growing beef cattle fed urea-treated rice straw (URTRS) as basal diet under local conditions in North Vietnam. Thirty-six male cattle of Laisind (50 % local Yellow cattle and 50 % Sindhi, both Bos indicus) at around 12 months of age with an average live weight of 124?±?12 kg at start were used in six groups of the experiment. Six diets named A, B, C, D, E, and F used in the experiment were similar in crude protein (CP) level, except for diet A with no supplementation, but different in fish meal/soy cake ratio based on CP content as follows: diet A 0/0, diet B 100/0, diet C 75/25, diet D 50/50, diet E 25/75, and diet F 0/100. Following a 4-week adaptation period, a comparison period lasted 24 weeks. The total intakes of dry matter (DM), DM from roughage, metabolizable energy (ME), and CP were 6, 7, 6, and 20 % higher in diets B–F than diet A with P values ≤0.05, 0.05, 0.05, and 0.001, respectively. The average daily gain (ADG) was 50 % higher (P?<?0.001) in diets B–F than that in diet A. Compared to diet A, diets B–F had lower feed conversion ratio (FCR)_DM, FCR_ME, and FCR_CP by 30, 20, and 30 %, respectively (all at P?<?0.001). There were no significant differences between diets B–F in the intakes, FCRs, and ADG. The apparent digestibility of CP was 12 to 24 % higher (P?<?0.001) in diets B–F than that in diet A. There was a tendency that the apparent digestibilities of DM, CP, and CF were increasing with increasing level of soy cake in this study. The ratio of fish meal to soy cake did not significantly affect feed intakes, ADG, FCR, and apparent nutrient digestibilities of the cattle. Soy cake can therefore be used to partially or fully replace fish meal as a protein supplement in the diet of growing beef cattle fed URTRS without any negative effects on animal performance.     

Effect of lablab and pigeon pea leaf meal supplementation on performance of goats fed a basal diet of haricot bean haulms

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of lablab and pigeon pea leaf supplementation on feed intake, digestibility, weight gain, and carcass characteristics of goats fed a basal diet of haricot bean haulms. Thirty-two yearling intact male goats with an average initial body weight of 14.4?±?1.04 kg (Means ± SD) were assigned to one of the four treatments in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were 17.5% lablab?+?17.5% pigeon pea leaf?+?63% wheat bran (T1), 35% pigeon leaf?+?63% wheat bran (T2), 35% lablab leaf?+?63% wheat bran (T3), and 88% wheat bran?+?10% noug seed cake (T4). In addition, all treatment diets contained 1 and 1% limestone. The feeding trial lasted for 90 days followed by 7 days of digestibility trial. Carcass evaluation was conducted at the end of the feeding trial. Final body weight ranged from 16.3 kg for T4 to 21.1 kg for T3. The total dry matter (DM) intake for T3 was higher (P?<?0.05) than T2 and T4. The total crude protein (CP) intake for T2 was greater (P?<?0.05) than T3 and T4. Goats supplemented with T3 diets had the highest (P?>?0.05) digestibility of DM, organic matter, and CP and attained the highest (P?<?0.05) average daily gain, the heaviest (P?<?0.05) hot carcass weight, and the highest (P?<?0.05) rib-eye muscle area than those supplemented with T1, T2, and T4 diets. In conclusion, 35% lablab leaf meal and 63% what bran (T3) were found to be a very promising supplement in sheep fed low-quality crop residues under the condition of the current experiment.     

Fish-Induced Anemia in Rats

The described feeding experiment on rats comprised three groups, each consisting of 9 females. The control group was fed a commercial pellet diet fortified with brewer’s yeast and whole milk. Groups II and III were fed pasty fish diets which contained 90.5 % of undehydrated raw or boiled coalfish. The feeding experiment started when the rats were 34 days old. The rats were mated three times during the experiment.Undiversified feeding with a raw coalfish diet to rat females during gestation and lactation, and to their litters during weaning and after-weaning, resulted in evident anemic symptoms in the young animals. If boiled fish substituted the raw fish, the anemic symptoms were reduced, but not eliminated.Repeated gestation periods of mother animals, fed fish diets, did not result in increased anemic symptoms in their litters. Nor did the repeated gestation periods result in anemic mother animals.The anemic young rats, when continously fed the same fish diets, gradually improved their health state. The resulting adult animals were non-anemic and appeared normal as to growth and development.     

Effect of feed intake restriction on reproductive performance and pregnancy rate in Egyptian buffalo heifers

The objective of the present experiment is to study the effect of feed intake restriction on the reproductive performance and pregnancy rate in Egyptian buffalo heifers. Thirty anestrus buffalo heifers were randomly divided into two equal groups. The low feed intake (LFI, n?=?15, 50 % restriction) group was fed a diet that consists of 3 kg concentrate, 1 kg wheat straw, and 3 kg fresh alfalfa, while the high feed intake (HFI, n?=?15) group was fed double the amount given to the LFI group for 4 months. All animals were weighed, transrectally examined, and visually checked for the signs of estrus, and blood samples were collected. Heifers in heat were mated with one fertile bull. The number of heifers showing estrus activity was 93.3 % in HFI vs. 20 % in LFI (P?<?0.01). Ovarian activity started earlier (P?=?0.03) in the HFI than LFI group. The weight at breeding, the diameter of the dominant follicle, number of heifers showing ovulations, number of services per conception, pregnancy rate, and overall mean of progesterone and estrogen concentrations were significantly higher (P?<?0.01) in the HFI than in the LFI group. The level of serum total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, total cholesterol, and calcium were significantly higher (P?<?0.05) in the HFI group. Restriction of the daily feed intake to 50 % from NRC recommendations impair reproductive performance in terms of increasing the age at first service and reducing the pregnancy rate in buffalo heifers. In conclusion, feed intake could be effective in improvement of reproductive performance in buffalo heifers and further studies should be done on large scale of buffaloes in this point.     

Effects of main cereal type and feed form on production performance,egg quality and egg sanitary indices of laying hens

ABSTRACT

1. The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of cereal types (maize or wheat) and feed forms (pelleted or mash feed) on production performance, egg quality and egg sanitary indices in laying hens.

2. Three hundred and sixty hens (Jinghong No. 1) at 18 weeks of age were randomly assigned to four treatments with six replicates of 15 hens per replicate according to a 2 × 2 factorial design with two cereal types (maize or wheat) and two feed forms (pelleted or mash feed).

3. Compared with the wheat-based diet, the maize-based diet improved (P < 0.05) average egg weight of laying hens. Yolk colour of hens fed with the maize-based diet was higher (P < 0.05) in comparison to those fed the wheat-based diet, while Haugh units were lower (P < 0.05) for the maize-based treatment. Egg mass and average daily feed intake of hens fed the pelleted diet were higher (P < 0.05) than of those fed the mash diet. However, the mash diet improved (P < 0.05) yolk colour compared with the pelleted diet. The percentage of dirty eggs for the wheat-based diet was higher (P < 0.05) than for the maize-based diet. The percentage of dirty eggs was higher (P < 0.05) in birds fed the pelleted diet compared with those fed the mash diet. There were interactions (P < 0.05) between cereal type and feed form, with regard to average egg weight and shell thickness.

4. In conclusion, dietary cereal type affected average egg weight, yolk colour and Haugh units in eggs, while feed form influenced egg mass, average daily feed intake and yolk colour.     

Herd and individual animal prevalence of bovine brucellosis with associated risk factors on dairy farms in Haryana and Punjab in India

Herd and individual animal prevalence along with associated risk factors of bovine brucellosis was assessed on dairy farms located in 22 districts in Haryana and Punjab of India. Examination of 4,580 female animals of 119 dairy farms by Rose Bengal test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that an overall herd prevalence was 65.54 % (78/119) and individual animal prevalence was 26.50 % (1,214/4,580). Herd prevalence in Haryana was 62.79 % which was not significantly different (P?=?0.4208) from Punjab (72.72 %). Individual animal prevalence was 34.15 % in Punjab which was significantly higher (P?<?0.0001) than Haryana (22.34 %). Prevalence of brucellosis on dairy farms was detected in 20 of the 22 districts, of which 12 districts were in Haryana and 8 in Punjab. Risk factors such as species of animals, age of animals, herd size, awareness of dairymen for brucellosis, entry of a purchased animals on the farm, abortion on farm, use of calving pens, type of breeding, and type of farming were analyzed. The study indicated that the odds ratio (OR) was significant with risk factors of species (OR?=?1.63; 95 %CI?=?1.40–1.90; P?<?0.0001), age (OR?=?0.22; 95 %CI?=?0.17–0.29; P?<?0.0001), awareness of brucellosis among dairymen (OR?=?21.65; 95 %CI?=?2.63–178.04; P?=?0.0042), entry of purchased animal on the farm (OR?=?9.16; 95 %CI?=?2.38–35.18; P?=?0.0012), abortion in animals (OR?=?5.57; 95 %CI?=?1.92–16.10; P?=?0.0015) and on cow farm (OR?=?3.43; 95 %CI?=?1.33–8.82; P?=?0.0105). While the OR was insignificant (P?>?0.05) with risk factors of herd size, use of calving pen on farms, type of breeding and on buffalo and mixed type of farms.     

Body development, carcass, and meat quality of confined lambs fed increasing levels of whole rice meal

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of whole rice meal (WRM) inclusion in the concentrate upon body development, carcass traits, and meat quality of lambs. Twenty-four castrated lambs with an average initial body weight of 17.90?±?2.72 kg were randomly blocked according to two genetic groups (Corriedale and Texel by Corriedale crossbreds). Three isocaloric (11.3 MJ/kg of metabolizable energy) and isonitrogenous (17 % crude protein) diets were offered to the animals for 74 days. Diets consisted of 40 % forage and 60 % concentrate diet, on a dry matter basis, with 0, 15, or 30 % of WRM inclusion into the concentrate. Body growth (after slaughter), carcass, and meat traits were evaluated on each animal. Results obtained indicated that genotype did not affect body growth, carcass, and meat traits except for yellowness. No significant interaction between diet and genotype were detected. Inclusion of up to 30 % WRM did not significantly (P?>?0.05) affect body growth, carcass, and meat traits, except for meat color. Meat luminosity progressively increased (36.32?+?0.055X) while redness (15.13???0.03X) decreased with the inclusion of WRM in the diet, but still remained within acceptable values. The study indicates that WRM may be included up to 30 % in the concentrate replacing corn without adverse effects upon body development, carcass traits, and meat quality of lambs.     

Effect of dietary inclusion of graded levels of toasted guar meal on performance,nutrient digestibility,carcass traits,and serum parameters in commercial broiler chickens

An experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design to explore the replacement value of toasted guar meal (TGM) for soybean meal (SBM) in commercial broiler diets. Hypothesis was tested by including graded levels (0, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18% of diet) of TGM to replace maize-SBM on growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, carcass traits, and serum parameters. A total of six iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric diets were prepared, and each diet was fed ad libitum to 12 replicates of five chicks each from 1 to 42 days of age. Results showed that inclusion of TGM up to 12% in broiler diets did not affect the body weight gain, feed efficiency, and energy digestibility. Feed intake, dry matter, nitrogen digestibility, and relative weights of ready-to-cook yields, breast muscle, abdominal fat, liver, and pancreas were not affected (P > 0.05) by incorporating TGM even up to 18% in broiler diets. Concentration of glucose, total protein, and triglyceride in serum was also not affected (P > 0.05), while serum total cholesterol concentration was found to be higher (P < 0.05) in broilers fed diets containing TGM as compared to those fed on 0% TGM diet. From the results, it was evident that TGM may be incorporated up to 12% in commercial broiler diets for better growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass traits.     

Effect of feeding cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) root meal on growth performance,hydrocyanide intake and haematological parameters of broiler chicks

The effect of feeding cassava root meal on growth performance, hydrocyanide intake, haematological indices and serum thiocyanate concentration of broiler chicks was investigated using 300-day-old male broilers. There were five dietary treatments arranged in a 2?×?2?+?1 factorial arrangement of two processing methods of cassava root (peeled and unpeeled) included at two levels (100 and 200 g/kg) plus a control diet (maize-based diet, containing no cassava root). Each treatment was replicated six times with ten birds per replicate. The feeding trial lasted for 28 days. Control-fed birds had the highest overall (P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?P?相似文献   

Inclusion of Tithonia diversifolia in multinutrient blocks for WestAfrican dwarf goats fed Brachiaria straw

Recent investigations suggest that the development of multinutrient feed blocks with inclusion of tree and shrub leaves could improve the nutritive value and digestibility of straw. In order to test these possibilities, three types of multinutrient blocks (MNB) namely: MNB0 (wheat bran?=?100 %; Tithonia diversifolia leaf?=?0 %), MNB50 (wheat bran?=?50 %; T. diversifolia leaf?=?50 %) and MNB100 (wheat bran?=?0 %; T. diversifolia leaf?=?100 %) were fed for 15 days in a 3?×?3 Latin square arrangement to West African dwarf goats consuming Brachiaria ruziziensis straw. The blocks presented a good cohesion and a good hardness. The inclusion of T. diversifolia improved levels of crude protein, mineral, feed unit for milk production (UFL) and feed unit for meat production (UFV), but decreased palatability. The effects on the digestibility of B. ruziziensis straw were evaluated in nine West African dwarf goats fed individually with MNB0 + straw, MNB50 + straw and MNB100 + straw. The dry matter, organic matter and crude fibre digestibility of B. ruziziensis straw increased slightly with increasing level of inclusion of T. diversifolia. The apparent digestibility of nitrogen was comparable for all diets independent of the level of inclusion of T. diversifolia. This study showed that the inclusion of T. diversifolia leaves in the MNBs can be recommended to improve the feeding of goats during periods of drought.     

Structural and physical changes in the hen's eggshell in response to the inclusion of dietary organic minerals

1. An experiment was designed to determine whether the inclusion of sodium selenite, Sel-Plex or Sel-plex?+?Bioplex in the diet exerted any influence on structural and functional properties of the eggshell at 22, 38, 58 and 72 weeks age.

2. Significant age effects were demonstrated for egg weight, dynamic stiffness and total shell thickness.

3. The eggshells from birds fed on the Sel-Plex?+?Bioplex treatment were statistically stronger than those produced by the birds on sodium selenite.

4. From mid-lay onwards the shells laid by birds fed on the Sel-Plex?+?Bioplex treatment displayed, at ultrastructural level, the crystal modification termed ‘confluence’ together with early fusion of the palisade columns which comprised the bulk of the shell.

5. At all periods of lay the shells of birds fed on sodium selenite, Sel-Plex and the control diet demonstrated the presence of a variety of crystalline aggregates localised between the forming palisade columns.