The effects of different dietary crude protein (CP) and valine levels were examined on the live weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein conversion of roosters as well as on the calculated dietary CO(2 )footprint of broiler production. The trial involved seven treatments formulated on a corn-soybean meal base. Compared to the positive control (PC) diet following the Aviagen's (2014) recommendations, the LPV0 treatment had reduced CP content without valine supplementation. In five additional treatments (LPV1-5), L-valine was supplemented in increasing quantities. The results suggest that reducing the recommended CP content decreases the final weight. While the average weight of LPV0 birds was 9.5 % lower than that of the PC up to day 21, by the end of the 35-day trial, this difference decreased to 7.2 % due to similar weight gains registered in the finishing stage. Roosters fed diets with 1.0/1.0/1.05 g/kg of valine supplementation achieved the same weight gain as the PC birds, even over the full trial (P > 0.05). The FCR was the same across all treatments between days 1 and 35 (P > 0.05). Roosters fed reduced protein, but valine-supplemented diets presented weight gains of 11.2 % less protein on average, while the dietary CO2 footprint of their weight gain was 15.53 % lower than that of the PC group. These data suggest that, from day 22, the dietary CP content in broiler diets can be reduced by up to 11 % without adversely affecting performance, while also improving protein conversion and reducing the dietary CO2 footprint of the final product.

The first aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of different dietary lysine (LYS) to energy (DE) ratios on the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of crude protein (CP) and selected amino acids (AA) in growing pigs (40-60 kg) of different genotypes. The second aim was to classify genotypes into groups based on the AID of CP and AAs. The trials were conducted on a total of 90 cross-bred barrows (30 animals/genotype) in two replicates. Before the trial series, the experimental animals (average initial body weight (BW) = 40.9 ± 8.5 kg) were surgically fitted with post valve T-cannula (PVTC). The diets were formulated with six different total LYS/DE ratios. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was added to the diets (5 g/kg) as an indigestible marker. Based on our results, it can be concluded that the LYS/DE ratio of the diets affected the AID of the CP and AA in different ways by each genotype (p < 0.05). It can also be concluded that pigs of different genetic potential can be classified with a high accuracy (91.7%) in respect of their CP and AA digestive capacity. Our results indicate the development of genetic-profile-based swine nutrition technologies as a future direction.

This study evaluated the effect of differences in residual feed intake (RFI) of Charolaise candidate young bulls on feeding behavior and self-performance test results. Bulls were classified into high and low RFI (H-RFI, L-RFI) groups. Bulls were fed in a HOKOFARM system to measure individual animal intake and behavior. L-RFI bulls had significantly lower feed intakes (p = 0.002) and higher gain to feed ratio (p = 0.001), lower intake per day/kg DM (dry matter) (p = 0.002) and lower intake g/body weight/day (p < 0.001). L-RFI animals had lower visits number per day (p = 0.02), but spent longer time per visit (p = 0.02), and tended to have higher intake g/visit (p = 0.06) on feeders. The correlation between RFI and DMI (dry matter intake)/bodyweight/day as well as intake per day/kg were large and positive. Back-loin length and rump length, and moreover muzzle width and frame, showed negative correlations with RFI value. However, bulls with better RFI values associated with lower legs score. Results reveal that RFI was shown beneficial correlations with economically relevant self-performance traits. Further investigations are needed to seek additional indicator traits that are predictive for RFI.

Chickens raised for their meat (Gallus gallus domesticus) tend to have a critical phase of life right after hatching due to the management of modern production systems. Early nutrition strategies such as in ovo intervention can be an alternative means to support growth and gut health by compensating for the energy deficit after pipping out of the egg. In the current study, 1200 Ross 308 eggs were used to examine the effects of a complex carbohydrate solution of disaccharides and glucose applied in ovo on hatchability, the hatching time of different-sized eggs, and the development, performance, and carcass characteristics of broilers of both sexes. The eggs were divided into three treatment groups: intact (NT), in ovo saline (ioS), and in ovo carbohydrate mixture (ioCH). The incubation protocol was performed according to the recommendations of Aviagen (2019), and the in ovo process was carried out on day 17 by manually injecting 0.5 mL of the solutions into the amniotic fluid. After hatching, the birds were kept in floor pens until day 35 and fed ad libitum in a three-phase feeding program. Body weight, average daily weight gain, feed intake and conversion, and carcass characteristics were measured during the trial. In ovo carbohydrates reduced hatchability by 15%, while growth performance and the weight of thigh and breast muscle were enhanced significantly (p < 0.05) compared with ioS as a possible outcome of carbohydrate-to-muscle satellite cell proliferation and protein accumulation. However, further study is needed to refine the in ovo carbohydrate supplementation method to minimize the mortality of embryos during hatching.

The purpose of the trial was to use the mobile nylon bag technique to determine the crude protein digestibility and calculate the digestible protein yield of soybean varieties cultivated in Hungary. The trial was carried out with 10, double cannulated (duodenal- and PVTC-cannula) hybrid barrows with initial live weights of 40±3.5 kg. The experimental basal diets were formulated on a corn-wheat-barley-soybean basis according to the requierement of growing pigs (Tybirk, 2015). A total of 20 soybean varieties were tested in this experiment. After simulating gastric digestion the nylon bags were inserted into the duodenum of ten barrows through simple duodenal T-cannulae. Ten bags were administered to each pig daily. A total of 200 (10 samples/soybean variety) bags were inserted over a 4-day period. The mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values of the crude protein digestibility of soybean samples were calculated. The protein yields per hectare according to the crop yield and the protein content values and also the digestible protein yield values were calculated. To examine the relationship between crop yield and crude protein yield and also between crop yield and digestible crude protein yield regression analysis were used. The overall results of this experiment indicate that the average crude protein digestibility of the tested soybean varieties was 76.0%, with an absolute difference of 17.3% between the best and the least digestible varieties. ES Mentor variety reached the best digestible crude protein yield, with 1305.4 kg/ha. The variety with the lowest digestible crude protein yield was Boglár, with 752.3 kg/ha. The difference in digestible crude protein yield between these two varieties was 173.5%. In the correlation analysis between digestible crude protein content and yield for soybean varieties our results show that there is no correlation between the two factors. However, Aires, Prestopro, and ES Mentor should be highlighted among the varieties with above trend line results, as they have the best yield (4020 kg/ha; 4100 kg/ha, 4510 kg/ha) and digestible crude protein content (31%, 30.3%, and 28.9%). ES Mentor produced the fourth best digestible crude protein content (28.9%) with the best yield (4510 kg/ha).

Climate change will lead to increasingly hot summers where the temperature rises above the thermoneutral range of pigs; as a result, they get exposed to heat stress. One of the most damaging consequences of long-lasting heat stress is oxidative stress arising from the increasing level of reactive oxygen species. In order to eliminate oxidative stress, metabolites that are needed for maintaining life and growth may get depleted, which, in chronic cases in particular, negatively affects the economy of meat production. The effect of plant-originated phytogenic feed additives with high antioxidant content may be beneficial to pigs in reducing the effects of oxidative stress induced by heat stress. In this study, a range of methods that assess the effects of phytogenic feed additives on heat stress are reviewed. The main focus is presenting an overview of the investigational possibilities of the antioxidative system and feed uptake and utilization via traditional methods and molecular biological investigations. Furthermore, methodological aspects of sampling are taken into consideration in order to select the best methods for determining the effect of phytogenic feed supplementation on heat-stressed pigs.

The organoleptic value of pork, e.g. its taste and tenderness, as well as overall acceptability is positively influenced by fat content, including both inter- and intramuscular fat (IMF) content up to a certain threshold. Recently, a number of research dealt with studying the genetic background of IMF incorporation. Many genes have been identified that are involved in fat metabolism and in development of marbling in muscle tissue. The aim of this work is to review the current literaure written about the most important genes and gene families that play role in IMF metabolism. The most studied genes are FABP3 and FABP4, which are part of the FABP family. They have a key role in the transport and intermediate metabolism of lipids. Number of studies have recently been published discussing the role of SCD (stearoyl-CoA desaturase) encoding gene in IMF content. Since multiple genes have been already identified playing a key role in fat metabolism and in fat deposition in muscle tissue, its gene expression studies are crucial in genetic programmes as well as in nutrigenomical research.

The rumen and its microbial ecosystem play a central role in the overall nutrition and health of ruminant animals. However, development and homeostatic state of the entire gut system is influenced by different interrelated factors. Recent developments in molecular diagnostic tools by using amplicon sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA and use of high-throughput data generated through applications of pyrosequencing is a promising approach to defining the rumen microbial genome. Several procedures such as genome-wide shotgun sequencing for metagenomic data generation to predict how the rumen microbiota works, bacterial DNA integration in order to construct or edit genomes of isolated microbes and several other “omic”-based technologies based on PCR and real-time PCR (qPCR), have elucidated the complexity of the rumen microbiota. These tools are more sensitive and precise in quantitation, identification and functional characterisation of the entire rumen microbiome. PCR/qPCR enables investigations of changes in the microbiome and microbiota with respect to age, diet, species and environmental variations thus providing new information about rumen microbial genome. In this review, we will highlight recent findings using PCR and qPCR-based procedures in investigating the complex nature of the rumen microbial population which has advanced our knowledge and understanding of the rumen microbiome.

The rumen and its microbial ecosystem play a central role in the overall nutrition and health of ruminant animals. However, development and homeostatic state of the entire gut system is influenced by different interrelated factors. Recent developments in molecular diagnostic tools by using amplicon sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA and use of high-throughput data generated through applications of pyrosequencing is a promising approach to defining the rumen microbial genome. Several procedures such as genome-wide shotgun sequencing for metagenomic data generation to predict how the rumen microbiota works, bacterial DNA integration in order to construct or edit genomes of isolated microbes and several other “omic”-based technologies based on PCR and real-time PCR (qPCR), have elucidated the complexity of the rumen microbiota. These tools are more sensitive and precise in quantitation, identification and functional characterisation of the entire rumen microbiome. PCR/qPCR enables investigations of changes in the microbiome and microbiota with respect to age, diet, species and environmental variations thus providing new information about rumen microbial genome. In this review, we will highlight recent findings using PCR and qPCR-based procedures in investigating the complex nature of the rumen microbial population which has advanced our knowledge and understanding of the rumen microbiome.

1. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prediction potential of a computer tomography (CT) data collection protocol for determining total body composition used for analysis of tibiotarsal bone quality features.2. The CT image acquisition was performed on 54 healthy TETRA SL genotype laying hens at 90weeks of age as well as in the 69th week of the egg production period in vivo and their tibiotarsal bones, ex vivo.3. Breaking strengths and ash content of the tibiotarsal bones were estimated based on the calculated mineral density of skeletal and tibiotarsal bones by means of CT with an estimation accuracy R-2 0.963 and 0.975, respectively.4. In conclusion, the current investigation demonstrated that the acquisition protocol of CT for total-body composition analysis has a good potential for measuring the mineral status and breaking strength of the reference bone in laying hen.

The possible interaction between Pasteurella multocida and the mycotoxin fumonisin B1 (FB1), recognised as one of the most often food/feed contaminant, was studied with the aim to evaluate whether and how FB1 can influence and/or complicate the development and severity of various pathological damages provoked by Pasteurella multocida in some internal organs of pigs. Heavier lung pathology was seen in pigs experimentally infected with Pasteurella multocida, when the same were exposed to 20ppm dietary levels of fumonisin B1 (FB1) as was assessed by gross pathology, pathomorphological examinations, clinical biochemistry and some immunological investigations. The most typical damages in FB1 treated pigs were the strong oedema in the lung and the slight oedema in the other internal organs and mild degenerative changes in the kidneys, whereas the typical pathomorphological findings in pigs infected with Pasteurella multocida was broncho-interstitial pneumonia. FB1 was found to aggravate pneumonic changes provoked by P. multocida in the cranial lobes of the lung and to complicate pneumonic damages with interstitial oedema in the lung. No macroscopic damages were observed in the pigs infected only with Pasteurella multocida. It can be concluded that the feed intake of FB1 in pigs may complicate or exacerbate the course of P. multocida serotype A infection.

In two feeding experiments the retention of supplemental guanidine acetic acid (GAA) in broilers was investigated. In both experiments, the same three treatments were used; the basal feed was supplemented with 0, 0.6, or 6.0 g GAA per kg of feed. While in a growth study (experiment 1) day-old, male Ross 308 broilers were fed diets for 35 days, these diets were fed for only 8 days to fistulated broilers 34 days of age in a balance study (experiment 2). Feeding 0.6 g/kg GAA did not improve growth performance whereas 6.0 g/kg GAA resulted in a reduction of feed consumption and consequently of weight gain (P ≤ 0.05). Feed conversion was not affected and was 1.48 to 1.49 in all treatments. Increasing levels of dietary GAA gradually increased the creatine concentration in breast muscle and liver tissues (P ≤ 0.05) indicating a transformation and retention of dietary GAA as creatine. In experiment 2 the non-supplemented basal diet allowed us to determine the endogenous GAA, creatine, and creatinine excretions. Accordingly, only small amounts of these metabolites were recovered in feces while they were much higher in urine. Increasing dietary GAA intake increased fecal and renal GAA, creatine, and creatinine excretion and was significant (P ≤ 0.05) at 6.0 g/kg dietary GAA compared to no or 0.6 g/kg GAA supplementation. The mean true fecal digestibility of GAA (99%) was unaffected by the level of supplemental GAA. Considering renal GAA excretions, true availability of supplemental GAA was reduced with increasing dose (83% vs. 71%; P ≤ 0.05). Taking into account creatine and creatinine excretions above those of the basal diet, as they are a consequence of increasing dietary supply, true availability of supplemental GAA shrank from 76% (0.6 g/kg GAA) to 46% (6.0 g/kg GAA; P ≤ 0.05). Changes in blood creatine and creatinine levels reflected the changes observed in the liver and muscle tissues and may suggest increased transport to excretion organs. Data from these experiment were used to estimate the creatine requirement.

DDGS has some disadvantages (high fiber content, possible heat damage of amino acids) which may be able to be improved with a newly developed technique called bioconversion (a special fermentation technique). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of DDGS and bioconverted DDGS on the N, P and energy digestibility and retention of piglets. Twenty-four weaned piglets weighing 8-10 kg were housed individually in a flat-deck cage. The diet of piglets in the control group did not contain DDGS, while other three diets contained DDGS or bioconverted DDGS in increasing amount: 5, 10 or 15%, respectively. The experimental diets had similar nutrient content. The results of this study indicated that corn DDGS and bioconverted DDGS had similar values for energy digestibility and retention.The average DE for the corn DDGS that was calculated in the present experiment was 14.42 MJ/kg of DM, and the average ME was 13.8 MJ/kg of DM. Adding increasing amounts of untreated DDGS to the diet tended to increase P digestibility and retention in the experiment. While the bioconversion improved both phosphorous digestibility and retention. Calcium digestibility and retention were similar for weaned piglets fed the DDGS diet compared to the bioconverted DDGS diets. Our research confirms that even 15% corn DDGS can be included in diets of weaned piglets if highly digestible other components are used. The bioconversion does improve the feeding value of corn DDGS, but the actual inclusion in practical feeding will be depended on economical considerations.Mongolian Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol.13(2) 2014: 37-42

Our trial was aimed to study the effect of different dietary non-phytin phosphorus (NPP) levels with and without phytase enzyme supplementation on laying performance and eggshell quality of Tetra SL-LL in the last 25 weeks of the long-term (17 months) egg production. A total of 69 Tetra SL-LL layers were allocated into 3 dietary treatments. Two diets with different levels of NPP (2.45 or 2.15 g/kg, HP and LP, respectively) were formulated, and 0 or 300 FTU/kg phytase enzyme was added to low NPP feed (LP and LP+E, respectively). Dietary Ca was uniformly adjusted (38.2 g/kg) to feed in each treatment. In the course of the trial, intensity of egg production (%), egg weight (g/egg), number of the broken eggs and feed intake (g/d/bird) were recorded. Every 2 weeks 20 eggs per treatment were broken to determine the shell strength and thickness. Our results show that low NPP diet had detrimental effect on the intensity of egg production (P <0.05). However, dietary treatments had no effect on weight of eggs. They significantly affected eggshell thickness (P<0.05), but not egg shell strength (P>0.05) and phytase added to the LP diet resulted the lowest number of broken eggs (P<0.05). In conclusion, NPP content of the layer diet can be reduced from 2.45 to 2.15 g/kg in the last 25 weeks of the elongated laying term (12-17 month of laying), if supplemented with 300 FTU/kg phytase enzyme without compromising the egg production, and in the same time it can improve eggshell quality and reduce the number of broken eggs.

Th e aim of the present trial was to study the eff ect of two diff erent dietary phosphorus (P) levels on the laying performance in long-term (17 months) egg production and egg shell quality in terms of strength and thickness from the 7th to 17th month of laying. In case of eggshell quality parameters the time eff ect as well as the interaction between dietary P levels and time were also examined. Sixty Tetra-SL layers were fed diets with two diff erent levels of P (4.9 or 4.4 g/kg total phosphorus) at constant 38.5 g/kg calcium level. In the course of the trial egg production %, egg weight, feed intake and body weight were recorded. At every 4th weeks 20 eggs per treatment were broken to deretmine the strength and thickness of eggshell. Results showed that the examined two levels of dietary P did not aff ect the percentage of egg production and the feed conversion ratio (kg feed/kg egg mass). Th e egg weight signifi cantly increased and eggshell strength was signifi cantly lower when hens received the lower dietary P feed. During the laying period, both the eggshell strength and thickness gradually decreased as laying period time went on. In conclusion phosphorus content of the layer diet can be lowered, without reducing the egg production, nevertheless approaching the end of the long laying period, higher P-content feed suggested, whereby eggshell strength can be improved.

Summary Th e objective of the present study was to investigate the eff ect of an essential oil product on growth performance and cellular immune response of 28-day-old weaned piglets. A total of 348 piglets (50% gilts, 50% barrows) were assigned to three dietary treatments (6 pens/trt). Th e basal diet was a commercial feed that was supplemented without any growth promoter (NC), with antibiotic growth promoter of 40 ppm avilamycin (PC), or with 0.25 g of an essential oil product (EO) per kg of feed. All pigs were immunized by inactivated Aujeszky’s disease virus vaccine at week one and three of the experiment (28- and 44-days-age, respectively). Blood samples were taken four times (on day one, 16, 24, 32 of the experiment) for lymphocyte stimulation (LST) tests with ConA, PWM, PHA used as non-specifi c and Aujeszky virus used as specifi c mitogens from 2 pigs/pen. All piglets were individually weighed on day 0, 8, 16, 24 and 32 of the trial. Th ere was no signifi cant diff erence among average daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of piglets fed diff erent dietary treatments. Th e non-specifi c LST test at the 4th blood sampling showed higher values in pigs received feeds with essential oil supplementation (EO) than that of the positive (PC) and negative control (NC) groups (P<0.05). However, no signifi cant diff erence in specifi c immune response of pigs in diff erent dietary treatments was found. It can be concluded that essential oil supplementation may enhance the non-specifi c immunocompetence of 28-day-old weaning pigs without compromising their growth performance.