Azzawi Dates (Phoenix dactylifera) as a Substitute for Corn as an Energy Source in Sheep Diet: In vitro Gas Production and Fermentation

In vitro gas production technique was used in the current study to evaluate Azzawi date (AD) as a substitute for corn grain (CG). The AD was used to replace corn grain at graded levels in the proportion: 0:100 (CG), 25:75 (AD25), 50:50 (AD50), 75:25 (AD75), and 100:0 (AD100). Gas production (GP) was continuously measured by incubating samples in buffered rumen fluid from cannulated sheep and it was recorded at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48 and 72h of incubation. Cumulative GP, kinetics of GP (a, b and c), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentrations were determined, while metabolizable energy (ME), net energy (NE), organic matter digestibility (OMD), microbial protein (MP) were estimated. The gas volume was increased (P<0.05) at 12h with increasing the substitution levels of AD in the feed, the values ranged between 31.3 and 44.7 ml/200 mg DM. However, it was found to be decreased (P<0.05) at 48 and 72h with increasing substitution levels of AD. There were no differences in the gas production found at 24h. Data of VFA, NE, OMD and MP were similar (P>0.05) among the feeds. The energy (ME; MJ/kg DM) value of AD25 (10.4) and AD50 (10.3) were comparable to that of CG (10.5); however it was reduced (P<0.05) with AD75 and AD100. Data demonstrated that, Azzawi date at the level of 50 g/100g of substrate (i.e., AD50) may have similar energy contents as of corn grain, and it can be used as a source of energy in ruminant diets either alone or in combination with corn grain

Influence of dietary supplementation with sunflower oil and quebracho tannins on growth performance and meat fatty acid profile of Awassi lambs

The inclusion of QT in the diet increased the content of the conjugated linoleic acid in the lamb meat above that achieved with SF supplementation only. Addition of the combination of QT and SF to the diet enhanced the content of conjugated linoleic acid (C18:2 c9t11) of the lamb meat. This could be due to the reduction in the bio-hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids in the diet. The results suggest that inclusion the combination of QT and SF in lamb diets improved the healthy fatty acids content in the meat without an adverse effect on animal performance.The influence of dietary supplementation with quebracho tannins (QT) or/and sunflower oil (SF) on growth performance and fatty acid profile in meat of Awassi lambs was studied. Seventy-two lambs were assigned randomly to nine diets (8 per group) in the experiment following a 32 factorial design with all possible combinations of two factors, SF and QT each at three levels i.e. 0 (control), 20 or 40 g/kg diet DM. A significant SF ×QT interaction was observed on the conjugated linoleic acid content of intramuscular fat (P =0.007), but not on average daily weight gain (P=0.11). Addition of QT at 40 g/ kg DM significantly increased average daily gain comparing to control diet

Waste Recycling for the Eco-friendly Input Use Efficiency in Agriculture and Livestock Feeding

he increasing competition for available resources and inefficient use of those limited resources necessitates the need to improve the use of available resources. If these inefficacies are not corrected, the resource-poor farmers, mainly living in developing countries will be most affected. Yet these resource farmers contribute immensely for food production in developing countries. Smallholder farmers must be proactive and learn to adopt new strategies that can assist them in continuing farming with maximum use of limited agricultural resources and even wastes in agriculture. Several methods are available to improve the use of agricultural wastes, including non-agronomic benefits. Furthermore, we suggest the integration of waste resources, such as from both the trilogy of human– animal–crop wastes. Similarly, inexpensive techniques are encouraged among the farmers, including composting and vermicomposting of human–crop–animal wastes and/or slaughterhouse/abattoir wastes, biocharing of crop and animal wastes as various means of recycling/recovering nutrients in the soil system. Furthermore, the deployment of fungi could also improve the resource use efficiency through mushroom growth and sales, crop residue fermentation to enhance its feed value. Livestock farmers facing nutritional problems can apply microbes through fermentation to reduce antinutritional factors (lignin, tannins) in plants, and improve the safety of kitchen and dairy waste before feeding. Alternatively, farmers are encouraged to raise micro livestock (rabbits, snails, and grasscutters) on their farm to improve the use of resources. On a large scale, nitrogen and phosphorus recovery from cow urine, slurry, human feces, and fermentation of phytate rich plants with phytate on industrial scales is recommended. This chapter aims to provide insight into the methods by which farmers and industries, especially those in developing countries, can improve their available resources for agricuture and as livestock feeds

Influence of Sunflower Whole Seeds or Oil on Ruminal Fermentation, Milk Production, Composition, and Fatty Acid Profile in Lactating Goats

This study aimed to investigate the effect of sunflower seeds, either as whole or as oil, on rumen fermentation, milk production, milk composition and fatty acids profile in dairy goats. Fifteen lactating Damascus goats were divided randomly into three groups (n = 5) fed a basal diet of concentrate feed mixture and fresh Trifolium alexandrinum at 50:50 on dry matter basis (Control) in addition to 50 g/head/d sunflower seeds whole (SS) or 20 mL/head/d sunflower seeds oil (SO) in a complete randomized design. Milk was sampled every two weeks during 90 days of experimental period for chemical analysis and rumen was sampled at 30, 60, and 90 days of the experiment for ruminal pH, volatile fatty acids (tVFA), and ammonia-N determination. Addition of SO decreased (p = 0.017) ruminal pH, whereas SO and SS increased tVFA (p<0.001) and acetate (p = 0.034) concentrations. Serum glucose increased (p = 0.013) in SO and SS goats vs Control. The SO and SS treated goats had improved milk yield (p = 0.007) and milk fat content (p = 0.002). Moreover, SO increased milk lactose content (p = 0.048) and feed efficiency (p = 0.046) compared to Control. Both of SS and SO increased (p<0.05) milk unsaturated fatty acids content specially conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) vs Control. Addition of SS and SO increased (p = 0. 021) C18:3N3 fatty acid compared to Control diet. Data suggested that addition of either SS or SO to lactating goats ration had beneficial effects on milk yield and milk composition with enhancing milk content of healthy fatty acids (CLA and omega 3), without detrimental effects on animal performance. (Key Words: Fatty Acid Profile, Lactating Goats, Milk Composition, Sunflower Seeds, Sunflower Oil

Digestion, growth performance and caecal fermentation in growing rabbits fed diets containing foliage of browse trees

[EN] This study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding dried foliage (leaves and petioles) of Acacia saligna, Leucaena leucocephala or Moringa oleifera on the performance, digestibility, N utilisation, caecal fermentation and microbial profiles in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. One hundred weaned male NZW rabbits weighing 819.2±16.6 g and aged 35±1 d were randomly allocated into 4 groups of 25 rabbits each. Rabbits were fed on pelleted diets containing 70% concentrate mixture and 30% Egyptian berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) hay (Control diet) or one of the other 3 experimental diets, where 50% of berseem hay was replaced with A. saligna (AS), L. leucocephala (LL) or M. oleifera (MO). Compared to Control diet, decreases in dry matter (DM; P=0.004), organic matter (P=0.028), crude protein (CP; P=0.001), neutral detergent fibre (P=0.033) and acid detergent fibre (P=0.011) digestibility were observed with the AS diet. However, DM and CP digestibility were increased by 3% with the MO diet, and N utilisation was decreased (P<0.05) with AS. Rabbits fed AS and LL diets showed decreased (P=0.001) average daily gain by 39 and 7%, respectively vs. Control. Feed conversion was similar in Control and MO rabbits, whereas rabbits fed AS diet ate up to 45% more feed (P=0.002) than Control rabbits to gain one kg of body weight. Caecal ammonia-N was increased (P=0.002) with LL, while acetic acid was decreased (P=0.001) with AS diet vs. other treatments. Caecal E. coli and Lactobacillus spp. bacteria counts were decreased with MO by about 44 and 51%, respectively, vs. Control. In conclusion, under the study conditions, tree foliage from M. oleifera and L. leucocephala are suitable fibrous ingredients to be included up to 150 g/kg in the diets of growing rabbits, and can safely replace 50% of berseem hay in diets of NZW rabbits without any adverse effect on their growth performance. Foliage from M. oleifera had a better potential as a feed for rabbits than that from L. leucocephala. Although foliage from A. saliga may be also used at 150 g/kg in the diets of growing rabbits, this level of inclusion may result in reduced feed digestibility and growth performance.Abu Hafsa, S.; Salem, A.; Hassan, A.; Kholif, A.; Elghandour, M.; Barbabosa, A.; Lopez, S. (2016). Digestion, growth performance and caecal fermentation in growing rabbits fed diets containing foliage of browse trees. World Rabbit Science. 24(4):283-293. doi:10.4995/wrs.2016.4359.SWORD28329324

Cattle welfare assessment at the slaughterhouse level: Integrated risk profiles based on the animal''s origin, pre-slaughter logistics, and iceberg indicators

Detection of on farm and transport animal welfare problems at slaughterhouse level is a key issue for the meat industry; however, usually, the assessments do not include basic aspects of animal health. For that reason, it is necessary to develop an assessment method that has an integrative scope and identifies the risk profiles in an-imals. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to detect cattle welfare indicators that can be implemented at the slaughterhouse level and to develop integrated risk profiles based on the animal''s origin, pre-slaughter lo-gistics, and animal-based indicators. We recorded the origin, commercial category, transportation details, and horn size of 1040 cattle upon arrival at the slaughterhouse. Cattle welfare was measured based on individual scores for vocalizations, stunning shots, carcass bruises, meat pH, severe hoof injuries, and organ condemnations. To characterize operational and logistic practices from the farm to the slaughterhouse, a two-step cluster analysis was applied to the aforementioned variables (production system, cattle type, horn size, journey distance, vehicle type), which identified four clusters: small feedlot and free-range profile (C1, n = 216, 20.8 %), feedlot profile (C2, n = 193, 18.6 %), culled dairy cows profile (C3, n = 262, 25.2 %), and free-range profile (C4, n = 369, 35.5 %). The animal''s diet and environmental conditions might have influenced the development of hoof disorders in C1 animals (P = 0.023), the proportion of animals that were re-shot was highest in C2 animals (P = 0.033), and C3 and C4 animals were most likely to suffer injuries such as severe bruising (P = 0.001). In addition, the number of stunning shots, meat pH, carcass bruises, severe hoof injuries, and liver condemnations, explained a significant variation in the incidence of various health and welfare consequences based on an animal''s origin, which confirmed their importance as ''welfare iceberg'' indicators. The study provided detailed data that can be included into assessment methods for the welfare of slaughter cattle, which can be tailored to specific production systems

The effect of earthworm (Eisenia foetida) meal with vermi-humus on growth performance, hematology, immunity, intestinal microbiota, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of broiler chickens

The present investigation was aimed to evaluate the effect of varied amount of earthworm meal (EW) and vermihumus (VH) on the growth performance of broiler chickens. Three hundred 1-d-old broiler chickens were assigned to 5 starter treatments with 5 pens per treatment, and 12 broiler chickens per pen in a completely randomized design from d 0–14 of the study. Dietary treatments were [per kilogram dry matter (DM)]: control (0 g EW and 0 g VH/kg of DM), and the diets containing 10 g VH/kg of DM supplemented with 0, 10, 20, or 30 g EW/kg of DM. At the end of the study (d 42), one representative broiler chicken per pen, close to the average body weight, was selected for blood sampling using a sterile needle and heparinized vacuum tube. The outcomes of the study depicted the greater overall feed intake value in broiler chicken fed the control diet than those fed the diets containing VH or EW or both, and it decreased linearly and quadratically (P<0.05) as the amount of EW supplementation increased. The average weight gain for the chickens was numerically increased as supplementation of EW was increased (linear, =0.3; quadratic P=0.4). On the other hand, overall feed conversation ratio was slightly greater (P=0.02) in broiler chickens fed the control diet, and it decreased linearly (P=0.03) as dietary EW supplementation increased. Additionally, the serum total protein, albumin, Ca, and P concentrations were lower in broiler chickens fed the control diet, and those variables increased linearly (P<0.05) as dietary EW increased. In like manner, humoral immune response (except heterophil/lymphocyte ratio) and relative weights of immune organs were lower in broiler chickens fed the control diet. Remarkable differences were observed between carcass and ileum characteristics of broiler chickens under treatments. Varied concentrations of EW showed increased total counts of lactic acid bacteria (linear, P<0.05; quadratic, P=0.3) and reduced population of pathogenic intestinal microbiota (linear, P0.05). Similarly, the meat quality of broiler chicken was markedly affected linearly (P<0.05) by the supplementation of increased dietary EW. Briefly, diets containing 30 g EW/kg of DM can positively affect the growth performance of broiler chickens and produce meat with better characteristics

The effect of garlic oil, xylanase enzyme and yeast on biomethane and carbon dioxide production from 60-d old Holstein dairy calves fed a high concentrate diet

Ruminal fermentation is accompanied by production of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) which are greenhouse gases (GHG) that cause environmental pollution. The effect of natural feed additives on the in vitro fermentation and production of CH4 and CO2 in dairy calf has had less attention. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of garlic oil, xylanase enzyme, and yeast on in vitro biogas production from dairy calves fed a high concentrate diet. Rumen contents from 60-d old Holstein calves fed a concentrate diet were used as inoculum source. Garlic oil was included at 30,120, 250 and 500 mL/g dry matter (DM), while xylanase was included at 3 and 6 mL/g DM and yeast at 2 and 4 mg/g DM. The substrate used was the same as the diet fed to calves. Garlic oil linearly decreased (P < 0.05) in vitro DM digestibility and there were no differences among levels of either xylanase or yeast. Garlic oil decreased (P < 0.05) DM degradability while xylanase and yeast had no effect. The lag phase was linearly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing level of garlic oil. Garlic oil quadratically decreased CH4 and CO2 production. The control treatment had the highest CH4 and CO2 production followed by xylanase, yeast and garlic oil. Increasing level of xylanase and yeast increased (P < 0.05) CO2 production. It can be concluded that garlic oil followed by yeast and then xylanase can be used to mitigate in vitro CH4 and CO2 production from dairy calves fed a high concentrate diet. However, further research is warranted to establish the efficacy of such feed additives in in vivo trials

Influence of exogenous enzymes in presence of Salix babylonica extract on digestibility, microbial protein synthesis and performance of lambs fed maize silage

In Mexico, there are native trees that can be used as an alternative feed when forages are scarce and of poor quality in the dry season (Palma et al. 1995). However, the use of plants or their extracts as feed additives is restricted by their secondary compound content (Salem et al. 2014c): although the ideal concentrations can modify and support the utilization of nutrients in the rumen (Salem et al. 2014a, b, c), an inverse relationship between secondary compound concentration and animal performance has been observed (Vasta & Luciano 2011; Salem et al. 2011a, 2013).Sixteen Suffolk lambs with 29 ± 2·0 kg body weight were housed in individual cages for 60 days and allotted to four treatments in a completely randomized design to determine the effect of administration of Salix babylonica (SB) extract and/or exogenous enzymes (ZADO®) on lamb performance. Lambs were fed with 300 g/kg concentrate (160 g crude protein (CP)/kg, 13·4 MJ metabolizable energy (ME)/kg dry matter (DM)) and 700 g/kg maize silage (80 g/kg CP, 11·7 MJ ME/kg DM) as a basal diet (control). Another three treatments were tested; the SB extract was administered at 30 ml/day (SB) and exogenous enzymes ZADO® (i.e. an exogenous enzyme cocktail in a powder form) directly fed at 10 g/day (EZ), while the last treatment contained ZADO® at 10 g/day + SB extract at 30 ml/day (EZSB). Lambs of the treatment EZSB had the greatest average daily weight gain (ADG) and feed conversion throughout the period of the experiment. However, during the first 30 days SB was more effective for ADG than EZ and vice versa during the last 30 days of the experiment.Water consumption was greater for SB, followed by EZ and EZSB compared to the control. Intakes ofDMand organicmatter (OM) were the highest in EZSB followed by EZ, which had the greatest neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre (ADF) and nitrogen (N) intakes. The EZSB treatment had the greatest DM and OM digestibilities compared to the other treatments; however, SB had the greatest ADF digestibility. Combination of EZ and SB had the best N balance. Allantoin, total purine derivatives (PD), allantoin : -creatinine ratio, and PD: creatinine ratio were increased in EZSB compared to the other treatments. However, EZ supplementation increased uric acid concentration, whereas the microbial N (g N/day) and metabolizable protein (g N/day) were increased in EZSB versus the other treatments. It can be concluded that addition of 10 g ZADO® in combination with S. babylonica extract at 30 ml/day in the diet of lambs increased feed intake, nutrient digestibility and daily gain, with a positive impact on the use of N and microbial protein synthesis

The effects of fermentation and adsorption using lactic acid bacteria culture broth on the feed quality of rice straw

To improve the nutritional value and the palatability of air-dried rice straw, culture broth of the lactic acid bacteria community SFC-2 was used to examine the effects of two different treatments, fermentation and adsorption. Air-dried and chopped rice straw was treated with either fermentation for 30 d after adding 1.5 L nutrient solution (50 mL inocula L–1, 1.2×1012 CFU mL–1 inocula) kg–1 straw dry matter, or spraying a large amount of culture broth (1.5 L kg–1 straw dry matter, 1.5×1011 CFU mL–1 culture broth) on the straw and allowing it to adsorb for 30 min. The feed quality and aerobic stability of the resulting forage were examined. Both treatments improved the feed quality of rice straw, and adsorption was better than fermentation for preserving nutrients and improving digestibility, as evidenced by higher dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) concentrations, lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and NH3-N concentrations, as well as higher lactic acid production and in vitro digestibility of DM (IVDMD). The aerobic stability of the adsorbed straw and the fermented straw was 392 and 480 h, respectively. After being exposed to air, chemical components and microbial community of the fermented straw were more stable than the adsorbed straw