Effect of chestnut tannin in the diet of lactating ewes on milk and cheese quality

A commercial product consisting of pure soluble tannins extracted from chestnut wood was introduced into the diet of lactating ewes at pasture, at the level of 20 g / head / day in the concentrate mixed feed. The supplementation with tannins did not exert any influence on milk yield and on lactose and fat content of milk, but induced an increase in milk protein yield, apparently in heat coagulable proteins. This is maybe due to an increase of the rumen undegradable fraction of dietary proteins. The somatic cells count and the bacterial load of milk were not affected as well. Further studies are needed to confirm these important results, in order to optimize the nitrogen metabolic balance of ruminant animals, among the other advantages

Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) and Non Structural Carbohydrate (NSC) requirements in the nutrition of dairy ewes

The aim of this review was to contribute to the knowledge of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and non structural carbo- hydrate (NSC) requirements in the nutrition of dairy ewes. NDF and NSC requirements were evaluated by analysing a dataset that involved 30 experimental trials carried out from 1985 to 2003. The dataset included chemical composition of the experimental diets, individual milk yield, body weight, milk protein and fat content. These selected papers regard 10 different dairy ewe breeds (Valle del Belice, Bergamasca, Comisana, Delle Langhe, Massese, Sarda, Chios, Manchega, Lacaune and Friesian) and lactating ewes in mid lactation, kept under non homogeneous environmental and feeding conditions. Results substantially confirmed that which was recently reported in literature: NDF requirements are higher in late lactation than during early lactation and they vary between 33-38% on DM, while NSC requirements are higher during early lactation than in late lactation when the energy from NSC promotes an increase in fat deposits

Lipid requirements in the nutrition of dairy ewes

The aim of this review was to contribute to the knowledge of lipid requirements in dairy ewes, by reviewing experi- mental papers about lipid supplementation in dairy ewe feeding. The number of trials in ewe feeding is lower than that in dairy cow feeding and, leaving calcium soap of palm oil out of consideration, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the effects of protected and unprotected lipid sources on milk yield and quality from dairy ewes. On the basis of data reported in the literature, the optimal dose of calcium soap of palm oil resulted to be 100-120 g/d. Also, milk fatty acid composition may be improved by adding calcium soap of fatty acids to ewe diets. The general effect of calcium salt sup- plementation is an increase in milk unsaturated fatty acids and a decrease in saturated ones. However, more research is needed in order to explain the effect of different fat sources (protected and unprotected) on milk yield and quality from dairy ewes

Estimated requirements of net energy, digestible protein and NDF intake of young Chianina bulls from 400 kg liveweight to slaughter

Three equations have been elaborated and proposed to predict the requirements of net energy and protein digestible in the intestine and NDF voluntary intake of growing young Chianina bulls, starting from 400 kg live weight. The animals examined in the present study were 100 young Chianina bulls starting from about 400 kg live weight, at 10 months of age, up to the average slaughter weight of 800 kg at 20 months average age. The diet was based on hay and concentrates. The equation for the prediction of net energy fits quite perfectly to another experimental equation formerly proposed by Giorgetti and is characterised by a very high value of the correlation coefficient for the regression comparison between observed and predicted figures (R2=0.90). The statistical reliance degree of the PDIN prediction equation is lower, but still very good (R2=0.75 between observed and predicted values), but that of the estimate of NDF daily intake resulted very poor (R2=0.26 between observed and predicted values), probably due to the non homogeneity of the intake capacity of the 100 examined animals. The correlation between daily gains and the concentration of NDF in the diet DM results good (R2=0.87), showing that young Chianina bulls take advantage of the diet fibre. Further useful indications on the nutritional and dietary requirements of young Chianina bulls are added to the scarce information currently available

Feeding finishing heavy pigs with corn silages: effects on backfat fatty acid composition and ham weight losses during seasoning

The effect of diets containing corn silages (whole ear or high cut whole plant corn silages, WECS and HCCS, respectively) on fatty acid composition of back fat and the weight loss of thighs during the seasoning process were examined in Italian heavy pigs (from 90 to 160 kg of live weight). Two trials were conducted in the same farm, following an identical experimental protocol. In both trials, a control diet, based on dry corn, barley, wheat, extracted soybean meal, wheat bran and supplement (47, 23, 10, 9, 8 and 3% dry matter (DM), respectively) was compared with a diet containing 30% DM of WECS (trial 1) or 20% DM of HCCS (trial 2) in substitution of bran and part of the corn. The initial fresh weight of thighs was very homogeneous between the two trials and only at the end of seasoning the hams from pigs fed the corn silage diets were slightly lighter (of about 0.5 kg, p < .05). The dietary inclusion of corn silages determined a significant increase of the saturated fraction of the back fat (from 40.6 to 41.9%, p < .05), mainly due to the increase of the C 18:0 fatty acid (from 14.3 to 15.2%, p < .05). Overall, the calculated iodine value was favourable for the fat of pigs fed silages (62.63 vs. 64.24, p = .05). In conclusion, feeding corn silages to heavy pigs has limited impact on seasoning ham losses and can slightly improve backfat quality, in terms of fatty acid composition

Use of a citrus by-product in broilers diets

The European Union is about to ban antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feeds. Organic products have been recently revalued and the animal science research showed a great interest in the study of alternative natural nutraceutical products in animal feeding. Flavonoids are plant pigments able to inhibit or kill many bacterial strains, to destroy some pathogenic protozoa and to scavenge free radicals

Influence of CLA supplementation on the lipid quality of rabbit meat

Lately, animal science researchers are getting more and more interested in natural nutraceuticals in feeds because of their beneficial effect both to the animal and to the consumer. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) consists of a pool of geometrical and positional isomers, acknowledged as a potent anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherogenic, anti-obesity, anti-diabetes and immune stimulating factor (Parodi, 1999). Food products from ruminant animals,milk in particular, are naturally more or less rich in CLA, depending on feeding. CLA may be increased by dietary means. Aim of the present study was an attempt to upgrade the lipid quality of rabbit meat by supplementing the diet with CLA

repeatability and reproducibility of the cornell net carbohydrate and protein system analytical determinations

The increasing use in Italy of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) led researchers of five Italianuniversities to carry out a collaborative study to evaluate the precision of the CNCPS chemical analysis and derivate fractions.Each laboratory conducted in duplicate the chemical analyses according to the Weende (dry matter; crude protein;ether extract; crude fibre; ash), Van Soest (neutral and acid detergent fibre, NDF and ADF; acid detergent lignin; ADL)and CNCPS (soluble proteins, SP; non-protein nitrogen, NPN; neutral and acid detergent insoluble protein, NDIP andADIP; starch, ST) schemes on the same five feeds (barley meal, wheat straw, maize silage, dried lucerne and fieldbeans). Anomalous analytical data were identified and corrected by the “box-plot” graphic tool before the calculation ofthe CNCPS protein (B1, B2 and B3) and carbohydrate (A, B2 and C) fractions. Finally, repeatability (chemical analysis) andreproducibility (chemical analysis and fractions) were calculated and expressed as relative values (repeatability andreproducibility standard deviation as percentage of the corresponding mean, RSDr and RSDR, respectively). Chemicalanalyses of the Weende scheme, together with NDF, ADF and ST analyses, have satisfactory repeatability (0.3-6.2%) andreproducibility (0.3-11.2%) values. On the contrary the ADL, NPN, NDIP and ADIP analyses showed high variability, bothwithin and between laboratories (RSDr and RSDR between 20 and 45%). The SP analysis had an intermediate value ofprecision (RSDr=10.6%; RSDR=16.4%).Finally, since different combinations of several chemical analyses with scarce (ADL, NPN, NDIP, ADIP, SP) or average precision(e.g. NDF and starch) are used to calculate CNCPS fractions (excluding B2 protein fraction), also the reproducibilitiesof these fractions are poor and range from 10 to 20%