BackgroundTo reduce use of main feed ingredient like corn, soy bean meal (SBM) and wheat, alternative ingredients has been studied like copra meal (CM). Production amount of CM which has been high makes CM to be an alternative feed stuff. However, low digestibility on AA and low energy content by high fiber content can be an obstacle for using CM. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of CM supplementation with β-mannanase on growth performance, blood profile, nutrient digestibility, pork quality and economic analysis in growing-finishing pigs.MethodsA total of 100 growing pigs ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) averaging 31.22 ± 2.04 kg body weight were allotted to 5 different treatments by weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design in 5 replicate with 4 pigs per pen. Treatments were 1) Control (corn-SBM based diet + 0.1% of β-mannanase (800 IU)), 2) CM10 (10% copra meal + 0.1% β-mannanase (800 IU)), 3) CM15 (15% copra meal + 0.1% β-mannanase (800 IU)), 4) CM20 (20% copra meal + 0.1% β-mannanase (800 IU)) and 5) CM25 (25% copra meal + 0.1% β-mannanase (800 IU)). Four phase feeding program was used: growing I (week 1–3), growing II (week 4–6), finishing I (week 7–9) and finishing II (week 10–12).ResultsIn growth performance, there was no significant difference among treatments during whole experimental period. In growingI phase, G:F ratio tended to increase when CM was increased (P = 0.05), but ADG and ADFI tended to decrease in finishingII phase (linear, P = 0.08). Also, increasing CM reduced ADG (linear, P = 0.02) and feed efficiency (linear, P = 0.08) during the whole finishing period. In blood profiles, BUN was linearly increased as CM increased (linear, P = 0.02) at growingII period. In digestibility trial, there was no significant difference in dry matter, crude fat, crude ash and nitrogen digestibility. However, crude protein digestibility was decreased linearly (linear, P = 0.02). In economic analysis, feed cost per weight gain and total feed cost per pig were reduced in overall period when CM was provided by 25% (linear, P = 0.02).ConclusionCM with 0.1% of β-mannanase (800 IU) could be supplemented instead of corn and SBM up to 25% without detrimental effects on growth performance and pork quality of growing-finishing pigs.

BackgroundIn 2006, the European Union (EU) has decided to forbid use of antibiotics as growth promoters. Although many researches had been conducted about fiber source as alternatives of antibiotics, there are still lack of reports in the literature about the optimum level of sugar beet pulp supplementation, affecting growth performance and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs. Therefore, different level of sugar beet pulp was added to diets to determine the effects of sugar beet pulp supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microflora, blood profile and incidence of diarrhea in weaning pigs.MethodsA total of 200 weaning pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc], averaging 9.01 ± 1.389 kg of initial body weight were, allotted to 5 treatments in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Each treatment was composed of 4 replicates with 10 pigs per pen. The treatments were control treatment: Corn-SBM basal diet + ZnO (phase 1: 0.05%; phase 2; 0.03%) and four different levels of sugar beet pulp were supplemented in Corn-SBM basal diet (3, 6, 9 or 12%). Two phase feeding programs (phase 1: 1–2 weeks; phase 2: 3–5 weeks) were used for 5 week of growth trial.ResultsIn feeding trial, there were no significant differences in growth performance and incidence of diarrhea among treatments. The E.coli counts were not significantly different among dietary treatments but linear response was observed in Lactobacillus counts as sugar beet pulp supplementation increased (P < 0.05). In addition, IGF-1, IgA and IgG were not affected by dietary treatments. However, the BUN concentration was decreased when pigs were fed the treatments of diets with SBP compared to that of control treatment (P < 0.05). In nutrient digestibility, crude fiber and NDF digestibilities were improved as the sugar beet pulp increased (P < 0.05). However, digestibilities of crude ash, crude fat, crude fiber and nitrogen retention were not affected by dietary sugar beet pulp levels.ConclusionThis experiment demonstrated that sugar beet pulp can be supplemented in weaning pigs’ diet instead of ZnO to prevent postweaning diarrhea without any detrimental effect on growth performance.

This study evaluated dietary fiber (DF) level and the ratio of soluble fiber (SF): insoluble fiber (ISF) impact on sows’ reproductive performance under heat stress. Forty sows at day 90 of gestation were assigned to four treatments. HH diet had, 20% DF, 1:4, SF:ISF ratio; HL, 20% DF, 1:6, SF:ISF ratio; LH, 14% DF, 1:4, SF:ISF, LL, 14% DF, 1:6, SF:ISF. Results showed that; lactation back-fat loss was lower (P < 0.05) in HH . Feed intake was higher (P < 0.05) in HH and HL. Farrowing duration shorter (P < 0.05) in HH. Constipation index was higher (P < 0.05) in HH and LH. Weaning piglets’ body weight was greater (P < 0.05) in HH than LH and LL. Hair cortisol was lower (P < 0.05) in HH than HL, and LL. Acetate, propionate, isovalerate, and butyrate was higher (P < 0.05) in HH and LH. Plasma zonulin, fecal lipocalin-2 were lower (P < 0.05) in HH, and HL. Superoxide dismutase tended to be higher (P = 0.056) and malondialdehyde tended to be lower (P = 0.069) in HH and HL. We opined that higher levels of dietary fiber and soluble fiber could ameliorate heat stress in gestating sows.

Stocking density stress is one of the most common management stressors in the poultry industry. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of dietary Sophora koreensis (SK; 0 and 20 mg/kg diet) and stocking density (SD; 14 and 16 chickens/m2) on the antioxidant status, meat quality, and growth performance of native Korean chickens. There was a lower concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) and a higher concentration of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and total antioxidant capacity in the serum and leg muscle with the supplementation of SK. The concentration of MDA was increased and concentrations of SOD were decreased in the leg muscle of chickens in low SD treatments. The SK-supplemented treatments showed an increased 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate-reducing activity of leg muscles. The higher water holding capacity of breast muscle and a lower cooking loss and pH were shown in the SK-supplemented treatments. The addition of dietary SK resulted in a greater body weight gain and greater spleen and bursa Fabricius weight, as well as lower feed intake and abdominal fat. The low SD and supplementation of SK increased the concentrations of cholesterol. The concentration of glucose was increased in the low SD treatment. Corticosterone level was decreased in the SK-supplemented and low SD treatments. In conclusion, SK supplementation reduced the oxidative stress and increased meat quality and antioxidant status of chickens apart from the SD stress.

No abstract

Prediction of calcium and phosphorus requirements for pigs in different bodyweight ranges using a meta-analysis Running Title (within 10 words)Calcium and phosphorus requirements in pigs

Context The occurrence of second parity syndrome is a major reason for culling sows depending on the bodyweight and energy level balance during the first lactation. Equally, the nutrition of gilts during the rearing period influences the age of first oestrus, longevity and reproductive performance. Aims The experiment investigated: (1) the influence of gilt mating age (early [EL], middle [MD] and late [LT]) at the first parity on reproductive performance, and (2) the interaction between dietary energy levels (high, 3320 kcal/kg; low, 3120 kcal/kg) and mating age. Methods A total of 120 crossbred (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) gilts were allotted to six treatments according to a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement based on mating age (EL [222 days], MD [244 days] and LT [264 days]) at the first parity and dietary energy levels (high, 3320 kcal/kg; low, 3120 kcal/kg). The average weight of gilts were 141 ± 3, 153 ± 3 and 164 ± 3 for the EL, MD and LT groups, respectively. Results High-energy diets tended to increase the growth rate of gilts (P = 0.083). At insemination, bodyweight and back-fat thickness were higher (P < 0.05) in the LT group. Back-fat thickness at farrowing was lower (P < 0.05) in the EL group. The back-fat thickness loss during lactation was highest in the LT group (P < 0.05) during parity one and two. Feed intake during lactation was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in the LT gilts in parity one. Insemination age and dietary energy levels had no significant effects on, litter size, litter weight and weaning to oestrus interval. A higher blood insulin-like growth factor (P < 0.05) was observed in the EL gilts during the first service and weaning. Conclusion Based on these findings, early inseminated gilts had a lower bodyweight loss during lactation without affecting litter size or growth, which in the long term may positively impact culling age. Implication This information may guide swine farmers on the most appropriate age to breed gilts at first service for increased reproductive life. The provision of high-energy feeds did not translate into any meaningful interaction towards improving reproductive performance in gilts.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate convolutional neural network models and computer vision techniques for the classification of swine posture with high accuracy and to use the derived result in the investigation of the effect of dietary fiber level on the behavioral characteristics of the pregnant sow under low and high ambient temperatures during the last stage of gestation. A total of 27 crossbred sows (Yorkshire × Landrace; average body weight, 192.2 ± 4.8 kg) were assigned to three treatments in a randomized complete block design during the last stage of gestation (days 90 to 114). The sows in group 1 were fed a 3% fiber diet under neutral ambient temperature; the sows in group 2 were fed a diet with 3% fiber under high ambient temperature (HT); the sows in group 3 were fed a 6% fiber diet under HT. Eight popular deep learning-based feature extraction frameworks (DenseNet121, DenseNet201, InceptionResNetV2, InceptionV3, MobileNet, VGG16, VGG19, and Xception) used for automatic swine posture classification were selected and compared using the swine posture image dataset that was constructed under real swine farm conditions. The neural network models showed excellent performance on previously unseen data (ability to generalize). The DenseNet121 feature extractor achieved the best performance with 99.83% accuracy, and both DenseNet201 and MobileNet showed an accuracy of 99.77% for the classification of the image dataset. The behavior of sows classified by the DenseNet121 feature extractor showed that the HT in our study reduced ( p < 0.05) the standing behavior of sows and also has a tendency to increase ( p = 0.082) lying behavior. High dietary fiber treatment tended to increase ( p = 0.064) lying and decrease ( p < 0.05) the standing behavior of sows, but there was no change in sitting under HT conditions.