ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of tannin extract of Acacia mearnsii De Wild. or monensin on intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, and ruminal variables of lambs. Five rumen cannulated lambs (40.3 ± 2.8 kg) were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design, with periods of 21 days each. The treatments were: control, without additive; Tan-0.60, Tan-1.20, and Tan-1.80 for the doses of 0.60, 1.20, and 1.80 g kg−1 body weight (BW) of tannin extract, respectively; and ionophore (monensin) […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the effects of high-concentrate diets with and without the inclusion of soybean hull (SH; 0 or 500.8 g/kg) plus corn (whole or ground) on the performance, morphometric traits, and nutritional and metabolic parameters of crossbred dairy calves. We also aimed to assess the costs associated with the experimental diets employed. Thirty-six male calves with an average weight of 89±18.6 kg and age of 3.5 months were allocated to four treatments, with […]

ABSTRACT A meta-analysis was employed to assess the effects of phytogenic feed additives and antibiotics on the performance and intestinal morphometry of unchallenged weanling pigs. The database included 41 articles published between 2004 and 2017, comprising 5,197 unchallenged nursery piglets. Piglets had 7.7 to 13.8 kg body weight and were assessed at 27.3 to 47.8 days of age, distributed into 156 experimental groups. All treatments were categorized into negative control, phytogenic additive (PA), and antibiotics (ATB) groups. The meta-analysis followed […]

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of vitamin D3 in broiler diets on performance and bone health. A total of 360 one-day old male Cobb500® broiler chicks were subjected to five treatments of different levels of vitamin D3 in diets during two rearing phases: 0 IU/kg in both phases; 625 IU/kg in starter and 500 IU/kg in grower phase (25% of commercial inclusion); 1,250 IU/kg in starter and 1,000 IU/kg in grower phase (50% of […]

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of housing in the last month of gestation on hoof health in postpartum dairy heifers. The hooves of the heifers were evaluated during functional claw trimming and lameness scoring at 30 days before the expected calving date, and only heifers without any hoof lesions and lameness were included in the study. The heifers were kept in cubicle housing systems with mats (MAT, n = 12), mattresses (MATR, n = 12) and solid concrete floors, […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate, through principal component analysis, the effect of different feedlot structures on climatic conditions, nutrient intake, and performance of Nellore bulls during the feeding period in the semi-arid region. Data from 225 non-castrated Nellore bulls with initial mean body weight (BW) of 294 ± 19 kg and age of 24 months were used. This was done in a completely randomized design with three feedlot structures (no shading, natural shade, and artificial shade […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters and predict selection of genetic gains and genetic diversity of 12 Andropogon lateralis ecotypes collected in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. To estimate genetic parameters and predict selection gains, the REML/BLUP technique was applied. Genetic diversity among the ecotypes was evaluated by two clustering methods (optimization and hierarchical) and principal component (PC) analysis, the latter method also used to discard variables. The genetic parameters studied […]

ABSTRACT The present study presents a comparative evaluation of the transit kinetics of straw briquette in response to the dietary addition of non-protein nitrogen sources in the form of a mineral supplement. Four rumen-cannulated, castrated Holstein-Gir crossbred cattle, weighing an average of 380±22.64 kg, were distributed into a 4 × 4 Latin square design (four supplements with non-protein nitrogen sources × four experimental periods). The following non-protein nitrogen sources were studied: conventional urea, slow-release urea, extruded urea, and monoammonium phosphate. […]

ABSTRACT The study aimed to optimize the processing conditions for hydrolyzed feather meal (HFM) with the addition of coagulated blood. Factorial design and response surface methodology were used to optimize processing conditions in function of protein content (%) and digestibility value (%) of HFM. Higher protein contents were obtained when the upper levels of the variables pressure (kgf.cm−2), hydrolysis time (min), and blood addition (%) were used in the process. Longer hydrolysis time and a higher percentage of blood result […]

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the polymorphism of the silence information regulator 5 (SIRT5) gene in 103 Congjiang Xiang pigs from Southwest China. We searched for SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) loci of SIRT5 gene through sequence alignment and PCR. We obtained nine SNP loci: g.14135 A>C (intron 6), g.14247 C>A (intron 6), g.14305 C>T (exon 7), g.14335 C>T (exon 7), g.16603 T>C (intron 7), g.16613 T>C (intron 7), g.16800 G>A (intron 7), g.16812 C>G (intron 7), and g.16916 […]