The effects of increasing aflatoxin B1 concentration (0, 0.75, 1.5 mg/kg) on broilers with or without necrotic enteritis or virginiamycin were determined. In the 23-d study, 22 male Cobb 500 chicks per pen were allotted to 12 treatments (3 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement) with 8 replications. Intestines of 5 birds per pen were examined for lesions on d 21. Birds were allowed to consume feed and w...

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are often presented suffering from urolithiasis. A high water intake is important in the prophylaxis of uroliths. We investigated the influence factors for water intake using 12 rabbits subjected to different feed and water regimes with practical relevance: Hay, fresh parsley, a seed mix and two different pelleted feed were offered in diverse combinations. Water ...

The hypotheses tested were that genetic size-scaling for mature BW (A, kg) would reduce variation in intake between kinds of sheep and that quadratic polynomials on u = BW/A with zero intercept would provide good descriptions of the relationship between scaled intake (SI, g/A(0.73) d) and degree of maturity in BW (u) across feeds of differing quality. Both sexes of Suffolk sheep from 2 experime...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a medical plant mixture and a probiotic on performance, antioxidant activity and weaning age of suckling Holstein calves. For this experiment, 30 newborn calves (0-10 days of age) with an average birth weight of 42 ± 8 kg were used in a factorial design (3×2) with 6 treatments and 5 replicates. Treatments were: 1) basal diet including a ca...

This review deals with the most relevant limits and developments of the modeling of intake of sheep and goats reared intensively and extensively. Because small ruminants are normally fed ad libitum, voluntary feed intake is crucial in feeding tactics and strategies aimed at optimal animal production. The effects of genetic, neuroendocrine, hormonal, feed and environmental factors on voluntary f...

Dry matter intake (DMI) is the most important variable affecting animal performance (Waldo and Jorgensen, 1981). This is especially the case for beef cattle, considering their economic importance, their complex digestive systems and their particular metabolic functions (Forbes, 2007). Feed intake restrictions can prevent the fulfillment of nutritional requirements. As most of the nutrients in b...

Feed additives belong to a number of climate change mitigation strategies being sought reduce methane emissions in ruminants. In this study, the effect biochar or and urea supplementation on dairy cow performance production was assessed. Eighteen cows were used 3 × latin square design with three feeding groups: control no (CO), (BC, 200 g/day) (BC + U, g/day 90 urea). All fed forage m...

We first carried out an 8-day balance study with 8 laying hens fed ad libitum a low Ca diet (0.30 p. 100 Ca) and a maximum of 14 g/day/hen of seashells in order to study whether totally separate Ca feeding (SCF) would increase the corrected metabolizable energy (cME) value of the diet and the retention of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. These experimental birds (group 2) were compared to 7 co...

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of early access to feed and water on the performance of broiler chicks during the first two weeks of life. A total of 64 Ross x Ross 708 broiler chicks were allotted to 3 treatment groups with 3 pens per group and 6 to 9 chicks per pen. Treatment group 1, 2, and, 3 were fasted for 36, 24, or 12 h post-hatch respectively, followed by ad libit...