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The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of semi-purified glycerin added to the feed of pregnant and lactating sows on performance including dorsal diameter, body condition, daily weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion rate. Growth and feeding parameters were evaluated in born piglets: litter average, survival, daily weight gain, feed conversion rate, and daily milk consumption. Pregnant sows (n = 60; initial weight 180 ± 22 kg) were randomly assigned to the Control or Glycerin group (2%). Semi-purified glycerin was supplied from the beginning of gestation until farrowing. The inclusion of semi-purified glycerin did not affect any of the parameters evaluated in sows during gestation. The inclusion of semi-purified glycerin had a significant effect (p = 0.04) on the body condition of sows at weaning and appeared to have a negative effect on piglet survival. However, semi-purified glycerin caused no negative effects on milk production during lactation and did not affect piglet performance parameters. The addition of semi-purified glycerin as a caloric source could be an economically viable alternative to be implemented in feeding pregnant and lactating sows. However, additional tests are suggested.

The present study was aimed to investigate the polymorphism of the myostatin gene and its relation with some growth traits,included feed conversion rate and efficiency, protein intake and protein efficiency ratio in 68 specimens of common carp Cyprinus carpio. Sequencing of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) showed three genotypes at site T2230C in the myostatin gene. The distribution rates were 5.88, 38.24 and 55.88% for TT, TC and CC respectively, and the variation among them was high significant, the allelic frequency was 0.25 for allele T, while it was 0.75 for C. Effect of the genotype of the myostatin gene was significantly in the feed conversion rate and efficiency, the protein intake and the protein efficiency ratio of the common carp with the variation of the genotypes of myostatin gene, whereas the feed conversion rate was 6.18 , 6.00 and 4.50 at TC , TT and CC respectively. Based on the mentioned results , the positive relation between myostatin gene polymorphism with some growth traits observed in this study may be a useful biomarker in the selection and crossing the genotypes that have achieved the best performance in common carp .

Catfish (Clarias sp.) is a freshwater fish that is widely cultivated throughout Indonesia due to its importance and high market prospect. Some of the advantages of catfish include adequate nutrition, fast and easy growth. Salinity is one of the water quality parameters which directly affect fish body metabolism and osmoregulation. Increasing salinity may affect energy utilization within the osmoregulation process. Salinity is one of the environmental factors that can affect the rate of growth and feed consumption. This experiment was conducted to understand how salinized media may affect growth rate, survival rate and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The most optimal salinity that affects the aforementioned parameter was also observed. The research method used Randomized Complete Design with four treatments and five replications. Treatments were given code P0 (0ppt), P1 (3ppt), P2 (6ppt) and P3 (9ppt). Data analysis was done using ANOVA followed by Duncan Multiple Range test. Results indicated that salinity difference had significant effect (p<0.05) against growth rate, survival rate and FCR. Statistical analysis showed highest growth rate was on P3 (3.085 grams) and lowest was on P1 (1.572 grams). All survival rates showed similar value at 100%. FCR value was observed at lowest value on P3 (0.765) and highest was on P1 (1.572).

Background The development and utilization of probiotics had many environmental benefits for replacing antibiotics in animal production. Bacteria in the intestinal mucosa have better adhesion to the host intestinal epithelial cells compared to bacteria in the intestinal contents. In this study, lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the intestinal mucosa of broiler chickens and investigated as the substitution to antibiotic in broiler production. Results In addition to acid resistance, high temperature resistance, antimicrobial sensitivity tests, and intestinal epithelial cell adhesion, Enterococcus faecium PNC01 ( E. faecium PNC01) was showed to be non-cytotoxic to epithelial cells. Draft genome sequence of E. faecium PNC01 predicted that it synthesized bacteriocin to perform probiotic functions and bacteriocin activity assay showed it inhibited Salmonella typhimurium from invading intestinal epithelial cells. Diet supplemented with E. faecium PNC01 increased the ileal villus height and crypt depth in broiler chickens, reduced the relative length of the cecum at day 21, and reduced the relative length of jejunum and ileum at day 42. Diet supplemented with E. faecium PNC01 increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Lactobacillus , decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroides in the cecal microbiota. Conclusion E. faecium PNC01 replaced antibiotics to reduce the feed conversion rate. Furthermore, E. faecium PNC01 improved intestinal morphology and altered the composition of microbiota in the cecum to reduce feed conversion rate. Thus, it can be used as an alternative for antibiotics in broiler production to avoid the adverse impact of antibiotics by altering the gut microbiota. Graphic Abstract

In dairy production, high feed efficiency (FE) is important to reduce feed costs and negative impacts of milk production on the climate and environment, yet little is known about the relationship between FE, eating behaviour and activity. This research communication describes how cows differing in FE, expressed as daily energy corrected milk production per unit of feed intake, differed in eating behaviour and activity. We used data from a study of 253 lactations obtained from 97 Holstein and 91 Jersey cows milked in an automatic milking system. Automated feed troughs recorded feed intake behaviour and cows wore a sensor that recorded activity from 5 to 200 d in milk (DIM). We used a mixed linear model to estimate random solutions for individual cows for traits of steps, lying and eating behaviour and calculated their correlation with FE during four periods (5–35, 36–75, 76–120 and 121–200 DIM). Separate analyses were performed for each breed and period. We found that individual level correlations between FE and behaviour traits were stronger in Jersey than in Holstein cows. Eating rate correlated weakly negatively to FE in Holstein cows and more strongly so in Jersey cows, such that efficient Jerseys were slower eaters. The physical activity of Jersey cows was weakly and negatively correlated to FE, but this was not the case in Holstein cows. We conclude that eating rate was consistently negatively associated with FE throughout lactation for Jersey cows, but not for Holstein cows.

This study investigates the impact of urea molasses-treated wheat straw on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in Azikheli buffalo male calves. A longitudinal experiment was conducted on sixteen calves, randomly assigned to four experimental dietary treatments ( n  = 4 per group). The experimental diets included a control group (U0) with untreated wheat straw and three groups where urea molasses-treated wheat straw replaced 33% (U33), 66% (U66), or 100% (U100) of the straw in the total mixed ration. Results indicated that increasing the proportion of urea-treated wheat straw from 0 to 100% led to significant improvements in dry matter intake (from 2931 to 4034 g/day) and organic matter intake (from 2596 to 3623 g/day). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and crude fiber also followed an increasing trend, reaching 77.42%, 81.21%, 87.10%, and 60.22%, respectively, at the highest urea-treated wheat straw level. Furthermore, weight gain was significantly greater in calves fed 100% urea-treated wheat straw, followed by those in the U66, U33, and U0 groups. Feed conversion efficiency improved substantially in the U100 and U66 groups than U33 and U0. These findings suggest that incorporating higher levels of UMTWS in total mixed rations enhances nutrient digestibility, promoting superior growth performance and feed efficiency in Azikheli buffalo calves.

The spotted rose snapper Lutjanus guttatus (Steindachner, 1869) is a commercially valuable and potentially cultivable species, but management stress compromises productivity. Some highly diluted bioactive compounds (HDBC) enhance relaxation and nutrition; thus, they were experimentally evaluated in 300 (n = 60: per treatment) juveniles (8.72 ± 4.07 g total weight, 8.47 ± 1.24 cm total length), temperature: 26.9 ± 1.5°C, salinity: 35, in 10 experimental flow-through units (120-L) for 30 days. Three HDBC treatments [PaV 31CH (Passival® MX), InM 3CH (RubioPharma® MX) and PaV+InM] and two controls [ET (Ethanol Similia® MX) and DW (distilled water] were sprinkled (5% volume/weight) in balanced food (Silver Cup® 45% protein) and administered five times a day to satiety. Treated juveniles presented higher productive performance with increases (P < 0.05) in weight and length with PaV (4.26 g and 0.95 cm), PaV+InM (5.34 g and 1.26 cm), and InM (3.91 g and 0.83 cm) vs. ET and DW (0.59 and 1.62 g, and 0.07 and 0.5 cm, respectively). Specific growth rate (1.54, 1.19, and 1.79% g d-1), weight gain (0.141, 0.130, and 0.178 g d-1), feed conversion rate (1.23 to 1.47), and Fulton's condition factor (K = 1.5) were higher (P < 0.05) in treated fish vs. controls. The average survival was higher in groups treated with PaV, InM, and PaV+InM with 90.0 ± 2.72, 93.3 ± 2.71, and 88.3 ± 1.36%, respectively, than ET and DW controls (65.0 ± 1.31 and 73.3 ± 5.44%), suggesting HDBC use could optimize L. guttatus sustainable farming.

 The research aimed to study the effect of natural and nano zinc oxide on some growth parameters of common carp Cyprinus carpio. Seven treatments were used, including the control without any addition, the second, third and fourth treatments by adding nano-zinc oxide at concentrations of 25, 50 and 75 mg/kg feed, respectively, and the fifth, sixth and seventh treatments by adding natural zinc oxide in the same concentrations above. The results showed that the fourth treatment was superior to the traits of the total weight gain, daily growth rate, relative and specific growth rate over the other treatments, which is an indication that the fish benefit from feed enhanced with nanoparticles by 75%, and it differed significantly )p (0.01>from the rest of the treatments. T4 treatment was recorded the best daily growth was 0.29 g/day The best feed conversion ratio was recorded in the same treatment. It can be concluded from the study that the addition of zinc nanoparticles to the diet of fish improves the level of performance and growth without causing any harm to the fish.

The Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis is an important aquaculture species in China, the main culture locations of which are the river basins of the Liaohe, Huanghe and Yangtze Rivers. This study was conducted to compare culture performance and gonadal development of wild E. sinensis populations from the three rivers cultured in identical ponds. In both females and males, the Yangtze population (YP) had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher mean body weight, weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) than the Liaohe population (LP) from March to May and July–September, and the LP had the highest WGR and SGR from May to July. The onset of molting during puberty and gonad development were earliest in the LP; the gonadosomatic index of the Huanghe population (HP) was between that of the YP and LP. In terms of size distribution, YP and LP had the most large-sized and small-sized individuals, respectively. YP had the highest yield and lowest feed conversion rate (FCR), and HP had the lowest survival and highest FCR. In conclusion, the YP showed the best culture performance of the three populations. Each population completed puberty molting and gonadal development at a different time, therefore selective breeding could extend the time to market of this crab.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) convert kitchen waste into high-quality insect feed. However, the optimal amount of auxiliary materials needed to improve the physical and chemical properties of kitchen waste and enhance BSFL bioconversion efficiency remains unresolved. In this study, maize stover and BSFL frass were added to kitchen waste (in groups G2 and G3, respectively) to explore their effects on the growth performance and bioconversion efficiency of BSFL. The group with only kitchen waste, without the addition of maize stover or BSF frass, was used as the control group and labeled as G1. On the 5th day, the body length of the BSFL in the G2 group was significantly greater than that in G1 and G3 (p < 0.05). The dry matter weight loss rate in the G3 group was significantly lower compared to that of G1 and G2 (p < 0.05), and the feed conversion rate (FCR) of G1 was significantly lower than that of G2 and G3 (p < 0.01). In summary, adding maize stover and BSFL frass increased BSFL feed intake and improved body weight gain. However, these additives did not significantly enhance BSFL bioconversion efficiency. The organic matter in maize stover and BSFL frass was utilized by the BSFL, and the heavy metal levels in each group of BSFL did not exceed standard limits.