Feed Supplement In Diets Research Articles

Use of activated charcoal feed supplement in diets of pigs

Pig farming is one of the most important and strategically valuable sub-branches of animal husbandry for ensuring food security of Russia and its regions as the special role of meat and meat products is determined with their significance as the main source of proteins of animal origin in human sensible nutrition. The novelty of the work is the use of an active coal feed additive as part of the diets of experimental piglets for growth and development and meat productivity during cultivation and fattening. Effective pig farming suggests use of high-quality feeds meeting requirements of presence of nutritional components and absence or minimum content of harmful and toxic substances. The conducted studies prove that the dose of activated charcoal feed supplement in the amount of 0.050 g/kg of live weight gives the highest results.

Potential utilization of kombucha as a feed supplement in diets on growth performance and feed efficiency of catfish (Clarias sp.)

Kombucha is a tea beverage obtained from the fermentation of sugared tea by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Kombucha is known to have many beneficial effects in health due to its chemical content and a high source of acetic acid and lactic acid bacteria and yeast. This study aimed to investigate the effect of kombucha supplementation in feed on growth performance and feed efficiency of catfish (Clarias sp.). Four hundred fish were distributed randomly into five feeding treatment groups includes a basal diet (control) and kombucha supplementation in the fish diet at 4 mL, 6 mL, 8 mL, and 10 mL/kg of feed. The feed was administered for 30 days. Results showed that the administration of kombucha in feed significantly improved the growth performance of catfish (P<0.05). Fish fed with kombucha supplementation at 8 mL produced the highest weight gain, absolute growth rate, and specific growth rate. Feed conversion ratio and feed efficiency ratio were significantly enhanced in the administration of 8 mL kombucha in a fish diet compared to the control diet. This study indicated that administration of kombucha in fish diet had a potential for enhancing the growth performance and feed efficiency of catfish (Clarias sp.)

Potential use of green macroalgae Ulva lactuca as a feed supplement in diets on growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of diet containing the green macroalgae, Ulva lactuca, on the growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of African catfish Clarias gariepinus. Four experimental diets were formulated: D1 as a control group and D2, D3 and D4 which included 10%, 20% and 30% U. lactuca meal, respectively. 180 African catfish, weighing 9.59 ± 0.43 g, and with an average length of 11.26 ± 0.21, (mean ± SE) were divided into four groups corresponding to the different feeding regimes. The final body weight of the fish showed insignificant differences (P > 0.05) between the control and fish fed D2, whereas, there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between these two diets compared with D3 and D4, with weights of 70.52, 60.92, 40.57 and 35.66 g recorded for D1, D2, D3 and D4, respectively. In the same trend significant differences were also evident in weight gain, specific growth rate and feed utilization. Fish fed with a diet containing 20% or 30% U. lactuca meal had poorer growth performance and feed utilization. Protein productive value, protein efficiency ratio, daily dry feed intake and total feed intake were also significantly lower in fish fed with D3 and D4 than in the control D1 and D2.Overall, the results of the experiment revealed that African catfish fed a diet with U. lactuca included at 20% and 30% levels showed poorer growth and feed utilization than the control group and fish fed diets containing 10% of U. lactuca.

Incorporating Roasted Coffee Bean into Nile Tilapia Diets Does Not Improve Growth Performance

This study was conducted to use ground roasted coffee bean (GRC; Coffee arabia) as a feed supplement in diets for Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Fish (1.9 ± 0.03 g) were fed diets containing 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 5.0 g GRC/kg in triplicate for 10 weeks. Final fish weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate were not significantly (P < 0.05) affected by GRC incorporation up to 1.0 g/kg, after which growth declined. Fish fed diets containing 2.0 and 5.0 g GRC/kg consumed less than the other treatments, giving the highest FCR (1.4 and 1.5, respectively). No significant differences were observed in fat efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio, and energy utilization for the 0.0–1.0 GRC/kg diets; lowest values of these parameters were obtained with the 2.0 and 5.0 g GRC/kg diets. Supplementation of GRC significantly reduced fish whole-body protein content and increased lipid and ash.

Effects of a Supplemental Liquid Yeast Product on Feed Intake, Ruminal Profiles, and Yield, Composition, and Organoleptic Characteristics of Milk from Lactating Holstein Cows

A liquid yeast product (about 11% DM), produced as a by-product of riboflavin synthesis, was incorporated into a TMR at three concentrations to determine the maximal inclusion rate and acceptability as a feed supplement in diets of lactating cows. Twelve Holstein cows in midlactation were randomly assigned to TMR treatments containing (as-fed basis) 1) no yeast product (control), 2) 20% dietary yeast product, or 3) 40% dietary yeast product in a 3 × 3 Latin square design with 3-wk periods. Dietary DM contents were 90, 74.2, and 58.4% for the 0, 20, and 40% yeast product TMR, respectively. The control TMR was based on a 45:55 ratio (DM basis) of mixed concentrate and chopped alfalfa hay. The DMI decreased linearly with increasing percentages of dietary yeast product. Milk yield and milk protein percentage were not altered by inclusion of the dietary yeast product. Milk fat tended to respond quadratically to increases in the percentage of dietary yeast product in the TMR. The supplemental dietary yeast product had no effect on ruminal pH; however, the ratio of acetate to propionate decreased, and propionate percentage tended to increase, as supplementation of the yeast product increased. Addition of yeast product to the TMR had no adverse effect on milk flavor. Milk from cows fed yeast product had better flavor than milk from control cows. Results indicate that inclusion of this yeast product at 40% depressed feed intake.