The onset of puberty in indigenous male Thai pigs.

Knowledge of puberty plays an important role in planning livestock breeding. The objective of this study was to evaluate the age of the first sexual behavior and the first fertile sperm production, and the changes of reproductive structures in male Thai indigenous pigs, by using a completely randomized design. Male indigenous piglets were randomly divided into 9 groups; each group of 5 piglets was separately sacrificed at the age of 0 (birth), 1.

The effects of additives in napier grass silages on chemical composition, feed intake, nutrient digestibility and rumen fermentation.

The effect of silage additives on ensiling characteristics and nutritive value of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) silages was studied. Napier grass silages were made with no additive, fermented juice of epiphytic lactic acid bacteria (FJLB), molasses or cassava meal. The ensiling characteristics were determined by ensiling Napier grass silages in airtight plastic pouches for 2, 4, 7, 14, 21 and 45 d.

Fatty acid and energy metabolism in broiler chickens fed diets containing either beef tallow or an oil blend.

The hypothesis tested was that the feeding of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) results in more whole-body fatty acid oxidation than the feeding of saturated fatty acids (SFA). It was reasoned that the increased fatty acid oxidation would be associated with enhanced whole-body energy expenditure and stimulated de novo fatty acid synthesis. To put the hypothesis to the test, broiler chickens were fed diets containing either beef tallow as source of SFA or an oil blend as source of n-6 PUFA.

Digestion and deposition of individual fatty acids in growing-finishing pigs fed diets containing either beef tallow or sunflower oil.

The apparent digestibility and deposition in carcass of individual dietary fatty acids (FA) were determined in growing-finishing pigs fed diets containing either beef tallow or sunflower oil. The beef tallow was rich in saturated FA (SFA) and the sunflower oil had a high content of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA). A total of 39 barrows was used.

Macronutrient digestibility in Kadon pigs fed diets with isonitrogenous amounts of various carbohydrate sources.

In this experiment, the apparent digestibility of diets with isonitrogenous amounts of different carbohydrate sources was determined in Kadon pigs, which are native to the North-East of Thailand and typically kept on small-holder farms. Eight male and eight female pigs were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design with diets containing either ground corn (GC), rice bran (RB), broken rice (BR) or cassava chips (CC). The diet with BR induced the highest digestibilities for protein and energy, but also had the highest ingredients costs.