Publications by authors named "R A Swick"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how reducing protein in diets for laying hens affects bone health and mineralization, specifically looking at the role of L-arginine (Arg), guanidinoacetic acid (GAA), and L-citrulline (Cit) as supplements.
  • Researchers compared five dietary treatments among hens, analyzing factors like bone weight, breaking strength, and mineral levels over a 20-week period.
  • Results showed that while a standard protein diet led to better bone characteristics, supplementation with Arg, GAA, or Cit in reduced-protein diets improved femur weight and mineral absorption, suggesting hens can adapt to low diets by optimizing mineral usage.
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There is renewed interest in utilizing food waste as animal feed due to its potential benefits in reducing feed cost and environmental impact while improving global food security. This study was conducted to examine the efficacy of recycled food waste-based feed for laying hen performance, egg quality, and nutrient digestibility. Hy-Line Brown hens (n = 150) were randomly distributed to three dietary treatments with 50 replicate cages of a single bird per treatment from 24 to 43 weeks of age.

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Re-emergence of enteric diseases in the postantibiotic era has imposed severe loss to the poultry industry leading to the urgent need for appropriate additives to maintain gut health. Recently, more attention has been paid to animal plasma due to its high concentrations of active components such as albumins and globulins. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of spray-dried porcine plasma (SDP) supplementation during the starter phase (d 0-10) on growth performance, intestine health, and immune response of broilers under necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge.

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In this paper, we discuss the theory behind calibration curve experiments and their application to a zinc (Zn) bioavailability study with broiler chickens. Seven replicates of 16 male commercial broiler chicks were fed starter diets for 14 days. Six diets had different levels of a potential Zn source and one was a positive control with standard industry levels of Zn for comparison.

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Super dosing copper (Cu) has long been used as an alternative to antibiotic growth-promoters in broiler chickens' diet to improve gut health. This study was designed to compare nutritional and growth-promoting levels of Cu hydroxychloride (CH) with CuSO on gut health bio-markers and liver mineral profile of broiler chickens. Ross 308 chicks (n = 864) were randomly assigned to eight treatments, as basal diet containing no supplemental Cu; the basal diet with 15 or 200 mg/kg Cu as CuSO; or 15, 50, 100, 150 or 200 mg/kg Cu from CH.

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