Ileal and total tract digestibility and nitrogen utilisation in blue fox () fed low-protein diets supplemented with DL-methionine and L-histidine.

To formulate low-protein diets for blue foxes with sufficient amounts of amino acids (AA), AA digestibility and AA requirements of the animals are crucial information. Therefore, a digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance trial was conducted with 20 blue foxes to determine the macronutrient and AA digestibility and N utilisation in low-protein diets supplemented with DL-methionine (Met) and L-histidine (His). In addition, plasma urea and plasma AA were measured.

Wooden breast myopathy links with poorer gait in broiler chickens.

Wooden breast myopathy, a condition where broiler breast muscles show a hardened consistency post-mortem, has been described recently. However, it is not known how wooden breast myopathy affects the bird activity or welfare. Altogether, over 340 birds of five commonly used commercial hybrids were housed in 25 pens, and sample birds killed at ages of 22, 32, 36, 39 and 43 days.

Wooden Breast Myodegeneration of Pectoralis Major Muscle Over the Growth Period in Broilers.

Wooden breast (WB) myopathy of broiler chickens is a myodegenerative disease of an unknown etiology and is macroscopically characterized by a hardened consistency of the pectoralis major muscle. Our aim was to describe the development and morphology of WB over the growth period in broilers. Additionally, the effect of restricted dietary selenium on the occurrence of WB was examined by allocating the birds in 2 dietary groups: restricted and conventional level of selenium.

Using conjoint analysis to weight broiler welfare variables based on slaughterhouse data.

The Council of the European Union adopted the welfare directive for broiler chickens in 2007 (Commission of the European Communities, 2007). The directive defines minimum demands and objectives for broiler production ranging from stocking density to welfare. This study found that the level of nonhuman animal welfare can be determined, for example, with welfare indexes that have different weight values for welfare variables.

Functional and sensory properties of hen eggs with modified fatty acid compositions.

Foaming, emulsifying, gelling, and sensory properties of fresh and stored hen eggs fed with a diet supplemented with flax oil (FO), rapeseed oil (RO), fish oil (FISH), and by-product from black currant processing (BC) were investigated. With these diets, the ω6/ω3 fatty acid ratio of eggs varied from 1.5 to 5.

Effect of different vitamin D supplementations in poultry feed on vitamin D content of eggs and chicken meat.

According to a new European Union regulation, vitamin D(3) can be partially or totally substituted with 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25-OH-D(3)) in hens' feed. The purpose of this study was to clarify how this regulation has affected the vitamin D content of commercial eggs and chicken meat. Another aim was to investigate how effectively 25-OH-D(3) is transferred from the hens' diet to egg yolk by analyzing eggs from farms using known commercial feeds and by conducting an animal study.

Effects of calcium diet supplements on egg strength in conventional and furnished cages, and effects of 2 different nest floor materials.

Several studies have demonstrated a greater incidence of cracked eggs in furnished than in conventional cages. Hens kept in furnished cages may have greater bone strength, so they may lay eggs with weaker shells because they may utilize more calcium for bone mineralization and less for shell formation. The effects of increased dietary calcium content were therefore studied in 3-hen conventional and 8-hen furnished cages.

Fish bones--a highly available calcium source for growing pigs.

In general, there is a lack of scientific documentation of nutritional value of marine by-products. The bone fraction from fish has been regarded as waste. Due to the high mineral content of fish bones, this material can be well suitable as a natural calcium source.

Effects of dietary energy content on the performance of laying hens in furnished and conventional cages.

This study examined the effects of dietary energy content on the egg production and egg quality of hens kept in 3-hen conventional cages or 8-hen furnished cages. A total of 1,088 Lohmann Selected Leghorn hens were housed in either furnished or conventional cages and offered low- or high-energy diets (from 2,342 to 2,414 kcal/kg or from 2,581 to 2,629 kcal/kg) during 3 consecutive feeding phases of 20, 16, and 16 wk, respectively. The same dietary energy effects were observed in both cage systems.

Effects of a dietary organic acid mixture and of dietary fibre levels on ileal and faecal nutrient apparent digestibility, bacterial nitrogen flow, microbial metabolite concentrations and rate of passage in the digestive tract of pigs.

Six 34-kg barrows were fitted with a post-valve T-caecum cannula and assigned to six dietary treatments according to a 6 × 5 change-over design to study how a mixture of formic acid, sorbate, and benzoate (0 or 8.4 g/kg feed) influences apparent ileal and faecal digestibility coefficients, bacterial nitrogen (N) flow, microbial metabolite concentrations, and passage rate in pigs fed isoenergetic diets with medium, high, or very high fibre content (neutral-detergent fibre (NDF): 199, 224, and 248 g/kg dry matter, respectively). These barley and soya-bean meal based diets contained 0, 75, and 150 g/kg barley fibre (NDF: 577 g/kg) and 0, 8, and 16 g/kg rapeseed oil, respectively.

Effects of dietary metabolisable energy, calcium and phosphorus on bone mineralisation, leg weakness and performance of broiler chickens.

1. Performance, gait score (GS), tibial dyschondroplasia (TD), and tibia bone mineralisation and breaking strength were determined in 2880 male and female Ross 208 broilers fed on diets with two different concentrations of dietary metabolisable energy (ME) (11.00 or 12.

The residue levels of narasin in eggs of laying hens fed with unmedicated and medicated feed.

Laying hens were fed contaminated feed containing narasin 2.5 mg/kg for 21 days followed by a 7 day withdrawal period, hens in the control group were fed unmedicated feed. Eggs were collected during trial days 0, 3, 7, 14, 21 and after the withdrawal period of 7 days.

Effect of vitamin D2- and D3-enriched diets on egg vitamin D content, production, and bird condition during an entire production period.

Vitamin D insufficiency during winter is a common problem for humans in Europe. One way to ease this problem is through the production of vitamin D-fortified eggs. To evaluate such a production process, the effects of vitamin D supplementation during an entire production period were assessed.

Effect of cholecalciferol-enriched hen feed on egg quality.

Eggs are one of the most important sources of vitamin D in the human diet, and their vitamin D content can be further increased by adding more vitamin D to hen feed. To investigate this issue more closely, we performed two feeding experiments. In both, zero egg samples were collected while the hens were fed regular feeds with a vitamin D content of 1720 or 4280 IU/kg.

Effects of preservation method and beta-glucanase supplementation on ileal amino acid digestibility and feeding value of barley for poultry.

1. Effects of preservation method (drying or air-tight storage of whole grain and ensiling of rolled high-moisture grain) and beta-glucanase supplementation (Econase) on apparent ileal amino acid digestibilities and metabolisable energy content of barley were evaluated with Ross broiler chickens. In addition, the effect of barley preservation method was assessed using Leghorn cockerels.