Dried porcine solubles (DPSs) are the by-product obtained during the extraction of heparin from the porcine mucosa of the small intestine. The effects of partially replacing fishmeal with DPS in weaning pig diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microbial count, and fecal score were investigated here. A total of 70 crossbred ((Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc) weaning pigs were divided into two dietary treatment groups: dietary treatments, CON: 3% fishmeal; DPS: 1.5% fishmeal and 1.5% DPSs. Average daily gain was tended to increase (p < 0.10) in weaning pigs fed DPS compared to the CON group in week 2. The digestibility of dry matter was tended to improve (p < 0.10) in weaning pigs fed DPS diet group in week 2 and week 5. Fecal Lactobacillus count was tended to increase (p < 0.10) and Escherichia coli was tended to decrease (p < 0.10) in weaning pigs fed DPSs compared to the weaning pigs fed CON at week 5 of the feeding trial. Our findings suggest that partially replacing fishmeal with DPSs in weaning pig diets can have beneficial effects on the growth performance through the tendency to improve dry matter digestibility and fecal microbiota.

Twenty-one beef heifers were used in a randomized complete block design lasting 206 ± 8 day (mean ± SD) to evaluate dry matter intake (DMI), growth, and gastrointestinal tract and carcass characteristics with increasing dose of dietary hydrogenated fat-embedded calcium gluconate (HFCG). Dietary treatments included HFCG included at: 0.0% (CON), 0.09% (CG09), or 0.18% (CG18) DM. Heifers were fed individually and fecal samples were collected on d 171 and 192. Gastrointestinal tissue, digesta, carcass merit, and meat quality and sensory characteristics were assessed after slaughter. Data were analyzed to determine the linear and quadratic effects of HFCG dose. DMI, average daily gain (ADG), and G:F were not affected (P ≥ 0.08) by dose of HFCG. Gastrointestinal fermentation was minimally affected, while quadratic responses (P = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively) were observed for jejunal digesta pH and the molar proportion of isovalerate in colonic digesta where both increased and then decreased as HFCG dose increased. Carcass (P ≥ 0.30), meat quality (P ≥ 0.06), and sensory characteristics (P ≥ 0.21) were not affected by dose of HFCG. We conclude that feeding HFCG to finishing beef heifers did not affect DMI, growth, gastrointestinal fermentation parameters, or carcass merit, meat quality, and palatability.

Fault bars are visible deformities in the feather structure potentially related to the stress response and may be an interesting trait that can reflect robustness. This study’s objective was to describe fault bars along the length of domestic turkey feathers and investigate whether fault bars are associated with feather corticosterone (FCORT). The same primary wing feather was evaluated from 75 male turkeys from three genetic lines. Feathers were cut into three (proximal, middle, and distal) sections to score fault bar presence, incidence, and severity. FCORT was measured for each feather section using ELISA. Linear mixed models were used to investigate differences in the fault bar presence, incidence, and severity between feather sections and genetic line, as well as investigate associations between the fault bar measures and FCORT. There was a significant increase in FCORT and fault bar incidence from proximal to distal feather sections (P < 0.0001). In the distal section only, sections with fault bars had significantly higher FCORT compared to sections without fault bars (P = 0.0088). No associations were found between fault bars and FCORT in the other sections. Consequently, associating FCORT and fault bars using whole primary wing feathers may be challenging. Future work should reevaluate this relationship longitudinally to better understand fault bar development.

Cricket (Gryllus sigillatus) meal (CM) was fed to Ross 308 broiler chickens (n = 624 total; 26 birds/pen) at dietary inclusion rates of 0% (non-medicated control; NM), 0% (medicated control; 0.05% virginiamycin, 0.03% monensin; M), 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% CM (non-medicated) for 35 days to determine the impact of this novel feed ingredient on the growth, feed intake, organ indices, and meat quality of these chickens. The final average live weight of broilers fed 5% CM was lower than broilers fed the 10% CM (P < 0.05) and the 0% NM diets (P < 0.05). Total weight gain was lowest in chickens fed 5% CM (P < 0.05) and the % ratio of the weight of the small intestine to body weight of the chickens fed 5% CM was significantly higher on day 20 than that of the other treatments (P < 0.05). Meat texture and colour were not affected by dietary treatments. Cooking loss in birds fed the 10% CM diet was significantly higher than that of birds fed the 0% NM control. Feeding up to 20% CM did not alter the growth, organ indices, or meat quality of broiler chickens, although further research is required to determine whether including >20% CM in the diet will produce similar results.

This study investigated the potential role of lactobacilli in mitigating the negative effects of heat stress on the functional activity of chicken macrophages. Macrophage-like MQ-NCSU cells were incubated at 40 and 44 °C in the presence or absence of a single or a mixture of different poultry-derived Lactobacillus spp., including Lactobacillus animalis, L. acidophilus, L. reuteri, and L. crispatus. Macrophage activation was evaluated by measuring nitric oxide (NO) production, phagocytic activity, and the transcription levels of cytokines, chemokine, and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Macrophages exposed to heat stress exhibited increased production of NO, diminished expression of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-12p40, and elevated expression of TLR2 and TLR4, whereas no significant alterations in the phagocytic activity of macrophages were observed. Conversely, treatment of macrophages with probiotic lactobacilli counteracted the effects associated with heat stress. This was evidenced by a notable enhancement in macrophage phagocytic activity, NO production and expression of IL-1β, IL-12p40, IL-18, and chemokine CXCL8, coupled with a reduction in TLR2 and TLR4 expression. These findings suggest that probiotic lactobacilli could be given to chickens to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on their innate immune system. However, further studies are required to validate the observed effects in an in vivo model.

Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) are fed to chickens to enrich eggs for human consumption. Feeding n-3 FA to breeder flocks could benefit the breeders and improve their offspring’s health, welfare, and productivity. This study assessed the impacts of feeding flaxseed (n-3 FA source) on broiler breeders’ and layer breeders’ production performance. In experiment one, Ross 708 broiler breeders were fed a control or flaxseed (2.57% co-extruded flaxseed and pulses) diet during rearing and laying. In experiment two, Shaver White and ISA Brown layer breeders were fed a control or flaxseed diet. Diet tended to affect broiler breeder body weight (BW) (P = 0.06) and significantly affected BW uniformity (P = 0.045). There were no significant pairwise comparisons. Broiler breeders fed flaxseed produced more eggs than control breeders (P < 0.001) and had better feed conversion per egg mass (P < 0.001). Maternal diet tended to affect broiler offspring sex (P = 0.08), but there were no significant pairwise comparisons. Flaxseed diet did not affect layer breeder weight (P = 0.90) but decreased uniformity (P = 0.07). Strain (P = 0.04), but not diet (P = 0.95), influenced the sex of layer offspring. More female chicks hatched from Shaver White than ISA Brown breeders. Feeding flaxseed did not negatively affect productivity. Feeding n-3 FA may benefit broiler breeder egg production.

Despite the identification of candidate genes influencing milk protein, the connections between genes and regulatory pathways remains elusive. This study aimed integrate findings from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) through meta-analysis to pinpoint single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genes responsible for high and low protein yield in cows. Previous GWAS and RNA-Seq analyses had identified 663 SNPs and 1106 genes (P < 0.05). Twenty SNPs from GWAS, 10 genes from RNA-Seq, and 49 SNP/gene associations from both datasets, were identified using meta-analysis. Meta-analysis validated several SNPs previously identified through GWAS, such as rs135549651 (P = 2.6 × 10⁻²⁵⁶), rs109146371 (P = 3.1 × 10⁻²⁰⁸), rs109350371 (P = 4.0 × 10⁻²⁰⁷), and rs109774038 (P = 8.6 × 10⁻⁵⁸⁷). Genes identified in RNA-Seq experiments, including NR4A1 (P = 3.2 × 10⁻⁷), ATF3 (P = 9.6 × 10⁻⁷), CDH16 (P = 9.9 × 10⁻⁷), VEGFA (P = 1.0 × 10⁻⁶), and SAA3 (P = 7.3 × 10⁻¹¹), were confirmed. The combined GWAS and RNA-Seq datasets highlighted CCND2 (P = 8.9 × 10⁻¹¹¹), MAPK15 (P = 1.3 × 10⁻¹⁵¹), and CPSF1 (P = 1.2 × 10⁻³⁰⁶) as the most significant genes. Additionally, significant gene ontology (GO) terms, including ionizing radiation (P = 1.5 × 10⁻⁴), nuclear pore cytoplasmic filaments (P = 9.4 × 10⁻⁵), and phenylalanine 4-monooxygenase activity (P = 1.4 × 10⁻⁵), were identified. In conclusion, the integration of GWAS and RNA-Seq, coupled with GO enrichment, allowed identification of candidate SNPs and genes with higher accuracy. These findings improve our knowledge about genomic architecture of milk protein and enhance evaluation of Holstein cows.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the contribution of additive and dominance genetic effects to the phenotypic variation of carcass quality traits and to identify the underlying genetic variants associated with these traits. A total of 3958 Canadian crossbred beef cattle with phenotype and genotype data were used in two models: (1) additive and (2) joint additive and dominance genomic models that included fixed contemporary group, and covariates of slaughter age, and the eigenvectors of five principal components to account for population structure. Variance components and genome-wide association analyses were performed, and a 10% genome-wide false discovery rate (FDR) was applied to declare associations as significant. Genomic heritability ranged from 0.31 ± 0.03 for ultrasound rib eye area to 0.46 ± 0.05 for marbling score. Up to 10% dominance genetic variation was observed for ultrasound rib eye area and marbling score, indicating the contribution of dominance genetic effects to these trait variations. Eleven overlapping significant single-nucleotide polymorphism associations were identified across the studied traits and models. The identified candidate genes (e.g., BTC, SPP1, and SEPSECS) have biological functions related to tissue growth and skeletal muscle development and can be further validated in other cattle populations to determine their usefulness for beef cattle genetic improvement.

A standard commercial mash (control), or a mixture of control and fine (FOH) or coarse oat hulls (COH) at a ratio of 80:20 w/w were fed to 57-week old Lohmann Select Leghorn-lite (LSL) and 44-week old Shavers Heritage White Leghorns (SHW) for 28 days. There was no (P > 0.05) strain and diet interaction or diet effects on egg production indices (EP) and feed intake (FI). However, LSL hens had similar (P > 0.05) FI but higher (P > 0.05) EP than SHW. There was no strain and diet interaction observed on apparent retention of gross energy (ARGE) and gizzard weight (P > 0.05). However, the control hens had higher ARGE, and lighter gizzards compared to oat hull-fed hens (P < 0.01). In addition, COH hens had higher ARGE and heavier gizzards compared to FOH hens. The SHW hens exhibited greater jejunal crypt depth (P = 0.011) compared to LSL hens. An interaction (P = 0.041) between strain and diets on ceca digesta short chain fatty acids (SCFA) was such that oat hulls reduced SCFA in LSL but not in SHW hens. In conclusion, despite differences in age, relative to predecessors the modern hen is adaptable to ingestion of structural material rich insoluble fiber without negative impact on egg production and feed intake.

The aims were to assess the day-to-day variation in trace minerals (TM), macro-minerals, dry matter, and physical effectiveness factor in grass–legume and corn silages and to evaluate the variance partition. Grass–legume and corn silage samples were collected in nine Canadian dairy herds during two episodes of five consecutive days at 4 weeks apart by the same individual. All variables were analyzed in duplicate. The proportion of variation due to the farm was more variable within TM than macro-minerals. Using TM software reference values of silages for formulating rations can lead to important errors. Except for physical effectiveness factor, the within-farm variations between sampling episodes were more marked for mixed grass–legume than corn silage. For most of the minerals and nutrients analyzed, the sampling + day-to-day variations were the main source of variability, accounting for over 50% of the within-farm variance for both silage types. The remaining within-farm variance was explained by subsampling and laboratory analyses. The high within-herd variation suggests that a silage sampling over more than 1 day can be useful to get a representative sample for TM analysis. Accurate nutrients and TM values when formulating cow diets is essential to cow health and productivity.

This article gives the background that led to publication of the paper “An improved procedure for the determination of chromic oxide in feed and feces”, Can. J. Anim. Sci. 59: 631–634 (Sept. 1979).

A nucleotide-rich yeast-derived product (Maxi-Gen™; CBS Bio Platforms, Inc., Calgary AB, Canada), was fed to rainbow trout fry housed at 10 or 16 °C to determine its effect on weight gain and feed intake. Rainbow trout fry housed in 40 16 L tanks (25 fish/tank) were fed commercial-type or synthetic diets with or without the nucleotide-rich yeast product added (0% or 0.5% inclusion) until they reached 60 days of age (5 tanks/4 diets/2 temperatures). Fish housed at 16 °C consumed significantly more feed and gained significantly more weight than fish housed at 10 °C. Trout fed the commercial-type diet gained significantly more weight than those fed the synthetic diet without the nucleotide-rich yeast product added. There was no significant difference in weight gain or feed intake among fish fed either commercial-type diet and the fish fed the synthetic diets with the nucleotide-rich yeast product added, although fish fed the commercial-type diets had significantly better feed conversion efficiencies than those fed the synthetic diets. The nucleotide-rich yeast product could be used in low fish meal, low fish oil first feeding diets, as the aquaculture industry decreases fish meal and oil use in aquafeeds in response to their increasing cost and decreasing availability.

The aim of this study was to determine plasma biotin (B8), folate (B9), and vitamin B₁₂ (B12) concentrations of multiparous dairy cows under heat stress (HS) fed with adequate or high concentrations of vitamin D₃ (VITD) and E (VITE), Ca, and Se. Twelve multiparous Holstein cows were used in a split-plot design. The main plot was: (1) Adequate VITE and Se; (2) High VITE and Se. Within each main plot, cows were assigned to treatments: (1) HS with adequate concentrations of VITD and Ca; (2) HS with high concentrations of VITD and Ca; (3) pair-feeding (PF) with HS in thermoneutrality with adequate concentrations of VITD and Ca in a duplicated 3 × 3 Latin square. There were no treatment effects on plasma B8 and B12. Plasma B9 was lower by 21% for HS with adequate VITD and Ca than PF cows. Results suggested that HS might modify folate status in dairy cows, regardless of treatments.

Reduced protein diets may be limiting in dietary nitrogen (N). The objective of this study was to determine the impact of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) inclusion and lysine content on growth performance of growing pigs. Pen-housed growing pigs were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments to test the impact of NPN inclusion and dietary lysine content for 28 days. NPN inclusion increased feed efficiency and lean depth (P < 0.05). Final body weight increased with greater lysine (P < 0.05) but was not impacted by NPN (P > 0.05). Ammonium phosphate may be an appropriate N source in N-limiting diets for pigs.

A lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 0.25 µg LPS/kg of body weight (BW)) challenge in steers (n = 5; initial BW = 542 kg, SD = 40 kg; Youden square) was conducted to evaluate feeding 0% (dry matter basis; control) or 20% hempseed cake (HEMP) or corn distillers grains (DDGS) on plasma metabolites and cytokines. Plasma isoleucine, leucine, tryptophan, aspartic acid, glycine, tyrosine, total nonessential amino acids, interleukin-1α (IL-1α), interleukin-36 receptor antagonist (IL-36RA), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) decreased (P ≤ 0.04) in steers fed hempseed cake compared to steers fed DDGS after the LPS challenge. These data suggest that hempseed cake may influence inflammation by altering cytokine production and by increasing degradation and/or utilization of some amino acids.