The objective of this study was to quantify biogenic amines and to adapt equations for the calculation of the biogenic amine index (BAI) in rendered pig carcass meals (RPCM). Samples of RPCM from three different origins were evaluated: Group 1—experimentally produced meal; Group 2—meal produced in a plant dedicated to rendering pigs dead on the farm due to non-infectious causes; and Group 3—meal produced in commercial rendering plants. Group 1 meals were produced from sow carcasses that were stored either under environmental temperature (ET = 25 °C) or refrigeration temperature (RT = −6 °C), and their biogenic amine contents were analyzed at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h of storage. The levels of the biogenic amines phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine of all meals were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, and their BAIs were calculated. Group 1 meals stored at ET presented higher phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, and tyramine contents compared with those stored at RT after 24 h storage, whereas spermidine and spermine contents decreased after 24 h of storage at ET. The adapted BAI can be used as a quality indicator of RPCM.

Canada's climate is warming faster than the global average, but the warming is unevenly distributed. This study analyzes historical and future climate change in dairy-producing regions across Canada to better understand how Canada's dairy cows are affected. Historical changes (i.e., 1960–2019) were assessed using temperature and humidity data from 29 weather stations across the country. The temperature–humidity index (THI) was used as an indicator of dairy cattle at risk of heat stress, and three THI metrics evaluated the frequency, severity, and duration of potential heat stress. Future scenarios were investigated using five global climate models to project daily THI under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Projections were grouped into three time periods (2020–2049, 2040–2069, and 2060–2089). Historical climate trends show an increase in temperature, humidity, and THI exceedance in most west coast and eastern Canada locations, affecting 84% of the national dairy herd. Future scenarios project that 90% of the national herd will experience a large increase in the frequency, severity, and duration of THI exceedance under all but the most optimistic SSP. These findings highlight the need for Canadian dairy farmers to consider heat-stress adaptation strategies.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of microencapsulated sodium butyrate (MSB) in substitution to antibiotics on performance, haematology, intestinal lesion scores, and oocyst count in the excreta of broilers challenged with Eimeria spp. A total of 1050 male Ross chicks were used, distributed in completely randomized design, with six treatments: unchallenged control diet (UC); challenged control diet (CCD); challenged and supplemented (CS) with 1000 mg/kg of MSB; CS with 1500 mg/kg of MSB; CS with 2000 mg/kg of MSB; and CS with avilamycin, with five repetitions. At 16 days of age (d.o.), the birds were inoculated orally with Eimeria spp. oocysts. Higher average weightgain (AWG) and average feed intake (AFI) were observed in the UC, and at the 42 d.o., better feed conversion ratio (FCR) and productive efficiency factor (PEF). The group that received the additives showed higher relative abundance of the phylum Bacteroidetes, as well as that of the unchallenged birds; however, the CCD had higher relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes. It is concluded that MSB can be used as an alternative to antibiotics, assisting in the recovery of performance and gut microbiota biodiversity.

The objective was to evaluate the replacement of barley-based ingredients with short-season high-moisture corn products on steer growth performance and carcass characteristics. Over 2 years, 320 beef steers (528�±�36.2�kg initial body weight) were assigned to 32 pens (4 pens/treatment/year). Treatments were finishing diets that contained dry-rolled barley grain and barley silage (BGBS; control), barley grain and corn silage (BGCS), high-moisture shelled corn and barley grain with barley silage (HCBS), or snaplage (included as a silage and grain source) with barley grain (SNAP). Steers were fed for 99 days and 72 days in years 1 and 2, respectively. Steers fed BGCS did not differ (P�≥�0.13) from BGBS for dry matter intake, average daily gain, gain:feed, or carcass characteristics. Steers fed HCBS had greater (P�≤�0.05) hot carcass weight and dressing percentage than BGBS. A lesser (P�=�0.02) proportion of steers fed SNAP had severe liver abscesses than BGBS. We concluded that corn silage can replace barley silage, 50% replacement of barley grain with high-moisture shelled corn may improve hot carcass weight, and replacement of barley silage and some barley grain with snaplage decreases the proportion of cattle with severe liver abscesses at slaughter.

The objectives of this study were (i) to compare the accuracy and bias of estimates of breeding values for body weight (BW) at 2–7 weeks of age using pedigree-based best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) and single-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP) methods, and (ii) to determine the best level of minor allele frequencies (MAFs) for pre-selection of SNPs for genomic prediction (GP). Records of 488 F2 broiler chickens obtained from crossbreeding of fast-growing Arian chickens and slow-growing Iranian native chickens at 2–7 weeks of age were used. Samples were genotyped using Illumina Chicken 60K BeadChip. To investigate the effect of MAFs on the accuracy of prediction, 48 379 quality-controlled SNPs were grouped into five subgroups with MAF bins 0.05–0.1, 0.1–0.2, 0.2–0.3, 0.3–0.4, and 0.4–0.5. Our results confirmed the superiority of ssGBLUP compared to traditional BLUP methodology. The average accuracy of GP improved by 59.03%, 220.34%, 0.46%, 5.61%, 0.45%, and 2.73% using ssGBLUP compared to BLUP for BW at 2–7 weeks of age, respectively. Depending on the age group, using a subset of SNPs with a specific MAF bin compared to all SNPs resulted in a remarkable improvement of GP accuracy for the observed traits.

A trial was conducted for 35 days to investigate if replacement of soybean oil (SO) for fish oil (FO) influenced average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), final live weight (FLW), feed efficiency (FE), haemato-biochemical indices, carcass traits, cardio-pulmonary morphometry, gut morphology, nutrient digestibility, and fatty acid profile of the broiler chicken. A total of 350, day-old Ross-308 male broilers were distributed in a completely randomized design into five dietary treatment groups designated as FO_0% (diet without FO, i.e., 100% SO), FO_25% (diet containing 25% FO + 75% SO), FO_50% (diet containing 50% FO + 50% SO), FO_75% (diet containing 75% FO + 25% SO), and FO_100% (diet containing 100% FO). Each treatment was replicated seven times containing 10 birds per replicate. Results indicated that complete replacement of SO for FO increased 4.7% FLW, 12.4% ADFI, 3.9% ADG, 16.2% HDL, and 8.6% CP. Although, FO contained 471.1% more ∑LCω-3PUFAs than SO, the FO-supplemented breast meat was enriched with net increment of 45.0% ∑LCω-3PUFAs and 81.0% ∑ω-3: ∑ω-6 at the expense of 7.1% FE and 26.8% MDA. Complete replacement of SO for FO did not compromise net profit. Hence, replacement of SO for FO may be commercially plausible.

Silymarin is the flavonoid extracted from Silybum marianum seed. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and it supports liver health. The growth performance parameters, nutrient digestibility, and blood profile in growing pigs fed the dietary Silybum marianum seed extract were analyzed in this study. A total of 196 crossbred growing pigs ((Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc) were allocated into three dietary groups: CON: basal diet; TRT1: basal diet with 0.05% Silybum marianum seed extract; and TRT2: basal diet with 0.10% Silybum marianum seed extract. Results showed that pigs fed with Silybum marianum seed extract up to 0.10% increased average daily gain (p < 0.10) and feed intake (p < 0.05). The digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen, and energy were increased linearly (p < 0.05) with addition of Silybum marianum seed extract up to 0.10%. However, serum bile acids, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspertate aminotransferase (AST) were not changed (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the significant improvements in average daily gain, feed intake, and nutrient digestibility indicate that Silybum marianum seed extract can positively influence the growth of growing pigs. Finally, natural feed additives like Silybum marianum seed extract may be used as an efficacious growth promoter and ultimately contributing to sustainable pig farming.

A total of 180 growing pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) with an initial body weight (BW) of 23.58 ± 0.8 kg were used in this experiment. According to initial BW and sex, pigs were randomly allotted three dietary treatments, 12 replicates (pen) per treatment, and five pigs per pen. The three dietary treatments were basal diet (CON) and basal diet supplemented with either 0.1% Bacillus and Saccharomyces spp.-based probiotics complex (BS1) or 0.2% probiotics complex (BS2). The whole experiment lasted 42 days. The results showed that the BW of pigs fed the BS1 diet was significantly higher than those fed the CON diet on day 42 (P < 0.05). The average daily gain (ADG) of pigs receiving BS1 and BS2 diets was higher than those fed CON diet during days 21–42, whereas during the overall experiment period ADG (P < 0.05) was higher in only BS1 compared with CON group. The NH₃ and H₂S emissions on day 42 were reduced from the feces of pigs fed probiotic complex-supplemented diets. Therefore, adding 0.1% probiotic complex to the late-phase diet of growing pigs can more effectively improve BW and daily gain and reduce harmful gas emissions.

This study examined the effects of mixed-species direct-fed microbial (DFM) on growth performance, gas emissions, meat quality, nutrient digestibility, and the fecal score of finishing pigs. A total of 100 crossbred finishing pigs ((Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc) weighing 58.97 ± 3.12 kg were randomly assigned to one of two diets (5 pigs per pen (2 barrows and 3 gilts); 50 pigs per treatment) in an 8-week trial. Dietary treatments comprised of the basal diet without probiotics control or basal diet + (0.1%) mixed probiotics (DFM). Mixed DFM supplementation showed a tendency to increase (P = 0.093) the body weight of finishing pigs during day 56. Comparing mixed DFM with the control diet, mixed probiotics significantly improved average daily gain (ADG) during weeks 5–8 (P = 0.024) and overall (P = 0.013). DFM-supplemented diets reduced the emission of CH₄ and NH₃ significantly at weeks 4 and 8 compared with control. DFM supplementation did not affect H₂S, methyl mercaptans, acetic acid, or CO₂ emissions. Mixed DFM supplementation showed a tendency to increase (P = 0.07) nitrogen digestibility. Pigs receiving mixed DFM had improved ADG and reduced NH₃ and CH₄ emissions without affecting meat quality, nutrient digestibility, intestinal microbes, and fecal score.

This study aimed to investigate the dietary effects of Quillaja saponin (QS) and seaweed (SW) on growth performance, fecal score, and gas emissions in weaning pigs. A total of 120, 21-day old crossbred ([Yorkshire�×�Landrace] × Duroc) weaning pigs were randomly assigned to three treatment groups. These dietary treatments consisted of (1) TRT1: CON (basal diet), (2) TRT2: CON + 200�mg/kg QS, and (3) TRT3: CON + 500�mg/kg SW. Pigs were raised in 10 replicate pens per treatment (two males per pen and two females per pen) for 5 weeks based on body weight and sex. The inclusion of QS significantly (p�<�0.05) increased average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) during the overall period compared to the control diet. Moreover, the tendency to increase ADG was found at weeks 1 and 5, whereas ADFI showed a tendency to increase at week 1 with the supplementation of QS compared to the CON diet. However, the feed conversion ratio, fecal score, and gas emission failed to show significant effects throughout the experiment. In summary, QS has a beneficial effect on the growth performance of weaning pigs without any negative effect on gas emission and fecal score.

Introducing new feeds for feeding options requires reliable information to prove beneficial impacts on animal productivity. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of 10% inclusion of raw faba bean seeds (R-FBS) and steam-pressure toasted FBS (SP-FBS) on dairy production performance and metabolism. Snowbird FBS were processed by steam-pressure toasting at 121 °C for 0, 7.5, 15, and 30 min. Total mixed rations (TMRs) were prepared using R-FBS (FBS0) and SP-FBS (FBS7.5, FBS15, and FBS30). The TMRs were fed to cows (second and third lactation, 69 ± 15 days in milk, and 720 kg mean BW) for 120 days (November 2020 to February 2021). Data were analyzed using a repeated 4 × 4 Latin square design model with treatment as the fixed effect and cows as the random effect. Feed efficiency was linearly decreased as processing times increased (P = 0.02) from 1.63 with FBS0 to 1.52 with FBS30. Milk urea nitrogen decreased from 12.18 mg/dL with FBS0 to 11.10 mg/dL with FBS30 (linear P < 0.01). Heating FBS for 7.5 min could be suitable for increasing milk fat and feed efficiency in dairy cows. We believe that high-lactating dairy cows can be fed locally grown faba beans to support their production performance.

The effect of select antibiotics on Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 persistence in a porcine cecal continuous flow culture was examined under two different washout rates. Porcine continuous flow cultures were conducted in the presence or absence of Gram-positive antibiotic carbadox. Carbadox eliminated chemostat anaerobes culturable on Brucella agar under 24?h turnover conditions, allowing Salmonella Typhimurium to persist for 15 days. Decreasing the culture dilution rate from a 24 to 48�h turnover time enabled Salmonella Typhimurium to maintain higher population levels more reflective of the theoretical washout rate when grown with than without added carbadox. This observation suggests that at the slower growth rate the presence of carbadox was antagonistic to the indigenous competitive exclusion potential of the mixed microbial population.

Image analysis of ventral, anterior, and posterior ends of 550 pork loins was used to classify extreme-coloured centre chops. Only the ventral side was strongly correlated (r = 0.79) to the centre chop. Thresholds at 2.5th, 5th, and 7.5th percentiles of ventral surface pale pork were selected to classify centre chop pale pork (5th percentile). Increasing stringency increased accuracy in excluding pale samples. At the 7.5th percentile, prediction accuracy of pale (85.7%) and non-pale samples (89.5%) was balanced. This method can be adopted by commercial pork processors as a classification or pre-sorting approach.

The objective of this study was to identify cow-level factors associated with poor body hygiene. Cows (n = 2644) from 68 commercial dairy herds (free-stall (n = 43); tie-stall (n = 25)) in Ontario, Canada were enrolled. Cows were hygiene scored on each of three visits (7 days apart). Older cows were at higher risk of having a dirty udder and dirty upper legs and flanks in free-stall barns and younger cows were at higher risk of having dirty upper legs and flanks in tie-stall barns. Higher days in milk was associated with better hygiene for cows housed in both free-stall and tie-stall barns.