• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.211-213
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• 1996

A study was undertaken to investigate the effect of feeding early weaning diets based on different vegetable protein sources fed to Afghani lambs. Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric complete formula diets viz., A, B and C were prepared having cottonseed meal, soybean meal and canola meal; respectively as major source of protein. Eighteen 30-35 days old Afghani male lambs were randomly allotted to three experimental diets. Lambs were fed individually twice a day for a period of 60 days. Daily feed intake and weekly weight gain was recorded. Results indicated that weight gain was significantly(p<0.05) higher(282 g/lamb/day) in lambs fed diet B as compared to lamvs fed on diets A(231 g/lamb/day) and C(242 g/lamb/day). No significant difference was found in feed intake among the diets. Significant difference(p<0.05) were noticed in feed efficiency in lambs fed on diets A(6.88), B(5.41) and C(6.17).The economic efficiency was observed to be the best on diet B as compared to diets A and C. It was concluded that Afghani lambs(30-35 days) can be reared on early weaning diets and soybean meal was found comparatively better protein source for early weaning diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.184-187
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• 2002

This study was designed to examine the response of feeding early weaning diets without and with amino acids supplemented cottonseed meal on growth performance and digestibility of early weaned cow calves. Fifteen 14-21 days old cross bred cow calves were randomly allotted to three experimental diets. Diet A comprised of milk replacer and concentrate feed whereas two isocaloric and iso-nitrogenous early weaning diets viz., B and C were prepared without and with lysine and methionine supplemented cottonseed meal, respectively. These early weaning diets were used as substitute of milk replacer for calves. Calves were placed in individual cages and fed twice daily for a period of 60 days. Daily feed intake, feed refused and weekly weight gain was recorded. Two digestibility trials I and II were performed at 5th and 9th week of the experiment, respectively. During the digestibility trial I, calves were fed on ad libitum basis whereas in trial II, calves were fed at 90% of their voluntary DMI. Feed, orts and feces samples were collected, weighed daily, composited, subsampled and analysed for DM and CP. Results indicated that weight gain of calves was (p<0.05) higher on diets A (0.63 kg/d/calf) and C (0.64 kg/d/calf) compared to calves on diet B (0.57 kg/d/calf). Significantly (p<0.05) less daily DMI was observed on diet A (1.48 kg) compared to early weaning diets B (1.70 kg) and C (1.72 kg). The feed efficiency was (p<0.05) better on diet A (2.33) compared to diets B (2.95) and C (2.65). The economic efficiency was noticed to be better on diets B and C compared to diet A. In trial I, digestibility of DM and CP of diet A was (p<0.05) higher than diets B and C. Whereas in trial II, digestibility of DM and CP of diet A was (p<0.05) less than diets B and C. It was concluded that early weaning diet based on lysine and methionine supplemented cottonseed meal produced better weight gain and feed efficiency compared to non-supplemented cottonseed meal based diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.774-780
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• 1998

This report includes an extensive bibliography of research articles investigating various facets of rearing neonatal piglets using liquid diets, and includes historical publications dating back to the 1940's. However, in order to provide concise and timely focus for application in modem swine production, only a selected number of recent findings are reviewed in detail. Collectively, the data presented illustrate that growth of piglets fed liquid diets can greatly exceed that of littermates fed dry diets and can even exceed growth rates of sow-reared controls (by up to 160%). The central questions that remain unanswered are: 1) Can this improved performance be obtained routinely and economically under applied farm conditions? and if so, 2) Does improved growth during the early-weaning period translate into improved net economic returns overall? Unfortunately, due to the current practical management constraints related to liquid-diet feeding (i.e., lack of an easy-to-manage feed delivery system), limited data are available which examine the efficacy of liquid-diet feeding under practical, commercial farm conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.511-515
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• 2000

Early weaning is a means of breaking the disease cycle from sow to piglet as well as capitalising on the enormous growth potential of the pig. However, the transition from milk to dry diets results in a growth check. Feeding of supplemental milk, fermented to reduce pH and enterotoxigenic bactetial proliferation, may be a means of gradually weaning pigs on to solid feed. This study involved 216 pigs weaned from the sow at 12 days of age, allocated to groups of 6 males and 6 females per weaner pen and allowed ad libitum access to a pelleted diet. In addition, half the pigs were given supplemental fermented skim milk for the first 8 days after weaning. Feeding supplemental fermented milk increased feed intake (104 vs. 157 g DM/d, p=0.011), average daily gain (-3 vs. 112 g/d, p<0.001) and feed conversion efficiency (0.01 vs. 0.81, p=0.003) over the first 8 days after weaning. The improvements observed in the supplemented pigs continued to be augmented such that, by 42 days of age, the pigs that had received supplemental fermented milk were heavier (9.6 vs. 11.5 kg, p=0.003) than their unsupplemented counterparts. Feeding fermented supplemental milk to early-weaned pigs can improve growth performance in the immediate and subsequent post-weaning period.

• Korean Journal of Rural Living Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 1994

This study was performed to observe the effects of dietary fat levels and sources on lipids contents and cellularities of liver, brain, and adipose tissue of early weaned rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were prematurely weaned from postnatal 17th day with the experimental diets differ in fat levels : low(5%), medium(10%), high(20%) and fat sources : butter, soybean oil, butter＋ soybean oil. On the postnatal 29th day, contents of total lipid, triglyceride, cholesterol and phospholipid of serum, liver, brain and adipose tissue were determined, and DNA was determined to assess the cell growth. Rats early weaned fed high fat diet showed lower total lipid and triglyceride levels in serum and liver than those fed medium or low fat diet Rats early weaned fed high fat diet had adipocytes of fewer number, but larger size than those of rats fed low or medium fat diets. Rats early weaned fed soybean oil diet had more adipocytes thu those fed butter diet. Rats normally weaned to commercial chow diet showed lower total lipid, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels in serum and liver, had fewer adipocytes than all early weaned rats except for rats fed high fat-butter diet. These results suggest that high fat-butter diet is ideal weaning diet at early weaning.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.273-283
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• 2019

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of anise flavor on the performance of lactating sows and suckling pigs at different weaning ages. A total of 120 sows (Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire) were used in this experiment. Sows were fed with a commercial lactation diet (60 sows) or diet with flavor (60 sows) during days 100 to 114 of gestation period and the whole lactation period. Piglets were allotted to 2 dietary treatments based on their initial body weight (BW) using a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangement of treatments with 2 levels of anise flavor (0 or 0.5 g/kg) and weaning periods (weaned at 21 day or 28 day after birth). Sows fed with flavor supplemented diets had higher (p < 0.05) back fat and average daily feed intake (ADFI) at weaning, lower (p < 0.05) back fat loss than those fed with non-flavor diets. Sows weaned at 28 day had higher (p < 0.05) weaning back fat and lower (p < 0.05) back fat loss than those weaned on 21 day. During weaning, piglet average daily gain (ADG), ADFI, digestibility of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N), and gross energy (GE) and fecal score were affected by anise flavor, respectively. In conclusion, dietary flavor supplementation could increase feed intake of lactating sows, improve growth performance and reduce weaning stress of piglets, especially effective in the early weanling piglets. Meanwhile, interactive effects were observed about the piglet performance between weaning ages and anise flavor supplementation after weaning.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.243-252
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• 1998

This study was conducted to investigated the short-term effects of early weaning and protein intake on organ and cell growth, nitrogen metabolism and physiological functions of rats. Five groups of early weaned rats separated from the dam on the 15th day postpartum were each given one five diets consisting of either one of the three levels of casein-low(8%), -normal (16%), and -high(32%), or a normal level (16%) of isolated soy protein(ISP) or egg yolk protein, for 7 days. The normal weaned rats were fed maternal breast milk for three weeks from birth. On the 22nd day postpartum , all the rats were sacrificed . The weight gain of the early weaned rats, especially the ones fed high protein, was observed to be significantly lower than that of the normal weaned rats. By the 15th day, of early weaning and especially in the ISP-fed rats, the total DNA contents of liver and kidney, which may be said to represent an index of cell numbers, significantly decreased, but their fresh and dry weight and protein/DNA ratio, allegedly representing an index of cell size, significantly increased , not affecting the cell number and cell size of brain. There were no differences in total serum protein and albumin concentrations between early and normal weaned rats. In the early weaned rats observed , the serum urea N and $\alpha$-amino N concentrations significantly increased in high protein-fed rats, and decreased in low protein-fed rats. Another observation was that no significant difference was noticed as regards to serum GOT activity, total bilirubin, uric acid, and creatinine concentration, which may represent indices of liver and kidney functions, among rat groups, GPT activity was an exception . These results suggest that premature weaning and the quality and quantity of dietary protein significantly affect organ and cell growth and nitrogen metabolism but does not seriously affect physiological functions in the neonatal development of rats.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1228-1240
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• 2023

Objective: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of dietary crude protein (CP) on growth performance, blood profiles, diarrhea incidence, nutrient digestibility, and odor emission in weaning pigs. Methods: A total of 240 weaning ([Yorkshire×Landrace]×Duroc) pigs (8.25±0.050 kg body weight [BW]) were assigned to six treatments based on sex and initial BW, with five replicates of eight pigs per pen in a randomized complete block design. Experimental diets with different crude protein levels for early and late weaning phases were as follows: i) CP16, corn-soybean-based diet containing 16%/15% CP; ii) CP17, corn-soybean-based diet containing 17%/16% CP; iii) CP18, corn-soybean-based diet containing 18%/17% CP; iv) CP19, corn-soybean-based diet containing 19%/18% CP; v) CP20, corn-soybean-based diet containing 20%/19% CP; and vi) CP21, corn-soybean-based diet containing 21%/20% CP. Results: In the early weaning period, average daily feed intake increased when the dietary CP level decreased (linear, p<0.05). During the entire experimental period, average daily gain and the gain to feed ratio decreased when the dietary CP level increased (linear, p<0.01). Additionally, a decrease in dietary CP level resulted in a linear increase in final BW (linear, p<0.05). In the early and late weaning periods, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased when the dietary CP level decreased (linear, p<0.01). There were no significant differences in creatinine, glucose, total protein, triglyceride or insulin-like factor-1 levels over the experimental period. The concentrations of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG were not significantly affected by dietary CP levels during the experimental period. In the early weaning period, fecal and urine N decreased when the dietary CP level decreased (linear, p<0.01). No differences in nutrient digestibility among the treatments during the early weaning period were found. Throughout the whole experimental period, when the dietary CP level decreased in the weaning pig diet, the diarrhea incidence decreased linearly (linear, p<0.01). Throughout the whole experimental period, when the dietary CP level decreased in the weaning pig diet, ammonia, amines and hydrogen sulfide decreased linearly (linear, p<0.01). Conclusion: Reducing dietary CP could decrease diarrhea incidence, the concentration of BUN in serum and odor emission in manure. Furthermore, it could improve N excretion in feces and urine and growth performance in weaning pigs.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.613-618
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Iron deficiency in early life is associated with developmental problems, which may persist until later in life. The question of whether iron repletion after developmental iron deficiency could restore iron homeostasis is not well characterized. In the present study, we investigated the changes of iron transporters after iron depletion during the gestational-neonatal period and iron repletion during the post-weaning period. MATERIALS/METHODS: Pregnant rats were provided iron-deficient (< 6 ppm Fe) or control (36 ppm Fe) diets from gestational day 2. At weaning, pups from iron-deficient dams were fed either iron-deficient (ID group) or control (IDR group) diets for 4 week. Pups from control dams were continued to be fed with the control diet throughout the study period (CON). RESULTS: Compared to the CON, ID rats had significantly lower hemoglobin and hematocrits in the blood and significantly lower tissue iron in the liver and spleen. Hepatic hepcidin and BMP6 mRNA levels were also strongly down-regulated in the ID group. Developmental iron deficiency significantly increased iron transporters divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and ferroportin (FPN) in the duodenum, but decreased DMT1 in the liver. Dietary iron repletion restored the levels of hemoglobin and hematocrit to a normal range, but the tissue iron levels and hepatic hepcidin mRNA levels were significantly lower than those in the CON group. Both FPN and DMT1 protein levels in the liver and in the duodenum were not different between the IDR and the CON. By contrast, DMT1 in the spleen was significantly lower in the IDR, compared to the CON. The splenic FPN was also decreased in the IDR more than in the CON, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that iron transporter proteins in the duodenum, liver and spleen are differentially regulated during developmental iron deficiency. Also, post-weaning iron repletion efficiently restores iron transporters in the duodenum and the liver but not in the spleen, which suggests that early-life iron deficiency may cause long term abnormalities in iron recycling from the spleen.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 1998

This study was designed to examine how dietary protein levels affect organ growth and protein metabolism in early and normally weaned rats. Early and normally weaned rats separated fro the dam on the 15th and 121st day postpartum, respectively. were fed diets containing three levels of protein : low(10%) , normal (20%),and high(40%) . On the 35th day, the weight and DNA, RNA and protein contents in brain , liver, and kidney were determined to ascertain organ and cellular growth. Furthermore, serum total protein , albumin , $\alpha$-amino N and creatine and urinary urea N, and creatinine were determined in order to ascertain protein metabolism and renal functions. Dietary protein levels were not observed to significantly affect total DNA content, which may represent an index of cell number in the liver, brain and kidney. Fresh weight and protein/DNA ratio, which may represent indices of cell size, significantly increased in proportion to dietary protein in the kidney. As for the early weaned rats , the liver cell size significantly decreased. Dietary protein levels and weaning periods did not affect serum total protein and albumin . However, serum urea-N significantly increased in proportion to dietary protein levels whereas serum $\alpha$-amino N was decreased by early weaning . Nitrogen retention was lower in early weaned rats fed low or high levels of protein than in normally weaned rats. The results demonstrate that low or high levels of dietary protein have less desirable effects on protein metabolism in prematurely weaned rats.