• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1217-1226
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• 2011

Finding alternative feeds, such as sesame hulls and Prosopis juliflora species can attenuate difficulties of feed shortage and reduce the cost of animal feed in arid and semi-arid countries. Thirty-two Black male kids with similar initial weights (BW = $16.7{\pm}0.80\;kg$) and $120{\pm}5\;d$ of age, were used to evaluate the effect of replacing barley grains and soybean meal with Prosopis juliflora pods (PJP) and sesame hulls (SH) on growth performance, digestibility and carcass and meat characteristics. Kids were equally divided into four dietary treatment groups for an 84-d fattening period. Treatment diets had similar crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME). The treatment groups were: (T1) no PJP nor SH, (T2) 10% PJP and 20% SH, (T3) 15% PJP and 15% SH, and (T4) 20% PJP and 10% SH. A tendency was detected (p<0.08) for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intakes that were greater for T2 than T3 and T4 while T1 was not different from all other treatment groups. Ether extract (EE) intake was the greatest (p<0.05) for T2 and the lowest for T1. Acid detergent fiber (ADF) intake was greater (p<0.05) for T2 than T1 while T3 and T4 were intermediate. Final live weight, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were comparable among different treatment groups. Digestibility of DM, OM, CP, NDF and ADF were similar among all treatment groups, however, EE digestibility was the lowest (p<0.05) for T1 when compared to other treatments. In addition, nitrogen intake, nitrogen in urine and retained and retention percentages were similar among all treatment groups. However, N loss in feces was higher (p<0.05) for T2 than T3 and T4 while T1 was intermediate. No differences were observed among treatment groups with respect to fasting live weight, hot and cold carcass weights, dressing-out percentages, mesenteric fat, visceral organs, carcass cuts percentages and carcass linear dimensions. No differences were also observed for dissected loin, leg, rack and shoulder tissues except in the total bone % for loin cuts and in the meat to bone ratio for rack cuts. T3 has the greatest total bone % and the lowest meat to bone ratio when compared to all other treatment groups. No differences were observed between treatment groups in all quality characteristics of the longissimus muscle. The present study demonstrates the potential of using PJP and SH for growing kids without adverse effects on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1057-1066
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• 2007

Six male Gayal (Bos frontalis), approximately two years of age and with a mean live weight of $203{\pm}17$ kg ($mean{\pm}standard\;deviation$), were housed indoors in metabolism cages and fed bamboo (Sinarundinaria) leaves and twigs. After an adjustment period of 24 days of feeding the diet, samples of rumen liquor were obtained for analyses of bacteria in the liquor. The diversity of rumen bacteria was investigated by constructing a 16S rDNA clone library. A total of 147 clones, comprising nearly full length sequences (with a mean length of 1.5 kb) were sequenced and submitted to an on-line similarity search and phylogenetic analysis. Using the criterion of 97% or greater similarity with the sequences of known bacteria, 17 clones were identified as Ruminococcus albus, Butyrivibrio fibrosolvens, Quinella ovalis, Clostridium symbiosium, Succiniclasticum ruminis, Selenomonas ruminantium and Allisonella histaminiformans, respectively. A further 22 clones shared similarity ranging from 90-97% with known bacteria but the similarity in sequences for the remaining 109 clones was less than 90% of those of known bacteria. Using a phylogenetic analysis it was found that the majority of the clones identified (57.1%) were located in the low G+C subdivision, with most of the remainder (42.2% of clones) located in the Cytophage-Flexibacter-Bacteroides (CFB) phylum and one clone (0.7%) was identified as a Spirochaete. It was apparent that Gayal have a large and diverse range of bacteria in the rumen liquor which differ from those of cattle and other ruminants. This may explain the greater live weights of Gayal, compared to cattle, grazing in the harsh natural environments in which Gayal are located naturally.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.503-510
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• 2014

The study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding diets containing Andrographis paniculata leaves (APL), whole Andrographis paniculata plant (APWP) and a control without Andrographis paniculata (AP0), on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat yield of 24 intact Boer bucks. The results obtained indicated that inclusion of Andrographis paniculata significantly improved feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency and live weight. The ratios of carcass to fat, lean to bone, lean to fat, and composition of meat were also improved. In addition, there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the dietary treatments in dressing percentage and chilling loss. Goats fed on AP0 (control) had significantly higher proportions of fat and bone, as well as thicker back fat than the supplemented animals (APL and APWP). Higher gut fill in animals fed Andrographis paniculata suggested slow rate of digestion, which could have improved utilization and absorption of nutrients by the animals. Goats fed Andrographis paniculata also produced higher meat yield and relatively lower fat contents (p<0.05).

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.45-49
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• 2015

The giant mealworm beetle, Zophobas atratus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is reared for commercial purposes as a live feed for animals. In 2011, it was officially introduced in Korea, and since then it has been considered commercially important. This beetle is a good animal feed resource because of its high protein content with balanced nutrients. However, its life stage characteristics have not been clearly described, especially of the larval stage that can be used as commercial products. To this end, in our study, we determined the number of Z. atratus larval instars, and described their characteristics at each stage, providing basic information about this beetle. Z. atratus larvae required eight to nine d of incubation period before hatching. The first instar period comprised three to four d. There were relatively large variations in each instar period, except for the first instar. Before the adults emerged, most of the individuals passed through15 to 18 instars. The highest pupation rate, 25.71%, was observed in both 16th and 17th instars. Body length gradually increased with each successive instar and it reached its maximum at the 18th instar. The color of larvae was white at the first instar, and gradually turned brown after the second instar.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.401-405
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• 2002

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of caponization on the growth performance, breast and thigh muscles physical properties and fiber diameter of the Pectoralis major and Gastrocnemius pars externa in Taiwan country chicken cockerels. Caponized birds were surgically altered at 10 weeks of age. Birds were fed grower and finisher diets ad libitum during an eighteen-week experimental period. The results indicated that the live weight and feed intake in the capons were significantly (p<0.05) higher and the shank length was significantly (p<0.05) longer than in intact birds. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences in feed conversion and mortality between two treatments at 28 weeks of age. Compared with intact birds, the capons had greater (p<0.05) tenderness in the breast and thigh muscles. Cohesion of the breast muscle in the capons was significantly (p<0.05) better than in the intact birds, but the thigh muscles were not significantly (p>0.05) affected. No treatment differences (p>0.05) were associated with cooking loss, muscle chewiness, and elasticity. The capons had a significantly (p<0.05) smaller fiber diameter in the Pectoralis major, but were not significantly (p>0.05) different in the fiber diameter of the Gastrocnemius pars externa. It is concluded that castration did not depress growth compared with the intact birds, but did improve muscle tenderness. This difference was most pronounced in the thigh muscles.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2012

We investigated compensatory growth of Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus in structural size and live weight in response to different deprivation periods and refeeding. Four treatments were assigned randomly to fish in 12 glass tanks, with each treatment performed in triplicate. The control group was fed to satiation three times a day throughout the experiment. The other three treatment groups were starved for 1 week (S1), 2 weeks (S2), or 4 weeks (S4) and then fed until the end of the experiment. After the experiment, no significant differences were observed among S1, S2, and the control group in average weight or length, whereas the weight and length of S4 were significantly reduced. Relative condition factors of the three starved groups decreased significantly until the end of the restricted period but recovered rapidly after refeeding. The specific growth rate in weight ($SGR_W$) of the three restricted groups recovered quickly upon refeeding and were significantly higher than the control group, but these differences disappeared gradually until the end of the experiment. No significant difference in specific growth rate in length ($SGR_L$) was noted between the control group and the three restricted groups after refeeding. All three groups showed hyperphagia for a short period upon refeeding, and no statistical differences were observed in feeding efficiency among the four groups.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.629-634
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• 1997

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of equiprotein replacement of dietary fish meal (FM) with duckweed (DW) and soybean meal (SBM) on the performance of broilers. A total of 112 seven-day-old as hatched broilers were fed on 4 different iso-energetic (2,818 kcal/kg) and iso-nitrogeneous (20.2% CP) diets up to 56 days of age. Diet A was control with 12% FM. In diets B (3% DW + 13.5% SBM), C (6% DW + 11.5% SBM) and D (9% DW +10% SBM). All FM protein of control diet was replaced by DW and SBM. The replacement of dietary FM by DW and SBM depressed feed intake, live weight gain and feed conversion efficiency and increased production cost and thus affected profitability. All those growth parameters had a linear declining trend as the proportion of DW in the diet was increased. It may be concluded that complete replacement of dietary FM by DW and SBM should not be recommended for raising broilers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.99-102
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• 1991

To determine effect of time after feeding on distribution of digesta in the gastro-intestinal tracts of sheep given orchardgrass hay once a day, a total of fifteen ewes (mean live weight $51{\pm}12kg$) were slaughtered at 2, 8, 16 and 24 hours after feeding. Contents in the reticulo-rumen, omasum, abomasums, small intestine, cecum, and colon and rectum were totally collected and weighed. Weights of digesta in the reticulo-rumen were about 6 kg which contributed about 75% of the total in the whole tracts. Digesta on dry-matter basis totaled about 1 kg. The dry-matter concentration of digesta in the whole digestive tract was about 107 h/kg of fresh digesta. Distribution of moisture in the digestive tract changed in parallel with that of fresh digesta. There was no significant correlation observed between time after feeding and weights of digesta in the gastro-intestinal tracts. While, feed intake significantly correlated with digesta in the reticulo-rumen, cecum and whole tracts (p<0.01). Thus, time after feeding was inferred to have no influence upon the content of digesta in the digestive tract, but feed intake influenced on the content of digesta in the digestive tract at a low level of feeding.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.828-833
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• 2002

Thirty mature pregnant ewes of the Phan Rang breed with an initial live weight of 30 to 45 kg were used to compare the effects of three different diets in late pregnancy on ewe and lamb performance. All diets contained 20% of whole sugar cane, 16% rice bran, 26% cassava root and 6% molasses urea block. The remaining 32% of dry matter consisted of Jackfruit (JF diet), 16% each of Jackfruit and Cassava foliage (JF+CS diet) or Jackfruit and Flemingia foliage (JF+FM diet). The diets were fed at 3.5% of actual BW of the individual animal. The foliages were offered at 120% of the amount decided in the diets of the requirements. The JF+CS diet resulted in significantly higher feed intake than the JF diet, and also a higher feed intake than the JF+FM diet, but this difference was not significant. The ewe weight changes during the last 8 weeks of pregnancy, or from start to 24 h after lambing, were significantly different. The highest weight gain was obtained from the ewes fed the JF+CS diet. Diets had no effect on weight changes of ewes during 3 weeks after lambing but a significant effect on the litter birth weight, with the JF+CS diet giving the highest litter birth weight. There was, however, no effect on the litter weight at 21 days or litter growth rate from birth to 21 days due to the experimental diets.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.183-186
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• 2007

The effect of live food and commercial diet on sweetfish Plecoglossus altivelis culture was assessed by determining the daily growth rate and feed conversion ratio. After feeding for 8 weeks, the Moina macrocopa diet resulted in a higher growth rate of 5.101 compared to commercial (3.441) and Artemia (2.729) diets. In addition fish fed the M. macrocopa diet had the weight gain, averaging 41.29 g at the end of the experiment. The content of n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) was highest in the commercial diet, while free fatty acids were not detected in the M. macrocopa diet. Triglycerides, the energy source in fishes, constituted 40.0% of the M. macrocopa diet, which was significantly higher than in the commercial and Artemia diets at 20.0 and 12.0%, respectively These results indicate that freshwater M. macrocopa can be used as feed for sweetfish larvae, even without docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enrichment from Artemia.