• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1171-1177
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• 2008

The performance of growing rabbits fed Ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis), head lettuce (Lactuca sativa) residue, Mimosa pigra and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) was studied in an experiment using 64 rabbits (4 males and 4 females per treatment) of 2 breeds, New Zealand White and a crossbred between New Zealand White and native breed. The rabbits had an average initial weight of 668 g, were about 6 weeks old and were housed in individual pens. The foliages were fed ad libitum and a commercial concentrate was fed at a restricted level of 2% of body weight on a dry matter (DM) basis. In the digestibility experiment, the rabbits, 4 per foliage and males only, were fed the same foliages as in the growth experiment but without concentrate. Daily weight gain was lower in the group fed Ruzi grass, 14.8 g/d (p<0.001) compared to 17.6, 18.5 and 18.4 g/d for head lettuce, Mimosa pigra and water spinach, respectively. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio were lowest for the rabbits fed water spinach, 66 g DM/d and 3.6 kg DM/kg live weight, respectively. The New Zealand White breed had a higher daily gain than the crossbred rabbits (p<0.05), 18.0 and 16.7 g/d, respectively. There were no significant differences in feed intake, growth or feed conversion ratio due to sex. The digestibility coefficients of DM, organic matter, crude protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were significantly lower (p<0.001) in the rabbits fed Ruzi grass. Breed and sex had no effect on digestibility. In conclusion, feeding head lettuce residue, Mimosa pigra and water spinach resulted in higher growth rate and digestibility than feeding Ruzi grass and can be recommended as alternative feeds.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.47-60
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• 2002

'Probiotics' as a live microbial feed supplementation which beneficially affects the host animal by improving its microbial balance and it is known to as a substitue for antibiotics in livestock feed industry. Lactic acid bacteria as a Lactobacillus sp. is formed acid and decrease pH in gastro-intestine that is result in suppress harmful microorganism. Lactobacillus sp. also produces vitamin and a variety amino acids. Yeast as a saccharomyces sp. secretes digestive enzymes, decreases ammonia emission and increases feed palatability by alcohol and glutamic acid. The effects of dietary probiotics in monogastric animals that improve weight gain and feed efficiency ratio and decrease diarrhea accurence frequency in pigs. Also, probiotics increase egg production ratio and beneficial microorganisms in laying hens. In broiler, they have more gain weight and lower blood cholesterol concentrations by probiotics. However, the other study reported probiotics supplementation in animal diets has no effect on ADG, G/F or performance. Thus, future study in these area will allow for more efficient use of the probiotics, selection of more superior microorganism and development of more efficient environment-friendly probiotics like a photosynthetic bacteria.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.594-602
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• 2021

Objective: An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of dragon fruit peel pellet (DFPP) as a rumen enhancer of dry matter consumption, nutrient digestibilities, ruminal ecology, microbial protein synthesis and rumimal methane production in Holstein crossbred bulls. Methods: Four animals, with an average live-weight of 200±20 kg were randomly assigned in a 4×4 Latin square design to investigate the influence of DFPP supplementation. There were four different dietary treatments: without DFPP, and with 200, 300, and 400 g/h/d, respectively. Results: Results revealed that dry matter consumption of total intake, rice straw and concentrate were not significantly different among treatments (p>0.05). It was also found that ruminal pH was not different among treatments (p>0.05), whilst protozoal group was reduced when DFPP increased (p<0.01). Blood urea nitrogen and NH3-N concentrations were increased at 400 g of DFPP supplementation (p<0.01). Additionally, volatile fatty acid production of propionate was significantly enhanced by the DFPP supplementation (p<0.05), while production of methane was consequently decreased (p<0.05). Furthermore, microbial protein synthesis and urinary purine derivatives were remarkably increased especially at 400 g of DFPP supplementation (p<0.05). Conclusion: Plant secondary compounds or phytonutrients (PTN) containing saponins (SP) and condensed tannins (CT) have been reported to influence rumen fermentation. DFPP contains both CT and SP as a PTN. The addition of 400 g of DFPP resulted in improved rumen fermentation end-products especially propionate (C3) and microbial protein synthesis. Therefore, DFPP is a promising rumen enhancer and indicated a significant potential of DFPP as feedstuff for ruminant feed to mitigate rumen methane production.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2021

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of different feed withdrawal periods (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h) on Salmonella contamination in the crop, intestinal weight, and blood parameters of broilers before harvesting. A total of 100 broilers (initial live weight 1.906±0.06 kg) were randomly assigned to the same five treatment groups and broilers had access to water but no feed before catching. Feed withdrawal times were 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h prior to slaughter. Measurements included live weight, pre-slaughter weight, carcass weight, weight of gastrointestinal tract. In addition, Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination in the crop, serum biochemical profiles, counts of leukocytes, erythrocytes, and platelets, and meat quality were assessed. The results demonstrate that carcass weight, blood corticosterone, meat pH, meat color, and water holding capacity did not differ based on the feed withdrawal time. Carcass yield increased as the withdrawal time increased, but the weights of the crop, proventriculus, jejunum, ileum, and rectum were significantly reduced by 6 h (P<0.05). Salmonella counts were the lowest in the crops subjected to 6 h of feed withdrawal (P<0.05). Shear force was highest in chicken breast meat after 6 h of feed withdrawal (P<0.05). However, when the feed was withdrawn after 6 h, the shear force increased, but it did not affect the sensory characteristics in consumers, and the Salmonella count also decreased and had a reduction effect on contamination during slaughter. These findings can serve as reference data for setting the feed withdrawal time.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.271-279
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• 1996

On-farm experiments were carried out in dryland farming in Bali for 48 weeks to study the effect of flock size on the growth and carcass characteristics of cross-bred goat fed gliricidia-supplemented diet. Eighty four bucks with average live weight of 15.87 kg were allocated in a completely randomized block design arrangement, consisted of three treatments and four blocks. The treatments were $3goats/2.7m^2$ (A), $6goats/5.4m^2$ (B) and $12goats/10.8m^2$ (C), while the floor density was the same ($0.9m^2$ per goat). Feed consumed by goat B was similar (p > 0.10), while feed consumed by goat C was lower (p < 0.10) than goat A. Live weight gain of goat B and C were lower (p<0.05) than goat A. FCR of goat B was higher (p < 0.10) than goat A, while FCR of goat C was similar (p > 0.10) with goat A. Goat B has heavier (p < 0.10) head and digestive tract, while goat C has heavier (p<0.10) hindlegs and digestive tract than goat A. Goat B has lighter (p < 0.10) shoulder, while goat C has lighter shoulder and heavier legs (p < 0.10) than goat A. The carcass quality (measured in terms of loin eye muscle area, meat, bone and fat portions) were not affected (p > 0.05) by the flock sizes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1445-1450
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• 2012

A study was conducted to evaluate effects of alfalfa meal on growth performance and gastrointestinal tract development of growing layer ducks to provide evidence for application of alfalfa meal in the duck industry. Two hundred and fifty-six healthy Shaoxing 7-wk old growing layer ducks were selected and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments based on corn and soybean meal and containing 0, 3, 6, and 9% of alfalfa meal for 8 wks. Each treatment consisted of 4 replicates of 16 ducks each. Briefly, birds were raised in separate compartments, and each compartment consisted of three parts: indoor floor house, adjacent open area and a connecting water area. The results showed: i) Growing ducks fed alfalfa meal diet were not significantly different in average daily gain, feed intake and gain-to-feed ratio from those fed no alfalfa diet (p>0.05). ii) Alfalfa meal increased the ratio crop, gizzard to live weight, caecum to live weight, the caecum index of growing ducks (p<0.05). iii) Villus height in duodenum and jejunum of growing ducks increased significantly with the increase of alfalfa meal levels (p<0.05). Crypt depth in duodenum and jejunum of growing ducks decreased significantly with the increase of alfalfa meal levels (p<0.05). This experiment showed that feeding of alfalfa meal to growing layer ducks could improve gastrointestinal tract growth and small intestinal morphology without effect on performance. This experiment provides evidence that alfalfa meal is a very valuable feedstuff for growing layer ducks.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 2015

Since the consumption of the livestock products increased for the past 10 years in Korea, the water use for live animals has become more important in terms of water savings. Therefore, the index connecting water use and livestock products consumption should be required for sustainable water management, and water footprint concept could be suggested as the index. The aim of this study is to estimate the water footprint for livestock products; beef cattle, swine, and broiler chicken. The water footprint for livestock products is divided into direct and indirect water. The direct water includes the drinking and servicing water, and the indirect water includes the water for the cultivation of feed crops. The water footprint of beef cattle was calculated to $17,023.1m^3/ton$, and direct water was $91.2m^3/ton$, and indirect water was $16,931.9m^3/ton$. The water footprint of swine was calculated to $4,235.8m^3/ton$, and direct water was $129.7m^3/ton$, and indirect water was $4,106.0m^3/ton$. The water footprint of broiler chicken was calculated to $2,427.7m^3/ton$, and direct water was $7.6m^3/ton$, and indirect water was $2,420.1m^3/ton$. Also, we compared the water footprint to water demand of water vision 2020 which is the main report for national water management. The water vision 2020 reported only direct water for live animal, but the water footprint includes the direct and indirect water. Therefore, the water footprint could be applied to various fields relating water and food.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.500-506
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• 2017

To investigate the potential applications of bacterial heme, aminolevulinic acid synthase (HemA) was expressed in a Corynebacterium glutamicum HA strain that had been adaptively evolved against oxidative stress. The red pigment from the constructed strain was extracted and it exhibited the typical heme absorbance at 408 nm from the spectrum. To investigate the potential of this strain as an iron additive for swine, a prototype feed additive was manufactured in pilot scale by culturing the strain in a 5 ton fermenter followed by spray-drying the biomass with flour as an excipient (biomass: flour = 1:10 (w/w)). The 10% prototype additive along with regular feed was supplied to a pig, resulting in a 1.1 kg greater increase in weight gain with no diarrhea in 3 weeks as compared with that in a control pig that was fed an additive containing only flour. To verify if C. glutamicum-synthesized heme is a potential electron carrier, lactic acid bacteria were cultured under aerobic conditions with the extracted heme. The biomasses of the aerobically grown Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus rhamosus, and Lactobacillus casei were 97%, 15%, and 4% greater, respectively, than those under fermentative growth conditions. As a potential preservative, cultures of the four strains of lactic acid bacteria were stored at $4^{\circ}C$ with the extracted heme and living lactic acid bacterial cells were counted. There were more L. lactis and L. plantarum live cells when stored with heme, whereas L. rhamosus and L. casei showed no significant differences in live-cell numbers. The potential uses of the heme from C. glutamicum are further discussed.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the changes in the pig productivity after ban of antibiotics growth promoter in commercial pig farms. A total 74 pig farms that herd size is from less than 100 sows to more than 500 sows were selected for survey. Changes of pig productivity before/after ban of antibiotics were analyzed by comparing with our survey results and report of KPPA (Korean Pork Producers Association, 2013). In the results, no difference on pig productivity was observed by herd size among our survey farms. Live born piglets have been raised as time passes since 2003, and then it reach to 10.6 head per sow in 2012. The numbers of weaning piglet tended to increase, but sow turnover ratio was found to be a tendency to decrease after ban of antibiotics in our survey results. There was no effect of using antibiotics on mortality of pre- and post- weaning. Marketing per sow per year (MSY) does not be improved because the post-weaning mortality was maintained at a high level, despite live pig born and weaning piglet have increased after 2003. In conclusion, a ban of antibiotics growth promoter does not directly affect to pig productivity, but it needs the efforts to reduce the mortality of post-weaning for improvement of pig productivity. We suggest that this data will be useful to swine industry as the fundamental information.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1453-1457
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• 2002

The experiment was conducted to find out the effect of 4 feeding systems on growth, feed intake, eating behavior, lactation performance, gestation period, post-partum heat period, conception rate and parasitic infestation of Black Bengal goat. Twenty four does of approximately 1 year of age were randomly selected for 4 treatment (feeding systems) groups having 6 replications in each. Treatments were stall feeding ($T_1$), tethering ($T_2$), restricted grazing ($T_3$) and grazing ($T_4$). $T_1$ group was housed continuously and adequate amounts of natural grass were supplied for ad libitum feeding. $T_2$ group was tethered for grazing natural grass from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. being moved at one hour intervals. Goats of $T_3$ group were allowed grazing from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. $T_4$ group was grazed from 8 a. m. to 4 p.m. Concentrate supplement was given at the rate of 150 g per day per goat for all of the treatment groups. Duration of experiment was 219 days. Daily live weight gain was significantly (p<0.05) higher in case of stall fed goats than that of others. DM intake also significantly (p<0.05) differed among the treatment groups and was 3.40 3.95, 3.76 and 4.05 per cent of their live weight for stall feeding, tethering, restricted grazing and grazing groups, respectively. Rate of rumination was significantly (p<0.05) higher in case of tethering group of goats than that of others. Birth weight of kids, milk yield, lactation period and post-partum heat period were significantly higher in case of stall fed goats than others. Tethering group showed significantly (p<0.05) higher litter size than others. Infestation rate of Fasciola was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the grazing group. In conclusion, it may be stated that among these feeding groups overall performance of stall fed goats was more satisfactory, and that the tethering group showed better performance than the others.