Search

Public concern on the methods of raising food-producing animals has increased, especially in the last two decades, leading to voluntary and mandated changes in the animal production methods. The primary objective of these changes is to improve the welfare of farm animals. The use of gestational stalls is currently a major welfare issue in swine production. Several studies assessed the welfare of alternative housing systems for gestating sows. A comparative study was performed with gestating sows housed in either individual stalls or in groups in a pen with an electronic sow feeder. This review assessed the welfare of each housing system using physiological, behavioral, and reproductive performance criteria. The current review identified clear advantages and disadvantages of each housing system. Individual stall housing allowed each sow to be given an individually tailored diet without competition, but the sows had behavioral restrictions and showed stereotypical behaviors (e.g., bar biting, nosing, palate grinding, etc.). Group-housed sows had increased opportunities to display such behavior (e.g., ability to move around and social interactions); however, a higher prevalence of aggressive behavior, especially first mixing in static group type, caused a negative impact on longevity (more body lesions, scratch and bite injuries, and lameness, especially in subordinate sows). Conclusively, a more segmented and diversified welfare assessment could be beneficial for a precise evaluation of each housing system for sows. Further efforts should be made to reduce aggression-driven injuries and design housing systems (feeding regimen, floor, bedding, etc.) to improve the welfare of group-housed sows.

Objective Effects of direct-fed Enterococcus faecium plus bacteriophages (EF-BP) were investigated as potential substitutes for pharmacological ZnO for weanling pigs. Methods Dietary treatments were supplementations to a basal diet with none (NC), 3,000-ppm ZnO (PC), 1×1010 colony-forming units of E. faecium plus 1×108 plaque-forming units (PFU) of anti-Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophages (ST) or 1×106 PFU of each of anti-enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 (F4)-, K99 (F5)-, and F18-type bacteriophages (EC) per kg diet. In Exp 1, twenty-eight 21-day-old crossbred weanling pigs were individually fed one of the experimental diets for 14 days and euthanized for histological examination on intestinal mucosal morphology. In Exp 2, 128 crossbred weanling pigs aged 24 days were group-fed the same experimental diets in 16 pens of 8 piglets on a farm with a high incidence of post-weaning diarrhea. Results None of the diarrheal score or fecal consistency score (FCS), average daily gain (ADG), gain: feed ratio, structural variables of the intestinal villus, and goblet cell density, differed between the EF-BP (ST+EC) and NC groups, between EF-BP and PC, or between ST and EC, with the exception of greater gain: feed for EF-BP than for PC (p

Objective: In this study, we investigated the effects of Rubus coreanus-derived lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermented feed (RC-LAB fermented feed) and three types of LAB (Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis) on the expression of transcription factors and cytokines in Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells in the intestinal lymph nodes and spleens of rats. In addition, the effect on intestinal microbiota composition and body weight was investigated. Methods: Five-week-old male rats were assigned to five treatments and eight replicates. The expression of transcription factors and cytokines of Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells in the intestinal lymph nodes and spleens was analyzed using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays. Intestinal tract microbiota compositions were analyzed by next-generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. Results: RC-LAB fermented feed and three types of LAB increased the expression of transcription factors and cytokines in Th1, Treg cells and Galectin-9, but decreased in Th2 and Th17 cells. In addition, the intestinal microbiota composition changed, the body weight and Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio decreased, and the relative abundance of LAB increased. Conclusion: LAB fermented feed and three types of LAB showed an immune modulation effect by inducing T cell polarization and increased LAB in the intestinal microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in growing pigs fed diets containing increasing levels of copra meal (CM) with ß-mannanase supplementation. Methods: Twenty barrows (initial body weight: 34.43±0.11 kg) surgically fitted with T-cannulas at the distal ileum were individually housed in metabolism crates. Pigs were allotted to 5 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with 4 replicates per treatment. The dietary treatments were: i) NC, negative control, corn-soybean meal (SBM) based diet, ii) PC, positive control, basal diet + 0.10% ß-mannanase supplementation (800 IU/kg), iii) CM6, PC diet with 6% CM supplementation, iv) CM12, PC diet with 12% CM supplementation, and v) CM18, PC diet with 18% CM supplementation. A nitrogen-free diet was used to estimate basal endogenous losses of AA for SID calculation. All experimental diets contained 0.5% chromic oxide as an indigestible marker. Each period consisted of a 4-d diet adaptation period and a 3-d ileal digesta collection period. Results: There were no differences in apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and SID of all AA between the NC and PC treatments except that the PC treatment had lower AID and SID of glycine than the NC treatment (p<0.05). There were linear decreases in AID and SID of lysine (p<0.05) and aspartic acid (p = 0.06; tendency) with increasing levels of CM in the diets with ß-mannanase. Conclusion: The ß-mannanase supplementation had no effect on AA digestibility in pigs fed the corn-SBM based diet but increasing levels of CM reduced SID of lysine and aspartic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]