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Several factors predisposing to necrotic enteritis (NE) have been identified, including diet and Eimeria spp. infestations. Coccidiosis vaccines are indicated to decrease the intestinal lesions caused by specific Eimeria species that are a known predisposing factor to NE and, consequently, these vaccines could be a holistic approach to the control of NE disease and an alternative solution to coccidiostats. Besides, feed additives have also gained special attention from the poultry industry as an alternative solution to antibiotics to prevent NE as well as other bacterial enteritis. Then, the combination of vaccination against coccidiosis and the supplementation of the diet with feed additives could be a composite approach to the control of NE problems triggered by Eimeria spp. infestation. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of an attenuated coccidiosis vaccine (EVANT) in combination with different feed additives to prevent the loss of production performance and intestinal lesions in broilers challenged with NE. Healthy day-old broilers (n = 960) were randomly allocated to 6 groups (8 cages/group). Groups 1–2 were left unvaccinated. Groups 3–6 were vaccinated following the manufacturer's instructions. Chickens were grown using a diet favoring the intestinal proliferation of Clostridium perfringens. Moreover, the diets of groups 4–6 were supplemented with medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), butyric acid or phytogenic feed additives (PFA), respectively. A NE infection model was used to challenge groups 2–6; chickens were orally infected with Eimeria maxima (4,500 oocysts) and then C. perfringens (108 CFU) at 15 and 20 d, respectively. Birds were monitored and productive parameters recorded until 42 d; intestinal lesions were scored. Results showed that coccidiosis vaccination, with or without the addition of feed additives, decreased intestinal lesions associated with NE and improved the performance of the birds. Besides, the addition of MCFA to the diet decreased intestinal lesions associated to NE in vaccinated animals compared to all treatment groups. Moreover, the same additive improved the feed conversion rate. Therefore, vaccination with a live attenuated coccidiosis vaccine together with in-feed inclusion of MCFA might be a solution to reduce NE in broilers raised antimicrobial- and coccidiostat-free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that copper bis-glycinate (Cu-BisGly) can partially or fully replace copper sulfate (CuSO 4) in diets for weanling pigs based on growth performance and fecal score. A total of 384 newly weaned pigs (26 d of age) with an average body weight of 7.59 ± 0.69 kg were allotted to 4 diets in a randomized complete block design. There were 6 pigs per pen and 16 replicate pens per diet. Dietary treatments included a treatment with 120 mg/kg Cu as CuSO 4 (CuSO-120), 2 treatments with Cu as Cu-BisGly (Plexomin® Cu) at 60 or 120 mg/kg (Cu-BisGly-60 or Cu-BisGly-120), and a treatment with 120 mg/kg Cu from both Cu sources (60 mg/kg as CuSO 4 and 60 mg/kg as Cu-BisGly; Combo). Experimental diets were provided in 2 phases with d 1–14 as phase 1 and d 15–28 as phase 2. Pig weights and feed left in feeders were recorded at the beginning and at the end of each phase. Fecal consistency score was recorded twice per week. Data for growth performance parameters and fecal score were calculated for each phase and for the entire experimental period, and were analyzed as a one-way ANOVA. Results indicated that in phase 1, there were no differences among treatments for average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), gain to feed ratio (G:F), or fecal score of pigs. In phase 2, pigs fed the CuSO-120 diet had lower (P < 0.05) ADG than pigs fed the Cu-BisGly-120 diet or the Combo diet. Pigs fed the Combo diet also had increased (P < 0.05) ADFI compared with pigs fed the CuSO-120 diet or the Cu-BisGly-60 diet. For the overall experimental period, pigs fed the Cu-BisGly-120 diet or the Combo diet had increased (P < 0.05) ADG compared with pigs fed the CuSO-120 or the Cu-BisGly-60 diet. In conclusion, 60 mg/kg of Cu-BisGly can replace 120 mg/kg of CuSO 4 without adversely affecting growth performance or fecal score, but inclusion of 120 mg/kg of Cu-BisGly or a combination of 60 mg/kg of each Cu source results in improved growth performance of pigs. • Based on growth performance, 60 mg/kg Cu as Cu bis-glycinate can replace 120 mg/kg Cu as CuSO 4 in weaner diets. • Inclusion of 120 mg/kg Cu as Cu bis-glycinate increased growth performance of pigs. • A combination of both Cu sources (60 mg/kg each) resulted in improved growth performance of pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonanoic acid (NA) is one of a group of straight-chain aliphatic aldehydes, acids and their derivatives with a long and established history of use as flavors in human food and animal feed. The use of this group of flavors in feed was evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2013 and in the absence of data in the target species, maximum safe levels were derived from available toxicology studies of 12 mg for piglets, and 20 mg for grower/finisher pigs and sows per kg complete feed containing 120 g/kg moisture. These established safe levels limit the practical use of NA as a flavoring in swine diets and the objective of this study was to evaluate the tolerance to piglets of NA at significantly higher dietary levels that are relevant to commercial feeding practices. Three hundred eighty four (192 males, 192 females), cross bred [Tempo x (Large White x Landrace)] post-weaned piglets with an initial body weight (BW) of between 6.5 and 8.5 kg and age of 26 days were used in a 42-day tolerance study. Piglets were randomly assigned to one of 64 pens containing either 6 males or 6 females. One of 4 dietary treatments were fed to the piglets containing NA at 0, 100, 300 or 1000 mg/kg complete feed. General health and performance were monitored for the duration of the study. At day 42, blood samples were taken and piglets were sacrificed and necropsied for pathological examination of the digestive tract. NA supplementation had no effect (P > 0.05) on the daily feed intake (DFI), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) or fecal consistency over the 42-day period. No treatment related effects (P > 0.05) on hematology or blood biochemistry parameters were reported and all values fell within normal ranges. There were no treatment-related findings from macroscopic and microscopic examination of digestive tissues. The results of the study support the tolerance to piglets of NA in feed treated with 1000 mg/kg complete feed of which 720 mg/kg was recovered, which is considerably higher than anticipated practical conditions of use as a feed flavoring. • Weaned piglets were fed graded levels of nonanoic acid in the diet for 42 days. • There were no treatment related changes in growth performance, blood parameters and tissue pathology. • Nonanoic acid was well-tolerated by piglets at levels of up to 1000 mg/kg complete feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]