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Simple Summary: In recent years, confined pheasant farms have been gaining popularity in both stocking and the production of meat and eggs. When assessing the nutritional value of meat products, the focus is on the nutrient content, including the mineral content and the amino acid profile. The production performance, e.g., body weight gains, feed conversion, and the proportion of meat in the carcasses, are also not insignificant. At the same time, taking into account the feeding behaviour of pheasants, especially during the rearing period under farm conditions, varied dietary components are used, including meals of animal origin and mineral-and-vitamin supplements. The authors hypothesised that the introduction of insect meal to the diet, instead of plant protein feeds, would have an effect on the production performance and the nutritional components of the muscles. The study results obtained show that the addition of insect meal contributed to an improvement in the meat yield and the levels of certain minerals without significantly affecting the amino acid profile. A 20% addition of meal from the larvae of insects Hermetia illucens proved to be most beneficial. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of replacing soybean meal with insect meal on the body weight and the chemical composition of selected muscle groups of common pheasant females and males, including the mineral composition and the amino acid profile of the thigh and breast muscles. The study was conducted on three feeding groups, namely one control and two experimental groups. In the control group, plant feed components were used, which are commonly used to feed pheasants in confined breeding facilities. In the experimental groups, 100 g (group II) and 200 g (group III) portions of insect meal were introduced instead of the plant-protein components. The experiment used a preparation of insect larvae (Hermetia illucens) containing approximately 52% crude protein. The pheasant diet supplementation applied contributed to an increase in the proportion of muscles in the carcasses, with the highest effectiveness obtained for a 20% addition of insect meal. Lower and significant differences were noted in the feed conversion by birds from the experimental groups, as compared to the control group. The chemical composition of the birds' muscles also changed. The experimental groups exhibited higher protein and fat contents and a lower water content. No significant changes in the amino acid profile or the mineral composition of the muscles were noted. The few exceptions concerned the methionine levels in both muscle groups and the isoleucine levels in the breast muscles. In most cases, the mineral composition did not vary significantly (p < 0.05). When supplementing the diet of breeding pheasants for improving meatiness, a 20% addition of insect meal is recommended, which affects the production effect of this trait while reducing feed consumption and maintaining the fatty acid profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to carry out epizootic assessment of male roe deer to detect the presence of Cephenemyia stimulator larvae and determine the influence of the parasite on the carcass and antler weight in animals living in different habitats.

Differing conditions in captive breeding and in the wild have impact on the mineral profile of the pheasant carcass and its heavy metal contents. This may be an indicator of environmental contamination. The study evaluated the nutritional composition and selected macro- and trace element contents (heavy metals in particular) in usable sections of pheasant breast and thigh muscles originating from captive breeding and wild birds.

Introduction: The objective was to evaluate the epizootic and epidemiological situation of Trichinella sp. infection in Poland between 2006 and 2015 against the dynamics of the wild boar population and its primary reservoir host.

The question we were going to answer was whether the combination of immunocastration and dry or wet diet can help us deepen further the reduction of the boar taint following immunocastration. Immunocastration is an alternative to surgical castration. It has been agreed that its use heightens animal welfare, which is of full consumers' acceptance, though it is not as efficient removing the boar taint as the surgical castration. Evidence exists however, that the level of constituents causing the taint can be moulded by fed diets. The study was conducted on 450 porkers, distributed among 6 sex*diet groups. The first three groups - gilts, surgically and immunocastrated boars - received complete compound dry ration, while the other three were fed fermented liquid diet of similar nutritional value to that offered in the dry diet. The immunocastrated porkers received two doses of synthetic gonadoliberin Improvac®. Cholesterol parameters, 17ß-estradiol, testosterone, and androstenone were determined in plasma. Total lipids for the fatty acid analysis and skatole contents were assayed in the longissimus muscle fat, backfat, and perirenal fat. The administration of synthetic gonadoliberin resulted in a substantial decrease of the plasma androgen level compared to that observed in the surgically castrated porkers. This effectively prevented the appearance of a higher concentration of skatole in the tissues. Liquid diet also helped to level off the unfavourable differences regarding boar taint present in dry feeding between surgically castrated and immunocastrated barrows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of these substitutions on body weight and slaughtering performance, post-mortem changes, sensory characteristics and chemical composition of selected muscle groups of male and female pheasants. The tests were carried out on pheasants during 5–16 weeks of rearing in enclosed aviaries. Four groups of 8 females and 8 males were formed, and the experimental factor was the supplementation of calcium, iron, zinc and copper salts with glycinates of these elements. The control group received a feed blend containing 100% of the mineral requirement as salts. In the E-25 group, 25% of the salts were replaced by glycinates, in the E-50 group 50% of the salts were replaced, and in the E-75 group only glycinates comprising 75% of the total mineral content were used and no salts were included, with vitamin D3 replaced by calcitriol. For the duration of the study, feeding was at will and the birds had free access to water. In addition, pheasants were weighed at the age of 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks. Daily feed intake was monitored. At the end of the experiment, when all the pheasants were 16 weeks old, they were weighed and decapitated. The breast, thighs and drumsticks and the heart, liver and gizzard were removed from the chilled carcasses. Supplementation of calcium, iron, zinc and copper salts with 50% glycinates in feed mixtures for pheasants over a period of 5–16 weeks resulted in a slight improvement in the slaughter weight of birds and a significant increase in crude ash, calcium and zinc, while at 75% supplementation and when calcitriol was used instead of vitamin D3, increased phosphorus levels were found in the pheasant muscles analysed. Males had higher body weight, body weight gain, carcass, liver and gizzard weights, and their muscles had more magnesium and potassium and less calcium, sodium and iron than females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of dietary supplementation with extracts of differently polymerised inulin and inulin-containing plants (Jerusalem artichoke, chicory) on selected slaughter parameters in swine as well as on their blood profile associated with the mineral status of an organism and the functional status of the liver. The experiment was carried out throughout an entire fattening period and involved 120 pigs with the initial weight of 30.0 ± 0.5 kg. The pigs were divided into 5 groups. The dietary treatments consisted of control diet (CON) and control diet supplemented with extracts of inulin (EI) - standard inulin (SI; average degree of polymerisation ≥ 10) or long-chain inulin (LCI, average degree of polymerization ≥ 23), and control diet supplemented with inulin-containing plants (ICP): Jerusalem artichoke (JA) or chicory (CH). The overall inulin content in the treatments was similar (20 g inulin kg-1 diet). The ICP treatments increased the iron, zinc, and copper content in pig blood plasma and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration. They also reduced the activity of liver enzymes in blood plasma, compared with the control. In the EI treatments, an increase in the plasma iron concentration and the MCHC value and a decrease in the relative liver weight and stabilisation of the activity of liver enzymes in relation to the control were noted. The effect of inulin supplementation was more pronounced when the compound was added to the diet in the first fattening stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zywnosc is the property of Polish Society of Food Technologists - Scientific Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of the study was to compare the efficiency of dietary supplementation of two species of yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica (YL) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC), with or without the addition of a probiotic, on growth performance, basic nutrients digestibility and blood profile in piglets. The experiment was conducted on 360 weaned piglets (180 barrows and 180 gilts). Each treatment comprised 60 piglets. The piglets (27‐day‐old) were assigned to the following dietary treatments: (a) basal control (C) diet, (b) C diet + probiotic (Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis—2 × 109 CFU/kg of feed), (c) C diet + 3% Y. lipolytica (YL—2 × 1010 CFU/g), (d) C diet + 3%YL + probiotic, (e) C diet + 3% S. cerevisiae (SC—3 × 1010 CFU/g) and (f) C diet + 3% SC + probiotic. Blood for analysis was collected from a total of 36 piglets at the end of the experiment, that is, 56 days after weaning. During the entire experiment, significantly greater weight gain was observed in the piglets receiving YL. The addition of the probiotic supplement and SC yeast reduced the daily feed intake during day 16–56 and from day 0 to 56 of the experiment. A better feed conversion ratio (FCR) during day 0–56 of the experiment was noted after addition of the probiotic and yeast. The use of YL yeast in diets for piglets had a more beneficial effect on weight gain and FCR than SC. Moreover, the addition of YL modulates lipid metabolism in piglets, as indicated by the reduced levels of TCH, LDL and TG and increased level of HDL in the plasma. The combined use of either YL or SC with a probiotic is not recommended in piglet rearing, as it does not substantially improve growth performance and health in comparison with yeast alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]