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A broiler chicken study was conducted for 42 D to evaluate their responses to 3 commercially available microbial phytases. Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and bone mineralization at days 21 and 42 posthatching were used as parameters of evaluation. The study was a randomized complete block design with 12 treatments, 8 replicate pens, and 25 birds per pen. Treatments included a positive control (PC), a negative control (NC) with crude protein (CP), nonphytate phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) reduced by 18, 1.5, and 1.8 g/kg, respectively; the NC + 4 levels of phytase A (250, 500, 750, 1,000 FTU/kg), 3 levels of phytase B (250, 500, 750 FTU/kg), and 3 levels of phytase C (500, 750, 1,000 FTU/kg). Broilers fed the NC diet had reduced (P < 0.05) performance and digestibility measures at days 21 and 42 relative to the PC. All phytase enzymes improved (P < 0.05) BW, gain, feed efficiency, and tibia ash weight and percent. Inclusion of phytase at the highest levels improved (P < 0.05) tibia ash weight by an average of 18.5 and 22% at days 21 and 42, respectively, over the NC. Phytase A linearly improved (P < 0.05) the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of DM, Ca, P, copper, and sodium at day 21, and the AID of energy, nitrogen, and all amino acid (AA) digestibility at day 42 posthatching. Phytase B linearly (P < 0.05) improved BW gain and feed efficiency of birds at day 21 and quadratically improved (P < 0.05) the AID of nitrogen and all AA in birds at day 42. Supplementation of birds fed the NC with phytase C linearly improved (P < 0.05) the BW gain, feed intake, feed efficiency, and AID of DM, energy, nitrogen, all AA, and all minerals except manganese at day 42. In conclusion, all 3 phytase products improved the growth performance, nutrient and mineral digestibility, and bone mineralization of birds fed diets deficient in nitrogen, Ca, and P similar to or more than birds fed diet adequate in P and CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted with pigs to determine the sites of and the influence of dietary wheat middlings (WM) as a fiber source on the absorption of DL-Met (DLM) and DL-2-hydroxy-4-methylthio butanoic acid (HMTBA). Twelve 25-kg barrows were used in a replicated 6 x 4 incomplete Latin-square design with 6 diets and 4 periods per pig. Each pig was surgically fitted with simple T-cannulas in the terminal duodenum and ileum 2 wk before the initiation of the experiment and housed in a stainless-steel metabolism crate. The 6 diets were arranged in a 2 x 3 factorial of WM at 0 (CON) or 8% and Met source including none, DLM, or HMTBA. Supplemental DLM doubled the duodenal free Met concentration from 9.6 to 19.6 g/100 g of DM1. Supplemental DLM also increased the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of free Met from 52 to 92% (P < 0.05). Adding 8% WM increased (P < 0.01) duodenal NDF concentrations by 2 g/100 g of DM1 and decreased (P < 0.05) AID of free Met. No HMTBA was detected in digesta collected from the duodenum or ileum of pigs fed the CON + HMTBA or the WM + HMTBA diets, indicating complete absorption before the terminal duodenum regardless of WM inclusion. Interactions between Met supplementation and WM were observed for the digestibility of all other nutrients (P ,< 0.05). Fiber and AA digestibility in the ileum were the greatest for the CON + HMTBA diet, and least for the WM + HMTBA diet. The CON + HMTBA diet had greater AID of ADF, NDF, CP, and Thr, and greater AID of ADF, NDF, ash, Arg, Ile, Gly, and Pro when compared with the CON and CON + DLM diets, respectively (P < 0.05). The WM + HMTBA had less AID of ADF, CP, and all AA with the exception of Lys, Trp, and Val when compared with the CON + HMTBA (P < 0.05). In summary, absorption of HMTBA in the pig is complete by the end of the duodenum, but negative interaction between HMTBA and WM can decrease the AID of most AA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to determine the ideal digestible energy (IDE), ME, and MEn contents of corn distillers grains (CDG) for broiler chickens and to quantify these energy utilization responses to carbohydrase supplementation by the regression method. The CDG sample used in the current experiment contained (by analysis) 936 g/kg of DM, 4,894 kcal/kg of gross energy, 315.1 g/kg of CP, 94.6 g/kg of crude fat, 94.8 g/kg of crude fiber, 495.6 g/kg of neutral detergent fiber, 179.1 g/kg of acid detergent fiber, 0.19 g/kg of Ca, and 4.8 g/kg of P. The studies were conducted at 2 locations (Purdue or Louisiana State University) and CDG were incorporated into a practical corn-soybean meal diet at 3 levels (0, 300, or 600 g/kg) without or with added carbohydrase in a 2 x 3 x 2 factorial arrangement. The carbohydrase pre-mix was added to supply 2,000 U of xylanase + 1,800 U of amylase/kg of feed. The diets were fed to 288 broiler chickens from d 15 to 22 posthatch with 6 birds per cage and 8 replicate cages per diet in a randomized complete block design at each of 2 locations. The broiler chicks were fed a standard broiler starter diet from d 1 to 15 posthatch. The IDE of diets decreased both linearly (P < 0.01) and quadratically (P < 0.05) as CDG increased from 0 to 600 g/kg regardless of carbohydrase supplementation. There was a linear (P < 0.01) decrease in ME of diet from 3,239 to 2,510 kcal/kg as CDC increased from 0 to 600 g/kg in the diets without added carbohydrase, whereas for birds fed the carbohydrase-supplemented diets, there were both linear (P < 0.01) and quadratic (P < 0.01) decreases from 3,398 to 2,613 kcal/kg as CDG increased from 0 to 600 g/kg. Dietary MEn linearly decreased (P < 0.01) regardless of carbohydrase supplementation as CDG increased from 0 to 600 g/kg. Supplementation with carbohydrase improved (P < 0.01) IDE, ME, and MEn. Regressions of CDG-associated IDE, ME, or MEn intake in kilocalories against kilograms of CDG intake without added carbohydrase generated the following: IDE = 44 + 2,340X, r2 = 0.953; ME = 10 + 2,315X, r2 = 0.993; and MEn = 10 + 2,132X, r2 = 0.991. Corresponding regressions when carbohydrase was added were as follows: IDE = -17 + 2,622X, r2 = 0.985; ME = -25 + 2,448X, r2 = 0.979; and MEn = -22 + 2,264X, r2 = 0.978. These data indicate that the respective IDE, ME, and MEn values (kcal/kg of DM) of the CDG sample evaluated were 2,340, 2,315, and 2,132 when carbohydrase was not added and 2,622, 2,448, and 2,264 when carbohydrase was added. Comparison using ANOVA procedures indicated that the slope when carbohydrase was added was greater (P < 0.05) than when carbohydrase was not added. This response implies that carbohydrase supplementation improved (P < 0.05) the IDE, ME, and MEn of CDC in practical corn-soybean meal-based diets used in this current study by 12, 5.7, and 6.2%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments were conductephyd to study the effects of phytase derived from Escherichia coil (ECP) and Peniophora lycii (PLP) on performance, nutrient digestibility, and phosphorus (P) equivalency values of young pigs; and the influence of varying ratios of calcium (Ca) to total phosphorus (Ca:tP) with or without ECP on growth performance of pigs. In each experiment, 48 10-kg pigs were housed in individual pens for 28 days. Experiment 1 was designed to study the efficacy of ECP and PLP in improving growth performance and bone mineralization of young pigs given a low inorganic P (iP) diet. In the experiment, pigs were blocked by weight and sex and randomly allocated to eight dietary treatments. Each treatment had six replicates. The treatments were a positive control with adequate iP (PC); a low iP negative control (NC) diet; NC with supplemental iP in the form of monosodium phosphate added to provide 0.75 or 1.50 g iP per kg diet (as-fed basis); NC with ECP or PLP added at 500 or 1000 FTU per kg (as-fed basis; one phytase unit or FTU is defined as the quantity of enzyme required to liberate 1 µmol of iP per min, at pH 5.5, from an excess of 15 µmol/l sodium phytate at 37°C). In experiment 2, the objective was to study the effect of varying Ca:tP ratio with or without ECP on growth performance of growing pigs. Pigs (eight replicates) were blocked by weight and sex and randomly assigned to six dietary treatments in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement of Ca:tP ratios at 1.2, 1.5, or 1.8; and ECP at 0 or 1000 FTU per kg (as-fed basis). In experiment 1, ECP (P < 0.001) and PLP (P < 0.05) linearly increased daily gain. There was a positive linear (P < 0.05) response to the supplementation of the NC diet with ECP or PLP in the mineralization of the third and fourth metacarpal bones. Phosphorus equivalency values for 500 FTU of ECP or PLP based on mineralization of the third metacarpal bone were 0.77g or 0.572 g, respectively. There were linear (P < 0.001) and quadratic (P < 0.05) responses to ECP, and linear (P < 0.01) response to PLP in P digestibility. Neither iP supplementation nor either of the two phytases had significant effects on digestibility of dry matter, protein or energy. In experiment 2, reducing Ca:tP ratio linearly improved (P < 0.05) daily gain, food intake, and food efficiency in pigs regardless of phytase supplementation. There was an enzyme by Ca:tP interaction on food intake. These studies in young pigs showed that ECP and PLP were efficacious in improving the growth performance and bone mineralization and that reducing the Ca:tP ratio enhanced performance response to phytase supplementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pair of experiments was designed to evaluate feeding sodium buffered formic acid (SBFA) to sows during lactation and to their piglets in the subsequent nursery period. A total of 112 sows were blocked by parity and assigned to diets without (NC) or with supplemental SBFA (9 g/kg diet). Sows were farrowed in 2 equal groups, and all of the piglets from the first farrowing group (n = 252) were used for the subsequent nursery trial. Piglets were blocked by BW and sow treatment group and assigned to 2 nursery diets without (NC) and with SBFA (9 g/kg diet), such that there were in effect 4 treatments in the nursery period (NC/NC, NC/SBFA, SBFA/NC, SBFA/ SBFA; Sow treatment/Piglet treatment). Feeding SBFA during lactation resulted in heavier piglet weaning weights at weaning (6.29 vs. 6.00 kg; P < 0.05), and tended to reduce the amount of BW lost by the sow during lactation (-10.6 vs. -15.9 kg; P = 0.08). This due to an increase in daily feed intake of SBFA fed sows. While average daily feed intake was not different between groups (6.5 vs. 7.0 kg; P = 0.13), repeated measures analysis of feed intake by day of lactation from d 1 to d 18 (first sows weaned at d 19) revealed higher FI on d 6,10, 11, and 17, (P < 0.05) as well as a tendency toward higher FI on d 9,12,13, and 15 (P < 0.10) for SBFAfed sows. Broken line regression of daily FI indicate that SBFA fed sows achieved peak FI on d 11, and the NC fed sows on d 18. In the nursery trial, BW was not different across treatments on d 0, piglets from SBFA fed sows tended to be heavier at d 14 (+0.32 kg; P = 0.10), piglets fed SBFA directly were heavier on d 28 (+0.77 kg; P < 0.05) and tended to be heavier on d 42 (+0.5 kg; P < 0.10). Overall, SBFA improved G:F of nursery piglets whether fed to the sow during lactation (0.65 vs. 0.63; P < 0.01) or directly to the piglets during the first 42 d postweaning (0.65 vs. 0.63; P < 0.05). In conclusion, SBFA fed to sows can improve piglet weaning weights, subsequent performance of piglets post weaning, and may improve sow FI during lactation. Feeding SBFA to nursery piglets can improve piglet growth and feed efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graded equimolar concentrations of DL-methionine (DLM, 99%) or methionine hydroxy analog free acid (MHA-FA, 88%) were used in a study to evaluate N retention responses of pigs. A methionine-deficient basal diet was formulated to contain 2.2 g methionine/kg; to which was added (in mg/kg) DLM at 0, 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg or MHA-FA at 227, 455, and 682. The 7 diets were fed to 63 barrows (average body weight = 14.2 kg; 9 pigs/diet), housed in stainless-steel metabolism crates, using protocols that consisted of a 5-d adjustment period followed by a 5-d period of total but separate collection of feces and urine. Output of N in the urine linearly decreased (P < 0.01) as the concentrations of either DLM or MHA-FA increased in diets. Nitrogen retention expressed as a percent of N intake (NRNI) linearly increased (P < 0.01) with increasing dietary concentrations of either DLM or MHA-FA. Furthermore, as dietary concentrations of either DLM or MHA-FA increased, N retention expressed as a percent of N absorbed (NRNA) linearly increased (P < 0.01). Common-intercept, multiple linear regression equations were: NRNI = 60.08 + 0.01255 (SE = 0.00295) DLM + 0.01087 (SE = 0.00277) MHA-FA, NRNA = 74.01 + 0.01464 (SE = 0.00233) DLM + 0.01192 (SE = 0.00218) MHA-FA using analyzed dietary concentration as the independent variable; or NRNI = 60.06 + 0.01217 (SE = 0.00290) DLM + 0.00976 (SE = 0.00255) MHA-FA, NRNA = 73.96 + 0.01427 (SE = 0.00229) DLM + 0.01080 (SE = 0.00202) MHA-FA using added dietary concentration as the independent variable. Based on these N retention responses, the biological efficacy of MHA-FA relative to DLM is between 81 and 87% on an equimolar basis; or between 71 and 77% on a weight for weight basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of conditioning temperature (CT) and the interactive influence of feed acidification (FA) and CT on the performance, coefficient of apparent ileal digestibility (CAID) of nitrogen (N), starch, fat calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P), and AME in broilers. In both experiments, each treatment was randomly allocated to 6 cages (8 birds per cage) and fed from 1 to 21 D posthatch. In experiment 1, the effect of CT was evaluated using a wheat-based diet at 3 CT: unconditioned, conditioned at 60)C or 90)C. All the diets by-passed the pellet press and collected in mash form. Birds fed the diet conditioned at 90)C consumed more (P, 0.05) feed and tended (P 5 0.087) to have higher feed per gain (F:G) than those fed the unconditioned diet but similar to those fed the diet conditioned at 60)C. A tendency was noted for CT to affect the CAID of N (P 5 0.071) and starch (P 5 0.093), with reduced digestibility values in the diet conditioned at 90)C. Conditioning at 90)C resulted in lower (P, 0.05) AME. In experiment 2, three inclusions of an acidifier (0.0, 7.0, and 10 g/kg) and 2 CT of 60)C and 90)C were evaluated in a 3 ! 2 factorial arrangement of treatments using pelleted diets. Neither the main effects nor the interaction between acidifier addition and CT was significant for weight gain, feed intake, and F:G. The FA increased (P,0.05) the CAID of N, fat, and P at both inclusion levels and of starch at 10 g/kg. Conditioning at 90)C reduced (P, 0.05) the CAID of starch, fat, and Ca, regardless of FA level. Overall, the present data showed that the application of high CT for broiler feed manufacture can impair nutrient utilization and, consequently the feed efficiency in broilers. Feed acidification imparts some benefits to nutrient digestibility in broilers fed pelleted wheat-based diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After being banned by the European Commission in 2018, the use of formaldehyde as a feed amendment in the United States has come into question. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore alternatives to formaldehyde, such as formic acid and monoglycerides, and their effects on poultry production. In total, 1,728 Cobb 700 broilers were randomly assigned to 96-floor pens on day of hatch (18 birds/pen). Using a randomized complete block design (4 blocks), treatments were assigned to pens with blocking based on location within the barn, with the eastern half of the barn designated for digestibility and the western half designated for production (per experiment: 8 control pens and 10 pens per treatment). All diets were based on a negative control (NC), basal diet. Dietary treatments consisted of: NC, NC + 0.25% formalin (F), NC + 0.25 and 0.50% Amasil NA (AML and AMH; 61% formic acid and 20.5% Na-formate), and NC + SILO Health 104L (SILO; mixture of monoglycerides; 0.5% from 0 to 14 d, 0.4% from 14 to 28 d, and 0.2% from 28 to 42 d). Water and feed were provided ad libitum. Performance data were collected during feed changes on d 0, 14, 28, and 42, with digestibility data collected at d 14 (2 per pen) and carcass quality (6 per pen) assessed at d 46 with a randomly selected group of broilers. A one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's multiple comparison, where treatments were evaluated against F were conducted using JMP 14.0 (P ≤ 0.05). Main effect of treatment was significant for performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass quality. Differences in body weight and ADG were observed from d 14 to d 28, resulting in a trending improvement in lysine digestibility on d 14 and carcass quality on d 46 of birds fed AML and AMH in comparison to those fed F (P < 0.05). Whereas birds fed SILO had reduced digestibility of methionine on d 14 and a decrease in meat quality on d 46 in comparison to those fed F (P < 0.05). Therefore, Amasil NA at 0.25 or 0.50% may be an effective alternative to formaldehyde as a feed amendment for poultry production., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)