Wet feeding beneficially affects feed intake and growth rates of poultry in hot climates (Forbes 2003). Fermenting liquid feeds for pigs has been shown to reduce microbial contamination of the feed (Beal et al., 2002) and this could be an added advantage in hot climates. The most desired property of fermented feed is a high lactic acid concentration produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as the fermenting organisms. This high lactic acid concentration resulting in a low pH is responsible for the antimicrobial activity of fermented feeds. This activity is important for food and environmental safety. Grain sorghum is widely used as a food and animal feed cereal in many parts of Africa, Asia and the semi-arid tropics world-wide. It is recognised that differences in the colour of sorghum varieties are due mainly to their concentration of polyphenol compounds mainly tannins. These compounds have some antimicrobial properties and may affect the activity of lactic acid bacteria used to ferment liquid feeds. Little is known about the lactic acid fermentation of sorghum grain for fermented feeds in monogastric nutrition. The present study was designed to compare the fermentation of red and white sorghum with LAB for inclusion as a component of poultry diets.

Nowadays, commercial strains of laying hens lay the majority of their eggs (about 90%) during the morning (Leeson and Summers, 1978). Also, shell is deposited around the albumen when the egg remains in the shell gland. The period of shell deposition coincides mainly in the afternoon and evening. As a result of these processes, hens my have higher calcium (Ca) requirement during the afternoon and in evening. The higher phosphorus (P) requirement in the morning is needed to replace the bone minerals which have been reabsorbed during the previous night when shell formation occurred. (Keshavarz, 1998). Regarding these facts, it has been shown that reducing dietary P during the afternoon and evening had a beneficial effect on shell quality (Roland and Harms, 1976). Hence, we investigated if it would be possible to improve laying performance and egg quality when hens received diets with adequate levels of P only in the morning and Ca only in the afternoon and evening.

Turkeys can have a high incidence of leg problems and leg-related mortality can exceed 1% per week starting at approximately 15 weeks of age. Development of bone and connective tissue is dependent on a number of factors including the availability of trace minerals. These minerals are essential for the function of the metalloenzymes involved in the synthesis of structural connective tissue and bone. For example Zn and Cu are required for the synthesis and crosslinking of collagen respectively. Vitamin D and its metabolites also play important roles in bone development, as deficiencies can lead to a failure of mineralization, leg weakness and rickets. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of partially replacing inorganic sources of Zn, Cu, Mn and Se in the diet of growing turkeys with an organic trace mineral source, Mintrex®PSe, in the presence or absence of 25-hydroxy D3, on growth performance, leg abnormalities and bone strength.

In Bangladesh about 78% of poultry eggs and 86% of poultry meat are produced by smallholder farmers under scavenging system. The exotic breeds are famous for their high egg production but their adaptability under rural condition is a problem (Islam, 2003). There are reports that Fayoumi chicken, although an exotic breed, can be reared under Asian climatic condition (Bagust, 1994) and therefore may be tried to adapt under our village situation. On the other hand, supplementation of feed is required in order to get optimum growth of the scavenging birds under rural condition. Investigation was done on the growth performance of Fayoumi chicken under semi-scavenging feeding system in rural area of Bangladesh.

In spite of superiority of animal proteins as compared with plant proteins, usage of some resources like meat and bone meal maybe restricted, because have salmonella pollution. The other problems that produce by use of fish meal deterioration include, decrease of broiler meat and eggs quality and gizzard erosion. If will not apply suitable temperature in process of fish meal production, thiaminase will remains in supplies and produce dangerous effects. Under condition of feed ingredients deposition before usage by animal, thiaminase will decrease thiamin level. Furthermore existence of trimethylamine in fish meal is caused unpalatable taste and odor in meat and egg that have produced. This situation will more observe when birds unable to produce enough trimethylamine oxidase for elimination of trimethylamine (Klasing, 1998;Leeson&Summers, 2001).Ras et al. (2002) in a nutritional experiment, had replacement fish meal by sun cured artemia meal on one-day old broilers during 9 weeks. Diets included fish meal and other contains 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 percent of artemia meal. Results showed that mean of broilers weight with 2.5, 5, 7.5 percent of artemia had significant difference in comparison with 10% artemia. There was significant differences between treatments from standpoint of feed intake and feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). This researchers had pointed that can use artemia or brine shrimp as a feed ingredients with high level of energy and protein in poultry nutrition (Ras et al., 2002).

Bans on the prescription-free use of pronutrient antibiotics in pig production have stimulated searches for efficient replacements. Previous reviews on the efficacy of acids in pig feeds have been selective. Ravindran & Kornegay (1993) was restricted to 13 weaner tests on citric and eight on fumaric acids and Partanen (2001) excluded acid blends and feeds with antibiotics or copper, in reviewing 46 weaner and 23 finisher tests on formic, fumaric, citric and propionic acids and potassium diformate, but only at dietary levels ≤2.5g/kg feed. This holo-analysis covers acids and salts as acid precursors and their admixtures by elaborating empirical models for feed intake, liveweight gain, feed conversion efficiency and mortality effects in weaners and grower/finishers. The acids studied in the holo-analysis of nutritional response data from 658 negatively-controlled tests are mainly organic, with a minor proportion (5.0%) of inorganic, phosphoric, hydrochloric and silicic.

Dietary ractopamine supplementation dramatically increases the rate of carcass lean deposition, with the lean tissue responses most evident at ad libitum feed intakes (Dunshea et al. 1998). Dietary betaine can improve growth by reducing maintenance requirements, with the greatest responses generally occurring when DE is limiting. For example, dietary betaine stimulated lean tissue deposition in boars consuming 80% but not 100%of ad libitum (Suster et al. 2004). Importantly, the effects of betaine were additive with effects of porcine somatotropin the restrictively-fed boars. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the interactions between dietary ractopamine and betaine on growth performance and carcass characteristics in restrictively-fed finisher pigs.

Feeding non-digestible, fermentable carbohydrates that do not lead to increased viscosity may reduce risk of enteric disorders arising from feeding high protein diets to newly weaned pigs (Wellock et al. 2007). Lactose and inulin are such fermentable carbohydrates. Lactose is fermented at a relatively high rate, and would thus affect gut environment in the distal ileum and proximal large intestine. In contrast, inulin is fermented more slowly and would be expected to affect gut environment in the proximal and distal large intestine. Consequently, their combined use could be expected to affect gut environment throughout the distal gastrointestinal tract, and through their prebiotic action reduce risk of enteric disorders (Wellock et al. 2007). The objective of the current experiment was to investigate the combined effects of lactose level and inulin inclusion on the performance and health of weaned pigs in the immediate post weaning period, in the absence of anti-microbial growth promoters, therapeutic levels of ZnO and CuSO4 in a commercial, large-scale facility.

Proliferation of ETEC in the small intestine is recognised as the predominant cause of post-weaning colibacillosis (Marquardt et al., 1999). Established ETEC secrete toxins that disrupt normal enterocyte function and lead to diarrhoea, dehydration, poor performance and increased mortality. Zinc oxide (ZnO) addition to the diet increases small intestine mucosal growth and promotes normal intestinal function. In turn the incidence and/or severity of diarrhoea is reduced and performance is improved (Li et al., 2001, Ragland et al., 2006). Pre-weaning environment also influences performance with outdoor reared pigs growing faster to weaning than indoor reared contemporaries (Miller et al., 2007) but are outdoor reared pigs able to cope with ETEC challenge at weaning? The current experiment compared the responses of group-housed pigs weaned from different lactation environments and fed diets differing in ZnO content to a prescribed ETEC challenge.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is frequently added to nursery piglet diets at pharmacological levels to combat scouring and to improve performance of weaned piglets (Miller and Slade, 2006). It is anecdotally recognized in the pig industry that piglets do not like the taste of zinc although increased feed intake is frequently reported (Ragland et al., 2006). Dietary selection studies have demonstrated the ability of the pig to discriminate between different foods (Forbes and Kyriazakis, 1995). This experiment aimed to test the hypothesis that weaned piglets would avoid a diet high in ZnO when given the choice, and to investigate the resultant performance and choice feeding behaviour of individual piglets in the immediate post weaning period.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 is a common cause of post-weaning scours in piglets. Supplementation of the post-weaning diet with pharmacological levels of zinc oxide reduces the incidence and severity of scours (Carlson et al 2004), in particular that caused by ETEC K88 (Owusu-Asiedu et al. 2003). Piglets reared outdoors pre-weaning also perform better post-weaning than those reared indoors, with an increased growth rate (Miller et al, 2007). The objective of this study was to identify genes that are differentially expressed in the small intestine of the ETEC-challenged piglet in response to dietary ZnO supplementation and outdoor rearing, to increase understanding of the mechanism by which these factors exert their effects.

In the UK, markets for ‘welfare friendly’ meat have increased the use of more extensive, deep-bedded straw housing. Straw yard housing may increase physiological development at slaughter (Salmon & Edwards, 2007), with many confounded potential causal factors including increased space allowance, natural lighting/photoperiod, straw availability, increased activity levels and reduced social stress. Physiological development at slaughter is a key issue in the success of heavy pig production utilising entire boars, since greater maturity may increase adverse behaviours, therefore decreasing pig welfare, and increase risk of carcass taint. The objectives of this research were to investigate whether straw supplementation, in the absence of confounded space and lighting effects, influenced physiological development and associated undesirable effects in entire boars and gilts grown from 60kg to 120kg slaughter weight.

Prenatal undernutrition can have a permanent ‘programming’ effect on offspring growth, health, behaviour and reproductive ability that persists into adulthood (Meaney et al., 2007; Bell, 2006). However, whether different genotypes are equally affected is unknown. Relatively slower growing breeds of sheep, that are adapted to poorer food availability in pregnancy (such as the Scottish Blackface) may be better able to buffer their developing foetuses from the effects of undernutrition in utero than faster growing breeds, such as the Suffolk. In this experiment we investigated whether a 25% reduction in food intake for the first 90 days of gestation would result in differential responses in these two breeds of sheep.

Previous studies (Keady et al., 2007; Keady & Hanrahan, 2007) at Athenry have shown that shearing ewes at housing increases subsequent lamb birth and weaning weights. Keady et al., (2007) reported that shearing at housing increased gestation length whilst Keady and Hanrahan (2007) reported that shearing increased food intake, both indicative of reduced heat stress. The temporary loss of acquired immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes that is associated with an increased faecal egg output in late pregnancy and early lactation, is a well established phenomenon and is important in the epidemiology of nematode parasites of sheep. Given the association between nutrition (Donaldson et al., 1997; 1998; Coop and Kyriazakis, 1999; Houdijk et al., 2000) and the periparturient rise in nematode eggs (PPR) in ewes, the increased food intake evoked by shearing at housing, may have an impact on the PPR. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of season of shearing on the periparturient rise in nematode egg output in ewes.

Nematode egg excretion by periparturient ewes is the main source of infection for their immunologically naïve lambs. It has been shown that periparturient metabolizable protein (MP) supplementation can reduce nematode egg excretion (Houdijk et al, 2003). The latter experiment used a single moderate level of infection, but effects of MP supply on periparturient parasitism may depend on the level of infection. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of MP supplementation on parasite control, ewe and lamb performance in ewes trickle infected with the abomasal nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta at three different infection levels. We hypothesised that the magnitude of beneficial effects of MP supplementation will be higher at the highest level of infection due to the expected nutrient drain on the host.

In Bangladesh gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection is a chronic problem and is frequently associated with the low nutritional status of animals (Rahman and Mondal, 1983). Chemical anthelmintics are expensive and not readily available in rural areas. Herbal anthelmintics proved to be effective under this condition. In situations where treatment for parasite infection is necessary urea molasses block (UMB) can be modified to include appropriate dose of anthelmintics and therefore it has been suggested that medicated UMB can form an integral part of strategic parasite control programme as well as will upgrade the nutritional status of the animals (Knox and Wan Zahari, 1998).

Since their development, farmers have become heavily reliant on anthelmintics for the effective control of nematode parasites in their lambs and other grazing livestock. However, alternative approaches in the control of nematode parasites now need to be found due to the increasingly widespread development of anthelmintic resistance (Athanasiadou et al., (2001), Butter et al., (2000)). This paper reports an in vivo study carried out to determine the effectiveness of quebracho tannins as an alternative to anthelmintics in the control of gastrointestinal nematode parasites in lambs.

Metabolizable protein (MP) supplementation can reduce faecal egg count (FEC) in periparturient ewes, thus reducing pasture contamination for their lambs (Houdijk et al. 2006). In addition, lambs grazing on bioactive forage (chicory) had lower FEC than lambs grazing grass/clover (Athanasiadou et al. 2007). Both periparturient MP nutrition and grazing on chicory increase lamb performance but these approaches have been developed and investigated independently. The objective of this experiment was to assess their interactive effects on lamb parasitic status and performance. It was hypothesised that, although beneficial effects of maternal nutrition will be augmented with subsequent grazing on bioactive forage, the magnitude of the latter effect will be higher for lambs from unsupplemented ewes.

A recent study at this Centre has shown that maize silage, regardless of maturity at harvest has the same feed value as grass silage when offered to ewes in late pregnancy (Keady and Hanrahan 2008). The control of gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep is largely dependent on the use of anthelmintics. The increasing evidence for resistance to nematode parasites of sheep to the broad-spectrum anthelmintics (Good, 2005; Good et al., 2007) has led to the search for alternative sustainable solutions to parasite control. The temporary loss of acquired immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes that is indicated by an increased faecal egg output in late pregnancy and early lactation is a well established phenomenon and is important in the epidemiology of nematodes parasites of sheep. There is substantial evidence for nutritional effects on the expression of immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes. In particular, there is evidence that faecal egg output of parasitised periparturient ewes is reduced in response to increased dietary metabolizable protein (Coop & Kyriazakis 1999; Donaldson et al., 1998; Houdijk et al., 2000). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of diet during mid and late pregnancy as influenced by forage type and harvest system, concentrate feed level and soyabean supplementation on the peri-parturient rise in nematode egg output in ewes.

Selection for narrow breeding goals, such as intrinsic growth ability, may reduce the animals’ ability to cope with pathogen challenge (Rauw et al., 1998). Using mice divergently selected for body weight, it has been shown that selection for high body weight reduced ability to cope with a parasitic challenge under low dietary crude protein (CP) conditions, whilst increasing protein nutrition from 50 to 250g/kg dietary CP reduced the penalty of infection in the high body weight line (Houdijk & Bünger, 2007). However, host resistance was not sensitive to protein nutrition, which may have been due to the observed increased food intake on the low CP diet and/or a reduction of food intake as a consequence of excess protein on the high CP diet. The current experiment addressed these assumptions through assessing interactive effects of intrinsic growth ability and infection at a range of levels of dietary CP contents.