José Evandro de Moraes

Organic acids in diets of weaned piglets: performance, digestibility and economical viability

Organic acids are used as feed additives to promote growth of weaned piglets since they prevent the occurrence of diarrhea. Thus, performance and digestibility assays were conducted and economic viability of diets was evaluated. In the performance assays, 64 hybrid piglets weaned with a mean weight of 5.87±0.31kg were divided in a randomized block design consisting of 4 treatments, 8 repetitions and 2 piglets per experimental unit (1 castrated male and 1 female). In the digestibility assay, 24 castrated male hybrid piglets with a mean weight of 8.21±0.79kg were individually assigned to 4 treatments and 6 repetitions. The treatments in the two assays were as follows: control, basal diet without addition of an acidifier; blend: inclusion of 0.5% of a mixture of organic acids; butyrate: inclusion of 0.1% of sodium butyrate; blend+butyrate: inclusion of 0.5% of a mixture of organic acids and 0.1% sodium butyrate. There was no effect (P>0.05) of the acidifiers on animal performance during the period studied. Organic acids exerted no effect (P>0.05) on the apparent digestibility coefficients of nutrients. Diets supplemented with sodium butyrate had an economic advantage for the period of 10-24 days. No episode of diarrhea was observed. This study demonstrated no effect of acidifier feed additives as growth promoters in complex diets for weaned piglets.

SUPLEMENTAÇÃO DE COMPLEXO ENZIMÁTICO NO DESEMPENHO DE SUÍNOS EM CRESCIMENTO E TERMINAÇÃO

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of an enzyme complex—α-amylase, ßglucanase, phytase, cellulase, xylanase and protease—in the feed of swine in growing and finishing phases, by assessing their performance (daily weight gain, daily feed intake, and feed conversion), dry matter, crude protein, and crude energy apparent digestibility, and the feed costs. Eighty pigs—castrated males, and females—of approximately 63 days of age and initial weight of 20.18±1.98 kg were distributed in a 5×2 factorial arrangement (diet × sex), in a randomized block design, with eight replications. The treatments used were: positive control diet consisted of 3,300 kcal/kg in the growth-I phase, and 3,250 kcal/kg in the growth-II and finishing phases; negative control diet with energy reduction of 85 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy (ME) (NC85); NC85 diet with addition of enzyme complex (EC85); negative control diet with energy reduction of 100 kcal/kg ME (NC100); NC100 diet with addition of enzyme complex (EC100). The addition of the enzyme complex to the diet with energy reduction of 100 kcal/kg ME increased the digestible protein content of the diet for the swine in the growth-II phase. The addition of the enzyme complex to the diet with energy reduction of 85 and 100 kcal/kg ME increased the digestible energy content of the diets for the swine in the finishing phase. The use of enzyme complex in diets with reduction of 85 kcal/kg ME for male swine in growing and finishing phases is recommended for improving feed conversion and economic efficiency during the growth-I phase. The use of enzyme complex is not justified for female swine.

Bovine meat and bone meal is an economically viable alternative in quail feeding in the initial phase

Quail egg production has experienced a steep rise in the last decade. Nutrition is the main factor affecting productive potential in the poultry industry, as appropriate nutritional management is necessary to ensure the maintenance of optimal physical conditions, growth and the production of high quality products. Meat and bone meal (MBM) has often been used in the poultry industry as an alternative and cost-effective source of protein in partial replacement of corn and soybean meal. However, there have been no studies to date that have investigated the effect of dietary MBM on the performance of quail or on the costs of production in the starter phase. This is particularly important considering that this phase is characterized by large investments by producers, without immediate economic return. In this study, we investigated whether partial replacement of soybean meal (SBM) by meat and bone meal (MBM) in the diet of Japanese quail during the starter phase is a viable alternative that would maintain or improve their productive and economic performance. Our results show that the inclusion of MBM in the diet of quail reduces feeding costs by up to 6% without impairing productive performance.