Piglets are particularly susceptible to stress due to the abrupt changes they face during weaning. These stressors cause a surge of oxidation and inflammation, particularly in the intestinal tract. Inflammation in the intestine causes a loss in its barrier function and facilitates the translocation of harmful compounds.

Egg-laying is a crucial and intricate trait in chickens. To comprehensively explore the egg-laying mechanism in chickens, we analyzed the host transcriptome, gut microbiota, and metabolome during the pre-laying, peak-laying, and late-laying periods. Transcriptome analysis of the tissues related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-liver (HPL) axis revealed the dynamic gene expression of hormone secretion and amino acid metabolism.

The objective of this study was to determine how a veterinary gastrointestinal diet impacts the fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota concentrations of adult cats treated with metronidazole. All cats were fed a leading grocery brand diet (GBD) during a 2-wk baseline, dosed orally with metronidazole (20 mg/kg BW twice daily) for 2 wk, then randomly allotted to one of 2 treatments [GBD; BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet GI Gastrointestinal Support (BB)] and fed for 4 wk.

During the development of heifers for cow replacement, producers must invest substantial resources in each animal for over 15 mo. While the use of resources is equivalent across heifers being developed on a farm, a substantial proportion of the animals will not produce a calf.

Soybeans are commonly included in animal diets, often in the form of soybean meal, as a source of energy and high-quality protein. Aside from these macronutrient fractions, soy also includes many minor components that have the potential to both positively and negatively impact the growth and health of nonruminant animal species used in production agriculture.

The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that the particle size of field peas and the location where field peas are grown may affect the apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients and gross energy, concentrations of net energy (NE), the apparent ileal digestibility of starch, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA).

Birds display remarkable diversity in the distribution and morphology of scales and feathers on their legs. However, the genetic and developmental mechanisms controlling this diversity are complex and remain largely unknown. Feathered legs are a phenotypic trait of domestic chickens, which have undergone intense selection.

Metabolic availability (MA) of an amino acid (AA) is the portion of a dietary AA that is both digestible and available for protein synthesis. Peas are a commonly used protein source in grain-free dog foods, often included in large proportions. Methionine (Met) is an essential AA and the first limiting AA in peas so knowing the MA of Met in peas can ensure sufficient bioavailable Met is provided in these diets.

GPS sensors play a pivotal role in modern livestock tracking, enabling producers and researchers to monitor grazing livestock, understand their behavior, and assess health indicators. Despite their widespread use, effectively interpreting the gathered data poses challenges due to positioning inaccuracies.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) are long-chain omega-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that have important biological effects on reproduction through their involvement in hormone and series 3 prostaglandin synthesis. Ruminant tissues are naturally almost devoid of omega-3 long-chain PUFA, specifically EPA and DHA.

One of the main alternatives of additives to modulate the microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), especially in the intestine, is the use of direct-fed microbials (DFM). This class of additives comprises all the feed products that contain a live or naturally occurring source of microorganism.

The postpartum uterine infections seriously threaten the productive and reproductive performance of dairy cows. The elevated cortisol level after delivery can worsen infections. Selenium (Se) enhances disease resistance of dairy cows.

An immune challenge impacts pig welfare and may decrease growth and protein deposition. These may happen due to the different nutrient requirements of immune-challenged pigs compared to non-challenged. Dietary supplementation of tryptophan, threonine, and methionine has been proven to be a strategy to mitigate performance losses by supporting immune system functioning, maintaining gut barrier integrity, and reducing oxidative status.

Nutrient requirements increase substantially during late gestation in the beef female to support fetal, uteroplacental, and mammary growth, and in the still-growing heifer, nutrients are also needed for maternal tissue growth. During pregnancy, the placenta serves as the interface for the metabolism and transport of nutrients, gases, and wastes between maternal and fetal circulations.

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from ruminants fed forage diets will reduce the carbon footprint of livestock production and the agricultural sector globally, thereby improving the overall environmental sustainability of ruminant production. In the current study, sheep housed in metabolism crates were offered 5 differing zero-grazed sward types.

With the fiscal year coming to an end on September 30th, Congress has limited time to pass stopgap legislation to avert a government shutdown. While there is broad recognition that a continuing resolution is needed, there are differing approaches being considered.

Recent studies have shown that in pre-weaning ruminants, the addition of alfalfa hay is beneficial for growth and rumen development. However, the effect of alfalfa supplementation timing on the growth of pre-weaning lambs remains still unclear.

In this study, researchers focused on addressing the crucial issue of global warming by tackling methane (CH4) emissions from chickens, an important source of greenhouse gases. We investigated the impact of adding alfalfa meal and sorghum distillery residues (SDRs) to the diets of Taiwan’s native black-feathered chickens.

Preconditioning constitutes management practices that help reduce steers’ transition-related stress from a ranch to a feedlot. Auction-derived (AD) steers, generally exposed to various stressors over a short period, are often commingled with preconditioned (PC) steers in feedlots for homogeneity.

Duckweed, an aquatic plant rich in protein, holds promise as a sustainable plant-based protein for companion animals. However, the potential of duckweed protein in dog and cat diets has been relatively unexplored. In our study, we assessed the viability of incorporating duckweed protein into dog and cat diets by examining nutrient digestibility, stool consistency, and diet palatability.