Sheep exhibit a nocturnal peak in growth hormone secretion with regular circadian fluctuations, making the study of feeding time effects on their physiological functions highly important and practical. This study assigned 12 Dorper × Hu crossbred rams to daytime and nighttime feeding groups to explore how feeding patterns affect their digestive metabolism, blood parameters, intestinal microflora, and metabolites.

Developing beef replacement heifers into productive mature animals requires nutritional strategies that support adequate growth, timely puberty, and optimal pregnancy outcomes. Direct-fed microbials (DFM), particularly spore-forming Bacillus species, can improve forage digestibility and host performance by modulating the gut microbial community.

Protein hydrolysates have been used in the pet food industry for years. Recently, insects have demonstrated their potential antioxidant and antihypertensive activities, which may be enhanced through enzymatic hydrolysis, generating new functional peptides.

Leg health is one of the main welfare challenges in modern broiler production because fast-growing birds are more likely to develop locomotion and skeletal problems. Most studies evaluate only one or two indicators, which can make it difficult to understand the overall welfare response to different management strategies.

Shearing pregnant ewes is commonly done to improve cleanliness around lambing, but it may also influence how lambs grow before birth. In this study, we evaluated whether shearing ewes early in pregnancy (around day 50) affects blood flow to the developing lamb, fetal growth, and lamb performance after birth.

Lameness is a major issue affecting welfare, milk production, and farm economics in dairy herds, and early detection is a challenge in commercial conditions. This study analyzed routine milking and behavioral data from 67 lame cows to investigate changes occurring prior to clinical detection.

The October Edition of The Giving Herd, an ASAS Foundation Newsletter

Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) are commonly used as a protein source in finishing cattle diets; however, increased availability of canola meal (CM) from biodiesel production has increased interest in CM as an alternative protein source. This study evaluated the effects of replacing DDGS with CM on nutrient and amino acid (AA) intake, flow, and digestibility.

Full-fat rice bran (FFRB) is a valuable feed alternative, but its available energy values for gestating and lactating sows remain poorly defined. Although the substitution method is widely used to determine the energy content of feed ingredients, the optimal inclusion level of FFRB in sow have not been clearly elucidated.

With policies restricting antibiotic overuse becoming mainstream, farmers are turning to non-antibiotic feed additives to maintain poultry health. Based on this trend, this study evaluated the effects of supplementing wheat-based broiler diets with essential oils-organic acids mixture (EOA) alongside enzyme preparations.

Marbling is the main determinant of beef quality and palatability and is affected by feeding practices. Corn-based diets are commonly fed to cattle to support faster growth and contain high amounts of starch and linoleic acid. Together, these dietary characteristics alter how fats are processed in the rumen, leading to ruminal formation of fatty acids such as trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (t10, c12-CLA) and trans-10 18:1 (t10-18:1).

Canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) typically requires lifelong management using a combination of medications, topical therapies, and allergen-specific treatments. To determine if targeted nutrition can help manage this condition, researchers evaluated the effects of two therapeutic veterinary foods on 39 dogs with cAD over an 8-wk period.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (BVDV-1) is a widespread viral infection responsible for large economic losses in cattle herds. In this study, a knock-out (KO) gene edited cell line targeting the Synaptogyrin-2 (SYNGR2) gene was generated via CRISPR-Cas9 to test the role of this gene in BVDV-1 replication.

The domestic turkey is a major species in the international poultry meat industry. Although free-range, organic-like systems are rising in popularity, little research has been conducted in this regard. That is the case of the effect of uncontrolled rearing systems on turkey growth, which is still an understudied field.

On September 16th, the Senate Agriculture Committee met to reconsider passage of the Agriculture Act of 2026. The committee attempted to pass the bill in early August but failed on a party line vote due to the absence of Sen. McConnell (R-KY). McConnell’s return to the Senate in September enabled the committee to advance the legislation by a vote of 12-11.

Preconditioning is a stressful period in which newly weaned steers are vaccinated, dewormed, commingled, and transitioned to a new environment and diets; these stressors compromise immunity, welfare, and growth. Chromium is known to improve glucose metabolism, reduce stress, and increase weight gain in cattle; however, the underlying physiological mechanisms during preconditioning are not fully understood.

Drinking water intake (DWI) for feedlot cattle was assessed by meta-analysis using 35 studies, up to 131 experiments. A wide range of countries, breeds, sex, stages in the feedlot, and environmental conditions were represented. Studies were observational while others evaluated interventions including water quality and shade.

Dietary supplementation with human milk-derived Limosilactobacillus reuteri may help improve the health and growth of weaned pigs by supporting intestinal health and immune functions during the post-weaning period. The dietary probiotic improved growth performance and tended to reduce frequency of diarrhea, suggesting its potential as a functional feed additive for weaned pigs.

A diet with a low protein content is a known effectful measure in reducing the incidences of post-weaning diarrhea. However, a negative side effect of this measure is that the pigs grow slower as their requirements for nutrients are not being met.

Mushroom complex (MC) is a blend of mushroom water extracts including β-glucans and bovine colostrum that may promote immune function and gut health. However, these potential benefits have not been tested in cats. In this study, 20 healthy adult cats were fed a kibble diet for 15 wk.