The materials of the publication continue to reflect the results of long-term research conducted by the Department of Animal Feeding and Feed Technology on lactating cows and fattening bulls. The aim of the research was to study the peculiarities of the formation of meat productivity by bulls of Volyn meat breed depending on the level of feeding, which in the same diets fully meets the needs of animals in nutrients, namely: dry matter, available energy, protein fraction, carbohydrates, mineral, and biologically active substances. Theoretical issues concerning the organization of complete nutrition of specialized meat breeds with year-round uniform feeding using haylage-type mono-feed are relevant especially in the practice of fattening young animals to obtain veal and young beef. This type of feed according to our recipe is made on the farm “Pchany-Denkovych”. More complex feeds of a mixture of three, four, and five components have also been developed, and the field produces compound feed, which is called grain haylage. Diets of this type do not require the use of concentrated feed in livestock fattening. This approach is reflected in the materials of scientific and practical publications on the intensity of functional processes of muscle tissue growth without excess fat. The data obtained in our studies allow us to conclude that there is a direct relationship between the total protein content in muscle tissue and the nutritional qualities of diet food. It is such components of mono-feed as corn cobs of milk-wax ripeness and soybean pods that provide a relatively high protein content in the feed, which provided high average daily gains in live weight with a limited number of concentrates. The control slaughter of bulls at the end of the experiment showed that the average pre-slaughter live weight was at the level of 541–501 kg. Slaughter yield of carcasses was directly dependent on the structure of the diet with a small group difference, which was in the range of 0.8–1.2 % compared to the first group, whose diet compensated for the need of animals for energy and protein through concentrates and was usually more expensive. Thus, the replacement of some concentrates in terms of the nutritional value of the second and third groups does not lead to a significant negative impact on the morphological composition of carcasses, which gives reason to believe the effectiveness of such diets. Studies on fattening bulls of the Volyn meat breed give grounds to claim that the harvest of mono-feed (corn-soybean) haylage type, the nutritional value of which is more than 0.5 feed. from contains a sufficient amount of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, provides high average daily gains in live weight, and has a positive effect on the quality of young beef. The production of this type of fodder allows producing 78.1–99.8 quintals of fodder from 1 ha of fodder area, respectively. from and 6.1–13.9 quintals of digestible protein and makes it possible to reduce the cost of concentrated feed in the structure of animal diets for fattening.

Нeat Shock Proteins (HSP) belong to the natural biomarkers, which are important indicators for animal diseases diagnostics and / or instrument of analyzing the effects on organism of the habitat deteriorating factors. The contamination of water by heavy metals has adverse effect on fish organism. Even in a small quantity, such heavy metal as lead is very dangerous. The analysis of toxic effects of the lead ions on the level of expression of such heat shock proteins as HSP60, HSP70 and HSC70 family in leukocytes, liver, brain and gills of the scaly carp was the main goal of our investigation. During 96 hours the fish were kept in the aqueous environment of a tank which additionally was supplemented with Pb (CH3COO)2. The control group of fish was maintained for the similar period of time under the same conditions, without lead acetate supplementation. Concentration of HSP60, HSP70 was determinated by the dot-blot-analysis due to application of monoclonal antibodies against heat shock proteins SAB4501464 (Sigma, USA), [5A5] (ab2787) (Abcam, USA) and [1B5] (ab19136) (Abcam, USA). Detection of immune complexes was performed by using the commercial substrate solution for alkaline phosphatase - CDP-Star (Tropix, UK). Visualization was done by using X-ray film ECL HyperFilm (Amersham, USA) and a kit for films developing (Kodak). The images were processed using the software package GelPro (Version 3.1, USA). The significant dose-depended increase (p<0,001) in all experimental groups of HSP60 and HSP70 concentrations in leukocytes, liver, gill and brain has been detected, applying dot-blot analysis. At the same time, significant changes in expression of HSC70 protein have not been established. It is the evidence that stress-proteins are the sensitive markers of toxic effects of excessive concentration of lead.

The publication materials reflect the results of scientific research conducted under the conditions of the vivarium of the State Research Control Institute of Veterinary Medicines and Feed Additives. It was established that the introduction of chromium sulfate in the amount of 2 mg/kg and cadmium sulfate in the amount of 3 mg/kg of live weight into the body of laying hens caused their significant accumulation in eggs compared to their content in the control group. To reduce the concentration of heavy metals in chicken eggs, zeolite 3 % of the feed mass was fed in the form of 1–3 mm grain size (TU 05792908.002-97. “Feed Zeolite”, produced at the Sokyrnytskyi Zeolite Plant of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, Khust District, Zakarpattia Region. It was established that the natural mineral contributed to eliminating Chromium and Cadmium from egg components (yolk, white, shell) relative to the control. When zeolite was introduced into the diet of poultry, 3 % of the feed weight to all experimental groups, compared with groups without its introduction, contributed to a decrease in the content of heavy metals in the studied samples of egg components. With a chromium load, a 1.7-fold decrease was noted in the white (Р < 0.05) and yolk, and a 1.8-fold (Р < 0.01) decrease in the shell, and samples with a cadmium load, a decrease of this metal in the protein, yolk, and shell was, respectively, 1.5 (Р < 0.05); 1.6 (Р < 0.05) and 3.2 (Р < 0.001) times the indicator of the experimental group without a sorbent. A similar tendency to decrease the content of heavy metals is observed with the combined introduction of toxicants. They found a slight increase in the weight of the egg in the test groups after correction with zeolite, namely: in the first group by 3.7 %, respectively, in the third – by 1.9 % against the background of a decrease in the indicator in the second group by 1.6 %. Eggs of hens of the first experimental group exceeded their control counterparts by 0.9 % in terms of shell thickness. In contrast, those of the second and third groups, on the contrary, were inferior in terms of shell thickness by 1.2 and 0.6 %, respectively. In the experimental groups, there is a tendency to increase the percentage of the shell by 1.9 in the first group, by 2.8 % in the second, and by 4.0 % in the third group relative to the control. Introducing the first group of natural zeolite into birds' diet contributes to the thickening of eggshells by 6.6 % compared to the indicator without the mineral. The same trend is observed in the second and third groups, respectively – by 7.1 % and 5.0 %; however, the difference between the groups is unlikely. A tendency to increase in the experimental groups with the use of zeolite in the percentage of egg mass in the first group by 1.9 %, in the second group by 1.8, and in the third group by 2.3, relative to the indicator without the mineral, was also revealed. In the experimental groups, there are changes in the components of the egg compared to the control indicator: an increase in the shelling percentage in the first, second and third groups, respectively, by 1.0, 4.0, and 1.9 %. Regarding egg productivity, a decrease is observed relative to the control in experimental groups with chromium-cadmium total and separate load, which was 19.6, respectively; 40.2 and 29.7 %. An increase in egg production has been established when mineral sorbent is used in the diet of poultry. Gross egg production in hens of the second group with chromium load increased by 11.1 % when consumed with zeolite compound feed. The lowest number of eggs during the experimental period was obtained from hens of the second group with cadmium load. The introduction of natural minerals into the diet increased their number during the experimental period by 8.3 %. In the third group, the number of eggs increased by 10.7 % during the experimental period with the combined load of heavy metals and zeolite. A similar trend is observed in the experimental groups regarding the number of eggs obtained per average laying hen. The results of the conducted research confirm that chromium and cadmium ions affect the productivity and quality of chicken products, and the introduction of fodder zeolite in the amount of 3 % of the mass of compound feed into the diet of poultry improves the level of their mineral nutrition, laying and the indicator of the marketable quality of eggs.

At the “Pchany-Denkovych” farm of the Stryi district of the Lviv region, the content of immunoglobulins in the colostrum of experimental cows was studied during the entire lactation period, according to lactations, depending on the level of productivity. We also studied the biochemical indicators of colostrum of cows of the Ukrainian black-spotted dairy, Simmental, and Ukrainian red-spotted dairy breeds. The dynamics of the content of immunoglobulins in the colostrum of the cows of the experimental groups and their content depending on the age and level of productivity were established. On the first day, the colostrum of experimental cows of the first, second, and third groups contained 67.4; 86.8; 69.5 g/l of immunoglobulins. On the third, fifth, eighth, and tenth days, its content in the colostrum of cows decreased in the experimental groups, respectively – on the third day, it was 3.6; 4.0; 3.7 times, the fifth – 6.3; 3.4; 5.7; 5.8 times, the eighth – 10.5; 7.9; 8.4 times and the tenth – 25.0; 24.1; 21.7 times. It has been proven that the colostrum of firstborns does not meet the physiological norm. In the dynamics of the content of immunoglobulins by lactation in all cows of the experimental breeds, there is an increase in their content by lactation. At the same time, its maximum rate in different breeds is manifested in different lactations. In cows of the Ukrainian black-spotted dairy breed of the first group and the Ukrainian red-spotted dairy breed of the third group, the entire content was found in the fourth lactation (68.4; 98.9 g/l), and in the Simmental breed of the second – in the fifth lactation (112.5 g/l). According to the maximum index of immunoglobulins, the advantage belongs to cows of the Simmental breed of the second group, which is 44.1 g/l (Р < 0.001) and 13.6 g/l (Р < 0.001) more than the index of cows of the Ukrainian black and red-spotted dairy breeds of the first and the third group. Among cows of different productivity levels, the highest content of immunoglobulins was in the colostrum of Simmental cows (87.83 g/l), with a productivity of up to 4,000 kg of milk per lactation. It was correspondingly low in animals of the Ukrainian black-spotted dairy breed (53.91 g/l) with a productivity of 5001–6000 kg of milk. In the colostrum of Simmental cows belonging to the second group, the maximum absolute content of fat (5.89 %), protein (7.25 %), and dry skimmed milk residue (10.70 %) were determined, and the minimum indicators were found (respectively – 5.42; 6.81 and 10.24 %) in analogs of the Ukrainian black and spotted dairy breed from the first group.

The results of the study conducted at the “Pchany-Denkovych” stud farm of the Stryi district of the Lviv region on heifers of the Simmental breed obtained from cows with different productivity are described. The dynamics of animal growth and the biochemical composition of the blood of heifers obtained from low-productive and high-productive mothers were studied. In the process of studying the dynamics of the live weight of calves from birth to 6 months of age, a tendency to increase the body weight of calves of the first group, obtained from highly productive mothers, at the age of 2, 4, and 6 months, respectively, was established – by 1.2 kg, 5.3 kg and 4.8 kg to the body weight index of heifers obtained from low-yielding cows. Experimental groups of heifers at the age of 6 months corresponded to the live weight of the Simmental breed standard. It was established that the total protein content in the blood serum of heifers obtained from cows with different milk productivity from birth to 6 months of age was within the physiological norm and increased gradually with the advantage of its level in analogs obtained from highly productive cows. Comparing the indicators of total protein in the dynamics from the first to the sixth month, it was found that it increased by 33.9 % in the first group and 25.5 % in the second group, respectively. The level of total cholesterol in the blood serum of experimental heifers during six months increased with age, with a slight advantage of indicators in heifers from the first group, which came from highly productive mothers (Р > 0.05). The increase in total cholesterol from one month to 6 months of age in the first and second groups of heifers was 38.5 % and 20.0 %, respectively. A higher concentration of total lipids was noted in the blood of experimental daughters of highly productive cows. The minimum indicators of the level of total lipids were established in the first month of life of experimental heifers of the first and second groups, respectively – at 2.7 and 2.6 g/l, with the same level (3.5 g/l) in the second month and an increase in indicators in the third-month life (4.5 vs. 4.1 g/l) (Р > 0.05). It was established that the activity of aspartate aminotransferase in all periods of growth of Simmental breed heifers significantly exceeds the activity of alanine aminotransferase. Characteristic features of the dynamics of this indicator are the maximum activity of AST and ALT in the first two months of the animal's life, which then gradually decreases.