In piglet production, the beginning of pork production, Salmonella prevalence requires greater attention as having an impact on the subsequent production steps. The aim of this study was to investigate Salmonella prevalence in three sow herds with attached piglet rearing units. Salmonella prevalence was investigated either directly by boot swabs and feces or indirectly by serum samples taken during gilt integration, the peripartal period, and piglet rearing. Boot swabs and feces were analyzed by real-time PCR and subsequent microbiology. Results indicated that high biosecurity measures in sow husbandry do not necessarily result in a low Salmonella prevalence. Furthermore, the sow herds’ Salmonella prevalence should not be used to infer the situation in the associated piglet rearing. The proportion of positive boot swabs was 10.5, 3.6, and 21.3% for sows (gilts and peripartal) with an inverse situation in piglet rearing with 50.0, 63.3, and 5.8% positive swabs for farms A, B, and C, respectively. Boot swabs are suitable as a direct sampling method to gain an overview of Salmonella prevalence in both sows and piglets. Indirect serum antibody testing can be useful, although it should be evaluated considering age-dependent levels of antibody titres.

Sorghum is the fifth most produced cereal in the world and is a source of nutrients and bioactive compounds for the human diet. This study examined the nutrient composition and in vitro fermentation characteristics of sorghum varieties grown in 2020 and 2021 (n = 15 × 3 × 2) across three locations in the north of Italy (Bologna, Padova, and Rovigo). In 2020, the crude protein content of sorghum was significantly higher in the region of Padova than in the region of Bologna (124 vs. 95.5 g/kg dry matter). However, crude fat, sugar, and gross energy levels showed no significant differences among the different regions in 2020. In 2021, the levels of crude protein, crude fat, sugar, and gross energy had no significant differences among different sorghum varieties harvested from the three regions. Significant differences in some mineral contents were found among the samples particularly in manganese and zinc in both years. After 24 h of fermentation of two different sorghum hybrids (hybrids 1 and 2 of both years harvested in Bologna, n = 4 × 2 × 2), the pH value was significantly higher in hybrid 1 of year 2021 (3.98) than in the other fermented samples (range: 3.71–3.88). The sorghum harvested from the region of Bologna had a significantly higher viscosity value (1.22 mPa·s) compared to other regions (1.8–1.10 mPa·s) in 2021 only. The results show that the nutritional value and viscosity of different sorghum varieties could differ depending on the location and year of cultivation.

Rye could offer diverse benefits in terms of sustainability if it could replace parts of the main cereals, corn and wheat, in broiler diets. A total of 256 broilers, Ross 308, were randomly allocated into 32 pens. From day 14 till day 42, the birds were divided into four feeding groups (eight replicates each). The control group received a conventional finisher diet “control”, whereas in the other groups, a pelleted supplementary feed was offered (SFI to corn and SFII to rye), to which crushed corn (SFI-Corn) or squashed rye (SFII-Rye) was added. The fourth group received a mixture of 50% SFI-Corn and 50% SFII-Rye. The cereal level was increased weekly (5%, 10%, 20%, 30%) at the expense of the supplementary feeds. No significant effects were observed for body weight at d 42 and excreta viscosity between all groups. Overall, foot pad health was excellent. Compared to the control group, birds fed SFI-Corn displayed a significant increase in gizzard relative weight, whereas, in contrast to all other groups, ileal villus height was significantly lower. In conclusion, feeding SFI-Corn or SFII-Rye diets had no negative influences on performance, litter quality and digesta viscosity, whereas SFI-Corn partially affected ileal morphology.

This study was conducted to determine the fermentation characteristics of rye or sorghum mixed with different ratios of water (25%, 37.5%, 50%, 62.5%, and 75% in dry matter (DM)), incubated up to 48 h. The pH of the fermented rye at a DM content of 25% after 24 h had the lowest values (3.57) compared to that at a DM content of 75% (6.42). In fermented sorghum, pH values were lower than 4 already after incubation at 25% DM for 12 h (3.93) in comparison to that at DM content 75% (6.51). The L-lactic acid concentration in the fermented rye with 25% DM content after 24 h was significantly the highest (18.7 g/kg DM), as was that of sorghum with 25% DM content after 24 h (22.2 g/kg DM). Moreover, the acetic acid level in the fermented rye with 25% DM content after 24 h was significantly the highest (3.02 g/kg DM) compared to the other DM contents of fermented rye. Also, in fermented sorghum (25% DM), the acetic acid content was significantly the greatest (1.49 g/kg DM) in comparison to the other DM contents of fermented sorghum. Overall, fermented rye and sorghum containing 25 or 37.5% DM for 24 h and 12 h for rye and sorghum, respectively are sufficient for fermentation to be optimized based on the values of pH and lactic acid content, except for acetic acid content, which may negatively affect the palatability in animals.

New types of hybrid rye are characterised not only by increased yield and resistance to fungus, but also the content of antinutritive substances may be reduced. However, the use of rye has been limited to date. This preliminary study was aimed to test the effects of rye inclusion up to 20% on growth, foot pad health and selected organ traits. A total of 16214 (Trial 1) and 16120 (Trial 2) broilers were used. All birds were fed a commercial starter diet for the first week. Thereafter, the control group received commercial grower and finisher diets. A supplementary feed was offered in the experimental group to which increasing levels of rye were added (stepwise from 2% at d 8 up to 20% at d 29-d 33). Using supplementary feed with rye showed no differences (p=0.283) in body weight (d 28). The control group displayed a higher (p = 0.002) litter dry matter content compared to the experimental group as an effect of feed (d 32).Foot pad lesions were affected by feed at d 32 (p=0.036). Overall, this study showed that including high proportions of rye up to 20% could replace conventional ingredients and to increase sustainability in poultry production.