ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the effects of single or/and double strains of probiotic supplement on feed efficiency, growth performance, and microbial population in distal gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of weaning rabbits.MethodsSixty-four weaning (28 days old) New Zealand White rabbits were randomly distributed into four groups with treatments including: basal diet without probiotic supplement (control) or supplemented as follows: 1×106 cfu/g B. subtilis (BS group), 1×107 cfu/g L. acidophilus (LA group), or 0.5×106 cfu/g B. subtilis plus 0.5×107 cfu/g L. acidophilus (BL group). During the research, the male and female rabbits were fed separately. Body weight of the rabbits was recorded at 28, 42, and 70 d of age.ResultsThere was an increase (p<0.05) in body weight gain for the LA group at 42 d. Rabbits fed BL responsed with a greater growth (p<0.05) and better feed conversion ratio (p<0.05) than those fed with no probiotic. Digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and gross energy were higher (p<0.05) in LA and BL groups than those in the control group. Male rabbits had higher (p<0.05) Bacilli spp. and Coliformis spp. in the ileum than female rabbits. Rabbits supplemented with BS had greater (p<0.05) numbers of bacilli in all intestinal segments than those receiving no probiotic, whereas intestinal Lactobacilli populations were greater (p<0.001) in the LA and BL diets compared to control. Average intestinal coliform populations were lowest (p<0.05) in the rabbits supplemented with LA as compared to those fed the control and BS.ConclusionSupplementation of L. acidophilus alone or in combination with B. subtilis at a half of dose could enhance number of gut beneficial bacteria populations, nutrient digestibility, cecal fermentation, feed efficiency, and growth performance, but rabbits receiving only B. subtilis alone were not different from the controls without probiotic.

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Eight mature female dogs (18.0 +/- 0.2 kg) were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square experiment to determine the feeding value of low-ash poultry meal (PM) in a complete food fed to dogs. All foods contained graded concentrations of PM (10.4 to 32.5% DM), resulting in foods that were 10, 15, 20, and 25% CP. Daily DMI averaged 284 +/- 14 g/d. An increase in PM resulted in an increase in fecal moisture from 44.7 to 55.1% (linear; P < 0.01), and fecal DM output increased from 24.8 to 31.6 g/d (linear; P < 0.05). Ileal DM flow increased from 27.1 to 40.7 g/d (linear; P < 0.01). Small intestinal DM digestibility decreased from 90.4 to 86.1% (linear; P < 0.01) and total-tract DM digestibility decreased from 91.2 to 89.4% (linear; P < 0.01) as PM increased. Large intestinal DM digestibility increased from 8.4 to 21.1% with increasing PM (linear; P < 0.05). Fecal excretion of CP increased from 5.6 to 10.0 g/d (linear; P < 0.01) and ileal flow of CP increased from 6.9 to 15.6 g/d (linear; P < 0.01) as PM increased. Small intestinal CP digestibility was unaffected with treatment (P > 0.05). Large intestinal CP digestibility increased from 21.6 to 37.1% (linear; P < 0.05) with increasing PM. Total-tract CP digestibility increased from 81.0 to 86.6% (linear; P < 0.01) as PM increased. Arginine had the highest overall digestibility ranging from 88.5 to 91.3%, whereas cysteine had the lowest digestibility, ranging from 67.1 to 71.4%. These data indicate that PM is a highly digestible protein source for canine foods with inclusions of 10.4 to 32.5% of DM.

Nutrisound Dry Concentrate (NDC), a mycotoxin control product based on a specialized cell-wall deficient bacterium, was recently introduced in Thailand, a region typically experiencing multiple mycotoxins in production animal agriculture. Field evaluations of this product were conducted on a commercial swine farm. In experiment 1, approximately 1000 weaned pigs (large White x Landrace x Duroc, 28 days of age) were randomly allocated to two groups, control (CON) and treatment (NDC). Each group was housed in 14 pens of 35–36 piglets/pen. A common basal diet (rice/soy) was prepared that included an anti-mycotoxin product. This was the CON feed; and that same diet, to which NDC was added (1.2 kg/tonne), was the treatment ration. In the 42 day trial, NDC improved body weight, gain, and feed intake (P &lt; 0.05) and reduced mortality by half (P &lt; 0.05). Fecal coliforms and E. coli were reduced significantly (P &lt; 0.01). A second study was conducted with 50 sows per group, each group fed diets identical to those of the piglet experiment. The experimental diets were fed for the last 5 weeks of gestation (typically, NDC is fed for at least 9 weeks of gestation). While not significant, there was a trend in the NDC sows for improved farrowing rate and piglet birth weight (P &lt; 0.10) Thus, NDC yielded performance improvements in both young pigs and gestating sows. However, repeated tests for 16 mycotoxins/metabolites revealed no major dietary mycotoxins. NDC/s active principle is a cell-wall deficient bacterium. These are highly interactive with mucosal immune functions. Additionally, NDC has a low inclusion level (106 cfu/gm) of B. subtilis. In the absence of confirmed mycotoxins, immunological support could be the source of improved performance. It is also possible that mycotoxins not routinely assayed were present. In that case, NDC provided the expected broad spectrum protection against undetected mycotoxins.