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Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals

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A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 8030

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Dr. Johannes Gulmann Madsen

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Guest Editor

Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
Interests: pig nutrition; pig physiology; growth and development; muscle biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Charlotte Amdi Williams

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Guest Editor

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Dear Colleagues,

The first days after birth are the most important period for farm animals. It is within this short period of time that the animal’s foundation for health and performance potential is formed. For certain farm animal species, specific management and feeding strategies are required to increase survival and resilience, the maturation of the gastrointestinal tract in particular, and efficient nutrient metabolism in peripheral tissue. These are imperative to secure sufficient performance in the later phases of life.

For this Special Issue, we aim to compile studies presenting novel and alternative nutritional and management strategies for newborn farm animals that will improve their survival and resilience in early life, as well as their growth and performance in later phases.

Reviews and original manuscripts describing early life challenges and novel solutions for, but not limited to, the most common farm animals (pigs, dairy cattle, broilers and laying hens) are welcome to be submitted to this Special Issue. We encourage studies addressing issues such as the improvement of gut function and health, the immune system, as well as nutrition efficiency in peripheral tissue.

With kind regards,

Dr. Johannes Gulmann Madsen
Dr. Charlotte Amdi Williams
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

survival
resilience
early life nutrition
alternative rearing
alternative management

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2336 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microbiota and Metabolite Profiles in the Feces of Juvenile Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) from Birth to Weaning

by Ruina Mu, Songze Li, Yunxi Zhang, Yuqian Li, Yuhang Zhu, Fei Zhao, Huazhe Si and Zhipeng Li

Animals 2024, 14(3), 432; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14030432 - 29 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1060

Abstract

The gut microbiota establishment in young ruminants has a profound impact on their adult production performance. However, the critical phase for the succession of the gut microbial composition and metabolic profiles of juvenile sika deer still needs to be further investigated. Here, we analyzed the fecal microbiota and metabolites of juvenile sika deer during the birth (D1), transition (D42), and rumination (D70) periods based on 16S rRNA sequencing and gas chromatography–time–of–flight mass spectrometry (GC–TOF–MS). The results showed that the fecal bacteria and metabolites composition were significantly different in D1 compared to D42 and D70, and the number of OTUs and the Shannon index were significantly higher in D70 than in D1 (p < 0.05). The relative abundances of Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Lachnoclostridium showed a significant increase in D1 compared to D42 and D70, whereas the relative abundances of Ruminococcaceae UCG-005, Ruminococcaceae UCG-010, Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, Christensenellaceae R-7, and Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group were significantly decreased in D1 compared to D42 and D70 (p < 0.05). The amounts of serine, phenylalanine, aspartic acid, ornithine, citrulline, creatine, isoleucine, galactose, and ribose in the feces were significantly higher in D1 compared to D42 and D70. In contrast, the concentrations of cortexolone, resveratrol, piceatannol, fumaric acid, alpha-ketoglutarate, glycerol, uracil-5-carboxylic acid, and maleic acid were significantly decreased in D1. The enrichment analysis showed that amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism were significantly changed in D1 compared to D42 and D70. The glycine, serine and threonine metabolism; alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism; arginine biosynthesis; glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; citrate cycle; and pyruvate metabolism were significantly enriched across the three periods (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggested that the birth–transition period is a critical phase for the gut bacterial community and metabolic function shift in juvenile sika deer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals)

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12 pages, 948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Glycine Supplementation in Drinking Water on the Growth Performance, Intestinal Development, and Genes Expression in the Jejunum of Chicks

by Xiaotong Zheng, Yinku Xie, Ziwei Chen, Jiaheng He and Jianfei Chen

Animals 2023, 13(19), 3109; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193109 - 05 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1028

Abstract

Glycine, the most basic amino acid found in nature, is considered an essential amino acid for chicks. However, the precise understanding of high concentrations of glycine’s significance in promoting the growth performance of chicks, as well as its impact on intestinal development, re-mains limited. Consequently, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of glycine supplementation in drinking water on growth performance, intestine morphology, and development in newly hatched chicks. In this study, 200 newly born chicks were selected and pro-vided with a supplementation of 0.5%, 1%, and 2% glycine in their drinking water during their first week of life. The results revealed that glycine supplementation in drinking water could significantly increase the average daily gain of chicks from days 7 to 14. Furthermore, a significant difference was observed between the group supplemented with 1% glycine and the control group. Concurrently, this glycine supplementation increased the villus height and the ratio of the villus height to crypt depth in jejunum on both day 7 and day 14. Glycine supplementation in drinking water significantly affected the mRNA expression level of the ZO-1, GCLM, and rBAT genes in jejunum, which may have certain effects on the mucosal immune defense, cellular antioxidant stress capacity, and amino acid absorption. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that glycine supplementation in drinking water can enhance the growth performance of chicks and promote their intestine development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals)

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16 pages, 1624 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Sodium Butyrate Supplementation in Milk on the Growth Performance and Intestinal Microbiota of Preweaning Holstein Calves

by Donglin Wu, Zhanhe Zhang, Kai Shao, Xing Wang, Fudong Huang, Jingwei Qi, Yizong Duan, Yang Jia and Ming Xu

Animals 2023, 13(13), 2069; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13132069 - 22 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1196

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of sodium butyrate (SB) supplementation on the growth and intestinal microbiota of preweaning dairy calves. Eighty newborn Holstein calves (56 female and 24 male) were randomly allocated to four treatment groups with 20 calves each (14 female and 6 male). The suckling milk for the four treatments was supplemented with 0, 4.4, 8.8, or 17.6 g/d SB. During the 6-week experiment, dry matter intake was recorded daily, body weight was measured weekly, and rectal fecal samples were collected in the 2nd week. The V3–V4 hypervariable regions of the microbial 16S rRNA were amplified and then sequenced. SB supplementation elevated average daily gains (ADGs) in the first and second weeks. The optimal SB supplementation level for the whole preweaning period was 8.78 g/d, as revealed by analyzing the whole preweaning period ADG using second-order polynomial regression (quadratic) equations. The alpha diversity (Shannon diversity index), beta diversity, core phyla and genera, and function of the intestinal microbiota were affected by SB supplementation. In addition, the Shannon diversity index and core phyla and genera of the intestinal microbiota were correlated with calf growth-related indices. Overall, SB supplementation in suckling milk improved the growth performance and intestinal microbiota development of dairy calves in a quadratic manner, and regression analysis indicated an optimal supplementation level of 8.78 g/d. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals)

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15 pages, 749 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Weaning Age and Creep Feed Type on Growth Performance and Gut Maturation in Weaned Piglets

by Kimmie Kyed Lyderik, Xuwen Zhang, Christina Larsen, Niels Jørgen Kjeldsen, Marie Louise Madelung Pedersen, Mette Skou Hedemann, Andrew Richard Williams, Charlotte Amdi and Johannes Gulmann Madsen

Animals 2023, 13(11), 1851; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13111851 - 01 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1314

Abstract

The objective was to study the effects of weaning in week 5 (W5) vs. week 4 (W4), as well as liquid (LF) vs. dry feed (DF), on growth performance, disaccharidase activity and nutrient transporter expression after weaning. The experiment included 12,923 pigs fed LF or DF in the pre-weaning period and a subpopulation of 15 pigs from each group, W4DF, W4LF, W5DF and W5LF, which were weighed and euthanized five days after weaning. The proximal part of the small intestine was analyzed for maltase, lactase and sucrase activity and the expression of SGLT-1, GLUT-2 and PepT-1. Pigs fed LF displayed less maltase activity (2100 vs. 2729 U/mg protein, p < 0.05) but an increased expression of SGLT-1 (∆Ct: 5.22 vs. 6.21, p = 0.01). Pigs weaned in W5 were heavier than those weaned in W4 (9.35 vs. 7.11 kg BW, p ≤ 0.05), and pigs fed LF were heavier than those fed DF (8.55 vs. 7.91 kg BW, p ≤ 0.05) five days after weaning in the subpopulation. LF pigs (21.8 kg) were heavier than DF pigs (20.6 kg) (SE 0.108, p < 0.0001), and W4 pigs (21.0 kg) were lighter than W5 pigs (21.5 kg) (SE 0.108, p = 0.01) at nine weeks. LF increased weight gain in the early post-weaning period and at nine weeks, although this was apparently not explained by accelerated gut maturation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals)

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14 pages, 496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Maternal or Formulated Transition Milk on the Health and Performance of Dairy Calves

by Ana Paula da Silva, Amanda M. Cezar, Ariany F. Toledo, Sophia C. Dondé, Marina G. Coelho, Cristiane R. Tomaluski, Gercino F. Virgínio Júnior and Carla M. M. Bittar

Animals 2023, 13(10), 1674; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13101674 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1289

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of maternal or formulated transition milk with colostrum powder on the performance and health of dairy calves. After receiving 12% of their birth weight in high-quality colostrum, 36 Holstein calves (17 males and 19 females) were blocked according to sex, birth date and birth weight (29.16 kg ± 1.34) and randomly distributed into three treatments: (1) Milk: supplying 4 L/d of whole milk (WM) for three days (n = 12); (2) Transition milk (TM): supplying 4 L/d of maternal transition milk for three days (n = 12); (3) Formulated transition milk (FTM): supplying 4 L/d of whole milk enriched with 280 g/d of colostrum powder, for three days (n = 12). Daily feeding was split into two feedings, and after the sixth feeding of the transition diet calves were fed 6 L/d of whole milk and had ad libitum access to water and calf starter until 56 d, when the study ended. Calves fed TM or FTM presented a higher total solids intake (p < 0.05). Concentrations of glucose (p = 0.096) and lactate (p = 0.063), evaluated from 0 h to 72 h, tended to be higher in WM-fed calves compared to TM. There were no effects on calf’s health or performance and weight; at the week 8 averaged 65.06 kg ± 1.85. All treatments resulted in adequate performance and good health, however, the potential benefits of providing TM or FTM were not seen in this study. The transition milk composition and the number of meals after colostrum feeding need more investigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals)

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10 pages, 285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Bacillus licheniformis and Combination of Probiotics and Enzymes as Supplements on Growth Performance and Serum Parameters in Early-Weaned Grazing Yak Calves

by Jia Zhou, Kaiqiang Zhao, Lisheng Shao, Yuhong Bao, Dundup Gyantsen, Chenglong Ma and Bai Xue

Animals 2023, 13(5), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13050785 - 21 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1564

Abstract

Early weaning is an effective strategy to improve cow feed utilization and shorten postpartum intervals in cows; however, this may lead to poor performance of the weaned calves. This study was conducted to test the effects of supplementing milk replacer with Bacillus licheniformis and a complex of probiotics and enzyme preparations on body weight (BW), size, and serum biochemical parameters and hormones in early-weaned grazing yak calves. Thirty two-month-old male grazing yaks (38.89 ± 1.45 kg body weight) were fed milk replacer at 3% of their BW and were randomly assigned to three treatments (n = 10, each): T1 (supplementation with 0.15 g/kg Bacillus licheniformis), T2 (supplementation with a 2.4 g/kg combination of probiotics and enzymes), and a control (without supplementation). Compared to the controls, the average daily gain (ADG) from 0 to 60 d was significantly higher in calves administered the T1 and T2 treatments, and that from 30 to 60 d was significantly higher in calves administered the T2 treatment. The ADG from 0 to 60 d was significantly higher in the T2- than in the T1-treated yaks. The concentration of serum growth hormone, insulin growth factor-1, and epidermal growth factor was significantly higher in the T2-treated calves than in the controls. The concentration of serum cortisol was significantly lower in the T1 treatment than in the controls. We concluded that supplementation with probiotics alone or a combination of probiotics and enzymes can improve the ADG of early-weaned grazing yak calves. Supplementation with the combination of probiotics and enzymes had a stronger positive effect on growth and serum hormone levels, compared to the single-probiotic treatment with Bacillus licheniformis, providing a basis for the application of a combination of probiotics and enzymes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Management of Newborn Farm Animals)

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