Effect of different doses of camelina cake inclusion as a substitute of dietary soyabean meal on growth performance and gut health of weaned pigs.

Camelina cake (CAM) is a co-product proposed as an alternative protein source; however, piglet data are still limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different doses of CAM in substitution of soyabean meal on the growth, health and gut health of weaned pigs. At 14 d post-weaning (d0), sixty-four piglets were assigned either to a standard diet or to a diet with 4 %, 8 % or 12 % of CAM. Piglets were weighed weekly. At d7 and d28, faeces were collected for microbiota and polyamine and blood for reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) and thyroxine analysis. At d28, pigs were slaughtered, organs were weighed, pH was recorded on gut, colon was analysed for volatile fatty acids (VFA) and jejunum was used for morphological and gene expression analysis. Data analysis was carried out using a mixed model including diet, pen and litter as factors; linear and quadratic contrasts were tested. CAM linearly reduced the average daily gain from d0-d7, d0-d14, d0-d21 and d0-d28 (P ≤ 0·01). From d0-d7 increasing CAM linearly decreased feed intake (P = 0·04) and increased linearly the feed to gain (P = 0·004). CAM increased linearly the liver weight (P < 0·0001) and affected the cadaverine (P < 0·001). The diet did not affect the ROM, thyroxine, intestinal pH, VFA and morphology. All doses of CAM increased the α diversity indices at d28 (P < 0·05). CAM at 4 % promoted the abundance of Butyricicoccaceae_UCG-008. Feeding with CAM enhanced resilience in the gut microbiome and can be evaluated as a potential alternative protein source with dose-dependent limitations on piglet growth performance.

Insight into the long-term impact of birth weight on intestinal development, microbial settlement, and the metabolism of weaned piglets.

Infant mortality of low birth body weight (LBBW) piglets can reach 10% and is mainly due to gut and immune system immaturity which can lead to a higher risk in the long term. This study aimed to assess the impact of birth body weight (BBW) on piglet metabolism, gut status, and microbial profile from weaning to 21 d postweaning. At birth, 32 piglets were selected for their BBW and inserted into the normal BBW (NBBW:1.38 ±â€…0.09 g) or the LBBW (0.92 ±â€…0.07 g) group. The piglets were weighed weekly from weaning (d0) to d21. At d9 and d21, 8 piglets/group were slaughtered to obtain the distal jejunum for morphology, immunohistochemistry, and gene expression analysis, colon content for microbiota and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis, and intestinal content for pH measurement. Blood was collected for metabolomic, haptoglobin (Hp), and reactive oxygen metabolite (ROM) analysis. The LBBW group had a lower body weight (BW) throughout the study (P < 0.01), a lower average daily gain from d9-d21 (P = 0.002), and lower feed intake (P = 0.02). The LBBW piglets had lower Hp at d9 (P = 0.03), higher ROMs at d21 (P = 0.06), and a net alteration of the amino acid (AA) metabolism at d9 and d21. A higher expression of NFKB2 was observed in the LBBW piglets at d9 (P = 0.003) and d21 (P < 0.001). MYD88 expression was enhanced in NBBW piglets at d9 (P < 0.001). The LBBW piglets had a lower villus height, absorptive mucosal surface (P = 0.01), and villus height:crypt depth ratio (P = 0.02), and a greater number of T-lymphocytes in both the epithelium and the crypts (P < 0.001) at d21. At d21, the LBBW piglets had higher lactic acid, acetate, butyrate, and valerate, and also higher SCFA in the colon (P < 0.05). The LBBW piglets had a higher Shannon index (P = 0.01) at d9 and a higher abundance of SCFA-fermenting bacteria. In conclusion, the present study confirmed that LBBW could impact the gut mucosal structure, immunity, and inflammatory and oxidative status, leading to an altered AA metabolism, and delaying the recovery from weaning.

The drawback of the high prolificacy selection in the swine industry in the past decades is an increase in the number of piglets born with a low birth body weight (LBBW). This study aimed to assess performance, metabolism, gut status, and microbial profile in piglets born with low (0.92 ±â€…0.07 g) and normal birth body weight (1.38 ±â€…0.09 g). Piglets were weighed weekly from weaning (25 d) until 3 weeks postweaning (end of the trial). At d9 and d21, 8 piglets/group were slaughtered to obtain blood for metabolomic, haptoglobin, reactive oxygen metabolite analyses, colon content for microbiota and short-chain fatty acid, intestinal content for pH measurement, distal jejunum for morphology, immunohistochemistry, and gene expression. The LBBW resulted in lower body weight through the study (P < 0.001), lower average daily gain from d9 to d21 (P = 0.002), and lower feed intake (P = 0.02). The LBBW piglets had a lower villus height, absorptive mucosal surface (P = 0.01), and villus height:crypt depth ratio (P = 0.02), and a greater number of T-lymphocytes in both the epithelium and the crypts (P < 0.001) at d21. In conclusion, the present study confirmed that LBBW could impact the gut mucosal structure, immunity, and inflammatory and oxidative status, leading to an altered AA metabolism, and delaying the recovery from weaning.

Evaluation of carcass quality, body and pulmonary lesions detected at the abattoir in heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, body and tail lesions and respiratory disease are some of the greatest problems affecting the health and welfare of pigs. The aim of the study was to measure the prevalence of pleurisy, bronchopneumonia (enzootic pneumonia like lesions) and lesions on tail and body of heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking through the inspection in Italian abattoirs. Additionally, the effect of tail docking and season was investigated on carcass quality (weight, % of lean meat, and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) classification). For this purpose, a total 17.256 carcasses belonging to 171 batches from 103 farms were inspected in an Italian abattoir between 2019 and 2022. Enzootic pneumonia (EP) like lesions were scored according to the Madec and Derrien method, while pleurisy was scored using the Italian Slaughterhouse pleuritic evaluation system (SPES). For the tail and body, the lesions were scored according to Welfare Quality. The lesion score index (LSI) was calculated for each area. Data were analysed using a general linear model (GLM) including tail caudectomy, season and distance of the farm from the abattoir. RESULTS: The warm season increased the percentage of lesions in carcasses in all parts of the body observed (P < 0.0001). The presence of undocked tail increased the LSI of the tail (P < 0.0001). The percentage of limbs lesions with score 2 and limbs LSI increase with increasing duration of transport (coef. = 0.003, P < 0.001; coef. = 0.008, P < 0.001; respectively). The hot carcass weight and the percentage of carcasses included in the PDO were higher in batches with docked tails (P = 0.027; P < 0.001, respectively), while the percentage of lean meat was higher in batches with undocked tails (P < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the percentage of carcasses included in PDO and the LSI of tail (r = - 0.422; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the presence of the undocked tail and the warm season can be considered risk factors for the prevalence of tail lesions, while long transport can increase limb lesions. Furthermore, the carcass weight and meat quality were negatively influenced by tail lesions.

Bacillus spp. Probiotic Strains as a Potential Tool for Limiting the Use of Antibiotics, and Improving the Growth and Health of Pigs and Chickens.

The pressure to increasingly optimize the breeding of livestock monogastric animals resulted in antimicrobials often being misused in an attempt to improve growth performance and counteract diseases in these animals, leading to an increase in the problem of antibiotic resistance. To tackle this problem, the use of probiotics, also known as direct in-feed microbials (DFM), seems to be one of the most promising strategies. Among probiotics, the interest in Bacillus strains has been intensively increased in recent decades in pigs and poultry. The aim of the present review was to evaluate the effectiveness of Bacillus strains as probiotics and as a potential strategy for reducing the misuse of antibiotics in monogastric animals. Thus, the potential modes of action, and the effects on the performance and health of pigs (weaning pigs, lactation and gestation sows) and broilers are discussed. These searches yielded 131 articles (published before January 2021). The present review showed that Bacillus strains could favor growth in terms of the average daily gain (ADG) of post-weaning piglets and broilers, and reduce the incidence of post-weaning diarrhea in pigs by 30% and mortality in broilers by 6-8%. The benefits of Bacillus strains on these parameters showed results comparable to the benefit obtained by the use of antibiotics. Furthermore, the use of Bacillus strains gives promising results in enhancing the local adaptative immune response and in reducing the oxidative stress of broilers. Fewer data were available regarding the effect on sows. Discordant effects have been reported regarding the effect on body weight (BW) and feed intake while a number of studies have supported the hypothesis that feeding probiotics to sows could benefit their reproductive performance, namely the BW and ADG of the litters. Taken all the above-mentioned facts together, this review confirmed the effectiveness of Bacillus strains as probiotics in young pigs and broilers, favoring their health and contributing to a reduction in the misuse of direct in-feed antibiotics. The continuous development and research regarding probiotics will support a decrease in the misuse of antibiotics in livestock production in order to endorse a more sustainable rearing system in the near future.