The current methods for detecting pathogenic bacteria in feed require high technique and take a long time. The Micro Biological Survey (MBS) rapid detection system is a simple, economical and rapid microbial detection method. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the detection ofEscherichia coli(E. coli),Salmonella,Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus),Listeria monocytogenes(LM), coliform (COLI) and total viable count (TVC) in feed by the MBS rapid microbial detection system and plate counting method (PCM). The results showed that the limit of quantitation, recovery rate and coefficient of variation of the MBS microbial rapid detection system are better than the plate counting method. When detecting the pathogenic bacteria content in artificially contaminated feed, the MBS rapid microbial detection system was positively correlated with the PCM. When the MBS microbial rapid detection system and PCM were used to detect the collected real feed samples, there was no significant difference in the detection results of the two methods in most of the feed samples. In summary, the MBS microbial rapid detection system is the most convenient and rapid detection method and is suitable for promotion and application in production lines.

Given the ban on antibiotic growth promoters, the effects of nonantibiotic alternative growth promoter combinations (NAGPCs) on the growth performance, nutrient utilization, digestive enzyme activity, intestinal morphology, and cecal microflora of broilers were evaluated. All birds were fed pellets of two basal diets—starter (0–21 d) and grower (22–42 d)—with either enramycin (ENR) or NAGPC supplemented. 1) control + ENR; 2) control diet (CON, basal diet); 3) control + mannose oligosaccharide (MOS) + mannanase (MAN) + sodium butyrate (SB) (MMS); 4) control + MOS + MAN +Bacillus subtilis(BS) (MMB); 5) control + MOS + fruit oligosaccharide (FOS) + SB (MFS); 6) control + FOS + BS (MFB); 7) control + MOS + FOS + MAN (MFM); 8) control + MOS + BS + phytase (PT) (MBP). ENR, MOS, FOS, SB, MAN, PT, and BS were added at 100, 2,000, 9,000, 1,500, 300, 37, and 500 mg/kg, respectively. The experiment used a completely random block design with six replicates per group: 2400 Ross 308 broilers in the starter phase and 768 in the grower phase. All NAGPCs significantly improved body weight gain (P < 0.01), utilization of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein (P < 0.05), villus height and villus height/crypt depth in the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.01), and decreased the feed conversion ratio (P < 0.01) at d 21 and 42. MMS, MMB, MFB, and MFM duodenum trypsin, lipase, and amylase activities increased significantly (P < 0.05) at d 21 and 42. On d 21 and 42, MMS, MMB, and MBP increased the abundance ofFirmicutesandBacteroideswhereas MMB, MFB, and MBP decreased the abundance ofProteobacteria, compared to ENR and CON. Overall, the NAGPCs were found to have some beneficial effects and may be used as effective antibiotic replacements in broilers.

Laiwu black goats comprise an excellent local germplasm resource; however, a shortage of feed resources has led to the application of unconventional feed. Ginger straw feed has good physiological effects, but research on this feed source for ruminant animals is lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of enzymatic silage ginger straw on Laiwu black goat performance. The experiment used an independent sample t-test analysis method; 24 healthy Laiwu black goats with a body weight of 20.05 ± 1.15 kg and age of 5.67 ± 0.25 months were randomly divided into two groups with three replicates (bars) per group and four goats per replicate. The experimental diet was composed of mixed concentrate, silage, and garlic peel at a 2:7:1 ratio. The silage used in the two groups was whole corn silage (CON group) and 60% whole corn silage plus 40% enzymatic silage ginger straw (SG group), and the other components were identical. Daily feed intake/daily gain (F/G) was significantly higher in the SG group than in the CON group (p < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility between the groups. The shear force, cooking loss, centrifugal loss, and pressure loss of the longissimus dorsi muscle group were significantly lower in the SG than in the CON group (p < 0.05). Compared with those in the CON group, the serum and liver total antioxidant capacity was significantly increased in the SG group, and in the liver, the O2·⁻, malondialdehyde, and OH· contents were significantly decreased. Collectively, the rumen fluid microbial diversity was changed in the SG group. It was concluded that enzymatic silage ginger straw usage instead of 40% whole silage corn as feed for Laiwu black goats can significantly improve the muscle quality, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal flora, with no adverse effects on production performance. In conclusion, our study provides a basis for ginger straw processing and storage and its rational application in the Laiwu black goat diet.

Given the ban on antibiotic growth promoters, six nonantibiotic alternative growth promoter combinations (NAGPCs) for broilers were evaluated. All birds were fed pellets of two basal diets—starter (0−21 d) and grower (22−42 d)—with either enramycin (ENR) or NAGPC supplemented. 1) control + 100 mg/kg ENR; 2) control diet (CON, basal diet); 3) control + 2,000 mg/kg mannose oligosaccharide (MOS) + 300 mg/kg mannanase (MAN) + 1,500 mg/kg sodium butyrate (SB) (MMS); 4) control + 2,000 mg/kg MOS + 300 mg/kg MAN + 500 mg/kg Bacillus subtilis (BS) (MMB); 5) control + 2,000 mg/kg MOS + 9,000 mg/kg fruit oligosaccharide (FOS) + 1,500 mg/kg SB (MFS); 6) control + 9,000 mg/kg FOS + 500 mg/kg BS (MFS) (MBP). The experiment used a completely random block design with six replicates per group: 50 Ross 308 broilers in the starter phase and 16 in the grower phase. All the NAGPCs significantly improved (P < 0.01) utilization of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), and crude fat (CF) on d 21, significantly increased DM, OM (P < 0.01), and CP (P < 0.05) on d 42, and significantly increased (P < 0.01) villus height, crypt depth, and the villus height to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum and ileum compared with CON and ENR. On d 21 and 42, trypsin, lipase, and amylase activity of the duodenum significantly increased in the MMS, MMB, MFB, and MFM groups. Compared with ENR and CON, MMS, MMB, and MBP increased the abundance of Firmicutes at d 21 and of Bacteroides at d 42 whereas MMB, MFB, and MBP decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria at d 21 and 42. Overall, the NAGPCs were found to have some beneficial effects and may be used as effective antibiotic replacements in broilers.

The current methods for detecting pathogenic bacteria in feed require high technique and take a long time. A Micro Biological Survey (MBS) rapid detection system is a simple, economical and rapid microbial detection method. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the detection ofEscherichia coli(E. coli),Salmonella,Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus),Listeria monocytogenes(LM), coliform (COLI) and total viable count (TVC) in feed by the MBS rapid microbial detection system and plate counting method (PCM). The results showed that the MBS microbial rapid detection system could detectE. coli, Salmonella, S. aureus, LM, COLI and TVC in artificially contaminated sterilized fish meal, and the quantitative limit were 5.58 cfu/mL, 8.60 cfu/mL, 7.90 cfu/mL, 8.40 cfu/mL, 3.93 cfu/mL and 7.43 cfu/mL, respectively. The quantitative limit of the PCM were 41.30 cfu/mL, 56.70 cfu/mL, 39.00 cfu/mL, 56.00 cfu/mL, 40.00 cfu/mL and 48.00 cfu/mL, respectively. The recovery rates of the MBS microbial rapid detection system forE. coli, Salmonella, S. aureus, LM, COLI and TVC in the concentration range of 10¹~10⁸cfu/mL were 87.92 ~ 98.42%, 87.19 ~ 90.76%, 89.95 ~ 96.32%, 89.15 ~ 92.93%, 90.95 ~ 97.66% and 90.21 ~ 97.03%, respectively; the recovery rates of the PCM were 5.58%~92.60%, 79.77%~93.48%, 86.33%~94.01%, 83.05%~92.69%, 87.44%~96.58% and 87.09%~94.98%, respectively. The coefficients of variation of the MBS microbial rapid detection system for detectingE. coli, Salmonella, S. aureus, LM, COLI and TVC in sterilized fish meal were 9.83%, 7.18%, 10.28%, 9.55%, 8.03% and 9.21%, respectively. The coefficients of variation of PCM were 14.92%, 13.84%, 15.63%, 12.18%, 13.21% and 14.91%, respectively. When detecting the pathogenic bacteria content in artificially contaminated feed, the MBS rapid microbial detection system was positively correlated with the PCM. When the MBS microbial rapid detection system and PCM were used to detect the collected real feed samples, there was no significant difference in the detection results of the two methods in most of the feed samples. In summary, the quantitative limit, recovery rate and coefficient of variation of the MBS microbial rapid detection system are better than the quantitative limit, recovery rate and coefficient of variation of the plate counting method, which is the most convenient and rapid detection method and is suitable for promotion and application in production lines.