The present study investigated the effects of dietary commercial probiotic Lactobacillus sp. and commercial prebiotic glycyrrhizic acid on the growth performance, feed utilization and digestive enzymes activities of Nile tilapia. Seven diets with or without probiotics and prebiotics supple-mentation namely Control (without probiotics and prebiotics), P10, P20 and P30 (Control + Pro-aqua) and V2, V4 and V6 (Control +Viusid) were fed to juvenile Nile tilapia (5.22±0.05 g) for 60 days in triplicate tanks (30 fish per tank). All fish were fed ad libitum three times a day for 60 days. At the end of the experiment, the weight gain and specific growth rate of the fish fed with probiotic content group was found to be higher than the other groups (P0.05). On the other hand, significant changes were observed in alkaline and acid protease enzyme activities depending on the days (P<0.05). Especially, after the first 15-day period of the experiments, increases in both supplemented groups enzyme activities were determined. The increase in enzyme activity in the probiotic supplemented groups showed higher activity than the prebiotic administered groups (P<0.05). It can be concluded that probiotic can act as a growth promoter and increase digestive enzymes activity in tilapia.

This study aimed to investigate the fermentation characteristics, aerobic stability, and in vitro digestibility of the total mixed rations (TMR) ensiled with different amounts of fresh olive cake (OC). Three TMRs were ensiled with different OC percentages on DM basis; 0% OC (control); 10% OC (OC10), and 20% OC (OC20). For each group, 27 vacuum bags (silos; 81 bags in total) were prepared. Three bags from each group were opened on d 2, 4, 7, and 14 of ensiling to measure pH, and on d 21 and d 42 to evaluate the pH and aerobic stability. The remaining bags (9 from each group, 27 in total) were opened on d 60 to measure aerobic stability, fermentation quality (pH, organic acids, and NH3-N), nutritional compositions, and vitro digestibility. Increasing the OC inclusion in the TMRs increased the ether extract, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) concentrations whereas, non-fibrous carbohydrates, water soluble carbohydrates, and total phenolic content decreased (P ≤ 0.05). The control group had lower pH compared to other groups during the fermentation period (P≤0.05). No significant differences were seen among the treatments for lactic acid and acetic acid concentrations. However, propionic acid was greater in OC10 group compared to control (P≤0.05). Dry matter (DM) loss and aerobic stability were not different among the groups. Flieg score was greater in control group in comparison with that of OC20 group (P =0.016). Relative feed value (RFV) was greater in OC20 group than other groups (P ≤ 0.001) whereas, control group had lower RFV than OC10 group (P ≤ 0.001). In vitro digestibility parameters were lower in OC20 group in comparison with other groups (P≤0.001). Consequently, the results demonstrated that ensiling of TMR with OC had a good quality fermentation profile and feed value. However, in vitro nutrient digestibility was dramatically reduced when OC was used at 20% in TMR on a DM basis. Therefore, the inclusion of OC up to 10% in ruminant diets seems liable. Keywords: Ensiled total mixed ration, olive cake, in vitro digestibility, fermentations characteristics

This study aimed to determine the factors affecting the colostrum quality in dairy farms located in the Menemen district of İzmir province. A total of 61 colostrum samples were collected in the first 6 hours after birth from six dairy farms having more than 100 head. The colostrum obtained from each cow was measured for density using a colostrometer. It was found that 40 of the colostrum samples were of good quality, 16 were of medium quality, and 5 were of poor quality. The current study identified a statistically significant effect of herd size (P

A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to study the individual and combined effects of barley variety (Tarım 92 and Bravo), homofermentative inoculant (HMF; Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium), and heterofermentative inoculant (HTF; Lactobacillus buchneri) on the fermentation characteristics, chemical composition, nutritive value indices, and in vitro digestibility of whole-crop barley silages which were harvested at the early dough stage. Forty-eight laboratory silos (six replicates per treatment) were ensiled for 120 days. Tarım 92 silage exhibited superior fermentation stability across all treatments, with pH ranging from 4.11 to 4.30, Flieg points of 102.94–115.47, and lower NH₃-N concentrations (142.01–173.72 mg/kg TN (total nitrogen)), reflecting better protein preservation than Bravo silage. In contrast, the poorest fermentation outcome (pH 5.24; Flieg 47.06; NH₃-N 307.48 mg/kg TN) was exhibited by the Bravo silage inoculated with only homofermentative inoculants. Significant three-way interaction effects were detected among barley variety, homofermentative inoculant, and heterofermentative inoculant (p < 0.05). The dual-inoculated Tarım 92 silage showed the optimum in vitro digestibility and nutritional value (TDN 77.14%; NEL 1.81 Mcal kg⁻¹ DM; RFV 176.25; ADF 18.75%; IVOMD 65.72%; predicted DMI 3.06% BW), while higher amounts of butyric acid and NH₃-N suggested that better nutritional value was not always accompanied by better protein preservation. The combined inoculation also yielded the best outcomes within Bravo treatments (RFV 144.00), whereas HTF inoculation alone reduced IVDMD and IVOMD below uninoculated controls. Overall, these results show that the response to microbial inoculation is genotype-dependent and a combination of homofermentative and heterofermentative inoculation for high-dry-matter barley varieties can enhance nutritive value and digestibility. However, fermentation quality indicators, particularly butyric acid and NH₃-N, require consideration in the selection of technique.