The objective of this study was to measure the water disappearance in the drinker and the pattern of daily water intake and estimate the amount of water wasted in pig production. The study will also generate information about the daily behaviour of water intake of pigs in the growing and finishing phases. Sixty male pigs with an average initial weight of 44.43 kg subjected to immunocastration were used. Animals received feed and water ad libitum. The animal-performance data, temperature and humidity, and feed and water intake behaviour were collected in real time during the entire experimental period, while water volume consumed was measured daily. The average water disappearance (WD) was 7.98 L, which increased during the studied period, and 29.07% of this corresponds to the estimated water wasted. The daily WD behaviour revealed an increasing pattern throughout the day for growing and finishing periods, with the registered peak at 16:00 and 15:00 h and intake of 6.24 and 9.48 L, respectively. The time spent drinking (TSD) and number of drinker visits (NDV) also showed a peak in the afternoon: 13:00 and 17:00 h for growing and finishing phases, respectively. The TSD was 282.73 and 268.36 s, and the NDV values were 16.13 and 13.84 for growing and finishing phases, respectively. The results demonstrated an increasing pattern during the animal housing period in WD that is proportional to dry matter intake and body weight, and the water wasted represents a significant portion of WD. The daily pattern of WD, TSD, and NDV increase during the total and growing periods, presenting peak activity at 13:00 h. During the finishing phase, TSD and NDV present a pattern similar to the growing phase, but the peak occurs in the last hour of the day.

The objective of this study was to evaluate carcass characteristics and meat quality of surgically castrated and immunocastrated male pigs. Data were collected from 24 surgically castrated pigs and 24 immunocastrated male entire originating from the commercial line (Agroceres x Topigs), receiving isonutritive diets and were housed in the same experimental shed, slaughtered at 177 days old, with a slaughter weight of 127.8 (± 6.5) and 135.1 (± 7.8) kg, respectively. Carcass and meat quality characteristics such as carcass yield, lean meat yield, fat content, backfat thickness, muscle depth, pH, meat coloring and, drip, thawing and cooking loss, were evaluated. Immunocastrated pigs have heavier carcass, higher meat yield and lower fat thickness when compared to surgically castrated animals. Regarding meat quality, the immunocastrated presented a lighter meat, less reddness and less water holding capacity. In conclusion, this study confirmed that the carcass of male pigs, submitted immunocastration, has lower yield, however, more meat and less fat content, when compared to carcass of male pigs surgically castrated. Meat quality showed peculiar characteristics for immunocastrated pigs, and can be used more for sausage production, since it retains less water and have smaller redness color compared to surgically castrated pigs.

The aim of this study was to determine, through meta-analysis, the effects of malic acid/malate addition on ruminal and blood parameters and diet digestibility in cattle. The literature search was conducted in Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar using the terms “organic acids”, “malic acid”, “malate”, and “bovine”. The database was composed of papers published between 1980 and 2023. The average effect of malate/malic acid inclusion was calculated using the “DerSimonian and Laird” random effects model. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were conducted to explore sources of heterogeneity. Overall, malic acid (MAC) addition did not significantly affect rumen pH (ES = 0.310, p = 0.17), but subgroup analysis showed that malate increased pH (ES = 1.420, p < 0.01). MAC increased rumen propionate (ES = 0.560, p < 0.01) and total volatile fatty acids (VFAs; ES = 0.508, p = 0.03), while reducing the acetate-to-propionate ratio (p < 0.01). Starch and NDF intake were significant covariates affecting pH and VFA-related variables. MAC improved total-tract digestibility of dry matter (DM; ES = 0.547, p ≤ 0.05), crude protein (CP; ES = 0.422, p ≤ 0.05), and acid detergent fiber (ADF; ES = 0.635, p ≤ 0.05). It increased glucose levels (Overall ES = 0.170, p = 0.05) and reduced NEFA (Overall ES = −0.404, p = 0.03). In conclusion, the effectiveness of MAC depends on its chemical form. Improvements in rumen pH, fiber degradation, and blood parameters suggest more efficient energy use and potential metabolic benefits. The influence of diet-related covariates suggests that the response to MAC may vary depending on the nutritional composition of the diet.

With the aim to evaluate the effects of the use of additives (milk whey and inoculant containing Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophillus) in sorghum silage, an experiment was conducted in which the productive parameters, fermentative and the nutritional quality of silage were analyzed. The experimental design was completely randomized, testing different levels of inclusion of whey and live Lactobacillus strains based on forage green matter, constituting the following treatments: 1) Sorghum without inclusion of additives (CON); 2) Sorghum + 5 x 102 cfu/g L. casei and L. acidophillus (LAC); 3) Sorghum 5 x 102 cfu g-1 whey (SL); 4) Sorghum + 5x102 cfu/g-1 L. casei and L. acidophillus and 5x102 cfu/g whey (LAC + SL). When Lactobacillus was included the mixture used was 50 ml of water and 10 grams of Lactobacillus. To measure silage fermentation, pH, dry matter recovery, gas and effluent losses, ammonia nitrogen, buffer power and density were estimated. The addition of whey and Lactobacillus inoculant in sorghum silage did not significantly change the bromatological values of silage when compared to the original material. The inclusion of additives increased (P <0.05) the effluent losses during fermentation. The use of whey presents a viable alternative for producers, as it does not compromise the fermentation and chemical composition of sorghum silage and assists in the reduction of dairy residues in nature.

The experiment evaluated the effects on the chemical composition (fermentation, kinetic parameters, and protein and carbohydrate fractions) of corn silage after various storage durations (45, 90, 180, and 360 days). Experimental mini silos of the corn plants were made and opened after various storage periods. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and four replications per treatment. Variables such as pH, lactic acid and acetic acid showed a quadratic effect, whereas effluent and gas losses increased linearly with prolonged storage. Proteolysis was observed with an increase in storage, resulting in a rise in ammonia-N, soluble N, and non-protein N concentration and reduction in true protein. The soluble carbohydrate fractions were reduced, and digestible and indigestible fibre were increased. For the kinetic degradation parameters of the silages obtained through in vitro gas methodology, the highest fermentation rate occurred in the first 12 hours of incubation, and the highest volume of gas produced within 96 hours was obtained for silages with shorter storage (45 days). The increase in storage resulted in greater losses and lower ruminal degradability in vitro, causing a decrease in protein quality and nutritional value.

The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition, digestibility, and net energy (NE) of broken rice (BRR), stabilized rice bran (SRB), and parboiled rice bran (PRB) for piglets. Two digestibility trials were performed with 12 and 18 male pigs with initial weights of 8 and 16kg, respectively. We performed total fecal collection using ferric oxide as fecal marker. The digestibility coefficients of organic matter, crude protein, and gross energy were higher (P<0.001) for the BRR compared to the SRB and PRB. The PRB presented a digestible energy 2% lower than that of BR and 5% higher than that of SRB. For BRR, average NE value was 3,228kcal/kg dry matter (DM), and the difference between the lower and higher value was 311kcal/kg DM. Average NE values of SRB and PRB were 2,896 and 3,293kcal/kgDM, respectively. The difference between the energy predicted by each equation reached 190kcal/kgDM for SRB and 285kcal/kgDM for PRB. In conclusion, BRR showed higher nutrient digestibility coefficients, except for EE and GE, which can be attributed to differences in the production processes. Regardless of the type of feedstuff tested, equations to predict NE values should be used carefully due to considerable differences in energy content.