Palm kernel cake (PKC), a by-product of oil extracted from palm nuts through expeller press or solvent extraction procedures is one of the highest quantities of locally available and potentially inexpensive agricultural product. PKC provides approximately 14–18% of crude protein (CP), 12–20% crude fiber (CF), 3–9% ether extract (EE), and different amounts of various minerals that feasible to be used as a partial substitute of soybean meal (SBM) and corn in poultry nutrition. Poultry’s digestibility is reported to be compromised due to the indigestion of the high fiber content, making PKC potentially low for poultry feeding. Nevertheless, solid-state fermentation (SSF) can be applied to improve the nutritional quality of PKC by improving the CP and reducing CF content. PKC also contains β-mannan polysaccharide, which works as a prebiotic. However, there is a wide variation for the inclusion level of PKC in the broiler diet. These variations may be due to the quality of PKC, its sources, processing methods and value-added treatment. It has been documented that 10–15% of treated PKC could be included in the broiler’s diets. The inclusion levels will not contribute to a negative impact on the growth performances and carcass yield. Furthermore, it will not compromise intestinal microflora, morphology, nutrient digestibility, and immune system. PKC with a proper SSF process (FPKC) can be offered up to 10–15% in the diets without affecting broilers’ production performance.

The productivity of smallholder sheep and goat flocks is constrained by high morbidity and mortality of young stock due to helminthosis and coccidiosis. We hypothesized that gastrointestinal parasites are prevalent and may cause severe infections amongst small ruminants in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and December 2019 to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and levels of infection with gastrointestinal strongyle and coccidia in selected smallholder goat flocks in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. A total of 257 blood and fecal samples and management data were collected from four farms in Negeri Sembilan. Gastrointestinal parasites were detected by routine sodium chloride floatation, and the McMaster technique was used to quantify the fecal eggs/oocysts per gram outputs (EPG/OPG). The severity of infection was classified as mild (50–799), moderate (800–1200), or severe (>1200). The packed cell volume (PCV) was determined by microhematocrit centrifugation and classified as anemic or non-anemic. Coprological examination revealed an overall prevalence of 78.6% (CI = 72.74–83.44) and 100% flock level prevalence of strongyle and coccidia infection among goats from Negeri Sembilan with a higher infection in flock A-Lenggeng (95.6%) than B-Senawang (87.3%), D-Mendom (80.6%), or C-Seremban (60.0%). The co-infections of strongyle + Eimeria (50.6; CI = 44.50 to 56.64) were more common than single infections of either strongyle (16.7%; CI = 12.66 to 21.78) or Eimeria (4.3%; CI = 2.41 to 7.50). Quantitative analysis has revealed different (p < 0.05) patterns of EPG/OPG in various categories of goats. In total, there were 49.8% mild, 8.6% moderate, and 13.6% severe infections of strongyle and 40.1% mild, 6.6% moderate, and 19.8% severe infections of coccidia among goats. The mean PCV of goats with severe strongyle infection (24.60 ± 0.85) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the moderate (26.90 ± 1.15), or mild (28.23 ± 0.50) infections and the uninfected (30.4 ± 0.71). There were increased odds of infection with strongyle and coccidia among female (OR = 3.2) and adult (OR = 11.0) goats from smallholder flocks in Negeri Sembilan. In conclusion, gastrointestinal strongyles and coccidia occur at high frequency among smallholder goats, and there is a higher risk of infection amongst the adult and female stock.

This study aims to study the effect of Yucca shidigera as a phytobiotic supplementation in enhancing the production performance of commercial broilers reared under tropical environments. A total of 300 male day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated into six treatment groups. Treatment 1 broilers were fed with commercial diets without antibiotics. Treatment 2 broilers were fed with commercial diets added with 100 mg/kg oxytetracycline antibiotic. Treatment 3, 4, 5, and 6 were fed with the same commercial diets added with 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg Y. shidigera, respectively, without antibiotic. Throughout the six weeks study period, body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly for each replicate to calculate the body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. In addition, the nutrient digestibility, gut histomorphology, cecal microflora population, carcass characteristics, and meat quality were determined. The results showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the growth performance, apparent ileal nutrient digestibility, gut histomorphology, carcass traits, and meat quality. Overall, T6 broilers supplemented with 100 mg/kg Y. shidigera demonstrated the best production performances as compared to the other treatment broilers. In summary, information from this study will be valuable for the usability of Y. schidigera, which could be developed as a feed additive to replace antibiotics in the poultry sector in the tropics.

This study aimed to analyse the nutritional properties, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent metabolisable energy (AME) of broiler chickens fed with brown seaweed (BS) and green seaweed (GS). Proximate analysis was performed to determine the nutrient composition of seaweed. The amino acids were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the minerals content. The gross energy (GE) was determined using a fully automatic bomb calorimeter, and the AME value was calculated. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was used as an indigestible marker to calculate the AID. A digestibility trial was conducted to investigate the effects of seaweeds on crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), ether extract (EE), dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), amino acids (AA) and minerals digestibility, and AME on broiler chickens. Thirty-six broiler chickens were randomly distributed into two dietary treatment groups with six replicates and three birds per replicate. Results showed that brown and green seaweed was a source of macro and micronutrients. For the AME and AID of seaweed-based diets, the results showed that the AME value for BS and GS was 2894.13 and 2780.70 kcal/kg, respectively. The AID of BS and GS was 88.82% and 86.8% for EE, 82.03% and 80.6% for OM, 60.69% and 57.80% for CP, 48.56 and 44.02% for CF, and 17.97 and 19.40% for ash contents, respectively. Meanwhile, the AID of CP and CF was significantly higher for BS compared to the GS. Findings showed that the AID of various AA was 40.96 to 77.54%, and the AID of selected minerals (Ca, Na, K, Mg, Zn, Cu, Fe) for both BS and GS groups were above 90%.