The objective of this study was to evaluate whether probiotic supplementation to laying hens can improve the quality of eggs during storage. The trial was developed in a commercial farm, in which light-weight laying hens (36 weeks old) housed in cages were randomly selected for one of two different treatments: a control group fed non-supplemented diets, or birds fed with diets supplemented with 50 g/ton of probiotics. The trial lasted for 84 days, comprising three productive phases of 28 days each. The fresh egg quality was evaluated and then the eggs were stored and randomly separated for quality assessment at each storage interval (7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 days). Means were compared using variance analysis considering differences at 5 and 10%. The probiotic was able to improve albumen weight, yolk length, yolk height, and yolk index (p < 0.05) during storage. Yolk color (fan) was also improved by 3.9% (p < 0.001), while increases of 1.35% (p < 0.001) in luminosity, 8.05% (p < 0.001) in red intensity, and 3.4% (p < 0.001) in yellow intensity were observed in comparison to the control group. Probiotic treatment was able to reduce by 2.03% (p < 0.001) yolk pH, and by 19.65% (p < 0.05) TBARS levels when compared to the control treatment. Therefore, the addition of probiotics to laying hen diets is an effective strategy to improve egg quality during storage.

This study was developed using meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of β-mannanase on both poultry and pig performance. Two databases were constructed using information from previous studies that evaluated the β-mannanase supplementation in diets for broilers (30 papers; 19,643 birds) and pigs (20 papers; 5,319 animals). The meta-analysis followed three sequential analyses: graphical, correlation, and variance-covariance. The effect of β-mannanase supplementation on performance considerably varied in both databases. Data analysis considering the study effect showed that β-mannanase supplementation did [...] ABSTRACT This study was developed using meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of β-mannanase on both poultry and pig performance. Two databases were constructed using information from previous studies that evaluated the β-mannanase supplementation in diets for broilers (30 papers; 19,643 birds) and pigs (20 papers; 5,319 animals). The meta-analysis followed three sequential analyses: graphical, correlation, and variance-covariance. The effect of β-mannanase supplementation on performance considerably varied in both databases. Data analysis considering the study effect showed that β-mannanase supplementation did

The intensification of production systems has resulted in detrimental effects on sow welfare, which can have an adverse influence on their offspring. Considering the relevance of the microbiota–gut–brain axis, probiotics can mitigate such impacts. To investigate the effects of the dietary inclusion of probiotics on the welfare of sows and piglets, 147 multiparous sows were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group or a group supplemented with a multistrain probiotic from the beginning of pregnancy to the end of lactation. The human–animal relationship (HAR), stereotypic behavior, position changes, salivary cortisol, and plasma serotonin levels were assessed in the sows. The piglets’ back test behavior and organ weight were analyzed. The probiotic-supplemented sows exhibited a better HAR index (p = 0.017), which indicated reduced aversion towards humans. The frequency of stereotypies was not influenced by the treatments. However, the supplemented sows spent more time standing (p = 0.054) and less time lying down (p = 0.008). The cortisol level of the supplemented sows was 50% lower (p = 0.047) and the serotonin levels were 11% higher (p = 0.034) than control animals. The multistrain piglets were more passive and less resistant (p = 0.076) in the back test. The organ weights were not influenced by treatments. In conclusion, the sows supplemented with probiotics showed less fear and more motivation indicators, while their piglets showed less aggression behaviors.

This study was designed to simulate productive and economic losses due to the withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) from pig diets. Articles that compared diets with AGP (AGP+) or without AGP (AGP–) for pigs were collected from electronic databases and the performance results were entered in a database. A meta-analysis was performed following the sequence: graphical analysis, correlation, and variance-covariance. The performance results observed in the meta-analysis, feed cost, and AGP costs were used to build equations to estimate the economic effect of withdrawing AGP. The database comprised 81 scientific articles containing 103 experiments totalizing 42,923 pigs. Avilamycin (24.7 %) was the most frequent AGP in the database, followed by Colistin (15.4 %), Tiamulin (11.7 %), Tylosin (8.0 %), Lincomycin (9.4 %), and Bacitracin (5.4 %). Weight gain (p < 0.05) increased in AGP+ diets during post-weaning (6.5 %). However, there was no effect of AGP on weight gain of growing-finishing pigs. There was better (p < 0.05) feed conversion in pigs fed AGP+ diets in all rearing phases. Weight gain and feed conversion improved (p < 0.05) with the addition of Avilamycin, Bacitracin, and Tylosin. AGP withdrawal in the post-weaning phase increased feed costs by US$ 0.86 per animal and in growing-finishing phase the increase was US$ 3.11. Thus, pigs fed AGP+ diets have a better performance than pigs fed AGP- diets and the withdrawal of AGP increases feed costs.