The ever-increasing animal feed costs are driving many vulnerable communities involved in animal husbandry out of business.The high cost is mainly driven by the protein source, which represents the ...most expensive component in animal feed. In conventional feed, protein is obtained mainly from soybean and fish meal (SFM).The present study explored potential of partially replacing this SFM with black soldier fly prepupae meal (BSFPM) in Cobb 500 broiler chicken diets. A SFM-based diet was compared to three experimental diets formulated by partially substituting SFM with BSFPM at 13.8, 27.4, and 42.0% of the crude protein (CP) in the starter feed and 11.0, 37.2, and 55.5% of the CP in the finisher feed of diets D1, D2, and D3, respectively. Dietary effects on average daily feed intake, average daily body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, carcass characteristics, breast meat sensory attributes, and the economic implication of their use in broiler production were evaluated. Replacement of SFM with BSFPM did not affect daily feed intake, daily body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, aroma or taste of cooked breast meat. A 16.0% higher Cost Benefit Ratio and 25.0% better Return on Investment was recorded when the birds were reared on the highest concentration of black soldier fly (D3) compared to the conventional diet which was 19.0% more expensive. The implication of these findings for the promotion of insect mass production enterprises for animal feed protein, and their potential for income generation and job creation particularly in developing countries is discussed.
The effects of feeding diets containing sunflower and wheat middlings pre-treated with fibre-degrading enzymes were investigated. Based on hatch body weight (BW), 288 Ross-708 male broiler chicks ...were placed in cages (six birds/cage). Diets were: 1) positive control (PC), a maize–soybean positive control; 2) negative control (NC), PC plus untreated sunflower meal (USM) and wheat middlings (UWM); and 3) four test diets in which USM and UWM were replaced with pre-treated sunflower (TSM) and wheat middlings (TWM) at 25% (NC25), 50% (NC50), 75% (NC75) and 100% (NC100). The pre-treated feedstuffs were mixed with 1% of FDE in a ratio of 1:2 w/w for feedstuff:water and incubated for 24 hours at 40 °C, and oven-dried before feed preparation. Diets were formulated for two phases (starter, 0–21 d) and finisher (22–42 d). Diets were allocated in a completely randomized design (eight replicates per diet) and birds had free access to feed and water. Bodyweight (BW) and feed intake (FI) were monitored by phase, and one bird per cage was sacrificed on days 21 and 42 for samples. The BW and BW gain (BWG) of NC up to NC50 were not different relative to PC, but NC75 and NC100 were lower than PC throughout the study. On day 21, liver weight had increased linearly and on day 42, tibia length and diameter linearly decreased with the inclusion of TSM and TWM. In conclusion, TSM and TWM at low levels did not affect performance while high inclusion levels reduced the performance of the broilers.
Climate change has increased the frequency and severity of frequent drought in the Kenya arid and semiarid lands with resultant fodder and water shortages. In order to adapt to these longer and less ...predictable droughts, keeping of camels has been adopted as a coping strategy in grappling with the vagaries of climate change. Camels are both grazers and browsers of a broad spectrum of preferred forages whose nutrient composition is not well documented. The objective of this study was to identify and determine the chemical composition of forage species mostly preferred by lactating Somali camels in Laikipia County, Kenya. Lactating Somali camels and their calves were monitored while browsing and grazing in the rangelands during the wet and dry seasons from August to November 2019. The forage species were ranked on the basis of bite count. The most browsed forages identified through observation were sampled, identified by the local and scientific names, and analyzed for proximate composition, detergent fiber fractions, and in vitro dry matter digestibility. The most browsed forage species were Acacia nubica (22.6%), Acacia seyal (47.3%), Cucumis aculeatus (7.2%), Euclea divinorum (11.1%), Hibiscus parrifolia (11.9%) during the wet season and Barleria acanthoides (22.9%), Balanites aegyptiaca (15.5%), Cynodon dactylon (11.7%), Lycium europaeum (32%), and Pollichia campestris (17.8%) during the dry season. Shrubs constituted 60%, trees 30%, and grasses 10% of the most preferred forage species. The preferred browsed and grazed species had a range of 7.1% ± 0.4% to 25.7% ± 1.2% crude protein on a dry matter basis, 29.1% ± 2.7% to 74.0% ± 7% for neutral detergent fiber concentrations, and 43.4% ± 0.2% to 81.6% ± 0.3% for in vitro dry matter digestibility. The study indicates that trees and shrubs with high crude protein and low neutral detergent fiber concentrations were more preferred, indicating that forage nutritive value affected the forage preference by the camels.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of varying roughage and concentrate proportions, in diet of crossbreed dairy cattle, on the composition and associated functional genes of ...rumen and fecal microbiota. We also explored fecal samples as a proxy for rumen liquor samples. Six crossbred dairy cattle were reared on three diets with an increasing concentrate and reducing roughage amount in three consecutive 10-day periods. After each period, individual rumen liquor and fecal samples were collected and analyzed through shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Average relative abundance of identified Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) and microbial functional roles from all animals were compared between diets and sample types (fecal and rumen liquor). Results indicated that dietary modifications significantly affected several rumen and fecal microbial OTUs. In the rumen, an increase in dietary concentrate resulted in an upsurge in the abundance of Proteobacteria, while reducing the proportions of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Conversely, changes in microbial composition in fecal samples were not consistent with dietary modification patterns. Microbial functional pathway classification identified that carbohydrate metabolism and protein metabolism pathways dominated microbial roles. Assessment of dietary effects on the predicted functional roles of these microbiota revealed that a high amount of dietary concentrate resulted in an increase in central carbohydrate metabolism and a corresponding reduction in protein synthesis. Moreover, we identified several microbial stress-related responses linked to dietary changes. Bacteroides and Clostridium genera were the principal hosts of these microbial functions. Therefore, the roughage to concentrate proportion has more influence on the microbial composition and microbial functional genes in rumen samples than fecal samples. As such, we did not establish a significant relationship between the rumen and fecal metagenome profiles, and the rumen and fecal microbiota from one animal did not correlate more than those from different animals.
In this study bacterial populations were identified in the rumen of zebu cattle fed various diets and classified taxonomically with metagenomic sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Twenty-four (24) ...heifers were used in a completely randomized experimental design to test the effect of the diets. Treatment 1 consisted of range grass hay. Treatment 2 was composed of the hay diet augmented with sun-dried cassava leaves. Treatment 3 comprised hay plus sun-dried azolla. Treatments 4 to 6 were similar to treatments 1 to 3. but with a basal diet of Brachiaria Mulato II hay. Rumen liquor samples were collected from the heifers, from which a total of 192 DNA samples were amplified and the resulting 16S rRNA sequences were compared with those in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information BLAST database using MetagenAssist. Bioinformatics analyses indicated that 17 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were present at phylum level, of which 43.3% were Firmicutes, 27.2% Bacteroidetes, 22.8% Proteobacteria and 1.7% Euryarchaeota. The remaining OTUs were Cyanobacteria (1.4%) and Chloroflexi (1%) with Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Spirochaetes, Tenericutes, Planctomycetes, Elusimicrobia, Lentisphaerae, Armatimonadetes, Fibrobacteres, Synergistetes and Arthropoda all below 1% of the organisms present. Time and diet both affected (P<0.05) the abundance of microbes, but not their diversity in the rumen. Thus, these diets could affect the performance of animals. Keywords: 16S rRNA, communal composition, diets, microbial diversity, ruminal contents
The potential for rabbit production in Kenya is high. However, high morbidity and mortality of domestic rabbits were reported.
The aim of the study was to determine the pathology, prevalence and the ...predisposing factors to coccidiosis in domestic rabbits in selected regions in Kenya.
A total of 61 farms keeping rabbits in six different counties were visited in the survey. A total of 2680 live rabbits were examined and 61 rabbits and 302 fecal samples were randomly collected from the farms and examined for coccidian oocysts by ante-mortem and post-mortem methods. The predisposing factors to coccidiosis were assessed through questionnaires and direct observation. Chi square (χ(2)) statistics was used with P values < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
Of the 302 fecal samples, 85% (P < 0.001) contained coccidian oocysts and 2% harbored nematode eggs (Passalurus ambiguous). The overall prevalence of Eimeria spp. infestation was 85.1% in the study area and 90.2% in the individual rabbits, while prevalence of intestinal coccidiosis and hepatic coccidiosis was 29.5% and 11.5%, respectively. Higher counts of coccidian oocysts per gram of feces were recovered in weaners than in growers and adults rabbits (P < 0.001), rabbits that were kept in high density group housing (P < 0.05) and housing with more than two tiers.
This study identified group housing of rabbits of different ages and inadequate control of concurrent infections as the major risk factors associated with coccidiosis in domestic rabbits in Kenya.
Camel milk production and marketing within the peri-urban areas within pastoral areas is emerging and has high potential due to sendentarization and urbanization of an increasing number of local ...inhabitants. Performance of grazing camels in these areas is poor due to inadequate feed resources, particularly during the dry season. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of supplementing lactating camels with milled Acacia tortilis pods and ‘Chalbi salt’ on milk yield, calf growth and its economic potential in the peri-urban area of Marsabit town, Kenya. Twenty Somali camels in early lactation (1-4 weeks post-partum) and parities 2 or 3 and their calves were recruited for the study. The dams and their calves were penned and fed individually with the supplements where applicable. The treatments were: browsing only (B), browsing and ‘Chalbi salt’ (BC), 2 kg/day milled Acacia tortilis pods, ‘Chalbi salt’ and browsing (BC2A) and 4 kg/day milled Acacia tortilis pods, ‘Chalbi salt’ and browsing (BC4A). Five camels were randomly allocated to each treatment based on initial live weight in a completely randomized design and data collection done for 90 days. During each milking, the two left or right quarters were alternately reserved for the calf, while the remaining two were milked by hand. Milk yields were recorded daily in the morning and evening for 90 days while the calves were weighed on weekly basis for the same period. The overall total mean milk yield during the experimental period ranged from 233.0 to 298.0 litres during the short rains and dry season, respectively. The mean calf weight gains over the study period were 15.2, 19.0, 32.2 and 39.0 kg for B, BC, BC2A and BC4A, respectively, with BC4A and BC2A being higher than B. Supplementing camels under treatment BC4A was profitable as it resulted in both higher milk yield and calf weight gain and hence positive net gain.
Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(1): 117-122, June 2021
Methane is a greenhouse gas with disastrous consequences when released to intolerable levels. Ruminants produce methane during gut fermentation releasing it through belching and/or flatulence. To ...better understand the diversity of methanogens and functional enzymes associated with methane metabolism in dairy cows, 48 samples; 6 rumen fluid and 42 dung samples were collected from Kenyan and Tanzanian farms and were analyzed using shotgun metagenomic approach. Statistical analysis for species frequency, relative abundance, percentages, and
P
values were undertaken using MS Excel and IBM SPSS statistics 20. The results showed archaea from 5 phyla, 9 classes, 16 orders, 25 families, 59 genera, and 87 species. Gut sites significantly contributed to the presence and distribution of various methanogens (
P
< 0.01). The class Methanomicrobia was abundant in the rumen samples (~ 39%) and dung (~ 44%). The most abundant (~ 17%) methanogen species identified was
Methanocorpusculum labreanum
. However, some taxonomic class data were unclassified (~ 6% in the rumen and ~ 4% in the dung). Five functional enzymes: Glycine/Serine hydroxymethyltransferase, Formylmethanofuran—tetrahydromethanopterin N-formyltransferase, Formate dehydrogenase, anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, and catalase–peroxidase associated with methane metabolism were identified. KEGG functional metabolic analysis for the enzymes identified during this study was significant (
P
< 0.05) for five metabolism processes. The methanogen species abundances from this study in numbers/kind can be utilized exclusively or jointly as indirect selection criteria for methane mitigation. When targeting functional genes of the microbes/animal for better performance, the concern not to affect the host animal’s functionality should be undertaken. Future studies should consider taxonomically categorizing unclassified species.
Analysis of shotgun metagenomic data generated from next generation sequencing platforms can be done through a variety of bioinformatic pipelines. These pipelines employ different sets of ...sophisticated bioinformatics algorithms which may affect the results of this analysis. In this study, we compared two commonly used pipelines for shotgun metagenomic analysis: MG-RAST and Kraken 2, in terms of taxonomic classification, diversity analysis, and usability using their primarily default parameters. Overall, the two pipelines detected similar abundance distributions in the three most abundant taxa Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. Within bacterial domain, 497 genera were identified by both pipelines, while an additional 694 and 98 genera were solely identified by Kraken 2 and MG-RAST, respectively. 933 species were detected by the two algorithms. Kraken 2 solely detected 3550 species, while MG-RAST identified 557 species uniquely. For archaea, Kraken 2 generated 105 and 236 genera and species, respectively, while MG-RAST detected 60 genera and 88 species. 54 genera and 72 species were commonly detected by the two methods. Kraken 2 had a quicker analysis time (~4 hours) while MG-RAST took approximately 2 days per sample. This study revealed that Kraken 2 and MG-RAST generate comparable results and that a reliable high-level overview of sample is generated irrespective of the pipeline selected. However, Kraken 2 generated a more accurate taxonomic identification given the higher number of “Unclassified” reads in MG-RAST. The observed variations at the genus level show that a main restriction is using different databases for classification of the metagenomic data. The results of this research indicate that a more inclusive and representative classification of microbiomes may be achieved through creation of the combined pipelines.
The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of gastrointestinal nematodosis on live weight gain (LWG) of sheep and goats kept in smallholder farms in Kenya. A total of 307 sheep and goats ...from smallholder farms were sampled using a 2-stage cluster and systematic random approach. Sampled farms were visited once a month for nine months during which a health and production survey questionnaire was administered, animals weighed and fecal samples taken for fecal egg count. Descriptive statistics and a generalized linear mixed model were performed in SAS. The mean LWG of suckling kids and lambs was low (mean
=
46
g/day). High fecal egg count and lack of feed supplementation were identified as the main factors limiting growth. Improved helminth control and nutrition are required to optimize production.
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