The trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of a by-product of solid state fermentation (Synergen™ (SGN), Alltech Inc, Nicholasville KY, USA) on broiler performance and health. One thousand two hundred and eighty male Ross 308 broilers were used in a 42 day pen trial. The trial was designed as a 2 × 2 factorial, with two diet specifications (standard and reformulated) plus or minus SGN (0 and 200 g/t, SGN replaced with commercial enzyme Ronozyme™ at 150 g/t) to give four dietary treatments in total in a corn-soy based diet formulated to commercial standards. Birds fed the reduced energy diets had significantly lower cumulative feed intakes at 42 d (P < 0.01) compared to those on the full specification standard diet. There were no significant differences in broiler body weight due to treatments at any age. Significant improvements (P < 0.05) in FCR, primarily due to SGN inclusion in the feed, were observed for all weekly reported data. There were no significant differences in either mortality or EPEF for any of the treatment diets. The present study indicates that SGN, a by-product of solid state fermentation (SSF) can improve feed conversion of broilers fed a corn-soy diet.

An Aloe vera and manuka honey commercial supplement (Cow and Calf Formula, DairyCare Ltd, NZ) was fed to approximately 40% of a commercial New Zealand herd with over 1000 cows in lactation following spring calving (August) until the end of lactation (April the following year). The 5 ml of supplement was added automatically to the feed for the treatment group via transponder identification units during at milking. At peak lactation (until October) there was a 5.5% increase (11.76 versus 12.41 litres per milking for control and treated cows respectively; P < 0.001) in yield for the supplemented cows, and over the whole season there was a 4.7% milk yield increase (8.12 versus 8.50 litres per milking for control and treated cows respectively). Data from December and January (high summer) showed no significant increase in milk yield, which was due to a major drought in the area and loss of grazed forage intakes. From these results, it was considered that that the Aloe vera and manuka honey, acting either separately or in synergy, resulted in more nutrients being available for milk production.

Feline degenerative joint disease causes pain and disability and therefore represents a welfare concern for captive animals. Alternatives to traditional pharmaceutical therapies are gaining popularity and this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an egg-shell membrane therapy in captive cheetahs and leopards. Seven animals were treated with SteadfastTM and monitored for radiographic changes (n = 6) and lameness score (n = 7) over a 42 day period. A reduction in lameness was determined over the course of the study (p = 0.01), and improved orthopaedic status detected in 50% (3/6) of animals via radiographic examination. Surprisingly, a negative dose response was detected, whereby animals receiving lower doses exhibited the most marked changes in lameness score. Despite the small sample size and subjective scoring of lameness, this preliminary study demonstrates the need for further investigation into the use of an eggshell membrane-based supplement to improve mobility in captive felids with degenerative joint disease.

Genistein and daidzein are isoflavones which are reported to influence the reproductive system in a variety of mammalian species. This pilot study aimed to determine if dietary isoflavones could potentially influence reproductive tract histology or morphology in domestic cats, when consumed during the postnatal development period. Cats were maintained on either treatment (150 µg/g DM genistein and 150 µg/g DM daidzein, n = 4) or control (isoflavone free, n = 8) diets from weaning, up to 414 (±17.2) days post-weaning. Reproductive tissues were collected during routine ovario-hysterectomy and examined for histology and sex steroid receptor expression. Findings indicate that these dietary isoflavones influenced the expression of oestrogen receptor α (ERα) and oestrogen receptor β (ERβ), and progesterone receptor in feline reproductive tissues. One cat in the treatment group developed suppurative endometritis, but no evidence of uterotrophic or histological changes were found in any other cats. The potential to alter expression of hormone receptors in the reproductive tract of domestic cats exposed to genistein and daidzein warrants further investigation.

The efficacy of the probiotic feed additive, Calsporin® (CAL; Bacillus subtilis C-3102), included in broiler diets at 50 mg/kg was evaluated using statistical meta-analysis of data from four different studies conducted using broilers from day-old to market weight at 42 days of age. The body weight, average daily gain, feed intake, feed to gain ratio, mortality and European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) data from each experiment were tested for homogeneity between trials before being pooled and analysed in combination to determine whether benefits were consistent independent of trial site and conditions. CAL supplementation significantly improved weight gain (P = 0.0037) between 1 and 21 days of age (3.3%) and feed conversion ratio (P = 0.0492) between 22 and 42 days of age (3.0%). Over the entire experimental period (day 1 to day 42 of age), broilers fed the CAL diets had significantly better (P = 0.0142) feed conversion (2.6%) and higher (P = 0.0062) EPEF (4.6%) compared to the controls. Birds fed diets supplemented with CAL were 1.6% heavier than controls at 42 days of age, a near-significant trend (P = 0.0558). The results demonstrated that CAL in broiler diets, added at an inclusion rate of 50 mg/kg, can be beneficial in terms of broiler performance.