A series of experiments have been conducted to determine the effect of feeding blends of grains naturally-contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins on behavior and metabolism of starter pigs, mature horses, broiler chickens, laying hens and turkeys. Blends of naturallycontaminated corn and wheat were found to contain deoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fusaric acid. Feed intake...

International Poultry Production — Volume 14 Number 1 Ergot toxicity or ergotism is caused by ingestion of cereal or grass grains infected by the fungus Claviceps purpurea. The toxic agents (alkaloids) are produced by the fungus Claviceps purprea which attacks the embryo of the developing kernel forming a sclerotium, a black tangle of vegetative fungal strands. The sclerotium may contain more t...

Nutritional strategies to minimize Salmonella in food animal production are one of the key components in producing safer food. The current European approach is to use a farm-to-fork strategy, where each sector must implement measures to minimize and reduce Salmonella contamination. In the pre-harvest phase, this means that all available tools need to be used such as implementation of biosecurit...

Amino acids (AA) are important in poultry nutrition not only for protein deposition, but also for other metabolic functions; such as improving immune and gut functions. Although, some table values are available on amino acids requirement, AA requirements may vary due to changes in dietary composition and breeding selection. Thus amino acids requirements have remained an ongoing research topic. ...

The commercial broiler industry is a modern day agricultural success due to popular consumer demand, healthy flocks, and least cost production. Preventive medicine is the key for economical control of disease in integrated broiler companies, and includes quarantine-eradication, controlled-exposure, and preventive feed medication. Respiratory and enteric diseases present a continuing, potential ...

Use of antibiotics as feed additives in poultry production has been linked to the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in farm workers, consumer poultry products and the environs of confined poultry operations. There are concerns that these resistant bacteria may be transferred to communities near these operations; however, environmental pathways of exposure are not well documented. We ass...

Antibiotics are used by the veterinarians and poultry industry to enhance growth rates, health of the birds, feed efficiency, egg production and for therapeutic reasons to reduce the incidence of poultry diseases. Antibiotics had been used in poultry production for both therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Most poultry farmers in Nigeria have employed the use of various antibiotics with or wi...