The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of inclusion of Bio-Mos in the growing ration for weaned lambs on growth rate, feed efficiency, and clinical measures of health of the lambs. Mannan oligosaccharides (MOS), when included as a supplement to the diet, have been shown to have a positive effect on immune response in several species and in turn, positively affect the growth of the animal. MOS are commercially available as BioMos®, which is a nutritional supplement manufactured by Alltech, Inc. out of Nicholasville, KY. Forty-seven weaned Suffolk × Hampshire (n=47) lambs were used in this trial. Of the group, twenty (n=20) were ewe lambs and twentyseven (n=27) were wether lambs. The lambs were placed on their assigned diets and remained on the trial for a four week period (d+28). All responses evaluated in this study were influenced by time (p < 0.05) over the 28-d trial. A GENDER × WEEK interaction was observed for ADG and feed conversion (p < 0.05). Control lambs tended (p = 0.10) to have a higher intake over the 28-d period in comparison to Bio-Mos fed lambs. There were no statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between control and Bio-Mos fed lambs for any of the growth parameters that were measured. There was a tendency (p = 0.10) for GENDER × WEEK to influence intake. Gender also tended to interacted with diet (GENDER × DIET, p = 0.09) to influence intake over the trial period. A GENDER × WEEK interaction was observed (p < 0.05) for feed conversion. Diet influenced fecal pH (p < 0.05). This study indicates Bio-Mos had minimal influence on growth and health.

The main aim of the studies was to evaluate the modes of actions of Bio-Mos and the effect that it has on intestinal health as well as performance in broiler chickens. For the purpose of this study there were 2 main objectives. The first was to determine the effect of Bio-Mos as well as soluble mannan on salmonella colonization and to do this it was necessary to develop an in vivo pathogen challenge model, specifically designed for salmonella, using the chicken as animal model. The aim with this salmonella assay was to design a model that could accurately determine the efficacy of different components of the yeast cell wall at reducing or eliminating salmonella colonisation in chickens. The second objective was to evaluate the effect of Bio-Mos with or without the addition of a soluble mannan, fed at different inclusion levels, on chicken health. Specific parameters measured included feed conversion ratios (FCR), volatile fatty acid (VFA) analysis, antibiotic resistance amongst coliform populations, immunoglobulin quantification and gut morphology. Gut morphology measurements included villi height and width, crypt depth, muscularis thickness, goblet cell size and goblet cell density. The salmonella assay trial was not able to yield positive results for either the cell wall preparations or the positive control, indicating that there are some external factors that have to be addressed before this assay can be used to draw any accurate conclusions from. The second section of this study did show FCR differences between some of the treatments, but did not show numerically large differences for VFA production or antibiotic resistance, however the histological evaluation did yield interesting results. Measurements based on the villi height and width, crypt depth and muscularis thickness showed no significant differences between treatments but there was a treatment effect on the goblet cells. The goblet cells of chickens receiving cell wall preparations were statistically significantly larger and present at a higher density than those of the control treatment birds. In an attempt to develop the salmonella assay several aspects of the existing assay model were altered or eliminated. It is possible that the assay can work with some more adjustments, but due to time constrictions it was not possible to further explore alternative approaches. Little research has been done on the effect of nutrition on the goblet cells in chicken intestines. The results noted in this report warrant a more in-depth investigation into the exact modes of action resulting in the differences in goblet cells observed. The use of cell wall preparations on a commercial level holds many advantages, as cell wall preparations appear to affect animal health in a positive way. / Dissertation (MSc (Agric) : Animal Nutrition)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / MSc (Agric) / unrestricted

A study was carried out to investigate the effects of a drug-free feeding program on broiler performances. A total of 2,496 Cobb 500 chicks were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments with each group replicated 13 times. The four diets evaluated were: 1) negative control (NC): basal diet without growth promoter or coccidiostat; 2) positive control (PC): diet 1 + Lincomycin; 3) Program 1 (PG1): diet 1 + Bio-Mos®, Vegpro®, MTB-100®, Acid Pak 4-Way®, and All-Lac XCL®; 4) Program 2 (PG2): diet 1 + Bio-Mos® and All-Lac XCL®. Additives were used at commercially recommended rates. All chicks were vaccinated with a live oocyst coccidia vaccine on d 0 at the hatchery. Four phases of feeding were used during the trial with changes occurring at d 14, 28, and 35. Performance values measured were body weight, feed intake, yield, and mortality, while body weight gain and feed conversation rate (FCR) were calculated. Chicks were challenged with coccidia at d 14 to evaluate the protective effect of the feeding programs and coccidia vaccination. Segments of duodenum, ileum, and ceca were removed to measure intestinal morphology. Final body weight gains of birds on PC (2.736 kg) were greater (P < 0.05) compared to NC (2.650 kg), while birds on PG1 (2.681 kg) and PG2 (2.710 kg) were similar to positive and negative control. Overall, feed intake was similar across the treatments with the exception of period 2 (15 to 28 days) when birds consumed more (P < 0.05) of PC and PG1 compared to NC. Cumulative FCR at d 35 and 49 was improved (P < 0.05) in birds consuming PC and PG2 when compared to NC. Overall, birds consuming NC had greater mortality (P < 0.05; 12%) compared to PC (7.6 %), PG1 (4.6%) and PG2 (6.7 %) with most of the mortality occurring from d 0 to d 28. Mortality for birds consuming PG1 was also lower (P < 0.05) compared to the PC. There were no dietary effects on lesion scores or yields of processed products at d 42 (females) or d 49 (males). Interaction of dietary treatments with age and days of age alone showed effects (P < 0.0001) on the morphology of duodenum, ileum, and ceca. Lamina propria in ceca was thicker (P < 0.008) in birds consuming NC compared to PG1 and PG2. This study indicated that feeding birds without growth promoters resulted in greater mortality and decreased performance compared to using an antibiotic, while Bio-Mos® in combination with All-Lac XCL® helped to reduce the negative effects. / Master of Science

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of roxarsone and Bio-Mos® on broiler production, gut morphology and bone strength. Three thousand and ten broilers were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary corn-soybean meal based treatments: 1) negative control (NEG), basal diet; 2) positive control (POS; NEG + 27 ppm Bacitracin MD); 3) roxarsone (ROX; POS + 50 ppm of roxarsone); 4) Bio-Mos® (BIO; POS + 0.15 and 0.5% Bio-Mos® added during the starter and grower periods, respectively); 5) Bio-Mos®+All-Lac XCL (BIO+LAC; POS + 0.2, 0.1, and 0.05% Bio-Mos® during the starter, grower and finishing periods, respectively and 0.25g All-Lac XCL/bird sprayed at hatchery). On day 14, 7 of the 14 replicate pens/treatment were challenged with Eimeria maxima (3 x 104 oocysts/bird). Tibias were collected on day 28 and 49 to determine bone-breaking strength. Non-challenged birds had higher body weight gains (BWG) and lower feed conversion (FCR) from day 0 to 49 than challenged birds (P < 0.05). Jejunal crypt depth was increased in challenged broilers compared to non-challenged broilers at 28 days-of-age (P < 0.05). From day 0 to 35, ROX birds had lower BWG and FI than BIO and BIO+LAC birds (P < 0.05), while FCR was similar. Supplementing roxarsone resulted in reduced feed intake and BWG, but no significant differences were noted in FCR compared to feeding Bio-Mos®. ROX fed broilers had decreased ileal crypt depth compared to all other dietary treatments (P < 0.05). Muscle As concentration was lower than FDA allowable limits in broilers fed ROX without a withdrawal period at 28 days-of-age. Including roxarsone or Bio-Mos® did not generally improve production compared to broilers fed the negative diet. / Master of Science

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