Os objetivos desse estudo foram avaliar os efeitos do pré-emurchecimento e da aplicação de inoculante bacteriano-enzimático (IBE) ou ácido propiônico tamponado (APT) sobre as características de fermentação, composição química, perfil microbiológico, parâmetros físicos, estabilidade aeróbica e eficiência no processo de ensilagem de Tifton 85 (Cynodon sp.) na produção de silagem armazenada na forma de fardos grandes revestidos por filme plástico. Silagens com cinco níveis de matéria seca (250 g kg -1 , 350 g kg -1 , 450 g kg -1 , 550 g kg -1 e 650 g kg -1 MS) foram confeccionadas na ausência de IBE. Outros três tratamentos consistiram de níveis de matéria seca (250 g kg -1 , 450 g kg -1 e 650 g kg -1 MS) na presença de aditivo bacteriano-enzimático (IBE), e um tratamento adicional, onde os fardos foram submetidos à pré-emurchecimento até atingir o maior nível de MS (650 g kg -1 MS), foi pulverizada uma solução contendo APT. As amostras foram tomadas imediatamente antes (zero hora) e às 6, 12 horas e 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 90 e 180 dias após a ensilagem, para estabelecer curvas de tendência temporal para as características qualitativas de fermentação. As amostras coletadas à zero hora e aos 8, 16, 32, 90 e 180 dias após a ensilagem também foram usadas para determinação da composição química-bromatológica. Nas amostras tomadas à zero hora e aos 32 e 180 dias após a ensilagem foram determinados o perfil microbiológico e alguns parâmetros físico-químicos. A avaliação de perdas foi mensurada indiretamente através da estabilidade aeróbica, nas amostras coletadas aos 32, 90 e 180 dias após a ensilagem. O processo de ensilagem, com o teor de matéria seca de 550 g kg -1 MS foi o mais eficiente, por associar: tempo de emurchecimento intermediário, alta densidade de matéria seca, baixa perda de matéria seca por recolhimento, e por apresentar o maior valor para recuperação de massa digestível, durante a ensilagem. Os tratamentos de maior conteúdo de matéria seca (650 g kg -1 MS) também apresentaram bom desempenho para os parâmetros avaliados, entretanto por necessitarem de um período superior a 24 horas de exposição para atingir o emurchecimento desejado, se submeteram à riscos potencialmente elevados originados de chuvas de ocorrência noturna.O uso de pré-emurchecimento à nível médio de MS, 450 g kg-1 MS, favoreceu as características qualitativas de fermentação e a composição química das silagens de Tifton 85. O uso de APT não melhorou as características qualitativas de fermentação e a composição química das silagens. A utilização de IBE apresentou mínimos benefícios somente nas silagens contendo elevado teor de matéria seca, sendo ineficiente para forragens contendo alta umidade.A ensilagem direta da forragem, sem pré-emurchecimento, produziu uma silagem de menor qualidade, caracterizada por alto conteúdo de nitrogênio amoniacal e uma baixa estabilidade aeróbica. O uso de pré-emurchecimento a conteúdos de matéria seca superiores a 550 g kg -1 MS, levou a restrição no crescimento de microrganismos e consequentemente redução na fermentação, resultando em maior estabilidade aeróbica das silagens produzidas. O uso de IBE foi efetivo quando associado ao conteúdo intermediário de MS (450 g kg -1 MS), resultando em maior estabilidade aeróbica da silagem. O uso de APT, nas silagens com elevado teor de MS (650 g kg -1 MS), não apresentou vantagens em relação aos similares. / The objectives of this work were to study the effects of wilting and microbiological additive or buffered propionic acid (BPA) on the fermentation characteristics, chemical composition, microbiological profile, physical parameters, aerobic stability and efficiency of the ensiling process of Tifton (Cynodon sp.) silage stored in plastic wrapped square bales. The treatments were: five forage dry matter contents (250, 350, 450, 550 and 650 g kg -1 DM), three forage dry matter contents (250, 350 and 650 g kg -1 DM) sprayed with bacterial-enzymatic additive (BEA) and wilted forage (650 g kg -1 DM) sprayed with BPA. Core samples were taken 0, 6 and 12 hours and 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 90 and 180 days of storage. The chemical composition was determined on samples taken 0, 8, 16, 32, 90 and 180 days of storage and the microbiological and physical-chemical parameters on samples taken 0, 32 and 180 days of storage. Aerobically stability was used to indirectly estimate losses on 32, 90 and 180 days of storage. The 550 g kg -1 forage dry matter showed the highest silage efficiency production, due to intermediary wilting time, high dry matter density, low dry matter losses during raking and harvesting, and large digestible mass recovery. The treatments with 650 g kg -1 DM were efficient was well, however, the needed longer time to achieve this final dry matter content (longer than 24 hours) may elevate the risk of rain damage. Wilting to 450 g kg -1 DM favored fermentation qualitative traits and silage quality. BPA showed no effects and BEA did increase aerobic stability in the intermediary silage dry matter (450 g kg -1 ) and showed slight benefits only on higher dry matter silages. The very poor quality direct cut silage showed high levels N-NH3 and low aerobic stability. Microorganism growth and fermentation intensity were inhibited in the wilted silages with 550 and 650 g kg -1 DM, which enhanced aerobic stability. The addition of BPA showed no positive results in the silages with 650 g kg -1 DM.

Foram conduzidos dois experimentos com o intuito de se avaliar o desempenho, características de carcaça e parâmetros ruminais de bovinos Nelore recebendo dietas contendo grãos de milho flint processados de diferentes formas em associação a diferentes aditivos e níveis de FDN de silagem de milho (FDNf). No Experimento 1, 239 tourinhos (PCI=350±26,79kg) foram alojados em 40 baias de acordo com o peso corporal inicial e receberam dietas contendo dois tipos de processamento dos grãos de milho (moagem fina e floculação) e diferentes aditivos (monensina sódica; 25 ppm e formulação A062 a base de virginiamicina; produto teste, não comercial, fornecido pela Ourofino Saúde Animal; nas dosagens de 17 e 25 ppm), totalizando 8 tratamentos. Os dados foram analisados pelo PROC MIXED do SAS. A floculação aumentou o peso final, o ganho de peso diário, a eficiência alimentar, o peso da carcaça quente e tendeu a aumentar o rendimento de carcaça em comparação a moagem fina. Houve tendência de interação entre processamento e fornecimento de aditivos para a ingestão de matéria seca e ganho de peso diário. A floculação reduziu o teor de amido fecal, aumentou a digestibilidade do amido no trato total, aumentou os valores de energia liquida para manutenção e ganho da dieta e o numero médio de papilas ruminais. Os aditivos aumentaram a altura, largura e área das papilas e reduziram a espessura de faixa de queratina em relação ao tratamento controle. Houve tendência das formulações a base de virginiamicina aumentarem o peso da carcaça quente dos animais em comparação com a monensina sódica, mas não em relação ao tratamento controle sem aditivo. A floculação foi mais efetiva para aumentar a digestiblidade do amido no trato total, o valor energético do milho e o desempenho dos bovinos enquanto que os aditivos não foram efetivos para aumentar o valor energético das dietas e a eficiência alimentar dos animais. No Experimento 2, 237 tourinhos (PCI=350±28,49kg) foram alojados em 32 baias de acordo com o peso corporal inicial e receberam dietas contendo dois tipos de processamento (moagem grosseira e floculação) e diferentes níveis de FDNf (4; 7; 10 e 13% MS), totalizando 8 tratamentos. Os dados foram analisados pelo PROC MIXED do SAS. A floculação tendeu a aumentar a eficiência alimentar, o peso da carcaça quente e a espessura de gordura subcutânea, reduziu o teor de amido fecal, aumentou a digestibilidade do amido no trato total como também aumentou os valores de energia liquida para manutenção e para ganho das dietas. Os níveis de FDNf afetaram ingestão de matéria seca e o peso da carcaça quente independente do método de processamento. Houve tendência de aumento linear no GPD e tendência de redução quadrática na eficiência alimentar com inclusão crescente de FDNf. A inclusão de silagem de milho em dietas com alto teor de milho flint reduziu a eficiência alimentar dos animais, mas aumentou o peso da carcaça quente. A floculação aumentou o valor energético do cereal para tourinhos Nelore em dietas com alto teor de energia. / Two experiments were conducted to evaluate animal performace, carcass characteristics and ruminal parameters of Nellore bulls fed with diets containing flint corn processed by different methods in association with additives and FDN levels of corn silage (FDNf).In the first experiment, two hundred and trhirty nine Nellore bulls (IBW=350±26.79kg) were blocked based on their initial body weight and randomly divided into 40 pens. The objective was to evaluate two different corn processing methods (fine ground and steam-flaked corn) and additives (monensin; 25 ppm and A062 formulation based on virginiamycin; test product, non-commercial, provided by Ourofino Saude Animal; 17 or 25 ppm), a total of 8 treatments. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS. Steam-flaking increased the final body weight, average daily gain, feed efficiency, hot carcass weight and tended to increase the carcass yield. There was a tendency of interaction between corn processing and feed additives for dry matter intake and daily weight gain. Steam-flaking decreased fecal starch, increased total tract starch digestibility and increased net energy for maintenance and net energy for gain values of the diet and increased average number of papillae. Additives increased papillae leight, width, and area and decreased keratin strip thickness in comparison to the control diet. There was a tendency of A062 formulations based on virginiamycin to increase hot carcass weight in comparison to monensin, but not in relation to the control treatment, without additive. Steam-flaking was more effective to increase total tract starch digestibility, corn energy values and animal performace while the feed additives were not effective to increase the net energy value of the diets and animal feed efficiency. In the second experiment, two hundred and thirty seven Nellore bulls (IBW=350±28.49kg) were blocked based on their initial body weight and randomly divided into 32 pens. The objective was to evaluate two different corn processing methods (ground and steam-flaked corn) and four FDNf levels (4; 7; 10; 13 %DM), a total of 8 treatments. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS. Steam flaking tended to increase feed efficiency, hot carcass weight and fat thickness, decreased fecal starch, increased total tract starch digestibility and net energy for maintenance and net energy for gain diet values. Independent of corn processing, FDNf levels affected dry matter intake and hot carcass weight. There was a tendency of linear increase in daily weight gain and tendency of quadractic reduction on feed efficiency increasing FDNf levels. Corn silage in high grain diets decreased animal feed efficiency, but increased hot carcass weight. Steam-flaking increased the cereal energy value for Nellore bulls fed grain concentrate diets.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T15:14:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoGabrielaZeferino.pdf: 689643 bytes, checksum: fe7f96d0bbc8bc39399f6762639d8e14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / Fundação Araucária / Four sorghum cultivars were evaluated for silage production and ethanol, two hybrid saccharine Sugargraze and ADV 2010 a varietal feed the Formoso and the BRS 506 varietal saccharine. To analyze the chemical characteristics was used completely randomized design. To compare the means used the Shapiro-Wilk test (P <0.05). In this context, the objectives of this study were to evaluate biomass production, evaluate the solid fractions and net production of ethanol and sugar, silage and mulch the entire plant. From the chemical analysis of cultivars, one can get the results of dry matter, organic matter, total carbohydrates, crude protein, ether extract, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and hemicellulose. For hybrid sorghum Sugargraze, both the production of biomass, solid fractions and net production of ethanol and sugar, whole plant silage and bagasse stood out among the other cultivars. The chemical composition of sorghum cultivars, evaluating the whole plant and bagasse for silage, indicates that there is no difference, can use as both a one for silage. / Quatro cultivares de sorgo foram avaliados para produção de silagem e etanol, sendo dois híbridos sacarino Sugargraze e AVD 2010, um forrageiro varietal o Formos e o BRS 506 sacarino varietal. Para análise das características bromatológica foi utilizado delineamento inteiramente casualizado. Para comparação de médias utilizou-se o teste de Shapiro-Wilk (P<0,05). Neste contexto, os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar a produção de biomassa, avaliar as frações solida e liquida produção de etanol e açúcar, silagem da planta inteira e bagaço. A partir das analises bromatológica dos cultivares, pode-se obter os resultados de matéria seca, matéria orgânica, carboidratos totais, proteína bruta, extrato etéreo, fibra em detergente neutro, fibra em detergente ácido e hemicelulose. Para o sorgo hibrido Sugargraze, tanto a produção de biomassa, as frações solida e liquida produção de etanol e açúcar, silagem da planta inteira e bagaço se destacou dentre as demais cultivares. A composição bromatológica das cultivares de sorgo, avaliando a planta inteira e bagaço para silagem, indica que não há diferença, podendo utilizar tanto uma quanto outra para silagem

<p>One of the most serious and economically important defects caused by clostridia in milk products is the late blowing of semi-hard cheeses.</p><p>Clostridia occur naturally in soil and can contaminate milk through crops contaminated by dung and soil followed by a less successful silage process, that give them opportunity to grow unaerobically. When anaerobic conditions occur, such as storage of semi-hard cheese, they ferment lactic acid to butyric acid and the gases CO₂ and H₂.</p><p>At the fusion of Arla and MD Foods, a series of changes were conducted on the MPN method for lactic acid fermentation for clostridia in milk. These changes resulted in an increased accuracy due to an increased number of test tubes and the change of media from MRCM to BBB, Bryant & Burkey Broth, that was thought to be more selective for <em>Cl. tyrobutyricum</em>, the organism mostly found in hard cheese. When the number of dairy farmers that were given quality reduction fines increased, the new method was suspected and a validation was conducted.</p><p>The validation included inoculation of different clostridia and bacillus strains into BBB substrate and enzymatic testing of positive samples with Rapid ID 32A. The inoculation result showed that almost all tested different clostridia strains could grow in BBB substrate.</p><p>Test on BBB positive tubes with Rapid ID 32A resulted in 95% clostridia of which 70% was <em>Cl. tyrobutyricum</em>. These results correlated well with earlier studies on MRCM substrate and the increase in quality reduction fines probably depended on the larger number of test tubes used in the new method rather than the change of substrate.</p> / <p>Clostridier eller främst <em>Cl. tyrobutyricum</em> är den art som i de flesta fall orsakar feljästa ellersönderjästa ostar, vilket är ett välkänt problem inom mejeriindustrin. Clostridiesporer finns naturligt i jord och hamnar i mjölkråvaran via gröda som kontaminerats med gödsel och jord och som tillsammans med en mindre lyckad ensileringsprocess gör att clostridierna växer till. När anaeroba förhållanden uppstår, såsom vid lagring av hårdost, förjäser clostridierna laktat och smörsyra varvid vätgas och koldioxid bildas.</p><p>I samband med fusionen av Arla/MD Foods, genomfördes metodförändringar för MPN-metoden för laktatjäsande clostridier i mjölk, som används inom mjölkbedömningen. Dessa förändringar innebar en skärpning i noggrannheten genom att man ökade antal rör, samt ett substratbyte från MRCM till BBB, Bryant & Burkey Broth, som ansågs mer gynnsamt för <em>Cl. tyrobutyricum</em>.</p><p>Då antalet mjölkproducenter som fick kvalitetsavdrag ökade, riktades misstankar mot den nya metoden och en validering genomfördes.</p><p>Resultatet av valideringen, som innebar ympning av renkulturer, utodling av positiva rör med efterföljande typning, visade att de flesta av de tillsatta stammarna av clostridier hade förmågan att ge ett positivt utslag vid tillsats av renkulturer. Utodling och typning av positiva rör visade att ca 70 % av de positiva utslagen innehöll <em>Cl. tyrobutyricum</em> och hela 95 % någon clostridieart. Dessa resultat korrelerar med tidigare studier på MRCM-substrat och ökningen av positiva utslag berodde troligtvis på det ökade antalet rör som den nya metoden innebar.</p>

One of the most serious and economically important defects caused by clostridia in milk products is the late blowing of semi-hard cheeses. Clostridia occur naturally in soil and can contaminate milk through crops contaminated by dung and soil followed by a less successful silage process, that give them opportunity to grow unaerobically. When anaerobic conditions occur, such as storage of semi-hard cheese, they ferment lactic acid to butyric acid and the gases CO2 and H2. At the fusion of Arla and MD Foods, a series of changes were conducted on the MPN method for lactic acid fermentation for clostridia in milk. These changes resulted in an increased accuracy due to an increased number of test tubes and the change of media from MRCM to BBB, Bryant &amp; Burkey Broth, that was thought to be more selective for Cl. tyrobutyricum, the organism mostly found in hard cheese. When the number of dairy farmers that were given quality reduction fines increased, the new method was suspected and a validation was conducted. The validation included inoculation of different clostridia and bacillus strains into BBB substrate and enzymatic testing of positive samples with Rapid ID 32A. The inoculation result showed that almost all tested different clostridia strains could grow in BBB substrate. Test on BBB positive tubes with Rapid ID 32A resulted in 95% clostridia of which 70% was Cl. tyrobutyricum. These results correlated well with earlier studies on MRCM substrate and the increase in quality reduction fines probably depended on the larger number of test tubes used in the new method rather than the change of substrate. / Clostridier eller främst Cl. tyrobutyricum är den art som i de flesta fall orsakar feljästa ellersönderjästa ostar, vilket är ett välkänt problem inom mejeriindustrin. Clostridiesporer finns naturligt i jord och hamnar i mjölkråvaran via gröda som kontaminerats med gödsel och jord och som tillsammans med en mindre lyckad ensileringsprocess gör att clostridierna växer till. När anaeroba förhållanden uppstår, såsom vid lagring av hårdost, förjäser clostridierna laktat och smörsyra varvid vätgas och koldioxid bildas. I samband med fusionen av Arla/MD Foods, genomfördes metodförändringar för MPN-metoden för laktatjäsande clostridier i mjölk, som används inom mjölkbedömningen. Dessa förändringar innebar en skärpning i noggrannheten genom att man ökade antal rör, samt ett substratbyte från MRCM till BBB, Bryant &amp; Burkey Broth, som ansågs mer gynnsamt för Cl. tyrobutyricum. Då antalet mjölkproducenter som fick kvalitetsavdrag ökade, riktades misstankar mot den nya metoden och en validering genomfördes. Resultatet av valideringen, som innebar ympning av renkulturer, utodling av positiva rör med efterföljande typning, visade att de flesta av de tillsatta stammarna av clostridier hade förmågan att ge ett positivt utslag vid tillsats av renkulturer. Utodling och typning av positiva rör visade att ca 70 % av de positiva utslagen innehöll Cl. tyrobutyricum och hela 95 % någon clostridieart. Dessa resultat korrelerar med tidigare studier på MRCM-substrat och ökningen av positiva utslag berodde troligtvis på det ökade antalet rör som den nya metoden innebar.

A series of trials were conducted to determine the effect of feeding barley silage to laying hens and broiler breeder pullets on performance, stress and behaviour. In the first study, two trials were conducted each with 20 hens and 2 roosters (n=176) randomly assigned to one of 8 community cages. The birds in 4 cages were provided with a nutritionally balanced soy/wheatbased laying hen diet ad libitum, whereas the birds in another 4 cages were given free access to barley silage in addition to the regular laying hen diet. In both trials, the control birds consumed more feed (P < 0.05) than the birds given barley silage. Birds fed barley silage had significantly decreased (P < 0.05) aggressive and feather pecking behaviours as well as time spent in their nest boxes at different ages. Time spent drinking, resting, preening and eating a large particle calcium source was similar between the two treatments. No treatment effects (P > 0.05) were found in regards to egg quality, egg production and bird weights at various ages; however yolk colour was darker by silage treatment in each trial. At the end of each trial, the feather score was improved in silage-fed birds compared to the control birds. It was concluded that feeding barley silage as a supplement to laying hens can improve their welfare without negatively affecting the egg production and egg quality. <p>A second study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding barley silage on body weight, stereotypic behaviour, stress and fear on broiler breeder pullets during the brooding and rearing periods. The 3 week old broiler breeder pullets (n=180) were randomly allocated into 12 straw litter floor pens having 15 birds per pen. The birds in 6 pens were provided with a nutritionally balanced corn/oat-soybean/canola meal-based broiler breeder diet at recommended restricted levels, whereas the birds in another 6 pens were given free access to barley silage in addition to a regular broiler breeder diet. Total DM intake was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for silage-fed birds compared to their control counterparts without affecting mean body weights. Dietary treatment had no significant effect on bird behaviour with the exception of object pecking behaviour which was reduced with silage feeding. Aggressive and gentle feather pecking behaviour was consistently numerically higher in the control birds than the silage-fed birds, although not significantly. Age affected many of the behaviours recorded in this study. Silage feeding had no significant effect on heterophil to lymphocyte ratios and tonic immobility values indicating that birds in both treatments were not very stressed or fearful. It was concluded that feeding barley silage to broiler breeder pullets has potential to aid in improving their welfare.

With the constant diversification of cropping systems and the constant increase in farm size, new trends are observed for agricultural machinery. The increase in size of the machinery and the increasing number of contractors has opened the market to selfpropelled forage harvesters equipped with headers that can harvest row crops in any direction, at any spacing. High-capacity pull-type forage harvesters are also in demand but no commercial model offers non-row sensitive corn headers. The objectives of this research were to collect data and develop models of specific energy requirements for a prototype non-row sensitive corn header. The ability to better understand the processes involved during the harvesting and the modeling of these allowed the formulation of recommendations to reduce the loads on the harvester and propelling tractor. Three sets of experiments were performed. The first experiment consisted of measuring specific energy requirements of a non-row sensitive header, in field conditions, and to compare them with a conventional header. The prototype tested was found to require approximately twice the power than a conventional header of the same width, mostly due to high no-load power. Some properties of corn stalk required for the modeling of the energy needs, that were not available in literature, were measured in the laboratory. Those include the cutting energy with a specific knife configuration used on the prototype header and the crushing resistance of corn stalk. Two knife designs were compared for required cutting energy and found not to be significantly different with values of 0.054 J/mm2 of stalk cross-section area and 0.063 J/mm2. An average crushing resistance of 6.5 N per percent of relative deformation was measured. Three mathematical models were developed and validated with experimental data to predict and understand the specific energy needs of the non-row sensitive header. An analytical model was developed based on the analysis of the processes involved in the harvesting. A regression model was developed based on throughput and header speed and a general model suggested in literature was also validated with the data. All three models were fitted with coefficient of correlation between 0.88 to 0.90.

With the constant diversification of cropping systems and the constant increase in farm size, new trends are observed for agricultural machinery. The increase in size of the machinery and the increasing number of contractors has opened the market to selfpropelled forage harvesters equipped with headers that can harvest row crops in any direction, at any spacing. High-capacity pull-type forage harvesters are also in demand but no commercial model offers non-row sensitive corn headers. The objectives of this research were to collect data and develop models of specific energy requirements for a prototype non-row sensitive corn header. The ability to better understand the processes involved during the harvesting and the modeling of these allowed the formulation of recommendations to reduce the loads on the harvester and propelling tractor. Three sets of experiments were performed. The first experiment consisted of measuring specific energy requirements of a non-row sensitive header, in field conditions, and to compare them with a conventional header. The prototype tested was found to require approximately twice the power than a conventional header of the same width, mostly due to high no-load power. Some properties of corn stalk required for the modeling of the energy needs, that were not available in literature, were measured in the laboratory. Those include the cutting energy with a specific knife configuration used on the prototype header and the crushing resistance of corn stalk. Two knife designs were compared for required cutting energy and found not to be significantly different with values of 0.054 J/mm2 of stalk cross-section area and 0.063 J/mm2. An average crushing resistance of 6.5 N per percent of relative deformation was measured. Three mathematical models were developed and validated with experimental data to predict and understand the specific energy needs of the non-row sensitive header. An analytical model was developed based on the analysis of the processes involved in the harvesting. A regression model was developed based on throughput and header speed and a general model suggested in literature was also validated with the data. All three models were fitted with coefficient of correlation between 0.88 to 0.90.

Extensive research has been compiled on mycotoxin production by mesophilic fungi. However, toxin production by the thermophilic fungi has only slightly been explored. In 1970 Sister Donovan of this laboratory hinted at the possibility of mycotoxin production in thermophiles when she demonstrated that extracts of Fenicillium duponti were toxic towards brine shrimp (Artemia,salina).Thermophilic fungi from natural composting substrates and from existing laboratory stock cultures were investigated to determine the possibility of mycotoxin production by thermophilic fungi. Three bioassay organisms were used to test the toxicity of the thermophilic fungi extracts.Sixteen of the 16 thermophiles reduced brine shrimp viability by more than 25% over controls. Ten of the 16 thermophiles produced toxic substances at each of three fungal incubation temperatures.Germinating Bacillus megatherium spores were found sensitive to extracts of 9 of the 16 thermophiles. Five of the nine thermophiles produced bacterial toxic substances at each of three fungal incubation temperatures.All embryos exposed to the thermophilic extracts lived and developed normally showing no sign of somatic deformities upon opening the eggs. One-day-old hatched chicks were then investigated. Sixteen of the 48 chicks injected with thermophilic extracts manifested viscerallesions of the heart, liver and stomach on autopsy seven days after injection.Results of three bioassays indicate that the toxic secondary metabolites were found to be present in crude extracts of 16 thermophilic fungi. Data indicated that many of the thermophiles produced toxic substances at each of three incubation temperatures.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

A series of trials were conducted to determine the effect of feeding barley silage to laying hens and broiler breeder pullets on performance, stress and behaviour. In the first study, two trials were conducted each with 20 hens and 2 roosters (n=176) randomly assigned to one of 8 community cages. The birds in 4 cages were provided with a nutritionally balanced soy/wheatbased laying hen diet ad libitum, whereas the birds in another 4 cages were given free access to barley silage in addition to the regular laying hen diet. In both trials, the control birds consumed more feed (P < 0.05) than the birds given barley silage. Birds fed barley silage had significantly decreased (P < 0.05) aggressive and feather pecking behaviours as well as time spent in their nest boxes at different ages. Time spent drinking, resting, preening and eating a large particle calcium source was similar between the two treatments. No treatment effects (P > 0.05) were found in regards to egg quality, egg production and bird weights at various ages; however yolk colour was darker by silage treatment in each trial. At the end of each trial, the feather score was improved in silage-fed birds compared to the control birds. It was concluded that feeding barley silage as a supplement to laying hens can improve their welfare without negatively affecting the egg production and egg quality. <p>A second study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding barley silage on body weight, stereotypic behaviour, stress and fear on broiler breeder pullets during the brooding and rearing periods. The 3 week old broiler breeder pullets (n=180) were randomly allocated into 12 straw litter floor pens having 15 birds per pen. The birds in 6 pens were provided with a nutritionally balanced corn/oat-soybean/canola meal-based broiler breeder diet at recommended restricted levels, whereas the birds in another 6 pens were given free access to barley silage in addition to a regular broiler breeder diet. Total DM intake was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for silage-fed birds compared to their control counterparts without affecting mean body weights. Dietary treatment had no significant effect on bird behaviour with the exception of object pecking behaviour which was reduced with silage feeding. Aggressive and gentle feather pecking behaviour was consistently numerically higher in the control birds than the silage-fed birds, although not significantly. Age affected many of the behaviours recorded in this study. Silage feeding had no significant effect on heterophil to lymphocyte ratios and tonic immobility values indicating that birds in both treatments were not very stressed or fearful. It was concluded that feeding barley silage to broiler breeder pullets has potential to aid in improving their welfare.