Thirty-six male growing Rahmani lambs aged 6 months with an average weight 19.07 ± 0.21 kg were used to determine the effects of inclusion biologically treated corn stalks (BTCS) treated with Trichoderma ressi (T. ressi) on growth performance. Animals were divided into four equal groups and assigned for control ration contained 30% clover hay (CH) and another three experimental rations replaced CH in control ration (TMR 1 ) with BTCT at 33%, 66% and complete replacement 100% of CH for (TMR 2 , TMR 3 and TMR 4 ), respectively. The results showed that treatment of BTCS decreased DM, OM, CF, EE contents, while CP and ash contents were increased in comparison with untreated corn stalks (UTCS). Also, it reduced all cell wall constituents (NDF, ADF, ADL, cellulose and hemicelluloses) compared to UTCS. biologically treated corn stalks containing diets significantly improved (P<0.05) all nutrient digestibility coefficients and cell wall constituent digestibilities compared to the control diet. Total digestible nutrient (TDN) was significantly improvement (P<0.05), while digestible crude protein (DCP) insignificantly (P>0.05) improved. Ruminal pH, ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and total volatile fatty acids (TVFA's) concentrations were increased. Sampling time had no significant effect on ruminal pH while, it significantly (P<0.05) increased NH 3 -N and TVFA's concentrations at 3 hours post feeding compared to before feeding. There were significant (P<0.05) interaction between dietary treatments and sampling time (TxS) on ruminal pH, NH 3 -N and TVFA's concentrations. All blood plasma parameters were within the normal range. Blood plasma hemoglobin, glucose, total protein, albumin and albumin: globulin ratio were significantly increased (P<0.05). However, blood plasma urea, creatinine, triglycerides and cholesterol were significantly (P<0.05) decreased. Blood plasma GOT and GPT were insignificant (P>0.05) decreased. Final weight, total body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG) and relative gain were significantly (P<0.05) improved. ADG was improved by 10.53%, 18.42%, 27.89% for TMR 2 , TMR 3 and TMR 4 , respectively compared to the control ration (TMR 1 ). Daily feed intakes of DM, TDN, CP and DCP (g/h/day) were increased. Feed conversion (kg intake /kg gain) of DM, TDN, CP and DCP were significantly (P<0.05) improved. Feed cost (LE per kilogram gain) was improved by 9.59%, 14.82% and 22.46% for TMR 2 , TMR 3 and TMR 4 , respectively compared to the control diet TMR 1 .It could be concluded that biologically treated corn stalks can be successfully fed to lambs without any adverse effect on digestibility coefficients, ruminal fermentation, blood plasma constituents and performance. Also, BTCS can be used economically in formulation of sheep rations as a good alternative source of clover hay.

Background: By 2050, the world will need to feed an additional 2 billion people and require 70% more meat and milk. The increasing future demand for livestock products, driven by increases in income, population, and urbanization will impose a huge demand on feed resources. A huge quantity of fruit and vegetable wastes and byproducts from the fruit and vegetable processing industry are available throughout the world that encourages to using it as a new source feeds in animal ration formulation. Methods: Twenty-eight male growing Ossimi lambs used to study the impact of inclusion dried pomegranate peels (DPP) on productive performance and economic efficiency. In nutritional and chemical evaluation conducted, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, polyphenolic, and fatty acid compositions were determined. Experimental lambs were allocated to one of four complete feed mixture (CFM) containing 0, 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00% DPP for (CFM 1 , CFM 2 , CFM 3 , and CFM 4), respectively throughout the feeding period that continuous for 119 days. Twenty-eight lambs with aged 5-6 months with initial weight of 22.875 ± 0.38 kg were divided into four equal groups, each of 7 lambs and fed one of the four iso-nitrogenous that contains 17.1% CP and iso-energetic that contained 2.76% of ether extract (EE) and gross energy (GE) ranged from 4212 to 4214 kcal/kg DM.

Background: Many studies mentioned that using medicinal herbs and plants as feed additives to ruminants seems to be a recent trend depending on the availability and their cost but using them with monogastric animals and birds, as pharmaceutical tool, is available. As an example, the importance of garlic or onion in recent years, thanks to a wide range of useful properties, has been increasingly used as an additive in nutrition and protection of farm animals. Their action was manifested in a reduced expanding range of pathogenic microorganisms in the digestive tract, which resulted in the rapid growth of poultry, efficient digestion, and increased immunity and health of poultry. Methods: One hundred and eight 30-week-old laying hens were randomly divided into six dietary treatment groups {G 1 control, G 2 contained 0.5% garlic powder (GP), G 3 contained 1% GP, G 4 contained 1% onion powder (OP), G 5 contained 1% OP + 0.5% GP, and G 6 contained 1% OP + 1% GP}. Each group included 18 hens in six replicates (3 birds/each). So, this work carried out to investigate the impact of incorporating garlic powder (GP) and/or onion powder (OP) in laying hens' diets on their performance, egg quality, and some blood constituents. Results: Incorporating GP, OP, and the mixture of them in laying hen diets had no significant effect on the average egg weight and consumption/hen/day throughout the three stages of egg collection, but had a significant improvement in the number of eggs/hen, percentage of egg production, egg mass/hen, and feed conversion. Inclusion of GP, OP, or the mixture of them in laying hen diets had no significant effect on the shape index, Haugh unit, albumin, and shell percentages; also, an insignificant increase for shell thickness was observed, but egg weight increases (P < 0.05). Incorporation of GP, OP, and the mixture of them significantly decreased (P < 0.05) total cholesterol concentration. Also, an inclusion of 0.5% GP, 1% GP, and 1% OP + 1% GP decreased (P < 0.05) high-density lipoprotein. Inclusion of only 1% OP + 1% GP (G 6) decreased (P < 0.05) glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase; meanwhile, supplementation of 1% OP, 1% OP + 0.5% GP, or 1% OP + 1% GP increased (P < 0.05) creatinine. Conclusion: From the results obtained and under conditions suitable for this study, it can be mentioned that the incorporation of garlic or onion powder or the mixture of them can be safely used with improvement in the general health of hens, egg weight, and feed conversion and decrease in the blood cholesterol.

Background: The present work aimed to investigate the impact of partial replacement yellow corn by mango seed kernels (MSK) at different levels of (0, 25, and 50%) on feed and water consumption, water metabolism, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and rumen fluid parameters. Methods: Twelve mature male Rahmani sheep of about 58.39 ± 1.22 kg live body weight on average were used to investigate the influence of replacing yellow corn contents (45% in the control ration) by mango seed kernels (MSK) at different levels (0, 25, and 50%) that equal (0, 11.25, and 22.5% of total ration contents) on feed and water intakes, water metabolism, nutrient digestibility coefficients, nitrogen utilization, and some rumen fluid parameters. The animals were randomly assigned to three experimental groups (four animals in each treatment). Sheep fed rations are composed of 50% concentrate feed mixture (CFM) and 50% peanut vein hay (PVH) at portion 3% dry matter (DM) of live body weight (LBW). Results: The results showed that values of crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) of MSK and yellow corn were similar. Meanwhile, MSK has superior ether extract content compared to yellow corn; meanwhile, ash content of yellow corn was lower than ash content of MSK. All tested CFM were isonitrogenous (16.17% CP), but it differs in their contents of gross and digestible energy. On the other hand, all experimental total mixed rations (TMR) were isonitrogenous (14.52% CP) and isocaloric (4177 kcal/kg DM in average). Dietary treatments significantly (P < 0.05) decreased total dry matter intake (DMI) and crude protein intake (CPI) that expressed as (g/h/day, g/kgW 0.75 , and kg/100 kg LBW) or gross energy intake (GEI) and digestible energy intake (DEI) that expressed as (Mcal/h/day, kcal/kgW 0.75 , and Mcal/100 kg LBW). Inclusion MSK in sheep ration insignificantly (P > 0.05) increased drinking water by 20% and 6.89% for experimental groups fed TMR 2 and TMR 3 , respectively, compared to the control one (TMR 1). Incorporation MSK in the rations significantly (P < 0.05) increased insensible losses of water. Dietary treatments significantly (P < 0.05) increased nutrient digestibility coefficients of DM, organic matter (OM), CP, CF, and NFE. Meanwhile, it significantly (P < 0.05) decreased EE digestibility. On the other hand, both values of total digestible nutrient (TDN) and digestible crude protein (DCP) were significantly (P < 0.005) improved. Nitrogen retention (NR) (NR % of nitrogen intake (NI) and NR % of digested nitrogen (DN)) values were significantly (P < 0.05) increased with increasing level of MSK in the sheep ration. Inclusion MSK significantly (P < 0.05) increased ruminal pH; however, it had no significant (P > 0.05) on both ammonia nitrogen (NH 3-N) and total volatile fatty acid (TFVA) concentrations. Sampling time at 3 h post feeding significantly (P < 0.05) decreased ruminal pH in comparison with before and 6 h post feeding; meanwhile, sampling time had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on NH 3-N conc...

Background: One of the important by-products is sesame seed meal; it is a by-product of sesame seed pressing. Sesame oil cake or meal is a relatively good source of crude protein which can replace part of basic ingredients in diets such as soybean. Method: Fifteen growing male Barki lambs aged 5-6 months (18.50 ± 0.98 kg) were used to investigate the influence of replacing soybean meal (SBM) that incorporated (16% of control ration) sesame meal (SM) at 50% or 100% on feed and water intakes, nutrient digestibility, growth performance, rumen parameters, and economic evaluation. Lambs received one of the three tested complete feed mixtures that contained 16% SBM (R 1), replaced 50% of SBM with SM (R 2), contained (8% SBM + 8% SM) or completely replaced 100% of SBM with SM (R 3) and contained 16% SM. Results: Dietary treatments had no significant effect on all nutrient digestibility and total digestible nutrients value, meanwhile it decreased (P < 0.05) their contents of digestable crud protine when SBM was completely replaced by SM. Average daily gain (ADG) increased (P < 0.05) while increasing the level of replacement SBM by SM. Feed conversion expressed as g. gain improved (P < 0.05) with the increasing level of inclusion SM in the rations. Ruminal pH values increased (P < 0.05), meanwhile, values of NH 3-N concentration insignificantly decreased; however, values of total volatile fatty acid concentration insignificantly increased when SBM was replaced at half or completely by SM. Economical efficiency improved by 147.9% and 163.5% for R 2 and R 3 compared to control (R 1). Conclusion: It can be mentioned that SM is a good source of protein and can be successfully used as an unconventional source in growing lamb rations without causing any deleterious effect on their performance, digestibility, and ruminal fermentation while realizing a decrease in feed cost with improving economic efficiency, so it can incorporate SM in sheep rations to improve profitability or net revenue and decrease feed cost/kg gain.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) encourages using medicinal herbs and plants to substitute or minimize the use of chemicals through the global trend to go back to nature. Many studies mentioned that using medicinal herbs and plants as feed additives seems to be a recent trend depending on availability and their cost but using them with monogastric animals and birds, as pharmaceutical tool, is available. Their action was manifested in a reduced expanding range of pathogenic microorganisms in the digestive tract, which resulted in the improvement of growth performance, efficient digestion, immunity, and health of poultry. Methods: The present work aimed to establish the influence of adding natural bioactive mixture composed of the juice of lemon, onion, and garlic (LOG) at portions 1.00, 1.00, and 0.125/l clean water, respectively, to laying hens' diets on their performance, egg quality, and some blood constituents. Seventy-two 30-week-old commercial Bovan Brown layers were randomly divided into four dietary treatment groups. Each treatment included eighteen hens in 6 replicates (3 birds each). All tested diets were almost isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Results: Adding LOG in laying hens' diets significantly (P < 0.05) improved feed conversion throughout the second stage of egg collection in comparison with the control group. Inclusion of LOG in laying hen diets significantly (P < 0.05) improved the number of eggs/hen, percentage of egg production, and egg mass/hen throughout the second stage of egg collection comparing with the control (G 1). Diet supplied by 1% LOG recorded the best value of yolk color (5.40) and yolk percentage (28.42%) compared with the other groups. Adding 2% or 3% LOG significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the total plasma cholesterol content compared to the control group. Inclusion of LOG at different levels significantly (P < 0.05) decreased blood plasma contents of GPT and GOT. However, insignificant decreases in blood plasma creatinine occurred comparing to control. Conclusion: Adding the natural bioactive mixture composed of the juice of lemon, onion, and garlic can be safely used in improving the general health, egg weight, and feed conversion with decreasing the blood cholesterol of laying hens. Supplementation of LOG in the ration of hens improved the feed conversion and egg production.

A total number of 48 male growing New Zealand rabbits were used to study the effect of two different levels of ration energy supplemented with mixture of Lupinus albus L, Trigonella foenum-graecum L and Cassia senna L as feed additives. Rabbits were classified into four equal groups (G 1 -G 4 ). The 1 st and 3 rd groups received basal ration with 100 % and 90 % energy requirement and served as first and second control respectively. The 2 nd and the 4 th groups received basal ration with 100 % and 90 % energy requirement supplemented with mixture at the level of 1.5 %, respectively. The results showed that decreasing energy requirements level by 10% in rabbit diets significantly (P<0.05) increased the digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP and NFE & DCP values. The 90% energy level insignificant increased (P>0.05) CF and EE digestibility coefficients and TDN value. The 90% energy requirement with 1.5 % additives mixture (G 4 ) recorded the best digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP, CF, EE, NFE and nutritive values of TDN and DCP. The 90% energy level significantly (P<0.05) improved feed conversion (g intake /g gain) of DM, CP, DCP, TDN and DE, respectively compared to control. Adding mixture at 1.5 % level significantly (P<0.05) improved feed conversion (g intake /g gain) of DM, CP, DCP, TDN and DE, respectively compared to control. The 90% energy with 1.5% additives mixture (G 4 ) recorded the best values of final body weight, body weight gain, and average daily gain as well as feed conversion.Additives mixture at 1.5% level significantly (P>0.05) increased the total inedible offal's (weight and % of SW) and Dm contents of the 9, 10 and 11 th ribs. The 90% energy level with 1.5% additives mixture (G 4 ) diet recorded the highest value of relative economic efficiency (145.1%) and the lowest value of feed cost/ kg live body weight (3.97 LE).It can be concluded that this mixture of medicinal plants can be considered as growth promoter that is effective for improving the utilization of low energy diet by lowering circulating glucose levels through enhancing insulin sensitivity.

Background: Agriculture by-products are considered a great potential value for utilization by ruminants as well as rabbits. They usually can be the maintenance and part of the production requirements. However, in developing countries, as well as in Egypt, animals suffer from shortage of feeds that are continuously increasing in costs. In general, biological treatments were shown to be the most effective and improved chemical composition of rice straw or corn stalks. Method: This work aimed to investigate the possible ways of utilizing rice straws or corn stalks in rabbit feeding. The field work is designed to study the effect of biological treatment of Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated on rice straws and Trichoderma reesei cultivated on corn stalks and replacing clover hay by rice straws and corn stalks at levels of 0, 33, 66, and 100% either without or with microbes adding. Seventy-eight New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits aged 4-5 weeks (565 ± 13.57 g) were randomly divided into thirteen equal experimental groups. Results: Untreated rice straws or biologically treated with Pleurotus ostreatus increased their contents of crude protein (CP) by 178.75 and 224.5% and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) by 6.30 and 24.53, respectively. Meanwhile, crude fiber (CF) content was reduced by 31.32 and 56.75%, and organic matter content was decreased by 2.81 and 5.51%, respectively, in comparison with the raw rice straws. Also, biological treatment of rice straws caused a decrease in values of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and hemicellulose contents in comparison with either raw or treated rice straws. Furthermore, biological treatment with Trichoderma reesei realized a decrease in organic matter (OM), CF, NDF, and ADF and increased CP and ash contents in corn stalks. NFE content of corn stalks was decreased as a result of treatment without or with Trichoderma reesei experimental rations by 11.95% and 3.82% compared to raw corn stalks (CS). Biological treatments with fungi significantly (P < 0.05) improved average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion. ADG and feed conversion were significantly (P < 0.05) improved when rabbits were fed diets containing rice straw (RS) compared to that fed CS.