The main goal of the study was to assess the selenium (Se) status of sheep and cows in some of the Western Balkan countries. A total number of 105 sheep and 160 cow blood samples (from 21 and 39 farms, respectively) were collected and analyzed for Se in the whole blood (WB). Samples have been analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results showed that 85.6% of sheep and 45.6% of cows had inadequate (≤100 ng/mL) level of WB-Se concentration. The WB-Se concentration was significantly higher in both Se supplemented sheep and cows than in those without any Se supplementation. The WB-Se concentration was inadequate at all farms without Se supplementation. Therefore, Se should be supplemented to the animal feed or Se-biofortified feed used to ensure adequate level of Se in cows and sheep in all the Balkan countries.
Enriching table eggs with certain nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids is an
ongoing topic. Therefore, the aforementioned research was carried out with
the aim of examining the possibility of feeding laying hens with ground flax
seed, flax cake and flaxseed oil and their influence on the ratio of omega-6
and omega-3 fatty acids of table eggs, as well as on certain production
parameters. The experiment was set up in a production facility with 192
consuming laying hens 27 weeks old. The laying hens were divided into 4
groups: control group; group fed with flax cake (10%) + flax oil (2%); a
group fed with 5% ground flax and a group fed with 10% ground flax. Each
group had 8 cages with 6 laying hens, a total of 48 laying hens per group.
The production parameters presented in this paper are as follows: number of
eggs per laying hen , egg weight and yolk weight. Egg quality indicators
were determined at the end of the 5th and 10th week from the start of the
experiment, namely: pH of egg white and yolk, polyunsaturated and saturated
fatty acids ratio, as well as omega-3 and omega-3 fatty acids ratio. The
results of the study showed that the inclusion of flax cake, flax oil and
ground flaxseed had no negative effects on the shown production parameters
and that there was a positive effect of these nutrients on the ratio of
omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in table eggs.
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