Heat stress is an important issue, and the addition of fiber to the diet is an option in modifying intestinal health. This study evaluated the effect of acid detergent fiber (ADF) levels on reproductive performance, intestinal integrity, and metabolism of gestating sows, and its carry-over effect on the lactation period during heat stress. The diets included 4.3% (Low fiber; LF), 5.4% (Medium fiber; MF), and 6.5% (High fiber; HF) ADF. Sows fed the HF diet showed a lower respiratory rate, hair cortisol concentration, and farrowing duration compared with the LF treatment. The HF diet increased the pyruvate, citrate cycle, glyoxylate, dicarboxylate, and thiamine metabolism compared with the MF. The concentration of acetate and total short-chain fatty acids were increased in the sows fed the HF diet. The gene expression of glucose transporter 3 and glucose transporter 4 was increased in the HF treatment. The gene expression of heat shock protein 70 was decreased in the HF treatment. The HF diet during gestation increased feed intake, constipation index, piglet weight, and litter weight compared with the LF. Sows in the LF treatment showed the greatest digestibility of crude protein and the lowest digestibility of ADF. In conclusion, a 6.5% ADF level is recommended for gestating sows during heat stress.

A set of studies was performed to determine the influence of dietary ZnO concentration and source during two phases (days 0 to 14 and days 15 to 28). Experiment 1: 168 weaned piglets were allocated to four treatment groups in six replicates. The treatments included a basal diet without ZnO supplementation (control), 2,500 mg ZnO/kg (In2500), 500 mg nano-ZnO/ kg (N500), and 150 mg nano-ZnO/kg (N150). Experiment 2: 168 weaned piglets were divided into three treatment groups with eight replicates. The treatments included control, In2500, N300, and 150 mg nano-ZnO/kg (N150). An in vitro trial showed that the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium was inhibited when exposed to 300 and 500 ppm of ZnO after 24 h of incubation. In experiment 1, the average daily gain (ADG) by the pigs was improved in the N500 and IN2500 treatment groups. Colonization of coliforms and Clostridium spp. significantly decreased in the pigs fed the N500 and IN2500 diets in phase 1. The total plasma antioxidant capacity was greater in the IN2500 and N500 treatment groups than in the control. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was greater in pigs fed the IN2500 (phase 1) or the IN2500 and N500 (phase 2) diets than in the control and N150 treatment group. In experiment 2, pigs in the N300 treatment group showed a higher ADG and lower fecal score colonization of coliforms and Clostridium spp. compared with those in the N150 treatment group. In conclusion, nano-ZnO at a dose of 300 ppm showed the same growth as the pharmacological dose of Zn. This provides an option to the pharmacological dose.

The experiment was carried out to study the effect of Korean wild ginseng adventitious root supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, cytokine expression, ginsenoside concentration, and microflora quantity of Institut de selection Animale (ISA) brown laying hens at 24 weeks old. A total of 90 laying hens were subjected to a completely randomized design at three treatments, five repetitions and six laying hens per replicate. The experiments were divided by diets into the basic feed (CON), basic feed + 0.1% wild ginseng (WG1), and basic feed + 0.5% wild ginseng (WG2). The feeding trial was carried out over a duration of 12 weeks after an initial acclimation period of 2 weeks. Feeds and water were administered ad libitum in mash form, and light was available for 16 hours per day. At the end of study, hen-day egg production (HDEP), average egg weight (AEW), and egg mass (EM) were increased (p <0.05) in WG2 at week 12. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was decreased (p <0.05) in WG2 at week 12. The ginsenoside content in egg yolk was increased (p <0.05) in laying hens in the WG2 treatment at week 12. Relative expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was reduced (p <0.05) in the WG supplemented diets at week 12.The fecal microflora quantity of Lactobacillus was increased (p <0.05) in WG2 at week 8 to week 12, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) was significantly decreased (p <0.05) in the WG2 at week 12. We concluded that the result observed in the HDEP, AEW, EM and FCR was due to an increase in ginsenoside content, leading to an improvement in the TNF-α, and fecal microflora quantity such as Lactobacillus and E. coli in the WG2 supplemented diets. We therefore recommend the use of WG at application level 0.5% per basal diet for optimum laying performance in layer hens.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of multiple cooling systems and different drinking water temperatures (DWT) on the performance of sows and their hair cortisol levels during heat stress. In this study, the effect of four different cooling systems: air conditioner (AC), cooling pad (CP), snout cooling (SC), and mist spray (MS), and two DWT, namely low water temperature (LWT) and high water temperature (HWT) on 48 multiparous sows (Landrace × Yorkshire; 242.84 ± 2.89 kg) was tested. The experiment is based on the use of eight replicas during a 21-days test. Different behaviors were recorded under different cooling treatments in sows. As a result, behaviors such as drinking, standing, and position change were found to be lower in sows under the AC and CP treatments than in those under the SC and MS treatments. Lying behavior increased under the AC and CP systems as compared with that under the SC and MS, systems. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) in sows and weight at weaning in piglets was higher under the AC, CP, and LWT treatments than under the SC, MS and HWT treatments. Sows subjected to SC and MS treatment showed higher hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate during lactation than those under AC and CP treatments. Hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate were also higher under the HWT than under the LWT treatment. As per the results of this study, the LWT has no significant effect on any of the behavioral factors. Taken together, the use of AC and CP cooling treatment is highly recommended to improve the behavior and to reduce the stress levels in lactating sows.

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