Abstract
Two groups each of twelve pigs were used in simultaneous growing and finishing experiments to evaluate 4 levels of fresh spent grain diets based on rice bran, broken rice and fish meal. The spent grain replaced 0 (control), 30, 60 or 100% of the fish meal protein. Feed DM intakes and growth rates were reduced as the dietary levels of spent grain were increased, with the effect being more marked in the finishing phase. Contrasting results were obtained for feed DM conversion, with apparently better conversion on the diets with spent grain in the growing phase, but poorer conversion on these diets in the finishing phase. A 30% replacement level appeared to give the best economic return.
An on-farm trial was conducted with 4 households with 4 pigs in each with initial weights of 40 to 46 kg. The control diet used in the on-station trial was evaluated in one household, while in the other three households the 30% replacement rate with spent grain was applied.
Performance of the pigs was very good in all the households, with no apparent difference between the control diet and the diet with 30% replacement of fish meal protein by the spent grain. It is concluded that in diets for fattening pigs, based on broken rice, rice bran and fish meal, spent grain can replace 30% of the fish meal on a protein basis, without affecting performance.
Keywords: Feed conversion, Fish meal, Growth, Spent grain

Abstract
Snail farming will help in reducing poverty in Nigeria. This paper emphasized that snail farming is a money spinning enterprise both locally and internationally because from establishment through feeding to harvesting, ‘snailery’ is relatively cheap. The paper also emphasizes that snail farming is a veritable means of improving the protein levels of Nigerian populaiton as well as a means of generating income and achieving self sufficiency as it provides self employment to the people. Besides, the animal is highly nutritious, has a lot of medicinal and cultural/social values.
Keywords: Food security, Nigeria, Snail rearing, Sustainable rural households

Abstract
Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) is an animal species that belongs to the rodent order. Its meat constitutes a vital source of much-needed animal protein for humans. The grasscutter is a wild herbivorous rodent found predominantly in the grasslands of Sub-Saharan Africa. It feeds mainly on grass and is capable of digesting majority of edible plants similar to rabbits. An intensive grasscutter production aims at achieving higher levels of DM intake through addition of various vegetative and concentrates supplements to the basal diet. Our 18 week experiment evaluated the performance of twenty four 15-week old growing grasscutters, allotted to four treatment groups of six animals each, which were fed on diets containing four different fibre sources namely; wheat offal, palm kernel cake, maize sievates and a combination of equal amounts of all the three fibre feedstuffs. The experiment involved two replicates per treatment and three growing grasscutters per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design and the data were subjected to the analysis of variance. The performance of grasscutters, as assessed by forage intake, concentrate intake, total feed intake and cost of feeding, was significantly (P<0.05) higher on the maize sievates than on other diets, while the rate of attainment of puberty was significantly higher on the palm kernel cake than on other diets. These findings suggest that the performance of growing grasscutters was best on the palm kernel cake diet. We thus recommend palm kernel cake as the preferred source of fibre for feeding growing grasscutters. Keywords: Fibre sources, Growing grasscutters, Palm kernel cake, Performance

Abstract
The study was designed to develop a possible ruminal delivery of synchronized energy and nitrogen to enhance the synthesis of ruminal microbial biomass in cattle by evolving an appropriate time of feeding without altering the feed ingredients (Evolved feeding strategy-EFS) in Napier- bajra hybrid grass-based feeding system. Napier-bajra hybrid grass, groundnut cake and de-oiled rice bran were fed at 65.8, 8.8 and 25.4 per cent level, respectively to the low milk yielding dairy cows by the farmers twice daily. The respective half time (T1/2) of organic matter and nitrogen determined by an in vitro technique (TANUVAS RUSITEC) for Napier-bajra hybrid grass were 16?1 h and 14?2 h, respectively. The respective T1/2 for organic matter and nitrogen of the commonly fed supplemental feeds viz., groundnut cake and de-oiled rice bran were 7 ? 1 and 9 ? 1, 8 ? 0 and 7 ? 1 h, respectively. The influence of farmer feeding strategy (FFS) and EFS on their efficiency of synthesizing the rumen microbial protein were tested by simulated feeding in semi- continuous culture system (RUSITEC). The results indicated that at 48 h of incubation, the dry matter and organic matter degradability was significantly (P<0.05) higher in EFS when compared to FFS. The invitro rumen microbial protein production per day and the microbial nitrogen synthesis per kg metabolic body weight of cattle was comparable between EFS and FFS. Based on our findings we conclude that EFS for Napier-bajra hybrid grass- based feeding system did not significantly enhance the rumen microbial nitrogen synthesis. Keywords: Cattle calves, Feeding strategy, Rumen microbial nitrogen synthesis, T1/2 value

Abstract
A study was conducted to test the response of Napier-bajra hybrid grass that was subjected to treatment with 3 different types of organic manures and 3 different levels of inorganic nitrogen (20kgN/acre, 40kgN/acre and 60kgN/acre) as fertilizer. Organic manure (farm yard manure, bio digested slurry and poultry manure) @ 4 tons/acre as basal manure increased the fodder biomass in a dose-dependent manner when used in combination with a nitrogen-containing fertilizer. We estimated biomass yield in terms of fresh matter yield and dry matter yield. We estimated the nutrient content in terms of percentages of crude protein and crude fibre in the grass that was subjected to different treatments. Our results show that biomass yield was significantly higher when organic manures were used in combination with maximum level (60 kg/acre) of inorganic nitrogen application. The crude protein content was comparable between the 3 types of organic manures and increased in a dose dependent manner to the level of inorganic nitrogen used. The crude fibre content was significantly (P<0.05) higher when poultry manure was used as organic manure and was not influenced by the level of inorganic nitrogen application. There was no significant difference in the palatability of grass fed to the sheep. The cost of production of the grass decreased at higher levels of nitrogen application. From this study, was conclude that inorganic nitrogen @ 60 kg/acre and organic manure @ 4 tons/acre yields significantly higher fodder biomass and that nitrogen- containing fertilizer is a critical component required for economical production of Napier- bajra hybrid grass. Keywords: Biomass yield, Napier-bajra hybrid grass, Nitrogen fertilization, Nutrient content, Organic manure

Abstract
Most of autosomal disorders are breed specific except a few like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type VII (Dermatosparaxis) which is reported in Holstein, Belgium Blue, Charolais, Hereford, Simmentaler cattle etc. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a heritable collagen dysplasia causing skin extensibility and fragility in animals and humans. The disease caused by different mutations like single base pair change, and 3 base pair change followed by a 17bp deletion in the beginning of the sequence of the gene coding for the enzyme procollagen 1N-Proteinase (pNPI) in different breeds of cattle. Clinical signs and severity of condition vary between species. The disorder characterized by tearing of skin, hyperextensiblity and fragility of skin. For the present study, 142 blood samples from Holsteins, Holstein crossbreds, Red Knadhari, Khillar and Gaolao breeds were collected in EDTA vacutianer tubes. The DNA was extracted using PCR to detect 17bp deletion. Out of 142 samples, 131 samples were amplified by PCR. The study revealed that none of cattle considered for the investigation, exhibited 17bp deletion in the functional gene. However, it needs to investigate all kind of mutations in a candidate gene in a large population to assert the presence or absence of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type VII (Dermatosparaxis). Since the sample size was limited, it is advisable to cover more population and study the occurrence of other mutations causing the symptoms of diseases in different breeds of cattle in India.
Keywords: Dermatosparaxis, DNA, Mutation, PCR, Recessive disease

Abstract
Value addition of table eggs with use of herbal supplements in the poultry feed such as garlic, fenugreek and bay leaves was carried out to decrease cholesterol levels in the yolk. Our study revealed that supplementation of the feed with garlic resulted in high hypolipidemic activity, in the egg yolk. On the other hand, supplementation of the feed with fenugreek and bay/curry leaves resulted in the production of eggs with high levels of Vitamin E and Selenium content. Thus, our data shows that hens fed with these herbal feed supplements produced enriched eggs with higher level of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content that is beneficial to health. Hence, our study reveals that eggs with enriched nutritional value (designer eggs) can be produced by feeding hens with a diet containing herbal feed supplements.
Keywords: Bay Leaves, Cholesterol, Designer eggs, Fenugreek, Garlic, Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA)

Abstract
A study was undertaken to improve the general health and immunity in laying hens. Vaccination plays a vital role in preventing diseases and in maintaining the immunity levels in hens. In this study, we tested if a diet containing herbal feed supplements namely garlic, fenugreek and bay leaves can enhance the efficacy of vaccination against Newcastle disease (ND) in laying hens. The immunity levels against ND vaccination were assessed by screening the serum samples using haemagglutination inhibition and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also estimated the blood cell count and immunoglobulin levels in the egg yolk. Our results revealed that, the combination of three herbal supplements has conferred higher levels of immunity to hens and also resulted in higher levels of immunoglobulin content in the eggs.
Keywords: Bay Leaves, ELISA, Fenugreek, Garlic, Immunity, Newcastle disease

Abstract
A biological experiment was conducted to evaluate the interactive effects of organic and inorganic copper (Cu) supplementation with aflatoxin (AF) on growth performance of broilers. Day old broiler chicks were randomly divided into nine treatments of three replicates each containing ten birds per replicate. A 3×3 factorial design involving 9 treatments groups was formulated with 3 levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) i.e. 0.0, 0.5 and 1.0 ppm and 3 Cu supplemented group, i.e. 0 ppm, 40 ppm organic Cu (as propionate), 40 ppm inorganic Cu (as sulphate). The study was made for 0-42 days and performance of broiler i.e. body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and livability were analyzed. The result revealed that the body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly depressed in a dose dependent fashion due to dietary AF levels. The mean BWG showed a significant difference due to Cu supplementation and were highest in Cu chelate group followed by control and it was lowest in Cu inorganic group. The FI and FCR did not differ significantly due to different Cu supplementations. The interaction effect showed that BWG , FI and FCR were highest in all Cu groups at basal AF level and lowest in Cu inorganic group at 1 ppm AF level, while the mean BWG of other groups were found to be intermediary. The livability was highest in basal level followed by 0.5 ppm AF level and it was lowest in 1 ppm AF level. The livability did not differ significantly due to different Cu supplementation. Similarly, the livability percentage among treatments did not differ significantly due to interaction of Cu supplementation with AF levels. It is concluded that there was a difference between organic and inorganic copper in counteracting the effect of aflatoxicosis in broiler chicken.
Keywords: Aflatoxin, Broiler, Copper, Performance

Abstract
This report documents clinical manifestation of anemia associated with Haemonchus spp. in naturally infected llamas from Argentina. Infected animals presented conjunctival pallor, discolored coat, edema in the submandibular area, weakness, lack of exercise tolerance, sternal recumbence and emaciation. The range of hematocrit values was between 4 to 16% with marked erythrocyte pleomorphism. Haemonchus spp. were recovered from the C3 compartment during a necropsy performed on a weak and recumbent pregnant female llama that was euthanized. Stressful conditions derived from farming management, production stress, long-term treatment with suboptimal doses of anthelmintics drugs and climatic conditions were concomitant causes that favored the herd infestation.
Keywords: Anemia, Argentina, Haemonchus spp, Llamas