Animal Sciences and Industry Undergraduate Research Symposium
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2097/39838
The Undergraduate Research program at Kansas State University allows students to take part in course based experiential learning projects or a traditional one on one research project conducted with a faculty member. The outcome for both experiences are to give students the opportunity to gain critical thinking skills for use in their future career or education.
Each semester students that participate in undergraduate research will present their findings at the Undergraduate Research Forum. Students who wish are then able to travel to Midwest American Society of Animal Science Meeting and Plains Nutrition Conference to either present or attend other sessions from researchers in the animal science field.
Thank you to Dr. Mark and Kim Young for sponsoring this years course based projects. We appreciate their continued support of student success.
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Item Open Access Effects of increasing GleptoForte dosage in newborn pigs on sow and litter performance(2017-12-08) Burton, Leeanna; Williams, Hayden E.; Jones, Cassandra K.; DeRouchey, Joel M.; Tokach, Michael D.; Woodworth, Jason C.; Goodband, Robert D.; Dritz, Steven S.; Holtcamp, A.It is known that iron deficiency is common in newborn pigs, resulting in the practice of a 200mg iron injection within 3 days postpartum. This trial was to determine the effects on newborn pigs on sow and litter performance with an increasing dosage of Gleptoforte, focusing on body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and blood criteria. Gleptoforte, a Ceva Animal Health product, is an iron injection containing gleptoferron which combats iron deficiency. This study utilized 336 newborn pigs (DNA 241 X 600; initially 3.83 ± 0.114lb BW), from 28 litters. There were six treatments: negative control receiving no injection, 50mg, 100mg, 150mg, 200mg, and 200mg + 100mg booster on day 11 of farrowing. At processing (approximately day 3 postpartum), six barrows and gilts from each litter were randomly assigned to a treatment, 56 pigs per treatment, and given their dosages. Blood collection via jugular venipuncture was collected from one randomly selected barrow from each treatment, per litter. Blood criteria included: Hemoglobin (Hgb), Hematocrit (Hct), Serum Fe, and Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC). Weights and blood were collected days 3, 11, and 21 (weaning). On day 21, BW of the 0mg treatment was 10.4lb and ADG was .32lb, resulting in the lowest growth performance. Alternatively, the 100mg treatment had a BW of 12.9lb and ADG of .45lb, resulting in the greatest overall growth performance. On day 21, the 200mg treatment had a BW of 12.7lb and ADG of .43, while the 200mg + 100mg booster had a BW of 12.6lb and ADG of .43lb, which proved nonsignificant. On day 3, blood criteria were similar across treatments, while on days 11 and 21 a treatment × day interaction was observed. On days 11 and 21 all blood parameters increased, with the 0mg treatment resulting in the lowest values. On day 21, a difference was observed for Hct, Hgb, and Serum Fe between the 200mg and 200mg + 100mg treatments with 200mg + 100mg resulting in the greatest values. An accepted alpha value of (P<0.005) was used for this trial. In summary, the poorest growth rate was seen in the pigs receiving no Gleptoforte injection, while the pigs receiving 100mg showed the greatest performance in growth. In addition, the 200mg and 200mg + 100mg treatments resulted in similar growth performances but 200mg + 100mg had better blood parameters. Ultimately the 100mg dosage outperformed the 200mg + 100mg dosage for BW and ADG.Item Open Access Effects of soybean meal alternatives on Boer-type goat growth and related costs(2019-05-09) Lindeman, Brianne R.; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.The goat population, both in the US and abroad, has greatly increased in the past years, despite the lack of research that producers can use to make decisions for their herd. Currently there is little research on how feed impacts a goat’s growth and how cost can come into play. This study was conducted to evaluate corn dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn gluten feed (CGF) as replacements for soybean meal (SBM) in a Boer-type grower ration. Seventy-five Boer-type goat were sorted into 25 pens with 3 goats per pen. The goats were approximately 70 d old with an average BW of 26.9 0.2 kg and were fed for 35 d. Treatment was randomly assigned to pen, therefore the pen served as the experimental unit. The treatments were; 1) SBM control, 2) 100% DDGS/0% CGF, 3) 66% DDGS/33% CGF, 4) 33% DDGS/66% CGF, 5) 0% DDGS/100% CGF. The treatments were isocaloric and isonitrogenous but varied in protein source. Goats and feeders were weighed weekly, to calculate ADG, ADFI, and G:F. There was no detected influence of DDGS or CGF replacing SBM on the final BW, ADG, ADFI, G:F, or feed cost ($) per kg of gain (P>0.05). However, the difference in treatments did influence the feed cost ($) per goat (P=0.0008), with the SBM control being a greater cost than the other treatments per goat per day. These results suggest that producers could chose a diet dependent on their goal for their herd; a certain amount of growth within a period of time, fastest growth possible, largest amount of growth, or growth with no deadline or minimum weight.Item Open Access Effects of replacing antimicrobials with medium chain fatty acids on nursery pig growth(2019-05-09) Luebcke, Grace Ellen; Lerner, Anne B.; Jones, Cassandra K.An increase in regulations and consumer pressure limiting the use of feed-grade antimicrobials in swine diets and negative environmental impacts associated with using ZnO for growth purposes has caused pressure to find replacements. There is little data to show the efficacy of medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) in nursery pig diets. This study was conducted to evaluate MCFA as a potential replacement for antimicrobials. 360 weanling pigs were divided into a completely randomized experiment with 6 treatment groups: 1) negative control, 2) 3000 ppm ZnO in phase 1 and 1500 ppm in phase 2, 3) 50 g/ton carbadox, 4) 1% C6:C8:C10 blend, 5) 1% Feed Energy R2 (Feed Energy Corp., Des Moines, IA), 6) 1% FORMI GL (ADDCON, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany). There were 6 pigs/pen, with pen as EU, and 10 replicates/treatment. In a 35 d trial, treatment diets were fed in 2 phases from d 0 to 19 with a common phase 3 diet from d 20 to 35. Pigs and feeders were weighed weekly to calculate ADFI, G:F, and ADG. From d 0 to 19, ADG was greater for (P<0.05) for pigs fed ZnO and carbadox than pens on control or R2, while those fed C6:C8:C10 blend or FORMI were similar (P>0.05) to carbadox. Differences in G:F were marginally significant (P=0.078). Day 19 body weight was greater (P<0.05) in pigs fed ZnO versus control. During the common period, there was no significant impact on G:F (P=0.320). These data suggest that ZnO and carbadox continue to improve nursery performance. Products such as FORMI GML show results similar to carbadox, while others display variable performance. Further research is warranted to evaluate the efficacy and inclusion rate of MCFA products to replace feed-grade antimicrobials.Item Open Access Evaluating the efficacy of dried distillers grains with solubles as a replacement for soybean meal in a Boer goat diet(2018-02-05) Rimmer, Linnea A.; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.Goat meat is in high demand worldwide, even if the United States domestic consumption is relatively low. This makes goat nutrition and diet cost an important area of study. With the per protein unit cost discount of dried distiller grains with solubles (DDGS) over soybean meal (SBM) being $1.86, it may be more economical to incorporate into goat diets. Unfortunately, there is limited data on the equivalent nutritional value for goat producers that would encourage them to use DDGS in replacement of SBM. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the efficacy of DDGS as a replacement for SBM in a Boer goat diet. The experiment used forty-eight randomly assigned Boer goat kids (approximately 70 d of age and initially 28.2 kg). The goats were penned in groups of three, and fed in a titration design with four treatments: 0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% SBM replaced by DDGS, with four replicates per treatment. The feed was pelleted, with the pellets containing roughage, so no additional roughage was needed. An initial average goat weight was established after a fourteen-day step-up period and thereafter weights were recorded weekly to determine ADG, ADFI, G:F. At the end of the 47-day experiment, two goats from each pen were slaughtered in a USDA-inspected facility. Carcass weight, carcass yield, loin eye area, loin eye depth, backfat depth and body wall thickness were recorded. Data was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (SAS Inst., Cary, NC) with pen as the experimental unit and the alpha value being ≤ 0.05. Dietary treatment impacted (P<0.001) overall G:F, but did not impact ADG, ADFI (P>0.10). This was driven by the linear improvement (P<0.02) in overall ADG and G:F with increasing DDGS, and the significant increase in body weight during d 21 to d 28. Overall, the greatest (P<0.05) feed efficiency was seen in goats fed either 66% or 100% of SBM replaced by DDGS. There was no significant difference (P>0.10) in the carcass data collected. This experimental data demonstrates that DDGS can be used in replacement of SBM in meat Boer goat diets.Item Open Access Effect of increasing GleptoForte dosage in newborn pigs on sow and litter performance(2017-12-08) Vicin, Logan; Williams, Hayden E.; Jones, Cassandra K.; DeRouchey, Joel M.; Tokach, Michael D.; Woodworth, Jason C.; Goodband, Robert D.; Dritz, Steven S.; Holtcamp, A.Injections of 200 mg of iron are commonplace when trying to prevent iron deficiency in piglets, but there is concern over the level of iron provided from one injection compared to an injection along with a booster. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing dosage of Gleptoforte in newborn pigs on sow and litter performance. The main objective is to find out the appropriate amount(s) of Gleptoforte that when administered by injection provide the greatest growth performance and health in newborn piglets. 336 newborn piglets were used in a 21 day study, in which 28 litters were used with the number of pigs per sow were equalized. Shortly after birth, all pigs were weighed and assigned treatments through a completely randomized design with 56 piglets per treatment. The treatments included a negative control of no iron injection, along with increasing levels of Gleptoforte: 50, 100, 150, or 200 mg plus a 100 mg booster. Pigs were weighed to calculate body weight and average daily gain, and blood collection via jugular venipuncture took place on day 3, 11, and 21 to measure Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Serum Fe, and Total Iron Binding Capacity. Overall, ADG and body weight increased as the dosage of Gleptoforte increased. There was no evidence of difference in performance in all three periods between the 200 mg and 200 mg plus 100 mg injections, which suggests that the booster at day 11 did not provide any additional benefits compared to the 200 mg injection with no booster. There was no evidence of difference observed of hematological data measured on day 3 prior to iron injection. The most significant difference (P=.011) in hemoglobin was observed on day 21 with 200 mg plus 100 mg injection having a higher value than the 200 mg alone. Overall, as expected the negative control had the least results, however the 100 mg injection showed the greatest growth performance. These tests reveal that over time there are clearly certain injections that provide greater benefits in comparison to others, but this study also reveals that further testing must be done in order to clearly determine the optimal days to inject along with the optimal level of dosage.Item Open Access Effect of forage type on cecal and fecal fermentation parameters in the horse(2019-05-09) Lesh, Jessica R.; Sorensen, Rachel J.; Drouillard, James S.; Douthit, Teresa L.; Lattimer, James M.It is well documented that the microbiota of the equine hindgut is easily modified by dietary changes. However, the effect of forage type on the cecal environment is relatively unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of forage type on fermentation parameters within the hindgut of horses. Six cecally-cannulated horses (527 ± 56.6 kg BW; 12 ± 2.04 yr) were used in a crossover, split-plot design with treatment consisting of ad libitum access to Smooth Bromegrass hay (brome) or alfalfa hay. Subplots consisted of time and location within horse (cecum vs rectum). Horses were acclimated to their respective treatment for 21 d followed by a 24 h collection period. Horses were then switched to their subsequent diet and the protocol repeated. During the collection period, fecal and cecal samples were collected every 3 h and analyzed for pH and volatile fatty acids (VFA). Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS 9.4 with fixed effects of forage, location, and time and random effect of horse and period. Fecal pH of alfalfa-fed horses was greater (P<0.05) when compared to cecal pH in alfalfa-fed horses and fecal pH of brome-fed horses. Acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total VFA concentrations were greater (P<0.05) in the cecum and rectum of alfalfa-fed horses compared to the cecum and rectum of brome-fed horses. Acetate:Propionate was greater in the cecum of alfalfa-fed horses (P<0.05) and compared to the cecum of brome-fed horses (P<0.05). No effect (P>0.10) of location on VFA concentration or pH was found with horses consuming brome. Horses consuming alfalfa had greater (P<0.05) VFA concentrations in the cecum compared to the rectum. Alfalfa provided greater VFA for energy utilization.Item Open Access Effects of the different time length of heat treatments in E. coli K12 in raw shelled walnuts(2017-12-08) Clemage, Lindsey; Carbajal, A.; Chamraswimonrat, K.; Davis, H.; Coria, A.; Cotton, T.; Coleman, E.; Jones, Cassandra K.; Trinetta, ValentinaIntroduction: Escherichia coli (E. coli) are found in the environment, in animals, and are found on everyday food items. E. coli bacteria are very diverse and can live in different environments which can cause many problems in our food supply. E. coli can grow and survive in low water activity food like walnuts, and are also known to survive thermal heat treatments. Purpose: This study focuses on the effects of thermal heat on E. coli on walnuts and the duration of time it takes to kill the gram negative bacteria. Methods: The oven was set to 280⁰F, treatment one was a ten minute duration and treatment two was a twenty minute duration. The raw, shelled walnuts were inoculated with 107 CFU/ml E. coli concentration, divided into 10 gram bunches and were treated to the thermal heat. Once both treatments were applied to the inoculated walnuts they were placed in a stomacher bag for one minute. Three dilutions were applied; 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, and were placed on three different media plates; PCA, PDA, McConkey, and placed incubator at 95⁰F, for optimum growth. During the three day experiment a total of 270 plates, with a negative control, positive control, treatment one and treatment two were plated. Results: During the duration of this experiment there was no growth for the negative control. The positive control showed a two log reduction during the three days. Both treatments showed a decline in E. coli growth. The p-values for PCA <.0001, PDA < .001, and McConkey < .0002, all show that these treatments were significant. Therefore, using thermal heat Killed E. coli, and we reject the null hypothesis. Significance: The results of this study demonstrated the presence of E. coli on walnuts was killed with treatments one, and two.Item Open Access Dried distillers grains with solubles or corn gluten feed has the ability to replace soybean meal in Boer-type growing goat diets(2019-05-09) Lehmann, Emma M.; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.There is a limited amount of research pertaining to the formulation of growing goat diets. This causes the producers to have limited understanding on what to feed their goats to achieve better performance while still being economical. This study was aimed to evaluate whether dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) or corn gluten feed (CGF) could replace soybean meal in Boer-type growing goat diets. A total of 75 Boer-type goats were used and randomly assigned to pens containing three head; the unit of measurement was on a per pen basis. Five pens were assigned to one of each treatment over a 35 d period. Treatments were 1) 100% CGF/0% DDGS, 2) 66% CGF/33% DDGS, 3) 33% CGF/66% DDGS, 4) 0% CGF/100% DDGS, and 5) soybean meal. The goats were approximately 70 d of age and weighed 26.9±0.2kg. Data were collected on a weekly basis and cost related data was calculated at the end of the trial. All data was analyzed by the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (v.9.4, Cary, NC) with an acceptable alpha value of 0.05. There were no detected treatment differences for BW, ADG, ADFI, and G:F (P>0.05). The feed cost per kg of gain had a P-value of 0.049 meaning that there was a significant difference in this cost. Also, goats fed treatments with corn co-products resulted in less feed cost per goat than those fed soybean meal (P=0.0008). In summary, DDGS or CGF can replace soybean meal in Boer-type growing goat diets, due to being financially more economical.Item Open Access Effect of increasing GleptoForte dosage in newborn pigs on sow and litter performance(2017-12-08) Tischhauser, Lyndy M.; Williams, Hayden E.; Jones, Cassandra K.; DeRouchey, Joel M.; Tokach, Michael D.; Woodworth, Jason C.; Goodband, Robert D.; Dritz, Steven S.; Holtcamp, A.Newborn piglets are more susceptible to iron deficiency due to inadequate iron stores at birth and rapid growth rate before weaning. This causes fewer circulating red blood cells, lethargy, and mortality (Mateos, 2012). Gleptpforte is an injectable iron that contains gleptoferron and is utilized to prevent anemia in newborn piglets. There is limited data available that confirms the appropriate level of iron injection needed with modern genotypes. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of increasing dosage of Gleptoforte in newborn pigs on sow and litter performance. A total of 336 newborn pigs (DNA 241 x 600, initially 3.83 ± 0.114 lb BW) were utilized in a 21-d farrowing experiment. A total of 28 litters were utilized with number of pigs per sow equalized on each day of farrowing. Three days after birth, all piglets were weighed and six barrows and six gilts per liter were allotted to one of six treatments for a total of 56 piglets per treatment. Treatments include 1) Negative control of no iron injection 2) 50 mg iron injection 3) 100 mg iron injection 4) 150 mg iron injection 5) 200 mg iron injection 6) 200 mg iron injection plus a 100 mg booster at d 11 of farrowing. Each 1 ml of Gleptoforte contained 200 mg of iron; injection dosage of Gleptoforte were 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, or 1.0 plus the 0.50 ml booster for each treatment. Overall, ADG and d 21 BW improved (quadratic; P = 0.001) with increasing dosage of Gleptoforte. However, there was no evidence of performance differing in any response criteria between treatments 5 and 6. On d 3 prior to the iron injection, there was no evidence of difference observed for any hematological criteria measured. On d 21, treatment 6 had a greater (P = 0.011) Hemoglobin value compared to treatment 5. In summary, a lack of iron injection resulted in the poorest growth and blood parameters of iron status of suckling piglets as expected. However, the administration of 100 mg of Gleptoforte resulted in the greatest growth performance. Finally, the administration of 200 mg + 100 mg of Gleptoforte resulted in improved hematological criteria but did not influence suckling piglet growth performance compared to 200 mg alone.Item Open Access The effect of feeding medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) on nursery pig growth in an attempt to replace ZnO or carbadox(2019-05-09) Lawrence, Jaymi M.; Lerner, Anne B.; Jones, Cassandra K.Due to high demands from consumers to limit antimicrobial usage in nursery pig diets, pork producers are seeking antimicrobial replacements that improve growth performance. Literature suggests a possible replacement to dietary antimicrobials could be medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). However, only limited data about the efficacy of MCFA exists and very few studies compare MCFA to other antimicrobials like ZnO or carbadox. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding MCFA, ZnO and carbadox on weanling growth performance. A total of 360 weanling pigs (DNA 200×400;5.4±0.06 kg;) were used in a 35-d experiment with 6 pigs/pen and 10 pens/treatment. There were 6 treatments: 1) negative control; 2) ZnO (3,000 ppm in phase 1 and 1,500 ppm in phase 2); 3) carbadox (50 g/ton); 4) 1% C6:C8:C10 (MCFA blend); 5) 1% R2 (Feed Energy, City, IA); 6) 1% FORMI GML (ADDCON; Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany). Pens were allotted to treatments in a completely randomized design. Pig and feeder weights were collected weekly. Data was analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX (SAS version 9.4; Cary NC). Treatment diets were fed in two phases from weaning to d 19 of the experiment. A common phase 3 diet was fed from d 20 to 35. During the first phase, pigs fed ZnO or carbadox had improved (P< 0.05) ADG compared to control or R2 diets. For pigs fed ZnO compared to pigs fed the negative control ADFI was improved (P <0.05) with little impact on G:F (P <0.078). It can be concluded that ZnO and carbadox improved weanling growth and feed intake while MCFA were variable in performance. Therefore, further research on the feasibility of feeding MCFA in place of ZnO or other antimicrobials is needed.Item Open Access Evaluating corn distiller's dried grains with solubles as a rumen undegradable protein replacement for soybean meal in Boer-type grower rations(2019-05-09) Knobbe, Emily; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.A global increase in goat meat demand reveals a gap in knowledge for US farmers looking to increase profit margins through replacing rumen undegradable protein sources. We investigated whether corn distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) or corn gluten feed (CGF) can be utilized as a lower cost replacement for soybean meal (SBM) in Boer-type grower rations. In our experiment, 75 Boer-type goats (26.9 0.2 kg, approx. 70 d of age) were used in a completely randomized design for 35 d. Goats were assigned to pens based on weight and then pens were randomly assigned to one of 5 experimental diets: 1) 100% SBM, 2) 100% DDGS, 3) 66% DDGS/33% CGF, 4) 33%DDGS/66% CGF and 5) 100% CGF. Pens consisted of 3 goats per pen with 5 pens per treatment. Each wk BW, ADG, ADFI and G:F were measured. Data was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS (v. 9.4, Cary, NC) with pen as the experimental unit and a designate alpha value of 0.05. Our results showed no treatment effect of diet for variables (P<0.05), except for feed cost, measured in dollars/goat for 42 d (P=0.0008). Feed cost ($/goat) was averaged $1.43 less for goats fed CGF or DDGS compared to those fed SBM (P<0.05). Treatments including DDGS or CGF showed a significant (P<0.05) quadratic effect for ADFI, g/d (P=0.038) indicating a feed intake reduction for utilization of both alternative protein sources: 66%DDGS/33%CGF, 33%DDGS/66%CGF, 100% DDDGS, 100% CGF(1,022, 1,074, 1,110 and 1140 respectively.) Therefore, our research shows that DDGS can be effectively utilized with CGF as a lower cost rumen undegradable protein replacement for SBM while maintaining BW, ADG, ADFI, and G:F metrics.Item Open Access The combined effects of moisture and temperature on the microbial load of poultry fat(2017-05-05) Kufahl, Taylor; Johnson, Adam; Magossi, Gabriella; Jiao, SuinianSalmonella spp. has been linked to rendered animal fat used in pet food industry. Companies have to use test-and-hold procedures in order to determine the safety of the product. This can be costly and lead to reprocessing. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of moisture levels and storage temperatures on the growth of Salmonella in rendered poultry fat. Three different moisture levels were tested: 0.5%, 1%, and 3%. The combined effect of a wet contamination method at low 2.3x10^5 CFU/mL and high 5.8x10^8 CFU/mL inoculum with different storage temperatures (21˚C and 48˚C) was evaluated. Wet inoculation mimicked cross contamination from moisture. A control was held with no added water for both the high and low inocula at each storage condition. Poultry fat was stored for seven days, and every day an aliquot was sampled. An enrichment procedure was performed in order to account for injured and damaged cells. Samples were then plated on XLD agar and incubated at 37˚C for 24 hours. Results obtained from this study showed that when storing the fat at 22˚C there is no significant decrease in the growth of the Salmonella, while a significant effect on the growth of the pathogen was observed at higher temperature.Item Open Access Expression of GPR109A in dairy cattle immune cells(2019-05-09) Knight, Mylah L.; Mamedova, L.K.; Bradford, Barry J.GPR109A is a Gi-coupled receptor for nicotinic acid (NA; niacin) as well as β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). In cattle, NA is known to suppress the breakdown of adipose triglycerides, primarily by acting on the GPR109A receptor. Niacin binding activates the GPR109A receptor and leads to a decrease in cyclic AMP concentrations inside the cell. Dairy cows in early lactation have high concentrations of BHB, which may have important effects on immunity via GPR109A signaling. However, it remains unknown to what extent this receptor is expressed by key immune cells during this period of time. The objective of this study was to determine mRNA abundance and protein expression of GPR109A in immune cells of periparturient dairy cows. Heparinized blood (50 mL) was collected from 5 healthy Holstein cows and diluted with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at a 1:1 ratio. Ficoll was added to the samples and centrifuged to isolate immune cells. Pierce BCA Total Protein Assay Kit was used to determine the concentration of the total protein in isolated immune cell samples. 40 μg of protein sample were analyzed by Western Blot. The primary rabbit polyclonal antibody (HCAR2, ABClonal) was used at 1:500 and the secondary antibody (goat anti-Rabbit IgG, sc-2020; Santa Cruz Biotechnology) at 1:10000 to detect GPR109A protein expression. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to determine mRNA abundance in immune cell samples. Relative mRNA abundance was quantified by the delta-Ct method with control genes RPS15 and GAPDH used to normalize values. GPR109A receptor mRNA and protein were found both key types of innate immune cells (monocytes and neutrophils) of dairy cattle throughout the transition to lactation, with no significant changes detected over time. Previously-reported associations between high blood BHB concentrations and poor immune function may be linked by GPR109A signaling.Item Open Access Effect of replacing soybean meal with dried distillers grains in meat goat diets(2018-02-05) Ivey, Lauren T.; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.Market goat nutrition has received limited attention and their requirements have often been extrapolated from other species (cattle and sheep) due to a lack of information. Specifically, there is very limited data available regarding the role of feeding dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) to goats. With the per protein unit cost advantage of DDGS over SBM being $1.86, DDGS would clearly price into goat diets as a protein source (October 26, 2017 U.S. Grains Council Report). However, there is insufficient data to base recommendations for potential inclusion of DDGS in a diet. Our objective is to evaluate the efficacy of DDGS as a replacement for SBM in a Boer goat diet. Forty-eight meat goat kids (approximately 70 d of age, initially 28.2kg) were used in a completely randomized design. Animals were housed at the Kansas State University Sheep and Meat Goat Center with 3 kids per pen (4 pens per treatment). Pens were allotted into one of four experimental diets: 1) 0% SBM replaced by DDGS; 2) 33% SBM replaced by DDGS; 3) 66% SBM replaced by DDGS; and 4) 100% SBM replaced by DDGS. All diets were pelleted at the Kansas State University feed mill with pellets formulated to contain roughage so no supplemental forage was needed. After a 14 day step up period, diets were fed for 46 days with goats and feeders weighed weekly to determine ADG, ADFI and G:F. Two goats per pen were randomly selected and slaughtered at a USDA-inspected facility with carcass data collected. Data was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS, with pen as the experimental unit and 0.05 as the alpha value. Dietary treatment increased (P<0.0001) G:F but not overall ADG or ADFI (P>0.10) due to a linear improvement (P<0.02) in overall ADG and G:F with increasing DDGS. Overall, the greatest feed efficiency was observed at goats fed either 66% or 100% of SBM replaced by DDGs compared to those fed 0% or 33% of SBM replaced by DDGS. There was no evidence of effect (P>0.10) on carcass measurements. In summary, including DDGS in replacement of SBM in Boer Goat diets did not impact ADG, ADFI or carcass measurements but did improve G:F.Item Open Access Microbiome of the mare and the foal at parturition(2019-05-09) Konda, Matthew C.; Jones, E.; Kouba, Joann M.The objective of this study was to identify the microbial community in the meconium and to compare it to the microbiome of the mare’s placenta, milk, and feces at parturition. Six mares were used for this study. Mare fecal, milk, placental and foal meconium samples were collected at parturition. The mare and foal fecal matter were obtained by means of a rectal grab with a lubricated, sterile glove. Prior to nursing, a sample of the colostrum was taken after disinfecting the teats with an iodine solution. When the placenta was expelled from the mare, a sample was collected from the internal portion. All samples were frozen after collection until they were analyzed with Next Generation Sequencing techniques. The samples were run through a DNA extraction kit, followed by PCR, and then sequenced using Illumina Miseq. The sequencing data were analyzed using the QIIME bioinformatics pipeline. The foal meconium consisted of a unique microbial community that differs from the microbiome of the mare. In the meconium and placenta, the dominant phylum was Proteobacteria, however Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were also present within the microbial community at lesser relative abundancies. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia compromised the majority of the phyla in mare feces. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum in milk. The mare feces were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in microbial diversity when compared with meconium, milk and placental samples. Meconium was greater (P < 0.05) in bacterial diversity than milk, however there was no difference in diversity between meconium and placental samples. In conclusion, the microbial community of the foal meconium shared taxa with both the mare fecal and placental samples. This indicates the possibility that microbes were transferred between the mare and the foal during gestation, however the timing and methods of transport remain unknown.Item Open Access Effects of DDGS as a replacement for SBM in Boer grower rations(2018-02-05) Wines, Anna R.; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.With the U.S. goat industry, up 211%, from 1.25 million head in 2002 to 2.64 million head in 2017, goat producers and the industry are looking for a new cost effective way of feeding. Other research projects have shown great results of feeding DDGS to sheep, but there is very limited data for goat producers to base recommendations for potential inclusion of DDGS in a goat diet. Thus, the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the efficacy of DDGS as a replacement for soybean meal(SBM) in a Boer goat diet. During this 47 day trial, 48 meat goat kids (approximately 70 d of age) were housed at the Kansas State University Sheep and Meat Goat Center with 3 goats per pen and 4 pens per treatment. The goats were separated into one of the four experimental diets: 1) 0% SBM replaced by DDGS; 2) 33% SBM replaced by DDGS; 3) 66% SBM replaced by DDGS; and 4) 100% SBM replaced by DDGS. All four diets were pelleted, which contained roughages, thus no supplemental forage was needed. Goats and feeders were weighed weekly to determine ADG, ADFI, and G:F. At the conclusion of the experiment, two goats out of each pen were taken to a USDA inspected facility to be slaughtered and to collect carcass data. All data was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS with pen serving as the experimental unit and 0.05 as the alpha value. In conclusion, the treatments did not affect(P>0.10) ADG or ADFI, but did impact (P>0.005) G:F. This was due to a linear improvement (P<0.02) in overall ADG and G:F with increasing DDGS. The greatest feed efficiency (P<0.05) was seen in goats fed 66% or 100% of SBM replaced with DDGS compared to those fed 0% or 33% SBM replaced by DDGS. Lastly, there was no impact (P>0.10) of DDGS on hot carcass weight, yield, loin eye area, or fat depth at the 13th rib. In summary, goats can be fed DDGS without detrimental growth or carcass effects.Item Open Access Evaluating the effects of medium chain fatty acids on nursery pig health and performance compared to traditional feed supplements carbadox and zinc oxide(2019-05-09) Koetting, Aleesha R.; Lerner, Anne B.; Jones, Cassandra K.Carbadox and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) are traditional supplements for nursery pig diets, but have many modern disadvantages, including negative environmental impacts. By testing different medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) supplements for nursery diets, performance aspects including ADG, ADFI, and G:F were investigated. The 35-day study follows 360 weanling pigs (DNA 200x400: 5.4+/-0.07 kg) being fed one of 6 dietary treatments. Pigs were randomly assigned to 10 pens per treatment with 6 pigs per pen. The 6 dietary treatments included: 1) control; 2) 3,000 ppm ZnO in Phase 1 and 1,500 ppm ZnO in Phase 2; 3) 50 g/ton carbadox; 4) 1% blend of C6:C8:C10; 5) 1% Feed Energy R2 (Feed Energy Corp, Des Moines, IA); 6) 1% FORMI GML (ADDCON, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany). Diets were split into 3 phases, with treatment diets in Phase 1 (d0 to d7) and Phase 2 (d8 to d19), while Phase 3 (d20 to d35) was a common diet. Piglet weights and feeder weights were collected weekly. Piglets fed ZnO or carbadox had greater (P<0.05) ADG and ADFI compared to the control, with pigs fed FORMI being intermediate. Pigs fed C6:C8:C10 and R2 had decreased (P<0.05) ADFI, possibly due to a taste or palatability issue, which likely caused a related decrease (P<0.05) in ADG. Under the conditions of this experiment it was found that pigs fed traditional feed supplements ZnO and carbadox had the greater performance compared to the control, while those fed MCFA had varied outcomes. In conclusion, further studies are needed to evaluate if MCFAs are an adequate replacement for ZnO and carbadox.Item Open Access Effects of increasing GleptoForte dosage in newborn pigs on sow and litter performance(2017-12-08) Herd, Lauren; Williams, Hayden E.; Jones, Cassandra K.; DeRouchey, Joel M.; Tokach, Michael D.; Woodworth, Jason C.; Goodband, Robert D.; Dritz, Steven S.; Holtcamp, A.An experiment was conducted to measure the effects of varied Gleptoforte dosage on nursing piglet performance. There has been extensive research in determining the optimal dosage of iron dextran to prevent anemia in baby pigs, but little research has been conducted to determine the optimal dosage of Gleptoforte, another iron supplement containing gleptoferron, in baby pigs. A total of 28 litters were utilized for the study, 12 pigs from each litter, for a total of 336 pigs. Six barrows and six gilts from each litter were randomly assigned to one of 6 experimental treatments; one barrow and one gilt per treatment. These treatments included: 1) a negative control of 0 mg injected Gleptoforte, 2) 50 mg, 3) 100 mg, 4) 150 mg, 5) 200 mg, and 6) 200 mg at birth + 100 mg booster at d11 of farrowing. Pig weights were collected at processing (d3), midway (d11), and at weaning. These weights were used to determine ADG for each time interval. Blood was collected from one barrow per treatment per litter for measurement of hematological parameters on the day of processing (d3), midway (d11), and weaning (d21). The hematological parameters measured included: hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum Fe, and Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC). An alpha value of 0.05 was used. ADG increased (P=0.001) in the farrowing house as the dosage of Gleptoforte was increased to 100 mg, not increasing any further beyond 100 mg. D21 body weight improved (P=0.001) as dosage was increased to 100 mg as well. There was no evidence of improved performance in the 200 mg + 100 mg treatment when compared to the 200 mg treatment alone. However, hematological parameters measured improved with the 200 mg + 100 mg treatment when compared to the 200 mg treatment. Hemoglobin and value at d21 was significantly different (P=0.011) between the 200 mg treatment and the 200 mg + 100 mg treatment. Also at d21, between the 200 mg and the 200 mg + 100 mg treatments, there was a significant difference (P=0.046) in hematocrit value. The administration of 100 mg of Gleptoforte resulted in the greatest growth performance of pigs in the farrowing house.Item Open Access Effect of corn gluten feed or corn dried distiller grains with solubles as a substitute for soybean meal of Boer-type goat(2019-05-09) Kim, Eunji; Crane, Alison R.; Lattimer, James M.; Jones, Cassandra K.Goat populations have increased over the past few years. Because slaughter numbers of goats increased about 7 percent last year to 2.07 million, and exports gained 6 percent to 28.4 million ton (Bloomberg 2018). The advantage, for products are that they are an inexpensive protein source that is highly available in the Midwest. There is little research evaluating different ingredients on goat growth performance. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine how corn gluten feed (CFG) or corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) could impact goat growth performance, and economics with soybean meal (SBM). Treatments were isocaloric and isonitrogenous but varied in protein source: 1) soybean meal; 2) 100% DDGS/0% CGF; 3) 66% DDGS/33% CGF; 4) 33% DDGS/66% CGF; 5) 0% DDGS/100% CGF and fed to seventy-five Boer-type goats (26.9±0.2 kg). There were 3 goats per pen and 5 pens per treatment for 35 days in a completely randomized design. The experimental unit was housed pens. Data was analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedures of SAS (v. 9.4, Cary, NC), with 0.05 as the accepted alpha. Overall, diet had no obscene impact on growth (P>0.05). However, it did impact on feed cost per goat. Feed cost per kg was lower in corn co-products than soybean meal as the protein source. This $0.04/kg of feed decrease in feed cost, resulted lower (P = 0.0008) feed cost/goat for goats fed corn co-products compared to SBM. In summary, CGF or DDGS may be a cost-effective replacement for SBM in goat diets, with no detected impact in growth.Item Open Access Camelina Seed and Its Effect on Avian Wildlife Species(2016-12-12) Mentnech, Keith J.; Delfelder, C.J.; Seitz, Daniel E.; Beyer, R. ScottIn Western Kansas, as water availability decreases, agriculture producers are looking for alternative crops that use less water. Also in western Kansas is our important game bird recreation area. And when we use Camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz) seed (CS), due to early harvest, we are interested in what effect these little seeds have on early growth of birds since they will hatch in early spring right at CS harvest. In this study, we used 45 2 week-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks for a 7-day experimental period that were randomly assigned to 15 battery cages, each with 3 chicks, for five feed treatments with a control, a 5% and a 10% whole CS inclusion rate, and a 5% and a 10% ground CS inclusion rate. There were no mortalities throughout the experiment. As a result of the study, there were no statistical differences between the treatments, respectively. In conclusion, the results indicate that Camelina seed, whether whole or ground, will not pose a threat to game bird recreation areas nearby agriculture producers.
