Chapters authored
Essential Nanominerals and Other Nanomaterials in Poultry Nutrition and Production
Poultry production, health and wellbeing are highly dependent upon formulation of balanced rations in terms of energy, protein, and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Among all, minerals are required in fewer quantities, but they are very important to maintain the productivity in poultry. Minerals present in the feeds are less bioavailable and additional supplementation is obligatory to meet the physiological demands of poultry. Conventionally, minerals are supplemented as inorganic salts, which are less absorbed and, thus, a major proportion is excreted to the surroundings creating environment issues. Nano-minerals and organic mineral chelates are other alternative to be used as livestock and poultry feed supplements. Though organic minerals are more bioavailable than inorganic salts, their high cost limits its use. In contrast, nano-minerals are relatively easy to synthesize at a lower cost. Nano-minerals are of the size from 1–100 nm and due to such small size, there is an enormous increase in surface area and thus their biological responses. The biological response studies have signified better retention of nano-minerals as compared to inorganic salts, and consequently leached less to the environment preventing possible pollution. Apart from these, nano-minerals have been shown to enhance growth, egg production and quality, immune-modulation and antioxidant status, and at the same time economize the production by reducing the supplemental dose of minerals and improving the feed conversion ratio. Some nano-minerals and other nanoparticles have strong antimicrobial effects, which have been shown to reduce pathogenic microorganisms in the gut. Nano-minerals seem to be less toxic than conventional mineral sources. Though less, few studies have indicated toxic effects of nano-mineral supplementation at higher dose of application, which should be validated by more programmed studies. Nanotechnology in poultry production system is still in its budding stage and more detailed studies are warranted to validate, establish and search for new effects of nano-minerals as they sometimes produce effects beyond expectation. This review highlights the biological responses of nanominerals on poultry production performance, quality of meat and eggs, tissue retention, immunity, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial actions compared with their conventional mineral sources.
Part of the book: Advances in Poultry Nutrition Research
Design and Development of Self-Made Cost-Effective Microsoft Excel Visual Basic Application for Livestock Ration Formulation
One of the most important aspects of the livestock sector is ration cost optimization, which results in profit and ideal animal health. Manually preparing rations is time consuming and unsafe. Whereas computers can quickly formulate a ration that meets all of the nutritional requirements, after giving standard data on feeds. However, the existence of the ideal computer programme is questionable; if it exists, it is more expensive, less user-friendly, exclude local feeds, be limited to a particular region/country, feed composition may differ. As a result, in this chapter, the user will learn how to create and develop a self-made least-cost ration formulation using the locally available feeds, so that user may easily build their computer Programme using Visual Basic application of Microsoft Excel. There are three phases to ration formulation for any animal (ruminant or non-ruminant). The first phase requires the user to know the available feeds and their nutrient composition. The second part involves determining which nutrients are important for animals and creating nutrient equations. The third phase involves the creation of a linear programming model. Finally, the interface is being designed. Each phase is thoroughly explained in excel, with suitable data and reference coding.
Part of the book: Animal Husbandry