Feed Resources and Nutrition Strategies for Sustainable Livestock Production
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 424
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
One of the most important agricultural sectors is livestock. It is critical to humans' primary protein food sources, as well as livestock farmers' incomes, ranging from the agricultural industry to smallholder farmers. Livestock contributes to the ongoing environmental issue of global warming. Increasing productivity is one of several solutions to this problem. A variety of studies on the use of feed resources in livestock production are required to increase production efficiency.
Feed sources are critical in livestock production in order for animals to be productive. Natural fodder and agricultural by-products or residues are valuable feed resources; however, another important factor to consider is the quantity and quality of animal feeds that can be used continuously. Furthermore, developing new feed resources from non-conventional sources, such as insect larvae, is an important strategy that can contribute to sustainable livestock production.
Feeding strategies are another approach that will increase livestock productivity. Animal feeding strategies differ depending on the source of feeds and the animals' desire for productivity. The pursuit of a new feeding strategy that is compatible with theavailable feed resources will result in sustainable livestock production.
This Special Issue's goal is to present current research or reviews on the role of feed resources and feeding strategies in sustainable livestock production.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Optimized utilization of conventional and unconventional feed resources.
- New approaches to improving nutritive values of feed resources.
- Sustainable livestock production based on local feed resources.
- Feeding strategies to increase livestock production and sustainability.
- New potential feed resources for sustainable livestock production.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Chalong Wachirapakorn
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- livestock production
- feed resources
- conventional feeds
- non-conventional feeds
- feed efficiency
- new feed resources from other sectors
- global warming
- crop residues
- improving nutritive value methods
- feeding strategies
- sustainability in livestock production
- effective microorganisms
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Effect of feeder hole diameter on feed consumption and waste by Japanese quail
Authors: Pedro González-Redondo*, Pablo Trancoso-Ruiz
Affiliation: Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad de Sevilla, Carretera de Utrera km 1, 41013 Seville, Spain
Abstract: A key aspect in the sustainability of the feeding of poultry species housed in cages is to achieve an adequate consumption to cover the ingestion needs and that feed waste is minimized. Using 24 Japanese quail of both sexes that received 80 g/day of pelleted feed, and performing three repetitions, this investigation evaluated the feed consumed and the feed spilled outside the feeders, which had holes of three different diameters (3, 4 and 5 cm). The consumption of pelleted feed (17.9±0.38 g/day) was lower with the 3 cm diameter feeders (p<0.05), and it was higher in females than in males (p<0.001). There was an interaction between both factors (p<0.001). There were no differences between feeder hole diameters or between sexes (p>0.05) for the amount of feed spilled from the feeders (1.02±0.06 g/day). Significant and positive correlations were found between quail live weight and the amount of feed consumed (r=0.868; p<0.001) and the amount of feed spilled from the feeders (r=0.195; p<0.001), as well as between the amount of feed consumed and the amount of feed spilled from the feeders (r=0.254; p<0.001). In conclusion, an adequate hole size of the feeders allows to optimize the feed consumption, demonstrating that a diameter of 3 cm reduces the feed consumption by Japanese quails in comparison with holes of 4 and 5 cm in diameter, and without difference in the feed spilled between those three diameters.
