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Awassi dairy sheep farmers in the Middle East are facing high feed costs, particularly during the milk production season, along with large fluctuation in grain and straw prices. Incorporating agro-industrial byproducts into the diet of Awassi dairy sheep can help to balance diets and decrease costs. But it may affect milk quality through changes in the fatty acid profile. Six experimental diets were compared to a control diet in the research station of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Tal Hadya, Syria. Milking Awassi ewes (n = 56) were used to test six experimental diets, in which supplements comprised molasses, sugar beet pulp, or cotton seed cake to a traditional control diet contained barley, wheat bran, and barley straw. Milk samples were collected on a weekly basis from April to June. The daily milk production and fat content were enhanced in diets containing urea-treated wheat straw (P

Highlights • An extensive outbreak of bluetongue occurred in Greece in 2014. • Increased morbidity and fatality rates were recorded in sheep. • Clinical anaemia, a rarely seen clinical sign, was recorded in affected sheep. • Virus was detected in wild cervids., Objective of this paper was to review relevant work and to present a general account of the bluetongue outbreak, which occurred in Greece in 2014. In total, 2895 outbreaks of the disease have been reported by the veterinary authorities of Greece; sheep, goats and cattle were affected with officially reported morbidity rates of 11.0%, 2.0% and 3.5%, respectively. No vaccinations were allowed and conservative measures were implemented to attempt to limit the disease, which at the end had expanded throughout the country. In field investigations, a significantly higher bluetongue morbidity rate (27.5%) in sheep has been reported. During that work, clinical anaemia was encountered, which was characterised as macrocytic, hypochromic, regenerative and non-haemolytic. Other investigations, which are reviewed in this paper, have described an outbreak of Citrobacter freundii-associated enteritis in newborn kids, offspring of goats subclinically infected with Bluetongue virus, increased rate of early embryonic deaths, reduced conception rates, increased incidence risk of mastitis and reduced milk yield in herds of subclinically-infected cattle and detection of the virus from hunter-harvested tissue samples of roe-deer. In 2015, vaccines against the disease have been licenced; vaccinations started in May 2015. Then, in 2015, only one outbreak of the disease was confirmed, which could have been the result of a combination of reasons acting concurrently to prevent further cases.

In on-farm animal welfare assessment schemes mortality is a commonly used measure to assess welfare states, as well as to ascertain the effectiveness of different management strategies. While decreases in welfare and mortality are linked it is likely that monitoring and measuring the factors that influence mortality will be key in using this relationship to improve animal welfare. Therefore, this paper aimed to identify various factors that influence mortality in adult ewes. Once identified these factors may then be suitable for inclusion in an on-farm welfare assessment, or for a broader framework designed to manage risks to mortality. The data used in this analysis was collected on an Australian sheep flock from 2007 to 2010, and focused on identifying variables that increase the risk of mortality of ewes from weaning to a mature age (∼ 660 days). Given that neither mortality, nor the factors affecting it, were routinely recorded in this data set an individual ewe was considered dead when she was identified as missing at consecutive regular husbandry events. Analysis of the data indicated that sire (P

The Red Maasai are indigenous sheep breeds known for their adaptability in arid and semi-arid environments while the Dorper is known for its good mutton production. A field experiment cross breeding program for the two breeds was set up in 2003 to exploit these traits. In this paper, we present the genetic parameters for birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WWT) and weight at nine months (MWT) for pure Red Maasai (RRRR), pure Dorper (DDDD), 75% Dorper (DDDR) and 50% Dorper (DDRR) breeds. The genetic parameters were estimated by fitting four different multivariate animal models while ignoring or including maternal effects. The model with the lowest Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) was chosen as the best model for the estimation of genetic parameters. The average annual genetic gain of the studied traits for each breed group was estimated by regressing the estimated breeding values on year of birth. Records from 5442 lambs recorded over a period of 17 years (2003-2019) were used in this analysis. The breed group, sex, type of birth, season of birth and age of the dam significantly (P

The paper discusses assessment of animal welfare in small ruminant production systems and reports on developments regarding various monitoring schemes, which are used to assess small ruminant welfare at farm level. Further, welfare assessment protocols are presented; these have been derived as results in the Animal Welfare Indicators (‘AWIN’) project, which had been funded within the European Commission’s 7th Framework Program. The role of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in providing a scientific basis for future legislation on animal welfare is described. Finally, emergency medicine to reduce small ruminant suffering and support appropriate decisions to promote welfare of individual animals or populations of animals is also discussed.

Suffolk breed is known to display a clear seasonal reproductive response orchestrated by the significant annual variation in photoperiod related to its latitude of origin. However, in the low latitudes of the tropical and subtropical environments the magnitude and timing of these responses in Suffolk rams has been poorly investigated. This study aimed to quantify changes on andrological parameters in Suffolk rams kept under natural light/dark cycle and climate in the south of Brazil (25°25′40′′ S, 49°16′23′′ W). Rams were monitored during 1 year for testicular size, seminal parameters and serum testosterone. From autumn to winter, under shortening daylength, rams underwent a significant gonadal involution. Testicular size increased in spring and reached a peak in summer, similar to the latitude of which this breed originates. Parallel to scrotal circumference, other parameters such as testicular volume, serum testosterone concentration, ejaculate volume and sperm concentration followed a seasonal profile. Testosterone levels followed the same seasonal pattern as testicular size. Ejaculate volume was significantly lower during autumn and winter and higher values of sperm concentration were detected in spring. Furthermore, there were no significant changes in spermatozoa defects, motility, weave motion or vigor between seasons. In this paper we analyze the impact of seasonality over testis function in Suffolk rams at lower latitudes.

Keywords: Biodiversity Conservation Environment Goats Grazing Management a b s t r a c t Goats have developed in harmony with local conditions of climate, terrain, vegetation, and even pathogens over centuries in many areas, while they have been blamed of causing environment degradation in other ones. The paper summarizes the situation of goat’s population worldwide, the status of the breeds and the multiple implications of their conservation, the interactions of goats with other animal species (wild or domestic) and the main issues regarding the consequences of goat grazing from the environmental point of view. It underlines that most of the environmentally harmful effects of goat grazing arise from improper management practices at very high grazing pressures whereas goat grazing can be a useful tool for conservation if managed adequately. Moderate grazing pressures can be compatible with high levels of biodiversity and provide externalities, whereas high intensity at short term can be a valuable tool for weed control. Goat genetic heritage is seriously threatened and requires more studies and greater support from national and international institutions, in parallel with other efforts in rural development, especially for remote areas which hold an outstanding reservoir of livestock diversity adapted to the local conditions and managed by impoverished communities. A multidisciplinary approach of scientists, policy makers, rangeland managers and local communities is required for the design of future sustainable management plans. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The income of the nomads in Kerman Province depends mainly on Raeini goats that produce meat, milk and cashmere. This paper assesses the cashmere quality and its variation in Raeini herds to determine the scope for improvement. In April 2010 fleece weights (FW) and midside fleece samples were taken from a total of 686 male and female cashmere goats of 1, 2 and 3 years of age belonging to 29 herds. The herds were randomly chosen in the summer grazing area of nomads within 20 km of the city of Baft, province of Kerman, South of Iran, the main cashmere producing area in Iran. Cashmere yield (CY) was determined from the weight of dehaired cashmere to weight of shorn fiber. Cashmere fibers were analyzed using an OFDA instrument. A general mixed linear model including sex, age and sex by age interaction as fixed effects and herd as random effect was used to analyze the data and measure the relationships between different cashmere characteristics and fleece attributes. The overall means ± standard deviations were for fleece weights (FW) 507 ± 183 g, cashmere yield (CY) 56.5 ± 12.2%, mean fiber diameter (MFD) 19.7 ± 1.5 μm, fiber diameter standard deviation (FDSD) 4.5 ± 0.6 μm, fiber curvature (FC) 62.9 ± 8.5°/mm and staple length (SL) 54.2 ± 7.0 mm, respectively. Herd effect was significant for all traits except for SL and sex by age effect was only significant for MFD. One year old males and females had finer cashmere than older goats. FW and FDSD were higher in males and CY and FC was higher in young animals. Pearson correlation between MFD and FC, FDSD and MFD, MFD and FW was −0.647, 0.399 and 0.211 respectively. Raeini cashmere is white, has an excellent SL and FC but is relatively coarse. Given the differences between and within herds there seems to be substantial scope to improve the commercial value of Raeini cashmere. Fil: Ansari-Renani, Hamid R. Animal Science Research Institute; Irán Fil: Mueller, Joaquin Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Rischkowsky, Barbara. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas; Siria Fil: Seyed Momend, S.M. Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center; Irán Fil: Alipour, O. Livestock Office of Agriculture Department of Baft; Irán Fil: Ehsani, M. Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center; Irán Fil: Moradi, Sepehr. University of Zanjan. Agriculture College. Animal Science Department; Irán. Animal Science Research Institute; Irán.

Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-27T14:53:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000292445000018.pdf: 159060 bytes, checksum: ba52293118f64e763ee5cca8e34ada05 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-01 Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-30T18:03:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000292445000018.pdf: 159060 bytes, checksum: ba52293118f64e763ee5cca8e34ada05 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-01 Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-20T13:19:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000292445000018.pdf: 159060 bytes, checksum: ba52293118f64e763ee5cca8e34ada05 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T13:19:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000292445000018.pdf: 159060 bytes, checksum: ba52293118f64e763ee5cca8e34ada05 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-01 A main purpose of a mathematical nutrition model (a.k.a., feeding systems) is to provide a mathematical approach for determining the amount and composition of the diet necessary for a certain level of animal productive performance. Therefore, feeding systems should be able to predict voluntary feed intake and to partition nutrients into different productive functions and performances. In the last decades, several feeding systems for goats have been developed. The objective of this paper is to compare and evaluate the main goat feeding systems (AFRC, CSIRO, NRC, and SRNS), using data of individual growing goat kids from seven studies conducted in Brazil. The feeding systems were evaluated by regressing the residuals (observed minus predicted) on the predicted values centered on their means. The comparisons showed that these systems differ in their approach for estimating dry matter intake (DMI) and energy requirements for growing goats. The AFRC system was the most accurate for predicting DMI (mean bias = 91 g/d, P < 0.001; linear bias 0.874). The average ADG accounted for a large part of the bias in the prediction of DMI by CSIRO, NRC, and, mainly, AFRC systems. The CSIRO model gave the most accurate predictions of ADG when observed DMI was used as input in the models (mean bias 12 g/d, P < 0.001; linear bias -0.229). while the AFRC was the most accurate when predicted DMI was used (mean bias 8g/d. P > 0.1; linear bias -0.347). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Zootecnia, BR-14884900 São Paulo, Brazil Ohio State Univ, Dept Anim Sci, Columbus, OH 43210 USA Univ Sassari, Dipartimento Sci Zootecn, I-07100 Sassari, Italy Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Zootecnia, BR-14884900 São Paulo, Brazil

Managing goat production for meat quality is a deliberate, active process that reaches from conception to consumption. The concept of quality in meat is universal, being wholesome, nutritious and palatable. Goat meat is a product of many different production systems from widely varying environments, nutritional regimes and genotypes. The physical, chemical, sensory and nutritional properties of goat meat at the point of consumption are the results of sequential influencing factors that each, to a greater or lesser extent, can be directed by producers, marketers and processors. This paper considers genetic and physiological factors that influence the production of goat meat. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Historically, several goat breeds and types have been introduced into Brazil with the intention of increasing goat production efficiency. Selection and multiplication of genotypes appropriate to several production systems found in the country have been important to the development of the goat sector in Brazil. Until 2002 there were no formal breeding programs for goats in the country. Attempts for genetic improvement were concentrated in animal importations and in isolated crossbreeding. This paper assesses the main aspects of goat production in Brazil and presents the establishment of breeding programs for meat and dairy goats. Breeding Program for Meat Goats and Sheep (GENECOC) were started in 2003 with the objective of supporting breeders on the utilization of the available genetic resources to optimize their production systems. Nowadays only seven flocks of goats are enrolled in this program. These flocks are located in States of Ceara (Northeast region), Parana and Rio Grande do Sul (South region). In 2005, EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasilerira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, started the Dairy Goat Breeding Program. The program aimed to structure the dairy goat national databank and conduct the progeny tests for the main dairy breeds raised in the country. Semen from five Saanen, three Anglo-Nubian and two French Alpine goats was collected and distributed among 15 collaborator flocks. Official Dairy Control Tests have been accomplished in eleven flocks in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (Southeast region). Many difficulties were faced in the implementation of goats breeding programs in Brazil. The results are not readily available, but the perspectives are promising. Goat breeders’ interest has been increasing and the actions have been expanded to other regions of the country, while a large number of institutions have shown interest in collaborating with these breeding programs.

Genetic selection has been used to control transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in sheep populations based on the association between PRNP polymorphisms and resistance to scrapie. In goats even if a protective role has been suggested for several polymorphisms (I142M, H143R, N146D/S, R154H, R211Q, Q222K) by different European studies, a similar, univocal association has not been proved so far. The aim of this paper was to identify target polymorphisms in goats and their potential applicability in a selection plan in Italy. For this purpose, the existing genetic data on modulating resistance to classical and atypical scrapie in goats in this country will be used as starting point. Two Italian case–control studies concluded that the polymorphism at codon 222 (from glutamine to lysine Q/K) is important in influencing the susceptibility of goats to classical scrapie. Moreover, goats are susceptible to an unusual form of scrapie, named Nor98, and the H154 mutation was shown to be statistically associated with this disease in goats in an Italian case–control study. Currently, a strategy based on killing goats carrying the H154 mutation is being applied to manage atypical scrapie outbreaks in Italy. The current situation in Italy bodes well for the applicability of breeding plans based on the K222 mutation; data from independent studies on the role of K222 as a protective or even a resistance factor and its frequency in several Italian breeds are available. In the near future, as new data on K222 will be reported, testing the application of selective culling in classical scrapie goat outbreaks may become feasible.

13 pages, 16 tables.-- This paper is part of the special issue entitled “The future of sheep and goat production in Europe: prospects within the framework of new support regimes and market conditions”. Guest edited by Dr. Dunixi Gabina., European sheep and goat production, in the Mediterranean areas represent important economic, environmental and sociological issues. Our article aims at comparing the situation of the main small ruminant systems in South European regions (Spain, France, Italy and Greece), and their possible future evolution. On the average, the income of milk systems tends to be higher than meat systems thanks to a good market price. Moreover, the dependence on subsidies is greater in meat systems and in extensive systems. However, milk systems seem more sensitive to the market situation for example, Italian products in the USA and products from Greece with respect to certain foreign companies. Sheep and goat production, being frequently the only possible enterprises in less favoured areas, are often fundamental to maintaining social activities and to keep the vegetation out of danger from fire. However, in Greece and Spain some intensive systems are becoming established in the more fertile plain areas. The roads to success are rather uncertain considering the new CAP reform as nearly all these systems seem to be dependent on the important European subsidies. Nevertheless, we have identified different ways to progress according to systems and regions. Such an uncertain future could be easier to forecast if those involved in the sheep and goat sectors worked more collectively in Europe.

Biosecurity on South American camelid operations involves both external and internal measures to prevent the introduction and spread of disease. External biosecurity involves practices and techniques directed at the prevention of entry of new diseases into a group of animals. Internal biosecurity or biocontainment, involves practices and techniques that are directed at the prevention or spread of disease within an existing group of animals. External biosecurity is particularly important in North America camelid operations due to the extensive movement of animals for breeding or show purposes. Internal biosecurity typically involves this the prevention and treatment of failure of passive transfer, maintenance of proper nutrition and housing, and the implementation of an appropriate vaccination program for endemic or relevant diseases. Attention to appropriate cleaning and disinfection procedures related to housing, feeding, and treatment equipment is important for the maintenance of both internal and external biosecurity practices. This paper discusses various risk factors associated with the control of infectious disease in the context of external and internal biosecurity measures in camelids operations.

Metadata only record In this paper the authors examine the role of women in the field of sheep and goat production by highlighting five different studies of goat projects located in developing countries. Goats and sheep were chosen for this study because of the nature of their grazing since they are able to feed off limited resources, they coexist well with other livestock due to little direct food competition and because they are smaller and need less food than larger livestock. Also, early sexual maturity and short gestation terms creates abbreviated generation intervals. This generates an immediate source of cash and allows goats and sheep to be swiftly re-stocked. Almost everyone in the family can raise them and there are few cultural and religious restrictions on the consumption of goats and sheep. Finally, because goats and sheep are less prestigious to raise than cattle and other large livestock, men are less likely to interfere with female authority in their production. Looking at studies in Lake Yojoa, Honduras, Tontolo, Honduras, San Jose Llanga, Bolivia, Mantaro Valley, Peru, and Hebei Province, China, the authors concluded that goats and sheep are an important instrument for women to have their own income and contribute to the food security of their families. They suggest that goat and sheep enterprises have become a focal point for development programs.