Search

The aim of this research is to propose equations to estimate body weight (BW) from body measures (BMs) in the Cornigliese sheep, an endangered breed reared in Italy for meat purpose. BW and BMs were submitted to correlation and multiple regression analyses. Two datasets were used: (i) 303 animals (178 females, 125 males, BW 4.00–117.80 kg), on which BW, height at withers (HW), chest circumference (ChC) and body length (BL) were measured; (ii) 156 animals (109 females, 47 males, BW 5.15–117.80 kg) out of 303 on which croup height (HCr), chest width (ChW), chest depth (ChD) and croup width (CrW) were also considered. On each dataset, two regression models were applied, one containing all variables (models 1 and 3, respectively, for datasets 1 and 2) and the other one comprising groups of variables, selected by means of the stepwise procedure (models 2 and 4, respectively, for datasets 1 and 2). BW resulted correlated with all BMs (from 0.852 for ChW to 0.950 for ChC; p

We evaluated whether chabazite/phillipsite dietary supplementation might affect the faecal microbiota, oxidant and antioxidant status of working dogs at rest undergone to a trial test. Forty English Setter dogs were involved in two replicate trials. At each replicate, dogs were divided into two homogeneous groups (10 dogs/group). During a period of 28 days, diet was supplemented (Z group) or not supplemented (C group) with chabazite/phillipsite at the dose of 5 g/head/day. On day 29, dogs were subjected to a trial test. Faecal characteristics were assessed at 0 and 29 days (within two hours from the end of the trial test). Faecal consistency was not affected by dietary supplementation (p > .05). On day 29, Lactobacillus spp. and Enterococcus spp. counts were higher and Enterobacteriaceae were lower in Z than in C group (p .05). Our results suggest that chabazite/phillipsite dietary supplementation, improves the intestinal microbiota ecosystem and may counteract the oxidative damage caused by physical stress in hunting dogs at the beginning of the working season.

A total of 72 animals from Cornigliese sheep breed were reared under homogeneous conditions, with the aim to assess the effect of sex (males, females) and age-class (heavy lambs, adults) on carcass and meat parameters. A model with fixed effects of herd, sex, slaughtering session, age-class and interaction (sex*age-class) was used; for slaughter data, the carcass weight was used as a covariate. The age-class effect was significant for most of the carcass measurements, indicating a late development in animals. Also, slaughter performance was significantly affected by age-class, with higher values (p

The aim of this study was to estimate the linear and quadratic effects of the proportion of Duroc genes on the characteristicsof seasoned Parma hams by means of a covariance model. The study was carried out on 167 pigs (87 castratedmales, 80 females) from different crosses among Duroc (D), Large White (LW) and Landrace (L) breeds, slaughteredat 300 d of age (live weight 170 kg). All pigs were raised under similar conditions. The curing period was 380 days. Theproportion of Duroc genes was 0% (LWxL; n. 33), 25% [(LWx(DxL); n. 31 and Lx(DxLW); n. 35)] and 50%[Dx(LWx(LWxL)); n. 68]. The increase in the proportion of Duroc genes had a positive linear effect (Pquadratic effect (P=0.01) on the yield of deboned ham while ham fat thickness decreased linearly (P=0.07) andincreased quadratically (P(Pfor lightness (Pfeatured a linear increase in moisture (Pin addition to significant quadratic effects with an increase in the proportion of Duroc genes. In conclusion, crossbreedingwith the Duroc breed (up to 50%) makes it possible to obtain positive quality characteristics of cured Parma ham.

The Bardigiano horse is a local breed of the province of Parma. Since the institution of the Stud Book in 1977, the breed has improved its diffusion and is currently present with 110 stallions and over 1700 mares in 43 provinces in Italy and beyond that in Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.

Aim of the study was to achieve scientific information about body measures and milk production of Cabannina cattle, a local breed reared in northern Italy. Fourteen body measures and five morphologic indexes were recorded from 86 heads enrolled in the herd book. Low differences between males and females of the same age-class were shown. Body measures were generally greater than those reported in previous studies, probably due to recent crosses. With reference to milk production, 991 test-day records from 128 lactations of 59 cows were analysed. Average milk daily production was 8 kg/d in 1st lactation to 10.61 in 3rd (P0.75 showed a standard curve, with low persistence (7.7%), high value of d at peak (103 d) and peak production of 20.18 kg of milk. Moreover, 100 milk samples (40 to 220 d of lactation) were submitted to a granulometric survey by laser scatter technique in order to evaluate the dimensions of fat globules; then milk fat was analyzed by gas chromatography, and desaturase indexes were determined. Cabannina cows showed small fat globules with high specific surface. Furthermore mean diameter of milk fat globules decreased during lactation then rose. Milk fat contained high levels of cis-MUFA, and high desaturase indexes. In conclusion, the low size of Cabannina cattle orients for a limited meat production. Instead milk production has a higher economic potential, aimed at cheese production and human nutrition.