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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

With the aim to assess the kind of development of meat colour, pH, chemical composition and fatty acids content, lean meat from a sample cut, taken in correspondence of the first 4 thoracic vertebrae from 164 animals of the Cornigliese sheep breed, was analysed. The animals (104 females, 60 males) were fed with the same nutritional plan; they were between 3.6 and 80.0 months old and their body weight (BW) was between 15.90 and 111.15 kg. Prior to slaughter, the BW was recorded after 12 h of fasting. Based on BW at slaughter, animals were assigned to one of four BW-classes, identified by means of percentiles distribution: 0-25th percentile, 15.90–50.70 kg BW (n. = 42); 25th-50th percentile, 50.71–63.22 kg BW (n. = 40); 50th-75th percentile, 63.23–75.50 kg BW (n. = 42); 75th-100th percentile, 75.51–111.15 kg BW (n. = 40). They were slaughtered during 11 sessions. Data were analysed by ANOVA with sex, BW-class, year of birth (2013–2016) and interaction between sex and BW-class as fixed factors and slaughter session as a covariate. The relative growth of physical-chemical parameters of meat on BW was then calculated by applying the nonlinear allometric equation (y = axb). Proximate analysis revealed differences between males and females in protein and fat content at the highest BW-class, with males showing a higher protein and a lower fat content than females (P 0.05). Meat colour parameters were not affected by sex in the BW-classes 1 and 4 (P > 0.05), whereas in the middle phase of growth (from 50 to 75 kg BW) males showed higher values for yellowness and chroma, and from 50 to 63 kg BW, also for redness (P

Genetic diversity is a key factor for both adaptation and response to selection. The loss of genetic diversity causes a decrease in individual fitness, and it has a dramatically negative effect on population lifespan in the long term. This study aimed at exploring the genetic diversity at pedigree level of the Bardigiano horse breed, which is a native breed from Italy shaped for living in rural areas. In 1977, the Bardigiano studbook was founded to preserve the breed and for improving its use for riding and draft purposes. Pedigree data contained 9,469 horses, of which 3,416 were alive. Demographic and genetic parameters were estimated on subpopulations to evaluate potential genetic diversity differences among breeding and nonbreeding animals, and animals showing different breeding values (EBVs) for an index combining 18 conformation traits. Throughout the studied period, inbreeding steadily increased, reaching in the last birth year cohort a mean value equal to 0.10. The rate of inbreeding per generation, assuming a mean generation interval of 8.74 years, was equal to 1.64%. Moreover, significant differences on both average relatedness and inbreeding among horses with high and low EBVs were shown. Our study unravelled the state of genetic diversity in the Bardigiano breed, highlighting that breeding strategies for optimizing the contribution of breeding animals in the coming generations are needed to ensure long-term survival of the Bardigiano horse breed.

The aim of the research was to assess the type of development of carcass and non-carcass components and tissue partitioning in the Cornigliese sheep breed. The study involved 164 animals (104 females, 60 males) from one flock. The selection of those animals accounted for ages and weights differences. Fasted body weight (BW) was recorded before slaughtering. Four BW-classes were identified by means of percentiles distribution: 0–25th percentile, 15.90–50.70 kg BW; 25th–50th percentile, 50.71–63.22 kg BW; 50th–75th percentile, 63.23–75.50 kg BW; 75th–100th percentile, 75.51–111.15 kg BW. After slaughter, the carcasses were weighed, measured (carcass length, croup width, chest width, chest depth, thigh length) and sectioned (shoulder, neck, thigh, ribs, loin, and lean and fat trimmings). A samplecut from 1st to 4th thoracic vertebra was then separated into its tissue components (lean meat, fat, bone). Non-carcass components (skin + fleece, head, liver, heart, lungs + trachea) were weighed. The data were analyzed using a GLM procedure accounting for the following fixed effects: sex, BW-class, year of birth and the interaction between sex*BW-class and the covariate: day of slaughter. The relative growth of carcass and non-carcass components on BW was calculated by applying the nonlinear allometric function (y = axb). We found high coefficients of variation (CVs) (from 39% to 77%) for the weight of carcass components and low CVs (from 8% to 22%) for carcass measures. Non-carcass parameters showed intermediate values of CVs (from 30% to 42%). Body weight-class had a significant effect (P

With the aim to find indirect parameters for meat production that potentially could be used for selective purposes in Cornigliese sheep breed, 368 animals were weighed and measured (16 linear measures) during two years in 4 flocks with pasture and open range management from spring to autumn and closed facilities during winter. An amount of 0.2–0.4 kg/head/day of the same concentrate was provided to growing lambs from weaning to slaughter and to lactating ewes. Thirteen morphologic indexes were then calculated from body weight (BW) and linear measures. Analysis of variance on the basis of general linear model procedure was conducted with sex, age-class, year of birth, flock, type of lambing and interaction of sex*age-class as fixed factors and individual as a random factor. The allometric function was applied to body measures and indexes in relation to BW. A positive allometry was recorded for croup width between the trochanters (CrW1: 0.381), at ileum (CrW2: 0.452) and at ischium (CrW3: 0.615), indicating that this region has the fastest growth in relation to BW. All other body measures showed isometry or negative allometry, indicating a slower development in relation to BW. The lowest common allometric coefficient was recorded for front shank circumference (FSC) (0.131) followed by head width (0.200). Among indexes, the lowest growth was recorded by dactyl-thoracic index, due to the slow development of FSC. Sex related differences in allometric coefficients were noted for height at withers and head length (P

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 relationship between β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) serum concentration in sows during the last 8 weeks of gestation and subsequentpiglet performance was investigated in 10 Dunel gilts. Two classes of gilts were identified with low (or high (>150 ng/ml) average serum β-LG content. For both low and high content groups, equations were calculated todescribe trends in serum β-LG content, respectively y1=10.07e0.0237x (R2=0.3122) and y2=69.00e0.0201x (R2=0.6959), wherex is the number of days of gestation. Differences in serum β-LG content between the two groups were highly significantat all weeks (P(P>0.05) between groups were shown for total number of piglets born, born alive, stillborn or mummified and piglet survivalrates up until d 21 after farrowing. The group with high serum β-LG content during gestation showed higher litterweights at d 5 (Presults indicate that serum β-LG content during the final weeks of gestation could be used as an early indicator of reproductiveefficiency, and that gilts with high content could be selected to improve herd productivity.

The growth curves of “Nero di Parma” pigs were studied by applying the Gompertz equation to 1069 body weight (BW) records from 285 pigs (156 females, 129 castrated males) born in 11 outdoor and 5 indoor herds; pigs were fed commercial complete feeds offered ad libitum and, on a limited basis in the outdoor system, diets were integrated with pasture. The parameters of the Gompertz equation were compared with reference to sex and season of birth. Mature BW for castrated males (229.0 kg) was 3.5% greater than that for females (221.3 kg) (P180 kg).

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 aim of this study was to evaluate milk production and lactation curve parameters of Bianca Val Padana (BVP) and Italian Friesian (IF) cattle reared in the same herds in relation to different housing-feeding systems. Therefore, 8488 test-day records of 103 BVP and 367 IF cows from 7 herds were used; 2 herds had free stalls and total mixed ration feeding (FS-TMR group) and 5 had tie stalls and traditional feeding (TS-TF group). Data for milk production (kg), fat, protein, lactose production (kg) and content (%), and somatic cell score (SCS) were submitted to analysis by ANOVA, using a model with breed, housingfeeding type, test day, herd within housingfeeding type, season of calving, lactation number, class of days in milk, and two- and threeway interactions as fixed factors. A mixed model according to Wood’s equation in linear form was also performed. Interactions between breed and type of housing-feeding were always significant (P

Digestive and metabolic disorders in the horse were previously associated withhydrolyzable and nonhydrolyzable but rapidly fermentable components of nonstructural carbohydrates, particularly fructans. Aim of the study was to assess the contribution of the carbohydrate fractions to the composition of pastures in specific areas of Italy ordinarily designed for horses feeding. Seventy-seven samples from 11 pastures differing for floristic composition were collected across two growing seasons from April 18th 2008 to May 10th 2009 in the foothills (380 m a.s.l.) of the province of Parma (Italy). All samples were collected during the vegetative growth phase. To identify the bioclimatologic conditions of the growth, the average fortnightly thermohygrometric index (THI) was used. Slow fermentable carbohydrates mean concentration (NDF: 510.6, ADF: 274.7, ADL: 31.5 g/kg DM) reflected the typical chemical composition of high-quality grass and grass-legume mixtures. Among the nonstructual carbohydrates (NSC 199.9 g/kg DM), hydrlolyzable carbohydrates content accounted for about the 18%. Nonhydrolyzable but rapidly fermentable carbohydrates were constituted for about the 23% by fructans (37.7 g/kg DM, range 15.5 to 138.2). The environmental conditions significantly affected the carbohydrate concentration in forages. Between NSC, fructans concentration in pastures was affected by bioclimatologic conditions (P

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.

The growth curves of 280 “Nero di Parma” pigs from birth to maturity were calculated by applying nine different models (regressions from 1st to 4th degree and nonlinear regressions following the Brody, Logistic, Janoschek, Bertalannfy and Gompertz models) to 1109 individual records of body weight (BW) from two different data sets. The goodness of fit of experimental data was calculated by means of Residual Variance, Akaike Information Criterion, Residual Standard Deviation and R2. The best fit was obtained by Gompertz equation, as follows: BW(kg)= 240.2±2.4 * esp (-exp (-0.0069±0.0001*(age(d)–213.5±3.1))). Regardless to the model, all correlations between actual and estimated BW were highly significant (P