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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of morphometric measurements on race performance (m/sec) of Thoroughbred horses. Data of morphometric measurements (withers height, rump height, chest girth, chest width, front chest width, chest depth, neck length, shoulder length, length of withers to rump, rump length, body length, head width, head length, and cannon circumference) were taken from 244 Thoroughbred horses chosen at random. A total of 2888 racing records were considered for race performance. The effects of environmental factors on morphometric measurements (stallion, gender, age, and mother age) and race performance (gender, age, mother age, year, hippodrome, race distance, racetrack, and race type) were analyzed using the least squares method. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for morphometric measurements, and then the factor loadings were rotated by Varimax method. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied for the significance of the obtained factors on race performance. Significant effects for stallion on all morphometric measurements, except head length and width, and for gender on withers height, cannon circumference, and head width were determined. Race performance was significantly influenced by stallion, gender, age, year, hippodrome, race distance, racetrack, and race type. After PCA, four factors with eigenvalues >1 were attained. The effects of factors on race performance were not significant, according to the results of multiple linear regression analysis. Therefore, the effects of the morphometric measurements examined on the race performance were not significant in Thoroughbred horses.

T-box transcription factor 3 (TBX3) gene encodes a transcriptional suppressor and plays an important role in embryonic development, which belongs to the T-box family. TBX3 also has been found to be associated with body size traits in horse that is a relative of donkey. Therefore, TBX3 is considered as a promising candidate gene for economic traits of donkey. This study aimed to reveal the significant variation of TBX3 gene in Dezhou donkey and explores the relationship between genotypes and body sizes. In this study, an A > G mutation was found in the intron 2 of TBX3 gene by sequencing, and three genotypes (AA, GG and AG) were identified in 380 Dezhou donkey individuals with Tm-shift method. Association analysis illustrated that there were significant differences between AA and GG genotype in body length, body height, chest depth, chest circumference, body weight, hucklebone width and rump length. Our results demonstrated that the polymorphism of TBX3 is significantly associated with body size traits, which can serve as a marker to improve donkey production performance.

An ethogram was constructed as part of an undergraduate research course and used to determine the dominance hierarchy of a small (n = 4) herd of horses in a university-based equine-assisted services program. The herd consisted of one gelding and 3 mares ranging in age from 10 to 27 years. An ethogram of mutually exclusive agonistic behaviors was developed, with behaviors further defined and sub-categorized as either aggressive (approach, arched neck threat, bite, bite threat, boxing, circling, chase, ears pinned, following, grasping, head bowing, head threat, herding, interference, kick, kick threat, mount, neck wrestle, head on body, nip, push, rear stomp, strike, strike threat) or submissive (retreat/avoidance, balk, rump presentation, snapping). Horses had been group housed together during daytime hours for 22 mo before the study in a 23 by 38 m dry lot with ad libitum access to clean water and one round bale of mixed brome, timothy and orchardgrass hay. At approximately 4:30 p.m. daily horses were brought inside where they were maintained overnight in individual 3 by 3 m stalls with pine shavings and fed evening and morning grain meals with access to water and grass and/or alfalfa hay to meet their dietary requirements. When group housed, horses had access to shade in the morning hours, but no covered shelter. Horses were observed in June 2020 where the average temperature was 22°C, and ranged from 10 to 37°C and the average relative humidity was 61%, ranging from 18 to 100%. Horse behaviors were recorded in 1-h intervals between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on random days with 4 replicates of each hour for a total of 28 h of observation. All agonistic horse interactions were recorded as event behaviors. At the conclusion of the study, a score of +1 was assigned to all aggressive agonistic behaviors performed by a horse and –1 assigned to all submissive agonistic behaviors performed by a horse. The point value of all behaviors performed by each horse was added together. The hierarchy rank was then determined by the total scores, with more positive scores equaling a higher social ranking in the herd. Scores for horses from most dominant to least dominant were +168, +32, +20 and –52. These scores reflected a clearly dominant mare in the herd, as well as a dominance hierarchy that matched the hypothesized social structure based on informal observations. Awareness of social hierarchy among horses is essential for good herd management as well as human and equine safety, particularly in equine assisted services programs.

Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are increasingly exposed to a broad diversity of stressors in their rapidly changing Arctic environment. There is an urgent need to develop validated tools to monitor the impact of these stressors on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity of muskoxen to help inform conservation actions. Here, we evaluated whether muskox qiviut (dense wooly undercoat) cortisol accurately reflects changes in HPA axis activity. Two repeated pharmacological challenges, involving weekly administrations of saline (control group) or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) during five consecutive weeks, were done on captive muskoxen, in winter (no hair growth) and summer (maximum hair growth). Pre-challenge qiviut cortisol levels were significantly higher in the shoulder than in the neck, but neither differed from rump concentrations. Qiviut cortisol levels significantly increased (p

The effects of acute stress on sow reproductive performance are well established, but we know less about the implications of chronic stress for sow performance. This study investigated associations between total skin lesion counts 24hr and 3 weeks post-mixing, hair cortisol concentrations at the end of pregnancy, and reproductive performance of sows. Sows (n = 264; parity 1-5) were artificially inseminated and locked into individual feeding stalls within 11 fully slatted gestation pens, immediately after service. Sows were released from the stalls at approximately 25 days post-service, allowed to mix, and thereafter had free access to the stalls. Skin lesions were counted 24hr post-mixing (i.e. one day after release from the stalls), and 3 weeks post-mixing on the anterior (head, neck, shoulders and front legs), middle (flanks and back), and posterior (rump, hind legs and tail). The sum of counts across all sites yielded a total skin lesion count for each sow. Back fat depth measurement and hair collection were carried out one week prior to farrowing. Sow reproductive performance measures included the number of piglets born alive, born dead, mummified, and total born. Piglets from 75 sows were tagged, weighed and scored for vitality (0 = least vital, to 4 = perfect) and intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR; 0 = none, to 3 = severe). There was a positive association between total skin lesion counts 3 weeks post-mixing and both the number of mummified piglets (P = 0.045), and IUGR scores (P = 0.018). There was no correlation between total skin lesion count either 24hr (Rho = 0.10; P > 0.05) or 3 weeks post-mixing (Rho = -0.02; P > 0.05) and hair cortisol concentrations. There was also no association between hair cortisol concentrations and measures of sow reproductive performance (P > 0.05). Higher skin lesion counts 3 weeks post-mixing were associated with aspects of sow reproductive performance. This suggests that chronic stress caused by sustained aggression had a negative impact on the reproductive system. Nevertheless, given the lack of significant associations between hair cortisol, skin lesion counts, and measures of reproductive performance, this was not supported by the findings for hair cortisol.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:22:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-03-01 The aim of this study was to compare the genomic prediction ability for carcass composition indicator traits in Nellore cattle using the Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP), Genomic BLUP (GBLUP), single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP), Bayesian methods (BayesA, BayesB, BayesC and BayesianLASSO) and an approach combining the pedigree matrix of genotyped animals with both the genomic matrix and Bayesian methods. Phenotypic and genotypic information on about 66,000 and 21,000 animals, respectively, evaluated by National Association of Breeders and Researchers (ANCP) were available for body structure (BS), finishing precocity (FP), musculature (MS), Longissimus muscle area (LMA), back fat thickness (BF) and rump fat thickness (RF). The genotypes were obtained based on the low-density panel Zoetis CLARIFIDE® Nellore version 3.1 containing 30.754 markers. To obtain the prediction ability, the dataset was split into training (genotyped sires and dams with progenies) and validation (genotyped young animals without progeny records and without phenotypes) subsets. For genomic models, the predictive ability was assessed through the correlation between the deregressed expected progeny differences and DGVs. For BLUP model, the prediction ability was evaluated through the correlation between estimated breeding value (EBV) and deregressed expected progeny differences (dEPD). To evaluate the extent of prediction bias the linear regression coefficients between the response variable (dEPD) and DGVs (or EBVs for BLUP model) considering only the animals in the validation set, were calculated. In terms of prediction ability and bias, Bayesian approaches were superior for visual scores traits and the ssGBLUP for carcass traits obtained by ultrasonography, however, more biased results were obtained for BF and RF using the ssGBLUP. The ssGBLUP model showed less biased prediction for low heritability traits, such as LMA, and also it has lower computational demand and it is a straightforward method for implementing genomic selection in beef cattle. Therefore, earlier reliable genetic evaluation of unproven sires trough genomic selection is appealing in order to increase the genetic response for carcass traits in the Nellore (Bos taurus indicus) beef cattle. Departament of Veterinary Medicine College of Animal Science and Food Engineer University of Sao Paulo (USP), 225 Duque de Caxias Norte Avenue Departament of Animal Science College of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Via de Acesso Professor Paulo Donato Castellane s/n National Association of Breeders and Researchers (ANCP) Jardim America, 463 Joao Godoy Street Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) Distrito Federal Departament of Animal Science College of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Via de Acesso Professor Paulo Donato Castellane s/n

Tail adipose as one of the important functional tissues can enhance hazardous environments tolerance for sheep. The objective of this study was to gain insight into the underlying development mechanisms of this trait. A quantitative analysis of protein abundance in ovine tail/rump adipose tissue was performed between Chinese local fat- (Kazakh, Hu and Lanzhou) and thin-tailed (Alpine Merino, Tibetan) sheep in the present study by using lable-free approach. Results showed that 3400 proteins were identified in the five breeds, and 804 were differentially expressed proteins, including 638 up regulated proteins and 83 down regulated proteins in the tail adipose tissues between fat- and thin-tailed sheep, and 8 clusters were distinguished for all the DEPs’ expression patterns. The differentially expressed proteins are mainly associated with metabolism pathways and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor signaling pathway. Furthermore, the proteomics results were validated by quantitative real-time PCR and Western Blot. Our research has also suggested that the up-regulated proteins ACSL1, HSD17β4, FABP4 in the tail adipose tissue might contribute to tail fat deposition by facilitating the proliferation of adipocytes and fat accumulation in tail/rump of sheep. Particularly, FABP4 highly expressed in the fat-tail will play an important role for tail fat deposition. Our study might provide a novel view to understanding fat accumulation in special parts of the body in sheep and other animals.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of natural shade from integrated crop–livestock–forestry (CLF) on the comfort of lactating Gyr cows, as well as their oocyte and embryo quantity and quality. Twenty animals were separated into two experimental groups: grazing under full sun (control) and under natural shade provided by the CLF system. Meteorological variables and bioclimatic indicators, rectal and animal surface temperatures, milk quantity and quality, follicle number, oocyte quantity and quality, and in vitro embryo quantity and quality were measured. Data were collected in the rainy season (from November until April) and compared with data obtained in the dry season (from May until October). During the dry season, the natural shade from CLF maintained the dry-bulb temperature at 6.9°C, 5.9°C, and 4.3°C lower than that in the full sun in August, September, and October, respectively. The environment with tree shade presented a black globe-humidity index (BGHI) 3%–7% lower than that in the full sun environment. In the dry season, the most challenging period for animals, the microenvironment produced by the shade of trees reduced the surface temperatures of the udder, rump, and area around the eye of cows by 1.0°C–1.8°C compared to those of animals in the full sun area. Rectal temperature and milk production were not influenced by treatment. However, the higher thermal comfort influenced the reproduction of cows; they presented a higher number of ovarian follicles (37.05 ± 3.40 vs. 31.73 ± 3.86), higher number of total oocytes (11.41 ± 4.69 vs. 6.5 ± 2.60), and more viable oocytes (6.27 ± 3.36 vs. 3.45 ± 1.38) per animal than cows directly exposed to the sun during the dry season. Gyr cows maintained under shade presented more transferable embryos per cow than did those in the CLF environment. CLF systems are a technological alternative to provide improved microclimate within grasslands and thermal comfort to dairy cows, including zebu cows.

Context Selection using visual muscle score (MS) has been proposed to increase carcass leanness (i.e. meat yield), without compromising eating quality. Aims The aim of the present study was to examine the impact that selection for divergent MS has on live animal, commercial carcass and carcass tissue weights by using computed tomography (CT) including Meat Standards Australia (MSA) index-predicted eating quality. Methods Data from 67 steers originating from three muscling lines, namely, low, high and heterozygous high (HighHet – heterozygous for the 821 del11 myostatin mutation), were used. Visual MS was assessed on all steers. All steers were slaughtered and the left-hand side of each carcass was processed with fat trimming limited to only that required for hygiene purposes and kidney fat was not removed. All carcasses were MSA graded and then boned-out into untrimmed boneless primals (e.g. rump, cube roll). A CT scan of each beef primal was processed with image analysis software to estimate lean and fat tissue weights. The following traits were analysed: MS, weaning and slaughter weights; commercial carcass traits, including cold carcass weight, rump fat, MSA rib fat, MSA eye-muscle area, MSA marble score and MSA index; and CT-scanned compositional carcass traits, including lean, fat and bone tissues (%) and lean:bone ratio. All data were analysed with a linear mixed-effects model using REML. Least-squares means for the three muscling lines are reported. Linear trends between MS and seven carcass traits, with and without the myostatin mutation, are presented graphically. Key results Muscling line effects (P < 0.05) were found for visual MS and carcass traits. Linear trends between MS and carcass traits with and without the myostatin mutation demonstrate that increases in MS (P = 0.24) did not compromise predictions of MSA index even though MSA marble score decreased (P = 0.026), but myostatin decreased MSA marble score and tended to decrease MSA index (P = 0.097). Increases in the MSA eye-muscle area were associated with increases in MS (P < 0.01), with little effect of myostatin. Increases in MS and the myostatin mutation were both associated with increases (P < 0.01) in lean tissue (%) and the lean:bone ratio, and decreases (P = 0.02) in fat tissue (%). Conclusions The results indicate selection for high MS can be used to increase carcass yield, without negatively affecting MSA index predictions of eating quality. Implications Producers can use MS to identify animals with higher yields to increase carcass leanness and decrease carcass waste fat, without compromising MSA index predictions of eating quality, but should do so while considering all traits that affect profitability, in particular marble score and its association with eating quality.

This study was conducted to study the morphological characteristics of indigenous goats breed under farmer’s management condition in Ancher and Gemechis districts, West Hararghe Zone, Eastern Ethiopia. The most frequently observed coat color pattern of goat was (60.8%) plain, (9.1%) spotted and (30.1%) were patchy coat color and coat color type in the study area was brown (36.8%) followed by white (24.7%). Heart girth had consistently the highest correlation coefficient (0.80), (0.76), (0.90) with body weight of intact male, female and castrated male goat respectively in both study districts. The mean of body weight, body length, chest girth, wither height, chest width, pelvic width, face length, horn length, rump length, ear length intact male are 38.1±0.7, 65.2±0.63, 74.0±0.70, 69.0±0.48, 15.0±0.12, 15.±0.14, 19.8±0.18, 16.0±0.56, 16.0±0.23, 14.4±0.14, respectively. The corresponding values for the female goat were 32.0±0.22, 62.0±0.20, 70.0±0.22, 64.7±0.15, 14.2±0.04, 13.8±0.04, 19.0±0.06, 12.0±0.23, 15.0±0.07, 14.1±0.04, respectively. The mean of body weight, body length, chest girth, wither height, chest width, pelvic width, face length, horn length, rump length, ear length castrated male are 44.4±0.42, 69.6±0.37, 78.9±0.42, 72.9±0.29, 15.1±0.07, 16.4±0.08, 20.5±0.12, 18.1±0.44, 15.8±0.14, 14.7±0.08, respectively. The body weight of castrated male goat was higher than the intact male and female goat in both districts. As conclusion castrated male goat has potential for improving income and to increase economy of smallholder farmers in the study areas as well as in the surrounding areas.

The article presents materials on the study of the cows’ exterior and meat productivity of Aubrac gobies in the acclimatization period of the third and sixth generation animals in the conditions of Northern Trans-Urals. It was established that as a result of 18 years of Aubrac breeding, animals were formed in the enlarged type of physique in the conditions of the Northern Trans-Urals. Cows of the sixth generation had larger measurements in shoulder height by 9.7cm, in rump - by 5.2 cm, slantwise body length - by 12.8 cm, as well as chest depth - by 5.5cm, chest width by 9.2 cm and chest girth by 10.1 cm. The highest live weight in growing gobies between 9 and 18 months was in sixth-generation animals. The indicators that characterize animals’ meat productivity increased. The slaughter weight of the sixth-generation gobies was 330 kg. It was found that by the size of the carcasses’ edible part, animals of the sixth generation were superior to the peers of previous generations. The amount of muscle tissue in the sixth-generation gobies was the highest and amounted to 243.2 kg, muscle tissue output - 77.5%.

The study was carried out in Bako Agricultural Research Center’s sheep farm and Horro district to determine the relationship between live weight and linear measurements and predict live weight from morphometric traits and morphometric measurements from 1589 Horro sheep (1131 female and 456 male) were used to determine relationships between body weight and linear body measurements. Accordingly, Body weight, Body length, Height at wither, Chest girth, Chest width, Rump length and Pelvic width measurements were recorded for each animal. Correlation and regression analysis between body weight and the linear body measurements were conducted independently for male and female within the different age categories defined using dentition. In most of the analyses, there was a significantly (p

The study was conducted to assess the effect of roughage source on meat quality and sensory attributes of yearling Tswana cattle. The sensory traits and meat quality of yearling Tswana steers fed maize stover diet (treatment A), sorghum stover diet (treatment B) or commercial beef finisher diet (treatment Control) were evaluated and allotted feeding trial by adopting Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The commercial diet had Lucerne (Medicago sativa) as a roughage source at inclusion level of 15% in total diet dry matter. Animals were slaughtered after 24 hour fast at Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) at Lobatse and samples were collected by cutting approximately 5 kg rump steak of the left side of halved carcasses. Trained individuals were used in sensory consumer evaluation to assess flavor, tenderness, moistness, appearance and overall impression of meat using eight point hedonic scales. No significant difference between the treatment groups for meat colour attribute was found. However, the colour values are slightly lower for the treatments indicating paler colour of the meat. There was also no significant difference among treatments in tenderness (P > 0.05) although treatments A and B almost significantly differed (P = 0.067). The proximate parameters crude protein, moisture and total fat were similar in all treatments (P > 0.05). There was statistically significant difference for muscle pH between sorghum stover diet (5.5) and commercial beef finisher diet (5.0) at P < 0.05. The pH values of meat from maize stover diet and sorghum stover diet were within the normal pH range of 5.4-5.8 which is an indication of good quality product. The sensory evaluation of rump steaks from yearling Tswana steers showed that 86% of the panelists rated meat steaks highest on overall impression from maize stover diet finished animals followed by 79% rankings from sorghum stover diet finished animals while steak cuts from commercial diet were the least ranked from like moderately to like extremely. It was concluded that meat products from cereal stover diets had good meat qualities and overall acceptability as compared to commercial beef finisher diet. Key words: Commercial beef finisher, maize stover diet, meat quality, sensory attributes, sorghum stover diet, yearling Tswana bulls.

Description of the physical characteristics of livestock breeds is very important for developing a breeding strategy in a particular production system. Doyogena sheep are among the potential breeds of Ethiopia reared in the mixed perennial crop and livestock production system of Southern Ethiopia. This research was conducted to characterise the morphological features of Doyogena sheep in an attempt to develop a breeding strategy that suits the production system of the area. A total of 512 sheep were characterized for different morphological features. Most (74.6%) of the sheep in the flock were females and 34.4% were old sheep of four and above dentition classes. Light red and red coat colour was abundant (71.5%) and 74% of the colour pattern was plain. Doyogena sheep are long fat-tailed (100%) and short haired (93.4%). The overall least square mean body weight was 31.64±0.43 kg and was affected by sex and age of sheep. The mean heart girth (74.08±0.39 cm), body length (58.84±0.30 cm), and height at rump (69.71±0.29 cm) were also affected by sex and dentition. Positive and significant correlations were obtained between body weight and other linear body measurements. The highest correlation coefficient was between body weight and heart girth. The positive and significant correlation of weight with linear body measurements indicate that linear body measurements can be used as a marker to estimate weight for different purposes. Different models can be used for different purposes. For simplicity, models with one variable can be used for marketing and by farmers. For breeding and selection purposes, since there is a need to be more precise, use of models involving more number of variables is important. Key words: Doyogena sheep, morphological characteristics, rump height, regression equation.

SummaryThe goal of this study was to characterize the Hamra goat population and to determine if Hamra goats of Beni Arouss and Rommani regions belong to the same population. Eleven morphometric traits of 157 Hamra animals (94 from Beni Arouss and 63 from Rommani) were used for this study. Overall, heart girth, body length, height at withers (HaW), height at rump (HS), chest depth (ChD), pelvis width (PW), chest width (CW), cannon circumference, head length (HeL), head width (HeW) and horn length (HL) of Hamra goats averaged 81.3, 61.5, 64.8, 65.3, 40.9, 19.3, 20.2, 9.67, 28.0, 26.3 and 23.4 cm, respectively. The effect of region was significant only on HaW, PW, HeL, HeW and HL, indicating certain homogeneity among goats of the two regions. Moreover, the inter region variance component ranged from 0 percent (absence of variability) for HS, CW, ChD and ChD to 18.5 percent for HeL, suggesting that the variability of body measurements between Beni Arouss and Rommani regions is very low. The factor analysis revealed four factors, which accounted for 73.5 percent of the total variance. The most discriminant variables between the two populations were HeL, HeW, PW and CW. The Mahalanobis distance between the two populations was 1.197, suggesting that there was genetic exchange between the two populations. The discriminant analysis showed that 80.9 percent of Rommani and 50.0 percent of Beni Arouss individuals were classified into their respective population. Results obtained will help in developing improvement and preservation strategies for the Hamra goat population.

Introduction. Aberdeen-Angus breed, selection achievement of United Kingdom, long time ago ceased to be merely a cultural heritage and became a global transcontinental obtainment in beef cattle breeding. Productive "attractiveness" of Aberdeen-Angus breed makes it a popular genetic resource in the cattle branch production. It causes the optimistic results of the statistical analysis of farm animal biodiversity for data of European EFABIS data base, according which the status of this breed can be defined as "not at risk". Ukrainian population of Aberdeen-Angus formed in 1961 by importing breeding stock from Canada and animals of compact small type of Scotland (1962) and the establishment of breeding plant at the research station "Vorzel" of Agrarian Academy of Ukraine. The modern breed area covers 11 regions of Ukraine. According to the State register of breeding subjects in animal breeding on 01.01.2016, the stock has 7637 controlled heads (including 3475 cows, 80 bulls) and concentrated in 23 breeding subjects. For a long time, the Principal breeding center of Ukraine engaged with breeding farms’ development and controlled the situation in the breed. At this institution base bulls were evaluated, semen was sampled and stored, information database of individual data was being formed and automated, breeding program were developed and plans for the bulls’ matching were formed. Currently low share of artificial insemination at 18%, lack of control of live bulls involvement in the matching campaign, limited activities of regional breeding associations on centralized bulls’ assessment resulted in irreversible changes in the genetic structure of Aberdeen-Angus population, phenotypic manifestation of which is the youngsters’ growth and development declining, low efficiency of feed conversion, cows’ milk production decreasing, impairment in reproductive quality, increased exterior faults’ and genetic anomalies level. One of the measures for improvement of breeding herds is individual evaluation of bulls, which can optimize the selection and matching of bulls for breeding stock for calves of high breeding value production. However, the re-orientation in consumer demand, incapability of internal market to ensure profitable beef production and breaks of export-import relations naturally led to a weakening of motivation for breeding bulls branch business and its state control. Thus, according to the technology of beef cattle breeding mainly with natural mating feasible is the realization of sires’ on their own performance evaluation initial phase directly at the base of breeding farms in accordance with "Instructions on beef bulls’ selection" and to perform the Ministry of Agriculture Order N154 on 13.04.2016 on the approving of the "Procedure of sires’ breeding value determination by pedigree, their own performance, and progeny quality testing." Analyzing the quantitative and qualitative indices of economic activity we’ve found that one of the prospective objects for future beef bull evaluation is breeding farm "Buffalo" of Manevychi district, Volyn region. There are 850 Aberdeen-Angus dams (cows, heifers), evaluation power of the farm gives the possibility to evaluate simultaneously more than 400 animals. So, the aim of this paper is the analysis of Aberdeen-Angus bulls’ evaluation on their own performance results. Materials and methods of research. The study engaged 30 Aberdeen Angus breeding bulls of "Buffalo" farm. The selection of animals for evaluation was performed at the 210 days’ age with previously conducted individual analysis of their growth during suckling period, using the materials of electronic information database "ORSEK-M". At the time of evaluation diet of growing calves presupposed gain getting not below 1200 g per day. Analysis of the growth and development of youngsters was done by the results of monthly weighing during the period from 8 to 12 months. Key bull’s measurements was taken at 12 months’ age. The evaluation was carried out according to Regulation "Instruction on beef bull selection". Statistical data processing was performed, using the Microsoft Excel software. Results. Algorithms of determination and calculation of selection indices for evaluation of beef animals are chosen by representative organizations and approved at the level of each state. For countries participating INTERBULL (INTERBEEF) bulls’ evaluation results are converted to a common information data base on which the matching and comparison of data for further use in the breeding work correction. The main features taken into account in the assessment of the breeding value are share of pure blood, live weight at different ages, the intensity of growth for average daily gains, exterior parameters (body measurements, linear features), milk production, calving ease, temperament (for some breeds, such as Charolais), term of economic use, sperm productivity indices and others. According to international recommendations EBV and EPD indices are calculated, which define contribution weight of each feature into integrated breeding value of an animal. Under the current law of Ukraine, the evaluation of beef animals is done with the definition of an integrated class at appraisal, bulls are evaluated by index A – own performance, B – quality of progeny. The main results of sires’ evaluation were obtained during the process of native beef breeds creation. In the course of our studies we’ve initially selected bulls of Aberdeen-Angus breed, taking into account the indices of their individual growth till 7-months’ age. Totally there were selected sons of 7 Aberdeen-Angus bulls, including 5 native and 2 of German selection. Native bulls were of Wright Iver 9251195, BV Vinton 1342, Sauthoma Extra 715968, V.B.M. Henri 158013 lines. At 210 days’ age the average live weight of calves was 228,03 ± 6,750 kg, the average daily gain – 964,1 ± 30,881 g. Coefficient of variation for average daily gain at 17.5% reflects both the individual differences in eating behaviour of the researched calves during suckling and the differences in their mothers’ milk production and nutritional value of milk. The average live weight of animals evaluated at 12 months was 389,3 ± 8,35 kg, average daily gain when growing – 1114,47 ± 34,208 g. The coefficients of variability of these traits are under 11.5% and 16.8% accordingly. Average live weight at weaning and at 12 months’ age exceeded its corresponding values, determined due to the minimum requirements for live weight of beef calves to reach the complex class "elite" and "elite-record." Phenotypic features of farm animals’ body built are the indicators of species’ and breeds’ specificity and individual characteristics of the organism, the totality of which forms the parametric basis for primary estimation of genetic potential of productivity. Expressiveness, harmony and age matching of body parts outline a general picture of individual growth and development and reflect the level of balanced nutrition and optimal technology accepted as a whole. At the group studied the bull's average height in rump at the age of 12 months was 115,70 ± 0,622 cm with a coefficient of variation 2.9%. Chest girth is 158,33 ± 1,18 cm with variability 1.2%. Average body length was 126,63 ± 1,162 cm with a coefficient of variation 5.0%. Testicular circumference, as one of the evaluation parameters of bull reproductive system, was 31,10 ± 0,564 cm with a coefficient of variability 9.9%. Thus, among the recorded traits, the largest variability was indicated on live weight, average daily gain and scrotal circumference. The least variability was indicated on rump height and chest girth. Average value of complex selection index on all the researched bulls is 100,5 ± 0,9. According to the positions of Instructions, 14 calves with complex selection index above 100.0 may be allowed for further use as at the herds with natural mating, so put for assessment on sperm productivity at the State Enterprise "Volynian regional agricultural production enterprise on breeding business in animal breeding." This will allow to re-new the genetic material store from native valued representatives of the Aberdeen-Angus breed and partially restore local control over the use of sires in breeding herds as well as in households. Therefore, it is feasible to continue similar research involving a larger number of animals, to consider the power of influence of mother genotype and conduct further evaluation of sires of Aberdeen-Angus breed on performance of their sons and daughters. Conclusions. In similar conditions of feeding and management the realization of the genetic potential of productivity of Aberdeen-Angus bulls is different. The given results are the first step in the organization of systematic evaluation of sires’ breeding value, analysing of inheritance of key traits of growth and development of animals and rationalization of the use of genetic resources of the breed in general and reduction in cost per unit of production in live and carcass weight.

The study of variability of population-genetics parameters of cows’ exterior was conducted on the livestock number of Sumy interbreed type of Ukrainian Black-and-White Dairy breed in the pedigree farm Pidlisnivskа branch of PJSC «Rise-Maksymko», Sumy district. The level of positive correlation coefficients and their reliability showed that milk yield of first-calf heifers in the experimental herd to the greatest extent depended on the height at withers (r = 0.458) and rump (r = 0.324), depth of chest (r = 0.375) latitudinal measurements of backside (r = 0.263-0.375), body length (r = 0.303) and chest girth (r = 0.388). With age, the relation between the measurements of body conformation and the amount of milk yield of first-calf heifers in this direction remains, but with a slight decrease of correlation coefficients that can be the result of natural growth of age variability of exterior traits under the influence of ontogenetic regularities of development and paratypical factors. Analysis of inheritance coefficients of the body conformation measurements of the estimated cows of Sumy innerbreed type of Ukrainian Black-and-White Dairy breed showed their genotypic variability, which varied within the recorded lactations. In the pedigree farm a sufficient, reliable according to Fisher criterion, level of inheritance coefficients was found, which would provide appropriate effectiveness of mass selection on the measurements of height at withers and rump, depth of chest, latitudinal measurements of backside which were different in the first and second lactations. Somewhat lower and less reliable levels of the inheritance coefficients of body measurements traits were obtained from cows according to the third lactation, which is explained, in a certain way, increasing age variability of the estimated traits. The level of correlation of the measurements with milk yield allows to perform indirect selection by type, and the figures of inheritance of the measurements confirm the possibility of efficient selection of dairy cattle at the age of the first lactation with the aim of improvement of exterior for the herd and breed.

Steers from Angus, Angus×Holstein Friesian, Angus×Holstein Friesian-Jersey and Angus×Jersey cows and a Hereford sire were measured for their carcass and meat quality characteristics. Steers from the Angus×Holstein Friesian cows had a greater final body weight and carcass weight (P

Parasites of the genus Trichinella are cosmopolitan nematodes infecting primarily wild animals, which represent the main reservoirs of these zoonotic pathogens. To investigate the transmission patterns of Trichinella spp. from wild to domestic animals and to humans and for the risk assessment of these parasites in a geographical area, it is important to know the number of possible transmission events deriving from carcasses of infected hosts. For this purpose, the evaluation of the larval biomass in reservoir hosts is needed. No data is available on how to estimate the biomass of Trichinella spp. larvae in muscles of naturally infected animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the larval biomass in naturally infected pine martens (Martes martes) of Latvia, in which the prevalence of Trichinella britovi infection was over 50%. Single muscles or group of muscles (abdomen, back, diaphragm, intercostal muscles, muscles from the head, left and right shoulders, lower and upper parts of the forelimbs and hind limbs, neck, rump with tail, and base and tip of the tongue) were collected from five skinned and eviscerated carcasses of T. britovi infected pine martens. Muscles were entirely removed from the bones and weighted. Each muscle or group of muscles was separately digested to detect the larvae per gram (LPG). Using linear regression, the larval burden in each muscle or group of muscles was evaluated to measure the possible prediction of the total animal larval burden (both as total number of larvae and as average LPG). All muscles were significantly predictive of the total burden with high "goodness of fit" (all adjusted R2>0.80; P≤0.01), and the left shoulder provided the highest adjusted R2 (0.999). Then, to estimate the Trichinella britovi biomass in the pine marten population of Latvia, recent literature data on prevalence (56.2%, 95% CI: 47.8-64.3) and geometric mean LPG (1.26, 95% CI: 0.89-1.79) in the limb muscles of a sample representative of the whole Latvian pine marten population, were used. Using the predictive estimated relationship between LPG in the limb and that in the entire animals and by the estimated animal population and their mean total muscle weight, the Trichinella britovi biomass in the pine marten population of Latvia was estimated to be of 6,647,092 (95% CI: 3,840,030-11,100,000) larvae. The assessment of the biomass in nature can help to understand the epidemiological pattern of these pathogens, to implement actions aimed at controlling the infection in target animal species, and to acquire basic information on the complex biology of this group of zoonotic nematodes.

A study was conducted with the objective to characterize the morphology of Socorro Island Merino sheep. A total of 67 sheep, 62 females, 26 purebred and 36 crossbred with hair breeds, and five males were scored for 10 body measurements in addition to live weight, and four racial and seven functional indices were calculated. The influence of sex and crossbreeding on the body measurements and indices was analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, and morphological harmony was determined using Spearman correlation. With exception of rump length, body measurements and live weight were significantly greater in males than in females. Sexual dimorphism was 1.21, with males being 78 % heavier than females. Socorro Island Merino sheep were dolichocephalous, elipometric, with a convex curve rump, and with a high and low morphological harmony for females and males, respectively. They had undefined zootechnical aptitude tended toward dairy phenotype as long as crossbreeding with hair breeds did not affect their functional or productive aptitude. It can be concluded that Socorro Island Merino sheep is a new biotype of the Merino breed, which is necessary to preserve and evaluate as a source of genetic characteristics such as adaptation to harsh environmental conditions.

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of the partial replacement of elephant grass silage with babassu cake (Orbignya speciosa) on the carcass characteristics and meat quality of feedlot lambs. Forty-five castrated male Santa Ines sheep (19.08 ± 0.41 kg) approximately 4 months old were distributed in a completely randomized design, with five treatments 0.0, 12.5, 25.0, 37.5 and 50 % (%DM) replacement of babassu cake with silage forming isoproteic diets formulated at a ratio of 40 % roughage to 60 % concentrate. All of the studied animals were slaughtered at the end of the experiment. The liver weights and yields increased with the inclusion of babassu cake. The weight of the shoulder increased from 2.31 to 2.61 kg, while the loin yield decreased from 7.38 to 6.64 % with the inclusion of babassu cake, both linearly. The body length, thoracic perimeter, rump perimeter and carcass compactness index showed high and positive correlations with the hot and cold carcass weights. The myofibrillar fragmentation index decreased linearly as a function of the inclusion level of babassu cake, but other quality variables were not affected. The replacement of up to 50 % of the elephant grass silage with babassu cake in the diet of lambs does not cause negative effects on carcass characteristics or meat quality.

Deferred supplementation of subtropical forage diets may be a viable nutritional strategy to elicit compensatory growth of growing heifers. This experiment evaluated delayed BW gain on body composition of yearling heifers fed bermudagrass round bale silage (RBS) and dried distillers grains (DDG) for 140 d. Angus (n = 30; 273 ± 24 kg) and Brangus (n = 30; 277 ± 30 kg) heifers, mean age of 277 ± 25 d, were allocated to 1 of 12 pastures. On d 0, heifers were assigned to either (1) RBS + DDG fed to gain 0.84 kg/d from d 0 to 140 (control) or (2) RBS offered ad libitum from d 0 to 70 and RBS + DDG fed to gain 1.4 kg/d from d 70 to 140 (DL). On d 70, control heifers were heavier (P 0.05). On d 140, BW tended to be (P = 0.06), and LMA, BCS, and rump fat were, greater (P 0.05). Irrespective of treatment, hip height, pelvic area, and IMF increased (P

In the present study, the effects of genetic group and heterosis on body measurements of purebreds (Charolais - C and Nellore - N), first-generation crossbreds (G1) (1/2C1/2N and 1/2N1/2C), and second-generation crossbreds (G2) (3/4C1/4N and 3/4N1/4C) males from rotational crossbreeding were evaluated at 8, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Among the purebreds, the Nellore displayed greater rump height than the Charolais. The Charolais had greater thoracic perimeter than the Nellore, however this difference decreased gradually with advancing age, being equal between the two genetic groups at 24 months. For width of the rump, ischial opening and thoracic perimeter crossbred animals showed higher values than the purebred animals at all ages, but less pronounced at eight months of age. For all morphometric measurements, with exception of rump height, the differences of crossbreds males in relation to the purebreds, were more evident in relation to the Nellore. Heterosis was significant for morphometric measurements in male beef cattle. Morphometric measurements showed high correlation with each other and with body weight, thereby indicating that they are good indicators of body development.

The purpose of the study – improvement of breeding and productive qualities of Hereford cattle by insemination bulls form the canadian selection. It is established that in young Hereford beef cattle between live weight and height at the sacrum and between the height at the sacrum and average daily gains there are mainly medium and high positive correlation (from 0.35 to 0.73) . Regression analysis has shown that the change in height in the sacrum on 1 cm, causes the increase of live weight of animals from 1.55 kg in animals of different lines and produktivity gain of calves from 7.67 g to amounted to 23.87g. The highest coefficient of the time average correlation coefficient of between the height at sacrum and live weight setlen in the group of heifers, obtained a bull from the absolute 49S, and the highest co-factor regression between these two traits in heifers obtained from a bull of a Wide Load 391W. The same trend holds when comparing groups correlation coefficient and regression between the height at the sacrum and average daily gain. It is noted that calves of all groups are well adapted to local conditions, and have high gain.

Reproduction is a critical fitness component in large herbivores. Biogeographic models predict that populations occurring at the edges of the range may have compromised reproductive rates because of inferior habitat at range peripheries. When reproductive rates are chronically low, ungulate populations may lack the resiliency to rebound quickly after periods of environmental stress, and this effect may be greatest for heat-sensitive organisms at their southern range limit. To assess the demographic vulnerability of moose (Alces alces), we studied relationships between reproductive rates, maternal age, and rump fat in the southernmost naturally occurring moose population in North America. For prime-aged moose in our study, pregnancy rates were high (92%), but moose aged < 3 or > 9 years had low pregnancy rates (32% and 38%, respectively). The relationship between rump fat and pregnancy was nonlinear such that a threshold of at least 2mm of rump fat yielded a high probability of being pregnant midwinter. In contrast, among pregnant moose, the probability of both producing a calf and recruiting it until spring increased linearly with rump fat. We also conducted a meta-analysis of pregnancy and twinning rates for adult (≥ 2 years) moose across a latitudinal gradient to compare reproductive rates from our study to other populations in North America. Moose living at southern latitudes tended to have lower reproductive rates than those living in the core of moose range, implying that southern moose populations may be demographically more vulnerable than northern moose populations.

The quantity and quality of phenotypic data recovered from farm animals became a bottleneck for breeding programmes, and new tools are required to overcome this problem. This study evaluated the use of a portable structured light scanner and a 3D modelling to recover biometric information of the rump region in cattle. Virtual 3D models were created based on coordinates extracted from the points-cloud obtained through reverse engineering. A MATLAB algorithm was implemented to identify reference points, which were used to automatically calculate rump width, length, and angle. Results were compared to measurements performed directly in vivo and in the 3D models. There was no difference among rump parameter values obtained among biometry methods, though an interaction with body condition score was observed for rump width. The algorithm allowed evaluating correlations within biometric parameters, as well as extracting silhouettes of selected areas to evaluate differences caused by the mobilisation of subcutaneous fat.

Covariance components and genetic parameters were estimated for birth weight (BiW); adjusted weights at 4, 7, 12, and 18 mo; and ADG between 0 and 4 mo, between 4 and 7 mo, between 7 and 12 mo, and between 12 and 18 mo. Additionally, reproductive traits, calving interval, and age at first calving were analyzed, together with traits measured by ultrasound: loin eye area, deep fat mean, back fat, and rump fat. Analyses were performed using an animal model, considering the fixed effects of the farm ( = 37), year and month of birth, sex, calving number (1 to 7), season (dry and rainy seasons), region (North Coast, Andean Region, and Oriental Savannas), and conception (natural mating or AI), whereas the age of the cows at calving was considered a polynomial covariate with linear and quadratic effects. Three different models were used to find the one with the best fit for each trait: a single-trait model with an additive direct genetic effect, a single-trait model with additive direct and maternal genetic effects, and finally, a multitrait model with an additive direct genetic effect. For the growth traits, the heritability was between 0.24 and 0.47, with the lowest value for weight at 7 mo and the greatest value for BiW, and the maternal heritability was found to be between 0.15 and 0.21 but did not decrease later on. The correlation between direct and maternal effects was high and negative (-0.59 to -0.76). With ultrasound traits, a model with only direct effects was used. The heritability was between 0.13 and 0.28 for back fat and loin eye area, respectively. The heritabilities for deep fat mean and rump fat were similar, being 0.19 and 0.21, respectively. The reproductive traits showed high residual variance. In particular, the heritability of calving interval was low (0.06). The results showed that the growth traits have an important genetic component, which is a favorable indicator for obtaining improvement progress in the zebu Brahman breed for beef production in tropical regions of Colombia. The maternal effects influenced the weight performance from 4 to 18 mo and should be taken into account in genetic analyses. In general, the direct heritability of medium magnitude estimated for growth and traits measured by ultrasound suggests that individual selection for these traits will be effective.

As of December 2015, 2,376 Guernsey bulls and cows had genotypes from collaboration between the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Isle of Guernsey. Of those, 439 bulls and 504 cows had traditional US evaluations, which provided sufficient data to justify investigation of the possible benefits of genomic evaluation for the Guernsey breed. Evaluation accuracy was assessed using a traditional 4-yr cutoff study. Twenty-two traits were analyzed (5 yield traits, 3 functional traits, and 14 conformation traits). Mean reliability gain over that for parent average was 16.8 percentage points across traits, which compares with 8.2, 18.5, 20.0, and 32.6 percentage points reported for Ayrshires, Brown Swiss, Jerseys, and Holsteins, respectively. Highest Guernsey reliability gains were for rump width (44.5 percentage points) and dairy form (40.5 percentage points); lowest gains were for teat length (1.9 percentage points) and rear legs (side view) (2.3 percentage points). Slight reliability losses (1.5 to 4.5 percentage points) were found for udder cleft, final score, and udder depth as well as a larger loss (13.6 percentage points) for fore udder attachment. Twenty-one single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified for Guernsey breed determination and can be used in routine genotype quality control to confirm breed and identify crossbreds. No haplotypes that affect fertility were identified from the current data set. Principal component analysis showed some divergence of US and Isle of Guernsey subpopulations. However, the overlap of US, Canadian, UK, and Isle of Guernsey subpopulations indicated the presence of gene flow, and the similarities in the subpopulations supports a common genomic evaluation system across the regions.

Plumage colour studies using museum skins is one of the ways to understand species evolution and plumage polymorphism. The invaluable scientific information on a single historic specimen should be well-presented in the most regarded form of quality skin. However, aging plumage feathers are hypothetically susceptible to colour fading therefore doubting the relevant of using old specimens for plumage colour assessment. We examined the colour changes in 36 museum specimens by conducting series of Munsell colour scoring by comparing recent and old skins of mountain blackye (Chlorocharis emiliae), at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Sarawak Museum (SM). The year-gap of both sets of specimens ranged from 52 to 75 years. Eight plumage characters included in this study were crown, supercilium, auricular, mantle, rump, breast, belly and vent. The results revealed that the head (crown and auricular) and underparts (breast and vent) tend to fade extensively overtime compared to the upperparts. Therefore the results of this study support the earlier findings that aging plumage feathers are susceptible to colour fading.

The traits of economic importance in farm animals are mostly controlled by many gene pairs and hence show correlations. The knowledge of such correlations is very much needed while making multiple traits selection in farm animals. The present study was planned with the objectives to find out genetic and phenotypic correlations between linear type traits and milk yield in Sahiwal cows. Freshly calved 310 cows were scaled and scored for traits on a linear scale of 1-9 following the guide lines of International Committee on Animal Recording. The variance and covariance components were estimated using residuals or restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedures. The linear mixed model was fitted for estimation of variance. Bivariate animal model analysis was performed for estimation of genetic and phenotypic correlations. Stature, angularity, rear udder height, fore teat length, dewlap width, foot angle, udder depth and rear udder width were significant sources of variation for score-day milk yield (P

This study evaluated the intra-observer repeatability of the rump fat thickness (RFT) measurements by ultrasound and body condition scoring (BCS) in sheep, and the reproducibility of RFT and BCS determined i) by six investigators, ii) at different sites (left and right, lumbar and sternal) and iii) in unshorn and shorn sheep. Six investigators with different experience in estimating body condition score in sheep determined BCS and RFT repeatedly at the different sites in 65 ewes before and after shearing. Intra-observer repeatability was greater for repeated measurement of RFT left (r = 0.83 and r = 0.84, in unshorn and shorn sheep) than RFT right (r = 0.64 and r = 0.77, resp.). A lower repeatability for measuring the sternal fat thickness (SFT) in unshorn sheep (r = 0.31) indicates that this method is not feasible to score ewes. The correlation between fat thicknesses determined at different sites (RFT left, RFT right, SFT) and in unshorn and shorn sheep revealed a generally higher reproducibility of RFT measurements left and right (r = 0.63–0.76) compared with the reproducibility of RFT and SFT (r = 0.37–0.79). Repeatability and reproducibility varied between investigators and in unshorn and shorn sheep. The repeatability for measuring BCS lumbar in unshorn and shorn sheep was greater (κ = 0.73 and κ = 0.67, resp.) than for determining BCS sternal (κ = 0.01 and κ = 0.44, resp.) and varied between investigators and in unshorn and shorn ewes. Reproducibility of lumbar and sternal BSC determined by the six investigators was poor to fair in unshorn and poor to moderate in shorn ewes. In summary, measuring RFT or BCS at a sternal site cannot be recommended. Furthermore, taking measurement on shorn seep improved reproducibility. Based on these results, the assessment of RFT or BCS in sheep has the greatest repeatability in the lumbar region. It has to be noted that this study analyzed the repeatability but not the accuracy of the described methods.

Introduction: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are an important group of emerging zoonotic pathogens carried in the intestinal tracts of ruminants. They can cause mild diarrhea and fatal disease characterized by hemolytic uremic syndrome, especially in children, the elderly, and immune-compromised individuals. Methodology: The aim of this study was to determine if sheep harbor STEC. Sheep feces (n = 40), brisket wool (n = 40), and 150 meat samples were collected from the flank (n = 35), rump (n = 35), brisket (n = 20), shank (n = 25), diaphragm (n = 10), and neck (n = 25) of slaughter-age sheep at a high-throughput abattoir and tested for STEC using a combination of culture and real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques. Results: E. coli O103 (5/40) and O145 (5/40) strains were isolated from the feces and E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from brisket wool (10/40) and flank meat (5/35). The results of this study provide the first report of STEC infections in sheep in Namibia. Conclusions: The results of this study show that sheep, like cattle, can shed STEC strains in their feces, which can contaminate meat and expose humans to infections.

Body scoring system is a functional method to monitor overall adiposity. However, scorer experience, horse breed, gender, or local fat deposits are confounding factors, primarily in breeds with noticeable phenotype and tendency to subcutaneous fat deposition. Therefore, the ultrasonographic evaluation of subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) could be an objective alternative method to assess fat distribution. The aims of this study were to characterize SFT at seven anatomic locations (over 25%, 50%, and 75% of neck length, behind the shoulder, over the ribs, over the rump, and over the tailhead), to evaluate the relationship between the body condition score (BCS) and SFT and to determine the influence of gender and age on BCS and SFT measurements. A sample of 127 Andalusian horses (78 stallions and 49 barren mares) were included. Body condition score was estimated, and SFT was measured by ultrasonography. The results showed that in the neck area, significant differences in fat accumulation over 25% and 50% of neck length were observed according to the gender and the age; however, regarding the body condition, no significant differences were found. Subcutaneous fat thickness at tailhead was the largest deposit and the most positively correlated parameter with BCS with influence of gender and age. However, SFT at the rump was the only measurement related to the body condition, independent of gender and age. Therefore, the assessment of localized fat deposits by ultrasonography suggests that preferred anatomic sites for fat deposition are evident and BCS systems should be adjusted according to breed-specific criteria.

Ruminants contribute 80% of the global livestock greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mainly through the production of methane, a byproduct of enteric microbial fermentation primarily in the rumen. Hence, reducing enteric methane production is essential in any GHG emissions reduction strategy in livestock. Data on 1,046 young bulls and heifers from 2 performance-recording research herds of Angus cattle were analyzed to provide genetic and phenotypic variance and covariance estimates for methane emissions and production traits and to examine the interrelationships among these traits. The cattle were fed a roughage diet at 1.2 times their estimated maintenance energy requirements and measured for methane production rate (MPR) in open circuit respiration chambers for 48 h. Traits studied included DMI during the methane measurement period, MPR, and methane yield (MY; MPR/DMI), with means of 6.1 kg/d (SD 1.3), 132 g/d (SD 25), and 22.0 g/kg (SD 2.3) DMI, respectively. Four forms of residual methane production (RMP), which is a measure of actual minus predicted MPR, were evaluated. For the first 3 forms, predicted MPR was calculated using published equations. For the fourth (RMP), predicted MPR was obtained by regression of MPR on DMI. Growth and body composition traits evaluated were birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WWT), yearling weight (YWT), final weight (FWT), and ultrasound measures of eye muscle area, rump fat depth, rib fat depth, and intramuscular fat. Heritability estimates were moderate for MPR (0.27 [SE 0.07]), MY (0.22 [SE 0.06]), and the RMP traits (0.19 [SE 0.06] for each), indicating that genetic improvement to reduce methane emissions is possible. The RMP traits and MY were strongly genetically correlated with each other (0.99 ± 0.01). The genetic correlation of MPR with MY as well as with the RMP traits was moderate (0.32 to 0.63). The genetic correlation between MPR and the growth traits (except BWT) was strong (0.79 to 0.86). These results indicate that selection for lower MPR may have undesired effect on animal productivity. On the other hand, MY and the RMPR were either not genetically correlated or weakly correlated with BWT, YWT, and FWT (-0.06 to 0.23) and body composition traits (-0.18 to 0.18). Therefore, selection for lower MY or RMPR would lead to lower MPR without impacting animal productivity. Where the use of a ratio trait (e.g., MY) is not desirable, selection on any of the forms of RMP would be an alternative.

The experiment was conducted on desert male goats to evaluate the effect feeding regimen and castration on body measurements and their relationship between carcass measurements, slaughter weight and hot carcass weight. Seventy two (72) male desert goats aged 4-5 months and weighing 12.1 Kg (11.7-12.4 Kg) were used in these experiments. Goats were divided randomly into three groups; each group (24 males) was divided into two sub groups (12 males) in Factorial experimental randomized design. The results revealed that nutrition had significant (p

This study aimed to examine the nutrient utilization of rump round meat and lotus root using young (32 wk) and aged hens (108 wk) as an animal model. Rump round meat and lotus root were prepared with or without enzymatic treatment. For each age group of laying hens, a total of 24 Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly allotted to one of two dietary treatments with six replicates. For rump round meat, the true total tract retention rate (TTTR) of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) were unaffected by either enzymatic treatment or hen age. However, aged hens had greater (p

One hundred crossbred steers (BW = 166 ± 26.6 kg) were stratified by birthdate over 2 yr and assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: NI: not implanted; WN: implanted only at weaning with 40 mg of trenbolone acetate + 8 mg of estradiol; and CF: implanted twice—once with 100 mg of progesterone + 10 mg of estradiol at calfhood vaccination (100 d of age) and once at weaning with 40 mg of trenbolone acetate + 8 mg of estradiol. Calf BW was recorded at weaning and on d 28, 45, and 80. At d 80, intramuscular fat, fat thickness over the 12th rib, LM area, and rump fat were measured via ultrasound. Because of dry conditions, calves in yr 1 were early weaned, whereas calves in yr 2 were weaned normally. Data were analyzed separately for 2 yr using a linear model. In yr 1, CF had greater prewean BW gain (P = 0.04) compared with their counterparts, and WN and CF had greater ADG 28 d after weaning and a tendency (P

The present study aimed to estimate the genetic parameters as well as genetic trends for biometric traits in Iranian Moghani-sheep breeds. The data set consisted of 15115 biometric records from 3702 individual progenies of 499 sires and 3203 dams, which involved a period of 15 years of time (1996–2011). The records were extracted from Moghani sheep breeding and raising station. The studied traits were: height at withers (HW), height at rump (HR), body length (BL), heart girth (HG) and leg circumference (LC). variance components and genetic parameters were estimated with single and five-trait analysis using restricted maximum likelihood (REML)-methods and WOMBAT software. Six different animal models were fitted to the traits, with the best model for each trait determined by Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). All traits were significantly influenced by year of birth, month of birth, sex of the lamb and birth type ( P

The research was carried out on 32 crossbred pigs of Polish Large White × Danish Landrace with Duroc and 80 rams, crossbreds of the Prolific-Dairy Koludzka Sheep with the Ile de France, a meat sheep. The fodder for the animals was enriched with the unsaturated fatty acids originated mainly from linseed and rapeseed oils. The fatty acid profile was determined in cooked longissimus lumborum, roasted triceps brachii and raw ripened rump from pigs as well as in grilled lambs' legs and their corresponding raw materials. Roasting caused the most pronounced increase of the saturated fatty acids and decrease in the polyunsaturated fatty acids of heated pork muscles. The smallest changes were observed in grilled lamb legs. The heating processes applied in this study, in most cases, did not cause essential changes in the indices of pro-health properties of fatty acid, therefore meat in the majority fulfil the latest recommendations of EFSA and FAO/WHO according to human health.

Severe feather-pecking (SFP) persists as a highly prevalent and detrimental behavioural problem in laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) worldwide. The present experiment investigated the association between feather-eating and plumage damage, a consequence of SFP, in groups of free-range, ISA Brown laying hens. Single feathers were placed on the floor of the home pens. Feathers were sourced from seven different birds. A total of 50 birds in six pens with extensive plumage damage were compared with birds in six control pens with little plumage damage at 41 to 43 weeks of age (n=12 pens, 600 hens). Birds in pens with extensive plumage damage ingested more feathers (F=8.1, DF=1, 8, P=0.02), and also showed shorter latencies to peck at (χ 2=54.5, DF=1, P

To include feed-intake-related traits in the breeding goal, accurate estimates of genetic parameters of feed intake, and its correlations with other related traits (i.e., production, conformation) are required to compare different options. However, the correlations between feed intake and conformation traits can vary depending on the population. Therefore, the objective was to estimate genetic correlations between 6 feed-intake-related traits and 7 conformation traits within dairy cattle from 2 countries, the Netherlands (NL) and the United States (US). The feed-intake-related traits were dry matter intake (DMI), residual feed intake (RFI), milk energy output (MilkE), milk yield (MY), body weight (BW), and metabolic body weight (MBW). The conformation traits were stature (ST), chest width (CW), body depth (BD), angularity (ANG), rump angle (RA), rump width (RW), and body condition score (BCS). Feed intake data were available for 1,665 cows in NL and for 1,920 cows in US, from 83 nutritional experiments (48 in NL and 35 in US) conducted between 1991 and 2011 in NL and between 2007 and 2013 in US. Additional conformation records from relatives of the animals with DMI records were added to the database, giving a total of 37,241 cows in NL and 28,809 in US with conformation trait information. Genetic parameters were estimated using bivariate animal model analyses. The model included the following fixed effects for feed-intake-related traits: location by experiment-ration, age of cow at calving modeled with a second order polynomial by parity class, location by year-season, and days in milk, and these fixed effects for the conformation traits: herd by classification date, age of cow at classification, and lactation stage at classification. Both models included additive genetic and residual random effects. The highest estimated genetic correlations involving DMI were with CW in both countries (NL = 0.45 and US = 0.61), followed by ST (NL = 0.33 and US = 0.57), BD (NL = 0.26 and US = 0.49), and BCS (NL = 0.24 and US = 0.46). The MilkE and MY were moderately correlated with ANG in both countries (0.33 and 0.47 in NL, and 0.36 and 0.48 in US). Finally, BW was highly correlated with CW (0.77 in NL and 0.84 in US) and with BCS (0.83 in NL and 0.85 in US). Feed-intake-related traits were moderately to highly genetically correlated with conformation traits (ST, CW, BD, and BCS) in both countries, making them potentially useful as predictors of DMI.

he objective of the study was to phenotypically characterize the captive ponies that are present in Delft Island, Sri Lanka. Four qualitative traits and sixteen quantitative traits were measured in 10 ponies (9 males and 1 female). Collected data were statistically analyzed. The body weight of each pony was estimated, and information was collected regarding their management. Mean and Standard Deviation for each quantitative trait in centimeters were: face length 39.70 ± 4.22, face width 16.00 ± 1.67, ear length (left) 14.90 ± 0.92, ear length (right) 14.95 ± 0.79, muzzle circumference 39.55 ± 3.26, neck length 43.90 ± 2.39, neck circumference (at throat latch) 58.70 ± 5.46, neck circumference (at base) 78.85 ± 7.93, neck circumference (at midpoint) 65.75 ± 13.92, withers height 112.40 ± 5.44, rump height 109.60 ± 5.39, body length 67.45 ± 8.63, heart girth 119.30 ± 11.41, barrel girth 138.90 ± 12.27, cannon bone circumference (front) 18.90 ± 1.70, and cannon bone circumference (rear) 23.65 ± 1.55. Average weight was 85.66 ± 17.41 kg. Nine out of the 10 ponies were more than 7 years old. All the ponies had brown color coats with no markings on their bodies. The feral ponies present in the island are captured at a young age using ropes for taming. The expected lifespan is 20 years. The captive ponies are allowed free grazing and are not fed with concentrates or supplements. No regular deworming, vaccination or grooming is done. The captured ponies are not allowed to breed. Starvation and death during dry seasons are the most common issues.

The study was designed to offer information on phenotype, reproductive and productive features of Maasai goats for amelioration in breeding programs utilizing these animals. Live measurements and qualitative traits were collected from 75 bucks and 165 does. A detailed survey was used to acquire information on reproductive and productive traits. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and General Linear Model procedures for age and sex as main effects. The results revealed that body weight, heart girth, chest depth, rump width, head length, head width and horn length differed (p < 0.05) among age groups. Body weight increased from young to old age and ranged from 25.83 kg to 30.34 kg. Body length, heart girth, head length, head width and cannon bone length were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in bucks than does. Plain white was the foremost coat color manifested. Nearly, 76% of bucks and 78.2% of does had straight short hairs. Beards were in 80% of bucks and 9.1% of does. All goats had short and erect ears; whereas, more than 88% had horns, 48% of the horns were curved, 33.1% lateral and 18.1% straight. Almost 76% and 83.6% of the horns in bucks and does, respectively, were pointing backward. In both sexes, facial profile was mainly concave, back profile was straight and wattles were absent. Twinning rate, age at sexual maturity, age at first kidding, kidding interval and lactation length were averaged at 8.7%, 11 months, 16.7 months, 7.7 months and 82.3 days; whereas, pre weaning kid survival rate was 77.1% and 79.9% for dry and rainy season, respectively. The strain was comparatively similar to most African indigenous goat populations. Thus, the strain can be utilized through selection for the traits preferred for the arid and semi-arid tropics.

The objective of this study was to carry out a morphometric characterization of white Morada Nova sheep using the mean of sixteen (16) morphological traits and thirteen (13) zoometric indices. A total of 115 animals of seven (7) flocks in three states of the Northeast from Brazil were evaluated. Flock differences for quantitative variables were evaluated through analysis of variance, while the chi-squared (χ²) test was conducted for qualitative variables. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed in order to reduce the number of variables in the study, and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) and tree analysis were used to define which variables had the greatest discriminatory power to differentiate the body shape of the flocks. Five principal components (PCs) were identified, which together explain more than 72 % of the variation in quantitative and qualitative variables, and following the order of importance: structure, pigmentation, height, ear pinna and physical protection. Another five PC’s were also determined for the zoometric indices, with these explaining more than 90 % of the variation found and were named in the following order of importance: productive potential, body capacity, cephalic, pelvic and chest expansion. The cephalic index is responsible for 68.35 % of differentiation of the flocks and practically divided the animals into two flocks. The sheep classification according to flocks in the CDA shows that three flocks were classified according to their own characteristics as belonging to the flock itself, and the others have a good part of the sheep classified as belonging to other flocks. White sheep of the Morada Nova breed have a good thoracic capacity, medium body development and square rump, have depigmented or partially depigmented mucous, hooves and skin, and morphological characteristics which indicate better aptitude for meat production. The variables related to hooves (pigmentation) and cephalic measurements are those which have the greatest differentiation power between animals. The more homogeneous characteristics were ocular mucous, ear pinna and skin of the dorse (pigmentation), ear length and the withers-rump relation index.

This study aimed to determine the effects of replacing corn with hydroponically sprouted barley (HSB) in Holstein heifer feed on growth performance and blood metabolites. For this purpose, the barley was prepared with hydroponic sprouting under optimized conditions, and its chemical composition was analyzed on a dry matter (DM) basis. A total of 30 Holstein heifers that were 7 months old with an average body weight of 212.60 ± 55.00 kg were used in a completely randomized design comprising 10 repetitions and three groups over a period of 11 months. Dietary treatments included control (CON), basal diet (corn meal-based diets), and trail diets, in which 10% and 30% HSB gradually replaced corn meal. The growth performance and biochemical indices were analyzed every month. Results showed that the HSB diet increased chemical compositions compared with the control diets on a DM basis. In addition, diets with up to 30% HSB did not show any negative effects on the growth performance (body weight, height at withers, and height at rump) or selected blood metabolites of heifers compared with the CON diet. In conclusion, the use of HSB instead of corn meal did not lead to any adverse effects on growth performance or biochemical indices; therefore, HSB can be used as an alternative dietary source for raising Holstein heifers.

This study aims to evaluate the association of body weight (BW) and age on welfare indicators and fear response (tonic immobility (TI) duration and number of TI induction trials) and the relationships among welfare indicators. At 50 and 72 weeks of age, 100 laying hens (Novogen brown) from barn systems were weighed and tested for tonic immobility (TI). After that, a physical examination was carried out to evaluate health condition, hygiene status, feather damage and claw length. Most welfare problems detected at 50 weeks had increased by 72 weeks of age. A higher score for keel bone protrusion was observed in lighter (BW ≤ 1.9 kg, P = 0.014) and older hens (72 weeks, P = 0.004). Heavier hens (BW > 1.9 kg) showed longer TI durations (P = 0.022) and older hens required fewer TI inductions (P = 0.025), indicating that heavier and older hens were more fearful. Feather damage score on wings was positively correlated with feather damage scores on back, rump and tail (P

Cautery disbudding of goat kids causes thermal burns and tissue destruction, which results in acute and post-operative pain and negatively affects animal welfare. The objectives of this study were to evaluate acute cortisol concentrations and behavioral responses associated with (1) injecting a lidocaine ring block prior to cautery disbudding and comparing this to saline injections and (2) pain mitigation strategies (lidocaine ring block, topical eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream, oral meloxicam) on cautery disbudded dairy goat kids. Sixty doe kids were allocated to one of six treatments: (1) disbudding without pain relief (DB), (2) a ring block using 1% lidocaine (DBLA) 20 min before disbudding, (3) saline injection (DBSA) 20 min before disbudding, (4) oral meloxicam 60 min before disbudding (DBMEL), (5) EMLA cream rubbed into the buds 60 min before disbudding (DBEM) and (6) handled but not disbudded (HAND). Blood was sampled pre- (-20 and -5 min) and post-treatment (15 and 30 min) to assess plasma cortisol concentrations and behavior during treatment was recorded using video cameras to assess rump movements, tail shakes and vocalizations (values presented as number/treatment). DBLA and DBSA kids showed elevated cortisol above baseline 5 min pre-disbudding (after injections) (P ≤ 0.01), which was no different to cortisol 15 min post-disbudding (P > 0.05). Rump movements and tail shakes of DBLA (5.5 ± 0.8 and 6.9 ± 1.2) and DBSA kids (5.6 ± 0.8 and 7.2 ± 1.2) were no different to those of DB kids (P > 0.10). Cortisol was elevated from baseline for 30 min post-disbudding for DBEM kids and DBMEL kids (P ≤ 0.05). Rump movements, tail shakes and vocalizations of DBEM (5.7 ± 0.8, 6.3 ± 1.2 and 11.1 ± 1.6) and DBMEL kids (5.3 ± 0.8, 8.0 ± 1.2 and 9.1 ± 1.6) were no different to those of DB kids (P > 0.05). HAND kids showed no change in cortisol over time (P > 0.10) and performed fewer rump movements, tail shakes and vocalizations than all treatments (P ≤ 0.01). In conclusion, lidocaine injection using a ring block appears to cause more pain than handling alone and may not reduce pain associated with cautery disbudding; therefore, a lidocaine ring block may not be a useful pain mitigation strategy for disbudding dairy goat kids. There was no evidence that meloxicam reduced acute pain and EMLA cream may have intensified the pain associated with disbudding. Further research on efficacious pain mitigation strategies for cautery disbudding of dairy goat kids is required.