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In order to determine the effect of some factors, as different levels of energy and protein, milking interval, lactation stage, and lactation rank on she-camel performance after weaning of camel-calves, 20 lactating shecamels were divided into four groups, 5 animals each, according to age and weight at last parturition. Groups had randomly allocated to one of four treatments diets. Group A received diet with 13% Crude Protein (CP) and 2.4 MCal Metabolisable Energy (ME). Group B received diet with 13% CP and 3.0 MCal ME. Group C and D received diet with 15% CP and 2.4, 3.0 MCal ME respectively. Diets contain 35/65 (roughage/concentrate, respectively). After 14 days of adaptation period, individual feed offered and orts had been recorded, daily and continued up to entire experimental period of 10 months. Milk yield was recorded two milking time from three consecutive days. The results show that diet (B) gave higher milk yield (MY), Fat Corrected Milk (FCM), Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) 8.32, 11.77, 7.47, and 1.38 respectively. Diet (A) has higher fat % content when comparing with the other diets. Treatment did not affect milk composition except on fat and ash percentage. Milk secretion rate for 10 hours milking interval "evening milking" was higher comparing with 14 hours milking interval "morning milking" 397, 353 g/h respectively. Maximum MY, FCM and ECM were at mid lactation. In late lactation MY, FCM, ECM decreased. Higher milk productivity was at 3rd and 6th season of lactation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate serological prevalence and titers of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in ewes following waves of abortion and stillbirths in a commercial flock in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Serum samples from 168 aborted ewes and 52 breeding rams, were tested for toxoplasmosis using an indirect enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect haemagglutination test (IHA). 71 randomly sampled sheep from an abortion-free flock (60 ewes and 11 rams) were also tested, which served as controls. 149 (88.7%) ewes and 42 (80.8%) breeding rams from the flock where abortions and stillbirths occurred were positive for anti-T. gondii antibodies by ELISA. 155 ewes (92.3%) and 44 rams (84.6%), including all of the ELISA positive cases, were also positive by indirect haemagglutination test (IHA). More than 80% of the ELISA-positive ewes had O.D. exceeding 100% and nearly 25% of them had O.D. of ≥150%. The IHA results, on the other hand, indicated that more than 75% of the seropositive ewes had antibody titers ≥1:1024, including 58 (37.4%) ewes with IHA titer ranging between 1:4096- 1:8192 Pyrexia, depression and vaginal discharge were recorded in some ewes shortly prior to abortion. Post-mortem examination of 5 aborted fetuses revealed blood-stained fluid in the abdominal and thoracic cavities and small inflammatory and necrotic foci in the brain, liver and lungs while the placenta was reddish and friable, and its cotyledons were speckled with small whitish foci of necrosis and mineralization. T. gondii tachyzoites were demonstrated in placental sections of two ewes. By contrast, only 7 (9.9%) out of 71 randomly sampled sheep from an abortion-free flock (60 ewes and 11 rams), were positive for anti-T. gondii antibodies by ELISA and 6 (8.5%) by indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test and most of these had significantly lower titers compared to the flock where abortions and stillbirths were recorded. These results constitute the first detailed serological study of ovine toxoplasmosis in Saudi Arabia and strongly implicate toxoplasmosis as the cause of the abortions and stillbirths in these sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Dietary supplements play pivotal roles in promoting productive and reproductive performance in ruminant animals. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of extruded flaxseed and Salmate ® (Ballard Group, Inc, OH, USA) inclusion in diets on milk yield and composition, ruminal degradation and fermentation, and flow of fluids and digesta in lactating cattle., Materials and Methods: Six rumen-fistulated Holstein lactating cows were distributed to a 6 × 6 design of Latin square (L.S.). The groups were assorted into a control group fed a basal control diet and two treated groups fed diets containing extruded flaxseed (7.0%) or Salmate ® (25 g/head/day). The basal control, extruded flaxseed, and Salmate ® diets were formulated as isonitrogenous and isoenergetic. Each L.S. period of the group comprised 21 days, including 10 days for adaptation to the diet and 11 days for data sampling and recording., Results: Feed intake did not differ among the control, extruded flaxseed, and Salmate ® groups. Milk yield (kg) and protein and fat composition (%) were improved on feeding the extruded flaxseed diet compared with the Salmate ® and control diets. Extruded flaxseed or Salmate ® diet had no effect on the values of ruminal pH, ammonia, and volatile fatty acids except isobutyrate, which decreased in the Salmate ® group. Degradable efficiency and ruminal digestibility were significantly decreased with the inclusion of extruded flaxseed and/or Salmate ® in the diets. The extruded flaxseed and Salmate ® groups had a greater digesta passage rate than the control group. The extruded flaxseed and control groups had a greater liquid passage rate than the Salmate ® group., Conclusion: The inclusion of extruded flaxseed in the diet improved (p < 0.05) milk yield, milk composition, and milk Omega-6: Omega-3 ratio with no changes in ruminal fermentation, notable negative effects on degradable efficiency and ruminal digestibility., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Al-Saiady, et al.)

Sixty growing Najedi ram lambs (23.5 kg BW: 3 months old) were divided randomly to 6 equal groups. Each group was fed on different (isonitrogenous) diet, being either high energy (2.79 Mcal ME/kg DM) or low energy (2.15 Mcal Me/kg DM), supplemented with either 0.5 or 10% poultry offal meal (POM) in replacement of an equal amount of soybean meal (SBM). Feeding was ad libitum for 15 weeks experimental period. Thyroid hormones levels in plasma were determined during the last 7 weeks of the experiment and were related to feed intake and body weight during the same period. Lambs fed high-energy diets showed higher (P < 0.01) levels of both thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) compared to those fed low-energy diets leading to lower T4 to T3 ratios. There was more conversion of T4 to T3 for more utilization of food by the lambs fed the 10% POM diet of the high-energy content.