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A study to investigate the behavioural responses of Large White Yorkshire weanling piglets to cold stress during the post-monsoon season in Kerala was carried out at the Centre for Pig Production and Research, Mannuthy. Forty piglets were randomly allotted to four treatment groups with ten animals each, and animals of three treatment groups were reared on different bedding materials, and animals of the remaining one treatment group was kept as control and werereared on concrete floor without any bedding material. The analysis of the recordeddata regarding the microclimatic environment of the animals revealed the presence of cold stress during the study period. Behavioural response scores of animals indicated that the provision of bedding materials provided climatic comfort and acted as a good source of enrichment adding to the welfare of the weanling piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feeding trial was conducted on fifteen Murrah buffalo heifers divided into three groups fed with varying levels of dried moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaves incorporated at 0, 10, and 20 per cent in the concentrate mixture (20 per cent CP and 68 per cent TDN) for the treatments T1 (control), T2, and T3 respectively for the evaluation of digestibility of nutrients. Ad libitum green grass was provided. The digestibility coefficient of nutrients remained similar (P>0.05) except for CP, which was significantly lower (P<0.05) in buffalo heifers fed T3 compared to those fed T1 and T2. The present study revealed that moringa leaves can be effectively incorporate at 10 per cent in the concentrate mixture of buffalo heifers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analysed the changes in the quantity and composition of biogas produced from the excreta of swine, rabbit and poultry during monsoon and summer seasons. The highest volume of biogas production was observed in rabbit excreta (0.0813 ± 0.0007m3 ), followed by poultry excreta (0.0778 ± 0.0005 m3 ) and swine excreta (0.0738 ± 0.0004 m3 ). Methane concentration was higher in biogas produced from rabbit excreta (70.96 ± 0.19) followed by that from poultry excreta (66.87 ± 0.21) and swine excreta (62.41 ± 0.20), whereas carbon dioxide concentration was highest in swine excreta (28.07 ± 0 .32) followed by rabbit excreta (24.54 ± 0.15) and poultry excreta (22.14 ± 0.14). The biogas production was significantly higher (P<0.01) in the summer season compared to monsoon in all three substrates. It was observed that daily mean temperature had a significant positive relationship and relative humidity had a negative relationship with the quantity of biogas produced (P<0.01). The gas production also had a significant positive correlation with the temperature and pH of the digesta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of feeding hydroponic maize fodder as replacement of concentrate (on DM basis) in early lactating crossbred cows on rumen fermentation parameters. Fifteen crossbred dairy cows in early lactation (within 10 days of calving) were divided into three groups of five animals each and were allotted randomly to the three dietary treatments Tl - Concentrate (BIS, 2012), T2 - 1 Kg concentrate is replaced by hydroponic maize fodder on dry matter (DM) basis and T3 - 2 Kg concentrate is replaced by hydroponic maize fodder on DM basis. Green fodder was the sole roughage in all the three treatments. The experimental period was for ninety days. Rumen liquor was collected at the beginning and end of the experiment and analyzed for pH, total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) and rumen NH3-N. The results revealed that there was no significant difference in pH and TVFA among the three treatments at beginning and end of the experiment except in rumen NH3-N, which was significantly (p<0.05) lower in T3 (22.07mg/100ml) at the end of the experiment compared to Tl (31.49mg/100ml) and T2 (28.66mg/100ml). This lower rumen NH3-N in T3, might be due to better protein utilization by rumen microbes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of replacement of green grass with palmyra seed husk and sugar cane bagasse in complete feed at 50 per cent level on growth in crossbred calves. Three complete rations having 70:30 concentrate: roughages ratio, with grass (Tl), 50 per cent replacement of grass with palmyra seed husk (T2) and 50 per cent replacement of grass with sugar cane bagasse (T3) on dry matter basis, as roughage source were prepared and evaluated for their nutritive value. Eighteen healthy female crossbred calves with six to seven months of age were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments Tl, T2 and T3 and fed with respective experimental rations as per NRC (2001) for a period of 90 days. The fortnightly body weight of all the experimental animals were measured throughout the experimental period. Total body weight gain of calves of the three treatments during the experimental period was 43.40, 36.78 and 42.38 Kg, respectively and the average daily gain was 516.66, 437.89 and 504.56 g, respectively for the three treatments Tl, T2 and T3. There was no significant difference in the fortnightly body weight and average daily gain. Hence the study indicates that the calves could be raised on 50 per cent replacement of green grass with palmyra seed husk or sugarcane bagasse. However, the feed efficiency was significantly poor in calves fed with Palmyra seed husk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different effluent treatment methods in dairy farm and to analyse its cost effectiveness of effluent treatments. An initial survey was conducted among hundred farms in Thrissur district. The farms were categorised into small, medium and large. Six farms from each category were selected randomly for effluent collection in two different season namely summer and monsoon. Effluent was collected in the morning at 8.00 am and evening at 5.00 pm and pooled together. Representative sample (15 litres) of pooled effluent was taken from each farm and was subjected for different treatment protocols (Tlcontrol, T2- Screening, T3-sedimentation, T4- Filtration and T5- chlorination). After the end of each treatment water quality parameters like Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total Coliform Counts (TCC) were analysed. The TDS of water from T4 (1404.47 mg/1) was (p<0.05) lowest and T1 (5161.22) was highest and others were in between these two. The TCC of water from T5 (<1.80) was (p<0.05) lowest and T1 (22.25) was highest and others were in between these two. The water qualities of physical, chemical and biological parameters had a quality within the limits of Indian Standards. The results of the study indicates that although the physical, chemical and biological qualities of water of all treatments were within the limits of Indian Standards, TDS was made significantly (p<0.05) lowest by filtration method and the TCC was significantly (p<0.05) minimized by chlorination compared to all other treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of six months duration was conducted to assess the effect of paddy straw based complete rations containing different levels of NDF on digestibility coefficients of nutrients in lactating dairy cows, in two phases, viz., early and mid lactation. Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric complete rations, T1, T2 and T3 with 25, 30 and 35 per cent NDF, respectively were formulated as per ICAR (1998). Paddy straw was the sole source of roughage NDF, with the rest of NDF being met from non-forage sources, in all the three rations. Eighteen dairy cows yielding approximately 10 kg of milk per day were divided into three groups of six each, and allotted to the three experimental rations. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in digestibility coefficients of nutrients such as dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, nitrogen free extract, NDF and energy, among the dietary treatments, in both phases I and II. However, the digestibility coefficient of acid detergent fibre was significantly higher (P<0.05) in T2 and T3 than T1, with T2 and T3 being similar (P>0.05), in both the phases. A thorough evaluation of the results obtained in the present study, reveal that the animals in all the three dietary treatments performed well, with the complete rations T3 with 35 per cent NDF and T2 with 30 per cent NDF showing better performance than T1 with 25 per cent NDF. Between T2 and T3 which were more or less comparable, the cows fed on the diet T3 had a higher digestibility for NDF, ADF and crude fibre, indicating that T3 was better than T2. These results suggest that complete rations with 25 to 35 per cent NDF, containing paddy straw as the sole source of roughage NDF, with the rest of NDF being met from non-forage sources, can be recommended for use among early and mid lactation dairy cows, with 35 per cent being the ideal NDF level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pig rearing is an important component of sustainable farm economy for the poor people in Kerala like other parts of India, as it is a low-input, demand-driven production system. However, there is growing discontentment among residents inhabiting near pig farms, because the solid and liquid (water) wastes released from pig sties pollute the soil and the environment. There has been little elaborate study with respect to waste management of piggeries in India. This study deals with the analysis of a spectrum of factors like landholding, herd-strength, housing structure, and feeding system, with reference to waste management practices in pig farms based on a survey engrossing fifty pig farms in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala using a well-structured questionnaire. The study revealed that majority of the farmers (54%) were marginal possessing ≤1 acre of land that caused operational hardship in spread of waste in their own lands. Majority of farms (62%) had ≤10 pigs confirming the small holder nature of this enterprise. Ninety percent (90%) of the farmers in the study area have developed permanent structures for housing pigs. The respondents used combination of kitchen/ hotel waste and slaughter house waste as major share of the pig feed. Seventy percent (70%) of the farmers removed the waste two times a day, 16 percent (16%) removed the waste three times a day and 14 percent (14%) removed >3 times a day from the pig sty. Forty eight percent (48%) of farms separated liquid and solid wastes. Thirty four percent (34%) farms have concrete manure pits and ten percent (10%) have earthen manure pits for solid waste disposal. Most of the farms (22%) removed dung from the pits annually. Different waste management systems are being adopted in different pig farms. Forty four percent (44%) of the pig farms used manure pits to dispose of solid wastes. Sixty eight percent (68%) of the pig farmers had biogas plant and 20 percent (20%) had septic tanks for collecting wastewater and dung from the pig sty. Forty eight percent (48%) of the farms used different combination of solid waste disposal systems including irrigation as a means for wastewater disposal. The overall results indicated that there was a lacuna in appropriate infrastructure for solid and liquid waste management in pig farms of Kerala posing serious threat to the environment and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to identify feeding related predisposing factors of hoof problems in crossbred dairy cattle. The study was conducted in 45 private farms in Thrissur and Palakkad districts. This study covered small (1-2 cows), medium (3-10 cows) and large scale farms (>10 cows) of both districts. The study revealed that the stall fed animals were having significantly (p<0.05) more incidence of hoof problems compared to those under a combination of grazing and stall feeding. The animals fed with less than 15 kg green fodder per day were found to have significantly (p<0.01) more hoof disorders (77.8 per cent) compared to those fed with more than 15 kg green fodder. The incidence of hoof problem was 51.9 per cent when dry fodder supply was 1-2 kg per day and 33.5 per cent in those fed with 3-5 kg of dry fodder and 12.5 per cent in those fed with greater than 5 kg dry fodder. The quantity of unconventional feed was found to be the major predisposing factor for the occurrence of hoof problems. The incidence of hoof problem was 80.0 per cent in animals which were not supplemented with vitamins and minerals, compared to 23.8 per cent in the animals which were supplemented with minerals and vitamins. The results of this study indicate that hoof problems are a major problem among crossbred cattle and proper implementation of feeding practices are essential for reducing incidence of hoof problems among the crossbred cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted to analyse the micro-climatic variables and the performance of Large White Yorkshire sows in three different farrowing housing systems, viz., conventional farrowing house with guard rail and one-third slatted floor (T1), farrowing house with guard rail and floor level ventilation (T2) and farrowing house with farrowing crates (T3) to find out the suitable one for tropical climates like Kerala. There were significant variations (P<0.05) in microclimatic variables of farrow ing houses among treatments. The mean forenoon rectal temperature (°C) was significantly (P<0.01) less in T3 (38.39) compared to T1 (38.53) and T2 (38.64), whereas sows in T3 (39.69) had significantly (P<0.01) higher afternoon rectal temperature than T1 (39.12) and T2 (39.12). There were significant (P<0.01) variations in respiratory rate among treatments, sows in T3 had higher respiratory rate than T2 followed by T1. The average daily feed intake of T1, T2 and T3 were 5.42, 5.55 and 5.68 kg, respectively without any significant difference among them. Body weight loss during lactation was measured as 18.30, 17.80 and 23.32 kg in T1, T2 and T3, respectively, which was significantly (P<0.05) higher in T3 compared to other two treatments. The results of present study reveals that the significantly (P<0.05) higher house temperature, rectal temperature and respiratory rate in the farrowing house with farrowing crates lead to expression of negative behaviour of overlying, biting, injuring, killing the piglets and hostile to attendant which will lead to higher piglet mortality compared to other two houses namely conventional farrowing house with guard rail and one-third slatted floor and farrowing house with guard rail and floor level ventilation. So the latter two farrowing housing systems are more suitable for tropical conditions like Kerala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of six months duration was conducted to assess the body weight and reproductive parameters of lactating dairy cows fed on paddy straw based complete rations containing different levels of neutral detergent fibre (NDF), in two phases. Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric complete rations, T1, T2 and T3 with 25, 30 and 35 per cent NDF, respectively were formulated as per ICAR (1998) with paddy straw as the sole source of roughage NDF. Eighteen dairy cows yielding approximately 10 kg of milk per day were divided into three groups of six each, and allotted to the three experimental rations. Their performance were recorded in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elephants have been an integral part of Indian culture. Practice of keeping captive elephants in India is 4,000 years old. Kerala is home to 16 per cent of the captive elephant population of India (550 numbers). Tamil Nadu has 140 animals. A common system of management that exists in both the states is the forest camps. This study compared the management practices followed in these two states and lacunae in the systems were identified. Animals in forest camps of Kerala were kept intensively with continuous tethering while the camps of Tamil Nadu maintained animals in an extensive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the literatures relating to the unconventional feeding practices of pig followed in developing countries. Small holder pig farmers across the world adopt low cost feeding regime and considerably reduce the cost of production. Local feed resources including swill/garbagc or the left over from the kitchen, restaurants, slaughter houses and various agricultural by-products are the main sources of feed ingredients. The major constraint in swill feeding is the highly variable nutrient content and which can be attributed to change in composition and source of feed. It can be compensated by supplementation of protein, minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Similarly crop/ vegetable residues and agricultural by products are also used as pig feed. Animal by-products up to 10% can be included in pig ration without any adverse effects, but inherent potential risk of spreading diseases like swine fever, foot and mouth disease, swine vesicular disease and African swine fever are the limiting factors. Appropriate use of local feed resources with suitable processing technologies can contribute to sustainable pig production in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India ranks first in milk production in the world. Government of India plans to increase the milk production at the rate of 23% per year. The various cost effective and practically feasible strategies which can be implemented for increasing milk production in India especially Kerala, are reviewed in this paper with emphasis on technologies such as unconventional and complete feed. The problems and solutions in Iced and fodder sector in India are reviewed separately. Several general recommendations, which can be practically implemented in the field for the betterment of the sector in India especially Kerala, arc also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egg quality parameters were assessed using the eggs collected from four crossbred birds viz., Australorp × White Leghorn N strain (AW-N), Australorp × White Leghorn P strain (AW-P), Rhode Island Red × White Leghorn N strain (RW-N) and Rhode Island Red × White Leghorn strain P (RW-P) used for the study. Results showed that the mean albumen height was 4.65, 4.56, 4.97 and 4.78 mm for AW-N, AW-P, RW-N and RW-P birds, respectively. The yolk colour was 7.6,6.67,7.8 and 7.22, respectively. Haugh Unit score was 68.48, 66.26, 67.83 and 67.07, respectively. The shell thickness was higher in AW-N (0.31 mm) and for the other birds, the value was 0.30 mm. The colour of egg shell was tinted to brown in all the four groups. The egg yolk cholesterol was 13.83, 15.01, 13.25 and 16.55 mg/g in the four crossbreds. All the parameters studied were not statistically significant among the four groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of fossil fuel for energy consumption poses threat to the environment both locally and globally. Fodder residues rich in lignocellulose often form a major portion of farmyard waste. The present study investigates the suitability of co-digestion of pre-treated fodder residues in anaerobic digestion for production of biogas. This study was conducted to fi nd out the biogas production potential of different pre-treated fodder residues codigested along with cow dung. The trials were carried out by loading the substrates, in portable fl oating drum biogas plants of 0.5 m3 capacity. Daily gas yield from the plant was recorded for a period of 42 days. The study recommends that biogas is not just a renewable energy source but also an appropriate way of managing waste, having potential to replace fossil fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was carried out at the State Museum and Zoo, Thrissur, Kerala, India from June to October, 2009. The objective was to observe and record the physical and behavioural changes in Sambar Deer Rusa unicolor stags linked to their territorial display during various stages of the breeding cycle. In total, there were 70 Sambar in the enclosure, at the commencement of the study, of which 22 were males including 16 adult stags. Six stags were selected for the study. Observations were made by focal animal sampling technique. An ethogram was devised and behavioural patterns were indicated on it. The behavioural score derived from the ethogram was significantly higher in stags in their hard antler stage when compared to the stags in the velvet stage. The stags in the hard antler stage were more massive, had bigger antlers, darker coat colour, thicker neck, larger scrotum and maintained a larger 'harem' in comparison to the velvet stage stags which preferred a rather subdued life. The most dominant stags in the hard antler stage had up to 17 female members in his territory. As the stags in velvet entered the rut season, the dominant stag had up to 19 females in his territory. The study is expected to be useful to evolve strategies to identify and reduce a few males not contributing in breeding in any particular enclosure and thus curtail expenses in management of cervids in captivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report laparoscopic findings in 38 proven cases of peritoneal tuberculosis. The laparoscopic appearances can he classified into three types: thickened peritoneum with miliary yellowish white tubercles with or without adhesions (n = 25), only thickened peritoneum with or without adhesions (n = 8), and fibroadhesive pattern (n = 5). Biopsies were avoided from fibroadhesive lesions due to risk of complications. Visual diagnosis was accurate in 95% of patients. In comparison, in 27 (82%) of 33 patients, the examination enabled a histologic diagnosis to he made on the basis of typical granulomas. The combined use of guinea pig inoculation and culture isolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis in six (37.5%) of 16 patients. Mycobacteria were scarcely (3%) seen on histological sections. We conclude that, although target biopsy is an effective method of obtaining an early diagnosis of peritoneal tuberculosis, chemotherapy may be started on the basis of visual laparoscopic appearances alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]