Search

Livestock production has migrated to the Midwest region of Brazil; however, these regions are environmentally unsuitable for livestock specializing in milk production, due to high temperatures. This environment can be improved using inserting trees into the pastures. The objective was to evaluate the effects of adding grazing trees on the behavior of dairy heifers in the Midwest region of Brazil. Piata grass was managed in: open pasture system, OPS (shade level 0%), the worst treatment for animal production since the solar radiation and temperature are deleterious to animal welfare; moderate shade system (shade level 20%), the supposed adequate system where the animals find shady areas, but there is light available for photosynthesis; and intensive shade system (shade level 70%), the worst treatment for vegetal production since the light is limited for grass growth. Shade was provided by Eucalyptus trees. Heifer behavior was evaluated from 08:30 to 16:00 over three periods. In the OPS, the heifers searched for cow drinkers and remained there for a long time, refreshing themselves by floating in water and muddy places. Heifers demonstrated a behavior of attempting to return to grazing activity under the OPS during the hottest time of the day, but without success. Ruminating activity was not affected by any factor. The shade level affected the distribution of time spent on an activity and the time of day at which each activity happened. The moderate shade level is enough to ensure stability in the daily behavior of dairy heifers.

Trees in the production systems can effectively reduce hot weather-induced stress in the Brazilian Midwest. High temperatures cause changes in animals daily routine, and trees into pastures can promote benefits. The aim of this research was to evaluate the behavior of dairy heifers in silvopastoral systems in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. A herd of 24 crossbreed heifers (3/4 and 7/8 Holstein/Zebu), 350kg average weight, was evaluated over three seasons. Piatã grass was managed under three shade levels: full-sun, moderate-shade, and intensive-shade provided by 10 to 12m high Eucalyptus trees. Behavior data were collected every 15 minutes from 8:30h to 16h. Shade availability significantly impacted heifer behavior, mainly affecting grazing frequency and time during the hottest hours. Grazing behavior was affected by shade levels during the different seasons. Heifers showed preferred grazing times. Heifers in the intensive-shade system visited shady areas during the hottest hours throughout the seasons. Heifers in the full sun-system avoided grazing during the warmer times, ceasing feeding activities. Our results from the Brazilian Midwest showed that shade availability causes breed heifers to change their daily routine. RESUMO: A presença de árvores em sistemas de produção animal pode reduzir o estresse provocado pelo calor no centro-oeste brasileiro. As altas temperaturas induzem a uma mudança na rotina dos animais e, as árvores dentro da pastagem podem promover benefícios. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o comportamento de novilhas leiteiras em sistemas integrados no Mato Grosso, Brasil. Um grupo de 24 novilhas cruzadas (3/4 e 5/8 Holandês: Gir) de 350kg foi avaliado em três estações do ano. O capim piatã foi manejado sob três níveis de sombreamento: pleno sol e sombreamentos moderado e intenso promovidos por eucaliptos com 12m de altura. O comportamento das novilhas foi medido a cada 15 minutos entre 8h30min às 16h. A disponibilidade de sombra modificou o padrão de comportamento das novilhas, afetando a frequência e o tempo de pastejo nas horas mais quentes do dia. O comportamento de pastejo foi afetado pelos níveis de sombra e, variou nas diferentes estações do ano. As novilhas em sistemas com sombreamento intenso procuraram pela sombra nas horas mais quentes do dia durante as três estações do ano avaliadas. Já, as novilhas nas condições de pastagem a pleno sol, não pastejaram durante as horas mais quentes do dia, pois interrompiam suas atividades e permaneciam inativas durante grande período do dia. A disponibilidade de sombra induz novilhas cruzadas a mudarem sua rotina diária nas condições do Centro-Oeste brasileiro.

It was studied whether vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) colonize poultry raised without receiving antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP), in non-intensive production systems. A total of 200 cloacal swabs were colleted in farms (n=40) of eight different regions of the Distrito Federal. After selective isolation, the typical enterococcal colonies were submitted to the multiplex PCR to identify enterococcal species (E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. gallinarum, and E. casseliflavus), and genes coding for high-level vancomycin resistance phenotypes. No VRE were found in the examined samples. The prevalence rates were higher for E. gallinarum (n=26; 13.0%) and E. casseliflavus (n=11; 5.5%). It was found remarkable differences in the prevalence of E. gallinarum and E. casseliflavus among the poultry farms and studied regions, and it seems that poultry raised in non-intensive production systems in the Distrito Federal of Brazil are not reservoirs of VRE.

1. This study was conducted to verify the impact of different kinds of material and the number of times of litter reuse on the incidence of chicken pathologies. Approximately 4·5 million broilers from conventional Brazilian farms were evaluated in the abattoir for cellulitis, arthritis and contact foot-pad dermatitis. 2. Four different kinds of litter material, Brachiaria grass, corncob, sawdust and rice shell, were used. Brachiaria grass litter showed the highest incidence of contact foot-pad dermatitis. Corncob litter also showed some negative effects on foot quality. Broilers raised on rice shell litter showed good results in terms of the incidence of contact foot-pad dermatitis. The best results were obtained with sawdust litter, because the incidence of cellulitis and arthritis were the lowest and the incidence of contact foot-pad dermatitis was also very low.

We examined cloacal samples from poultry raised on nonintensive production farms in Brazil for the presence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. No VanA- or VanB-containing enterococci were identified in a total of 200 cloacal swabs. The most prevalent species were Enterococcus gallinarum ( vanC1 ; 13.0%) and E. casseliflavus ( vanC2/3 ; 5.5%).

The reduction in time required to identify vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) has gained increased importance during hospital outbreaks. In the present study, we implemented a laboratory protocol to speed up the VRE screening from rectal samples. The protocol combines a medium for selective VRE isolation (VREBAC®, Probac, São Paulo) and a multiplex PCR for detection and identification of vanA and vanB resistance genes. The screening performance was analyzed in 114 specimens collected from four intensive care units. The swabs were collected at two periods: (1) during a VRE outbreak (February 2006, n=83 patients) and (2) at the post-outbreak period, after adoption of infection control measures (June 2006, n=31 patients). Forty-one/83 VRE (49.4%) and 3/31(9.7%) VRE were found at the first and second period, respectively. All isolates harbored the vanA gene. In both periods, detection of the gene vanA parallels to the minimum inhibitory concentration values of >256 µg/mL and >48 µg/mL for vancomycin and teicoplanin, respectively. Multiplex PCR and conventional methods agreed in 90.2% for enterococci identification. Besides this accuracy, we also found a remarkable reduction in time to obtain results. Detection of enterococcal species and identification of vancomycin resistance genes were ready in 29.5 hours, in comparison to 72 hours needed by the conventional methods. In conclusion, our protocol identified properly and rapidly enterococci species and vancomycin-resistance genes. The results strongly encourage its adoption by microbiology laboratories for VRE screenning in rectal samples.

Trees in the production systems can effectively reduce hot weather-induced stress in the Brazilian Midwest. High temperatures cause changes in animals daily routine, and trees into pastures can promote benefits. The aim of this research was to evaluate the behavior of dairy heifers in silvopastoral systems in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. A herd of 24 crossbreed heifers (3/4 and 7/8 Holstein/Zebu), 350kg average weight, was evaluated over three seasons. Piatã grass was managed under three shade levels: full-sun, moderate-shade, and intensive-shade provided by 10 to 12m high Eucalyptus trees. Behavior data were collected every 15 minutes from 8:30h to 16h. Shade availability significantly impacted heifer behavior, mainly affecting grazing frequency and time during the hottest hours. Grazing behavior was affected by shade levels during the different seasons. Heifers showed preferred grazing times. Heifers in the intensive-shade system visited shady areas during the hottest hours throughout the seasons. Heifers in the full sun-system avoided grazing during the warmer times, ceasing feeding activities. Our results from the Brazilian Midwest showed that shade availability causes breed heifers to change their daily routine. Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-11T23:44:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016cpamtcarnevalligrazingheifersshadedtropicalgrasslands.pdf: 740464 bytes, checksum: fa1600388ad093daf370ffc7cdfee3d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-30