bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The energy and protein value of lupins for ruminants
Authors: Moss Angela R. , Givens D. I.
Published: November 2021

A substantial proportion of the protein needs of highly productive ruminants in the UK is met by imported protein sources notably soya bean meal (SBM). New determinate varieties of sweet lupin (DSL) (Lupinus albus) low in alkaloids offer the potential to be a useful source of protein as agronomic conditions favour their cultivation in temperate climates where other proteinaceous legumes fail. There are at present no data on the new determinate varieties developed and under agronomic test in the UK. The objective of the work was to determine the chemical composition and the rumen degradability of nitrogen (N) of two UK varieties of lupins and to determine the digestibility and energy value of one of these varieties.

The digestibility and metabolisable energy content of one new variety (CH304/70) of UK grown DSL was determined in a hay based diet using wether sheep (n = 5). The diets were offered in a 4 x 4 latin square design at foragexoncentrate ratios of 1.0, 0.9, 0.8 and 0.6 (dry matter (DM) basis) at near to the maintenance level of feeding.
Influence of soluble components on parameter estimation using the in vitro gas production technique
Authors: N.S. Jessop  , M. Herrero
Published: November 2021

The in vitro gas production technique aims to characterise feeds in terms of both the amount and rate of supply of fermentable carbohydrate. Models are used to interpret the data collected and typically assume that there is one pool of fermentable carbohydrate which is used at a fractional rate although it has been shown that inclusion of a modifying rate improves the fit of the model to the data (France et al., 1993). Since forage carbohydrate is not homogenous and can, at the simplest level, be divided into soluble (sugars) and insoluble (fibre) components, the aim of the experiment was to determine the influence of soluble material on the parameters obtained using this technique.

Gas production from glucose: 12.5, 25 and 50 mg; cellulose: 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg; glucose/cellulose mixtures: 10/190, 20/180, 30/170, 40/160 and 50/150 mg and Brachiaria decumbens (Brach.), Cynodon nlenfluensis (Star) and Pennisetum clandestinum (Kikuyu) grasses: 200 mg, was measured in prewarmed 100 ml glass syringes using standard techniques with four or six replicates per sample.
Variation in energy requirements to maintain liveweight in pigs divergently selected for efficiency of lean growth
Authors: Cameron N.D.
Published: November 2021

The energy requirement for maintenance in pigs has been suggested to be a function of liveweight (W), using equations such as 0.46 MJ digestible energy (DE)/g W0.75 (ARC, 1981). For a 60 kg pig, the predicted energy required for maintenance can proportionately account for 0.30 of the daily energy intake. Therefore, substantial reductions in pig production costs could be achieved, if the energy required for maintenance was reduced. The present study estimated the energy required to maintain liveweight, rather than the energy required for maintenance, as the latter assumes no change in protein or lipid content of the animal. Genotypes from the Edinburgh lean growth selection experiment provided the experimental resource to determine if selection for lean food conversion ratio over seven generations had changed the DE required to maintain liveweight.
Effects of different food allowances on the efficiency of using ideal protein for growth in pigs of different liveweights
Authors: Emmans G.C. , Kyriazakis I.
Published: November 2021

Models of pig growth seek to predict the rates of retention of protein and lipid from a knowledge of the pig and the diet fed. The first, and crucial, part of the problem is to predict the rate of protein retention. A simple rule, which we have advocated, is that the marginal efficiency of retention of dietary ideal protein, ep, is the same at all liveweights for a given kind of pig, providing only that protein retention is below the potential of the pig. The objective of the experiment was to test this proposed rule by measuring ep in genetically similar pigs of different liveweights.
Effect of diet on dairy cow nitrogen balance and live weight change during the dry period
Authors: Moorby J.M. , Miles S. , Evans R.T. , Fisher W.J. , Davies D.W.R.
Published: November 2021

Increases in yields of milk and milk protein have been observed from dairy cows offered a high protein supplement during the dry period (Van Saun et al., 1993; Moorby et al., 1994). One possible mechanism for this is a decrease in the mobilisation of maternal body protein to support foetal growth as more dietary protein is supplied and used for this purpose. This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of offering diets differing in protein concentration on whole body nitrogen balance in dairy cows and change in live weight (LW) and condition score (CS) over the dry period.
Evaluation of a set of hierarchically ordered feed descriptors as predictors of milk protein concentration
Authors: Rook A. J. , Smoler E. , Beever D. E. , Lomax M. A. , Sutton J. D.
Published: November 2021

Recent changes in the structure of the UK dairy industry are leading to closer specification of milk protein concentration (MPC) by customers. Accurate prediction of MPC from feed input variables is needed to allow producers to meet this demand. Previous attempts to predict MPC have been relatively unsuccessful (e.g. Rook et al., 1992). However, recent advances in feed description such as the AFRC (1993) protein system may allow further progress.
A modelling investigation of the supplementation of sugarcane with leucaena for milk production by Holstein x Zebu cattle
Authors: Dijkstra J. , France J. , Bannink A. , Assis A.G.
Published: November 2021

In a number of tropical countries, sugarcane is a readily available forage for dairy cattle. However, milk production with unsupplemented sugarcane is generally low, and animal performance can improve when supplements are added to the diet (Preston and Leng, 1980). Leguminous trees and bushes potentially provide a cheap supplementary source of nutrients. A simple mechanistic model of digestion of sugarcane in cattle has been constructed to assist in the search for suitable supplements (Dijkstra et al., 1996). The aim of the present paper is to investigate the optimum supplementation levels of Leucaena leucophala for milk production on sugarcane based diets, using this model.
Objective assessment of lamb conformation: reliability of body measurements determined by computer image analysis
Authors: Al-Shami S. , Ap Dewi I.
Published: November 2021

A method to determine body measurements by computer image analysis of lamb photographs was described by Komlosi (1994). It was suggested that the technique could be used to predict conformation of live sheep, particularly candidate breeding rams. This study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of lamb body measurements derived using this technique.

Thirty lambs (Border Leicester (4), Texel (16), Suffolk (10)) were used. Reliability estimates were obtained from repeated (5 replications) photographs of the same animals and from repeated measurements (4 replications) of individual photographs. Eight lamb body measurements were used in this study namely, body length (BL), height at withers (HW), height at hip (HHP), hind-quarter horizontal distance (HQH), hind-quarter diagonal distance (HQD), hind quarter area (HQA), side area (SA) and rump diagonal (RUD). These measurements are as described by Komlosi (1994).
The effect of breed and dietary energy concentration on lamb growth, carcass composition and meat quality
Authors: Mustafa M.I. , Webster G.M. , Povey Gillian M.
Published: November 2021

Previous trials at Newcastle have shown that plane of nutrition affects the growth performance, carcass composition and eating quality of lambs (Mustafa and Webster, 1995). It has also been found that lean tissue growth rate, a characteristic it is possible to manipulate nutritionally, influences meat quality in pigs and cattle (Whipple et al., 1990; Blanchard et al., 1995), although no similar studies have been undertaken with growing lambs. This experiment was designed to study the effect of four diets with different levels of metabolizable energy (ME) but with the same crude protein and undegradeable protein (DUP) levels on growth, carcass composition, tissue growth rate and meat quality characteristics of lambs of two breeds.
Utilising genetic contributions to maximise long term response to selection
Authors: Grundy B , Villanueva B , Woolliams J A
Published: November 2021

The concept of long term contributions was devised by Wray and Thompson (1990) to describe the accumulation of inbreeding in a population under selection, and further developed by Woolliams and Thompson (1994) to describe genetic progress. This study describes a method to utilise these relationships for optimising schemes where the breeding objective is cumulative net response with restrictions on inbreeding. The selection decisions at a given generation can be obtained from maximising the function f(x) of accumulated gain corrected for squared contributions: f(x) = xTg-Î»TAx, where x is the vector of long term contributions, g is the vector of estimated breeding values, A is the matrix of genetic relationships which has not been corrected for reduced Mendelian variance with inbreeding (unlike the method of Wray and Goddard, 1994), and Î» is a constant taking positive values.
Relationship between in vitro gas production and in vivo energy digestibility in growing pigs
Authors: Longland A.C. , Bray S.P. , Brooks A.E. , Theodorou M.K. , Low A.G.
Published: November 2021

In vitro methods which can be used to predict the nutritive value of feedstuflfs for livestock are attractive in terms of both speed and economy. The in vitro pressure transducer technique (PTT) whereby the gas evolved during the in vitro fermentation of feedstuffs in rumen fluid is quantified by a pressure transducer, has been used to predict the nutritive value of ruminant feedstuffs. Here the potential for the PTT in predicting the digestible energy contents of eight feedstuffs varying in non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content fed to growing pigs, was investigated.
The effect of different dietary protein levels in the rearing phase (from 60 kg) on body composition and reproductive performance of gilts
Authors: Cia M C , Edwards S A , Glasgow V L , Shanks M , Fraser H
Published: November 2021

Low protein diets have been proposed as a way to enhance fat reserves and reduce liveweight gain in breeding animals of very lean genotypes. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of different protein levels on daily gain, body composition and reproductive performance of gilts.

At 118 (sem=0.28) days old, 54 genetically lean gilts ((Landrace x Large White) x Large White) were allocated, considering firstly age and secondly weight, between three treatments with different dietary lysine:energy (g/MJ DE) ratios: High (0.9), Medium (0.6) and Low (0.3), fed twice daily at 2.9 x maintenance energy. Animals were weighed weekly and backfat thickness (P2) and muscle depth values were also taken. Eye muscle area measurements were taken by real time ultrasonography (Aloka 500) at the end of the experiment At 160 days of age, puberty was induced by administration of exogenous gonadotropin (PG600).
Nitrogen losses and the utilization of ammonium nitrogen by herbage from spread slurry produced by pigs offered diets formulated to reduce nitrogen excretion
Authors: Misselbrook T.H. , Pain B.F. , Kay R.M. , Lee P.A.
Published: November 2021

Nitrogen losses following application of pig slurry to grassland represent not only a loss of available N for plant growth, but also a source of air and water pollution by ammonia volatilization, denitrification and nitrate leaching. Previous small scale experiments showed that by reducing the crude protein content of the pigs diet, the slurry nitrogen content was also reduced (Hobbs et al., in press). The aim of this study was to investigate the nitrogen uptake by herbage and losses to the environment following application to grassland of slurry from pigs fed a reduced crude protein diet.
Effect of diet processing and enzyme supplementation of wheat based diets on growing pig performance
Authors: Gill B.P. , Schulze H.
Published: November 2021

Field observations suggest an increased incidence of digestive disorders (e.g. non-specific colitis) when growing pigs are offered diets containing high levels of wheat, particularly when the diet is offered in pellet rather than in meal form. This may be due to the anti-nutritive effects of wheat non-starch polysaccharides, with the possibility that such effects are increased following diet processing. Additionally, the provocative effects of wheat on digestive disorders may involve a change in gut microbial balance, which in turn may influence the production of fermentation end products such as skatole. High skatole concentrations (> 0.2 ppm) in carcass fat can adversely influence the sensory quality of pig meat. In this study the aim was to evaluate the effect of diet processing and feed enzyme (xylanase) supplementation of wheat based diets on the performance, general health and carcass skatole levels in growing pigs.
Effect of β-glucanase supplementation on production parameters in piglets receiving barley-based diets
Authors: Power R. , de Koning W. , Fremaut D.
Published: November 2021

While the efficacy of appropriate fibre-degrading enzymes in poultry diets has been well established, much less data exist to support the economic use of exogenous hydrolytic enzymes in pig diets. This trial was conducted to assess the effects of one such fibre-degrading enzyme, β-glucanase (1,3-(l ,3; 1,4)-β-D-Grocan 3(4)-glucanohydrolase, Allzyme BG), added at graded levels of 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm to a barley-based piglet diet, on a variety of production characteristics.
Rumen kinetics and feeding responses to urea treatment of sorghum stover for growing Yankasa rams
Authors: Bogoro S. , Alhassan W.S. , Umunna N.N. , Adamu A.M. , Adegbola T.A.
Published: November 2021

The nutritive value of a given ruminant feedstuff is best evaluated using the combination of chemica analysis, in vitro and in vivo feeding responses (Van Soest, 1987). Recent studies have further shown that degradation characteristics of foods, gas production characteristics, fibre components and the in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility (Tilley and Terry, 1963) could be ranked in declining order of reliability as predictors of both intake and in vivo apparen digestibility of feedstuffs (Khazaal et al, 1995). The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of urea treatment o; sorghum stover (SS) on rumen kinetics and feeding responses by growing Yankasa rams.
The effect of excess rumen degradable protein during the pre, peri or post-ovulatory period on conception rate and conceptus interferon secretion in naturally cycling ewes
Authors: Wallace J.M. , Aitken R.P. , Cheyne M.A.
Published: November 2021

Low conception rates in high producing dairy cows have been linked to the feeding of excessive quantities of rumen degradable protein (Elrod & Butler, 1993). Similarly, a recent study in non-lactating ewes, superovulated during seasonal anoestrous, has shown that high rumen degradable protein intakes throughout the preovulatory and early pregnancy period have an adverse effect on embryo survival (Bishonga et al., 1994). The present study aimed to identify the window of oocyte/embryo development which is sensitive to variations in the degradability of maternal protein intake in naturally cycling ewes expressing their normal ovulation rate. Nutritional treatments were applied at three crucial developmental time points spanning (1) preovulatory oocyte maturation (2) fertilisation and early cell division in the oviduct and (3) entry of the embryo into the uterus, hatching and the transition from a spherical blastocyst to an elongating conceptus.
Development of an In Vitro technique to investigate the role of biotin in regulating wool growth in sheep
Authors: Tahmasbi A.M. , Galbraith H. , Scaife J.R.
Published: November 2021

The development of in vitro culture techniques (Ibraheem et al, 1993, 1994) for the study of caprine hair follicles has proved useful in elucidating aspects of the control of cashmere and mohair fibre production. There is a similar need to investigate nutritional and other factors which regulate the growth of sheep wool. The aim of the present study was to develop an in vitro technique to study the role of the B-vitamin biotin in controlling growth and viability of sheep wool follicles.
The effects of sow maternal behaviour on piglet mortality in an open farrowing system
Authors: Marchant J.N. , Broom D.M. , Corning S.
Published: November 2021

Community lactating systems offer a number of potential welfare benefits to the sow and her litter. However, giving the sow greater freedom of movement and choice of environments also has potential risks. With less restriction, the maternal qualities of the sow will have a greater influence on the survival and growth of her litter. The objectives of this experiment were to determine what behaviours of the sow influenced piglet mortality in an open communal farrowing system
The comparative digestibility of feed ingredients by cattle and sheep
Authors: Coyle John , O'Mara F. P. , Drennan M. J. , Rath M. , Caffrey P. J.
Published: November 2021

Most measurements of digestibility are earned out with sheep rather than cattle because of the smaller amounts of feed and faeces involved. Yet the results are most often used with cattle. It is widely believed that digestibility in sheep is poorer than cattle with low digestibility feedstuffs and better with high digestibility feedstuffs, but that the magnitude of the differences is small. However, this belief is largely based on work with forages and there have been few direct comparisons between cattle and sheep fed concentrate ingredients. The objective of this experiment was to compare the digestibility by cattle and sheep of five samples of concentrate ingredients: citrus pulp, molassed beet pulp, corn gluten feed, barley and grain screenings.
The use of near infra-red reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict voluntary intake of grass silage by lambs and dairy cows
Authors: Percival D S , Offer N W , Thomas C
Published: November 2021

The greatest error in formulating rations is due to the inaccuracy of prediction of silage dry matter intake (SDMI). Until recently, predictions have been based on die method of Lewis (1981) which predicts intake from traditional silage analysis :- dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), digestible organic matter in the dry matter (DOMD) and ammonia N. Recently, the incorporation of new feed characterisation data, obtained from electrometric titration (ET), has unproved predictions (Offer et al., 199S). A 4 year study has yielded data to evaluate alternative methods for the prediction of SDMI using traditional, ET and HPLC data and spectral information obtained by near infra-red reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) of fresh and dried samples.
Relationship between in vitro gas production and neutral detergent fibre disappearance in three tropical grasses
Authors: Herrero M. , Jessop N.S.
Published: November 2021

In vitro gas production techniques have been used to nutritionally characterise feedstuffs for ruminants. Consideration of both the soluble and insoluble fractions has recently been shown to be essential for adequate description of cell wall disappearance (Jessop and Herrero, 1996). This study investigates how gas production measurements can be used to predict neutral detergent fibre (NDF) disappearance by correcting for the gas volume produced in the early stages of fermentation from neutral detergent solubles (NDS). The study was carried out using three tropical grasses.
The effect of post-rumen incubation wash severity on dry matter disappearance in situ
Authors: Huntington J. A. , Givens D. I.
Published: November 2021

The in situ procedure is used to describe the kinetics of feed degradation in the rumen. However, recent ring tests (Madsen and Hvelplund, 1994; Wilkerson et al, 1995) and reviews (Huntington and Givens, 199S) highlighted the need for standardisation of the in situ procedure. Wilkerson et al. (1995) concluded that the rinsing procedure post rumen-incubation should be standardised and Hyslop (1991) reported that wash severity could have a considerably effect on zero time losses of distiller's dark grains. This experiment determined the effect of post rumen incubation wash severity on dry matter (DM) disappearance (DMdis) in situ in two studies.
Effects of variety, sowing date and fertilizer nitrogen on botanical fractions of oat straw
Authors: Islam M.R. , Owen E. , Givens D.I. , Moss A.R.
Published: November 2021

Sheep and goats are capable of selecting for leaf and leaf sheath, if offered barley straw generously i.e. allowing the animals to refuse about half the amount offered (Wahed et al., 1990). Recent results (M.R. Islam, unpublished results, Reading University) indicate sheep to be capable of selecting when offered oat straw generously. Factors affecting the botanical composition of straws will therefore affect their nutritive value, especially for small ruminants. The increasing use of oat and naked oat grain for humans will mean greater production of oat straw in the future. However, little is known of how agronomic factors affect the botanical fractions of oat straw. In the present study, straw was generated as part of an agronomic experiment sown in autumn 1993 at ADAS High Mowthorpe.
Biphasic breakdown of peptides by rumen bacteria
Authors: Wallace R.J.
Published: November 2021

Excessive protein breakdown and ammonia production often lead to inefficient N utilisation in ruminants. Peptides are intermediates in the breakdown process. The aims of this study were to characterize peptidase activities of rumen bacteria and to determine which species of bacteria were responsible for the different steps of peptide breakdown in the rumen.

Four rumen-fistulated adult sheep received a mixed diet (hay, barley, molasses, fishmeal and minerals and vitamins: 500, 99.5, 100, 91 and 9.5 g/kg dry matter respectively) fed in equal meals of 500 g at 0800 and 1600 h. Rumen fluid was removed 3 h after the morning feeding, strained, and mixed bacteria were prepared by differential centrifugation. Bacteria were sonicated and debris was removed by centrifugation. Peptidase activities were determined on the supernatant fluid.
Manipulating the fatty acid composition of muscle in beef cattle
Authors: Scollan N.D. , Fisher W.J. , Davies D.W.R. , Fisher A.V. , Enser M. , Wood J.D.
Published: November 2021

Concerns regarding levels of fat consumption and particularly saturated fatty acids (FA) (Department of Health, 1994), has resulted in closer scrutiny of the FA composition of ruminant products. The FAs deposited in beef tissues are relatively saturated, leading to a low polyunsaturated:saturated FA ratio (P:S) in the meat (approximately 0.1, the ideal being about 0.4), whilst the n-6:n-3 ratio is beneficially low at approximately 2. Feeding strategies for raising the P:S ratio whilst keeping n-6:n-3 ratio low are required. This experiment has investigated the impact of feeding different sources of long chain polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) on animal performance and the FA composition of muscle.
Effects of abomasal fat infusion on dry matter intake, milk production and splanchnic metabolism in dairy cows at two stages of lactation
Authors: Benson J.A. , Reynolds C.K. , Humphries D.J. , Beever D.E. , Rutter S.M.
Published: November 2021

Fat is often fed to dairy cows as a means of increasing dietary energy concentration; however feeding fat often reduces feed intake. For many fat supplements this can be due to negative effects on rumen digestion, however feeding rumen inert fat and post ruminal infusions of fat can also depress intake although the mechanism by which this happens is not clear. The effect of fat on intake may also be influenced by stage of lactation as in early lactation fatty acid levels in the blood can be elevated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fat infusion into the abomasum on dry matter (DM) intake, milk production and metabolism of splanchnic tissues (portal drained viscera (PDV) and liver) in early and mid lactation cows.
Maternal influences on post-weaning piglet growth and anti-soya bean meal antibodies
Authors: Rooke J. A. , Fraser H. , Shanks M.
Published: November 2021

Vegetable proteins, including soya-bean meal (SBM), can only be included in diets for newly-weaned piglets in restricted amounts as they can induce a transient local gut hypersensitivity. This hypersensitivity may be a causative factor in post-weaning diarrhoea. Previous studies have indicated a strong maternal influence on the response of piglets to SBM. The object of the current experiment was to assess more formally maternal influences on weaning performance of piglets
Effect of amount offered on total intake of oat straw and on intake of straw botanical-fractions by sheep
Authors: Islam M.R. , Owen E. , Givens D.I. , Moss A.R.
Published: November 2021

Wahed et al. (1990) showed that the intakes of barley straw in untreated, long form, were increased by 0.35 and 0.57 when the ad libitum amounts offered to sheep were increased from 18 to 54 and 90 g dry matter (DM)/kg live weight (M) daily, respectively. The quality (in vitro digestibility) of straw consumed also improved with offer rate. There is no such information available for oat straw. In view of the latter, and the increasing use of oats in human foods and the greater availability of oat straw for feeding, the present experiment investigated whether the intake of oat straw by sheep could be increased by increasing the amount offered.
Oestrus and mating behaviour in group housed sows and the effect of social dominance
Authors: Pritchard V.C. , Edwards S.A. , English P.R.
Published: November 2021

Group housing of sows is becoming a commonly used housing method in modern pig production because of welfare legislation which requires the phasing out of all stall and tether systems by 1999. Since group housing exposes sows to potential social stressors, the objective of this study was to determine whether dominance order has an effect on the behavioural expression of oestrus and mating behaviour of sows.
Effect of pressure toasting on the in situ degradability of broken lupins, peas and faba beans and a mixture of these feedstuffs
Authors: Goelema J.O. , Spreeuwenberg M. , Hof G. , van der Poel A.F.B. , Tamminga S.
Published: November 2021

In the rumen, unnecessary N-losses occur because the availability of energy and N in the rumen is usually unbalanced. Because N is more rapidly available than energy, decreasing the protein degradability optimizes fermentation and decreases N-losses. Heat treatment can be used to decrease protein degradability. Therefore, heat treatment of legume seeds, such as lupins, peas and faba beans, may result in a more efficient use of these seeds in ruminant diets. When whole seeds are treated by heat, the presence of the covering hull may affect the result. Not only the protein degradability, but also the degradability of starch present in peas and faba beans, may be altered due to the heat treatment.
Yield of microbial protein in sheep fed diets differing in protein degradability
Authors: Webster A.J.F. , Kaya Shule , Kitcherside M.E. , Glen E.F.
Published: November 2021

Modern protein systems for ruminants require estimates of microbial protein yield relative to the amount of energy fermented in the rumen. In the Metabolizable Protein (MP) System (Webster 1992) this is expressed by the ratio of microbial nitrogen to fermented metabolizable energy (MiN:FME). However uncertainty as to the estimation of MiN yield both in absolute terms and relative to rumen degradable N (RDN) generates further uncertainty as to the efficiency of capture of quickly and slowly degraded N (QDN and SDN). Moreover the MP system assumes no capacity to recapture recycled undegraded N (UDN). This experiment measures increments in excretion of purine derivatives by sheep to explore the effects of varying relative and absolute supply of QDN, SDN and UDN on relationships between FME utilisation and yield of microbial N from the rumen.
Role of the omasum in the control of digesta flow from the reticulo-rumen
Authors: Afzalzadeh A. , Hovell F.D.DeB. , Kyle D.J.
Published: November 2021

Functions suggested for the omasum include: Water, VFA and electrolyte absorption, (Engelhardt and Hauffe 1975), and physically aiding digesta flow (Stevens et al, 1960). Moir (1984) suggested absorption of VFA and buffer would reduce the abomasal HCl secretion necessary to reduce digesta pH. Therefore it seemed to us that the omasum might also control the reticulo-omasal orifice and regulate digesta flow. The objective of the work reported here was to test whether the stimuli of osmotic pressure (OP) or VFA to the omasum would affect the passage of digesta from the reticulo-rumen.
The in vivo digestibility of ruminant feed ingredients measured using sheep
Authors: Cronin E. J. , O'Mara F. P. , Rath M. , Callan J. , Flynn B. , Caffrey P. J.
Published: November 2021

With changes over time in the processing and production of by-products, it is important that feed databases are continually revised and updated. It is also important to establish what variation exists between samples of the same feedstuff. The objective of this experiment was to measure the mean digestibility of 6 by-product feedstuffs and to determine the variation within each of the by-products.
Genetic parameters for yield, intake, liveweight and condition score in Holstein heifers
Authors: Veerkamp R.F. , Brotherstone S. , Hill W.G. , Simm G.
Published: November 2021

In many countries there has been an interest in including measures of liveweight and/or size in dairy cattle breeding goals, with the main aim of decreasing food costs. Whilst opinions about the right size of a dairy cow seem to differ among countries, it has been argued that because of the strong associations between liveweight, intake(-capacity) and condition score, the whole complex of these traits should be considered simultaneously (Veerkamp 1996). To do so, genetic parameters (and economic values) are required. Hence, the objective of this study is to estimate genetic parameters for yield, food intake, liveweight and condition score in first lactation heifers.
Usage of crossbred cattle for the progeny testing of Japanese black cattle (Wagyu)
Authors: Nagamine Y. , Nirasawa K. , Takahashi H.
Published: November 2021

The Japanese black cattle (Wagyu) is well known for their high marbling and price meat. Usually purebred calves from Japanese black cattle are used for the station or field progeny testing. If genetic variance of particular traits of the dam breed is much smaller than that of the sire breed, breeding values of sires can be estimated accurately from their crossbred progeny because genetic difference among dams is relatively small and can be ignored. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of using crossbred for progeny testing of Japanese black sires. Since marbling scores or carcass prices of Holstein cattle are low and do not vary widely, crossbred between Japanese black and Holstein was chosen in this study.
Effect of season and method of application of sewage sludge to grassland on the voluntary intake, digestibility of herbage and growth of weaned lambs
Authors: Hill J. , Wilkinson J.M.
Published: November 2021

Disposal of sewage sludge to grassland is likely to increase in future years as a result of legislation to control disposal to the sea (CEC, 1991) and increased production (DoE, 1993). Recent research has investigated the possible accumulation of potentially toxic elements in body tissues of lambs given diets containing known amounts of sludge (Wilkinson et al, 1996). The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of season and method of application of sludge to grassland on voluntary feed intake, digestibility and growth of lambs.
Effect of sward height and its clover vertical distribution on the performance of cashmere goats grazing perennial ryegrass/white clover swards during the autumn
Authors: del Pozo M. , Osoro K.
Published: November 2021

Previous trials performed in temperate sown swards from New Zealand (Clark et al, 1982), from UK (del Pozo and Wright, 1995) and from Spain (Osoro and Martinez, 1995) showed improvements of sward clover contents on grass/clover pastures grazed by goats during the early part of the grazing season. However, this phenomenon might not occur to the same extent during autumn due to clover's poorer competitiviness with ryegrass. Additionally, Merchant and Riach (1994) showed that cashmere goats required pastures with mean sward heights to be above 6 cm to achieve aceptable levels of performance but were not able to considerate the implications of the sward legume content on their liveweight changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three contrasting sward height regimes and their associated relative changes in the vertical distribution of the sward clover proportion on the performance of cashmere goats grazing during the autumn season a lowland perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture located in Northern Spain.
A comparison of different types ot apparatus used for measuring gas production in vitro
Authors: Rymer C. , Givens D.I.
Published: November 2021

The gas production (GP) technique has been established to estimate the rate and extent of rumen fermentation of feeds. Different types of apparatus have been developed to measure GP profiles, and these may have, an effect on the profiles observed. The aim of this experiment was to compare three such apparatus in terms of the GP profile obtained when all other aspects of the method were kept constant.
Comparison of four in vitro gas production methods to study rumen fermentation kinetics of starch rich feeds
Authors: Fakhri S. , Moss A. R. , Givens D.I. , Owen E.
Published: November 2021

Recently, the automatic in vitro gas production techniques (e.g. Cone. 1994; Theodorou et al., 1994) have been developed to study rumen fermentation kinetics. Many approaches have been taken. This work investigates the suitability of different methods for estimating the rumen fermentation of two starch rich feedstuffs.
Prediction of the metabolisable energy content of whole crop wheat from chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy
Authors: Adesogan A T , Givens D I , Owen E
Published: November 2021

Public attitudes and expense encourage the replacement of in vivo forage evaluation techniques with non-invasive, laboratory-based techniques. This study assessed the accuracy of predicting the metabolisable energy (ME) content of whole crop wheat (WCW) from less animal-dependent techniques.
Mapping genes for growth rate and fatness in a Large White x Meishan F2 pig population
Authors: Walling G.A. , Archibald A.L , Visscher P.M. , Haley C.S.
Published: November 2021

DNA-based markers and genetic maps of major livestock species have been developed in the last few years. These, together with experimental populations and appropriate statistical methods, provide the tools to dissect causes of economically important genetic variation in livestock. A cross between genetically diverse lines is a powerful experimental design for such a study. In an F2 or backcross population from such a cross, markers are likely to be highly informative and the genes that control the differences between the lines will be segregating. We have been developing such a resource population based on a cross between the British Large White and Chinese Meishan pigs. These breeds differ for many traits, with the Meishan being inferior for growth rate and fatness, but superior for reproduction traits. Here we report the mapping of major genetic effects on growth rate and fatness in our cross.
The use of a rooting substrate by fifteen day old piglets
Authors: Webster S. D.
Published: November 2021

The ingestion of creep feed by piglets depends upon them displaying suitable exploratory behaviours away from the sows udder. However, sows milk has an excellent FCR and it may be argued that, where the udder is available, exploration away from it is a failure to optimise the use of available food resources. A corrolary to this is that those piglets displaying exploratory behaviour away from the sows udder will be those piglets for which further udder massage shows no net gain i.e. those exploiting the maximum potential of the udder and those for whom the udder shows very little benefit. The former group will be characterised by heavier weights and faster growth rates. The latter group will be characterised by lighter weights and slower growth rates. It may be assumed that animals exist on a continuum between these two states. In commercial conditions the latter group is typically fostered off or culled. This project tested the hypothesis that, in healthy litters (thus excluding the latter group), exploratory behaviour away from the udder will be displayed proportional to the weight of the piglet.
The effects of energy intake on responses to metabolisable protein in dairy cows
Authors: Christie H , Emmans G E , Oldham J D , Roberts D J
Published: November 2021

Previous work (Metcalfet al1996) has suggested that, even for cows when ME and MP supplies were balanced, the relationship between MP intake and net protein output at higher levels of feeding and production differs from that assumed in the MP system. This experiment was designed to test the concept that the efficiency of MP use for milk protein secretion is limited when metabolisable energy (ME) is limiting.
Relationship between dietary methionine and cysteine on the performance of high lean gain female pigs during the growing phase (33 to 57 kg live weight)
Authors: Simmins P.H. , Mongé H.
Published: November 2021

The ideal protein profile was developed by Agricultural Research council (1981) and was originally based on the lean tissue component of the pig. Maintenance requirement was then introduced by Fuller et al(1989) but ideal protein profile was still considered to have a constant ratio between all essential amino acids through the life cycle of the pig. However, the maintenance proportion for certain amino acids, such as the sulphur amino acids (SAA), may change as the pig grows. Hence, methionine and cysteine requirements are dependent on the relative balance of maintenance to protein accretion which is based on the protein deposition rate. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between true ileal digestible methionine and cysteine levels in feed and the ideal protein profile during the growing phase of superior genotype pigs.
Social recognition in group-housed sows after removal and re-grouping
Authors: Arey D.S. , Jamieson W.G.
Published: November 2021

The re-grouping of sows at weaning or after service is a common procedure in pig production systems and is one which can have adverse consequences for both welfare and production. One possibility for overcoming the problem is to return sows to previous groups in which a stable social structure was allowed to develop (Arey and Jamieson, 1996). This would utilise the reportedly well developed abilities of the pig to remember other individuals (Ewbank and Meese, 1971). The aim of this experiment was to determine the effect of time between removal and regrouping on social recognition in sows.
The effect of stage of grass maturity at harvesting and restricting fermentation on the intake of grass silage by beef cattle
Authors: Dawson L.E.R. , Steen R.W.J. , Ferris C.P.
Published: November 2021

In recent years there has been an improvement in the genetic potential of dairy cattle through intensive breeding programs and of beef cattle through a shift from native beef breeds to Continental breeds. These potential improvements can only be realised if increased intakes can be achieved. If conserved forages are to meet these higher nutrient requirements then the intake of conserved forages should be maximised. Two potential methods by which silage intake can be increased are by increasing silage digestibility through more frequent harvesting of grass (Gordon, 1989) or by restricting fermentation of the resulting silage (Doherty and Mayne, 1996). The objective of the current study was to examine the relative effects of digestibility and restricting fermentation on the intake of silage with the aim of establishing the optimum approach to achieving higher nutrient intakes from ensiled forages.
Comparisons of methodologies for measuring methane emissions from sheep
Authors: Moss Angela R. , Jarvis S. , Murray P. J.
Published: November 2021

Agriculture is one of the major sources of methane in the UK and the major contribution is that from the ruminant animal. Most current inventories include evaluations of emission rates determined from ammals in respiration chambers. Methodolgy has been developed at IGER, North Wyke which enables measurements to be made with grazing animals (tunnel system). Preliminary measurements have indicated that methane emissions from grazing sheep in the tunnel system were lower than reported values for zero-grazed grass determined in chambers. The objective was to determine if these observed differences were a result of methodological differences.
Methane production from weaned dairy heifer calves
Authors: Moss Angela R. , Givens D. I.
Published: November 2021

Agriculture is one of the major sources of methane in the UK and the major contribution is that from the ruminant animal. Most current inventories include emissions from growing and adult cattle and it has been assumed that the young calf contributes little to the methane flux. There is a dearth of information for young cattle (65-110 kg liveweight) and the objective here was to provide methane data for this group of ruminants to assist in improving the UK inventories for methane.
The effect of shaking on the gas production profile of high temperature dried grass
Authors: Rymer C. , Brooks A.E. , Theodorou M.K. , Givens D.I.
Published: November 2021

There is contradictory evidence regarding the effect on the gas production (GP) profile of a feed if the incubation medium is shaken during the fermentation. In experiments conducted by Theodorou et al. (personal communication), there was no effect of shaking on the rate of gas production (when the medium was shaken after a recording). However, when buffer solutions (containing no substrate) were continually shaken, there was an effect on the volume of gas produced (Rymer et ai., 1998). The objectives of this experiment were therefore to determine whether die time of shaking affected the GP profile, and whether there was any significant difference between laboratories in this observation.
A comparison of sources of inocula and the relationship between the gas production profile, in situ degradability, and perceived nutritive value of some native Nepalese grasses
Authors: Rymer C. , Calabrò S. , Williams B.A. , Gurung H.B. , Givens D.I.
Published: November 2021

It was observed by Gurung et al. (1996) that Nepalese farmers’ perceptions of the nutritive value of grasses was poorly related to in situ estimates of DM degradability. Recording the gas production (GP) profile of a feed is another method which is used to predict the nutritive value of ruminant feeds. However, many factors affect the GP profile of a feed, of which the source of rumen inoculum is an important one. There were therefore two objectives to this experiment. One was to determine whether the GP profile of the grasses studied by Gurung et al. (1996) was associated with the farmers’ perceived assessment of nutritive value. The other objective was to compare the GP profiles obtained with rumen inocula taken from sheep and buffalo.
Correlations between weaning weight, carcass traits and ultrasonic body measurements in Welsh Mountain sheep
Authors: Saatci M. , Ap Dewi I. , Ulutas Z.
Published: November 2021

Selection in the CAMDA breeding group for Welsh Mountain sheep has been based since the start of the scheme on an index that includes litter size, maternal ability, lamb growth and mature size. Since 1987 fat and muscle depths have also been recorded in candidate replacement rams by ultrasonic scanning. Current consumer pressure to improve carcass quality suggests that emphasis be placed on developing an index that incorporates scanning results with other production traits. Construction of such an index requires estimates of the genetic and phenotypic correlations between traits in the selection objectives and criteria. Analyses were conducted to estimate these parameters based on data recorded in the nucleus of the CAMDA breeding group.
Influence of saponins and sapogenins on the bacteriolytic activity of ciliate protozoa from the sheep rumen
Authors: Teferedegne B. , Osuji P.O. , Odenyo A. , Wallace R. J. , Newbold C.J.
Published: November 2021

Foliage from the tropical leguminous tree, Sesbania sesban, is toxic to rumen protozoa in vitro, due to materials present in a saponins-containing extract of the foliage (Newbold et al. 1997). Suppression of protozoal numbers in vivo when S. sesban is added to the diet is either transient or non-existent, however, even though washed protozoa remain sensitive to S. sesban in vitro (Newbold et al. 1997, Odenyo et al. 1997). A possible reason is that saponins are metabolised in rumen fluid (Makkar and Becker 1997). The aims of this study were to determine if the antiprotozoal effect of different accessions of S. sesban was related to their saponins composition, and if conversion of saponins to their sapogenin derivatives was a possible cause of the loss of the antiprotozoal effect in vivo.
The effect of mats on the welfare of sows and piglets in the farrowing house
Authors: Boyle L.A. , Leonard F.C. , Lynch P.B. , Brophy P.
Published: November 2021

Flooring in the farrowing house has changed dramatically over the years from straw bedding on concrete to metal, cast iron or plastic slats. Animals can develop abrasion injuries from these floors (Edwards and Lightfoot, 1986) and sows have been shown to avoid slatted floors during and immediately after farrowing (Phillips et al., 1996). There is some evidence that providing a cushioning material in the pen could improve animal welfare (Gravas, 1979). The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of providing mats in the farrowing house on behaviour and lesion development in sows and piglets.

Nineteen sows and their litters housed on metal slatted floors (Tri-bar, Nooyen, Duerne, The Netherlands) and nineteen sows and their litters on mats (Productive Comfort, Pemarsa, S.A.) were included in the study. Mats were made of micro-cellular foam and were placed in the area of the farrowing crate and on both heat pads. Sows were examined in 34 locations for skin lesions on entry to the farrowing house and again at weaning, approximately four weeks later. Lesions were scored according to their severity (1 to 6); addition of scores yielded a total score for each sow.