bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
222 Sire influence on hatchability and heritability estimates of quails in a humid tropical environment
Authors: Oke Uma K , Chinadum Obioma
Published: December 2019

Study on Japanese quail was undertaken to determine sire influence on hatchability and estimation of heritability values among three strains of the birds in a humid tropical environment in Nigeria. Fertility and hatchability traits; body weight (BW), shank length (SL), thigh length (TL), breast length (BL), keel length (KL), and wing length (WL) at 2nd, 6th, 10th weeks of age were measured on 300 crossbred progeny from 270 Cinnamon brown dam mated with three different strains of sire namely; Cinnamon brown (CB), Panda White (PW), and Silver Brown (SB) in the mating ratio of 1: 4. The data were subjected to analysis of variance appropriate for completely randomised block design (CRBD) and significant means separated with Duncan’s multiple range tests. Heritability estimate was done using the sire component equation. The average percent fertility (71.64 - 75.76 %), hatchability (50.41 -57.17%), percent dead in germ (55.00 - 69.08%),dead in shell (11.20 - 18.25%) were significantly (P < 0.05) better in PW - sired progeny, while piped (13.06 - 20.11%), brooding (3.00 - 4.67%) and rearing mortality showed no significant difference (P > 0,05) among the three sired - progeny. The analysis showed that at weeks two, six, and ten, SB - sired progeny had superior heritabity estimates in most of the linear traits and recorded lower indeterminate values as compared with other sired - progeny. Moderate to high heritability estimate (42 - 83%) obtained for body weight at six and 10 weeks among the three progenies suggests that selection for body weight or growth rate in Japanese quail should be carried out at 6 and 10 weeks of age and that PW - sired progeny be selected for better hatchability for enhanced breeding program for both egg and meat production in the strains.
334 Investigating core-dependent changes in predictions using the algorithm for proven and young in ssGBLUP
Authors: Lourenco Daniela , Tsuruta Shogo , Pocrnic Ivan , Misztal Ignacy
Published: December 2019

Large-scale single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) evaluations rely on techniques to approximate or avoid the inversion of the genomic relationship matrix (G). The algorithm for proven and young (APY) was developed to create the inverse of G without explicit inversion, and relies on the clustering of genotyped animals into two groups, namely core and non-core. Although the correlation between GEBV from regular ssGBLUP and APY ssGBLUP is greater than 0.99 when the appropriate number of core animals is used, reranking is still observed when different core groups are used. We investigated which animals are more suitable to reranking and how the changes in GEBV can be minimized. Datasets from beef and dairy cattle, and pigs were used. The beef cattle data comprised phenotypes on 3 growth traits for up to 6.8M animals, pedigree for 8.2M, and genotypes for 66k. A dairy cattle data with 9M phenotypes for udder depth, 10M animals in pedigree, and 570K genotyped was used. The pig dataset had up to 770k phenotypes recorded on 4 traits, pedigree for 2.6M animals and genotypes for 54k. Investigations included using several different core groups, increasing the number of core animals beyond the optimal number obtained by the eigenvalue decomposition, and comparisons with GEBV from ssGBLUP with direct inversion (except for dairy). Additionally, observed changes were compared with possible changes based on SE of GEBV. In all datasets, larger changes in GEBV by using different core groups were observed for animals with lower accuracy. The observed changes relative to standard deviations of GEBV were, on average, 5% and ranged from 0 to 30%. Increasing the number of core animals beyond the optimal value helped to asymptotically reduce changes in GEBV. Although core-dependent changes in GEBV exist, they are small and can be reduced with larger core groups.
232 Protecting pigs from viral infectivity with gene editing
Authors: Whitworth Kristin , Wells Kevin , Prather Randall S
Published: December 2019

Pig models were created that were fully resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and the alphacoronaviruses, transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) by DNA editing of the cluster of differentiation (CD163) gene and aminopeptidase N (ANPEP) gene via CRISPR/Cas, respectively. Litters of pigs were bred with a gene edit in exon 7 of CD163 that resulted no CD163 protein expression (CD163-/-). The pigs were either challenged with multiple PRRSV isolates at 3 weeks of age or bred at maturity for a challenge with pregnant sows. The challenges demonstrated that the pigs were completely resistant to infectivity to both Type 1 and 2 isolates as measured by clinical signs, viremia, antibody response and lung histopathology. In a follow-up study, pregnant CD163 edited pigs were challenged with PRRSV to determine if absence of CD163 in the dam should be sufficient to protect the fetuses that have functional CD163 protein. The CD163-/- sows carrying both the CD163-/- and CD163+/- fetuses were all negative for PRRSV nucleic acid and showed no sign of fetal or placental failure clearly demonstrating that the absence of CD163 in the sow is sufficient to protect a PRRSV-susceptible CD163+/- fetus. Gene editing of CD163 in pigs, via CRISPR/Cas9, successfully blocked PRRSV infectivity in young growing pigs and pregnant sows and their fetuses. Similar methods were used to determine if TGEV infectivity could be prevented by editing the ANPEP gene. Exon 2 of ANPEP was edited and resulted an ANPEP -/- genotype. ANPEP -/- pigs and age matched wild type pigs were challenged with TGEV. The presence of virus nucleic acid was determined by PCR in fecal samples. ANPEP -/- pigs were fully resistant to TGEV infectivity. These studies clearly show that precise gene editing can be successfully used in pigs to prevent viral infectivity of both PRRSV and TGEV.
244 White and red sorghum as primary carbohydrate sources in extruded diets of felines
Authors: Schaumburg Patrick von , He Fei , Mangian Heather , Hoke Jolene , Godoy Maria R C de
Published: December 2019

The human interest of ancient grains replacing modern carbohydrate sources has reached the pet food market, and there has been increased focus on corn- and wheat-free diets in pet foods. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of white and red sorghum grains on the gastrointestinal health of felines through the determination of apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility (ATTD), fecal characteristics, fermentative end-products, microbiota, and how the sorghum grains compared against a traditionally corn-based diet. Three diets containing 30% corn (CO), 30% white sorghum (WS), or 30% red sorghum (RS) were formulated to meet or exceed the AAFCO (2017) nutritional requirements for felines. Nine male cats were randomly assigned to one of the 3 dietary treatments using a replicated 3x3 Latin square design. Experiment periods consisted of 14 days (10 days of diet adaption + 4 days of total, fresh collection). All diets were highly digested by cats, however, ATTD of dry matter was highest (P < 0.05) for RS (81.13%) and lowest for CO (78.28%), organic matter was greatest (P < 0.05) for RS (86.40%) and lowest for CO (84.15%), crude protein was similar amongst diets with a range of 84.52%-86.57%, acid hydrolyzed fat was similar amongst diets with a range of 91.36%–92.79%, and total dietary fiber was greatest (P < 0.05) in WS (55.96%) with CO being lowest (44.66%). Fecal pH (6.28–6.54) and most metabolites did not differ among diets (P > 0.05), except for phenol/indole concentrations that were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in cats fed RS (178.88 ug/g) compared to CO (240.34 ug/g). Overall, the data gathered suggest that dietary supplementation of WS and RS as carbohydrate sources were well tolerated by the cats. Thus, sorghum is an acceptable alternative to corn in extruded diets of felines.
336 Integration of teaching and extension of companion animal biology and nutrition
Authors: Karr Lisa
Published: December 2019

Students have a strong desire for hands on experiences during their undergraduate careers. This can be accomplished through combining teaching with extension to provide students with new experiences. Many students chose Animal Science because they had experiences with extension programs when younger and they have a desire to help animals. Utilizing undergraduate students in community outreach programs provides an opportunity for students to develop critical skills required for employment, but also provides a broader reach of companion animal extension programs. A variety of creative activities can be utilized to improve student learning and gain experiences outside of the classroom. Extension or outreach programs allow for opportunities for students to develop leadership skills. Undergraduate students serving as instructors in 4-H and other youth programs can provide both an impact on the education of the youth involved, but also develop a deeper understanding of materials. Undergraduate students can be involved in teaching health care, nutrition, and other topics related to companion animals to youth audiences. Examples of successful programs include student organized dog training courses, service-learning projects through humane societies or animal rescues, student involvement in feral cat control programs, and student assistance with spay/neuter programs. These activities can support student-learning outcomes as well as provide a valuable community service. During the process, the Kolb’s experiential learning cycle should be used to promote student development. This cycle includes a concrete experience, reflection, conceptualization, and active experimentation. Students must reflect on their experiences, consider how it could be improved, how it relates to their future careers and educational experience, and propose areas of improvement to gain the most from their experiences. Measuring the impacts of these activities on student learning and life skills, as well as community implications, will be critical to evaluation of the success of the programs.
428 Values and perception: communicating controversial issues in animal agriculture
Authors: Eise Jessica
Published: December 2019

Animal agriculture is an important component of global food security, with animal products serving as a foundational component of many American diets as well as playing a crucial role the sustainability of food production and environmental well-being. Yet animal welfare is one of the most contentious issues in the United States, producing heated, polarizing public debates. Meanwhile, national trends across all major issues demonstrate an increasing loss of common ground between political parties, with no indication of an imminent turnaround. The contentious nature of animal welfare and animal science public debates, as well as indications of increasing polarization across the nation, presents a worrisome dilemma in the face of a growing need to make meaningful societal progress around food security. Research has long demonstrated that contentious arguments, disdainful debates or reiteration of facts often backfire and cause people to double down on their beliefs, with extensive literature in psychology showing that humans are goal-directed information processors who tend to evaluate information with a directional bias toward reinforcing pre-existing views. In this article, I demonstrate how research on the role of values in risk perception can provide a helpful frame for building understanding between competing groups around contentious animal agriculture issues, inform more effective communication efforts and build potential for progress-oriented collaboration.
93 Feeding behavior as predictive traits of fertility and lifetime productivity in replacement beef heifers
Authors: Olson Cameron A , McKeown Lisa , Block Hushton , Li Changxi , Basarab John
Published: December 2019

Fertility and longevity traits in beef cows are difficult and expensive to measure. The use of other traits to predict fertility and longevity traits in beef cows will enable selection for efficient reproduction earlier in an animal’s life. The objective of this study is to identify feeding behaviours with predictive relationships to fertility, longevity, and lifetime productivity in beef cows. This study used 421 Bos taurus commercial replacement heifers born from 2004 to 2014 and followed over 1050 mating opportunities, 11 production cycles and 5 parities. Heifers were weaned at 6–7 mo of age and developed on a 90% barley silage, 10% rolled barley diet in pens equipped with 16 electronic feed bunks to monitor feed intake and feeding behaviors. Feed intake (FI), feeding frequency (FREQ), duration (DUR), head-down time (HD) and time-to-bunk (TTB) were collected over the course of the feeding trial. Phenotypic correlations indicate that as FI increased during the heifer development stage, so did subsequent cow pre-breeding and pre-calving body condition score (BCS; r = 0.43, 0.36 respectively) and total lifetime productivity (r = 0.40). As FREQ increased, pre-breeding and pre-calving BCS decreased (r = -0.16 and -0.20, respectively), as did calf birth weight (r = -0.15). As DUR increased, weak positive correlations were observed with days in herd (r = 0.10), age at first calving (r = 0.17) and calf birth weight (0.13). Increased HD would lead to increased pre-breeding and pre-calving BCS (r = 0.16, 0.23 respectively), and greater lifetime productivity (r = 0.16). Time-to-bunk was positively correlated with days in the herd (r = 0.15), and with decreased calf birth weight (r = -0.23) and pre-calving cow weight (r = -0.33). These feeding behaviour traits, collected early in life, are worthy of further investigation into multi trait regression, genetic correlations and genomic selection.
92 Postnatal growth retardation impairs intestinal mucosal barrier in piglets
Authors: Qi Ming , Tan B I E , Yin Yulong , Liao Simeng , Li Jianjun , Wang Jing
Published: December 2019

The piglets with postnatal growth retardation (PGR) have high mortality and morbidity during their growth and development. Abnormal development of small intestine is casually implicated in impaired growth, but the exact mechanism still remains poorly understood. Thus, the present study investigated the immune profiles related to intestinal mucosal barrier in PGR and healthy piglets. The plasma sample, middle segments of small intestine, and the intestinal mucosa were obtained from healthy and PGR piglets at 42d of age. Compared to healthy piglets, higher plasma concentrations of diamine oxidase and D-lactate were observed in PGR piglets (P < 0.05). Decreased villous height, ratio of villous height to crypt depth, as well as sparse villi, jagged microvilli were also found in jejunum and ileum of PGR piglets. PGR also decreased the percentage of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells, as well as abundance of Zonula occludens-1, Occludin, Claudin-1, and E-cadherin mRNA and protein in jejunal and ileal mucosa (P < 0.05). The lower concentration of sIgA in jejunal mucosa, and lysozyme in both jejunal and ileal mucosa, but higher level of β-defensins in the ileal mucosa were observed in PGR piglets as compared to healthy piglets (P < 0.05). The percentage of CD68-positive cells were significantly increased, but the levels of P-glycoprotein were decreased in jejunum and ileum from PGR piglets (P < 0.01). Moreover, the expression of proteins involved in p38 MAPK/NF-kB pathway was significantly upregulated in jejunal and ileal mucosa from PGR piglets (P < 0.05). Collectively, these results indicated that the PGR piglets exhibited impaired intestinal integrity, and decreased capacity of mucosal immune function, which may result in severe inflammatory response via the activation of p38 MAPK/NF-kB pathway. Our findings may have important implications in the prevention and treatment of the intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction in piglets.
88 Dietary supplementation of branched-chain amino acids higher than recommended levels in nursery pigs fed with moderately low protein diet: effects on growth performance
Authors: Habibi Mohammad , Shili Cedrick N , Sutton Julia , Pezeshki Adel
Published: December 2019

Feed cost and excess nutrients excretion are threatening the swine industry. Moderately low protein (MLP) diets are less expensive and reduce the nitrogen excretion, but they may have negative influence on growth performance of pigs. The aim of current study was to investigate the effect of MLP diets supplemented with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA; leucine, isoleucine and valine) higher than Nutrients Requirements of Swine (NRC) recommendation on the growth performance of nursery pigs. Forty-eight weaned barrows at 3 weeks of age were weighed, individually housed and randomly assigned to 6 dietary treatments including: 1) PCON: 20% crude protein (CP), 2) NCON: 14% CP; 3) C25: NCON+ limiting amino acids (LAA, i.e. lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan) 25% more than NRC levels, 4) C50: NCON+LAA 50% higher than NRC recommendations; 5) CB25: NCON + (LAA+BCAA) 25% more than NRC; 6) CB50: NCON + (LAA+BCAA) 50% higher than NRC. The data were analyzed with univariate GLM with Tukey’s post-hoc test (SPSS®). The CB50 had higher final body weight, average daily gain, average daily water intake and average daily feed intake than C50 with the latter tended to be higher than NCON. Average daily feed intake, average daily gain and gain to feed ratio tended to be greater for CB25 and CB50 relative to C25 and C50, respectively. Compared to C50, CB50 improved the mean and cumulative feed intake in all the weeks. CB50 also tended to improve the body weight gain and gain: feed in week 2 relative to C50. In conclusion, supplementing MLP diets with limiting amino acid at 25% or 50% higher than NRC recommendations was failed to recover the negative effects of these diets on growth performance. Adding BCAA more than NRC levels to MLP diets improved the growth performance with the effects of added BCAA level being negligible.
340 Effects of nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation on maternal and fetal pancreatic exocrine function in sheep
Authors: Trotta Ronald J , Czech Taylor M , Vásquez-Hidalgo Manuel A , Vonnahme Kimberly A , Swanson Kendall C
Published: December 2019

To examine the effects of nutrient restriction on fetal and maternal ovine exocrine pancreatic function during mid- to late-gestation, 41 singleton ewes (48.3±0.6 kg BW) were randomly assigned to dietary treatments: 100% (control; CON; n = 20) or 60% of nutrient requirements (restricted; RES; n = 21) from day 50–90 (mid-gestation). At day 90, 14 ewes (CON, n = 7; RES, n = 7) were slaughtered. The remaining ewes were subjected to treatments of nutrient restriction or remained under a control diet from day 90–130 (late-gestation): CON-CON (n = 6), CON-RES (n = 7), RES-CON (n = 7), and RES-RES (n = 7) and were slaughtered at day 130. The pancreas was weighed, subsampled, and assayed for digestive enzyme activity. Enzyme activity was expressed as U/g, U/g protein, or U/pancreas (total content). Total protein content in the pancreas was expressed as g/pancreas. Differences between means were determined using contrasts in the MIXED procedure of SAS. Fetal and maternal pancreatic mass increased (P < 0.04) with day of gestation. Nutrient restriction during mid- (P = 0.01) and late-gestation (P = 0.01) decreased maternal pancreatic mass on d 130. Total fetal pancreatic α-amylase, trypsin, and protein content increased (P < 0.05) with day of gestation. Maternal nutrient restriction during late-gestation tended to decrease (P < 0.08) fetal pancreatic trypsin activity. Nutrient restriction during late-gestation tended to increase (P = 0.07) α-amylase:trypsin in fetal pancreas but tended to have the opposite response in maternal pancreas (P = 0.10). Total maternal pancreatic content of trypsin and protein tended to increase (P < 0.07) as gestation progressed. Nutrient restriction of gestating ewes decreased total content of a-amylase (P = 0.04) and tended to decrease total content of trypsin (P = 0.06) and protein (P = 0.06) in the maternal pancreas on d 90. Nutrient restriction during mid-gestation on d 90 and during late-gestation on d 130 decreased (P = 0.04) maternal α-amylase activity. Maternal nutrient restriction impairs pancreatic exocrine function by reducing maternal and fetal digestive enzyme activity.
270 Horses and the horse industry, texas and beyond
Authors: Heird Jim
Published: December 2019

A familiar Texas quote is, “Everything is bigger in Texas.” That’s certainly true about many parts of its equine industry. But, even though its population is large, many of the issues facing the Texas Horse Industry are no different than those of the rest of the U.S horse industry. Texas ranks highest in the total number of horses of all the states. According to the Texas Equine Industry Study of 2015, Texas has 840,000 horses in the state that generate almost $6 billion dollars in statewide economic output. The industry supports 52,000 jobs. Horse racing alone supports 11,400 jobs. Like most states, recreation riding/ownership leads the industry’s uses. In Texas, this segment alone accounts for $1.9 billion in revenues. The primary issues facing Texas’ and the U.S industries are equine welfare in all aspects of the industry, a decline in participation, waning youth interest and participation, a public without livestock experience, the economy, unwanted horses and leadership for the future.
113 Somatic cells as an indicator of quality of the cow’s milk
Authors: Plemyashov Kirill , Bogachev Nikolai , Skopichev Valerii G , Panova Nataliya A , Alistratova Fliura , Olga Dushenina , Vasil’eva Svetlana , Pilaeva Nina , Polistovskaia Polina A
Published: December 2019

When udder becomes inflamed during lactation, significant increase of somatic cells count in milk occurs. That is why an express-test based on surfactant’s effects was created. For this purpose 3 groups of samples were formed according to the somatic cell count in cm 3: group 1 - over 4.0*10^5 per cm3 (60 samples); group 2 - up to 4.0*10^5 in cm3 (100 samples); group 3 (control) - 3.0*10^5 in cm3 (30 samples). Experiments were conducted in the spring-summer and autumn-winter periods. Total amount of examined samples is 190. Somatic cell count in the samples was counted by viscometric method with the use of “Somatos-B.” We use the milk of animals 10–15 days after calving. Milk was mixed 1:1 with reagent, then after 3–4 tube shaking a height of foam column was determined. In the presence of somatic cells the foam forming is depressed. There was a positive reaction with column’s height from 3 to 10 (foaming) and negative reaction is considered to be from 0 to 3 (no foaming). There was a California mastitis test (CMT) as a control which is highly usable as an express-test in Leningrad region of Russia. The comparison of the results of two test show: on group 1 according to CMT 40 samples were positive, and foaming test determined 60 cases of somatic cells count increasing. On 2 group according to CMT 10 samples were positive and foaming test determined 60 cases of somatic cells count increasing. On 3 group according to CMT 1 sample was positive and foaming test not determined any somatic cells count increasing. This express method is not requires a big amount of time – it takes 8–10 seconds to mix a reagent and milk and evaluate results. So this method allows us to increase the mastitis diagnostic accuracy.
281 Effects of feeding endophyte-infected tall fescue seed to Angus steers on ergovaline concentration, lipid oxidation, and skeletal metmyoglobin reductase activity
Authors: McClenton Brandon , Goodman Jack , Dong Oanh , Sukumaran Anuraj , Holtcamp Alexander , Hart Caitlin , Lemley Caleb O , Aiken Glenn , Schilling Wes , Baldwin Brian , Martin Steven , Blanton John , Dinh Thu
Published: December 2019

This study was aimed to determine the ergovaline concentration, lipid oxidation, and skeletal metmyoglobin reductase activity in Angus steers fed with endophyte-infected tall fescue seed. Animals were blocked into light (n = 4, 205.5 ± 7.4 kg), medium (n = 5, 231.3 ± 8.2 kg), and heavy (n = 3, 272.7 ± 8.4 kg) groups and randomly assigned to either a KY31 seed treatment (6796 ppb ergovaline; 20 µg/kg BW; E+; n = 6) or a KY32 control (< 100 ppb; E-; n = 6) by Calan® gates during a 70-d feeding period from June to August of 2015 (period 1), followed by a 150-d resting period and another 64-d feeding period from January to March of 2016 (period 2). In both periods, there was a 2-way treatment × time interaction for ergovaline concentration in blood (P = 0.002 and 0.022, respectively), with E+ steers having 0.59 to 0.95 nM more than E- steers on d 3 (P < 0.001). In period 1, TBARS values were greater in blood serum of E+ steers than in that of E- steers (6.56 vs. 2.56 µM MDA; P = 0.048) and an overall increase in MDA from d 0 (2.39 µM) to d 3 (7.59 µM) was also observed (P = 0.049). At slaughter, E+ steers had a blood TBARS value of 2.27 µM, greater than 1.15 µM in E- steers (P = 0.013). In postmortem muscle, the TBARS value was 0.68 and 0.77 µg/kg for E- and E+ steers, respectively (P = 0.239). There was no effect of endophyte-infected tall fescue seed on metmyoglobin reductase in longissimus thoracis (4.82 µM/min/g in E- muscle vs. 3.93 µM/min/g in E+ muscle; P = 0.484). Therefore, feeding endophyte-infected tall fescue seed increased ergovaline concentration and oxidative stress in the blood of Angus steers.
272 High oxygen packaging is detrimental to beef flavor and tenderness
Authors: Vierck Kelly R , Legako Jerrad F , Brooks J Chance
Published: December 2019

This study determined the influence of packaging and muscle on beef flavor and tenderness. Strip loins and top sirloin butts (n = 20/subprimal) from USDA Low Choice carcasses were fabricated into 2.54 cm steaks (Longissimus lumborum and Gluteus medius) at 7 d postmortem. Steaks were randomly assigned to packaging treatments: carbon monoxide motherbag (CO), high oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (HIOX), polyvinyl overwrap (OW) and rollstock (ROLL) and aged for 14 d in dark storage. Steaks in OW were vacuum packaged during aging, then overwrapped for display. Steaks were placed in coffin-style retail display for 48-h under fluorescent lighting. For trained panels and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), steaks were cooked to 71℃ using clamshell grills. Seven trained panelists rated steaks for beef flavor identity, brown/roasted, bloody/serumy, fat-like, liver-like, oxidized, fishy, buttery, umami, bitter, sour, overall juiciness, and overall tenderness. Data was analyzed as a 2 × 4 factorial design, with packaging, muscle, and their interaction as fixed effects, peak temperature as a covariate, and collection, round, and panel as random effects. No interactions (P ≥ 0.103) or muscle main effects (P ≥ 0.063) were observed. Packaging impacted all traits (P ≤ 0.048), except for fat-like (P = 0.387), liver-like (P = 0.950), and salty (P = 0.357). Steaks from HIOX packaging were rated the lowest for positive flavor attributes and rated highest for negative flavor attributes. Conversely, OW and ROLL steaks produced the greatest positive flavor attributes in comparison with HIOX. Overwrap and ROLL steaks were juicier and more tender than HIOX steaks (P < 0.05). High oxygen steaks exhibited the highest WBSF value compared to all other treatments (P < 0.05). These results indicate HIOX packaging has detrimental effects on flavor and tenderness. Steaks should be stored and aged in anerobic packaging to maintain optimum levels of tenderness and flavor.
278 Replacing cottonseed meal and sorghum grain with corn dried distillers grains with solubles in lamb feedlot diets: volatile compounds from cooked lamb chops
Authors: Kerth Chris R , Hodges Kade M , Wall Kayley R , Hicks Zena M , Tucker Dylan H , Whitney Travis R , Ramsey Wesley S , Woerner Dale
Published: December 2019

Dorper ram lambs (n = 46) were fed diets replacing cottonseed meal (CSM) and sorghum grain with dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Lambs were fed with ad libitum access to 70.9% concentrate diets for 61 d in individual pens. The positive control diet (CNTL) contained CSM, sorghum grain, and other concentrates, but no DDGS. The four treatment diets were similar to CNTL, but did not contain CSM. Corn DDGS replaced 0%, 33%, 66% or 100% of the sorghum grain in the treatment diets. Lambs fed CNTL were contrasted to those fed 0% DDGS and linear and quadratic effects were evaluated within the four treatment diets. At 48-h postmortem, the longissimus muscle was removed from the carcass, frozen, thawed, cooked, and volatiles were collected using SPME/GC/MS. One volatile, 3-methyl,1-butanol was greater (P = 0.03) in CNTL, while 0DDGS had effectively no volatile present. For linear effects, 1-heptanol (fruity aroma) and 2-pentyl furan (caramel aroma) tended to increase linearly (P = 0.06 and 0.05, respectively), while 2-butanone tended to decrease linearly (P = 0.06; fruity-green aroma) in chops as DDGS increased in the diet. Additionally, 2-heptanone (P = 0.02; banana aroma) and heptanol (P = 0.03; woody aroma) both increased linearly in chops as DDGS increased in the diet. In the quadratic effects, decanoic acid (ethyl ester; grape aroma) tended to decrease quadratically (P = 0.07), while 2-butanone, methyl pyrazine (meaty, roasted aroma), and 2-ethyl-5-methyl pyrazine (coffee, nutty aroma) tended to increase quadratically (P = 0.05, 0.09, and 0.08, respectively) in chops with an increase in DDGS. The volatiles 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine (musty, cocoa aroma) and 2,3-octanedione (warmed-over aroma) both increased quadratically (P < 0.05) in chops as DDGS increased in the diet. Except for 2,3-octanedione, volatile aroma compounds were enhanced when DDGS replaced CSM and sorghum grain in lamb feedlot diets.
156 Structural patterns in dairy cow efficiency responses to supplementation
Authors: Liebe Douglas M , Price Tanner P , Daniels Kristy M , White Robin R
Published: December 2019

The increased availability of precision technologies in dairy production systems coupled with improved computational power has increased interest in individualized feeding. The objective of this study was to determine if small groups of dairy cows with a similar response to dietary adjustment could be identified based on individual animal efficiency changes in response to short-term diet shifts mimicking automated precision feeding. A replicated latin square with 4 groups of 6 cows was used to evaluate responses to feeding increasing amounts of ground corn, soybean meal, chopped grass hay, or total mixed ration for 9 d periods. Throughout each period, treatments were top dressed at incrementally increasing rates to provide 0 to 20 percent of calculated net energy intake. Cows were group housed and fed once daily in Calan gates for 36 days. The feed to milk ratio (FtM) was calculated as feed intake per unit milk yield, so that a lower FtM was more considered efficient. To test the idea that cows could be grouped by their FtM response to different feeds, data were split by top dress type and each day’s FtM was used as a variable for each cow. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to determine cows that had the most similar FtM behaviors over the 9-day feeding period. After PCA, k-means clustering was performed on the first two dimensions from PCA to discern groups of cows in the data. This approach can inform precision feeding strategies by calculating within-group average MYE and assigning cows to whichever feeding strategy generated the lowest MYE. The fact that cattle segregate into different efficiency groups depending on the supplement type provided suggests that individualized feeding schemes must be designed with individual animal interactions with supplement type in mind.
405 Effect of Subacute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products on inflammatory responses of dairy cows
Authors: Guo junfei , Derakshani Hooman , Yoon Ilkyu , Khafipour Khafipour , Plaizier Jan C
Published: December 2019

Feeding high-grain diets to dairy cows increases concentrations of acute phase proteins in peripheral blood. This inflammatory response can be reduced by supplementation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP). It is not clear which cytokines drive this inflammatory response, which organs are inflamed, and how these processes are affected by SCFP. The objectives of this study were to investigate if grain-induced SARA increases the concentrations of the cytokines IL-1β in peripheral blood, and of the inflammatory marker myeloperoxidase (MPO) in rumen papillae of lactating dairy cows, and if these concentrations are affected by SCFP. Thirty-two lactating Holstein dairy cows were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (n = 8) that received a TMR (34.9 %DM NDF, 18.6 %DM starch) supplemented with 1) 140 g/d of ground corn (Control), 2) 126 g/d corn and 14 g/d of Diamond V Original XPCTM (XPC), 3) 121 g/d corn and 19 g/d Diamond V NutriTek® (NTL), and 4) 102 g/d corn and 38 g/d of Diamond V NutriTek® (NTH). SARA challenges were conducted during wk 5 (SARA1) and 8 (SARA2) of lactation by replacing 20% of the base TMR with pellets containing 50% barley and 50% wheat. Blood samples were taken weekly between wk 4 (preSARA1) and wk 9 (postSARA2) for the analysis of IL-1β. Rumen papillae samples were taken during wk 3 (preSARA1) and wk 9 (postSARA2) for the measurement of MPO. SCFP treatment did not affect the concentrations of IL-1β, but the SARA challenges increased this concentration moderately from 9.0 to 12.3 pg/mL (P < 0.05). The concentration of MPO did not differ between preSARA1 and postSARA2, and these concentrations were not affected by SCFP. Results suggest that IL-1β may drive the acute phase response during the SARA challenges, and that these challenges did not cause inflammation of rumen papillae.
160 A comparison of body temperature among pregnant, non-pregnant and lactating hair sheep ewes in the tropics
Authors: Godfrey Bob , Nero Amran , Lakos Sue
Published: December 2019

St. Croix White hair sheep are well adapted to the tropics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of pregnancy on body temperature of hair sheep. Multiparous St. Croix White ewes (n = 9) were evaluated over 4 d at 128 d of gestation (PREG) and 45 d postpartum (PP) while lactating. A set of non-pregnant, non-lactating (DRY) ewes (n = 9) were also evaluated at each time. Temperature data loggers recorded vaginal temperature (VT) at 10-min intervals for 96 h. Ewes were kept in a 0.6 ha pasture. Data were analyzed using GLM procedures of SAS for repeated measures with pregnancy status and time of day in the model. Mean temperature and solar radiation were 26.3 °C and 212.3 W/m2, respectively. Ewe VT was lowest (P < 0.0001) between 0 and 0700 h and greatest between 1400 and 1900 h (38.21 ± 0. 02 vs 39.11 ± 0.02 °C, respectively). Ewe VT was lowest (P < 0.004) in PREG ewes compared to DRY or PP ewes (38.38 ± 0.02 vs 38.76 ± 0.02 vs 38.77 ± 0.02, °C, respectively). The VT of PREG ewes was lower than that of DRY ewes (P < 0.0001) during 0 to 0480 and 1920 to 2400 h, but there was no difference (P > 0.10) between 0480 and 1920 h. There was no difference in VT between PP and DRY ewes at any time of the day (P > 0.10). The VT of PREG ewes was lower than that of PP ewes (P < 0.0001) during 0 to 0480 and 1920 to 2400 h, but there was no difference (P > 0.10) between 0480 and 1920 h. The lower VT of PREG ewes compared to PP and DRY ewes may be a protective mechanism for the developing fetus.
162 Raising your kids the right way: A survey of rearing practices in Canadian dairy goat farms
Authors: Bélanger-Naud Stéphanie , Cinq-Mars Dany , Julien Carl , Buczinski Sébastien , Lévesque Janie , Arsenault Julie , Vasseur Elsa
Published: December 2019

Kid rearing is the foundation of goat milk production, yet little is known about how to raise replacement does efficiently to make healthy and productive dairy animals. This study aimed to identify the common rearing practices of Canadian commercial dairy goat farms (≥40 goats/farm), from birth to weaning, and to determine best management practices to improve herd performances. A survey was sent to dairy goat producers across Canada by post or email, and 104 respondents were selected for analysis. The 70-questions survey collected information regarding kidding management, care of the newborn, feeding in the preweaning period, housing, weaning and herd performances. Respondents were from Ontario (69%), Quebec (22%) and the Western provinces (9%). Farm sizes ranged from 42 to 2,500 (median: 190) goats, and most producers (64%) were relatively new to goat milk production (≤10 yrs). A large amount of variation in rearing practices was seen across farms. Ad libitum milk was offered on 55% of farms, and there was no consistency as to when concentrates, forages and water were first offered to kids. Weaning criteria was predominantly a mix of age and weight of the kid (36%), followed by age only (27%) and weight only (22%). Weaning age varied between 4.5 and 20 (median: 8) wks and weaning weight varied between 9 and 35 (median: 15) kg. Weaning methods ranged from abrupt (37%) to different progressive strategies (20% skipping milk feedings, 19% reducing milk quantity, and 10% diluting milk with water). This research provides the dairy goat industry with information concerning current common kid rearing practices used on Canadian goat farms, and the lack of consensus indicates that further research is necessary to determine and refine the best kid rearing practices for Canadian farms.
421 Addressing the diverse needs and career interests of animal sciences undergraduate students in a career preparations course
Authors: Fike Karol E
Published: December 2019

Diverse career opportunities and interests exist for undergraduate students in animal sciences. Educational programs should expose students to diverse careers and prepare them personally and professionally for future success, though individualized opportunities and effectiveness for a large enrollment course is challenging. At Kansas State University, Animal Sciences Career Preparations is a compulsory course for junior or seniors (average enrollment=232). This one-credit course meets once/week with the overarching goal being to help students describe and “move forward” in their career goals. From 2013–18, to determine their intended career path, enrolled students (n = 1394) were asked at semester onset, “Which […] most closely characterizes what you expect to be doing (position/activity) within the 1st year following graduation from [college]?” Most students (32%) selected “Begin school in a college of veterinary medicine.” while 26% selected “Work for an agri-industry/biosciences business/organization.” Fifteen percent indicated, “Begin graduate school (Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, […])” Seven percent chose “Work on [their] family’s ranch/farm/feedlot” and 11% chose “Work for someone other than [their] family on a livestock production operation.” Nine percent selected “Other,” indicating careers with zoo/wildlife organizations or military, for example. Polishing resumes and cover letters, facilitated engagement with university career services, discussion of how social media can influence their career path, and consideration of benefits packages in job offers are examples of activities that all students engage in regardless of career goals. Students can select from several “tailored” assignments/activities specifically relevant to individual paths such as generational transition planning for students returning to family businesses, GRE exam preparation insight, and mock interview participation with businesses for jobs/internships or for admission to veterinary school. Providing flexible structure to course assignments and activities helps students progress in personal and professional preparedness yet allows exploration as students continue to navigate their paths and make career-related decisions.
181 Enhancing the efficiency of poultry production by optimising selection objectives and breeding strategies
Authors: Wood Ben J , Emamgholi-Begli Hakimeh , Abdella Emhimad , Vanderhout Ryley J , Baes Christine F
Published: December 2019

Poultry, in general, have been the most successful farmed species in efficiently producing protein, be it egg laying chickens or meat producing chickens or turkeys. This has been the result of 60–80 years of continuous selection and improvement of traits that effect overall efficiency. The innate physiology of birds, high reproductive rates and relatively short generation intervals have helped speed these improvements. The contribution of feed to production costs has increased efforts to accurately measure feed intake, and selecting for efficient feed utilisation have been significant. Selection for feed efficiency forms an integral part of the breeding objective of the respective breeding programs, but in recent years other components of efficiency have become increasingly important within breeding objectives. Market segmentation, with greater volumes of fully deboned meat for further value added processing, has resulted in the optimisation of yield to feed for both broilers and turkeys. Allometric growth patterns, particularly late stage deposition of breast meat, gives rise to opportunities for optimisation of both slaughter age and weight. Genetic evaluations incorporating genomic information from birds with yield measurements is now implemented across both broilers and turkeys in many breeding programs. The implementation of genomic selection has benefits for not only yield, but also growth and feed efficiency, and we have shown improvements in genetic prediction of 11%, 23% and 31% for growth, breast meat and residual feed intake in turkeys, respectively. Reproductive efficiency has also been improved in broilers, turkeys and particularly layers, by improving evaluations using genomic information. Altering egg production curves to maintain production persistency for increasingly longer time periods has also been important. Layer flocks are now routinely in production for up to 500 days and similar objectives are used for selection in both broiler and turkey reproduction.
178 Continuing to enhance efficiency in swine
Authors: Plastow Graham
Published: December 2019

Efficiency in swine production is made up of a number of traits including reproduction, health, and the conversion of feed into pork. Due to the large proportion of cost associated with feed (>70% of overall costs) there has been a focus on this aspect of efficiency. Indeed, significant progress has been made in reducing the amount of feed required to reach market weight. This has been achieved at the same time as increasing growth rate (and therefore decreasing age at slaughter) whilst maintaining carcass quality to meet market needs. A significant proportion of this improvement was delivered through genetics and the application of new measurement technologies. Examples, include the use of ultrasound to measure fat content on the live animal and individual feed intake recording. At a time when sustainable production is increasingly demanded then efficiency will continue to be important through its impact on the economics of farming – productivity and profit. However, sustainability takes into account other aspects such as the impact on the environment as well as social aspects such as animal welfare. Many of these components support each other, for example, more prolific sows producing more efficient full market value pigs contribute to a smaller environmental footprint (more product and less waste). Likewise pigs that stay healthy even when responding to infection continue to eat and require less medication. When antagonisms exist they can be addressed in a balanced selection program that addresses all aspects. We are now at a point where new technologies will make it feasible to address these additional factors providing the opportunity for even greater progress in these key traits in the near future. This presentation will provide examples of the progress made and the role of genomics in utilizing “big data” to continue to improve the efficiency of swine production.
PSIII-5 Metabolic hormones, live weight, grazing behaviour and offspring distance of primiparous beef cows grazing grasslands at two herbage allowances
Authors: Claramunt Martin , Meikle Ana , Soca Pablo
Published: December 2019

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of herbage allowance (HA; herbage mass in kg DM/ha: stocking rate in kg LW/ha ratio) during gestation and lactation on cow and calf LW, body condition score (BCS), insulin, IGF-1, and leptin concentrations, daily grazing, ruminating and idling proportion cow-calf distance in primiparous beef cows from -10 to 70 days from temporary suckling restriction (nose plates on calves during 12 days=TW; day 0=initiation of TW at 86 ± 10 postpartum) and flushing (2 kg FB/cow/day whole-rice bran for 22 days). Thirty-three cows were allocated to HA treatments during gestation and lactation (-150 to 195 days relative to calving), that annually averaged 2.5 (low HA) and 4 kg DM/kg LW (high HA). Data were analyzed using mixed models with repeated measures and general linear mixed models. Cows LW and BCS did not differ during the -10 to 50 day period but were greater in high HA at the end of the study. Concentrations of IGF-I were greater in high HA (80 vs 70 ± 3 ng/mL), but insulin and leptin did not differ. Daily grazing proportion was lower in high HA (0.64 vs 0.68 ± 0.06; P < 0.05), and the opposite occur with rumination and idling (P < 0.05). Cow-calf distance was greater in low HA cows (0.57 vs 0.75 ± 0.006; P < 0.05) and increased greatly in this group after flushing. Milk yield was greater (3.7 vs 3 ± 0.3; P > 0.05) and calf weight did not differ between treatments from -10 to 35 day and was greater after 45 days in high HA compared to low HA. Thus, increasing HA resulted in greater IGF-1 concentrations and milk yield, and induced changes in grazing and maternal behavior that were associated with increased cow and calf LW and BCS.
PSVI-2 The effect of a recombinant Mannheimia haemolytica leukotoxoid on the health and growth performance of high-risk, newly received stocker cattle metaphylactically treated with tilmicosin
Authors: Pickett Autumn T , Ball Jase , Kegley Elizabeth , Blue Ken , Hagenmaier Jacob A , Reynolds Jana , Powell Jeremy
Published: December 2019

Crossbred male beef calves (n = 259; bulls = 134, steers = 125; body weight = 250 ± 3.4 kg) approximately 6 months of age and considered high-risk for developing bovine respiratory disease arrived on 3 dates (block) and were stratified by arrival castrate status and weight to be evenly distributed across pens (8 pens/block; 9 to 12 calves/pen). The pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: 1) Nuplura PH (administration of a Mannheimia haemolytica leukotoxoid at processing) or 2) Control (no M. haemolytica leukotoxoid). All cattle received tilmicosin on d 0 with a 5-d post-metaphylactic interval. Body weights were recorded on d -1, 0, 14, 28, 41 and 42. Blood was collected on d -1, 14, 28, and 42 and sera were harvested to determine serum neutralization titers for bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) type I and bovine anti-M. haemolytica leukotoxin antibodies. Calves were observed daily for signs of morbidity. Body weight and average daily gain were not affected (P ≥ 0.26) by treatment. The percentage of calves administered 1, 2, or 3 antibiotic treatments for clinical bovine respiratory disease did not differ (P ≥ 0.35). There was a tendency for mortality to be greater for Control compared to Nuplura PH (1.6 vs 0.0%; P = 0.10). Calves administered Nuplura PH possessed greater antibody response against M. haemolytica leukotoxin on d 14, 28, and 42 compared to Control calves (P < 0.01). There was no treatment × day interaction for antibody titers against BVD (P = 0.98). The use of a M. haemolytica leukotoxoid had no effect on growth performance and morbidity for the 42-d following receiving in this small-pen study, but reduced the incidence of mortality and did not interfere with antibody response to BVD vaccination in high-risk, newly received calves metaphylactically treated with tilmicosin on arrival.