bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic progress in the lleyn group breeding scheme using a multitrait selection index
Authors: Pollott G.E. , Guy D.R. , Croston D. 
Published: November 2021

Group breeding schemes were introduced into Britain in the 1970s as a means of increasing the rate of genetic improvement in sheep and providing a vehicle for breeders to cooperate and pool resources. The Lleyn Group Breeding Scheme was set up in 1978 with the aim of improving several maternal traits in a breed known for its prolificacy. Although the breed originates from North Wales members of the group were drawn from different parts of Britain. Flocks in the scheme were all recorded by MLC and sheep had the possibility of being selected using MLC's selection index, appropriately weighted for the traits of interest to group members.This analysis was designed to investigate the genetic progress made in the scheme between 1979 and 1993. Three traits were analysed; adjusted early lamb weight (LW) (at eight weeks of age), mature weight (MW) (at 18-months) and litter size (LS) in the form Number of lambs born per ewe lambing (NLBEL). These three traits were investigated in ten flocks which participated in the scheme, at varying levels, during the 14-year period 1979-1993. However, only genetic progress in the nucleus flock is reported in this paper.
Evaluation of maize silage in the diet of finishing steers
Authors: McCabe N. H. , O' Mara F. P. , Caffery P. J. 
Published: November 2021

Interest in the production of maize silage in Ireland has increased in the last few years. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the performance of steers when fed maize or grass silage based diets ad libitum and supplemented with varying levels of concentrates.Sixty continental cross steers were blocked on the basis of live weight (av. initial weight = 617 kg) and breed (Charolais, Limousin and Simmental) and were allocated to one of the following six dietary treatments with 10 animals per treatment: A) maize silage-1 (sown under polythene) plus 2 kg concentrates (22% CP); B) 50:50 mixture of maize silage-2 (grown without the use of polythene):grass silage plus 4 kg concentrates (16% CP); C) maize silage-2 plus 4 kg concentrates (16% CP); D) maize silage-3 (as for silage-2 but with additive applied to control aerobic deterioration) plus 4 kg concentrates (16% CP); E) grass silage plus 4 kg concentrates (16% CP); F) grass silage plus 6 kg concentrates (14% CP). The steers were fed for 105 days during which live weight gains and group intakes were measured. After slaughter carcass gains were calculated (using an initial kill-out of 53%), kidney knob and channel fat weights were measured and carcass conformation and fat scores were taken.
Human-animal interactions in early life in female pigs and the effects on subsequent behaviour, physiology and reproductive performance
Authors: Varley M A , Stedman R C 
Published: November 2021

Fear inducing stimuli are common in modern intensive husbandry systems. It is probable that a principal source of fear is the humans who work with the animals and who, by necessity, have close contact with the animals when carrying out routine husbandry practices.Signals generated by the stockman, either intentionally or unintentionally, may be perceived by the pig as threatening. There is growing evidence that the complex behavioural relationships between stockmen and their charges can profoundly influence productivity. Seabrook, (1985) found that the personality of the stockman influenced the behaviour and performance of dairy cows. Similarly, Hemsworth et al., (1981) found that on those farms where sows displayed increased avoidance behaviour to the experimenter, the number of piglets born per sow was depressed. In a subsequent study it was found that those pigs which were highly fearful of humans as a result of being aversively handled, exhibited impaired reproductive performance and elevated basal Cortisol levels.
The welfare requirements of the sow and litter
Authors: Jensen Per 
Published: November 2021

The pig is a curious ungulate. It is the only one which builds a nest prior to parturition, gives birth to large litters of altricial young, and does not lick the young after birth, just to mention some oddities. I studied the maternal behaviour of pigs in semi-natural enclosures for seven years (Jensen, 1988; Jensen et al 1993) and the results provide some insights into the specific welfare requirements of the sow and its offspring.In 30 Swedish Landrace sows, more than 100 farrowings and subsequent mother-young interactions were observed in three enclosures measuring 7,12 and 13 hectares. The animals were fed daily full rations of concentrate and had access to shelters. In addition, series of experiments have been carried out under controlled laboratory conditions to test and validate some of the findings (for example Jensen, 1993).
The in situ degradation of four concentrate feeds in the caecum of ponies
Authors: Stefansdottir G J , Hyslop J J , Cuddeford D 
Published: November 2021

The in situ technique has been used widely to assess the degradation of feeds in the rumen. However, very little information is available on the degradation of feeds in the digestive tract of equids. This experiment examines the degradation of unmolassed sugar beet pulp (USBP), hay cubes (HC), soya hulls (SH) and a 2:1 mixture of oat hulls:naked oats (OH) in the caecum of ponies.Four caecally fistulated Welsh cross pony geldings (approx LW 250 kg) were offered ad libitum grass hay (DM: 926, CP: 69; NDF: 649) plus 30 g/h/d of a horse mineral supplement. Two incubation bags (monofilament polyester, 6.5 x 20 cm, 41 um pores, 16 mg/cm2 sample size) containing either USBP or HC were incubated in the caecum for fixed times according to both a forward (0,3,5,16,8,24,48) and reverse (48,24,8,16,5,3,0) incubation sequence.
The effect of incubation sequence on in situ degradation of concentrate feed components in the caecum of ponies
Authors: Hyslop J J , Stefansdottir G J , Cuddeford D 
Published: November 2021

Previous work as shown that incubation sequence has no effect on the degradation profile of feeds in the rumen of cattle and sheep. However, compared to the rumen the equine caecum is small, digesta passage rate through it is fast and total digesta volumes can vary widely. Consequently, this experiment examines the effect of bag incubation sequence on degradation co-efficients in situ in the equine caecum.Four caecally fistulated Welsh cross pony geldings (approx LW 250 kg) were offered ad libitum grass hay (DM: 938, CP: 70; NDF: 728) plus 30 g/h/d of a horse mineral supplement. Duplicate incubation bags (monofilament polyester, 6.5 x 20 cm, 41 um pores, 16 mg/cm2 sample size) containing a commercial horse concentrate (DM: 918, CP:151, NDF: 403) were incubated in the caecum for fixed times according to both a forward (0,3,5,16,8,24,48) or reverse (48,24,8,16,5,3,0) incubation sequence.
The effect of breed and age at slaughter on lamb growth, carcass composition and meat quality
Authors: Mustafa M. I. , Webster G. M. , Chadwick J. P. 
Published: November 2021

In the UK there are many different breeds of sheep to suit all conditions and environments. Utilization of a breed is dependant on suitability for the environment, production system and acceptability of the carcass. This experiment was therefore designed to evaluate breed and age effects on performance, carcass composition and eating quality of lambs using a systems approach.Lambs of five breed types were used, representing the stratification within the industry: Swaledale (SWD), Scottish Blackface (SBF), Mule, (Bluefaced Leicester x SBF; MUL), Suffolk x Mule (SxM) and Suffolk x (Rouge de l' Quest x SBF) (SxR). All lambs were finished off grass which was of subjectively similar quality at ADAS Redesdale and were slaughtered at estimated fat class 2 to 3L. For each breed type, there was 2 or 3 slaughter dates with 2 or 3 breeds being represented on each occasion.
Effects of pasture fertiliser N level and winter diet type on performance, carcass and muscle traits of beef steers
Authors: Keane M.G. , Allen P. 
Published: November 2021

Use of high levels of fertiliser N on pasture and silage making can cause environmental pollution through nitrate leaching to ground water and accidental seepage of silage effluent to water courses. The reformed Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union promotes more extensive beef production on grassland to reduce these risks. The objective of the present study was to ascertain the consequences for animal performance and carcass traits of reducing fertiliser N and eliminating silage making in beef production.Forty eight Charolais x Friesian yearling steers (initial liveweight 358 kg) were allocated to 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment at turn-out to pasture in April. The two factors were fertiliser N level (215 (Normal) and 57 (Low) kg/ha) over two consecutive grazing seasons and type of feed (grass silage or by-products) during the intervening winter.
Using beans (vicia faba) in a “barley beef” system for finishing bulls
Authors: Pullar Duncan 
Published: November 2021

Simplifying rations and using home grown ingredients can reduce costs of production and, provided productivity is maintained, increase profit. The objective of this experiment was to determine the performance of weaned suckled bull calves on a ration containing field beans (vicia faba), rolled barley, molasses and vitamins and minerals; the ad libitum straw intake was also examined.Twelve Limousin x (Hereford x Friesian) bull calves, 9 months old, were individually fed through two Callan-Broadbent doors, one for the concentrate ration and the other for chopped straw. Wood shavings were used for bedding. The two treatments, fed ad libitumfor 63 days were, barley/ rapeseed meal (B/RSM) and barley/ beans (B/E) and contained 153 Â± 5.0 and 166 Â± 8.4 g/kg DM CP and 12.6 Â± 0.16 and 12.9 Â± 0.17 MJ ME/ kg DM respectively.
The effect of age and energy level on the growth potential of Sangsary male lambs in Iran
Authors: Rouzbehan Y. , Shabani A. , Assadi Moghadam R. , Nik-khah A. 
Published: November 2021

Recognition of the importance of the native sheep breeds as one of the main source of meat in Iran has led to several studies on their growth performance. There is little information available on the animal potential of Sangsary sheep, a native Iranian breed. The aim of this trial, therefore, was to assess the growth potential and carcass quality of Sangsary male lambs.Forty four entire males, 9 month (m.) old, mean initial weight 26.8 (sd 2.5) kg were used. The two diets, which consisted of concentrate and roughage, had a similar protein content (150 g CP/kg DM) and metabofisable energy of either 10.6 MJ/kg DM (diet A) or 9.2 MJ/kg DM (diet B), were each fed ad libitum to 22 lambs. The animals were group penned. At the start and end of the study, the animals were weighed on two consecutive days.
Effect of crop type and processing on the in sacco dry matter degradability of alkali-preserved whole-crop cereals in dairy cows
Authors: Roodsary M.H. , Younger A. 
Published: November 2021

Little information is available on the dry matter degradability of whole-crop cereals and their components (Hill and Leaver 1994). In this experiment, the in sacco degradability of the DM of four cereal crops was determined, and the effect of physical alteration of whole-crops and their component parts was investigated.Winter sown crops of wheat (var.Riband) and barley (var.Marinka) and spring sown crops of wheat (var.Axona) and barley (var.Tyne) were cut at the “hard dough” stage of crop maturity and preserved with urea at 40 g kgDM-1 in plastic silos. The in sacco DM degradability of samples of these crops was determined in two fistulated dairy cows (Jerseys, mean liveweight 450 kg) using the method of Paine, Crawshaw and Barber (1982). The cows were fed alfalfa cubes (16% protein) and meadow grass hay, each at 3 kg d-1, and had continuous access to water.
The effects of sodium application to grass or concentrates on dry matter digestibility in sheep
Authors: Chiy P.C. , Mohammed M.O. , Phillips C.J.C. 
Published: November 2021

Sodium can increase feed digestibility if a deficiency is rectified by supplementation (Chiy and Phillips, 1991, 1993; Moseley, 1980), but too much can reduce digestibility by creating toxic conditions for rumen microflora. Such conditions may be more exacerbated by adding sodium to concentrates, which are eaten rapidly compared to forage.Sodium was added either to concentrate (C) or grass (G) at two levels (high.H or low.L) before being fed to 20 Welsh Mountain ewes in metabolism crates. Treatments were applied in a Latin Square design with two week periods, in order to determine the effects on digestibility in comparison with a Control. Ewes were fed 100 g DM concentrate/d, with +0 (Control), 5 (L) or 10 (H) g Na/kg DM added, and fresh cut perennial ryegrass herbage which was soaked in water with 0 (Control), 10 (L) or 20 (H) g NaCl/litre for 15 minutes and then drained for 10 minutes before feeding. Grass contained 183 g CP/kg DM and 297 g MADF/kg DM and 1.7, 4.1 and 7.7 g Na/kg DM for the Control, GL and GH treatments respectively.
Use of an in vitro gas production technique with faeces as inoculant to assess tropical forage quality for equids
Authors: Kirkhope R.T.S. , Lowman R.S. 
Published: November 2021

In tropical areas reliable estimation of feedstuff nutritional value often proves difficult. Recording in vitro gas production from feedstuffs, using caecal digesta as a gut microbial source, is a promising new method for analysing digestion kinetics in equids. However, this demands caecal fistulation. Substituting caecal fluid with faeces provides a potential non-invasive alternative.Naked Oats (NO) and four forages (Grass Pellets (GP), Alfalfa Hay (AH), Oat Straw (OS) and Millet Stover (MS)), of known in-vivo digestibility, were incubated in vitro with either a faecal or a caecal digesta inoculum.
Effect of ammonia infusions on milk production by the dairy cow
Authors: Moorby J.M. , Theobold V.J. 
Published: November 2021

Ruminants may absorb large quantities of ammonia resulting from microbial fermentation and incomplete capture of rumen degradable protein (Huntington, 1984, 1987). Detoxification of this ammonia by ureagenesis in the liver involves the use of aspartate, and although this can be derived from ammonia via glutamate, it may be drawn from the general body amino acid pool. If the latter occurs, the availability of amino acids for milk production may be reduced, leading to a reduction in the quantity and/or quality of milk produced. This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of infusing ammonia into the duodenum of dairy cows on the quantity and quality of milk produced.Four multiparous Holstein-Friesian dairy cows fitted with duodenal cannulae were given one of two experimental treatments based on duodenal infusions in a changeover design with three periods (the last period of a four period design was not completed). Duodenal infusions were chosen to avoid direct effects on rumen parameters.
Post-feeding behaviour in dairy cows given a choice between high and low-DUP concentrates
Authors: Herdan C.L. , Davison E.J. , Lawson R.E. , Forbes J.M. 
Published: November 2021

A major cause of low silage intake is that some nutrients become available at different times than others i.e. asynchrony of supply. It is possible that, given a choice between foods with different nutrient profiles, animals will take meals at the times that optimise synchrony of supply. The observations reported here examine this concept where lactating cows were given access to concentrates high and low in digestible undegraded protein (DUP).Six cows in peak lactation and six cows towards the end of lactation were housed in a straw yard where they were offered grass silage ad libitum. Limited access was given to two concentrate feeders containing differently flavoured compounds one high in DUP (28% total protein) and the other low in DUP (18% total protein). Feeders were monitored and controlled according to the LUCIFIR system (Forbes et al., 1986). The two Out of Parlour Feeders (OPFs) were set to dispense 1kg meals.
Influence of content of nutritionally essential fatty acids on keeping quality of fresh pork
Authors: Darling F. , Wiseman J , Taylor A J 
Published: November 2021

Current recommendations for consumers suggest the dietary ratio of n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids should be 5:1. Manipulation of fatty acid profile of pig meat is comparatively straightforward, thus production of pork that approaches the ‘optimum’ is realisable. However, associated with this is a significant risk of deterioration in both keeping and eating quality, following oxidative rancidity. The objective of the trial was to manipulate total n-6 (linoleic, C18:2) and n-3 (linolenic, C18:3) levels of adipose tissue fatty acids, whilst keeping the ratio relatively constant at 5:1, giving levels of 180, 150 and 120g C18:2 /kg adipose tissue with concomitant levels of 36, 30 and 24g C18:3 /kg adipose tissue. Pork (lean) was subjected to physical and biochemical assessment.Four isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated. Diets 1 to 3 contained progressively less soya bean oil (42.3, 33.9 and 25.6 g/kg) and linseed oil (8.3, 5.0 and 1.7 g/kg) and progressively more maize starch (0, 30.8 and 61.6 g /kg) with ‘himod’ powder as an inert filler (38.3, 19.1, Og/kg) respectively for diets 1, 2 and 3.
Rumen hydrogenation of long-chain fatty acids from fish meal
Authors: Carro M.D. , Miller E.L. , Fabb O.C. 
Published: November 2021

In one in vitro study Ashes et al. (1992) reported that C20 and C22 fatty acids (FA) from fish oil were not hydrogenated to any significant extent by rumen microorganisms. However, to our knowledge, no measurement on hydrogenation has been performed on fishmeal (FM) FA. The aim of this experiment was to study the in vivo and in situ rumen hydrogenation of long-chain FA of two different FM: FMl (60 g FA/g DM) and FM2 (85 g FA/g DM).Six sheep fitted with rumen cannulae and single duodenal cannulae were fed every 2 hours, receiving 1 kg/d of a 60:40 hay:concentrate diet, either alone (Control; C) or supplemented with 40 g FM/d (FMl and FM2). The experiment was carried out over four periods (two sheep received one of the diets in each period) and Cr-NDF was used as a marker to estimate duodenal flow. Data were subjected to analysis of variance using the ANOVA procedure of the Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS, 1994).
The use of n-alkanes for prediction of intake in dairy cows
Authors: Unal Y. , Garnsworthy P. C. , Gorton P. 
Published: November 2021

Alkanes are the components of plant cuticular waxes. Recent studies have been shown that the faecal ratio of natural to dosed alkane concentration can provide accurate and precise prediction of herbage intake in grazing sheep ( Mayes et al. 1986; Vulich et al. 1991). Limited information is available on the use of n-alkanes with dairy cows, but they have the potential to predict intake of group-fed cows. The objective of this study was to evaluate n-alkanes as markers to predict the intake of hay based diets for dairy cows.Three rumen-fistulated Holstein Friesian dairy cows were housed in individual standings. A three by three latin square design was used with a different level of hay (Diet A, 6; B, 8; C,10 kg/d) and 1 kg/d rolled barley for each cow. Each period was lasted 20 days. The first 10 days was a preliminary period and over the following 10 days total faecal collection took place.
The effect of food related cues on the specificity of appetite in the rat
Authors: Day J. E. L. , Rogers P. J. , Finch G. M. , Gaffan E. A. 
Published: November 2021

It is known that if rats learn that a cue reliably precedes eating, its presentation can cause them to initiate a feeding bout when they are apparently sated (Weingarten, 1983, 1985). However, it is currently unclear precisely how such conditioned cues affect appetite. For example, does this type of conditioning elicit food specific appetites or do individuals merely experience a general increase in feeding motivation (Mela & Rogers, 1998)? To address this issue, the present experiment investigated the hypothesis that exposure to a cue (conditioned stimulus: CS) previously paired with a specific food biases diet selection in favour of that food when an individual is given a choice. The objective of the experiment was to enhance our understanding of the behavioural control of feeding, and hence our ability to predict diet selection and food intake.The experimental subjects were 12 male Lister-hooded rats (initial body-weight 233; SD=20g). Throughout the experiment the subjects were maintained on a 1lh:13h light:dark cycle with lights on at 0700h, and had ad libitum access to a standard laboratory diet during the light phase.
Investigation of direct gas production from silage fermentation acids
Authors: Deaville E. R. , Givens D. I. 
Published: November 2021

During ensilage readily fermentable organic matter (OM) is fermented to lactic acid and short chain volatile fatty acids (VFA). These acids provide little energy as ATP for rumen microbial growth and are essentially absorbed intact. The UK metabolisable protein system defined the energy available for microbial growth, termed fermentable metabolisable energy (FME), as the proportion of metabolisable energy (ME) in a diet/feed less the ME in oil and fermentation acids. The aim was to establish if fermentation acids yield direct gas production resulting from microbial fermentation. Grass silage was simulated using grass hay (GH; containing no fermentation acids) with additions of individual fermentation acids in solution.GH (~2 kg) was oven-dried overnight at 100°C, nulled (1 mm screen) and then sieved (25 μm screen). 0.5 g GH was weighed into 250 ml Duran bottles according to the treatments; 1) GH + anaerobic incubation mixture (AIM, 85/15 v/v anaerobic medium and strained rumen fluid) + ~5 ml distilled water; 2) GH + AIM + ~5 ml fermentation acid solution (100 mg DL-lactic acid (LA)/10 ml, 30 mg acetic acid (AA)/10 ml or 20 mg n-butyric acid (BA)/10 ml) (equivalent to 100, 30 and 20 mg/g GH dry matter (DM) for LA, AA and BA respectively); 3) anaerobic medium (85 ml) + 15 ml clarified rumen fluid + ~5 ml fermentation acid (as treatment (2)).
Semi-automation of the in vitro gas production technique using a pressure transducer
Authors: Mauricio R.M. , Dhanoa M.S. , Owen E. , Channa K.S. , Mould F.L. , Theodorou M.K. 
Published: November 2021

The use of a syringe (manual method) to measure gas production is time consuming and inaccurate. In addition the time taken prevents frequent measurements and therefore does not allow gas production kinetics to be fully described. According to Boyle's Law, gas volume corrected for temperature, is directly related to pressure. A simple, semi-automatic system recording of gas pressure and equations to estimate volume, was therefore developed.Data for this work came from a study which compared rumen liquor and faeces as sources of inoculum using the method of Theodorou et al. (1994). Six substrates (wheat straw, hay, soyabean meal, wheat starch, maize starch, and potato residue) were utilized. Gas pressure readings (observations = 1187) were measured using a hand-held pressure transducer with an LED readout. Interfaced to a computer using a Mini-Pod 300 (AD converter). MS-Visual Basic (Microsoft) was used to convert the mini-pod readings and automatically enter them into an Excel spreadsheet. Gas volume was measured using a syringe to remove the gas produced until the readout indicated zero.