bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of environmental temperature and feeding level on energy and protein retention of individual housed pregnant sows
Authors: Kemp B. , Verstegen M. W. A. , Verhagen J. M. F. , van der Hel W. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTTwo experiments were performed to study the effect of ambient temperature and feeding level on energy and protein metabolism of individually housed pregnant sows. In experiment 1, 12 pregnant animals were used. The stage of pregnancy at the start of the experiment ranged from 34 to 41 days. In experiment 2, 10 pregnant animals were used. The stage of pregnancy at the start of the experiment ranged from 38 to 47 days. In each experiment two groups of animals were used. Each group of five or six animals was individually tethered in one of two identical calorimeters and given one of two feeding levels. At the high feeding level the animals received about 1·35 × maintenance. At the low feeding level the animals received about 1·1 × maintenance. The temperature in experiment 1 changed stepwise in both calorimeters by 3°C every 5 to 7 days from 21 to 12°C and then in reverse order. Temperature in experiment 2 changed stepwise in both calorimeters by 2°C every 3·5 days from 25°C to 11°C and then in reverse order.Energy gain was negative in animals at the low feeding level at the temperatures below 15 to 18°C. At the high feeding level sows lost energy at 12°C or lower in experiment 2. Protein gain was depressed by both low feeding level and low temperatures. Energy balance was depressed by about 90 kJ/kg M0·75 per day at the lower feeding level and by 19 kJ/kg M0·75 per day per °C below thermoneutrality. Protein gain was depressed by about 26 g/day at the low feeding level and by about 6 g/day per °C below thermoneutrality. Fat gain at low feeding level was depressed by about 92 g/day and by about 154 g/day at the lowest temperature. At low feeding level below the critical temperature, gain of fat was negative. Feeding levels used in these experiments did not supply sufficient energy for energy equilibrium or fat gain for the pregnant sow kept for longer periods below the thermoneutral zone.
A performance test of pigs according to a modified Kielanowski system
Authors: Merks J. W. M. , Donker R. A. , Brascamp E. W. , Buiting G. A. J. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTA performance test of pigs was conducted according to an adapted version of the ‘Kielanowski system’ in which the feeding level and the termination point of the test period were changed. A total of 119 pigs of six genotypes (participants in the Commercial Pig Evaluation in The Netherlands, 1981) averaging 22 kg weight, were fed for 17 weeks on a scheme according to days on test. The regime was such that not all the pigs could consume their total allocation of food. The fast-growing pigs were expected to be more efficient and therefore the leanest.Forty-eight pigs consumed their total food allocation, whereas the remainder left an average of 5·89 kg food. Pigs that consumed their total allocation of food had a significantly better food conversion ratio (0·07 kg/kg; P < 0·01) and a higher daily gain (33 g/day), but they had significantly less lean (10 g/kg; P < 0·05) in their carcasses than pigs that could not consume their whole allocation. The ranking of genotypes for average daily food intake closely agreed (rs = 0·94) with the ranking in another trial with ad libitum feeding, which points to the possibility for selection on food intake capacity in the proposed system. For the other variates, the ranking correlations were moderate.Among the pigs that consumed the total amount of food offered, a moderately strong relation (r = 0·70) was found between daily gain and lean tissue growth rate. With the system tested, it was not possible to determine leanness simply by weighing the pigs afterwards. Nevertheless, the results of the modified Kielanowski system show some interesting aspects which contribute to the design of a test system for a genetically unbiased comparison among pigs.
Effects of ovulation status and stage of oestrous cycle on plasma progesterone concentrations in cattle with or without a history of twin calvings
Authors: Morris C. A. , Day A. M. , Peterson A. J. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTPlasma progesterone concentrations were measured over two collection periods from two groups of mature non-pregnant cows involved in a twin-breeding experiment. One group (T) consisted of cows obtained from private herds after having produced at least two sets of twins each; the other was a control group of similar ages and breeds. Yearling heifers from the same breeding experiment were also included. The mean progesterone concentration from cows in the T group was proportionally 0·83 of the value in control cows and the cow group effects were consistent in direction for samples obtained after single or double ovulations. Results were also consistent in early oestrous cycle (days 3 to 7, oestrus = day 0), mid cycle (days 8 to 13) but not late cycle (days 14 to 18). Concentrations were significantly higher in yearling heifers than in control cows. There was a trend for higher progesterone concentrations after double than after single ovulations assessed by rectal palpation, but differences were not significant.
Breed and sex differences in equally mature sheep and goats 3. Muscle weight distribution
Authors: Thonney M. L. , Taylor St C. S. , Murray J. I. , McClelland T. H. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTMales and females from Soay, Welsh Mountain, Southdown, Finnish Landrace, Jacob, Wiltshire Horn and Oxford Down sheep breeds and a breed of feral goats were slaughtered when they reached 0·40, 0·52, 0·64 or 0·76 of the mean mature body weight of their breed and sex. Total weight of dissected muscle was close to 0·30 times fleece-free empty body weight, or 0·24 times live weight, for all breeds and stages of maturity. The growth of 12 individual muscles or muscle groups dissected from the commercially higher-valued joints of the carcass, was examined in relation to live weight and total muscle weight. Limb muscles matured early. All 12 muscles, when combined, also matured early so that the proportion of lean tissue from the higher-valued joints declined as live weight increased.There were small but significant sex differences in the relative growth rate of some muscles. The abdominal muscles were early maturing for males and average for females. There were also sex differences in muscle weight distribution. The proportion of muscle in the hind limb of females was 1·055 times that in males, while the 12 muscles from higher-valued cuts constituted 0·403 of total carcass muscle for females and 0·389 for males, a proportional difference of 0·035.Muscle weight distribution was unrelated to breed size with the possible exception of m. gastrocnemius which appeared to be relatively smaller in genetically larger breeds. After accounting for differences in mature weight, there remained small but significant breed deviations in muscle weight distribution. Southdowns had the most attractive distribution. Feral goats and Jacob sheep, although they had the highest proportion of total muscle, had a much less attractive distribution.
The growth to maturity of lean and fat lines of broiler chickens fed diets of different protein content: Evaluation of a model to describe growth and feeding characteristics
Authors: Whitehead C. C. , Parks J. R. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTBody weight and food intake were measured at different ages up to 30 weeks in males and 21 weeks in females in lean, fat and commercial lines of broiler chickens given diets of different crude protein content. The lean and fat lines showed no differences in rates of body-weight gain or final body weights but the lean line had consistently lower food intakes. Dietary protein concentration within the ranges studied did not influence final body weights.Equations derived from a theory of feeding and growth were used along with the data up to 21 weeks of age to calculate mature body weights and various feeding characteristics. These values were compared with those obtained by application of the theory to another set of broiler data. The theory was found to be sufficiently robust to give some consistent interpretations of data from experiments involving considerable differences in time, breed and diet.
Estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth and reproductive traits for red deer on an upland farm
Authors: McManus C. M. , Hamilton W. J. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractGenetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated for farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) in an upland environment in the north-east of Scotland. Genetic parameters were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood analyses. Heritabilities of pre-weaning traits associated with growth were moderate for birth weight (0·27 (s.e. 0·04)), weaning weight, generally in September at 3 months of age (0·21 (s.e. 0·06)) and growth rate from birth to weaning (0·15 (s.e. 0·03)). Heritabilities for post-weaning traits were 0·10 (s.e. 0·05) for turn-out weight in April/May, 0·14 (s.e. 0·06) for September weight, at 15 months of age, 0·08 (s.e. 0·05) for growth rate weaning to turn-out and 0·12 (s.e. 0·06) for growth rate turn-out to September. Correlations between weaning weight and post-weaning traits were high indicating the usefulness of weaning weight as a selection criterion for red deer on upland farms. While Wapiti (Cervus elaphus canadensis) crosses grew faster than pure red deer they also tended to have higher mortality rates pre-weaning. Older dams were more likely to have a successful pregnancy and also tended to calve earlier. Date of calving was found to show no heritable variation in this study.
Effect of duodenal proline infusion on milk production and composition in dairy cows
Authors: Bruckental I. , Ascarelli I. , Yosif B. , Alumot E. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractFour Israeli-Friesian cows, two at peak and two at mid lactation, were fitted with duodenal cannulas. They were given proline or water infusions for 8-day periods to evaluate the effect of duodenal infusion of proline on arginine uptake by the mammary gland and on milk yield and composition of dairy cows. Milk fat content and 40 g/kg fat-corrected milk yield increased for all cows due to proline infusion. Milk protein concentration during either early or mid lactation and milk protein yield during early lactation, were not affected by proline infusion. Milk protein yield during mid lactation was increased due to proline infusion. Arginine uptake by the udder dropped by one-half during proline infusion. Results suggest that post-ruminal administration of supplemental proline reduced requirements for arginine by the udder and improved efficiency of dietary energy utilization.
Time series analysis of the prevalence of Ascaris suum infections in pigs using abattoir condemnation data
Authors: Goodall E. A. , McLoughlin E. M. , Menzies F. D. , Mcllroy S. G. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractIn most regions of the world, condemnations of porcine livers are almost always due to parasitic Ascaris suum infections. Thus, accurate data for all abattoirs in a region will reflect the prevalence of this disease in the pig population of that region. In Northern Ireland, a computerized information database retrieval system for abattoir data has been available since 1986. The information recorded by the system details the specific cause and location of all condemnations in cattle, sheep and pigs for all abattoirs in Northern Ireland since 1969. In this paper, results of analysis of a subset of these data (1969 to 1989) for pigs is presented and a univariate time series model identified for the recorded prevalence of condemnations due to cirrhotic lesions in pig livers. The results of the analysis demonstrate a very highly significant upward trend in the occurrence of Ascaris suum infections. The residual terms for the model were correlated with the corresponding time series of all the key meteorological variables. The association between the level of lesions and the mean level of air temperature over the early summer period is highlighted. The overall proportion of variation accounted for in the time series of the annual level of cirrhotic condemnations was 96%.
Economic weights from profit equations: appraising their accuracy
Authors: Bright G. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractDespite much discussion on the use of simple profit equations to estimate economic weights, no study appears to have tested the accuracy of this method. This paper carries out such a test from the viewpoint of the individual farmer by comparing economic weights calculated in the normal way with results gained from a more empirically acceptable, non-linear equation. Although the study concludes that simple profit equations are likely to be sufficiently accurate in most circumstances, further consideration needs to be given to a series of time periods and the industry and economy at large.
The effect of implantation of lowland ewes with melatonin on the time of mating and reproductive performance
Authors: Haresign W. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractTwo trials, involving a total of 1006 Mule ewes and 1862 Suffolk-× ewes, were conducted to investigate the ability of implantation with melatonin to induce early breeding in lowland sheep flocks. Dates of implantation ranged from mid May to late June for Suffolk-× flocks and mid May to early July for Mule flocks.From the mating patterns obtained it is suggested that the optimum implantation date is mid May to mid June for Suffolk-× ewes and mid June to mid July for Mule-type ewes.Melatonin treatment also significantly increased the mean litter size per ewe exposed to the ram (resulting from a 6-week mating period) when the data were pooled across flocks, but the magnitude of this effect varied across flocks. Part of this overall mean increase in Mule ewes (+0·84 and +0·50 extra lambs per ewe in trials 1 and 2 respectively) was due to an increase in the proportion of ewes mating and lambing and part of it (+0·13 and +0·17 extra lambs per ewe, respectively) was due to an increase in litter size per ewe pregnant. In the Suffolk-× ewes there was evidence that the overall mean benefit following implantation with two implants (+0·31 extra lambs per ewe) was greater than that following implantation with one implant (+0·14 extra lambs per ewe), with all of the increase at the lower dose level and +0·21 extra lambs per ewe at the higher dose being due to an increase in litter size per ewe pregnant.
In vivo prediction of goat body composition by computer tomography
Authors: Sørensen M. T. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractComputer tomography (CT) was evaluated as a method to predict body composition of live goats. Forty-one lactating goats were scanned. CT values (X-ray attenuation data) representing soft body tissues were summarized into 140 frequencies. By principal component analysis the 140 multicollinear frequencies were reduced to six orthogonal principal components at the loss of only 0·032 of the original variation.Following scanning at four positions the goats were slaughtered, dissected and the data analysed. Seven compositional traits (water, protein and fat from the carcass and non-carcass parts, and total energy of the body) were regressed on live weight and the six principal components from each of five CT data sets (data from the four scan positions and pooled data) in a stepwise linear regression procedure. Models from the pooled data set were further evaluated in a cross-validation procedure. Compared with evaluation based on calibration only, a more simple and precise model was chosen as the best by this procedure.After addition of CT variables in prediction equations already comprising live weight, cross-validation deviations were reduced by 0 for carcass water, 0 for carcass protein, 0·48 for carcass fat, 0·14 for non-carcass water, 0·23 for non-carcass protein, 0·73 for non-carcass fat, and 0·73 for total energy. These results show that CT is a valuable in vivo method for predicting body fat and energy, but less valuable for body water and protein.
Patterns of daily food intake in growing pigs
Authors: de Haer L. C. M. , Merks J. W. M. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractFood intake patterns of growing pigs given food ad libitum in individual and group housing were derived from food intake recordings with IVOG®-stations. The IVOG-station is a feeding station that records animal identification number, time, duration and amount of food intake during each visit of a pig to the food hopper. Data were collected in three testing batches of 90 Dutch Landrace pigs each, housed in 10 individual pens and in 10 group pens of eight pigs per batch.Based on survival analysis theory, intervals between visits shorter than 5 min (which was used as meal criterion) were regarded as within-meal intervals and these visits were grouped into meals. In group housing, food intake per day and rate of food intake had no significantly non-normal distribution. In individual housing, rate of food intake, food intake per day and number of meals per day had no significantly non-normal distribution. In individual housing rate of food intake, food intake per day and number of meals per day had no significantly non-normal distribution. All traits were normally distributed after discarding extreme values, except food intake and eating time per visit and per meal. In group housing these traits were not significantly non-normally distributed after logarithmic transformation.Pigs housed in groups ate faster, had a higher food intake per meal but less meals per day, less eating time per day and a lower daily food intake than pigs penned individually. During the day two peaks of feeding activity occurred, especially in group housing: one in the morning and one in the beginning of the afternoon.A distinction was made between meals with a major contribution to daily food intake and meals of minor importance. In group housing, 69% of the daily number of meals accounted for proportionately 0·87 of daily food intake and 0·83 of daily food intake time. In individual housing 39% of the meals accounted for proportionately 0·90 of the daily food intake and 0·79 of the daily eating time.Higher repeatabilities of day to day recordings of food intake traits, were found when estimated within 2-week periods compared with months or with the total fattening period.
Genetic components of growth and ultrasonic fat depth traits in Meishan and Large White pigs and their reciprocal crosses
Authors: Haley C. S. , d'Agaro E. , Ellis M. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractGenes from the Chinese Meishan pig have the potential to enhance reproductive performance of European pigs. In order to allow prediction of the impact of Meishan genes in a range of alternative improvement programmes all traits of economic importance must be evaluated and genetic crossbreeding effects estimated. Entire male and female pigs of four genotypes, purebred Meishan (MS) and Large White (LW) pigs and both reciprocal Fl crossbred genotypes (MS ♂ × LW ♀ and LW ♂ × MS ♀), were farrowed in Edinburgh and subsequently performance tested at either Edinburgh or Newcastle. In Edinburgh, animals were penned in groups of four and fed ad libitum between pen mean weights of approximately 30 and 80 kg. At the end of test fat depths at the shoulder, last rib and loin were measured ultrasonically. In Newcastle, animals were penned in groups of six and fed ad libitum between pen mean weights of approximately 30 and 70 kg. Genotypic means and genetic crossbreeding effects (additive and heterosis direct effects and additive maternal effects) were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood.When compared with the LW, the direct additive effect of genes from the MS produced increased growth rate up to the time of weaning, no change in growth rate between weaning and start of test and greatly reduced growth rate during the performance test. The maternal additive effect of genes from the MS was to reduce growth rate up to the time of weaning, with little effect thereafter. There was substantial direct heterosis for growth rate in all periods measured, but heterosis was less in males than in females during the performance test. The combined effect was such that, within sex, the LW and the two crossbred genotypes were of similar ages when they reached 70 and 80 kg, but MS pigs were 38 to 60 days older. The direct additive effect of MS genes was to increase subcutaneous fat levels and there was little evidence for the effects of maternal genes or direct heterosis on these traits. There was a direct additive effect of MS genes reducing food intake and increasing food conversion ratio and there was direct heterosis for increased food intake. There were significant interactions between genotype and sex. Male and female LW pigs had a similar performance but male MS pigs had slower growth rates on the performance test with lower food intakes, food conversion ratios and subcutaneous fat levels than the females.
A note on the influence of negative gradients on the energy expenditure of donkeys walking, carrying and pulling loads
Authors: Dijkman J. T. 
Published: September 2010

The extra energy used for walking on the level and on negative gradients above that used when standing still (Ew) (J/m per kg live weight) was measured in two entire male donkeys (Equus asinus). Ewwas not affected by speed within the measured range (V = 0·6 to 1·3 m/s) but gradient (0, −10%, −15%) had a significant effect Ew−10%= 0·97 (s.e. 0·02), Ew−10%= 0·55 (s.e. = 0·03) and Ew−15%= 0·67 (s.e. 0·03).The extra energy cost of carrying loads (Ec), defined as J/m per kg carried was measured using the same animals. Loads were placed over the animals shoulders and speed was varied within the range 0·6 to 1·3 m/s (Eclevel= 1·1 (s.e. 0·04), Ec−10%= 2·7 (s.e. 0·17) and Ec−15%= 3·3 (s.e. 0·20) were significantly different.The energy cost of pulling loads (Ep) (f/m per kg) was measured while the animals pulled loads up to proportionately 0·17 of their live weight. The animals wore a breast-plate harness and walking speed was varied within the range 0·6 to 1·3 m/s. Mean values were 26·5 (s.e. 0·72) on the level, 15-3 (s.e. 1·2) on the −10% gradient and 6·2 (s.e. 0·43) on the −15% gradient.The two donkeys used in this experiment were more efficient in both carrying and pulling loads than oxen and buffaloes. Negative gradients have a significant effect on energy consumption and when estimating the energy expenditure of working animals this factor should be taken into account.
A note on the development of behaviour of intensively managed piglets in the humid tropics
Authors: Kabuga J. D. , Annor S. Y. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThe behaviour development of intensively managed piglets, pre-weaning, in the hot humid tropics was studied with 18 litters of the Large White breed. The effect of age, sex and period of day (morning and afternoon) on the frequencies of some 14 behaviours from 1 day after birth until 34 days of age were examined using focal animal sampling on 36 piglets. Time spent lying and standing in contact declined. Time spent lying and standing alone, walking and the frequency of tail wagging, rubbing and scratching body parts, playing and fighting all significantly increased with age (P < 0·05). There was a significant (P < 0·05) linear trend, with age, in the eating of concentrates, which began at 2 weeks of age, and drinking water which occurred on the day after birth. Piglets were more active in the hot afternoons (12.00 to 16.00 h) than the cold mornings (08.00 to 12.00 h). There were no significant differences between males and females in any behavioural pattern (P < 0·05).