bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Disruption of teat preferences and retardation of growth following cross-fostering of 1-week-old pigs
Authors: Horrell I. , Bennett Josie 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTTwenty sows and their litters were observed at regular intervals over the 1st week post partum to determine piglet-teat relationships. At 7 days of age, three piglets were exchanged between five pairs of litters, the other 10 litters remaining intact as controls. Observations of sucking were continued for another week. All piglets were weighed at 3, 7 and 14 days of age. Cross-fostering disrupted the teat sucking relationships of the whole litter compared with those of control litters, but the probability of sucking at the same teat in the 2nd week as in the 1st was less in fostered piglets than in their non-fostered littermates. The weight gain of fostered piglets during the 2nd week was reduced to 79% of that in their non-fostered littermates. Both disruption of sucking and reduction in weight gain were greater in those piglets that had to compete, on their foster mother, for the teat they preferred during the 1st week than for those whose teat was free.
The effects of level of feeding of sows during pregnancy. III. Body composition
Authors: Elsley F. W. H. , Macpherson R. M. , Lodge G. A. 
Published: September 2010

1. Four groups of three litter-sister Large White gilts were given during four successive pregnancies a daily meal allowance of either 2·70 kg (High), 1·35 (Low) or 1·35 kg for 76 days followed by 2·70 kg until parturition (Low-High). During 8-week lactation periods all received the same daily allowance of 1·8 kg meal plus 0·35 kg for each piglet suckled.2. On the 100th day of the fourth pregnancy all sows were slaughtered. The major internal organs were weighed and measurements recorded of the length of carcass and backfat thickness at shoulder, midback and loin. The carcasses were then separated into bone, skin, subcutaneous fat and muscles plus intermuscular fat. The weights of radius-ulna, tibia-fibula, humerus and femur were recorded.3. In each of the treatment groups the live-weight changes of the sows in the fourth pregnancy were almost identical to those in the third pregnancy.4. The mean total carcass weights for the High, Low and Low-High sows were 154, 92 and 110 kg respectively, and the mean subcutaneous fat contents of the carcasses 14, 4 and 6 kg respectively.5. The relative proportions of the weights of the organs to carcass weight, weight of bone to weight of muscle plus intermuscular fat, and the weight of individual bones to total bone weight were relatively unaffected by the treatments after allowance had been made for total carcass weight.6. The implications of the changes in body composition on the lifetime reproductive performance of sows are discussed.
The assessment of pig meat paleness by reflectance photometry
Authors: MacDougall D. B. , Cuthbertson A. , Smith R. J. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYA portable EEL reflectometer was modified to measure the variations in the brightness of pig meat. The instrument was calibrated spectrophotometrically with reference to the luminous reflectance of standardized materials and selected meat samples. A very satisfactory level of agreement between the instrument and the visual assessment of muscle paleness was found in an investigation involving 251 pigs.
Pre- and postnatal study of the carcass growth of sheep 3. Growth of dissectable and chemical components of muscle, and changes in the muscle: bone ratio
Authors: Broad T. E. , Davies A. S. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTThe half carcasses of 39 pre- and postnatal Romney sheep were dissected into anatomical units of bone and, where possible, into 32 muscle units which comprised nine functional groups. The growth of wet weight of the total bone and of the muscle groups (and their chemical components, which included deoxyribonucleic acid, protein, and total lipid) was compared with the growth of the carcass using allometric analysis.Although bone grew faster prenatally than postnatally relative to carcass weight, the growth of total muscle and of all the muscle groups and their chemical components occurred at a constant, linear rate throughout the growth period studied.The muscle: bone ratio decreased during prenatal growth, reached a minimum at around parturition and then increased postnatally.The abdominal, m. longissimus and thigh muscle groups grew faster than total side muscle, relative to carcass weight.Protein, and especially triglyceride, grew at relative rates which exceeded that of muscle wet weight.The amount and proportion of intramuscular triglyceride, and the weights of the muscle groups in sheep at three different stages of growth, were predicted from allometric equations. The content of triglyceride was greatest in the cutaneous and neck muscle groups. As a proportion of total muscle, the thigh, m. longissimus and abdominal groups increased as carcass weight increased from 1 kg to 15 kg.
An evaluation of three ultrasonic machines for predicting the body composition of live pigs of the same breed, sex and live weight
Authors: Alliston J. C. , Kempster A. J. , Owen M. G. , Ellis M. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTMeasurements of the m. longissimus and overlying fat at the last rib were taken on 39 live entire male pigs using three ultrasonic machines of differing complexity: Sonatest (simple A-mode machine), Scanogram (modified linear scanner) and Danscanner (‘real time’ scanner). Each machine had a different operator and interpreter. The pigs were from two lines of Large White, one selected for efficiency of lean-tissue gain (20 pigs) and the other a genetic control line (19 pigs). They were measured in the week prior to slaughter at approximately 90 kg live weight (91·4 (s.e. 4·4) kg).The analysis was pooled within line and the precision of carcass lean prediction at constant live weight examined for the three machines. Standard deviation of lean in carcass at equal live weight was 16·2 g/kg.A single fat thickness measurement taken by the Sonatest gave the most precise prediction (residual s.d. = 12·9 g/kg). Marginally poorer relationships were recorded for a similar measurement taken by the Scanogram (13·5 g/kg) and Danscanner (13·3 g/kg). Precision was not improved from the use of additional fat thickness measurements or, in the case of the scanning machines, from the addition of fat area over the m. longissimus or the area of the muscle itself. The results confirm that the Scanogram and Danscanner do not offer significant advantages over the simpler and cheaper Sonatest in the circumstances considered.
A note on the significance of boar salivary pheromones to the male-effect on puberty attainment in gilts
Authors: Booth W. D. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTEighteen Large White gilts were allocated to one of three treatments so that there were six gilts on each treatment. The treatments were (1) daily exposure to a nasal spray of boar saliva reinforced with 16-androstene steroid pheromones, (2) daily exposure to a nasal spray of saline and a mature boar for 20 min, and (3) daily exposure to a nasal spray of saline only.The experiment began when the gilts were between 158 and 165 days of age, and was terminated when they reached 240 to 247 days of age, the gilts were slaughtered soon afterwards.The results indicate that if salivary pheromones operate in the overall effect of the male on puberty attainment in gilts, the effect is of minor significance. Exposure to a mature boar confirmed the phenomenon of the 'male-effect' on puberty attainment in gilts.
Growth and carcass characteristics of crossbred lambs by ten sire breeds, compared at the same estimated carcass subcutaneous fat proportion
Authors: Kempster A. J. , Croston D. , Guy D. R. , Jones D. W. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTAn evaluation was carried out over a 5-year period in 10 commercial flocks of Scottish Blackface, Scottish Half-bred and Mule ewes to evaluate 10 sire breeds: Border Leicester, Dorset Down, Hampshire Down, He de France, North Country Cheviot, Oxford Down, Southdown, Suffolk, Texel and Wensleydale. An average of 43 sires was used per sire breed.The analysis involved a total of 3360 lambs of which one-third had the left side dissected. Sire breeds were compared when their progeny were slaughtered at the same estimated carcass subcutaneous fat proportion (approx. 120 g/kg).Carcass weights were related to the adult body size of the sire breeds with a range of 4 kg between Southdown and Wensleydale crosses. Crosses by the conventional meat sire breeds tended to have higher daily carcass-weight and lean-tissue gains than those by Border Leicester and Wensleydale sires. Texel and Suffolk crosses did not differ significantly in carcass weight, daily carcass-weight gain, daily lean gain or age at slaughter (P > 0·05).Significant sire-breed × dam-breed interactions were recorded for daily carcass-weight gain and daily lean gain (P < 0·05). Dorset Down and Southdown crosses tended to grow relatively faster when from Mule dams; Texel crosses grew relatively faster when from Blackface dams.There was relatively little difference between sire breeds in visually assessed carcass conformation; all the means were within two points on a 15-point scale. Texel crosses had a higher carcass lean proportion than other crosses: their advantage over Suffolk crosses was 22 g/kg.
Studies on the nutrition of ruminants 4. The use of ground straw of different particle sizes for cattle from twelve weeks of age
Authors: Pickard D. W. , Swan H. , Lamming G. E. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYTwenty-four Friesian calves were fed from twelve weeks of age on six diets containing 15 or 30% ground barley straw, the straw being ground through screens of and in.From twelve weeks to seven months of age (120–250 kg) the calves had mean growth rates of 1·15 kg/day with a feed conversion ratio of 4·15: 1. From seven to eleven months of age (250–380 kg) the corresponding figures were 1·16 kg/day and 5·53: 1, and in the final fattening period of 11–14 months (380–500 kg), 0·92 kg/day and 8·19: 1.These differences between stages of fattening were highly significant. There were no differences in performance due to the particle size of the straw or to the proportion of straw in the diet.
The incidence, repeatability and effect on dam performance of twinning in British Friesian cattle
Authors: Bowman J. C. , Hendy C. R. C. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYAn estimate of the frequency of twin calvings was obtained from the analysis of over 38 000 calvings of Friesian cows in M.M.B. milk-recorded herds. The incidence of twinning increased from 0·54 % in the first parity to 3·37% in the fifth parity. A significant excess of cows above expected produced either more than one set of twins or no twins at all. Repeatability ranged from 0·0 for cows with three calvings to 0·063 for cows with five calvings.Data on lactation yield and duration, butterfat percentage and calving interval showed no significant effect of twinning. However, consistent trends were noted showing that dams which calve twins have longer subsequent lactations, higher whole lactation yields and lower fat percentages than contemporary dams with single calves. The possible causes for these trends are discussed and are considered to be the lower breeding efficiency and longer calving intervals of dams of twins.
Photoperiodism in the ewe: 2. The effects of various patterns of decreasing daylength on the onset of oestrus in clun forest ewes
Authors: Ducker M. J. , Thwaites C. J. , Bowman J. C. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYIn six light-proofed buildings experiments were conducted with Clun Forest ewes to determine whether the date of first oestrus was affected by the absolute size of reduction in the case of an abrupt decrease in daylength and by the rate of reduction in the case of a given total decrease in daylength.The mean number of days from the onset of the light treatments to first oestrus (the reaction interval) for ewes receiving gradual decreases in daylength of 3·5, 7·2 or 10·9 min/day from 1 July were 66·4, 53·7 or 33·6 days, respectively. The reaction interval for ewes receiving abrupt decreases in daylength of 3·75, 7·75 or 11·75 hr on 1 July were 59·5, 44·8 or 33·6 days, respectively. A control group of ewes at pasture on natural daylength had a mean reaction interval of 66·2 days.It is concluded that the various light treatments applied significantly affected the date of onset of oestrus in Clun Forest ewes.
The effects of clipping pregnant ewes at housing and of feeding different basal roughages
Authors: Rutter W. , Laird T. R. , Broadbent P. J. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARY1. Forty Greyface (Border Leicester ♂ × Blackface ♀) and 40 North Country Cheviot ewes, due to lamb to a Suffolk ram in April 1969, were housed during December 1968 in eight groups of 10 ewes, the breeds being penned separately.2. One pen of each breed received a basal diet of either hay, grass silage or arable silage with a ‘high’ level of concentrate supplementation and one pen of each breed was given hay with a ‘low’ level of concentrate supplementation. Within each pen, five of the 10 ewes were clipped at housing and the other five were clipped in the following June.3. Voluntary intakes of the basal diets declined with advancing stage of pregnancy, particularly for those receiving grass silage. Feed had no differential effects on the performance of the ewes in terms of wool yield, body-weight change, birth weight of lamb per ewe or perinatal lamb mortality.4. The Greyfaces clipped at housing yielded less wool than those Greyfaces clipped in the following June. Time of clipping had no influence on the wool yield of the Cheviots. Wool grades were not affected by time of clipping. Ewes clipped in December performed significantly better than ewes not clipped until June with a higher proportion of ewes producing multiple births (P<0·1), a higher total birth weight of lamb per ewe (P<0·01) and a reduced perinatal mortality of the lambs (P<0·05). The total effect of this improved performance was that the clipped ewes produced 53 ·5 % more live lambs than those ewes not clipped until the following June.
An evaluation of the micronization process for preparing cereals for the growing pig. 1. Effects on digestibility and nitrogen retention
Authors: Lawrence T. L. J. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARY1. In two experiments, each using three groups of six littermate castrated male pigs per group, the effects on cereal composition, apparent digestibility and nitrogen retention of micronizing barley and maize were studied.2. The process increased the dry matter (DM) content and in vitro starch availability and decreased the nitrogen content of both cereals. When maize was flaked (rolled) subsequent to the process the ether-extract content was markedly decreased.3. Nitrogen retention was not affected by the process but apparent digestibility of the DM, nitrogen and gross energy was improved. These effects were most marked when the process was followed by flaking, the improvements in such cases in digestible energy content over the unprocessed grain being 4·3% (P>0·05) for barley and 6·6% (P<0·05) for maize.4. Soaking the unprocessed and micronized and flaked cereals before feeding did not significantly affect the results.
Induction of lambing every eight months in two breeds of sheep by light control with or without hormonal treatment
Authors: Vesely J. A. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYSuffolk and Rambouillet female sheep (ewes) were kept in pens where daylight was gradually reduced and were treated, or not treated, with hormones to obtain four lambing cycles in 2·5 years. Oestrus in May, June and July was induced more easily (P<0·01) in Rambouillet than the Suffolk ewes. The advantage of higher conception rates in the Rambouillet ewes during anoestrus was offset by the higher prolificacy rates in the Suffolk in the other three lambing cycles. On average, each breed produced 128 lambs per 100 ewes exposed per lambing cycle. This corresponds to 5·1 lambs per ewe in four lambings, which is equivalent to 2·04 lambs per ewe per year. Under the conditions of the experiment, the addition of Syncro-Mate pessaries (20 mg fluorogestone acetate) and pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG, 5 ml/ewe, 50 IU/ml) to the treatment of reduced daylight did not affect the ovulation or conception rates.
Relationship between the cumulative difference and best linear unbiased predictor methods of evaluating bulls
Authors: Thompson R. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYThe relationship between two methods of sire evaluation (Bar-Anan and Sacks's cumulative difference method (CD) and Henderson's best linear unbiased predictor method (BLUP)) is shown. This relationship suggests a modification, with more theoretical justification, to the CD method.
Reproduction in the gilt. 2. The influence of gilt age at boar introduction on the attainment of puberty
Authors: Hughes P. E. , Cole D. J. A. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYTen Landrace × (Landrace × Large White) young female pigs (gilts) were allocated to each of three growth rate treatments so that they attained 73 kg live weight at 135, 160 or 190 days of age. At 73 kg live weight the gilts were introduced to a vasectomized boar for 30 min each day, and were subsequently mated at the second oestrous period. The interval from boar introduction to puberty was 15·2 and 19·0 days respectively for gilts having first boar contact at 190 and 160 days of age, these intervals being significantly shorter (P<0·05) than the 34·3 days for the 135-day group. However, the mean ages at puberty of the 135- and 160-day groups (169·4 and 178·2 days respectively) were not significantly different but these gilts were significantly younger at puberty than the 190-day group (205·3 days). There were no significant differences between treatments for gilt live weight at puberty or first litter size.
A note on the value of dried citrus pulp and grape marc as barley replacements in calf fattening diets
Authors: Hadjipanayiotou M. , Louca A. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYTwo trials with 44 and 30 British Friesian male calves were conducted over a period of 48 and 30 weeks respectively, to study the value of dried citrus pulp and grape marc as substitutes for part of the barley in calf-fattening diets. In each case the diets were fortified with additional crude protein to compensate for the lower digestible crude protein contents of these substitutes.Including dried citrus pulp at 60% of the concentrate diet had no effect on calf performance or feed intake, and provided additional protein is supplied, citrus pulp appears to compare favourably with barley as an energy source.Inclusion of grape marc at 15 and 30% of the diet tended to reduce live-weight gain at the higher level and to reduce killing-out percentage and increase feed intake at both levels, resulting in poor feed utilization. Its value as an energy source appears to be about half that of barley.
Multibreed designs. 2. Genetic variation within and between breeds
Authors: Taylor C. S. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYOptimal designs are given for estimating some of the genetic parameters needed to describe a population of breeds when testing facilities are limited and the number of breeds to be tested is potentially large. The best design for estimating the relative proportion of genetic variation within and between breeds is to have a large number of breeds, a few sires per breed, and a few offspring per sire, the total number of animals per breed being of the order of 10 to 20.
Digestibility studies with cows given whole and rolled cereal grains
Authors: Nordin M. , Campling R. C. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYThe susceptibility of whole and rolled cereal and legume seeds to microbial attack within the rumen of cows was examined by incubating seeds in nylon bags in the rumen for 24,48 and 72 hr. With whole, intact seeds the husked cereal grains were less susceptible than naked grains and legume seeds. Inter-varietal differences were observed with maize, oats and barley. Breaking the cereal grains before incubation considerably increased the losses of dry matter. Digestibility trials with non-lactating cows confirmed that barley, sorghum, wheat and oats were poorly digested when given whole, and considerable variation was recorded between individual cows in their ability to digest whole grains. Rolling the grains before feeding made the greatest improvement in digestibility with sorghum, wheat and barley and the least with oats.
Objectives in pig breeding
Authors: Fowler V. R. , Bichard M. , Pease A. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARY1. Some criticisms of the classical approach to constructing a selection index are advanced. This approach (theeconomic model) is contrasted with an alternative one (thebiological model) which is derived from the concept of the biological efficiency of production of lean tissues. The selection objective which is proposed from the biological model is the improvement of lean tissue feed conversion. The most important single means of achieving this is increasing the lean tissue growth rate.2. The approaches were compared in three studies: (a) the effects of errors in economic and genetic parameters of the economic index; (b) phenotypic relationships between biological objectives and other measures of performance; (c) a theoretical model based on the utilization of metabolizable energy.3. In a fixed situation the results were similar for both models, but the main advantage of the biological model is that it gives good indications of what happens, and what selection policies should be, in different situations. In addition, lean tissue feed conversion and lean tissue growth rate are closely related to concepts widely applied in biology, and their use as selection objectives should be helpful in enabling workers in many disciplines to make use of each other's knowledge.
The Belgian Piétrain as a sire of crossbred pigs slaughtered at 64 kg live weight. 1. Performance and carcass characteristics
Authors: Howard A. N. , Smith W. C. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYA Piétrain boar was placed on each of six farms where the terminal sire was a Large White and the breeding females were either Large Whites or Large White × Landrace. Cooperators were requested to obtain 10 litters by each boar and record their performance to slaughter at 64 kg live weight. Farrowing rate to first service was relatively higher for sows mated with Large White boars but not significantly so. Pietrain-cross piglets were heavier at weaning (7·5%) but breed of boar did not influence other litter traits or age of progeny at slaughter. Pietrain crosses had higher carcass yields (2·4%), shorter carcasses (2·5%) and larger eye muscles in cross-section (10·6%) and in commercial evaluations relatively more were placed in the highest grade.
Effects of ewe's colostrum and various substitutes on the serum immunoglobulin concentration, gut closure process and growth rate of lambs
Authors: Al-Jawad A. B. , Lees J. L. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTEwe's colostrum, dried milk, ewe's blood, cow's blood and cow's serum, given to a total of 56 newborn lambs, had various effects on serum immunoglobulin concentrations, the gut closure process and early growth rate.Cow's colostrum and serum proved to be good alternative sources of immunoglobulin for rearing lambs. Cow's and ewe's blood had adverse effects on immunoglobulin absorption, speeding up the closure process. This process was only slightly affected when lambs were fed immunoglobulin-free powdered milk.Lambs survived with concentrations of serum immunoglobulin as low as 5 zinc sulphate turbidity units. Similar and satisfactory mean early growth rates were observed for lambs given ovine and bovine colostrum and bovine serum, whilst those given ovine and bovine whole blood had relatively low early weight gains. Those receiving powdered milk substitute followed by ewe colostrum at 8 hpost partumshowed intermediate rates of growth.