bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 and cholesterol in relation to protein and fat deposition in growing pigs
Authors: Taylor J. A. , Salter D. N. , Close W. H. , Laswai G. H. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThe nutrient partitioning of growing pigs was altered through nutrition and castration in order to investigate the relationship between serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGFl) and protein deposition and serum cholesterol and fat deposition. In a 2 × 2 factorial experiment 18 entire and 18 castrated male pigs, of 20 kg initial live weight, were given either 2·25 (low) or 3·4 (high) times maintenance energy requirements to a scale based on live weight. Nitrogen and energy balances were measured over 7-day periods when the pigs reached about 30, 60 and 90 kg. Fasting blood samples were taken at each weight and serum was analysed for IGFl and insulin and total- and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. Protein and fat deposition, IGFl and cholesterol concentrations were higher for pigs given the high, as opposed to the low, feeding level. Protein deposition and IGFl concentrations were higher for entire males, as opposed to castrated males, whereas fat deposition and cholesterol concentrations were higher in castrated than in entire males. IGFl and protein deposition increased with age for entire but not for castrated males. Conversely, fat deposition increased with age in castrated but not in entire males. There was no effect of age on serum cholesterol. Serum IGFl was correlated with protein deposition at 30, 60 and 90 kg (r = 0·40, r = 0·63 and r = 0·67; P < 0·05, P < 0·002 and P < 0001 respectively, no. = 36). Serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol were correlated with fat deposition at 60 and 90 kg (r = 0·65 and r = 0·54; both P < 0·001 for total cholesterol; r = 0·66 and r = 0·50; both P < 0·001 for LDL-cholesterol). Insulin levels were similar for pigs in all treatment groups. It is concluded that serum IGFl and cholesterol may give a useful indication of protein and fat deposition in pigs of between 60 and 90 kg live weight.
Growth and reproductive development of red deer calves (Cervus elaphus) born out-of-season
Authors: Adam C. L. , Kyle C. E. , Young P. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractSince the productivity of farmed red deer is constrained by their inherent seasonal biology, the potential advantages of breeding out-of-season following melatonin administration were investigated. Calves born in February (F; no. = 8) were heavier at weaning in September of the same year than calves born with normal birth dates in June (}; no. = 8) (73·2 v. 441 (s.e.d. 3·59) kg; P < 0·001) and at the end of April of the next year (88·0 v. 67·6 (s.e.d. 6·44) kg; P < 0·02) although their suckled live-weight gain to 100 days of age was lower (304 v. 361 (s.e.d. 21·4) g/day; P < 0·05). After weaning, F calves had higher voluntary food intake than / calves (g dry matter per head per day) from September to November (1643 v. 2224 (s.e.d. 92·6); P < 0·002), November to February (1435 v. 926 (s.e.d. 67·9); P < 0·002), and February to April (1487 v. 2059 (s.e.d. 115·5); P < 0·02).Unlike J calves, F calves showed puberty in their first autumn. F male calves (no. = 3) grew antlers which hardened in November, whereas J males (no. = 3) did not, and F males, aged 8 months, had significantly higher mean plasma concentrations of testosterone than J males, aged 4 months (1·35 v. 0·28 (s.e.d. 0·154) fj.g/1, P < 0·001). Oestrous cyclicity was observed in 3/5 group F females, aged 9 months, but in 0/5 group ] females, aged 5 months. Although the dams of F and ] calves had similar live weights at mating, birth and 100 days pos t partum, F dams were heavier (P < 0·05) at weaning. Following parturition, F dams had a mean voluntary food intake of 2700 (s.e. 110) g dry matter per head per day from February to April.
A note on production responses of lactating ewes to calcium soaps of fatty acids
Authors: Sklan D. 
Published: September 2010

Productive and metabolic responses were determined in ewes given diets containing calcium soaps of fatty acids for a period of 90 days after lambing as compared with ewes given a control diet.Yield of milk and milk fat, milk protein and milk lactose were increased over the experimental period by feeding calcium soaps. Live-weight changes after lambing were not different in the two experimental treatments. No changes in rumen metabolism were observed when calcium soaps were offered whereas plasma concentrations of protein, glucose, triglycerides, phospholipids and cholesterol were enhanced.It is concluded that calcium soaps of fatty acids can be included in diets of ewes to increase production of milk and milk solids.
Intensive beef production VII. The effect on nitrogen retention of diets containing barley processed by four different methods
Authors: Kay M. , Preston T. R. , MacLeod N. A. , Philip Euphemia B. 
Published: September 2010

1. Nitrogen balance studies were conducted on 16 steers in two separate trials. The steers were fed on four diets containing respectively dry rolled barley; dried, steamed and rolled barley; dried, crimped barley and barley that had been stored in a sealed silo and rolled.2. There were no significant differences in the dry-matter intake of any of the diets.3. No consistent differences between the diets in dry-matter digestibility or nitrogen retention were observed.
Intensive beef production. 8. The effect of chlortetracycline on growth, feed utilisation and incidence of liver abscesses in barley beef cattle
Authors: Wieser M. F. , Preston T. R. , Macdearmid A. , Rowland A. C. 
Published: September 2010

An experiment was conducted on 13 commercial barley beef units in Scotland, using a total of 301 early-weaned Friesian male calves. On each unit the trial batch of calves was divided into two groups, which were then allocated to a control diet (85% barley + 15% protein supplement) or the same diet supplemented with 20 mg. chlortetracycline per kg. of feed. The experiment was conducted over the live-weight range 115 to 360 kg.The chlortetracycline significantly (P<0·01) improved live-weight gain ( + 4·9%) and feed utilisation ( + 4·8%). This overall effect was largely due to a high response during the first 12 weeks. From 13 to 28 weeks the chlortetracycline had only a marginal effect, which was not significant. There was no significant difference in the feed intakes of the two groups. There was a significant (P<0·01) negative correlation between the effect of the chlortetracycline on live-weight gain at each unit and the growth rate of the control animals at that unit; the response was greatest on farms with poor hygiene. The animals given chlortetracycline showed a significantly (P<0·05) lower incidence of liver abscesses (11·8%) than the controls (28·2%). Macroscopic examination of the rumens showed that rumenitis is common among intensively fed cattle, but no correlation could be found between incidence of liver abscesses and rumen lesions.
A note on goitre in lambs grazing rape (Brassica napus)
Authors: Russel A. J. F. 
Published: September 2010

Forage crops of the genus Brassica are known to contain goitrogens which under certain conditions can cause severe incidences of neonatal mortality in lambs and goitre in older sheep (Shand, 1952; Sinclair and Andrews, 1958, 1959, 1961; Andrews and Sinclair, 1962).In the course of studies of certain aspects of lamb growth it was noted that lambs grazing rape (Brassica napus) had heavier thyroid glands than comparable lambs grazing grass. Pipes, Premachandra and Turner (1958) found that a degree of hypothyroidism increased the rate of fattening and influenced the carcass quality of cattle, and in view of this and other evidence it was decided to test the hypothesis that changes in the weight of the thyroid glands of lambs grazing rape were associated with changes in the rate of live-weight gain.
The protein requirement of the ruminant calf. III. The ability of the calf weaned at five weeks of age to utilise urea given as a supplement to a low-protein concentrate
Authors: Stobo I.J.F. , Roy J.H.B. , Gaston Helen J. 
Published: September 2010

(1) Forty-five Ayrshire and Shorthorn bull calves were used in an experiment to study the ability of the calf weaned at 5 weeks on to concentrates, hay and water, to utilise urea added to a low-protein concentrate.(2) Calves given the concentrate containing 20% crude protein gained weight significantly faster from 3 to 12 weeks than those given concentrates containing either 12% crude protein, or 18% crude protein of which 33% was in the form of urea. There was a tendency for calves given the urea supplement to gain weight at a slightly faster rate to 8 weeks than those given the low-protein diet, but this tendency was reversed between 8 and 12 weeks of age.(3) At 15 weeks, the coefficients of apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre and nitrogen-free extract were significantly greater when an all-concentrate diet containing 19·6% crude protein was given, than with a concentrate containing 12·2% crude protein. When the lowprotein concentrate supplemented with urea was given (18·5% crude protein) the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and ether extract was significantly greater than on the low-protein concentrate. The digestibility of crude fibre in the urea-supplemented diet was intermediate between the values obtained on the high- and low-protein diets.(4) Despite marked differences between treatments in the intakes of apparently digested nitrogen, similar amounts of nitrogen were retained, because of large differences in the amounts of nitrogen excreted in the urine. However, the amount of nitrogen stored per unit of body-weight gain was 27% higher in calves given the concentrate containing 19·6% crude protein than in those given either the low-protein concentrate or the urea-supplemented diet.
Studies on the nutritive value of the diet selected by grazing sheep. II. Some sources of error when sampling oesophageally fistulated sheep at pasture
Authors: Langlands J. P. 
Published: September 2010

Some possible sources of error when sampling oesophageally fistulated sheep at pasture were examined in eleven trials. Samples collected from sheep asted for varying periods of up to 22 hours did not differ significantly in nitrogen content from samples collected from unfasted sheep. There was no significant difference between the nitrogen content of extrusa collected at the start of a 30-minute period and that of extrusa collected at the end of the period. Sheep transferred from a perennial ryegrass/clover pasture to a native pasture for three months ingested herbage containing 3·80% nitrogen when returned to the original pasture. Control sheep which had remained on the ryegrass/clover pasture selected material containing 3·33% nitrogen. In a further trial sheep transferred from a ryegrass/clover pasture to a Phalaris/ clover pasture consumed herbage with an organic matter digestibility of 70·8 % which contained 3·44 % nitrogen. The material consumed by similar sheep which had grazed the Phalaris/clover pasture for 18 months was 71·5% digestible and contained 3·63% nitrogen.Diurnal changes in the digestibility and nitrogen content of the diet of free-grazing sheep were observed in two trials. Diurnal changes in nitrogen content were similar on different days but changes in digestibility were relatively smaller and less repeatable between days.Consistent differences in the composition of the diet selected by individual sheep and selected on different days were observed in a further five trials. Variation between sheep and between days in the nitrogen content of the diet was ±5·6% and ±7·4% respectively, both estimates being expressed as coefficients of variation. Corresponding estimates for digestibility, calculated as standard deviations, were ±1·6 and ±1·3 units. The implications of these results when sampling oesophageally fistulated sheep at pasture are considered.
Studies on the nutritive value of the diet selected by grazing sheep. III. A Comparison of oesophageal fistula and faecal index techniques for the indirect estimation of digestibility
Authors: Langlands J. P. 
Published: September 2010

Regression equations relating the intake factor to the dissolved faeces fraction, faecal nitrogen and faecal cellulose contents were derived in a continous digestibility trial with cut herbage, and also with sheep fitted with oesophageal fistulae grazing the pasture from which the herbage was cut. In the grazing trial the intake factor was calculated from the in vitro digestibility of the fistula samples.The relationships established in the digestiblity trial differed significantly (P<0·001) from those in the grazing trial. These differences may have arisen from selective grazing or from bias in estimating digestibility from fistula samples.The digestibility of the diet selected in the grazing trial was estimated from the various faecal index relationships established. These estimates were very variable. In contrast there was reasonable agreement between estimates derived by the fistula technique and those predicted from a ‘general’ relationship between the intake factor and faecal nitrogen as established at this Laboratory with a wide range of herbages.It is concluded that faecal index relationships must be derived with material similar to that selected by the sheep when grazing.
Improvement of metric traits through specific genetic loci
Authors: Smith Charles 
Published: September 2010

Known genetic loci that affect metric traits may be useful in livestock improvement. Their value depends on the proportion (R) of the total additive genetic variation due to the known loci relative to the heritability of the trait concerned and on the form of selection practised. When normal selection is effective, further information on known loci can add only a little to the rate of improvement. But if normal selection is not very effective, as for characters of low heritability, or if indirect selection on relatives must be used (as for sex-limited or carcass traits) then known loci may add significantly to the rate of improvement possible.Sampling errors in the estimated effects and in the proportion (R) may cause selection effort to be misdirected and may even lead to losses rather than gains in improvement. Such errors are most likely to occur when the heritability of the character is low.Reports on several loci with large effects in the various farm species have been summarised, but the evidence is often inconsistent and contradictory. At present, there appear to be no loci that could be used with confidence in the improvement of economic traits in farm animals.
Variation in the absorption of a colostrally secreted marker antibody in piglets
Authors: Perry G. C. , Watson J. H. 
Published: September 2010

1. Sixteen sows were immunised in late pregnancy withSalmonella pullorumantigen. Sows showed marked differences in serum antibody titre at parturition.2. Twelve hours after birth, serum antibody titres in the 173 piglets born to the 16 sows were measured. They were positively related to the serum titres of their mother.3. Marked variation existed in the antibody titres of colostra from different teats and from different sows. No relationship was found between colostral titres and the titres in sow or piglet sera.4. Sow and piglet serum titres were negatively related to piglet and litter weight gain from birth to 7 days of age.5. Those piglets with high serum antibody titres at 12 hr. after birth displayed better growth rates and enjoyed lower mortality than piglets with low antibody titres.
Silage as a feed for pregnant ewes
Authors: Forbes J. M. , Rees J. K. S. , Boaz T. G. 
Published: September 2010

1. Four experiments are described in which silages or kale were given to groups of ewes in the later stages of pregnancy and their voluntary intake recorded. A concentrate supplement was given in the last few weeks of pregnancy in each experiment. In experiments 1, 3 and 4 the ewes were housed in a semi-covered yard.2. In the first experiment, three groups of 10 Scottish Halfbred ewes were offered one of three silages. A fourth group was offered all three in equal amounts. The silage with a low DM content, low crude-protein content, low pH and high crude-fibre content was eaten in smaller quantities than the other two silages. The ewes fed on this poor silage gained less weight during the latter half of pregnancy.3. In a second experiment four groups of 15 ewes were offered either silage or kale and housed in a Dutch barn or left in a small paddock. There was no difference between the results from the two silage-fed groups in any respect. The ewes offered kale outside ate less than those offered it inside; they gained less weight and produced lighter lambs.4. There were two groups of 13 ewes in experiment 3a, one group lambing 5 weeks before the other. Both were fed on the sanie silage; intake was higher in the late lambing group but there was no difference in lamb birth weights.5. Experiment 3 was repeated with 15 ewes per group; the silage was of much poorer quality, intake being low and the ewes gaining very little weight. Lamb birth weights and growth rates were low.6. Groups of 15 Scottish Halfbred (90 kg. live-weight) and 15 Speckle-faced Welsh (45 kg.) ewes were fed on yet another silage. The Specklefaced ewes ate more silage DM per unit weight than did the Halfbred ewes and gained in weight, whereas the Halfbreds did not gain.7. In all experiments there was a decline in silage intake in the last few weeks of pregnancy. This decline did not always coincide with the start of concentrate feeding.8. The results are discussed and comparisons made between experiments. Suggestions are made for the feeding and management of ewes fed on silage, including the recommendation that a silage for pregnant ewes should have at least 20% DM and 14% crude protein in the DM, but not more than 32% crude fibre in the DM.
Effects on the bacon pig of adding protein and vitamin-mineral supplements to barley without mixing and at different time intervals
Authors: Lawrence T. L. J. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARY1. In a randomized block experiment 72 Large White-type pigs (in pens of six) were individually fed twice daily on six variations of a basic diet containing 80% barley, 15% soya bean meal (S) and 5% of a vitamin-mineral supplement (VM).2. For treatments 1 to 3 the pigs were given both supplements together. The combined supplement was either mixed with the barley (treatment 1—control), or added to the barley at either both meals of the day (2), or at only the morning meal (3). For treatments 4 to 6 the supplements were given separately. For treatment 4, VM was given at the morning feed and S in the afternoon; for treatment 5, VM was given at both feeds of one day and S at both feeds of the next day, for treatment 6 the supplements were given only at the morning feeds, VM on one day followed by S on the next day.3. Overall, there were no significant differences between treatments 1 to 5 in growth rate or efficiency of food conversion. The pigs on treatment 6 refused a relatively large percentage of their food, grew significantly more slowly but converted their food significantly more efficiently than did the pigs on any of the other treatments. There were no significant differences between treatments in any of the carcass data recorded.
Studies of pedigree Hereford cattle breeding. 2. Reproductive statistics in bull-breeding herds
Authors: Bichard M. , Özkütük K. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARY1. Analyses are presented of 1628 calvings from 397 pedigree Hereford cows kept in three herds whose records were made available by their owners. In addition a further 541 calvings were examined from a sample of 100 cows taken at random from the herdbook entries.2. Mean age at first paternity for 71 homebred bulls was 25·6 mo. Mean age at first calving varied between the three herds from 29·5to 32·8 mo, with 39·7 mo for the random cows.3. Random herdbook cows produced an average of 3·3 calves per cow compared with 4·2 from those in the three herds; these latter cows had an average calving interval of 13·1 mo.4. The pattern of cow and calf disposal varied partly according to the differences in herd age and culling policy. While one herd retained more than 80% of heifers and subsequently sold half of them after two or three calvings for breeding, another retained only one-third but kept these for their full working life. Similarly the percentage of bull calves sold for breeding varied between 43 and 83%.5. The net reproductive rate, or number of calves weaned per 100 cow-herd-years was 74, 88 and 67 for the three herds, and 66 for the random herdbook cows. The mean generation intervals were 4·1 yr for sires and 5·8 yr for dams whose breeding life in the herds had been completed.6. The biases in reproductive statistics estimated from herdbook entries were examined, and it was concluded that such data can be of use where better herd records are unavailable.
The effects of two nutritional environments from 6 weeks pre partum to 12 months of age on lifetime performance and reproductive potential of Scottish Blackface ewes in two adult environments
Authors: Gunn R. G. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYIn one experiment, 227 female sheep in two age groups were reared on low (107 sheep) and high (120 sheep) levels of nutrition from birth to 12 mo of age after their dams had been given low and high levels of nutrition during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. From 12 mo, 47 of the low-level sheep and 51 of the high were grazed on poor hill pasture to provide a low-level adult nutritional environment while 46 of the low level and 52 of the high were grazed on good quality pasture to provide a high-level adult nutritional environment. These treatments were continued for 5 production years for one age group and 4 production years for the other.Live-weight differences associated with rearing treatment persisted throughout the experiment in both adult environments. Lifetime lamb production was significantly affected by both rearing and adult treatments.The effects of these treatments on reproductive potential were examined in a second experiment by determination of ovulation rate when the sheep were brought into uniform good body condition at mating after the end of the first experiment. Potential ovulation rate was significantly affected by rearing treatment but not by adult treatment, although live weight and body size were affected by both.It is concluded that while reproductive potential is related to body size it may also be influenced by the pattern of early growth during unidentified developmental stages.