Livestock Science最新文献

{"title":"Viability prediction and evaluation methods for neonatal piglets with low body weight gain and intra-uterine growth restriction","authors":"Hyelim Jeon ,&nbsp;Geonil Lee ,&nbsp;Kyungwon Kang ,&nbsp;Jinhyeon Yun","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105592","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increased litter sizes of modern sows have led to the birth of underweight and intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) piglets. This study aimed to predict the viability of neonatal piglets with low body weight (BW) and body weight gain (BWG) in day 1 and day 5 after birth. It also sought to determine if physical properties and alternative evaluation methods for IUGR could serve as reliable parameters for identifying piglets with low BWG. The physical characteristics of 108 piglets ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) were measured. Thirty evaluators provided IUGR scores using an alternative method (Cronbach's α exceeding 0.9). These were compared with those using the conventional evaluation method, and the piglets were classified into normal, mildly IUGR, and severe IUGR groups. In the results, BW on the first day after birth was highly associated with head and left eye scores obtained in the IUGR evaluation, rectal temperature, and body lengths (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05 for all). These associations remained significant until day 5 (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), except for the left eye score. In the conventional IUGR evaluation, head score, body mass index on days 1 and 5, and body lengths (excluding crown-to-rump and eye lengths) were higher in normal piglets than those of IUGR piglets (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Regarding BWG, using 0 g as the standard, piglets with negative BWG showed higher head scores than those with positive BWG (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), while other body morphology scores for IUGR determination and physical properties were unrelated to BWG. When average weight gain (660 g) was used as the standard, piglets with BWG &gt;660 g had longer body lengths than those with BWG &lt;660 g (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). However, morphology scores and piglet traits did not exhibit significant differences. In conclusion, significant variations were observed in BW, BWG, physical traits, and IUGR scores of piglets within five days after birth, highlighting the importance of proper management of low-vitality piglets to optimise their survival. Furthermore, our findings suggest that head score assessment may be a reliable, efficient method for identifying piglets with IUGR.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"290 ","pages":"Article 105592"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142561198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of different levels of black soldier fly larvae meal on growth performance and carcass quality of broiler chickens","authors":"S.H. Baderuddin,&nbsp;L.S. David,&nbsp;T.J. Wester,&nbsp;P.C.H. Morel","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105588","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105588","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A study was conducted to examine the impact of two inclusion levels of Black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) replacing soybean meal on growth performance, nutrient utilization, carcass characteristics and meat quality of broilers. Three experimental diets based on corn-soybean meal were developed to contain 0 (control), 6 (BSF 6) and 12% (BSF 12) BSFLMfor both starter and grower phases. Each experimental diet was randomly allotted to six replicate pens (eight birds per pen). The birds were offered starter pellets from 0 to 14 day post-hatch and grower pellets from 15 to 28 day post-hatch. The experimental diets were tested for pellet durability index (PDI). There was an interaction between diet and growth phase (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) for pellet durability index where starter diets had always a higher PDI than the grower diets, but the difference was greater for control diet than BSF 6 and BSF 12 diets. Apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of diets and coefficients of apparent ileal digestibility (CAID) of nutrients were measured on day 28 using titanium dioxide marker ratios in the diet and excreta/ileal digesta. On day 28, the weights of live body, carcass, fat pad, breast and gizzard were recorded, and then breast meat quality (meat pH, drip loss and cooking loss) was examined. Inclusion of BSFLM of up to 12 % did not reduce live weight gain or feed intake. Live weight and carcass weight were heavier in broilers fed 12 % BSFLM than controls (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.02), but were not different than those fed 6 %, while controls were not different than those fed 6 %. Breast weight (percentage live weight) was lower in birds offered 12 % BSFL than in others (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.04). No differences were observed between diets for the percentage weight as carcass, fat, pad and gizzard. The AME and AMEc of diets were the highest in broilers fed 6 % BSFLM diet (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.005), but there were no differences between controls and those fed 12 % BSFLM. The CAID of DM, ash and N in birds fed 6 % BSFLM were greater than (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.03) birds fed 12 %, but were not different than controls, which were also not different than those fed 12 %. Broiler breast meat quality was unaffected by dietary treatments. In conclusion, BSFLM at 12 % can be used effectively as a SBM replacement in starter and grower diets, without affecting the growth performance, nutrient utilization, carcass characteristics and meat quality of broiler chickens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"290 ","pages":"Article 105588"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of social hierarchy on short-term group-housed sow gestation and reproductive performance","authors":"Dominique M. Sommer ,&nbsp;Jennifer M. Young ,&nbsp;Xin Sun ,&nbsp;Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez ,&nbsp;Christopher J. Byrd","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105591","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105591","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of this study was to determine whether group-housed sow social rank has an effect on sow gestation and reproductive performance. Forty-nine sows with previous group housing experience were enrolled in the study, housed in 1 of 3 pens over five repetitions, and allocated to 1 of 4 social hierarchy rank quartiles (RQ) based on their aggressive interactions immediately after weaning and reintroduction to group housing. Sows in RQ1 were ranked highest within the group, followed by RQ2, RQ3, and RQ4 sows, who were ranked lowest within the group. All sows were confirmed pregnant and underwent body condition scoring (BCS) and backfat depth (BF) measurement on experimental d -7 (before gestation group housing), 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 of gestation. Following the gestation period, farrowing, nursing period, and weaning performance were measured for each of the enrolled sows. Rank quartile had no effect on BCS or BF (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). There tended (<em>P</em> = 0.08) to be an effect of RQ on the number of mummies produced, with RQ4 sows producing a greater number of mummies compared to RQ1 (<em>P</em> = 0.02), RQ2 (<em>P</em> = 0.04), and RQ3 (<em>P</em> = 0.03) sows. No other effects of RQ were observed for farrowing, nursing period, or weaning performance (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). Taken together, these results indicate that RQ (at least in the short term) has little effect on gestational and reproductive performance of sows housed in groups during gestation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"290 ","pages":"Article 105591"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142561187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bacillus licheniformis and phytase combination in broiler chicken diets: Effects on growth performance, digestibility coefficients, gut microbiome activities, and bone quality","authors":"Jacek Trela ,&nbsp;Bartosz Kierończyk ,&nbsp;Muhammad Rumman Aslam ,&nbsp;Piotr Szymkowiak ,&nbsp;Mateusz Rawski ,&nbsp;Jerzy Juśkiewicz ,&nbsp;Damian Józefiak","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105586","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105586","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the present study, <em>B. licheniformis</em> was added to broiler chicken diets alone or in combination with 6-phytase and the effects on growth performance, coefficients of ileal nutrient digestibility, morphometrical measurements of selected internal organs, gut microbial activity, and bone quality were determined. Four hundred 1-day-old female birds (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments (10 replicate pens, 10 birds each). The trial was set up as follows: negative control (NC), basal diet without any feed additive; NC+Pro, basal diet with <em>B. licheniformis</em> (500 g/t of diet); NC+Phy, basal diet with 6-phytase (400 g/t of diet); and NC+Pro+Phy, basal diet in which both experimental factors were added at the same levels as above. The interaction between treatments was noted in each evaluated period regarding BWG and FI. In the entire experiment, an increased body weight gain (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) was observed in the NC+Pro+Phy treatment compared to the other groups. The birds that received both feed additives combined were characterized by an increased feed intake (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), contrary to NC+Pro and NC+Phy. Moreover, in terms of microenvironment modulations, interactions (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) were observed in the jejunal and cecal digesta pH, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) level, and microbial enzyme activities. However, the impacts of <em>B. licheniformis</em> and phytase on cecal SCFA concentrations and bacterial enzymes were mainly opposite. There were no interactions (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) in terms of geometrical, mechanical, and structural selected tibia and femur indices. However, 6-phytase addition improved bone structure, stiffness, and elasticity. In conclusion, the interactions between 6-phytase and <em>B. licheniformis</em> positively affect growth performance via microbial activity changes; however, the supportive bone quality maintenance properties are only connected to 6-phytase supplementation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105586"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142531622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mediterranean agro-industrial by-products and food waste in pig and chicken diets: Which way forward?","authors":"A. Georganas,&nbsp;P. Kyriakaki,&nbsp;E. Giamouri,&nbsp;A. Mavrommatis,&nbsp;E. Tsiplakou,&nbsp;A.C. Pappas","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105584","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105584","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mediterranean countries produce large quantities of food waste mainly from the hospitality sector and the tourism industry as well as agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) from the agricultural sector. This provides opportunities to increase self-sufficiency of feeds and reduce variability of feed prices by safely recycling AIBP and food waste in animal diets. This article reviews the sustainable economy potential of food waste and AIBP via pigs and chicken focusing on the Mediterranean area underlining the need to transform the food ecosystem in the context of finding the optimal balance between social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Typical Mediterranean AIBP covered in this review in relation to antioxidant effects and product quality of pigs and poultry include citrus, vinification (e.g., grape pomace), olive, and pomegranate by-products. Animal studies on these by-products are limited, especially their effect on the animal transcriptome. There is potential for food waste use in animal diets given that some of them are rich in fatty acids and may affect final animal product quality. The reuse of AIBP or their extracts rich in antioxidants and food waste in animal diets has the potential not only to maintain sustainable economy but also to produce foods of added value.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105584"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142531623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of candidate genes and genomic prediction for early heifer pregnancy in Nelore beef cattle","authors":"Elisa Peripolli ,&nbsp;Larissa Bordin Temp ,&nbsp;Heidge Fukumasu ,&nbsp;Angelica Simone Cravo Pereira ,&nbsp;Ester Costa Fabricio ,&nbsp;José Bento Sterman Ferraz ,&nbsp;Fernando Baldi","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105582","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105582","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;This study aimed to assess the influence of differential weighting in genomic regions harboring candidate causal loci on the prediction accuracy and inflation for early heifer pregnancy (heifers that calved up to 30 months of age) in Nellore (&lt;em&gt;Bos indicus&lt;/em&gt;) heifers using the single step genomic BLUP model (ssGBLUP). Phenotypic records of 102,294 Nellore heifers born between 2010 and 2017 were used in this study. The pedigree dataset harbored information from 176,107 animals born between 1998 and 2017, including 5,145 sires and 35,705 dams. Seven different models for genomic prediction were defined by combining the SNP weights obtained in the iterations (1st and 2nd) of the weighted single step GWAS (ssw1GBLUP and ssw2GBLUP) or candidate QTLs reported in the literature. Hence, the lambda (&lt;em&gt;λ&lt;/em&gt;) values estimated in the WssGWAS were used to weight the SNPs adjacent to the candidate regions or QTL previously reported in the literature. To estimate the genetic parameters and perform the WssGWAS and WssGBLUP for early heifer pregnancy, a single-trait Bayesian analysis considering a threshold animal model was used. Accuracy, bias, and inflation parameters were evaluated in the validation subset based on the linear regression (LR) method. Genomic windows of ten consecutive SNPs that explained &gt;0.5 % of the additive genetic variance were selected to explore and determine possible candidate genes. Among the identified genes, we can highlight the &lt;em&gt;PGRMC2, TENM3&lt;/em&gt;, GRIP1, &lt;em&gt;TMEM45A&lt;/em&gt;, and &lt;em&gt;KLF3&lt;/em&gt;, given their roles in endocrine fertility, expression of contractile proteins, average daily gain, dry matter intake, and fat deposition. Several genomic regions associated with QTL related to early heifer pregnancy were identified. The identification of such regions and the respective candidate genes associated with sexual precocity and fertility would contribute to improve the genetic knowledge regarding early sexual precocity of Nellore cattle. The prediction accuracy increased roughly 25.6 % using the ssGBLUP compared to BLUP models. The prediction accuracy with the WssGBLUP when incorporating weighted SNPs with the &lt;em&gt;λ&lt;/em&gt; values obtained in the 1st (ssw1GBLUP) and 2nd iteration (ssw2GBLUP) of the WssGWAS was higher (∼18 %) than that described for the ssGBLUP model. The inflation also increased the weighting of the most relevant SNPs obtained with the GWAS, most likely overestimating the GEBV. The models that weighted SNPs close to QTLs reported in the literature yielded to less biased and deflated predictions compared to ssw1GBLUP and ssw2GBLUP models. Genomic selection is a feasible alternative for genomic evaluation of early heifer pregnancy in Nellore beef cattle by increasing the prediction accuracy of young animals. In addition, the use of information obtained from the WssGWAS is an alternative to increase reliability and reduce genomic prediction bias. Therefore, the results obtained herein indicate that it i","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105582"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142531621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of low energy diets supplemented with emulsifier on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens","authors":"M. Pashaei Jalal,&nbsp;S.D. Sharifi,&nbsp;S. Honarbakhsh,&nbsp;H. Rouhanipour","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study was conducted to investigate the effects of adding an emulsifier to energy-deficient diets on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens. A total of 540 one-day-old male broiler chickens were randomly assigned to a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments with 4 pens and 15 broiler chickens/pen for 6 wk. Nine treatments consisted of 3 inclusion rates of emulsifier (0, 250, and 500 mg kg^-1) and the standard, moderate, and low energy concentrations [45 and 90, 60 and 105, and 75 and 120 kcal apparent metabolizable energy (AME)/kg less for the moderate- and low-energy concentrations than the standard energy requirements during the starter (d 0 to 10), grower (d 10 to 24), and finisher (d 24 to 42) phases, respectively]. The average daily weight gain (ADWG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were recorded in the starter, grower, finisher, and total rearing (d 0 to 42) phases and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. The AME, digestibility of crude protein (CP), lipid, and organic matter (OM) of experimental diets, were determined from d 5 to 10 and from d 35 to 40. Broiler chickens fed moderate- or low-energy diets containing emulsifier showed greater ADWG and LBW, than those fed the standard diets along with lower FCR, compared to the same diets without emulsifier (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Live body weight increased, while both ADFI and FCR decreased linearly and quadratically with an increase in emulsifier inclusion rate in the diets (<em>P &lt; 0.05</em>). Broiler chickens fed moderate-energy diets with 500 mg emulsifier /kg or low-energy diets containing 250 mg emulsifier /kg had greater villus height compared to those fed other diets (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). The addition of emulsifiers to diets led to a linear increase in villus height, epithelium height, and the villus height to crypt depth ratio (<em>P &lt; 0.05</em>). In moderate- and low-energy diets, the inclusion of emulsifiers resulted in greater AME and digestibility of lipid and OM (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). The AME and digestibility of lipid and OM increased linearly and quadratically with an increase in emulsifier inclusion rate in the diets (<em>P &lt; 0.05</em>). In conclusion, the addition of emulsifier at a rate at least 250 mg kg^-1 to moderate- or low-energy diets during the starter, growth, and finisher phases can enhance broiler chicken performance by improving the histological characteristics of small intestine and enhancing lipid digestibility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105581"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental and additive genetic factors that affect artificial insemination success in Latxa dairy sheep breed","authors":"C. Pineda-Quiroga,&nbsp;I. Granado-Tajada,&nbsp;A. Basterra-García,&nbsp;E. Ugarte","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the Latxa breed, flocks within the breeding program make use of high genetic value rams to inseminate their ewes once per year. Despite the relevance of the insemination results in the genetic progress and on farms’ productivity, external and genetic factors that affect artificial insemination (AI) success have not been up to now explored in this sheep population. For that, 135,351 edited AI records from 63,480 inseminated Latxa Cara Negra from Euskadi ewes, using 853 service rams, collected between 2000 and 2021, were used. The outcome of an AI event was treated as a binary response of either success or failure in becoming pregnant. To identify the environmental factors influencing the AI result, a multiple logistic regression was first calculated on a selection of variables related to the ewes, to the ram, and to other non-sex-specific aspects. With relevant variables detected, a threshold model, including the pedigree information of the inseminated ewes and the service rams, was used to estimate the genetic components of the trait in both sexes. Findings show that the AI success is higher in ewes who had the previous parturition from an AI event, in those with a lambing-AI interval longer than 210d, with 3 years and 2 lambings, with high prolificacy and in those having their first parturition at 1 year of age rather than at 2 or 3 years of age. In counterpart, the higher the milk produced in the nearest record before AI date, the poorer the AI results. Furthermore, relevant variability was linked to the year of insemination, the herd and the technician in charge of the insemination procedure. Regarding genetic parameters, heritability values, on the observable scale, and repeatability were 0.057 ± 0.004 and 0.204±0.007 in females and 0.009 ± 0.037 and 0.032 ± 0.002 in males, respectively. These results evidence that the AI success is under moderately low additive genetic control, with the surrounding environmental variables being the strongest controlling factor. An effort to enhance some farm management practices should be encouraged to efficiently improve reproductive results. Although genetic selection on AI success is viable, the genetic progress may be scarce. An option to improve reproduction by means of selective breeding might be the development of a multi-trait index.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105580"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of dietary supplementation of a Bacillus-based direct fed-microbial on Pekin duck subjected to heat stress challenge","authors":"Jessica J. Rocha ,&nbsp;Hector Leyva-Jimenez ,&nbsp;Yemi Burden ,&nbsp;Brian Dirks ,&nbsp;Gregory S. Archer","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105579","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105579","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Limited research investigating the use of direct-fed microbials (DFM) to mitigate the effects of heat stress in Pekin ducks exists. This study evaluated the use of a DFM at different inclusion rates. Treatments included commercial-type basal diet (CON), or CON supplemented with 125, 250, 500, or 750 ppm DFM. On d 21–35, ducks were subjected to a cyclic heat stress challenge for 12 h/d. Performance, gait scores, footpad lesions, complete cell blood counts, total plasma corticosterone concentrations, fear testing, bone health, litter quality, and gut health were measured. Body weight on d 35 was lower for CON (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) than all other treatments. Feed conversion (d 15–35) was higher <em>(p</em> &gt; 0.05) in CON than all other treatments. Total plasma corticosterone concentrations and heterophil to lymphocyte ratios were greater for CON (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) compared to all other treatments, indicating lower stress susceptibility in DFM treatments. The CON had lower villus height (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) than the 125 and 250 ppm DFM treatments. There was a quadratic response observed with 500 ppm as the peak in performance and stress measures indicating it may be the optimum. These results indicate that DFM supplementation during heat stress can improve duck performance and welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105579"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grazing intensity and associated frequency of human contact, and horn status, influence activity on pasture, physiological pre-slaughter reactions and meat quality in beef heifers","authors":"Anna-Maria Reiche ,&nbsp;Paolo Silacci ,&nbsp;Frigga Dohme-Meier ,&nbsp;E.M. Claudia Terlouw","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Meat quality is influenced by many factors related to the animal, such as its genetics and health status, farm management, and slaughter and processing conditions. The present study aimed to investigate the effects and interactions of grazing intensity and horn status on behaviour, physiological pre-slaughter stress status and meat characteristics of beef heifers. The study involved 32 horned and 32 disbudded F1 crossbred (Limousin ☓ Swiss Dairy breed) heifers during summer grazing on mountain pastures. Half of the heifers of each horn status were assigned to one of two grazing systems, balanced for live weight, dam and behavioural reactivity: grazing at either high (HI) or low (LI) grazing intensity. HI groups grazed in 3 times smaller paddocks and changed the paddock three times more often than LI groups. The effects of horn status and grazing intensity on physical activity on pasture, pre-slaughter stress and meat quality of the <em>m. longissimus thoracis</em> were studied. Compared to HI heifers, LI Heifers walked more when on pasture, showed greater stress levels before stunning, and their meat had greater water losses and greater early troponin levels. The varying pre-slaughter stress levels may be attributed to the differing frequency of human contact resulting from the differing frequency of paddock changes and may explain part of the effects on meat quality. Compared to disbudded heifers, horned heifers had faster heart rates at the abattoir, and their meat had lower cooking loss and was less juicy. Pre-slaughter heart rates showed robust correlations with various meat quality indicators. The study shows that both horn status and grazing management, including human contact, influence meat quality. Part of the effects may be related to different pre-slaughter physiological reactions, which subsequently influence meat quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"289 ","pages":"Article 105578"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}