Translational Animal Science最新文献

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/tas/txad061.].

A total of 933 sows were used to evaluate peripartum calcium administration protocols on sow farrowing performance and piglet livability. Sows were blocked by parity and average stillbirths in previous parities then allotted to 1 of 3 treatments with 310 to 312 replications. Treatments included: (i) Control with sows receiving no intervention; (ii) 25 g of a calcium chloride-based product (CaCl₂) top-dressed daily each morning from approximately d 112 of gestation until farrowing; or (iii) calcium gluconate injection (CaG) administered to primiparous and multiparous sows (15 or 20 mL injection, respectively), at the time that a sow was classified as "at-risk" defined by the sow, in the current parturition, having more than 16 pigs, longer than 1 h since the birth of the last pig, 2 or more stillbirths, or farrowing duration exceeding 4 h. On a subset of sows farrowing duration, sow blood metabolites, sow urine pH, and pig immunocrit were analyzed. Parity category (P1, P2 to P4, or P5+), treatment, and their interaction were fixed effects while average past stillbirth category (<0.5, ≥0.5 and ≤1, or >1 stillborn/litter) was a random effect. There were no differences in total born, percentage born alive, or percentage stillborn between treatments; however, when at-risk sows were compared, administration of CaG decreased stillbirths and increased percentage of pigs born alive (P ≤ 0.006). There was an interaction between Ca protocol and parity category for birth to cross-foster mortality (P = 0.035) where mortality was lowest in P1 Control sows (P < 0.05) compared to all other treatment × parity category combinations except for P1 CaG sows which were intermediate. When considering all sows, sows fed CaCl₂ had increased blood Cl and ionized Ca (P < 0.001) compared to Control or CaG sows. Sows provided CaG had increased blood glucose (P = 0.026) compared to Control and CaCl₂ sows. Sows given CaCl₂ or CaG had decreased urine pH (P = 0.001) compared to Control sows. Pig immunocrit ratios tended (P = 0.068) to differ due to Ca protocol, with CaG offspring having a numerical increase compared to other treatments. In conclusion, in the overall population, top-dressing CaCl₂ before farrowing or injecting CaG peripartum altered sow metabolites but did not influence farrowing performance. However, when comparing at-risk sows, administration of CaG decreased stillbirths and increased percentage of pigs born alive.

To investigate the performance of pigs offered diets with reduced crude protein (CP), but supplying ideal protein with different limiting amino acids (AAs), 280 pigs (PIC 337 × (Landrace × Large White)) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatments (with 7 pen replicates per treatment) balanced for weight and sex. The pigs were penned in mixed-sex (5 females and 5 males) pen groups of 10 and offered treatment diets from 12 wk of age (≈40 kg liveweight) to slaughter (≈112 kg liveweight). The control diet had 175 g/kg CP formulated to contain ideal protein to lysine (Lys), methionine (Met), and threonine (Thr) and the remaining 3 diets contained 150 g/kg CP. Ideal diet 1 had ideal protein to Lys, Met, Thr, tryptophan (Trp), valine (Val), isoleucine (Ile) and arginine (Arg). Ideal diet 2 had ideal protein to Lys, Met, Thr and Trp, and Ideal diet 3 had ideal protein to Lys, Met and Thr. All diets had 13.85 MJ/kg of digestible energy. Feed intake, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured. ADG was higher (P = 0.021) between 12 and 15 wk of age in pigs fed Ideal 1 (786 g/d) and 2 (755 g/d) diets than pigs fed the control diet (682 g/d), resulting in a heavier body weight (≈2 kg) at 15 wk. The FCR was improved (P = 0.033) between 12 and 15 wk of age in pigs fed Ideal 1 diet (2.08) than that of the control diet (2.41). Diet had no effect (P > 0.05) on overall pig performance between 40 and 112 kg liveweight. Cold carcass weight was heavier (P = 0.006) in pigs fed Ideal diet 1 than pigs fed other diets. A dietary reduction in CP by 25 g/kg fed to boars and gilts from 40 kg reduced N intake (P = 0.003) and excretion (P < 0.001) by 15% and 24%, respectively, with percentage nitrogen retention (average = 41.9%) remaining unaffected across treatments (P = 0.891). Formulating feed down to Ile and Val had production benefits (higher ADG and better FCR) in the early finishing period, although no effect was observed during the late finishing stages. Economically, Ideal 3 diet with 150 g/kg CP balanced for ideal protein to Lys, Met, and Thr was the most cost-effective. We suggest that, while formulating diets down to 6 AAs is not essential, there is need to pay attention to early finishing diets to yield production benefits. We provide further evidence in support of reducing dietary CP without sacrificing overall pig production performance, at the same time, lowering the negative environmental impact.

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of phytogenic additives and monensin on feed intake and digestibility, performance, ruminal fermentation, blood parameters, and nitrogen balance in confined dairy cows. In addition, we aimed to evaluate whether combining phytogenic additives with autolyzed yeast and organic microminerals would produce a synergistic effect on these parameters. Thirty-nine Holstein cows (155 ± 68 d in milk, 35.3 ± 3.31 kg/d milk yield, 644 ± 85.6 kg body weight) were blocked (n = 13) by parity, days in milk, and milk yield, and were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: (i) monensin (MON) provided at 17.38 mg/kg DM, (ii) phytogenic additive (PHY), provided at 89.10 mg/kg dry matter (DM), and (iii) a blend of phytogenic additives, autolyzed yeast, and additional organic microminerals (BLD), providing 89.10 mg of phytogenic additive/kg DM, 668 mg of autolyzed yeast/kg DM, and 1.11 g/kg DM of microminerals supplied as carbo-aminophosphochelates. Treatments were administered for 9 wk. Orthogonal contrasts were used to test MON vs. PHY+BLD and PHY vs. BLD. Cows fed phytogenic additives (PHY and BLD) had lower (P = 0.038) DM intake compared with those fed MON, without differences in nutrient digestibility and ruminal fermentation parameters (pH, NH₃-N, or volatile fatty acid proportions). Phytogenic additives (PHY and BLD) also improved feed efficiency (P = 0.044), energy-corrected milk yield (P = 0.047), and milk fat concentration (P = 0.003) compared with MON. Cows receiving MON had higher (P = 0.008) serum urea concentrations than those fed phytogenic additives, whereas serum haptoglobin concentrations were lower (P = 0.019) in PHY and BLD compared with MON. Nitrogen excretion (g/d) via urine and feces were not affected by treatments. Performance, nutrient intake and digestibility, and ruminal fermentation were similar between cows fed PHY than those fed BLD. These findings indicate that phytogenic additives can replace monensin while improving energy-corrected milk yield and reducing pro-inflammatory biomarkers.

The public is paying increased attention to the environmental impacts associated with cattle production systems in the US. Thus, cattle producers are increasingly exploring ways to communicate their efforts to reduce those environmental and climate impacts. This study uses online and social media data from 2018 to 2022 to examine public interest in and sentiment about beef and dairy cattle production when discussed within the context of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Variation in mentions and net sentiment over the reporting period is quantified and analyzed. Over the period of data collection, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that consumers became increasingly aware of cattle production's role in GHG emissions and the relationship between emissions and climate change. We also find that consumers have become increasingly interested in emissions mitigation strategies and sustainable practices employed in the production of beef and dairy products.

Pennsylvania is ranked 12^th in the United States of America in pork production and hosts a diverse population of farms of different herd sizes, management techniques, and reproductive issues. Despite the appreciation of this diversity, these differences have not been systematically quantified. Variations in housing systems, feeding strategies, and overall management can influence reproductive outcomes and animal health. Furthermore, significant knowledge gaps persist regarding the vitamin A and D requirements of modern sows necessary to support optimal health and reproductive function. Establishing baseline serum concentrations of these vitamins is essential for defining nutritional adequacy in contemporary swine production systems. A survey was distributed to Pennsylvania pork producers assessing herd health, reproductive challenges, and management strategies, aiming to characterize statewide variation. A total of 45 responses that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Respondents were also asked about their willingness to participate in a follow-up blood sampling effort to evaluate serum vitamin A and D levels; four respondents agreed to participate. Survey responses were analyzed using frequency statistics, and serum data were evaluated using parametric and non-parametric statistics. Differences were observed when comparing health issues, feed source, veterinary records, and mortality between herd sizes, and reproductive issues by frequency of selection (P < 0.05). Serum retinol concentrations differed by farm (P < 0.10), with sows from Farm 1 having higher values than Farm 2 (P < 0.05). Serum retinol concentrations were not affected by parity or pregnancy status (P > 0.05). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were not affected by parity but varied by farm, being greater in Farm 2 than Farm 3 (P = 0.01). These data indicate that Pennsylvania swine producers face diverse health and reproductive challenges, influenced in part by herd size and associated management strategies. As such, education and management strategies to optimize herd nutrition, health, and reproduction should account for these contextual differences.

Piglets have a high requirement for iron due to their rapid growth rates and low body iron stores; moreover, intensive production conditions restrict access to environmental sources of iron, such as soil. The low iron content of sow colostrum and milk, combined with the partitioning of limited nutrients among many piglets in a litter, results in inadequate piglet iron intake, predisposing them to iron-deficient anemia (IDA) during lactation and weaning. Prevalent IDA results in reduced post-weaning growth and reduced hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations. To combat this, indoor-reared piglets are given an injectable iron supplement shortly after birth to maintain body iron stores until weaning, when feed containing dietary iron is consumed. Due to continued selection for growth rates and litter sizes, this single injection is now considered inadequate to meet iron requirements. It was hypothesized that an additional iron injection, irrespective of timing, would improve Hb concentrations and growth performance, with a day 7 injection resulting in higher Hb and growth at weaning and a weaning injection increasing Hb and performance in pigs later in the nursery period. A total of 440 mixed sex pigs were used in this experiment in three treatment groups: control: only receiving iron dextran two days after birth; day 7: receiving iron injections at days two and seven after birth; Weaning iron: receiving iron dextran injections on day two and at weaning (20.1 days). Hb concentrations were significantly (P < 0.001) improved in the day 7 treatment for 18 days after weaning. Pigs in the control and weaning iron groups had a treatment mean of 9.9 g/dL ± 0.32 and 9.7 g/dL ± 0.32, respectively, indicating sub-clinical anemia, compared to the day 7 group with a treatment mean of 12.2 g/dL ± 0.32, indicating healthy Hb concentrations. Average daily gain tended (P = 0.08) to be higher in the weaning iron treatment group during the second week of the experiment compared to the control and day 7 groups. Pig removals were also significantly (P < 0.001) reduced in the weaning treatment group. Plasma hepcidin anti-microbial peptide, was elevated in the weaning iron group after injection, possibly impairing enteric iron absorption. An additional injection at weaning showed potential for improved growth in the post-weaning period and has practical advantages for producers.

This study involved 50 sows and was a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with factors being sow feeding [lactation diet throughout lactation (CON) or gestation diet for the first 5 days of lactation, followed by lactation diet (GEST5)] and creep feeding from day (d) 5 after birth [dry pelleted starter diet (DPS) or liquid mixture of milk replacer and starter diet (LMR+S)]. The study was conducted on two research farms, one in Ireland (IE) and the other in Switzerland (CH). All sows were limit-fed the gestation diet until farrowing. During lactation, both sow treatments followed the same feeding curve with daily digestible energy allocation increasing from 58.1 to 135 MJ between d1 and 28. Sow feed intake, weight and backfat depth and piglet weight and total dry matter disappearance (TDMD) of creep feed during lactation were recorded. On d5 after birth, milk was collected from sows on both farms and sow faeces was collected at CH for short chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis. Following weaning at d29 ± 0.2 in IE and d25.5 ± 1.3 in CH, pigs were followed until d43 post-weaning (pw) in IE (n = 7 pens/treatment) and d14 pw in CH (n = 11 pens/treatment). In IE, faecal samples were collected from sows before farrowing and on d5, 12 and 26 after birth and from piglets on d2, 5, 12 and 26 after birth and on d7 and d41 pw for microbiota analysis. Feeding GEST5 did not affect overall sow feed intake, backfat depth or weight loss during lactation on both farms (P > 0.05) but reduced the solids, fat and SCFA content of milk and increased faecal SCFA in CH (P < 0.05). In CH, LMR+S-fed pigs had higher TDMD than those fed DPS, while in IE, DPS had higher TDMD than LMR+S (P < 0.05). However, neither GEST5 nor LMR+S influenced pre- or pw pig growth or diarrhoea prevalence on either farm (P > 0.05). In IE, on d5 post-farrowing, GEST5 sows had a higher relative abundance of Prevotella and Succinivibrio in their faeces compared to CON (P < 0.05) and both GEST5 and LMR+S increased bacterial alpha diversity in piglet faeces on d7 pw (P < 0.05). In conclusion, while providing a gestation diet during the first 5 days of lactation increased physical feed intake then, it did not increase overall lactation feed intake in sows. Additionally, creep feeding a liquid mixture of milk replacer and starter diet to suckling piglets did not improve pre- or pw pig growth.

On day 0 (94 ± 19 days prepartum), 296 Brangus beef cows (7 ± 3 years of age; <25% Bos indicus) were stratified by body weight (BW; 537 ± 56 kg) and body condition score (BCS; 5.46 ± 0.74) and randomly assigned to 1 of 26 bahiagrass pastures (11 to 12 cows and 8.1 to 9.6 ha per pasture). On day 0, treatments were randomly assigned to pastures (13 pastures per treatment) and consisted of free-choice access to a trace mineral supplement, either alone (CON) or combined (BAC) with 3 g per head daily of a Bacillus-based DFM supplement (Bovacillus; Novonesis, Lyngby, Denmark) from day 0 to 330 (weaning). At weaning, 48 steers and 64 heifers were selected (3 steers and 4 heifers per pasture; 16 pastures) for the post-weaning phase. Steers were assigned to preconditioning (day 350 to 398) and feedlot periods (day 399 to 609), whereas heifers were developed from day 350 until pregnancy diagnosis (day 615). Non-binary and binary data were analyzed using the MIXED and GLIMMIX procedure of SAS, respectively. supplement DM intake was greater (P ≤ 0.03) for BAC vs. CON cow-calf pairs on days 42 to 48, 56 to 62, 168 to 174, and 266 to 272. Cow BCS at the end of the breeding season was greater (P = 0.01) for BAC vs. CON cows, whereas all cow reproductive data and prepartum plasma data did not differ (P ≥ 0.13) between treatments. Serum immunoglobulin G concentrations at birth, preweaning average daily gain (ADG), and BW at weaning were greater (P ≤ 0.05) for BAC vs. CON calves. Steer growth performance during preconditioning did not differ (P ≥ 0.18) between treatments, but serum titers against infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and parainfluenza 3 viruses were greater (P = 0.05) for BAC vs. CON steers 19 days after first vaccination. Steer feedlot performance and carcass traits did not differ between treatments (P ≥ 0.16), except for carcasses grading Low Choice or above, which were greater (P = 0.05) for BAC vs. CON steers. Despite the greater (P = 0.03) pre-breeding ADG of CON vs. BAC heifers, the percentage of mature BW at breeding, puberty status, and pregnancy percentages did not differ (P ≥ 0.17) between treatments. Thus, year-round supplementation of Bacillus-based DFM via a mineral delivery method improved cow BCS during breeding and enhanced calf preweaning growth. Although no reproductive benefits were observed for cows and their heifers, DFM supplementation increased post-weaning immune response and carcass quality of steers.

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient with an important role in animal health across livestock species. Insufficient dietary vitamin A intake is associated with decreased reproductive performance in females as well as impaired growth performance and health of the offspring. The aim of this study was to determine if an intramuscular injection of vitamin A and D (VitAD) given to sows on d 85 of gestation improved the survivability, growth performance, and health of the offspring from birth through the end of the nursery phase. Yorkshire or Yorkshire cross bred sows received either an injection of VitAD (312,000 IU vitamin A, 52,500 IU vitamin D. n = 9) or saline control (n = 10). At farrowing, birth weights, survival, and umbilical blood was collected on the piglets, and colostrum was collected from sows. Daily weights were taken from d 0 to 4, then weekly weights from d 8 to 63 on all pigs. Milk samples were taken weekly on sows from birth to weaning (d 28), and daily feed consumption for the sows was tracked during the lactation phase. Blood samples were obtained weekly from piglets through weaning (d 28). Subsequent blood samples were taken weekly through the nursery phase (d 28-d 63) from a subset of the original pigs to measure retinol from birth to d 63 and immune parameters from d 28 to d 63. All statistical analyses were run using a mixed linear regression model on SAS (9.4; SAS, Cary, NC). VitAD piglets tended to have a reduced average daily gain (ADG) from d 22 to d 28 (P = 0.08), and decreased circulating retinol concentrations on d 15, 22, and 28 (P ≤ 0.05) compared to control piglets. Fewer stillborn piglets (P = 0.01) were present in litters from sows treated with Vit AD compared to control sows. VitAD pigs had an elevated reticulocyte count on d 42 (P ≤ 0.01) compared to the control pigs. VitAD treated sows consumed less feed on d 15 (P ≤ 0.05) and had greater milk retinol (P ≤ 0.01) on d 8 of lactation compared to control sows. These results suggest that the administration of an injection of VitAD to sows on d 85 of gestation might improve offspring survival at birth, as well as decrease sow nutritional consumption requirements during lactation. Additionally, these results help to establish normal immune parameters and circulating retinol in pigs. Importantly, no negative effect of VitAD supplementation on growth rate or immune parameters was observed.