• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1108-1117
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• 2003

In Guadeloupe small ruminants (SR) are reared for meat production under pasture conditions. Intensive rotational grazing systems (irrigated, fertilised and high stocked) allow reasonable levels of production but generate high post-grazing residues. Experiments were designed to control them. A system in which residuals were mown (RM) was tested in comparison to the control system (Residuals Remained, RR). The same design was carried out for two years with Creole goat (G) and Martinik sheep (S). An accelerated reproductive rate (3 parturitions over 2 years) was carried out. Systems were compared at three parturition seasons per year(dry, intermediate and rainy seasons). Each group was composed of 20 goats ($36.0{\pm}2.5kg$) or 20 ewes ($46.8{\pm}2.4kg$). The female body traits did not vary according to pasture management and seasons. The stocking rate averaged 1,400 kg LW/ha. The mean fertility rate for does varied significantly (p<0.05) within the kidding season, from $80.4{\pm}0.5%$ to $93.7{\pm}2.9%$ while the mean litter size was $2.30{\pm}0.07$ total kids born. No effect of pasture system was observed. Corresponding values for ewes were $83.2{\pm}12.8%$ vs. $75.6{\pm}12.5%$ (p<0.05) and $2.43{\pm}0.24$ vs. $2.03{\pm}0.29$ (p<0.01) total lambs born for SRM and SRR ewes, respectively. A seasonal effect was observed upon ewe performances. The preweaning mortality of kids and lambs averaged 16.3% and 14.4%, respectively. It was 7 and 9 percentage points more (p<0.01) for RR than for RM kids and lambs, respectively. For both species, weaning took place at an average age of $81.4{\pm}3.6days$. In Creole kids, live weight at birth and at weaning were $1.9{\pm}0.2kg$ and $8.9{\pm}0.8kg$, respectively. In the Martinik sheep, the traits averaged $2.9{\pm}0.2kg$ and $18.9{\pm}0.9kg$. For both traits in both species, significant (p<0.05) group${\times}$season interactions were recorded. The consequences of elimination of post-grazing residues varied according to the SR species, the environmental conditions and the animal physiological status. The forage characteristics were not limiting factors since forage availability in the RM systems (2,300 and 2,600 kg DM/ha, respectively) and chemical composition were at satisfactory levels (CP content averaged 12 and 10%). It is recommended to develop new grazing system which would allow the use of post-grazing residues instead of mowing the refusals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.623-628
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• 1992

Records on weaning (3803) and yearling weight (2990) of beef cattle (Bibos banteng) from the Bali Cattle Improvement Project were examined. A mixed model analysis involving all main non-genetic effects (village, year of birth, season of birth, age of dam, sex of calf, all significant interactions and age at weighing as a covariate) as fixed effects and sire nested within village as a random effect was undertaken. Variance components were estimated by Henderson's Method III. Paternal half-sib components of variance and covariance were used to estimate heritabilities of weaning and yearling weights, as well as their genetic and phenotypic correlations. Heritability estimates ($\pm$ standard error) obtained by Henderson's Method III for weaning and yearling weights were $.11{\pm}.03$ and $.13{\pm}.04$, respectively while the phenotypic and genetic correlations were estimated as .32 and $.64{\pm}.10$, respectively. The parameters estimated in this study were at the lower end of the range of reported values from various breeds. It is concluded that further information should be gathered to assist in estimating genetic parameters for other economic traits of Bali beef cattle and to provide more accurate estimates for weaning and yearling weights. These parameters should then be used to formulate a selection program to enable the genetic improvement of Bali Beef cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.331-334
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• 2003

The assessment of reproductive potentials of female gayal under semi-intensive management was conducted with 18 animals in Bandarban hilly area of Bangladesh. Age at first estrous (days), age at first conception (days), length of estrous cycle (days), number of service per conception (natural), gestation period (days), age at first calving (days), and calving interval (natural service) (days) of gayal were $598.2{\pm}168.44$, $723{\pm}169.94$, $21.86{\pm}2.93$, 1.41, $296.05{\pm}3.87$, $1014.42{\pm}260.32$ and $465{\pm}80.48$ respectively. Daily milk yield and lactation length of gayal were $304.98{\pm}30.46ml/day$ and $116.67{\pm}8.08days$. Gayal male calves had higher birth weight (19.67 kg) than female calves (15.58 kg) in first lactation. Birth weight increases in second and third lactation than first lactation in both male and female calves. Highest conception rate observed in winter season and 70.60% successful conception occur when service was given within 21-30 h of estrous. Maximum number of female gayal use to come in estrous in winter and calved in monsoon and autumn. Cervicitis and irregular heat were the most reproductive problems followed by metritis, case of abortion, anestrous and repeat breeding. From this study it was observed that the reproductive performance of gayal is very close with the domestic cattle. It may use as beef cattle for the hilly regions of Bangladesh.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.890-894
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• 2002

The accuracy of the gamma function to describe lactation curve of Yankasa ewes was investigated using milk production data obtained from 168 ewes with either complete or incomplete 84 day lactation records. Ewes were daily hand milked after over-night separation from lamb and thorough disinfection of the udder. The daily milk yield on the average was estimated from the weekly total yield. The effect of type of birth, parity, season of birth and lactation length on the components of lactation curve (a, b, c and s) were analysed by least-square procedures. All factors except parity significantly (p<0.01) influenced the curve parameters. The goodness of fit of the function did not differ between the two classes of varying duration of lactation; incomplete lactation however, showed a lower persistency and as expected lower level of production. Correlations ($r_p$) between lamb weight gain and milk yield using the weight records from lamb weighed at weekly intervals indicated a high and positive relationship in the early lactation that decreased in intensity as the lactation advanced.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.612-622
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sex, birth year, birth season, and parity of sows on their progeny using the following on-farm test records: Backfat Thickness (BF), Fresh Meat Percent (FMP), Loin depth (LD), Age at 90kg (90D), and Average Daily Gain (ADG). Statistical analysis was performed using data collected from 1,178 Yorkshire and 13,395 Landrace progenies, which were born from 119 Yorkshire and 1,191 Landrace sows, respectively between 2011 and 2015. All results of the analysis were statistically significant (P < 0.05) except the birth season effect on LD. For Landrace, the highest ratings were found to be at the $5^{th}$ parity (BF), at the $3^{rd}$ parity (FMP and LD), at the $2^{nd}$ parity (90D and ADG). For Yorkshire, the highest ratings were at the $2^{nd}$ parity (BF and FMP), at the $3^{rd}$ parity (LD), and at the $4^{th}$ parity (90D and ADG). Although the ratings of carcass traits of progeny appear to be higher between the maternal sow's $2^{nd}$ and $4^{th}$ progenitor, no significant relations to parity were found. Based on these results, we concluded that maternal parity is not significantly affect carcass traits of progeny and thus that the best slaughtering age of sows should not be determined solely based on maternal parity but also in consideration of other factors such as unit costs of production. The results of this study would provide fundamental information to future studies on the effect of economical parity on sows and swine breeding.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.521-525
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• 2006

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of flushing of ewes with concentrate pellets just before the mating season on their nutrient utilization and reproductive performance on farms. Forty-eight Malpura ewes, 1-5 years old were randomly divided into 2 groups of 24 each (G1and G2). Ewes in both the groups were grazed on natural rangeland from 07.00 to 18.00 hr followed by night shelter in animal shed. G1 ewes were maintained on sole grazing while G2 ewes, in addition to grazing, received concentrate pellets at the rate of 1.5% of their body weight. The mean biomass yield of the community rangeland was 0.46 ton DM/hectare. The intakes of DM (g/kg $W^{0.75}$), DCP (g/kg $W^{0.75}$) and ME (MJ/kg $W^{0.75}$) were higher (p<0.01) in G2 as compared to that of G1 being 86.5, 10.2 and 1.15 and 57.5, 4.7 and 0.75, respectively. The digestibility of DM, OM, CP, NDF and hemicellulose were also higher (p<0.01) in G2 as compared to that of G1 being 57.2, 76.7, 78.9, 51.9 and 81.6 and 50.8, 68.7, 68.4, 45.4 and 74.4, respectively. The conception rate was higher (79.2%) in flushed ewes as compared to that of non-flushed (66.7%). Five of the pregnant ewes died and another 5 aborted in G1 while in G2, 5 ewes aborted with no mortality. The lambing was higher (73.7%) in G2 than that in G1 (37.5%). The birth weight of lambs was higher (p<0.05) in G2 (3.47 kg) than that in G1 (2.95 kg). Further, the birth weight of male lambs was higher (3.28) than that of female lambs (3.14). It is concluded that the biomass yield of the community rangeland in semi-arid region of India is low and insufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of ewes prior to mating season. However, concentrate supplementation at the rate of 1.5% of body weight to ewes during this critical stage enhanced their plane of nutrition, reproductive performance, body condition and birth weights of lambs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2000

The objectives of this study of Hanwoo (Korean Cattle) were 1) to estimate genetic parameters for direct and maternal genetic effects for birth weight, weaning weight, and six months weight which can be used for genetic evaluations and 2) to compare models with and without grandmatemal effects. Data were obtained from the National Livestock Research Institute in Rural Development Administration (RDA) of Korea and were used to estimate genetic parameters for birth weight (BW, n=10,889), weaning weight at 120-d (WW, n=8,637), and six month weight (W6, n=8,478) in Hanwoo. Total number of animals in pedigrees was 14,949. A single-trait animal model was initially used to obtain starting values for multiple-trait animal models. Estimates of genetic parameters were obtained with MTDFREML using animal models and derivative-free REML (Boldman et al., 1995). Estimates of direct heritability for BW, WW, and W6 analyzed as single-traits were 0.09, 0.03, and 0.02 from Model 3 which included direct and maternal genetic, maternal permanental environmental effects, and effects due to sire ${\times}$ region ${\times}$ year-season interaction, respectively. Ignoring sire ${\times}$ region ${\times}$ year-season interaction effect in the model (Model 2) resulted in larger estimates for direct heritability than for Model 3. Estimates of maternal heritability for BW, WW and W6 were 0.04, 0.05, and 0.07 from Model 3, respectively. The estimates of direct-maternal genetic correlation were positive for BW, WW, and W6 with Model 3 but were negative with Model 2 for WW and W6. Estimates of direct genetic correlations between BW and WW, BW and W6, and WW and W6 were large: 0.52, 0.45, and 0.90, respectively. Genetic correlations were also large and positive for maternal effects for BW with maternal effects for WW and W6 (0.69 and 0.74), and even larger for WW with W6 (0.97). The log likelihood values were the same for models including grandmatemal effects as for models including maternal effects for all traits. These results indicate that grandmatemal effects are not important for these traits for Hanwoo or that the data structure was not adequate for estimating parameters for a grandmatemal model.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.369-378
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• 2016

Improving the reproductive traits of Hanwoo might decrease their production cost. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of environmental factors [registration grade (basic, pedigree or advanced), birth year, birth season, parity, delivery year, and delivery season] on various reproductive traits (age at 1st service, age at 1st conception, age for 1st calving, days at 1st service postpartum, non-pregnant condition period, calving interval, gestation length, and number of services for conception) in Hanwoo (primiparous 12,219 heads, multiparous 10,471 heads). All data was acquired from Gyeongnam province areas which were surveyed from 2007 to 2015. All environmental factors significantly influenced (p < 0.01) reproductive traits of primiparous cows but, but not all environmental factors influenced multiparous cows. Primiparous cows registered as advanced grade showed significantly lower age at 1st service (by 15.36 days), age at 1st conception (by 8.66 days), and age for 1st calving (by 8.77 days) (p < 0.01) than those registered as basic grades. Age at 1st service, age at 1st conception and age for 1st calving were not significantly related to birth year in primiparous cows. As delivery years advanced from 2005 to 2012, all durations associated to reproductive traits tended to be shorter. Days at 1st service postpartum, non-pregnant condition period, and calving interval tended to be shortened as parity increased. Days at 1st service postpartum, days open, calving interval, and gestation in multiparous cows calved in winter were shorter than those in summer. The registration grade was not a effected with reproductive traits in Hanwoo.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.93-101
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• 2000

This study was carried out to investigate the epidemiological prevalence of diseases from birth to weaning in 268 Koeran native calves which was delivered from three stock farm in Chonbuk area. We examined body weight gain, incidence rate of diseases and mortality rate in relation to age, season, environmental temperature and rearing management conditions for one year. The results of this experiment were as follows: Birth weight and body weight gain of Korean native calves born of primiparae were lower than those of multiparae. Body weight gain of diseased calves was lower than normal calves. Of 268 delivered calves, 242 calves(90.3%) were affected with gastronistestinal and/or respiratory diseases. The prevalence of the diseases were gastronitestinal disease(54.1%), gastronitestinal and respiratory disease(21.6%), and respiratory disease(14.5%). Of 242 diseased calves, 33 calves(13.6%) were occurred gastronitestinal disease and respiratory disease at different time respectively. Of 268 delivered calves, 126 calves were died(47%). The prevalence of the death were gastronitestinal disease(31.4%), gastronitestinal and respiratory disease(14.5%), and respiratory disease(1.1%). 81% of the diseases and 76.2% of the death were occurred in winter and a change of season(December to May). 59.1% of the diseases and 52.4% of the death were occurred at atmospheric temperatures below 1$0^{\circ}C$. 91.7% of the diseased calves and 96.8% of the dead calves were born of primiparae. 77.2% of the gastronitestinal disease were occurred within 2 weeks old, and the incidence was decreased with increasing age. Whereas the incidence of respiratory disease was incidence with ageing, and 69.2% of the respiratory disease were occurred between 2 weeks and 5 weeks old. And 62% of the gastronitestinal and respiratory disease wre occurred between 1 week and 3 weeks old. 65.1% of the dead calves were died within 2 weeks old. The morbidity and population mortality rate in each farm stock were 56.5%-104.9%, and 14.5%-64.2%, respectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.308-311
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• 2010

An experiment was conducted using indigenous Kivircik ewes to evaluate the effect of intravaginal progestagen sponges, containing 30 mg of fluorogestone acetate (FGA), followed by administration of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) on inducing synchronized oestrus in the season and fertility. Three times of PMSG administration relative to sponge withdrawal (24 h before (n = 30), at (n = 29) or 24 h after (n= 29)) and two routes of PMSG administration (intramuscular (n = 46) and subcutaneous (n = 42) were compared for estrous response, number of multiple births and fecundity rates. There were no significant differences in terms of estrous response, due to differences in the time and route of PMSG administration. Lambing percentage, proportion of multiple births and fecundity were 75.6, 51.6 and 114.6%, respectively. The administration had a significant effect on lambing (p<0.05), multiple birth and fecundity rates (p<0.01). The subcutaneous administration of PMSG resulted in a significantly higher lambing rate (p<0.05) and fecundity rate (p<0.01), compared to the intramuscular injection of the PMSG.