• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.31.1-31.9
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to describe the population structure and inbreeding, and to quantify their effects on weights at different ages of Mehraban sheep in Iran. The analysis was based on the pedigree information of 26990 animals and 10278 body weight records from birth to yearling age. Data and pedigree information were collected during 1994 to 2011 by the breeding station of Mehraban sheep. The population structure was analyzed using the CFC program. Inbreeding of all animals was calculated by INBUPGF90 program. All animals were grouped into three classes according to their inbreeding coefficients: the first class included non-inbred animals (F=0); and the second and third classes included inbred animals (0$F{\geq}0.05$, respectively). The average inbreeding in Mehraban sheep was 1.69%. Founder equivalent ($f_e$) values were estimated to be 4244, 3116 and 2965 during 1994-1999, 2000-2005 and 2006-2011, respectively. The effective population sizes ($N_e$) were 363, 5080 and 5740 during 1994-1999, 2000-2005 and 2006-2011, respectively. Generation interval was 2.15 years for this breed of sheep. Regression coefficients of birth weight, 3-month weight, 6-month weight and yearling weight on lamb inbreeding were estimated to be -6.340.69, -14.685.33, 48.009.43 and 98.6515.65, respectively. Both positive and negative inbreeding effects were found in the current study. The utilization of a program for designed mating system, in the present flock, could be a suitable approach to keep the level of inbreeding under control.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.20-33
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• 2017

Objective: Superstimulatory treatment of one-month-old lambs can achieve synchronous development of numerous growing follicles. However, these growing follicles cannot complete maturation and ovulation. Oocyte maturation and competence are acquired during follicular development, in which granulosa cells play an essential role. Methods: In this study, we applied RNA sequencing to analyze and compare gene expression between prepubertal and adult superstimulated follicle granulosa cells in sheep. Results: There were more than 300 genes that significantly differed in expression. Among these differently expressed genes, many extracellular matrix genes (EGF containing Fibulin Like Extracellular Matrix Protein 1, pentraxin 3, adrenomedullin, and osteopontin) were significantly down-regulated in the superstimulated follicles. Ingenuity pathway and gene ontology analyses revealed that processes of axonal guidance, cell proliferation and DNA replication were expressed at higher levels in the prepubertal follicles. Epidermal growth factor, T-Box protein 2 and beta-estradiol upstream regulator were predicted to be active in prepubertal follicles. By comparison, tumor protein P53 and let-7 were most active in adult follicles. Conclusion: These results may contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms governing the development of granulosa cells in the growing follicle in prepubertal sheep.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.245-256
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• 2007

There are approximately 250,000 organic livestock farming in the world. The total retail value of organic food sales in the world is $ 27 billion. The organic livestock products such as milk, lamb and beef are marketed mostly in Europe and the USA. The market share of organic food is about 2% in total food marketing value of worldwide and of the organic food marketing value, organic livestock products portioned 17% in the USA. The organic livestock products are primarily marketed at Supermarket(Europe), Health and Natural Food store(USA). Concerning international trade, it is very little. But it is increasing among the developed counties of Europe. In the future, the production of organic livestock products will be rapidly increased in South America, Middle East and Oceania, but the growth rate will be limited due to its expensive price, lack of marketing-infra and different regulation system. Most of developed countries drive organic farming policy strongly as the strategic means of rural development, diversifying agriculture system and environmental improvement.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-153
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• 2010

The present study was carried out to estimate genetic parameters for body weight traits in Ghezel sheep. The data set used was records of 9,221 lambs from 180 sires and 5,060 dams for birth weight (BW), 7,206 lambs from 167 sires and 4,497 dams for weaning weight (WW) and 6,112 lambs from 157 sires and 3,841 dams for 6-months weight (6 MW), which were collected from 1999 to 2007 (9-years) at Ghezel sheep Breeding Station in west Azarbaijan. Variance components and corresponding genetic parameters were obtained with univariate analyses fitting animal models using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) methods. The most suitable model for each trait was determined based on log likelihood ratio tests. Birth year, lamb gender, type of birth, age of dam and herd were significant sources of variation on BW, WW and 6 MW (p<0.01). Direct estimate of heritability for BW, WW and 6 MW was 0.24, 0.29 and 0.37, respectively. The estimate of maternal permanent environmental variance as a proportion of phenotypic variance was 0.09 and 0.05 for BW and WW, respectively. The results of this study showed that genetic progress for growth traits is possible by selection.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.522-528
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• 2018

Objective: This study evaluated inclusion of buckwheat silage to the diet of growing lambs in terms of meat quality as compared to maize silage. Methods: Buckwheat, rich in total phenols (TP, 33 g/kg dry matter [DM]), was harvested at the end of the milk stage and ensiled in 40 kg plastic bags after wilting (294 g/kg silage DM). A total of 18 growing lambs ($21.6{\pm}1.2$) were individually fed isonitrogenous and isoenergetic total mixed rations (TMR) for 75 d that either contained buckwheat or maize silage at DM proportions of 0.50. At the end of feeding trail all lambs were slaughtered to assess carcass characteristics and meat quality. Results: Buckwheat silage increased (p<0.01) the DM intake of lambs as compared to maize silage, but had no effects (p>0.05) on live weight gain and feed efficiency. Carcass weight, dressing percentage, meat pH, water holding capacity, cooking loss, shear force ($kg/cm^2$), and total viable bacteria count of meat did not differ (p>0.05) between the treatments. However, TP content of meat increased (p<0.001) by feeding buckwheat TMR. Feeding buckwheat TMR also decreased (p<0.05) the b* values of meat. Conclusion: The results provide that buckwheat silage is palatable and could successfully include TMR of growing lambs with no adverse effects on performance, carcass and meat quality. Additionally, feeding buckwheat silage to lambs offers increased TP in meat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2004

Hisardale male lambs (n=24, 4-5 month of age) were maintained on a conventional ration for a month, to equilibrate the body mineral status. Six lambs were sacrificed after one month of feeding; the samples of organs were analyzed to ascertain mineral status. The remaining 18 lambs were divided into 3 groups of 6 each on body weight basis. Three dietary treatments containing 100 ($T_1$), 110 ($T_2$) and 120% ($T_3$) of minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn) as specified by NRC (1985) were formulated and each treatment was alloted ad libitum to a group for 120 days. Blood and wool samples were collected at monthly intervals. At the end of the experiment a balance trial of 5 days duration was conducted to study the balance of mineral elements. The effective intake of minerals was Ca, 111 and 120, P, 110 and 122; S, 112 and 129; Zn, 112 and 126 and Mn, 109 and 123 percent in $T_2$ and $T_3$, respectively, in comparison to $T_1$ (100). The additional mineral supplementation had no significant effect on dry matter intake. The average daily weight gain was higher (p<0.01) in $T_2$ and $T_3$ than the control ($T_1$). The lambs under treatments $T_2$ (8.72) and $T_3$ (8.47 kg) consumed apparently lesser amount of dry matter per unit gain as compared to $T_1$ (10.81 kg). Significantly higher (p<0.05) dry matter and crude protein digestibility (%) were observed in $T_2$ and $T_3$ than in $T_1$. The mean balances for different elements were Ca, 1.14, 1.68 and 1.67 g; P, 1.70, 1.95 and 2.18 g; S, 0.54, 0.92 and 1.11 g; Zn, 22.56, 25.30 and 28.71 mg; Cu, 7.94, 5.71 and 5.53 mg; Fe, 33.19, 32.94 and 31.03 mg and Mn, 8.24, 14.40 and 16.07 mg/lamb/day. The retention of supplemental minerals increased (p<0.01) while that of Cu decreased (p<0.01) due to supplementation of minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn). Retention as per cent of intake increased statistically for S and Mn while that of Cu decreased. It can be concluded that supplementation of minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn) higher than the recommended level improved body weight gain and feed to gain ratio. The retention of minerals increased due to supplementation. Therefore, an additional supplementation of deficient minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn) by 10% was beneficial for Hisardale male lambs under tropical condition in India.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.1069-1079
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of 4-month intensive feeding on the meat quality, fatty acid profile, flavor, and growth performance of grazing Hulunbuir sheep (HBS). Methods: The HBS were selected 4-months after birth in a pasture rearing system as the experimental animals (n = 44, female, average body weight 23.8±2.2 kg) then divided equally into pasture-based grazing fattening (PAS) and concentrate-included intensive fattening (CON) groups for another 4-month finishing. When finished fattening, all animals were slaughtered to collect musculus longissimus dorsi subcutaneous adipose tissue and to investigate the influences on meat quality, fatty acid profile, flavor and growth performance. Results: The results showed lambs in CON group got significantly higher live weight, hot carcass weight, and dressing percentage. The CON group had significantly higher value of redness (a^*), lightness (L^*) and water holding capacity (p<0.05), significantly lower value of Warner-Bratzler shear force than the PAS group (p<0.05). The subcutaneous fat from CON group lambs demonstrated a significantly higher content of C18:1 and C18:2 (p<0.05), but lower C14:0 and C16:0, indicating an increased degree of unsaturated fatty acid. The content of 4-methyloctanoic acid, 4-ethyloctanoic acid and 4-methylnonanoic acid had increased 2 to 4 times, representing a more intense odor in the CON group. However, the values were still lower than most sheep breeds reported, indicating the indoor feeding system could not fundamentally deteriorate the excellent meat characteristic of HBS. Conclusion: It was evident that lambs in CON group exhibited a better meat production performance, improved in meat color, texture and healthier fatty acid profile through pasture-weaned concentrate included intensive fattening system, which offers a good alternative regimen for lamb finishing and has a wide prospection in the HBS meat industry.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1702-1710
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• 2017

Objective: The study examined the effect of condensed tannins (CT) containing Ficus infectoria and Psidium guajava leaf meal mixture (LMM) supplementation on nutrient metabolism, methane emission and performance of lambs. Methods: Twenty four lambs of ~6 months age (average body weight $10.1{\pm}0.60kg$) were randomly divided into 4 dietary treatments (CT-0, CT-1, CT-1.5, and CT-2 containing 0, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 percent CT through LMM, respectively) consisting of 6 lambs each in a completely randomized design. All the lambs were offered a basal diet of wheat straw ad libitum, oat hay (100 g/d) along with required amount of concentrate mixture to meet their nutrient requirements for a period of 6 months. After 3 months of experimental feeding, a metabolism trial of 6 days duration was conducted on all 24 lambs to determine nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance. Urinary excretion of purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Respiration chamber study was started at the mid of 5th month of experimental feeding trial. Whole energy balance trials were conducted on individual lamb one after the other, in an open circuit respiration calorimeter. Results: Intake of dry matter and organic matter (g/d) was significantly (p<0.05) higher in CT-1.5 than control. Digestibility of various nutrients did not differ irrespective of treatments. Nitrogen retention and microbial nitrogen synthesis (g/d) was significantly (p<0.01) higher in CT-1.5 and CT-2 groups relative to CT-0.Total body weight gain (kg) and average daily gain (g) were significantly (linear, p<0.01) higher in CT-1.5 followed by CT-1 and CT-0, respectively. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) by lambs was significantly (linear, p<0.01) better in CT-1.5 followed by CT-2 and CT-0, respectively. Total wool yield (g; g/d) was linearly (p<0.05) higher for CT-1.5 than CT-0. Methane emission was linearly decreased (p<0.05) in CT groups and reduction was highest (p<0.01) in CT-2 followed by CT-1.5 and CT-1. Methane energy (kcal/d) was linearly decreased (p<0.05) in CT groups. Conclusion: The CT supplementation at 1% to 2% of the diet through Ficus infectoria and Psidium guajava LMM significantly improved nitrogen metabolism, growth performance, wool yield, FCR and reduced methane emission by lambs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.201-208
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the impact of early weaning of lambs at approximately seven weeks of age onto a herb-clover mix on the liveweight gain of lambs and their dams. Methods: In 2015, twin-born lambs that weighed a minimum of 16 kg (n = 134) were randomly allocated to one of three treatments: i) Early-weaned (58 days after the midpoint of lambing) onto an unrestricted allowance (>1,200 kg dry matter/ha) of herb-clover mix (HerbEW); ii) Lambs+dams unweaned onto an unrestricted allowance of herb-clover mix until conventional weaning (95 days after the midpoint of lambing) (HerbCW); iii) Lambs+dams unweaned onto an unrestricted allowance of grass-clover pasture until conventional weaning (GrassCW). In 2016, twin-born lambs that weighed a minimum of 16 kg (n = 170) were randomly allocated to one of four treatments: i), ii), iii) (similar to 2015) and iv) Lambs+dams unweaned onto a restricted allowance (<1,200 kg dry matter/ha) of grass-clover pasture until conventional weaning (93 days after the midpoint of lambing) (Restricted-GrassCW). Results: In 2015, liveweight gain from L58 to L95 of HerbCW and GrassCW lambs did not differ (p>0.05), but were greater than HerbEW lambs. In 2016, HerbCW lambs had greater (p<0.05) liveweight gains from L51 to L93 than GrassCW followed by HerbEW and Restricted-GrassCW lambs. In 2015, liveweight gain from L58 to L95 of HerbEW ewes were greater than both GrassCW and HerbCW ewes while in 2016, liveweight gain of from L51 to L93 GrassCW and HerbCW ewes did not differ (p>0.05) but were greater (p<0.05) than those of HerbEW and Restricted-GrassCW ewes. Conclusion: These results indicate that when grass-clover pasture supply can be maintained at unrestricted intake level, there may be no benefit of weaning lambs early. However, at restricted pasture conditions lambs can achieve greater liveweight gains when weaned early onto a herb-clover mix.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1976

One of the most common needle leaf species used in planting in Korea is korean pine (Pinus koraiensis S. et Z.), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) is one of the test species for suitability. The relation of nursery bed density of 2-1 korean pine and 1-1 jack pine was studied at the Kwang Nung Nursery, Central Branch Station of Forest Research Institute, and about 40km north of Seoul. Nursery bed density of 2-1 korean pine, which ranged from 36 to 324 trees per square meters and of 1-1 jack pine, which ranged from 25 to 169 trees per square meters, had a marked effect on caliper, height, dry weight and percent and amount of plantable stock. The soil physical and chemical properties is silt plus clay, 50.55 percent; organic matter, 2.09 percent; total nitrogen, 0.13 percent; available phosphorus, 253.25 ppm; exchangeable potash, 0.46 m.e/100g; and pH, 5.58. As the density of the nursery seedling stand of 2-1 korean pine increases, the average tree height increases (Fig. 1A), but in 1-1 jack pine density do not affect to increase or decrease the average tree height. As the density of nursery bed increases, the average stem caliper (at 2cm above ground line) and dry weight decrease (Fig. 1B), but the decreasing rate is more seriously in 1-1 jack pine than 2-1 korean pine (Fig.5). As increasing the density of nursery bed, the T/R ratio of trees of the test species increase. Also the dry weight of leaf, stem and root parts are decreasing in proportion to the increase of stand density, but the drop rate of jack pine is more rapid than korean pine (table. 1) The patent facts of difference of growth characteristics between 2-1 korean pine and 1-1 jack pine were studied. These facts should be used to select the scale of stand density at the nursery bed or the plantable site. Korean pine is demanded high density, on the other hand in jack pine low density are more suitable to manage the stand density. Stands of comparatively low density had the greatest percentage of high-quality stock, and the stands of high density had less than the high quality trees of low density. An important criterion of the best density is percent and number of high-quality trees produced per square meter of bed area. Stem caliper and stem height of seedling is used in most public nurseries to sort seedling into plantable grades. The stock grade standard has set at 4.5mm caliper and 16cm height of 2-1 korean pine as the minimum desired stem caliper and height. By the result studies, the plantable stock grade standards of 2-1 korean pine used at stem height 16cm and stem caliper 4.5mm from public nurseries should be reformed to stem height 18cm and stem caliper 4.0mm by the growth characteristics and the tree distribution of stem height and caliper of relation to density. For the 2-1 korean pine, best density should be about 160 to 200 trees per square meter according to soil fertility. For the 1-1 jack pine, the suitable standard of plantable stock should be at stem height 25cm and caliper 6mm (at 2cm above ground line) and best density was about 100 to 120 trees.