• Title/Summary/Keyword: Livestock Performance

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Evaluation of different milking practices for optimum production performance in Sahiwal cows

  • Aslam, Naveed;Abdullah, Muhammad;Fiaz, Muhammad;Bhatti, Jalees Ahmad;Iqbal, Zeeshan Muhammad;Bangulzai, Nasrullah;Choi, Chang Weon;Jo, Ik Hwan
    • Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    • v.56 no.4
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    • pp.13.1-13.5
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    • 2014
  • The production performance of multiparous lactating Sahiwal cows (n = 24) was evaluated according to both milking frequency and method. Selected animals were randomly divided into four groups containing six animals each under a completely randomized design. Cows in groups A & B were milked by the hand milking method three times per day, respectively. Similarly, cows in groups C & D were milked by the machine milking method two and three times per day, respectively. All animals were maintained under uniform feeding and management conditions. Dry matter intake was high in animal groups milked three times per day, and it remained unchanged between the hand and machine milking methods. Milk yield was higher (P < 0.05) in cows milked three times compared to those milked twice per day, and it did not differ between hand and machine milking methods. Milk fat percentage was higher (P < 0.05) in cows milked twice per day compared to those milked three times using both machine and hand milking methods. The percentage of total solids showed a similar pattern as the fat percentage. However, percentages of protein, lactose, and non-fat solids in milk were not significantly different (P > 0.05) among the treatment groups. Collectively, the results show that milking three times per day instead of twice at 8-hour intervals can enhance milk yield in Sahiwal cows using both hand and machine milking methods.

Effect of Dietary Chlorella Supplementation on Growth Performance, Immune Response, and Intestinal Micro Flora Concentration of Broiler Chickens (육계 사료 내 클로렐라의 첨가·급여가 생산성, 장내미생물 및 면역력에 미치는 영향)

  • Kang, Hwan Ku;Choi, Hee Chul;Kim, Dong Woon;Hwangbo, Jong;Na, Jae Cheon;Bang, Han Tae;Kim, Dong Wook;Kim, Min Ji;Mushtaq, M.M.H.;Parvin, Rana;Kim, Ji Hyuk
    • Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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    • v.40 no.3
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    • pp.271-276
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    • 2013
  • A study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of feedstuff of Chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris) to replace of antibiotic in the diets of broiler chickens. A total of 720 1-d-old straight run broiler chicks (Ross ${\times}$ Ross) was randomly assigned into six treatments with four replicate pens (30 birds/replicate pen) for 5-wk. A corn-soy bean meal basal diet was formulated, the treatment groups were negative group (NC, antibiotic-free diet) and 0.1% virginiamycin in as antibiotic growth promoters (PC), 1.0% fresh liquid Chlorella (T1), 1.0% dried Chlorella powder (T2), 1.0% commercial Chlorella product and 1.0% (T3) and commercial Chlorella product 0.5% (T4) were added to the basal diet to form six dietary treatments. No significant differences were found among the treatments for feed intake and feed conversion of broiler chickens during the whole experimental period, but the BW gain was significantly higher (P<0.05) in commercial Chlorella product supplemental groups than the control group (NC and PC groups). Dietary supplementation of Chlorella significantly (P<0.05) increased the plasma IgA, IgM and IgG concentration of chicks compared to NC and PC groups. Supplemental AGPs and commercial chlorella product did not affect the E. coli and Salmonella concentration in the intestinal microflora of broiler chicks; however, the population of Lactobacillus was significantly increased (P<0.05) when birds were fed commercial Chlorella product groups. It is concluded that commercial Chlorella product supplementation could be used as an alternative of antibiotics to promote growth and immune response by increasing the production of lactic acid bacteria in the intestinal microflora of broiler chickens.

COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF DAMASCUS GOATS AND CHIOS EWES IN OMAN

  • El Hag, M.G.;Azam, A.H.;Al Habsi, R.S.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.8 no.5
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    • pp.419-425
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    • 1995
  • Twenty growing female Damascus (Shami) goats and twenty growing Chios ewes of two mating ages (10 and 12 months) were used to study the effect of mating age (MA) on reproductive performance (RP). In addition to (RP), The growth, milk production and nutrient requirements were also evaluated. A complete random design in a $2{\times}2$ factorial was used, with (MA) and species as the main factors. (MA) had no effects on (RP), milk production and mortality. No significant difference (p > 0.05) were observed between (MA) or between species, for age at kidding/lambing (K/L). Sheep reached puberty earlier than goats. Average age (months) at conception and at (K/L) was 15.8; 20.8 and l7.0; 22.0 for sheep and goats respectively. Body weight (BW), rather than age was the most important factor determining puberty. Both goats and ewes conceived when they reached about 67% of their mature (BW) for goats and 85% for ewes. Sheep grew faster than goats, but the latter had higher twinning (67.8% versus 25%). Chios sheep were suitable for meat and Shami goats for dairying or dual purpose systems. Nutrient requirements for growth of goats and ewes were similar with an average DM-intake of about 4% (BW); 12-13% CP and 65-69% TDN (DM-basis) of the total ration. It is recommended to breed Chios ewes at a (BW) of at least 50 kg and Shami does at 38 kg, irrespective of their age.

Heat stress on microbiota composition, barrier integrity, and nutrient transport in gut, production performance, and its amelioration in farm animals

  • Patra, Amlan Kumar;Kar, Indrajit
    • Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    • v.63 no.2
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    • pp.211-247
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    • 2021
  • Livestock species experience several stresses, particularly weaning, transportation, overproduction, crowding, temperature, and diseases in their life. Heat stress (HS) is one of the most stressors, which is encountered in livestock production systems throughout the world, especially in the tropical regions and is likely to be intensified due to global rise in environmental temperature. The gut has emerged as one of the major target organs affected by HS. The alpha- and beta-diversity of gut microbiota composition are altered due to heat exposure to animals with greater colonization of pathogenic microbiota groups. HS also induces several changes in the gut including damages of microstructures of the mucosal epithelia, increased oxidative insults, reduced immunity, and increased permeability of the gut to toxins and pathogens. Vulnerability of the intestinal barrier integrity leads to invasion of pathogenic microbes and translocation of antigens to the blood circulations, which ultimately may cause systematic inflammations and immune responses. Moreover, digestion of nutrients in the guts may be impaired due to reduced enzymatic activity in the digesta, reduced surface areas for absorption and injury to the mucosal structure and altered expressions of the nutrient transport proteins and genes. The systematic hormonal changes due to HS along with alterations in immune and inflammatory responses often cause reduced feed intake and production performance in livestock and poultry. The altered microbiome likely orchestrates to the hosts for various relevant biological phenomena occurring in the body, but the exact mechanisms how functional communications occur between the microbiota and HS responses are yet to be elucidated. This review aims to discuss the effects of HS on microbiota composition, mucosal structure, oxidant-antioxidant balance mechanism, immunity, and barrier integrity in the gut, and production performance of farm animals along with the dietary ameliorations of HS. Also, this review attempts to explain the mechanisms how these biological responses are affected by HS.

Assessment of Seasonal Variations in the Treatment Efficiency of Constructed Wetlands

  • Reyes, Nash Jett DG.;Geronimo, Franz Kevin F.;Choi, Hyeseon;Jeon, Minsu;Kim, Lee-Hyung
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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    • 2020.06a
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    • pp.231-231
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    • 2020
  • Unlike conventional treatment technologies, the performance of nature-based facilities were susceptible to seasonal changes and climatological variabilities. This study evaluated the effects of seasonal variables on the treatment performance of constructed wetlands (CWs). Two CWs treating runoff and discharge from agricultural and livestock areas were monitored to determine the efficiency of the systems in reducing particulates, organics, and nutrients in the influent. For all four seasons, the mean effluent suspended solids concentration in the agricultural CW (ACW) increased by -2% to -39%. The occurrence of algal blooms in the system during summer and fall seasons resulted to the greatest increase in the amount of suspended materials in the overlying water. unlike ACW, the livestock CW (LCW) performed efficiently throughout the year, with mean suspended solids removal amounting to 61% to 68%. Algal blooms were still present in LCW seasonally; however, the constant inflow in the system limited the proliferation of phytoplankton through continuous flushing. The total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies in ACW were higher during the summer (21% to 25%) and fall (8% to 21%) seasons since phytoplankton utilize nitrogen and phosphorus during the early stages of phytoplankton blooms. In the case of LCW, the most efficient reduction in TN (24%) and TP (54%) concentrations were also noted in summer, which can be attributed to the favorable environmental conditions for microbial activities. The mean removal of organics in ACW was lowest during summer season (-52% to 35%), wherein the onset of algal decay triggered a relative increase in organic matter and stimulate bacterial growth. The removal of organics in LCW was highest (54 % to 55%) during the fall and winter seasons since low water temperatures may limit the persistence of various algal species. Variations in environmental conditions due to seasonal changes can greatly affect the performance of CW systems. This study effectively established the contributory factors affecting the feasibility of utilizing CW systems for treating agricultural and livestock discharges and runoff.

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A Study on BMPR-IB Genes of Bayanbulak Sheep

  • Zuo, Beiyao;Qian, Hongguang;Wang, Ziyu;Wang, Xu;Nisa, Noor;Bayier, Aierdin;Ying, Shijia;Hu, Xiaolong;Gong, Changhai;Guo, Zhiqin;Wang, Feng
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.36-42
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    • 2013
  • The average twin lambing rate of Bayanbulak sheep is 2% to 3%. However, a flock of sheep with a close genetic relationship and an average of 2 to 3 lambs per birth has been found recently. To determine the major genes controlling the prolificacy of the flock in the present study, the flock was designated A while 100 normal Bayanbulak sheep were randomly selected to comprise the control flock B. Ligase detection reaction method was applied to detect and analyze the 10 mutational loci of the 3 candidate prolificacy genes including bone morphogenetic protein type I receptors, bone morphogenetic protein 15, and growth differentiation factor 9. The 10 mutational loci are as follows: FecB locus of the BMPR-IB gene; $FecX^I$, $FecX^B$, $FecX^L$, $FecX^H$, $FecX^G$, and $FecX^R$ of the BMP15 gene; and G1, G8, and FecTT of the GDF9 gene. Two mutations including BMPR-IB/FecB and GDF9/G1 were found in Bayanbulak sheep. Independence test results of the two flocks demonstrate that the FecB locus has a significant effect on the lambing number of Bayanbulak sheep. However, the mutation frequency of the G1 locus in GDF9 is very low. Independence test results demonstrate that the GDF9 locus does not have a significant impact on the lambing performance of Bayanbulak sheep. Among the 10 detected loci, BMPR-IB/FecB is the major gene that influences the high lambing rate of Bayanbulak sheep.

Maternal Effects of Japanese Shorthorn Cows on the Growth of Embryo-transferred Japanese Black Calves in a Cow-calf Grazing System

  • Yamaguchi, Manabu;Ikeda, Kentaro;Takenouchi, Naoki;Higashiyama, Masakazu;Watanabe, Akira
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.26 no.7
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    • pp.930-934
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    • 2013
  • The growth performance of embryo-transferred Japanese Black calves that were born from, and suckled by, Japanese Shorthorn cows in a cow-calf grazing system (BS-group, n = 5) was compared to that of Japanese Black calves from Japanese Black cows in a cowshed (BB-group, n = 5). The daily weight gain from birth to 1 month was higher in the BS-group than in the BB-group (p<0.01), and the same trend (p<0.05) was observed at 2 and 3 months of age. This resulted in body weight that was significantly higher for the BS-group between 1 and 3 months of age than what was observed for the BB-group (p<0.05). Heart girth was significantly greater in the BS-group than in the BB-group throughout the experimental period (p<0.01), and chest depth and withers height in the BS-group were significantly greater from 2 to 4 months of age (p<0.05) and at 4 months of age only (p<0.05). No difference in body length (p>0.05) was observed between the groups. These results suggest that the maternal effect of Japanese Shorthorn cows was positive for embryo-transferred Japanese Black calf growth during the early suckling stage. As Japanese Black calves are traded at a high price on the Japanese market, we conclude that this proposed production system is likely to improve the profitability of herd management in upland Japan.

Investigation of industries's perception on the ban of antibiotics growth promoter in commercial mixed feed (항생제 사용금지에 관한 산업체 인식조사)

  • Kim, Ki-Hyun;Kim, Kwang-Sik;Kim, Jo-Eun;Seol, Kuk-Hwan;Kim, Young-Hwa
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.42 no.4
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    • pp.389-396
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    • 2015
  • This study was performed to investigate the opinions of various related-industries on ban of antibiotics growth promoters (AGPs) in commercial mixed feed. The answers on a total of 21 questions were summarized by response number and percentage. 93% of those surveyed were in agreement of a ban of dietary AGPs. The agreement reasons were the livestock safety (61.5%), the reduction of antibiotic use (23.1%), and decrease of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (11.5%). The negative effects expected by the ban of AGPs were poor growth performance (44.2%), elevated disease emergence (31.4%), increasing the feed cost (18.6%), and quality degradation of livestock (5.8%). As the efficient plans for decline of AGPs use, the feeding environment improvement was the highest with 43%, and farmer training and the consolidation inspection of residual substance on antibiotics in livestock product was 27.9% and 22.1%, respectively. 46.5% of respondent are considering the modification of feed spec and 39.5% of those surveyed have staged a modified feed spec. In conclusion, livestock related-industries approve a ban of AGPs, and they assert that the policy support, improvement of management and environment in the farm, providing technology from related-industries are multiply essential for a stable settlement of a ban policy of AGPs.

Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Economic Traits in Korean Native Chickens

  • Sang, Byung Don;Kong, Hong Sik;Kim, Hak Kyu;Choi, Chul Hwan;Kim, Si Dong;Cho, Yong Min;Sang, Byung Chan;Lee, Jun Heon;Jeon, Gwang Joo;Lee, Hak Kyo
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.19 no.3
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    • pp.319-323
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    • 2006
  • Heritabilities and genetic correlations of economic traits were estimated with a multiple-trait animal model on 5 different strains of Korea Native Chickens (KNC): Red Brown (RB), Yellow Brown (YB), Gray Brown (GB), Black (B) and White (W). The data used for this study were collected from the Daejeon branch of the National Livestock Research Institute and included 11,233 performance records and 12,729 individual animals. DFREML and SAS BASE/STAT packages were used to estimate genetic parameters and descriptive statistics. The estimated heritabilities for strain RB, YB, GB, B and W, respectively, for age at 1st egg were 0.24, 0.27, 0.12, 0.32 and 0.18; for body weight at first egg were 0.39, 0.43, 0.38, 0.52 and 0.57; for body weight at age of 270 days were 0.43, 0.51, 0.30, 0.52 and 0.67; for egg weight at first egg were 0.08, 0.13, 0.07, 0.06 and 0.07; for egg weight at age of 270 days were 0.37, 0.43, 0.22, 0.34 and 0.41; and for number of eggs laid by age of 270 days were 0.24, 0.25, 0.37, 0.36 and 0.30. The genetic and phenotypic correlations were also estimated.