Animal - Open Space最新文献

{"title":"Influence of the breed and litter breed composition on the growth, survival, and health of rabbits","authors":"A. Bigot,&nbsp;D. Savietto,&nbsp;S. Combes,&nbsp;L. Fortun-Lamothe,&nbsp;M. Gunia","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of the breed and the litter breed composition on the growth, survival, and health of rabbits. Two genetic types were compared: purebred INRA 1777 (<strong>INRA</strong>) and crossbreed ¾ Fauve-de-Bourgogne × ¼ INRA 1777 (<strong>Crossbreed</strong>). To study the effect of the litter breed composition, two cross-fostering strategies were used for suckled rabbits at birth: within-genetic type and between-genetic type, where the dam raised kits of the same or different genetic types. Litter composition was maintained after weaning. A total of 1 670 growing rabbits were monitored from birth to weaning (at 35 days of age), and then 1 030 rabbits were monitored from weaning to 64 days of age. Four cohorts were raised from September 2019 to April 2020. Health was evaluated using visual health scores and white blood cell counts. Crossbred rabbits had a higher survival rate in the preweaning period (+14.9% points; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), and a higher percentage of healthy individuals at 64 days of age (+13.9% points; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) than purebred rabbits, even though the survival rate was equivalent (92%) between the two genetic types in the postweaning period. Crossbred rabbits were lighter than INRA rabbits (−128 g at 64 days of age; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). The between-genetic type cross-fostering strategy had a positive effect on survival in the preweaning period (+4.6% points for INRA and +13.3% points for Crossbreed; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) compared to the within-genetic type cross-fostering strategy. No lasting effects of the litter breed composition on postweaning survival or health were observed. Mixing kits of different genetic types within litters may be a strategy to improve the overall herd health and help reduce the use of antibiotics in rabbit farming.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100083"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142746160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of age on D20, D40 and live foal rates in the Clydesdale mare","authors":"J.B. Thomas ,&nbsp;M.C.G. Davies Morel ,&nbsp;B. Lancaster","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100082","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100082","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reproductive performance is an important aspect of the equine industry. Breeders ideally want to increase the number of successful or valuable horses, whether these horses are racehorses, eventers, or show horses. This is especially important for breeds like the Clydesdale given the significant decline in breed numbers over the last century from over 20 000 registered horses in the 1920 s to less than 5 000 worldwide today. Mare age is a factor which has been shown to influence reproductive success in Thoroughbreds. However, limited work has been done on other breeds to investigate whether a similar association exists. The aims of this study were to determine the effect of mare age on (1) Day 20 pregnancy rates, (2) Day 40 pregnancy rates, and (3) live foal rates. Breeding records (n = 441) for 135 Clydesdale mares (aged 3–22) were reviewed. Generalised linear mixed models were used to determine the Day 20, Day 40, and live foal rates. Rates for country and farm were determined for live foal rates only. Mare was added as a random effect in all models to account for the fact that mares had multiple pregnancies. Mare age was categorised into four age groups: 3–6 years, 7–10 years, 11–14 years, &gt;14 years and included as a fixed effect to look for differences across the age groups. Of the 441 pregnancies, 26 involved the use of hormone treatment. As a result, all models were re-run excluding any pregnancies where hormones were used to ensure consistency of results. The overall foaling rate (mean ± ) was 71% (66–76%). There was considerable variation in overall foal rate across farms (35% (13–65%) to 87% (66–96%)) but there was no significant difference (<em>P</em> = 0.177). Country was significant (<em>P</em> = 0.029). Mare age had a significant (<em>P</em> = 0.021) effect on live foaling rates. Mares aged over 14 years had a decrease of 65% in the odds of having a successful pregnancy compared to a horse 3–6 years of age. In conclusion, age was a significant factor for reproductive success in Clydesdales, with mares 14 years of age or younger having the highest reproductive success.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100082"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142722811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of the amount of milk replacer offers to Holstein dairy heifers on pre- and postweaning growth","authors":"J. Philion ,&nbsp;L. Laflamme-Michaud ,&nbsp;D.E. Santschi ,&nbsp;É.R. Paquet ,&nbsp;É. Charbonneau","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100081","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100081","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The whole milk or milk replacer (<strong>MR</strong>) intake by dairy heifers during their preweaning period is known to have an impact on their early and long-term development, growth, and productivity. The objective of this study was to assess whether providing <em>ad libitum</em> access to MR in comparison to the Canadian milk feeding recommendation would impact growth performance during the preweaning period, and if those impacts would be maintained in the postweaning period, near puberty at around 11 months of age. On a commercial farm located in Quebec, Canada, 179 Holstein heifers were randomly assigned to two treatments where they were offered (1) <em>ad libitum</em> access to MR (<strong>AdLib</strong>, n = 93) or (2) a maximum amount of MR corresponding to 20% of their birth weights as currently recommended by the Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle (<strong>ReCan</strong>, n = 86). Weaning started at 52 and 64 d of age for AdLib and ReCan, respectively, and was completed at 76 d of age for both treatments. Milk replacer (28% CP, 16% fat, 15% DM) was offered using an automated feeding system, and the amount of MR was gradually reduced at weaning, over 24 and 12 d for AdLib and ReCan, respectively, with an identical program for the last 12 d. Data were collected for individual heifers to obtain live BW, heart girth circumference, withers height, hip height, and hip width during the preweaning (55 d) period and around puberty (around 11 mo). Mean MR intake at peak consumption between 46 d and 52 d was 11.8 L/d for AdLib vs 8.3 L/d for ReCan. Our results show that heifers on the AdLib treatment had significantly higher BW at 55 d of age and around puberty compared to heifers on the ReCan treatment. At weaning, no significant differences were observed for heart girth circumference, withers height, hip width, or average daily gain (<strong>ADG</strong>). Near puberty, the BW and hip height are significantly higher for the AdLib heifers and, when considering only heifers consuming a minimal amount of 7.5 L/d at the peak of consumption for the analysis, heart girth circumference, and ADG are significantly higher as well. Our results indicate that preweaning body conformation gains associated with an AdLib feeding program are maintained until puberty and this is even when compared to the current Canadian milk feeding recommendation of 20% of live weight in MR.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100081"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142655412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “The role of anti-E. coli antibody from maternal colostrum on the colonization of newborn dairy calves gut with Escherichia coli and the development of clinical diarrhea” [Animal Open Space 2 (2023) 100037]","authors":"V. Gomes ,&nbsp;B.P. Barros ,&nbsp;D.I. Castro-Tardón ,&nbsp;C.C. Martin ,&nbsp;F.C.R. Santos ,&nbsp;T. Knöbl ,&nbsp;B.P. Santarosa ,&nbsp;L.M. Padilha ,&nbsp;D.J. Hurley","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100080","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100080"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Method: Body composition assessment of sows using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry","authors":"J. Heurtault ,&nbsp;G. Maïkoff ,&nbsp;M.P. Létourneau-Montminy ,&nbsp;P. Schlegel","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100079","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100079","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For about 30 years, the introduction of dual X-ray absorptiometry (<strong>DXA</strong>) scanners in swine research has enabled the non-invasive study of body composition kinetics in animals. So far, the use of DXA technology in swine was focused on piglets, growing pigs up to about 140 kg of BW, as well as carcasses. Due to their size and weight, measuring a sow’s body composition is beyond the technical limits of the device. Furthermore, the chemical composition derived from DXA values is based on equations developed for pigs weighing between 20 and 100 kg. The present aim was to focus on the sow to (1) present a standard operation procedure to obtain the body composition of sows by DXA, and (2) assess the ability of available equations to predict a sow’s chemical body composition. For (1), a study investigated the effect of the animal’s position on DXA body composition. A total of 58 DXA acquisitions of sows were obtained on the standard ventral position (front and back legs extended) and on the lateral position (on left flank with right legs placed inward and left legs placed outward). The predicted BW, lean tissue mass, fat tissue mass, bone mineral content, bone area, and bone mineral density of the standard ventral position from the obtained lateral position resulted in root mean square prediction errors expressed as a percentage of the observed mean value of 0.5, 1.9, 5.0, 2.7, 3.1 and 3.5%, respectively. For (2), 3 sows were scanned alive and then slaughtered to measure chemical composition, then, these results were compared with equations based on growing pig data. The chemical composition of the carcass was predicted more accurately than that of the empty body. Regarding minerals, the Ca and P contents of the empty body were overestimated (12 and 3% respectively), as with the Ca content of the carcass (6%), while the P content of the carcass was underestimated (5%). In conclusion, the proposed material and operation procedure enables the scanning of sows which exceed the maximal specification of a DXA device. Furthermore, before concluding the accuracy of the chemical body composition prediction equations based on DXA data for pigs weighing between 20 and 100 kg, additional data are required to determine their applicability to sows.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100079"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Method: Protocol for in-ovo stimulation with selected pro-/prophy-biotics to mitigate Campylobacter jejuni in broiler chickens","authors":"R.N. Wishna-Kadawarage ,&nbsp;R.M. Hickey ,&nbsp;M. Siwek","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100077","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100077","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Broiler chickens are a natural reservoir for <em>Campylobacter</em> which is largely responsible for the highest reported zoonotic infection within the Europe, Campylobacteriosis. However, despite extensive scientific investment, the broiler industry is still in need of effective intervention strategies to control this pathogen in broiler production. <em>In-ovo</em> modulation has been studied extensively as a method to positively modulate the gastrointestinal microflora in broiler chickens. However, the efficacy of an <em>in-ovo</em> method against <em>Campylobacter</em> has not been studied to date to the best of our knowledge. Therefore, the current study was conducted to validate the efficacy of a protocol for <em>in-ovo</em> stimulation of ROS308 broiler chicken eggs with <em>Leuconostoc mesenteroides</em> B/00288 strain alone (probiotic) and in combination with garlic aqueous extract (prophybiotic) in reducing the abundance of <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> in ceca. On 12th day of incubation, the selected doses of the probiotic and prophybiotic were injected into the air cell of the eggs as treatments. Two control groups (Negative control: without injections and positive control injected with physiological saline) were also included in the experiment. The impact of the protocol on hatch parameters (hatchability, chick length, chick weight and Pasgar score), BWs and feed conversion ratio was recorded. When the chickens were 21 days old, an infection challenge with <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> was performed. A quantitative PCR method was used to quantify the <em>Campylobacter</em> relative abundance in faeces (one week postinfection) and in the cecal content (at the age of 35 days). The probiotic treatment significantly (<em>P-</em>value = 0.0020) reduced the <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> numbers in the ceca while the prophybiotic treatment resulted in a statistical tendency (<em>P-</em>value = 0.0691) in reducing the abundance of <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> in ceca. Both treatments had no adverse effects on the hatch or production parameters studied. In conclusion, <em>in-ovo</em> stimulation with the probiotic <em>Leuconostoc mesenteroides</em> demonstrated potential in reducing <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> colonisation in the ceca of ROSS308 broiler chickens infected at 3 weeks of age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100077"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142320382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Data paper: Dataset describing the effects of environmental enrichment and sows’ characteristics on the peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptome","authors":"M.M. Lopes ,&nbsp;A. Vincent ,&nbsp;F. Thomas ,&nbsp;C. Clouard ,&nbsp;R. Comte ,&nbsp;M. Brien ,&nbsp;J. Chambeaud ,&nbsp;F. Hérault ,&nbsp;E. Guichoux ,&nbsp;C. Boury ,&nbsp;R. Resmond ,&nbsp;E. Merlot","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Blood immune cells transcriptome can be used as a tool to investigate molecular mechanisms or identify biomarkers of several physiological processes. Factors such as reproductive status, age, or physical and mental states resulting from social and non-social environmental aspects can influence the activation and phenotype of immune cells. This data paper describes the gene expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (<strong>PBMCs</strong>) of multiparous sows, using RNA sequencing. Sows of various parity ranks were housed during gestation in a stable social group either in a conventional environment on a slatted concrete floor (<strong>C</strong>) or in an enriched environment with deep straw litter and a bigger space allowance (<strong>E</strong>). Videos were recorded between days 99 and 104 of gestation (<strong>G;</strong> G99 and G104) to determine the sows’ dominance status. Blood samples were collected at 98 days of gestation (<strong>G98</strong>) and 12 days of lactation (<strong>L12</strong>), and the PBMC fraction was isolated. Then, total RNA was extracted from PBMC and submitted to next-generation sequencing using the Illumina NextSeq 2000 system. Quality control, mapping, and annotation were performed using the Dragen RNA v3.8.4 software. The differential analysis was performed using the R package DESeq2. Differentially expressed genes (<strong>DEGs</strong>) were identified using a criterion of adjusted <em>P</em>-value (<strong>p-adj</strong>) cut-off &lt;0.1 and fold-change &gt;1.2 or &lt;0.83 to identify up-regulated and down-regulated genes. For each time point (G98 and L12), the following contrasts were used for the differential analysis: sows housed in the enriched environment compared to the conventional environment [E vs C], dominant (<strong>Dom</strong>) sows compared to subordinate (<strong>Sub</strong>) sows [Dom vs Sub], and high parity sows <strong>(HP:</strong> 4th gestation or higher) compared to low parity sows (<strong>LP</strong>: 2nd and 3rd gestation) [HP vs LP]. The identified DEGs were used for functional analysis using the Database for Annotation, Visualisation, and Integrated Discovery software. To our knowledge, this is the first dataset allowing the investigation of the simultaneous effects of housing environment, dominance status, and parity on the PBMC transcriptome of adult sows. These data could also be used to compare the transcriptomes of pregnant and lactating females.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100078"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142320381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Method: Standard operating procedure for the administration of swallowable devices to study pig’s gut content in a non-invasive way","authors":"I. García Viñado ,&nbsp;G. Bee ,&nbsp;P. Trevisi ,&nbsp;C. Ollagnier","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100076","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100076","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Due to the evolution of welfare laws and the search for novel methods to study pig microbiota, the development of precise and non-invasive sampling methods is key to studying the microbial communities that inhabit the guts of pigs. Administering swallowable devices to pigs is always a challenge due to factors such as anatomy, the requirement for specific materials, and the need to restrain the animals. In this study, we describe a step-by-step protocol on how to administer Capsule for Sampling (<strong>CapSa</strong>), a biocompatible non-invasive device to study pig’s microbiota without harming the animals. The validation of the protocol was done through two different studies. In Study 1, 92 Swiss Large White pigs (BW: 6.45–71.3 kg) were administered two capsules each and monitored for the following 3 days for capsule retrieval. On day 3, all pigs were euthanised to locate the missing capsules directly from their gastrointestinal tracts. In Study 2, 16 Swiss Large White pigs were selected at weaning and administered CapSas at five different timepoints (T1: 52 ± 3; T2: 70 ± 3; T3: 83 ± 3; T4: 110 ± 3; T5: 126 ± 3 days of age). To retrieve the capsules in the faeces, pigs were monitored 3 days postadministration. At T5, the pigs were slaughtered, and CapSas that were not found in the faeces, termed as missing CapSas, were retrieved from their gastrointestinal tracts. The protocol entails acclimation of the animals, housing modifications, administration of a prokinetic agent (prucalopride) to facilitate gastric emptying, and oesophageal intubations to overcome challenges related to administration, gastric blockage, and retrieval of the capsules. In Study 1, 46.74% of the administered CapSas were found in the faeces within 72 h postadministration, with 47.67% retrieved within the first 24 h, and 28.26% were located in the stomach. The CapSa retrieval was lowest in light pigs (&lt;12 kg). In Study 2, 75.6% of CapSas were recovered in the faeces within 72 h postadministration, with 51.23% retrieved within the first 24 h. The CapSa retrieval rates varied depending on the administration time point being lowest at T1 and T3 and highest at T2 with intermediate values at T4 and T5. In both studies, the pH levels were affected by transit time (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), resulting in a more acidic content when capsules were expelled after 36–40 h. To the contrary, the volume of the CapSa content was never affected by transit time (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). In both studies, postmortem observations showed no health-related issues except one pig from Study 2 excluded due to respiratory distress. The present study describes a valid procedure for administering CapSa or any other swallowable devices in pigs. Moreover, this procedure is applicable to singular and repetitive administrations over the lifespan of pigs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100076"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772694024000165/pdfft?md5=26a003f9a20c65825262624884b71be1&pid=1-s2.0-S2772694024000165-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142167502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Method: eFeederRab: A new electronic feeder to measure individual feed intake−related traits on growing rabbits raised in collective cages","authors":"J.P. Sánchez ,&nbsp;J. Muñoz ,&nbsp;R. Chetrit ,&nbsp;M. Pascual ,&nbsp;M. Piles","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100074","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100074","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Measuring individual intake in animals raised in groups is a paramount aspect for different fields of animal production, both with a direct implication and relevance on the production itself, i.e. within breeding programmes for the improvement of feed efficiency; or for research in different disciplines such as animal behaviour or animal nutrition. The rabbit is one of the few species for which there is no device for measuring this trait. Thus, we aimed to design and manufacture a feeding device (<strong>eFeederRab</strong>) allowing such recording. In the present study, we describe the methods behind the tool we have developed, accompanying the description with a set of descriptive statistics showing the performance of the tool. We use records from 430 animals belonging to lines selected for different feed efficiency criteria − some of them raised using the eFeederRab -, as well as from their control unselected population. Measurements were taken from 35-38 to 56–59 days of age. The lines selected for reducing residual feed intake clearly show a lower daily feed intake, 8–15% when the lines were compared using eFeederRab, and 7–10% when the lines were compared using conventional feeders. These are clear indications about the validity of the device for recording data to be used in selection to improve feed efficiency, i.e., biologically meaningful records. In spite of the biological relevance of the recorded data, when comparing performances of the lines raised using eFeederRab or conventional feeders, it was evident that feed intake was reduced by around 12–20% when using the electronic feeder, with the subsequence growth penalization. Note however that this penalty is proportional to the intake; therefore, the feed conversion ratio remains fairly similar (2.99–3.13) between the two types of feeders also reflecting the expected tendency according to the different selection criteria across lines. We hypothesise that this reduction in the intake is a consequence of the less comfortable eating posture that eFeederRab imposes: each animal must eat alone and inside a tunnel for leading the animals one by one towards the feeder to grant their proper identification by radio frequency. We can conclude that although the eFeederRab is a device with different animal feeding conditions than those on conventional feeder, the records, despite being noisy, can be successfully used to improve the genetic selection of feed efficiency in rabbits.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100074"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772694024000141/pdfft?md5=8a817055c4f75be2cc419027f765acf7&pid=1-s2.0-S2772694024000141-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142047867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prediction of the digestible energy content of hay for horses from their chemical composition using the National Institute of Agricultural Research system: new models","authors":"W. Martin-Rosset,&nbsp;D. Andueza,&nbsp;M. Vermorel","doi":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100075","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anopes.2024.100075","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Digestible energy (<strong>DE</strong>) accounts for the major fraction of the energy content of hay fed to equines, but DE measurements are difficult to carry out, and researchers have developed models for predicting the DE content of hays for horses from their chemical composition. Digestible energy varies depending on botanical family, species, and agronomic and climatic conditions. A database of 61 hays harvested in a temperate zone (32 natural grassland hays, 16 grass hays and 13 lucerne hays) was set up from studies carried out at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research (<strong>INRA</strong><strong>e</strong>) or extracted from the literature using a similar methodological corpus, to test the relevance of crude fibre (<strong>CF</strong>), NDF, ADF, total free reducing sugars (<strong>TFRS</strong>), CP as potential criteria for the prediction of organic matter digestibility (<strong>OMD</strong>), energy digestibility (<strong>ED</strong>) and digestible energy (<strong>DE</strong>). Models were developed for natural grassland hay, grass hay and lucerne hay. The adjusted cross-validation R² values (R²CV) of the models obtained using CF, ADF or NDF as single variables or in combination with CP for the prediction of OMD, ED and DE of natural grassland hay ranged from 0.84 to 0.86, from 0.83 to 0.86 and from 0.82 to 0.84, respectively. For grass hay, the R²CV were lower and ranged from 0.65 to 0.71, from 0.63 to 0.71 and from 0.62 to 0.68, for the prediction of OMD, ED and DE, respectively. Finally, for lucerne hay, the R²CV ranged from 0.65 to 0.72, from 0.34 to 0.74 and from 0.25 to 0.67, for the prediction of OMD, ED and DE, respectively. The R²CV of the prediction models of ED and DE were more heterogeneous for lucerne hay than for grassland and grass hay. The TFRS content of hay was never a significant predictive variable of OMD, ED or DE, either as single variable or combined with any cell wall content criterion. The models obtained in the present study improved those proposed by INRA to date.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100083,"journal":{"name":"Animal - Open Space","volume":"3 ","pages":"Article 100075"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772694024000153/pdfft?md5=b3285527cdb608964b77d490051872e1&pid=1-s2.0-S2772694024000153-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141998325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}