Journal of animal science最新文献

{"title":"100 Mitigation of oxidative stress to improve range cow grazing distribution","authors":"Landon T Sullivan, Scott S Jensen, James England, Luis Gimenez-Lirola, Scott Radke, John B Hall, Benton B Glaze, Carmen M Willmore, Jameson R Brennan, Pedram Rezamand, Robert Collier, Brenda M Murdoch, Jim E Sprinkle","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.072","url":null,"abstract":"The objective was to reduce oxidative stress (OS) and improve grazing distribution with an injectable trace mineral (ITM; 1mL/90kg MultiMin90). Mature cows (2021: n=35; 2022: n=34) were classified by residual feed intake (RFI) as inefficient (INE) or efficient (EFF) across two ITM subgroups (Treated, T and Control, C). Blood (venipuncture) was utilized to assess superoxide dismutase (SOD; u/ml), glutathione peroxidase (GPx; nmol/min/ml), and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70; ng/ml) at d 0 and ~120. At d 26 in both years, cows were collared with global positioning system (GPS) and accelerometer sensors, which were removed (d 52) and reinstalled (d 78), with ITM administered at d 0 and d 52. Behavior was analyzed within sample period by mixed model procedures with RFI, ITM, Date, RFI × ITM, RFI × Date and ITM × Date as fixed effects, with cow within RFI × ITM as the repeated random effect. HSP70 and antioxidants were analyzed similarly, with period within Year as the repeated measure. Serum SOD and GPx were greater (P < 0.05) in August than April of 2021. In May of 2021, T cows tended to travel more than C cows (P = 0.09); with INE T traveling more (P = 0.04), as well as spending more time on steeper slopes (P = 0.07) and south facing slopes (P = 0.09) than INE C. Additionally, INE T cows tended to graze longer than EFF C cows in early July 2021 (P=0.08). In 2022, HSP70 was greater in April than in August (P = 0.05) and was also greater in T cows in April than in August (P = 0.01). T cows had greater SOD (P = 0.01) than C cows. INE T cows tended to have greater GPx than INE C (P = 0.07) cows. In May of 2022, T cows rested less and grazed more (P < 0.05), while spending more time on north facing slopes (P = 0.04). EFF T cows traveled more than EFF C (P = 0.05), INE C (P = 0.04) and INE T (P = 0.03) cows, as well as tending to use steeper slopes than EFF C (P = 0.07). In July 2022, T cows spent more time grazing from 0400 to 0600 (P = 0.01), 0800 to 1000 (P = 0.04) and 1200 to 1400 (P = 0.01) than did C cows. EFF T utilized greater maximum slopes than EFF C cows (P = 0.01) and spent more time on slopes >15% (P = 0.01). Overall, implementing ITM mitigated indicators of OS and improved cow foraging on western rangeland in two consecutive summers.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"25 Exploring brown mushroom stem as a sustainable soybean meal alternative in layer chicks diet","authors":"Kayla Stamps, Ahmed A A Abdel-Wareth, M D Salahuddin, Venkatesh Balan, Maedeh Mohammadi, Woo Kyun Kim, Weihang Zhu, Ahmed Ahmed, Cassandra Gray, Adrian Avina, Taylor Rounds-Carter, Trahmilla Carr, Amri Williams, Adebowale Bakare, Jayant Lohakare","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.128","url":null,"abstract":"The poultry industry is continuously searching innovative and sustainable feed alternatives to reduce dependence on conventional ingredients like soybean meal, which has significant environmental and economic concerns. Brown mushroom stems (BMS), an agricultural byproduct, hold promise as a potential environment-friendly and cost-effective feed ingredient. Rich in bioactive compounds, fibers, and essential nutrients, BMS powder could serve as a sustainable replacement for soybean meal, contributing to waste valorization and improving poultry production systems. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating BMS powder in chicken diets while maintaining optimal growth performance and health status. The experiment involved 160 three-week-old Lohmann LSL Lite chicks. After a four-day adaptation period on the control diet, the chicks were assigned to four dietary groups: 0% (control), 2%, 4%, and 6% BMS replacing soybean meal. BMS were sourced from a local commercial mushroom producer. The stems were cleaned, washed, and freeze-dried to reduce their moisture content to below 5% by weight, ensuring extended shelf life. The freeze-dried BMS were then finely ground into powder for incorporation into the chicken feed. Each group consisted of five replicates, and each replicate had eight chicks. Feed intake and growth performance were recorded weekly over a five-week trial in a cage system. Gas emissions from excreta were measured using a sensor-based system. At the end of the experiment, randomly selected birds were slaughtered for blood, organ, cecal content, mucosa, and tissue collection for further analysis. Data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA in SAS 9.4 software. Polynomial contrasts were used to analyze the linear and quadratic effects of increasing levels of BMS. The results revealed no significant (P< 0.05) differences among the groups in terms of final body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Internal organ weight also showed no significant (P< 0.05) difference among groups, indicating the safety of BMS incorporation in chick diets. Interestingly, gas emissions, including CO₂, NH₃, and NH₄, demonstrated quadratic (P< 0.05) changes with increasing BMS levels, suggesting potential environmental benefits. Blood biochemical parameters, including total protein, globulin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), uric acid, and cholesterol, exhibited both linear (P< 0.05) and quadratic (P< 0.05) effects with varying levels of BMS. These results indicate that BMS inclusion may positively influence certain biochemical markers and reduce the environmental footprint of poultry production. In conclusion, BMS powder could be a potential and sustainable replacement for soybean meal in poultry diets. It maintained consistent growth performance and organ weight, reduced gas emissions, and positively influenced blood b","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PS-8 Validating the use of dataloggers to measure standing behavior of yearling Angus Bulls on hilly terrain","authors":"Amelia R G Katz, Amanda Burdett, Jason P Dubowsky, Julie M Huzzey, Zachary D McFarlane","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.186","url":null,"abstract":"The goal of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the HOBO Pendant G Accelerometer Datalogger (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, Massachusetts, USA) in measuring standing and lying behavior of yearling bulls in a pen with both flat and sloped terrain. The study was conducted with 6 focal bulls selected from a pen of 26 Angus bulls. Data were collected during two separate 2-week sessions (4 weeks total). During this period, the accelerometers recorded leg orientation in the y-axis at 1-minute intervals to determine time spent standing and lying. To validate the accelerometer data, 35 in-person observational sessions were conducted. Each live observation focused on one individual bull. Trained observers noted whether the bull was standing or lying as well as the bull’s location in the pen (on hill or flat terrain) using 1-minute scan sample intervals for 3 hours. Data analysis was conducted using RStudio (R version 3.6.0). Spearman correlation tests were performed to compare the observed standing behavior to the accelerometer data. The correlations were calculated for the entire dataset as well as for individual terrain types (flat and hill). The correlation coefficient (r) between observed standing time and accelerometer standing time was 0.92 for all observations, indicating a strong positive relationship. For the analysis of standing behavior on the hill, the correlation increased to r = 0.95, and on the flat terrain, it remained similarly high at r = 0.92. These results demonstrate that the Hobo Pendant G Acceleration Dataloggers are reliable for tracking standing and lying behavior in a pen with varying terrain types.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"52 Effect of a probiotic microbial gel jointly with two versions of supplemental direct-fed microbials in receiving cattle diets on growth performance and health","authors":"John D Mitchell, Robin A Cheek, Beth B Kegley, Jana L Reynolds, Alexis Harness, Larry Roth, Jeremy G Powell","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.168","url":null,"abstract":"The objective was to assess the effect of a probiotic microbial gel (BIOFRESH® Microbial Gel, Agrarian Solutions) administered on arrival in combination with feeding one of two different direct-fed microbials (DFM 365a or DFM 365b, Agrarian Solutions) on the health and growth performance of stocker calves at high risk for bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Beef heifer calves (n = 292, BW = 216 ± 1 kg) arriving on 3 separate receiving dates were used in the 42-day receiving study. On arrival (d -1), heifers were processed, stratified by d -1 body weight, and then assigned randomly to 9 pens (10 to 12 heifers/pen; total of 27 pens). Within truckloads, pens were assigned randomly to dietary treatment (9 pens/treatment). Calves were housed on 0.45 ha grass paddocks and fed grain supplements that served as carriers of the direct-fed microbial dietary treatments. The treatments were: 1) CON (grain supplement with no direct fed microbial), 2) DFMaGEL (dose of probiotic gel on d 0 then subsequent feeding of grain supplement with DFM 365a, intake goal 1.25g/heifer each day), and 3) DFMbGEL (dose of probiotic gel on d 0 then subsequent feeding of grain supplement with DFM 365b, intake goal 2.50g/heifer each day). Weights were recorded initially (d -1 and 0) and before feeding on days 14, 28, 41, and 42. Cattle were observed daily for morbidity, and cattle that presented symptoms of BRD and had rectal temperature ≥ 40°C were treated with antibiotics using a standard predetermined protocol. Statistical analyses were performed using MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures of SAS 9.4 with truckload as a random effect and pen within truckload specified as the subject. Supplementing cattle for the first 42 days after arrival with DFMaGel and DFMbGEL treatments did not result in differences in body weights (P ≥ 0.65) or average daily gain (P ≥ 0.46) when compared to calves receiving the CON. There was a numerical advantage in overall gain for the calves receiving the DFMbGEL treatment (P = 0.46; CON = 0.88, DFMaGEL = 0.84, DFMbGEL = 0.92 kg/d). Treatments did not affect morbidity incidences within this receiving period (P ≥ 0.12; CON= 48%, DFMaGEL= 44%, DFMbGEL= 55%). The antibiotic-associated costs (P = 0.36; CON = $14.03, DFMaGEL = $14.31, DFMbGEL = $18.43) did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, administering a probiotic gel at processing in combination with either direct-fed microbial supplement did not affect the overall health or growth performance during this 42-d receiving period in high-risk beef heifer calves.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"87 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"55 Beef steers acceptance of increasing doses of thymol to a basal forage diet","authors":"Jordan Suter, Greyson Fruge, Emma Fukuda, Russell Jessup, Merritt L Drewery","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.171","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.171","url":null,"abstract":"The global population is estimated to reach 9.1 billion by 2050, requiring the livestock industry to increase output while also being mindful to animal health and sustainability of production. The use of antimicrobial plant-derived compounds, such as thymol, has been studied to improve feed efficiency, ensure herd health, and reduce methane production in cattle. However, much of the existing research has been conducted in-vitro, creating a gap in the literature regarding the acceptance of cattle for dietary thymol. The objective of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of beef steers to increasing doses of thymol provided as a supplement to a basal forage diet. Procedures involving animals were approved by the Institutional Animal Care Use Committee at Texas State University (#8693). The experiment was a 4×4 Latin Square design with four 3-d experimental periods, each followed with a 3-d washout period. Prior to initiation of the experiment, steers were adapted to individual housing for 10-d. Steers received ad libitum access to forage, a trace mineral block, and water. During the experimental periods, one of four treatments was provided: thymol at 0, 110, 220, and 330 mg/kg forage intake from the previous 3-d. Thymol was stabilized on nanocellulose and soaked on alfalfa cubes that were supplemented at 0.20% BW. Treatments were offered for 30 mins and subsequent refusals were collected. During washout periods, steers were provided 1 kg of cottonseed meal in addition to their basal hay diet. Forage and supplement intake were analyzed using the MIXED procedure in SAS v9.4. Terms in the model were treatment, period, day, and treatment × day, with steer and treatment × period × steer as the random terms. The repeated term was day with treatment × steer as the subject. Hay intake was not affected by treatment × day (P=0.71) or treatment (P=0.18) but was affected by day (P=0.01) with a significant difference between days 2 and 3 (P≤0.01) such that hay intake averaged 10.4 kg on day 2 and 9.2 kg on day 3 of the experimental periods. There was not an effect of treatment × day (P=0.51), treatment (P=0.17), or day (P=0.40) on supplement intake. Supplement intake was 1.14 kg/d for CON, 1.10 kg/d for 110 and 220 mg thymol/kg forage, and 1.06 kg/d for 330 mg thymol/kg forage. While the differences across treatments were not significant, there were numerical differences in the consumption of alfalfa and thymol such that intake was greater when concentrations were lower (110 mg/kg and 220 mg/kg), indicating that cattle may not tolerate thymol provided at 330 mg/kg forage intake. Future studies should determine the upper threshold beyond which cattle would not accept dietary thymol to inform the development of a commercial dietary thymol supplement.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144500482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"96 Correlating vaginal bacteria abundance and interferon-stimulated genes in lactating dairy cattle","authors":"Dallas R Soffa, Jennifer A Spencer, Rebecca K Poole","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.067","url":null,"abstract":"Pregnancy relies on a variety of physiological factors and processes for successful establishment. The reproductive microbiome appears to influence pregnancy status, and previous research suggests that the expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) may play a role on pregnancy determination in cattle. However, the relationship between ISGs and reproductive microbiome has yet to be comprehensively evaluated in dairy cattle. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze correlations between vaginal bacteria abundance and circulating ISGs in lactating dairy cattle in open and pregnant females. Lactating Holstein cows (n=27) were sampled on day of artificial insemination (AI) and day 18 post-AI. Sterile swabs were inserted into the vagina and rotated eight times along the vaginal wall prior to storage in sterile microcentrifuge tubes at -80°C. Swab samples were utilized for subsequent bacterial abundance analyses targeting the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. Blood was collected via coccygeal venipuncture, placed on ice, and centrifuged at 2500 x g and 4°C for 20 minutes. Resulting buffy coats were collected, and samples stored at -80°C for real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis. Cows underwent transrectal ultrasonography on day 32 post-AI for pregnancy determination. Selected target genes were interferon-stimulated gene 15 kDa (ISG15) and myxovirus resistance gene 2 (MX2). Mean relative mRNA expression of ISG15 was negatively correlated with phylum Tenericutes on day of AI (r = -0.43; P = 0.03). Concurrently, mean relative mRNA expression of MX2 was negatively correlated with phylum Bacteroidetes (r = -0.35; P = 0.08) and positively correlated with phyla Actinobacteria and Tenericutes (r = 0.41 and r = 0.41, respectively; P = 0.04). On day 18, MX2 mean relative mRNA expression was positively correlated with phylum Firmicutes (r = 0.39; P = 0.05). Regarding bacterial genera abundance, mean relative mRNA expression of ISG15 was negatively correlated with Ureaplasma on day of AI (r = -0.41; P = 0.04) and positively correlated with Sneathia on day 18 (r = 0.40; P < 0.05). MX2 mean relative mRNA expression was negatively correlated with Ruminococcus (r = -0.40; P = 0.05) and positively correlated with Ureaplasma (r = 0.42; P = 0.03) on day of AI. On day 18, mean relative mRNA expression of MX2 was positively correlated with Streptococcus (r = 0.42; P = 0.04). Interestingly, genera Ureaplasma and Sneathia have been previously associated with reproductive diseases in cattle, yet the current work suggests their bacterial load may not be indicative of inflammation. Further, the positive correlation of MX2 expression with phylum Actinobacteria may indicate potential pathogenicity as it has been previously associated with infertility in both women and cattle. Additional research is needed to further determine the relationship between reproductive microbiota and ISGs during pregnancy establishment.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"249 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144500810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"4 Supplementation of Bacillus-based direct-fed microbials for grazing Bos indicus-influenced beef heifers","authors":"Conner Crawford, Vinicius S Izquierdo, Joao M B Vendramini, Bruno Cappellozza, Philipe Moriel","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.133","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluated the effects of post-weaning supplementation with a Bacillus-based direct-fed microbials (DFM) on growth and reproduction of Bos indicus-influenced beef heifers. On day 0 (30 days after weaning), 64 Brangus crossbred beef heifers were stratified by their initial body weight (BW; 256 ± 31 kg) and age (283 ± 18 day of age), and randomly allocated into 1 of 16 bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) pastures (1 ha and 4 heifers per pasture). Treatments were randomly assigned to pastures (8 pastures per treatment). Treatments consisted of daily concentrate dry matter (DM) supplementation at 1.50% of BW added (BAC) or not (CON) with a Bacillus-based DFM mixture (3 g per heifer; Bovacillus™; Novonesis, Lyngby, Denmark) from day 0 to 244. Heifers were assigned to an estrus synchronization protocol from day 98 to 112. Heifers detected in estrus from day 109 to 112 were inseminated (AI) 12 h after estrus detection. Heifers not detected in estrus were timed AI on day 112. All heifers were exposed to Angus bulls from day 119 to 210 (1 bull per pasture). Growth performance data and reproductive binary data were analyzed using MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures of SAS, respectively, and included pasture(treatment) as experimental unit and heifer(pasture) as random effect. Effects of treatment ´ day of the study were not detected (P ≥ 0.87) for herbage mass, herbage allowance, and heifer BW. Heifer average daily gain from day 0 to 244 (0.74 vs. 0.74 ± 0.02 kg/day, respectively) and mature BW at the start of the breeding season (70.0 vs. 70.3 ± 0.7%, respectively) did not differ (P ≥ 0.62) between BAC and CON heifers. Puberty attainment on day 60 (24.1 vs. 6.7 ± 6.6%, respectively) and reproductive tract score on day 90 (4.00 vs. 3.72 ± 0.12%, respectively) tended (P = 0.06) to be greater for BAC vs. CON heifers. Percentage of heifers detected in estrus (44.5 vs. 32.7 ± 9.0%, respectively), conception rate to AI (52.5 vs. 37.5 ± 9.1%, respectively), and final pregnancy rates (72.4 vs. 73.3 ± 8.4%, respectively) did not differ (P ≥ 0.24) between BAC and CON heifers. In summary, Bacillus-based DFM supplementation for developing replacement beef heifers tended to hasten puberty attainment but did not increase growth and pregnancy attainment compared to no DFM supplementation in year 1. The study will be repeated for a second year to confirm these results.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144500813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"91 Delaying fixed-time artificial insemination on the 7-Day CO-Synch + CIDR protocol to incorporate utilization of sex sorted semen in beef cows","authors":"Frank Even, Trinity Vidlund, Nikki Tabatabai, Tracey Redifer, Jamie L Stewart, Sherrie Clark, John Currin, Vitor R G Mercadante","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.063","url":null,"abstract":"The utilization of sex sorted semen allow beef producers to strategically alter their calf crop and select females from which they can generate replacements heifers or steers for terminal crosses. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of insemination time on pregnancy rate of the 7-Day CO-Synch + CIDR fixed-time artificial insemination (TAI) protocol with either sexed sorted or conventional semen on mature beef cows that were detected either in estrus or not. A total of 882 mature beef cows across 8 locations were enrolled in the study. Within location, cows were synchronized using the 7-day CO-Synch+CIDR protocol. Cows were administered GnRH (100 μg) and a CIDR insert [Day -7], PGF (25 mg) injection, CIDR removal and an estrus alert patch [Day 0], and a second injection of GnRH concurrently with TAI [Day 3]. On Day 3, based on estrus alert patch status by 66 hrs, cows were randomly assigned to four treatments: 1) TAI at 66hrs with sex sorted semen (SSAM, n = 272); 2) TAI at 72hrs with sex sorted semen (SSPM, n = 252; 3) TAI at 66hrs with conventional semen (CSAM, n = 195); 4) TAI at 72hrs with conventional semen (CSPM, n = 163). A total of nine technicians performed all inseminations using two sires (either sexed or conventional). Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS for binomial data with cow as experimental unit and the fixed effects of treatment, location and the interaction, and the random effect of technician and sire. Pregnancy was diagnosed via transrectal ultrasonography between 60 and 74 days after TAI. Overall estrus response was 59.5%. Cow age (6.2 ± 0.2 yrs) and days postpartum (77 ± 1.3 d) were similar (P > 0.10) among treatments. Pregnancy rate to TAI was similar (P = 0.71) among treatments with 43.0 ± 3.9% for CSAM, 49.6 ± 4.3% for CSPM, 45.7± 3.4% for SSAM, and 45.9 ± 4.1% for SSPM. We conclude that delaying insemination time from 66 to 72 hrs did not affect pregnancy rates of beef cows enrolled in the 7-Day CO-Synch + CIDR TAI protocol and inseminated with sex sorted or conventional semen. In addition, TAI pregnancy rate was similar between semen types, when sex sorted semen was used in females detected in estrus and conventional semen was used in females not detected in estrus.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"643 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"108 Economic performance of stocker cattle grazing wheat pasture supplemented with distiller’s grains compared to varied nitrogen fertilizer rates","authors":"Cody E Gruber, Michelle Johnson, Tom Hess, Doug L Galloway, Daniel Rivera, James Mitchell, Beth B Kegley, Paul A Beck, Shane Shane Gadberry","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf170.049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf170.049","url":null,"abstract":"With increased costs of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, other N delivery routes may be utilized to capitalize on price differences to improve economic performance of stocker cattle grazing winter wheat. The objectives of this study were to observe how dried distiller’s grains plus solubles (DDGS) supplementation and varied N fertilization rates impacted steer, stand, and economic performance. From fall 2021 to spring 2024, 725 beef steers weighing 267.41 ± 40.25 kg were grazed at the Livestock and Forestry Station near Batesville, AR, with 24, 1.62-ha pastures established using no-till methods and planted the first week of September. Nitrogen was applied as split applications of 50% at fall planting, and 50% prior to spring greenup. Steers were weighed on arrival, turnout, every 28 days following turnout, and when removed from pasture. Steers were removed from pasture when temperatures became too cold for regrowth to occur, or when forage turned reproductive. Steers were stocked at rates of 2.47 and 4.94 hd/ha in the fall and spring, respectively. During the spring of year 3, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was measured at day 0 and day 28 of grazing. Sample dates for forage mass and quality coincide with weigh dates. Treatments consisted of 3 yearly application rates of N along with an additional treatment at the lowest N rate supplemented with DDGS. Treatments were: 100N, 135N, 168N, and 100S. Pairwise comparisons within the Mixed Model procedure in JMP were used to compare treatment responses between N rates, with year as a random effect and N rate as a fixed effect. The only difference observed between unsupplemented N rates was an increase (P < 0.05) in spring grazing days for 168N and 135N. The Mixed Model procedure followed by a Dunnett’s test was used to compare N rates against DDGS supplementation with 100S set as the positive control, with year set as a random effect. Neither animal nor economic performance improved with supplementation in the fall. During the spring, DDGS supplementation resulted in greater (P < 0.05) number of grazing days, final forage mass, weight gain/ha, average daily gain (ADG), D28 BUN, combined grazing days, and greater (P < 0.05) combined weight gain/ha and total spring income compared to all unsupplemented treatments. While 100S improved spring animal performance, 100S had the greatest (P < 0.01) calf management and feeding costs, resulting in overall decreased (P < 0.01) net returns. Supplementation was determined to become economically favorable if pasture size was increased beyond what was possible during this study since increased forage accumulation would allow for greater stocking rates. While DDGS supplementation improved overall steer and stand performance during the spring, increased costs associated with supplementation hindered overall economic performance within the studied conditions.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short Communication: Genomic kinship, opposing homozygotes and genetic diversity in a selected population of Australian Angus cattle","authors":"Antonio Reverter, Malshani Samaraweera, Pâmela A Alexandre, Christian Duff, Laercio Porto-Neto","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf207","url":null,"abstract":"Using molecular genotypes to check for Mendelian inconsistencies allows the identification of animals for which pedigree and genotype information disagree. A further use of molecular data is to understand and manage genetic diversity in a population. We sourced from the Angus Australia database a selected population of 11,224 animals, including 10,309 progeny born between 2013 and 2023 from 269 sires and 646 dams with at least 100 and 10 progeny, respectively. All animals had imputed genotypes for 61,105 autosomal markers. The additive and dominance genomic relationship (GR), as well as the number of opposing homozygotes (OH) were examined for pedigree-based relationship pairs including parent-offspring (PO; 21,307 pairs), full-sibs (FS; 35,486), half-sibs (HS; 677,421), grandparent-grandoffspring (16,308) and unrelated (62,232,954 pairs). Theoretical expectations for means and variances were compared against empirical observations. Consistent with expectations, the variance of additive GR among FS pairs was higher than the variance among HS, and the number of OH among FS was half the number of OH among HS. Expected to be 0.5, the observed additive GR among FS pairs and PO pairs was 0.483 (SD = 0.054) and 0.488 (SD = 0.037), respectively. The correlation (±SE) between additive and dominance GR was near unity for self-relationships (r = 0.935 ± 0.003) and zero for unrelated pairs (r = -0.001 ± 0.000). Expected to be zero, the number of OH among PO pairs averaged 11.6 and 77.5% of all PO pairs had an OH ≤ 12. Among FS pairs, the observed OH averaged 1,162.45 (expected = 1,150.17), and this average was surpassed by only 14 PO pairs, which was attributed to pedigree errors. Crucially, the anticipated negative correlation between additive GR and OH was affected by the degree of kindship being strongest negative among unrelated pairs (r = -0.762 ± 0.001). A principal components analysis and a network-based pipeline revealed the genetic diversity of the population with a focus on the role of the most influential parents. We conclude that, in our selected population of Australian Angus cattle, observed genomic relationships were close to expectations, while Mendelian inconsistencies were very rare and likely attributed to either errors in pedigree recording, mislabelling of samples, or error in genotypes and genotype imputation. Finally, our study reveals the genetic diversity and breeding management decisions occurring in modern Australian Angus breeding programs.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"249 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144503498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}