Livestock Science最新文献

{"title":"Effect of benzoic acid supplementation on growth performance and early development of gastrointestinal tract function and immune system in artificially reared suckling piglets","authors":"C.M. Crone,&nbsp;A.P. Rasmussen,&nbsp;C. Larsen,&nbsp;A.R. Williams,&nbsp;M.H. Eskildsen,&nbsp;E.M.H. Christensen,&nbsp;L.V. de Knegt,&nbsp;C. Amdi,&nbsp;J.G. Madsen","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105655","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105655","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The practice of weaning at 21 to 28 days of age in conventional pig production poses a challenge to the digestive tract of piglets. Post-weaning challenges like diarrhea, small intestinal villous atrophy, and decreased feed intake (FI) are a consequence of the abrupt change in diet from sow milk to solid feed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of benzoic acid (BA) to artificially reared suckling piglets on growth performance, intestinal morphology and change in gene expression in the small intestine (SI). Twenty-seven one-day-old piglets were included in this study, and randomly allocated between three dietary groups. All three groups received milk replacer (MR) throughout the entire experimental period. One group only received MR (CON), one was supplemented with liquid creep feed (LCF) (MRLF) from day 10, and one was supplemented with LCF with 0.5% BA (BEN) from day 10. Piglets were euthanized and post-mortem examinations conducted on days 28 and 29 of the experiment. Small intestinal tissue samples were collected for analysis of morphological parameters and gene expression. Results displayed no effect on growth performance, however, the feed conversion ratio was higher (p &lt; 0.05) for MRLF compared to CON in P2 (days 10-28) and higher (p &lt; 0.05) in MRLF and BEN compared to CON P1+P2 (days 1-28). A tendency (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.10) to an increased villus height in the proximal part of the SI and increased (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) villus width in the medial part of the SI were observed for BEN, when compared to CON and MRLF. Furthermore, pathways related to the immune system and metabolism were enriched (Adj. <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) by BEN in comparison to CON and MRLF. In conclusion, BA did show some potential to enhance the intestinal integrity in the pre-weaning period, and thereby developing a more robust piglet during the peri‑weaning period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 105655"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143563160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perspectives on the effectiveness of applicable nutritional strategies to mitigate enteric methane over different intensive dairy production system characteristics","authors":"D.W. Olijhoek ,&nbsp;L. Mogensen ,&nbsp;P. Lund ,&nbsp;N.I. Nielsen ,&nbsp;M.R. Weisbjerg ,&nbsp;C.F. Børsting ,&nbsp;T. Kristensen","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105666","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A critical evaluation of the applicability of enteric methane mitigation strategies in relation to consistency in effect across types of dairy production systems is warranted before commercial implementation. The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the effectiveness of selected nutritional enteric methane mitigation strategies in lowering methane emission per kg of energy-corrected (ECM), fat-corrected or fat and protein-corrected milk yield at cow level when considering animal or commercial intensive dairy system characteristics. Hence, the scope is to go beyond a traditional review of mitigation strategies providing perspectives for implementation and identification of gaps in the state-of-the-art knowledge. The evaluated strategies are increased concentrate proportion in the ration, dietary supplementation of linseed or rapeseed as lipid sources, and the dietary additives nitrate and 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP). These strategies are chosen based on a high readiness for implementation and a considerable mitigation potential. A state-of-the-art is given regarding the mode of action, methane reduction potential and persistency, effect on dry matter intake and milk yield, and effects of combinations of mitigation strategies and dietary characteristics. Although scientific evidence is sometimes lacking, variation in the effectiveness of lowering enteric methane emission by mitigation strategies is to be expected across animal characteristics such as breed, life stage, stage of lactation, and production and feeding systems. This evaluation identified that future research should confirm the findings on the persistency over the lactation cycle and in the long-term. Also, effective combinations of mitigation strategies, effects on different breeds and life stages, and suitable mitigation strategies for grazing systems should be studied further.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 105666"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143478490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ingestive behaviour, performance, and methane emissions of pregnant alpacas grazing cultivated pastures in the high Peruvian Andes","authors":"Laura B. Gualdrón-Duarte ,&nbsp;Cecilia Loza ,&nbsp;José I. Gere ,&nbsp;Nancy F. Huanca-Marca ,&nbsp;Francisco E. Franco ,&nbsp;Yemi Sanca Uscamayta ,&nbsp;Rubén García‐Ticllacuri ,&nbsp;Guadalupe Orellana Ligas ,&nbsp;Diannett Benito López ,&nbsp;Feliciano Rivera Pachiño ,&nbsp;Juan E. Moscoso-Muñoz ,&nbsp;Medardo A. Díaz-Céspedes ,&nbsp;Lizbeth L. Collazos Paucar ,&nbsp;César S. Pinares-Patiño ,&nbsp;Víctor M. Vélez-Marroquín ,&nbsp;Edward H. Cabezas-Garcia","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105665","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105665","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study compares grazing patterns, animal performance, and enteric methane emissions (CH₄) of female alpacas (Huacaya and Suri) at two periods of their late pregnancy. Animals were rotationally grazed on a mixed sward at high Peruvian Andes conditions. This study involved two experimental periods (P1 and P2), each lasting 26 days. P1 took place in November 2021, corresponding to the end of dry season (‘Transition period’), whereas P2 was conducted in January 2022, with this coinciding with the beginning of rainy season (‘Wet period’). Forage selectivity was measured using hand plucking of forage harvested, whereas grazing behaviour was recorded by visual observation. Dry matter intake (DMI) was estimated from total faecal collection and <em>in vitro</em> forage digestibility. Fleece characteristics were measured following standard procedures adopted by the local industry. The sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) gas-tracer technique was used to estimate CH₄ emissions. Data were analysed by a repeated measures model including both alpaca variety and period as fixed effects, whereas alpaca within variety was considered as random. No differences were detected among alpaca varieties either in terms of forage selectivity, grazing behaviour (except for biting rate) or feed intake. Regardless of period, grasses were the main dietary components (≥ 78 %). The proportion of leaves consumed lowered from 84 to 70% and presence of both legumes and herbs increased during P2. Increased nutritional requirements prior to parturition in conjunction with reduced forage quality and DMI (<em>P</em> = 0.004) during P2 led to negative energy and protein balances. This was aligned with increases in fibre growth and diameter, prior to parturition (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.035). Suri displayed faster fibre growth than Huacaya (<em>P</em> = 0.005). Although Huacaya females tended to emit more enteric CH₄ per unit of metabolic live weight than Suri (<em>P</em> = 0.056), this was not reflected either on variety differences in emissions per unit of intake or fleece produced. On average, CH₄ intensity decreased from 0.805 (P1) to 0.530 g/kg clean fleece at P2 (<em>P</em> = 0.032). Results are valuable towards fine-tuning the effect of pregnancy for sustainable alpaca farming.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 105665"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143508176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are mixed models more effective than linear models in predicting energy utilization for laying hens?","authors":"R.L. Silva ,&nbsp;R. Riveros ,&nbsp;A.K. Almeida ,&nbsp;M. Macari ,&nbsp;B.B. Leme ,&nbsp;N.K. Sakomura","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105664","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105664","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study was conducted to develop mathematical models that can overcome the limitations of linear energy partitioning models in laying hens comparing the metabolizable and net energy bases. Three linear models and 2 nonlinear mixed-effect models were fitted to predict the energy utilization efficiency for body tissue deposition and egg production, as well as the maintenance requirements for metabolizable energy (MEm) and net energy (NEm). A total of 30 diets were individually formulated to achieve values below and above the nutritional recommendation of the genetic guidelines. Heat production and energy metabolism were measured in laying hens during the production phase using 6 open-circuit respiration chambers. Diets were randomly assigned into 5 groups, and each diet was replicated 4 times with 6 hens per replication. The experimental protocol included a 5-d adaptation to the experimental diets, 2-d chamber adaptation, 4-d measurements of gas exchange, total excreta collection and growth performance recording under feeding conditions, and 1-d gas exchange measurement under fasting conditions. Feed intake, body weight, egg production, egg mass, and excreta production were measured daily. The variables for total heat production (THP) and fasting heat production (FHP) were obtained through the Brouwer equation using VO₂ and VCO₂ measurements. Apparent metabolizable energy intake (AMEi) was determined by the difference between the gross energy intake and excreted. Retained energy (RE) was determined as the difference between AMEi and THP. Subsequently, the RE was partitioned between RE in body and egg. The RE in egg and body were partitioned into RE as protein and fat. Statistical analyses involved linear regressions and nonlinear mixed-effect regressions of the main variables described. The values obtained for MEm, NEm, and the efficiency of energy retention in body (<em>k</em>_body), and egg (<em>k</em>_egg) in the linear models were 106 kcal/kg^0.75.d, 90 kcal/kg^0.75.d, 0.843, and 0,779, respectively. For nonlinear models the values were 94.15 kcal/kg^0.75.d, 81.72 kcal/kg^0.75.d, 0.463, and 0.638 for MEm, NEm, <em>k</em>_body and <em>k</em>_egg, respectively. Nonlinear models were considered the ideal choice to determine MEm and NEm requirements due to the lowest error. The non-linear mixed model provides a more accurate representation of energy utilization in laying hens compared to linear models, offering a better characterization of energy partitioning within the net energy bases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 105664"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of dietary protein digestion kinetics on sow body condition loss and litter performance during lactation: A meta-analysis","authors":"Hao Ye ,&nbsp;Pieter Langendijk ,&nbsp;Neil W. Jaworski ,&nbsp;Bas Kemp ,&nbsp;Junjun Wang ,&nbsp;Greg Page ,&nbsp;Nicoline M. Soede","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105654","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105654","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the last decades, litter size has increased considerably in modern hybrid sows. This raises concerns over body tissue mobilisation during lactation. Recent evidence suggests that protein tissue mobilization is specifically associated with reduced milk production, affecting litter weight gain, and with impaired ovarian function, affecting sow subsequent reproductive performance. Therefore, efficient utilization of dietary protein for milk production is critical during lactation. A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the role of dietary protein digestion kinetics in lactating sow weight loss, litter weight gain and nitrogen loss to the environment. Data were obtained from 17 peer reviewed publications between 1993 and 2019, including 63 different groups of sows fed with 59 different lactation diets. These publications were selected for their research focus on dietary crude protein concentration in relation to sow body weight loss and litter weight gain during lactation. Percentages of slow, fast and resistant protein in the total protein of the diets were estimated based on previously established <em>in vitro</em> protein degradation characteristics of the used ingredients. Results showed that higher total crude protein reduced sow weight losses and estimated body protein losses during lactation (β = -0.07 kg · (g/kg) ⁻¹, <em>P</em> = 0.01; β = -0.02 kg · (g/kg) ⁻¹, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01, respectively). An increase in the percentage of slow protein in total protein was associated with decreases of sow total weight loss (β = -1.85 kg/%, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), estimated body protein loss (β = -0.33 kg/%, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), while the percentage of fast protein in total protein was estimated to increase sow weight loss and estimated body protein loss during lactation (β = 0.46 kg/%, <em>P</em> = 0.03; β = 0.09 kg/%, <em>P</em> = 0.01, respectively). The percentage of resistant protein in total protein did not affect sow body losses but showed a negative relationship with litter weight gain during lactation (β = -0.80 kg/%, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Sow nitrogen loss to the environment during lactation was increased with a higher crude protein in the diet (β = 13.9 g· (g/kg) ⁻¹, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), but not affected by protein digestion kinetics. This meta-analysis suggests that a high percentage of slow protein reduces sow body protein mobilization during lactation, probably due to a more sustained and prolonged amino acid delivery to the circulation than with fast protein, and therefore improves utilization of dietary amino acids rather than use them as energy source.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"293 ","pages":"Article 105654"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143394382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grazing lambs on a low-input, multispecies pasture for an extended period has no detrimental effect on meat nutritional or sensory quality","authors":"K.E. Kliem ,&nbsp;D.J. Humphries ,&nbsp;S. Lignou ,&nbsp;D.T. Juniper","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105629","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105629","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is an increasing interest in low-input, multispecies swards as a sustainable forage for ruminant production, but the impact of grazing these over extended periods of time on meat nutritional quality (fatty acid (<strong>FA</strong>) profile, trace minerals and oxidisability risk) and sensory properties is unclear. Thirty lambs were grazed for 133 days on either a perennial ryegrass (<strong>PRG</strong>) or botanically diverse (containing twelve plant species, <strong>BD</strong>), pasture. The effects on the FA composition of <em>musculus longissimus thoracis</em> (lean and subcutaneous fat), zinc and iron content (lean), glutathione perioxidase (<strong>GSH-Px</strong>) activity (lean and plasma) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (<strong>TBARS</strong>) content (lean) were determined, and cooked meat was assessed for sensory properties using a trained sensory panel. BD lambs were lighter (<em>P</em> = 0.014) and had a lower weekly live weight gain (<em>P</em> = 0.017) than PRG, which was probably due to the nutritional quality of the pasture. BD pasture increased (<em>P &lt;</em> 0.05) 18:2 n-6 content in lean and subcutaneous fat, and there was no effect (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05) on other polyunsaturated FA (<strong>PUFA</strong>), GSH-Px activity or TBARS content. BD pasture increased (<em>P</em> = 0.038) lean tissue zinc content compared with PRG but did not affect iron (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). Pasture type had no impact (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05) on meat aroma and flavour sensory properties. It was concluded that grazing BD for an extended period did not negatively affect the nutritional and eating quality of lamb meat compared with PRG, and as such is suitable for finishing lambs. In order to benefit economically from including a BD pasture in a lamb finishing system, producers may need to consider an earlier slaughter target weight, depending on live weight gain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"292 ","pages":"Article 105629"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic parameters for the occurrence of bovine viral diarrhea virus in Holstein cattle in Brazil","authors":"Simone Soares da Silva ,&nbsp;Denyus Augusto de Oliveira Padilha ,&nbsp;Altair Antônio Valloto ,&nbsp;Rodrigo de Almeida Teixeira ,&nbsp;Laila Talarico Dias","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105645","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105645","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a significant infectious disease that affects livestock worldwide and is primarily associated with reproductive problems. Due to the absence of studies that have determined genetic parameters for the disease, the aim of this study was to estimate the heritability coefficient for the occurrence of BVDV and the correlation between estimated breeding values (EBVs) for BVDV and EBVs for productive, reproductive, and health traits in Holstein dairy cattle in Brazil. 18,464 BVDV phenotypes from animals tested between September 2015 and June 2021 across 8 commercial dairy farms were provided by the Holstein Cattle Breeders Association of Parana State, Brazil. Animals with an ELISA antigen test equal to or greater than 0.3 were classified as BVDV positive, and the prevalence of the disease was determined. For the genetic analyses, 6,202 phenotypes were used. Heritability coefficient and EBVs were estimated using a threshold animal model with GIBBSF90+ software, considering as fixed the effect of the class of animal's age (calves, from 1 to 183 days old; young animals, from 184 to 365 days old; heifers, from 366 to 599 days old; primiparous cows, from 600 to 1,000 days old; and multiparous cows, from 1,001 to 3,650 days old), as random the effect of the contemporary group (herd-year-season of the test), direct additive genetic, and residual. Pearson correlations were performed among the EBVs of bulls estimated for BVDV and the EBVs for productive, reproductive and health traits obtained from the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding database. The overall prevalence of BVDV infection was 2.56 %. The estimated heritability was 0.18±0.09, suggesting some genetic variability. Most of the correlation estimates among EBVs were negative, non-significant, and close to zero. However, the estimates among BVDV and some traits were low-magnitude, negative, and significant (P&lt;0.05) as Productive Life (-0.13), Daughter Pregnancy Rate (-0.07), Cow Conception Rate (-0.11), Cow Livability (-0.15), Displaced Abomasum (-0.11), Ketosis (-0.06), Mastitis (-0.09), and Feed Saved (-0.07). Therefore, genetic selection has limited potential in addressing the occurrence of BVDV. Nevertheless, it is recognized that the combination of disease eradication protocols with better-organized recording of phenotypes in herds could enable farms to improve herd health and animal welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"292 ","pages":"Article 105645"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of climate change on the productivity and adaptation of Ethiopia's Bonga and Menz sheep breeds","authors":"Zeleke Tesema ,&nbsp;Tesfaye Getachew ,&nbsp;Berhanu Belay ,&nbsp;Yosef Amha ,&nbsp;Mourad Rekik ,&nbsp;Barbara Rischkowsky ,&nbsp;Shanbel Besufkad ,&nbsp;Zelalem Abate ,&nbsp;Tamrat Bekele ,&nbsp;Teferi Demissie ,&nbsp;Dawit Solomon ,&nbsp;Aynalem Haile","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105633","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105633","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aimed to derive novel phenotypes of sheep resilience and response to climate change, to estimate genetic parameters for novel phenotypes, and to evaluate the genetic correlation of resilience indicator traits with economically important traits. This study used the 14 years (2009–2022) of productive, reproductive, pedigree, and climate data to derive resilience and stability phenotypes using a random regression model fitting to the reaction norm function and genetic parameter estimates were estimated from a linear mixed model. The changes in productive and reproductive performance of both sheep breeds in response to environmental descriptors ((temperature-humidity index (THI) and rainfall (RF)) were found to be minimal and not significantly (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05) different from zero, suggesting that most of these traits showed stable performance independent of THI and RF. The direct heritability (h²) estimate (0.101–0.163) for the resilience of Bonga sheep in terms of weight gain, Kleiber ratio (KR), total lamb birth weight, and annual reproduction rate (ARR) indicated the presence of substantial genetic variance. Nevertheless, the h² for resilience and stability phenotypes of Bonga sheep in terms of other reproductive traits were found to be low (0.0001 – 0.098). The highest h² for resilience of Menz sheep was observed for total lamb weaning weight (0.416), followed by body weight (0.145), KR (0.114), and ARR (0.110). The genetic progress of THI-based resilience was favorable for most of the traits of Bonga sheep. The genetic trend for rainfall-based resilience for most productive and reproductive traits of Menz sheep was genetically decreasing slightly. In conclusion, the influence of heat stress and rainfall on the performance of both sheep breeds is minimal. But different lambs and ewes react differently to a changing climate, and there is some level of genetic contribution to the variability of reaction for some traits. This suggests the possibility of improving the resilience of sheep to weather variation through within-breed selection to sustain these sheep breeds' optimal production and reproduction performances in changing climate conditions, although the influence is minimal. Besides, the contribution of the environment to phenotypic variation of resilience and stability phenotypes was high for most traits, which calls for management intervention to enhance sheep resilience to climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"292 ","pages":"Article 105633"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nursing frequency, duration and teat location affect immunoglobulin concentrations in piglets","authors":"Abigail K. Jenkins ,&nbsp;Courtney M. Clemons,&nbsp;William L. Flowers","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105631","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105631","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Two experiments were conducted. The objective of the first experiment was to determine whether the anatomical location of teats affected colostrum quality. Colostrum composition from the first two, middle three, and last three pairs of teats from 18 sows was determined 1 to 2 h before and 24 h after the birth of the first piglet. Protein, IgG and IgA were significantly reduced (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05), while lactose and fat tended to be reduced (0.05 ≤ <em>P</em> ≤ 0.1) in posterior teats. Immunoglobulin concentrations decreased (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) significantly over time regardless of anatomical location. The objective of the second experiment was to determine how much of the variation in piglet immunoglobulin levels was associated with suckling behaviors when considered in conjunction with sow and piglet birth characteristics. Piglet birth variables and suckling behaviors were recorded for 587 piglets from 43 litters beginning with the birth of the first piglet until 4 h after the sow expelled her placenta. Piglet immunocrits were measured 30 ± 3 h after the onset of farrowing. Ten variables from the multiple regression analysis were identified as sources of variation (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.15) for piglet immunocrits (model R² = 0.6486) with pigs born alive in the current litter (partial R² = 0.1596; <em>P</em> = 0.0008) and the anatomical location of the pair of teats suckled most (partial R²=0.1410; <em>P</em> = 0.0001) being the most important. Piglets that suckled the last three pairs of teats had reduced immunocrits (<em>P</em> = 0.01; 0.073 ± 0.003) compared with those that suckled the anterior (0.081 ± 0.002) and middle (0.083 ± 0.003) pairs. Piglets from litters with &gt;16 liveborn had reduced (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) immunocrits (0.071 ± 0.002) compared with those from smaller litters (0.079 ± 0.001). The total number of teat pairs suckled (partial R²=0.0615; <em>P</em> = 0.0489), total time observed suckling (partial R²=0.0389; <em>P</em> = 0.0498), average pigs born alive from previous parities (partial R²=0.0889; <em>P</em> = 0.0005), birthweight (partial R² = 0.0538; <em>P</em> = 0.0497), and time between a piglet's birth and the onset of farrowing (partial R² = 0.0776; <em>P</em> = 0.0007) were other variables with significant associations with immunocrits. This study demonstrated that suckling behaviors are a significant source of variation for consumption of immunoglobulins and piglets that suckle posterior teats most frequently post-farrowing are at risk for low consumption because of the reduced amount of colostral immunoglobulins produced in those mammary glands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"292 ","pages":"Article 105631"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mode of synergistic action of hydrolyzable tannins and probiotic microorganisms on the growth performance, immunology, ileal histomorphology and microbiology in broiler chickens","authors":"Mohammad Hassan Akhoundzadeh ,&nbsp;Amir Hossein Mahdavi ,&nbsp;Mohammad Sedghi ,&nbsp;Mehdi Shahsavan","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105648","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105648","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study was conducted to evaluate the synergistic effects of three concentrations of either hydrolyzable tannin (HT; g/kg) or probiotic microorganisms (PM; g/kg) on the intestinal microbiota, histomorphology, immunological responses, and growth performance of broiler chickens. A total of 1404 one-day-old female broiler chickens were randomly assigned to nine experimental treatments with six replicates and each pen as a replicate contained 26 chickens. Treatments consisted of a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement, consisting of 0, 0.75, and 1.5 g HT/kg of diet (0 HT, 0.75 HT, and 1.5 HT) and 0, 0.1, and 0.2 g PM/kg of diet (0 PM, 0.1 PM, and 0.2 PM). The results showed that dietary inclusion of 0.75 HT + 0.1 PM resulted in the greatest average daily weight gain (ADWG) with improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), increased immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, and total antibody titers against sheep red blood cell, increased ileal villi length (VL), and the heaviest relative weight of bursa of Fabricius (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Broiler chickens fed only with 0.75 HT benefited from the largest ADWG, smallest FCR, heterophils to lymphocytes ratio (H:L), ileal <em>E. coli</em> count, and greatest ileal villi length to crypt depth ratio (VL:CD), and immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, and total antibody titers against sheep red blood cell (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Nevertheless, feeding 1.5 HT led to a decrease in ADWG, humoral immune response, liver relative weight, VL:CD, and an increase in FCR, the numbers of goblet cells, and H:L (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Similarly, dietary administrations of 0.2 PM caused the greatest numbers of monocytes, intestinal <em>Lactobacillus</em>, lamina propria lymphoid follicles, goblet cells, and the lowest H:L as well as pH of the ileal content, and <em>E. coli</em> enumeration (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). In general, the present findings would indicate that although dietary inclusion of 0.2 PM improved the growth performance and either microbial or histological indices at the ileum of broiler chickens, feeding 0.75 HT + 0.1 PM, without an adverse effect on gut microbiota, manifested the best synergistic effects on the growth performance of broiler chickens via improvement of humoral immunity, relative weights of lymphoid organs, and the ileal absorptive area.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"292 ","pages":"Article 105648"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}