Livestock Science最新文献

{"title":"Effects of replacing timothy silage by red clover silage on environmental impacts, growth performance and carcass traits of finishing beef bulls","authors":"Arto Huuskonen ,&nbsp;Sanna Hietala ,&nbsp;Maiju Pesonen ,&nbsp;Katariina Manni","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105755","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105755","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of replacing timothy grass silage (GS) by red clover silage (RS) on environmental impacts, growth performance and carcass traits of finishing beef bulls. Total mixed rations (TMR) based on GS, RS and mixture of GS and RS (1:1 on dry matter (DM) basis; GRS) were fed <em>ad libitum</em> to sixty bulls. The proportion (g/kg DM) of the silages in the TMRs were as follows: (1) GS (600); (2) RS (600); (3) GS (300) and RS (300). Concentrate proportion was 400 g/kg DM with all treatments. Environmental impacts of the treatments were estimated using life cycle assessment approach with the following key impact categories: climate change, eutrophication, and acidification potential. As the red clover-grass modelling was acknowledged to have most uncertainty, it was completed with different scenarios of clover cultivation. Replacing GS by RS did not affect DM intake, gain, carcass weight or carcass conformation of the bulls. Carcass fat score of the bulls decreased with increasing RS proportion. As an average of the calculated scenarios the climate change impact was 17.8, 15.9, and 15.8 kg CO₂ equivalents/kg of produced carcass, eutrophic emissions 18.6, 15.0, and 9.9 g phosphate equivalents/kg of produced carcass and acidifying emissions 38, 35, and 35 g acid equivalents/kg of produced carcass for GS, GRS, and RS, respectively. It can be concluded that replacing GS partially or completely with RS reduced environmental impacts (climate change impact, eutrophic emissions, acidifying emissions) per kg of produced carcass.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 105755"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144517920","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":"Genetic parameters of fiber density traits and their relationship with textile traits in alpacas","authors":"Alan Cruz ,&nbsp;Edgar Quispe ,&nbsp;Alex Yucra ,&nbsp;Renzo Morante ,&nbsp;Alonso Burgos ,&nbsp;Max David Quispe ,&nbsp;Juan Pablo Gutiérrez ,&nbsp;Gustavo Gutiérrez-Reynoso","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105754","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105754","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Genetic improvement programs for alpacas that focus on reducing fiber diameter have succeeded in enhancing fiber quality but they have also decreased fleece weight. Fiber diameter and fleece weight have an unfavorable genetic correlation, which makes it difficult to improve both traits simultaneously. This study aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of fiber density traits, and their genetic correlations with fleece weight (FW), fiber diameter (FD), density score (DS) and percentage of medullation (PM), as well as to evaluate their incorporation as selection criteria to increase fleece weight. The density traits were the number of hair ducts per mm²(HD), number of fibers per mm² (NF) and the NF/HD ratio (RT). Fiber density traits were objectively measured by using high-resolution skin images taken from 402 Huacaya alpacas. Animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters. Pedigree (15,360 alpacas) and phenotype records for FW (11,271), DS (5,752), FD (8,763) and PM (8,763) were retrieved from the Pacomarca database. The heritability was 0.40±0.05, 0.47±0.03, 0.37±0.05, 0.34±0.02, 0.31±0.01, 0.28±0.01 and 0.16±0.01 for HD, NF, RT, DS, FD, PM and FW respectively. Favorable genetic correlations were found between NF-FW, NF-FD and DS-FW, with values of 0.36, -0.50 and 0.50, respectively. However, unfavorable genetic correlations were also found between FD-FW and PM-FW, with values of 0.35 and 0.24 respectively. NF is an appropriate selection criterion for improving fiber diameter, percentage of medullation and fleece weight simultaneously in Huacaya alpacas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 105754"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471827","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":"Genetic parameters and single-step genomic predictions for feed efficiency, carcass, and meat quality traits in Senepol beef cattle","authors":"Clélia Soares de Assis ,&nbsp;Fernando dos Santos Magaço ,&nbsp;José António Fernandes Júnior ,&nbsp;Marcelo Neves Ribas ,&nbsp;Gilberto Romeiro de Oliveira Menezes ,&nbsp;Claudiana de Fátima Miranda ,&nbsp;Idalmo Garcia Pereira","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improving feed efficiency, carcass, and meat quality is crucial for sustainable beef production and meeting consumer demand. This study aimed to estimate (co)variance components and genetic parameters using pedigree and genomic information and assessed the impact of genomic data on genetic prediction for feed efficiency, carcass, and meat quality traits in Senepol beef cattle. Phenotypic data were available from 4194 animals for residual feed intake (RFI), 4071 for dry matter intake (DMI), 11,411 for rib eye area (REA), 11,165 for subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), 9563 for marbling (MAR). Additionally, 4419 animals were genotyped. Genetic evaluations were performed using the traditional pedigree-based BLUP and the single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) via Bayesian inference, single-trait and multi-trait animal models. Predictive ability was validated through linear regression (LR) analysis, excluding 50 % of the phenotypic data. Heritability estimates were consistent across methods, ranging from 0.094 for RFI to 0.25 for REA. A positive genetic correlation (0.56) was observed between RFI and DMI, indicating that selection for lower RFI reduces DMI. However, an unfavorable positive correlation was observed between RFI and MAR (BLUP: 0.447; ssGBLUP: 0.33), suggesting that the intense selection for RFI alone could reduce marbling in the evaluated population. Genetic correlations were null between RFI-SFT and RFI-REA. Notably, ssGBLUP generally resulted in slightly reduced genetic correlation estimates for some traits. Overrall, ssGBLUP consistently yielded higher prediction accuracy, with an average increase of 16.20 % across traits compared to BLUP. These results underscore that incorporating genomic data significantly enhances genetic evaluation in Senepol beef cattle, enabling more accurate selection decisions for improved residual feed intake and meat quality traits in breeding programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 105753"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144490188","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":"Gene expression in the skeletal muscle of broilers fed diets supplemented with vitamins C and E under acute or chronic heat stress","authors":"Cynthia Pieri Zeferino ,&nbsp;Aurea Maria Oliveira Canavessi ,&nbsp;Gustavo Gasparin ,&nbsp;Andrezza Maria Felicio ,&nbsp;José Roberto Sartori ,&nbsp;Gerson Barreto Mourão ,&nbsp;Luiz Lehmann Coutinho ,&nbsp;Ana Silvia Alves Meira Tavares Moura","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of this study was to investigate if dietary supplementation with vitamins C and E, simultaneously, can neutralize, or reduce, the effects of acute and chronic heat stress on the expression of key genes in the skeletal muscle of chickens. A total of 384 one-day-old male broiler chickens were housed in thermoneutral chambers up to 28 days of age. They were then reallocated in groups of four per cage, in three environmentally controlled chambers: two thermoneutral (22.5 and 22.6 °C) and one for heat stress (32 °C). Half the chickens in each chamber were fed a diet supplemented with vitamins C (257 to 288 mg/kg) and E (93 to 109 mg/kg). In the thermoneutral chambers, half of the chickens were pair-fed to heat stressed chickens. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to access gene expression in breast muscle samples after 21 h (acute) or 16 days (chronic) under heat stress. Vitamin supplementation, under acute heat stress, contributed to downregulate <em>avUCP, MSTN</em>, and <em>ACLY</em> expressions. Vitamin supplementation reduced <em>avUCP</em> expression with pair-feeding compared to thermoneutral controls. Chickens did not show any changes in <em>HSP70</em> expression level from both heat stress experiments, probably because they have adapted quickly. Under chronic heat stress, vitamin supplementation upregulated <em>MSTN</em> expression, possibly to reduce muscle mass hypertrophy and, consequently, maintain homeothermy. <em>ACLY</em> was not differentially expressed under chronic stress. In conclusion, exposing chickens to heat stress in the grower finishing phases impacted gene expression, but not all the effects were due to the high temperature <em>per se</em>. Diet supplementation with vitamins C and E under stress conditions (acute heat stress or feed restriction) produced the unexpected effect of decreasing <em>avUCP</em> expression, possibly a metabolic adaptation to regulate the antioxidative function. Diet supplementation with vitamins C and E may assist the body in coping with the effects of heat stress on metabolism by regulating the expression of <em>MSTN</em> and <em>ACLY</em>, genes involved in the maintenance of homeothermy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105752"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144364501","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":"Ameliorative effects of different additives on growth, meat quality, and histological indices in heat-stressed broilers exposed to prolonged fasting","authors":"Shahina Rahman ,&nbsp;Tanvir Ahmed ,&nbsp;Ankon Lahiry ,&nbsp;Afifa Afrin ,&nbsp;Bapon Dey ,&nbsp;Mohini Paul ,&nbsp;Shubash Chandra Das","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105750","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While 'fasting' is a common practice for reducing heat stress (HS) in broilers, it may negatively impact the birds' growth and other physiological functions. This study aimed to evaluate the beneficial effects of four different biological additives—prebiotic, probiotic, synbiotic, and betaine—on reducing HS as well as the negative effects of fasting in broiler chickens raised in the hot and humid conditions of Bangladesh. A total of 600 mixed-sex day-old chicks were divided into six treatment groups: T₁ = received a basal diet with no fasting and no supplementation (NF-NS); the other five groups underwent 8- h fasting, with T₂ = no supplementation (F8-NS), T₃ = ‘prebiotic’ supplement (F8-PRE), T₄ = ‘probiotic’ supplement (F8-PRO), T₅ = ‘synbiotic’ supplement (F8-SYN), and finally, T₆ = ‘betaine’ supplement (F8-BETA). Each treatment was replicated five times. All the birds were raised under identical care and management with <em>ad libitum</em> feed supply until the third week of age and subsequently underwent different treatment applications. Data on growth, carcass metrics, meat quality, gut histomorphology, and cost-benefit parameters were recorded and analyzed using SPSS. Results revealed significantly increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) body weight, body weight gain, and better FCR with various supplementations compared to control (NF-NS or F8-NS) groups. The abdominal fat (%) was decreased, however, various meat quality indices, gut histomorphology, and the net profit per kg of live birds were significantly enhanced (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) with the incorporation of different supplements. In conclusion, administering probiotics, synbiotics, and betaine via drinking water to broilers fasted for 8 h may effectively alleviate HS and the adverse effects of fasting, resulting in improved growth, carcass characteristics, and intestinal histomorphology in broilers raised in the hot and humid climate of Bangladesh. Of the four additives evaluated, the probiotic demonstrated better performance and economic return.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105750"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144491358","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":"Pre- and post-slaughter data can be used to discriminate sensory beef quality clusters in cull cows","authors":"Valérie Monteils,&nbsp;Julien Soulat","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using data from 91 Charolais cull cows, 7 decision trees were performed to discriminate extreme sensory <em>Longissimus</em> muscle (LM) quality clusters (<em>Q</em>+ and Q-). The decision trees were established from different groups of available data (60 variables in the rearing-factor group; 13 variables in the carcass-trait group; 9 variables in aged meat data group) and their combinations. Clusters of sensory quality were established from 3 sensory descriptors: overall tenderness, overall juiciness, and flavor intensity. The <em>Q</em>+ cluster had the highest tenderness, juiciness, and flavor intensity scores, and the Q- cluster had the lowest scores. The decision trees established from either carcass traits only (CARCA-Tree) or rearing factors and carcass traits combined (RF-CARCA-Tree) had the highest rates of success (&gt; 74 %) in discriminating the quality clusters. This study identified various combinations of rearing factors and/or carcass traits that can help improve meat quality. The rearing factors and carcass traits selected were: presence of concentrate in the diet during the outside pre-weaning period, duration of forage supplementation during the outside breeding period, average crude protein content of the concentrate across the fattening period, ultimate pH (pHu), and collagen score. Carcass pHu and collagen score, which are readily accessible data, had the highest rate of success (74.7 %) in successfully discriminating the meat quality clusters in the CARCA-Tree. Our results showed that 76.8 % of carcasses were categorized as <em>Q</em>+ when cull cow carcass had a pHu value &gt; 5.3 and a collagen score ≤ 1.5.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105751"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365882","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":"Hepatic cytoprotective and immunomodulatory responses to dietary phytogenic inclusion level in laying hens","authors":"Ioannis Brouklogiannis ,&nbsp;Vasileios V. Paraskeuas ,&nbsp;Eirini Griela ,&nbsp;Evangelos C. Anagnostopoulos ,&nbsp;Renata Breitsma ,&nbsp;Milan Hruby ,&nbsp;Konstantinos C. Mountzouris","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated the inclusion level effects of a phytogenic premix (PP) on critical homeostasis gene components related to detoxification (Aryl hydrocarbon receptor; AhR), antioxidant (Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2; Nrf2), and inflammatory (Nuclear factor-kappa B; NF-κB) responses in laying hens’ liver. A total of 385 Hy-Line Brown hens (20-weeks-old) were allocated to 5 dietary treatments with 7 replicates of 11 hens each. Treatments received a corn-soybean meal basal diet with no PP (CON) or inclusion of PP at 500 (P500), 750 (P750), 1000 (P1000) and 1500 mg/kg diet (P1500), respectively. The PP consisted of bioactive compounds derived from ginger, lemon balm, oregano, and thyme (Anco FIT Poultry). Layers had <em>ad libitum</em> access to feed and water throughout the 12-week feeding trial. Liver samples were collected at experimental weeks 8 and 12 (i.e., 28^th and 32^nd week of layers age) and stored deep frozen until gene expression analysis. The nutrigenomic results revealed that at week 8 (layers 28-week-old), PP significantly (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) down-regulated all of the AhR (5/5) and most of the NF-κB (10/15) pathway-related genes while up-regulating (4/11) the Nrf2 pathway-related genes assessed. At week 12, (layers 32-week-old) PP inclusion led to consistent beneficial modulation (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) of the AhR (4/5), Nrf2 (7/11), and NF-κB (13/15) pathway-related genes assessed in the liver, with P1000 displaying the most significant differences from the control treatment. Overall, the nutrigenomic analysis revealed phytogenic benefits, providing mechanistic evidence for enhanced hepatic function and health, with P1000 displaying the optimal effects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105749"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144279132","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":"Grass-based feeding strategies for organic growing-finishing pigs during temperate summer conditions","authors":"Lene Stødkilde ,&nbsp;Mille Stenholt Jensen ,&nbsp;Emma Tøfting Jørgensen ,&nbsp;Morten Ambye-Jensen ,&nbsp;Maria Eskildsen","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluated substituting soy press cake with Green protein—derived from biorefined grass-clover—and the provision of grass-clover-based roughage for organic growing-finishing pigs under temperate summer conditions. A total of 150 pigs were assigned to five dietary treatments combining soy or Green protein-based compound feed with either fresh grass-clover or silage. Growth performance, feed intake, lean meat percentage, and blood metabolite levels were assessed. Replacing soy with Green protein did not negatively impact growth performance and pigs fed Green protein and fresh grass-clover had higher lean meat percentage than those fed soy with silage (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Roughage intake was greater with fresh grass-clover than with silage (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), contributing with more nitrogen (N; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). A 10 % reduction in lysine in the Green protein compound feed, when paired with fresh grass-clover, did not compromise productivity and increased lean meat percentage compared to the soy-silage group. Blood metabolite levels were only minimally affected by dietary treatment.</div><div>In conclusion, Green protein can replace soy in organic pig feed without compromising animal performance, offering a promising alternative. The higher lean meat percentage associated with Green protein indicated a more favourable amino acid profile for growth compared to soy. While the overall nutrient contribution from grass-based roughages remained limited, the inclusion of fresh grass-clover allowed for a reduction in Green protein-based compound feed. This adjustment could positively impact both feed cost efficiency and the reduction of nutrient leaching into the environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105748"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270241","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":"The economic performance of sheep pastoral systems in the Mediterranean: An analysis based on typologies","authors":"Dimitrios Skordos ,&nbsp;Georgia Koutouzidou ,&nbsp;Pasquale Arca ,&nbsp;Giovanni Altana ,&nbsp;Matteo Francioni ,&nbsp;Marco Bianchini ,&nbsp;Marisol Dar Ali ,&nbsp;Alexandra Sintori ,&nbsp;Sokratis Sokratous ,&nbsp;Ante Ivankovic ,&nbsp;Edmondo Suran ,&nbsp;Nazan Koluman ,&nbsp;Rachida Amri ,&nbsp;Walida Raihi ,&nbsp;Amel Djaout ,&nbsp;Riccardo Carlacchiani ,&nbsp;Khaled Abbas ,&nbsp;Jean-Paul Dubeuf ,&nbsp;Antonio Franca ,&nbsp;Paride D’Ottavio ,&nbsp;Athanasios Ragkos","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Driven by numerous factors, in the last decades a constant decline in pastoral systems is witnessed in numerous Mediterranean areas. Previous research has shown that pastoral systems share common features such as low productivity and low production costs even if the latter do not always counterbalance the former. However, in general little attention has been paid on the economic performance of pastoral farms and the analysis of main drivers of revenues and costs. In this paper, the economic performance of Mediterranean pastoral sheep farms is investigated with a view to provide a deeper understanding of strong and weak aspects in their operation and respond to common discussions about pastoralism and its future trajectories. The analysis is based on primary technical and economic data from pastoral farms rearing sheep from eight territories of seven Mediterranean countries (Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Turkiye, France, Italy, Algeria). Typologies of pastoral sheep farms were developed in each territory based on criteria which were relevant and specific to each one of them. Then, using a questionnaire that was specifically designed for the activity, detailed technical and economic data were collected from representative farms from each type. The analysis revealed significant differences across countries and types in terms of farm organization structure, use of local resources and choice of activities, all of which are reflected in indicators of economic performance. The role of income support was very important in EU pastoral systems while for the non-EU countries local markets played a more important role for product sales. There is a need to support successful pastoral examples that can orient Mediterranean systems towards diversification and sustainable use of resources. An enabling policy framework and further research are required to promote well-informed discussions and policy making.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105738"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144205078","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":"Ingestive behavior, intake and digestibility of nutrients, and water and nitrogen balance of lactating goats fed dehydrated grape pomace","authors":"Eduardo Michelon do Nascimento ,&nbsp;Thadeu Mariniello Silva ,&nbsp;Américo Fróes Garcez Neto ,&nbsp;Félix Barbosa Reis ,&nbsp;Elice Brunelle Lessa Santos ,&nbsp;Viviane Azevêdo Silva ,&nbsp;Anny Graycy Vasconcelos de Oliveira Lima ,&nbsp;Salete Alves de Moraes ,&nbsp;Tadeu Vinhas Voltolini ,&nbsp;Mário Adriano Ávila Queiroz ,&nbsp;Sanara Adrielle França Melo ,&nbsp;Steyce Neves Barbosa ,&nbsp;Daniel Ribeiro Menezes","doi":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105726","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105726","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of agro-industrial waste as feed for dairy goats allows farmers to integrate alternative sources with conventional feeds. This study aimed to assess the ingestive behavior, intake, nutrient digestibility, and water and nitrogen balance in lactating Saanen goats. Eight multiparous Saanen goats, approximately four years old and weighing an average of 41.2±5.57 kg of body weight (BW; mean ± standard error of the mean), were included in a double Latin square (4×4) design. The treatments consisted of partially replacing the cactus pear with dehydrated grape pomace at 0, 90, 150, and 210 g/kg levels based on dry matter (DM). The diets were isoproteic (151 g/kg of crude protein; DM) and had a 60:40 roughage:concentrate ratio. Ingestive behavior was evaluated through visual observations. Samples of the ingredients, leftovers, and feces were analyzed to determine the content of DM, crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, and ash. The total feces production was used to determine indigestible neutral detergent fiber (NDFi). Water intake was measured to assess the water balance. The nitrogen balance was calculated using urine and feces. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear and quadratic regression at a significance level of 5%. Rumination time and neutral detergent fiber intake efficiency increased (30.4%; P = 0.001 and 46.9%; P = 0.046, respectively), while idling time decreased (12.3%; P = 0.008) with the inclusion of 210 g/kg of pomace. The digestibility of the crude protein decreased (51.4%; P &lt; 0.001) at the highest pomace level. A quadratic effect (P = 0.008) on fecal N was observed with highest value estimated to 175 g/kg of pomace. Milk urea N increased (55.6%; P = 0.016) at 210 g/kg of pomace. In conclusion, replacing cactus pear with dehydrated grape pomace in the diet of lactating goats increased the intake. Still, it reduced the digestibility of certain nutrients and led to greater N excretion through feces and milk.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18152,"journal":{"name":"Livestock Science","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 105726"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144205119","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}