Tropical animal health and production最新文献

{"title":"Use of pour-on formulations of fluralaner in prophylactic treatments against Cochliomyia hominivorax in newborn calves under extensive grazing systems.","authors":"Ignacio J Gamietea, Maria V Rossner, Adrian L Lifschitz, Oscar S Anziani, Santiago Nava","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05398-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-026-05398-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pour-on fluralaner formulations for the prevention of cutaneous myiasis caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax in newborn calves under field conditions. Three field trials were conducted in Argentina, including subtropical and temperate regions. In Trial 1, calves with unhealed navels were assigned to two fluralaner-treated groups with different commercial pour-on formulations and an untreated control group. In Trial 2, two groups of newborn calves were treated either with fluralaner pour-on or injectable doramectin. Trial 3, where 84 calves were also treated with a pour-on formulation of fluralaner, was performed in an island livestock farming systems located along the Paraná River, where extensive grazing conditions are extreme, and the operational difficulties associated with providing meticulous animal husbandry practices to prevent parasitic diseases in cattle are amplified. Animals were monitored daily for the occurrence of myiasis. In Trial 1, no cases of myiasis were recorded in fluralaner-treated calves, whereas all control animals became infested. In Trial 2, no infestations were observed in the fluralaner-treated group, while myiasis was recorded in 3.5% of calves treated with doramectin. In Trial 3, the prevalence of myiasis in fluralaner-treated calves was 7.1%, with most cases associated with treatments applied under rainy conditions. In contrast, a prevalence of 34.5% was recorded in the previous year in the same herd when treatment consisted of insecticidal formulations based on organophosphates and pyrethroid. No adverse effects associated with fluralaner treatment were observed in all treated calves. These results demonstrate the high efficacy of fluralaner pour-on formulations for the prevention of C. hominivorax myiasis in newborn calves under extensive production systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149168242","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 red seaweed (Gracilaria tenuistipitata) supplementation on growth performance, intestinal health, immune responses and meat quality in broiler chickens.","authors":"Prasanth Annadurai, Richard Richard Churchil, Meignanalakshmi Sundaram, Ezhil Valavan Subbiah, Ambasankar Kondusamy, Ezhil Praveena Peter, Piruthiviraj Kumar, Pravin Rajan, Vignesh Kumar Gnanavel","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05384-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-026-05384-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present study evaluated the effects of graded dietary inclusion of Gracilaria tenuistipitata on growth performance, meat composition, intestinal morphology, gut microbiota, immune response and intestinal immune gene expression in broiler chickens. A total of 200 one-day-old commercial broiler chicks were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments containing 0% (control), 1%, 2% and 4% dietary red seaweed and reared for 35 days. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced during the starter and early grower phases at 4% inclusion, whereas birds receiving 1-2% red seaweed maintained growth performance comparable to the control. Feed conversion ratio was transiently impaired at 4% inclusion during early growth but did not differ among treatments over the entire experimental period. Overall ADG was significantly (P < 0.05) lower at 4% inclusion, while livability remained unaffected. Breast meat proximate and mineral composition were not altered by seaweed supplementation; however, selective enrichment of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was observed at 2% inclusion. Histomorphometric evaluation revealed improved villus development and mucosal adaptation, particularly at 1-2% inclusion. Caecal microbiota analysis demonstrated reduced Escherichia coli and increased Lactobacillus populations in seaweed-fed groups. Humoral immune response against Newcastle disease virus remained unaffected, whereas increased expression of TLR2A, IL6 and CLDN2 indicated modulation of intestinal immune and barrier-regulatory pathways. Overall, dietary inclusion of G. tenuistipitata at 1-2% appears to support favourable changes in gut health and intestinal immune-related responses while maintaining overall growth performance comparable to the control, whereas higher inclusion levels may impose nutritional limitations on growth.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149169202","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":"Characterization of cisternal, alveolar, and residual milk fractions in dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus).","authors":"M A Nurseitova, G S Konuspayeva, X Dronova, B U Shanbayev, F B Amutova, B Faye","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05386-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-026-05386-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Among dairy species, camels exhibit particularly difficult milk let-down, often resulting in incomplete removal of milk from the udder of lactating females, thus impacting camel milk composition. This study focuses on the characterization of udder size and milk fractions in Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) and dromedaries (Aruana breed) (Camelus dromedarius) from Kazakhstan, as well as on the composition of these fractions in both species. The experiment was realized by using Atosiban (CAS 90779-69-4) and then oxytocin (RK-LS-5№022381) according to protocol for the milking to extract different milk fractions: cisternal, alveolar and residual. The udder length for all camel population varied between 19 and 30 cm (25.5 ± 2.7 cm), and teat length ranged from 1.1 to 3.0 cm (2.26 ± 0.15 cm). Dromedary camels had significant longer teats (Table 1), correlated to higher milk yield (r = 0.682; p < 0.001). The volume of cisternal milk is quite low in both species with a range of 2.40 -14.71% in Bactrian and 0.74-5.25% in dromedary. On average, the proportions of cisternal milk differ significantly between the two species while there was no difference for the two other fractions. The proportion of alveolar milk is positively correlated to milk yield (r = 0.607; p < 0.005) while the proportion of cisternal milk is negatively correlated (r=-0.610; p < 0.005). On average, alveolar milk contained two times more fat and residual milk almost three times in both species. Like for fat, alveilar milk is significantly higher in vitamins in both species. On average, Bactrian milk contained more vitamin C but the difference between species was not significant. This study provides the first data on milk fractions and their composition for Bactrian camel milk and highlights the limited cisternal capacity of dairy camels and its implications for milking efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149168143","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":"Development of a multiplex PCR for detection of pathogenic Mycobacterium orygis in cattle tissues harboring tuberculous-like lesions: a pilot study.","authors":"Sukhen Samanta, Premanshu Dandapat, Molla Zakirul Haque, Partha Sarathi Jana, Samiran Bandyopadhyay, Arnab Sen, Pramod Kumar Nanda, Subhasree Das, Keka Sarkar, Prasad Thomas, Abhishek Verma, Ayan Mukherjee, Sachinandan De","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05297-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-026-05297-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mycobacterium orygis, a member species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), is emerging as a major threat to the control of zoonotic tuberculosis. The lack of low-cost diagnostic assays to differentiate M. orygis from other MTBC members has created a critical data gap in estimating its true burden in human and animal populations, especially in the Asian subcontinent. In this study, a multiplex PCR assay was developed to distinguish M. orygis from other MTBCs, based on two M. orygis-specific non-synonymous point mutations in the mbtG and fadD23 genes. The assay exhibited a limit of detection (LOD) of 32 pg for M. orygis DNA and demonstrated high specificity by amplifying a 434 bp IS1081 gene fragment from common members of the MTBC, including M. orygis. Also, 240 bp and 181 bp fragments of the mbtG and fadD23 gene fragments were amplified exclusively from M. orygis. Conversely, the assay showed no amplification with non-tuberculous Mycobacterium or other non-mycobacterial pathogens. Furthermore, tuberculous-like lesions in the different tissues (n = 135) of slaughtered cattle were tested for the identification of M. orygis. An established TaqMan real-time PCR assay carried out to validate the result by targeting regions of difference in the M. orygis genome of the assay showed high accuracy of the in-house developed multiplex PCR.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149169207","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":"Modeling latent variables of body size, hump development, and thoracic capacity in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius): a confirmatory factor analysis approach.","authors":"Jamshid Ehsaninia, Mohmmad Bagher Zandi, Nasrollah Pirany","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05404-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-026-05404-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study modeled body size (BS), hump development (HD), and thoracic capacity (TC) as latent variables using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The latent variables were computed using records of nine morphometric traits from 136 adult camels reared in southern Kerman Province, Iran. The morphometric traits were body length (BL), height at withers (HW), height at hump (HH), abdominal girth (AG), hump girth (HuG), hump width (HuW), hump length (HuL), chest girth (CG), and chest depth (CD). A three-factor CFA model comprising BS (4 indicators), HD (3 indicators), and TC (2 indicators) was fitted using robust maximum likelihood estimation (MLR) in the lavaan package of R. The comparative fit index (CFI = 0.96), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI = 0.92), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA = 0.07), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR = 0.06) indicated acceptable model fit. HuW and HuL exhibited the strongest phenotypic association (r = 0.77, P < 0.001). The most representative indicators of BS were BL and AG, whereas HuL and HuW showed the highest loadings for HD. BS was positively correlated with HD (r = 0.43, P < 0.001) and TC (r = 0.68, P < 0.001), while the relationship between HD and TC was not significant (r = -0.13, P = 0.13). The proposed latent variable framework may contribute to improved phenotypic characterization and provide useful information for future breeding and selection programs in dromedary camels. However, given the moderate statistical power for detecting small correlations, confirmation in larger samples is warranted.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149169584","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":"Multivariate analysis of morphometric traits for chicken breed discrimination.","authors":"Sumeet Patil, Shakti Kant Dash, P P Dubey, C S Mukhopadhyay, S K Sahoo","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05393-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-026-05393-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Morphometric traits provide valuable insights into poultry breed characterization, yet their predictive utility across developmental stages remains unexplored. This study aimed to categorise three poultry strains (PB1, PB2, and Punjab Brown) using morphometric data across growth phases, employing statistical and machine learning methodologies. One-way ANOVA, correlation matrices, and dimensionality reduction methods like Principal component analysis (PCA), Kernel PCA, and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) were used to measure and analyse 29 morphometric traits. Logistic regression (LR) models classified strains on reduced-dimensional datasets. Significant (p < 0.05) differences among strains were observed in body weight, body length, and total length, while seven traits relating to shank length, wing length, and body girth (SL10, WL15, SL15, BG15, WL20, SL20, SL25) were non-significant. Strong intra-strain correlations (r > 0.85) were observed in girth and skeletal dimensions, whereas early expressed traits such as hatch weight (BW0) showed low correlations (r < 0.30) with other variables across different strains, indicating limited predictive value. PCA retained 85.6% of variance within the first five components, and LDA enabled distinct strain separation. Among classification pipelines, LDA + logistic regression achieved the highest performance (accuracy, precision, and recall = 1.00), followed by KPCA + LR and PCA + LR. Integrating morphometric profiling with supervised learning effectively differentiates poultry strains and enhances classification accuracy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149172126","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 diversity of Caracu cattle reveals contrasting trends between general and closed populations.","authors":"Gustavo Henrique Carvalho Borges, Mário Luiz Santana, Viviane Andrade Ligori, Mayne Barboza Sarti, Eula Regina Carrara, Júlia de Paula Soares Valente, Maria Eugênia Zerlotti Mercadante, Lenira El Faro Zadra","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05351-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11250-026-05351-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The conservation of genetic diversity and control of inbreeding rate are fundamental factors in animal breeding programs, especially programs for adapted cattle breeds such as Caracu. However, there are still knowledge gaps regarding the population structure of this breed as a whole and the genetic dynamics in subpopulations, like closed populations reared in experimental farms in Brazil. Within this context, this study aimed to evaluate the population structure of the Caracu cattle breed by investigating inbreeding levels and genetic diversity based on pedigree analyses. Two populations were analyzed: a general population (183,326 animals; 1900-2023) and a closed subpopulation selected exclusively for body weight for more than four decades and maintained by the Institute of Animal Science, Sertãozinho, São Paulo, Brazil (4,892 animals; 1977-2023). Population structure and pedigree depth were evaluated through the estimation of several parameters, like generation intervals, equivalent complete generations, pedigree depth, inbreeding levels, and diversity loss. The mean inbreeding coefficient of the general population was higher (2.6%) than that of the subpopulation (2.35%), with maximum values of 44.3% and 25%, respectively. The subpopulation exhibited greater pedigree completeness, higher average coancestry, and lower genetic diversity, indicating cumulative losses due to genetic bottlenecks and unequal founder contributions. In the general population, kinship network analysis revealed the presence of highly connected individuals, suggesting intensive use of certain sires and the formation of distinct family clusters. In contrast, a more uniform kinship structure was observed in the subpopulation. The results provide important support for the design of mating strategies and the improvement of conservation and breeding programs for the Caracu breed.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13649896/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149138418","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":"Zoonotic arboviruses and associated risk factors in donkeys from northeastern Algeria.","authors":"Mouad Debbous, Naouelle Azzag, Abdeldjalil Dahmane, Soraia Rodrigues, Sara Gomes-Gonçalves, Jaqueline T Bento, João R Mesquita","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05399-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11250-026-05399-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), and several zoonotic flaviviruses represent an emerging threat to animal and human health. In Algeria, particularly in the northern regions, data on the circulation of these viruses remain limited, especially for RVFV and CCHFV. In this context, we aimed to assess the seroprevalence of these arboviruses among donkeys across three provinces in northeastern Algeria and to identify factors associated with seropositivity. Between 2019 and 2024, 183 serum samples were collected and analyzed by ELISA. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate potential factors associated with CCHFV and flavivirus seropositivity. The overall seroprevalence was 31.7% (95% CI: 25.0-39.0) for CCHFV, 2.2% (95% CI: 0.6-5.5) for RVFV, and 18.0% (95% CI: 12.8-24.4) for flaviviruses. In the multivariable analyses, age group was significantly associated with both CCHFV and flavivirus seropositivity, while geographic origin, sampling season, and donkey mobility were independently associated only with CCHFV seropositivity. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first serological data documenting exposure of donkeys to CCHFV and RVFV in Algeria. These findings provide evidence of prior exposure to these arboviruses in the study area and highlight the importance of integrating donkeys into epidemiological surveillance programs. Further large-scale studies encompassing vectors, animals, and humans are needed to better characterize the epidemiology of these zoonotic pathogens and assess their potential public health impact in Algeria.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149138406","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":"Drivers and milk yield impacts of forage crop diversification in Napier grass-based smallholder dairy systems: evidence from Kenya.","authors":"Francis Mucira Murage, Miroslava Bavorova, Ayat Ullah, Nils Teufel, Vladimir Verner","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05380-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11250-026-05380-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Smallholder dairy systems in developing countries are constrained by feed scarcity, low feed quality, and low milk productivity. In Kenya, production mainly relies on Napier grass monocultures, which intensify these challenges. Forage crop diversification offers a pathway to improve feed availability and animal nutrition; however, empirical evidence on its drivers and productivity effects remains limited. The study addresses this gap by examining the drivers of forage crop diversification and its relationship with milk yield using data collected in 2024 from three regions in Kenya: Uasin Gishu, Nyandarua, and Kakamega. A double-hurdle model examined the determinants of decisions and the extent of forage crop diversification, and propensity score matching (PSM) estimated its effect on milk yield, with inverse probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) used as a robustness check. Results showed that herd size, livestock shed, extension services, and the use of artificial insemination influenced both the decisions and extent of forage crop diversification. Forage crop diversification was associated with higher dry-season milk yield, with PSM estimating a 26.8% increase (ATT = 0.929 L/cow/day, p = 0.003) and IPWRA estimating a 23.5% increase (ATT = 0.814 L/cow/day, p = 0.002). However, the wet season effect was smaller and not confirmed by the doubly robust IPWRA estimator. The findings highlight forage crop diversification as an important strategy for improving milk productivity during the dry season. Extension services should be strengthened to trigger and scale forage crop diversification. Complementary innovations, such as artificial insemination, should also be promoted to further accelerate forage crop diversification and productivity gains.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149138445","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":"Studies on the physiological, biochemical and hormonal response of Mithun (Bos frontalis) bullocks during ploughing and carting operation.","authors":"Laishram Sunitibala Devi, Sapunii Stephen Hanah, Harshit Kumar, Nazrul Haque, Kezhavituo Vupru, Kobu Khate, Jagdish Choudhary, Imnatemjen Aier","doi":"10.1007/s11250-026-05395-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11250-026-05395-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mithun animals are primarily reared for meat production. However, there is scope for utilizing this majestic animal of North-East India as a draught animal due to its ability to thrive in hilly terrain. There are limited published data on physiological, blood biochemical and hormonal parameters of Mithun bullocks during ploughing and carting operations. The present study was conducted on three Mithun bullocks (castrated males) to evaluate the physiological, biochemical and hormonal responses to ploughing and carting operations. Recording of physiological parameters and blood collection were done before work, immediately after work, and after one hour of rest. Significant differences (P < 0.01) were observed for all physiological parameters between before-work and immediately after-work values during ploughing and carting operations. The respiration rate of Mithun was most greatly affected, followed by pulse rate and rectal temperature during work. The ploughing ability of Mithun was calculated as 28.15%. The fatigue score of Mithun (< 20) indicated that Mithun bullocks can be used efficiently for 2 continuous hours of ploughing. The concentrations of serum glucose, total protein and cortisol increased significantly (P < 0.01) during carting with a 300 kg load (excluding cart weight and cartman weight) for 2 h. However, lactic acid and cortisol values were non-significant between before-work and after-work during ploughing operations, indicating that the animals were physically challenged at the metabolic level but remained within a normal adaptive physiological range without mounting a significant hormonal stress response. The horsepower generated by Mithun bullocks under no-load carting was 0.39 hp.</p>","PeriodicalId":23329,"journal":{"name":"Tropical animal health and production","volume":"58 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149138361","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}