Animal最新文献

{"title":"The effect of neck strap positioning relative to dairy cow body size on rising, lying down, and defecation behaviour in lying cubicles","authors":"S.P. Brouwers ,&nbsp;A.F.E. Schug ,&nbsp;M. Simmler ,&nbsp;P. Savary","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101507","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101507","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In cubicle housing systems for dairy cows, neck rails/straps/chains are used to limit bedding soiling by faeces and urine. Flexible neck straps are an alternative to rigid neck rails, which are associated with animal welfare issues such as painful collisions, injuries, and atypical behaviours. However, no literature exists on the positioning of flexible neck straps in relation to their effectiveness in limiting soiling of the bedding material and their effect on cow behaviour. In a research barn with 40 cows, we experimentally investigated how neck strap positioning relative to cow body size affects rising and lying down behaviours, general lying behaviour, and defecation behaviour in lying cubicles. To expand the range of body-relative positioning beyond that resulting from the herd’s variation in body size, we varied the neck strap height (105, 120, and 135 cm) and its distance from the curb (155 and 170 cm) in two experiments. The resulting ratios of neck strap height to withers height (<strong>NSH</strong> ratio) ranged from 0.65 to 0.96, and the ratios of neck strap distance from the curb to diagonal body length (<strong>NSD</strong> ratio) ranged from 0.85 to 1.11. With the exception of sideways head lunging, atypical rising and lying down behaviours were rare throughout the study. A higher (less restrictive) NSH ratio was associated with a reduced probability of crawling backwards on the carpal joints during rising. We found no statistical support for an effect of neck strap positioning relative to cow body size on the probabilities of other atypical rising and lying down behaviours, or daily lying time and frequency. For defecations within a 120 s time window around rising events while in the lying cubicle, a higher (less restrictive) NSH ratio was associated with a higher probability of faeces landing in the cubicle. This probability also increased with a higher (less restrictive) NSD ratio. Overall, our results indicate that the positioning of flexible neck straps relative to cow body size, as tested in this study, does not considerably affect dairy cow behaviour, suggesting that flexible straps can accommodate cows of different sizes. The effectiveness of positioning cows in the lying cubicle in such a way that limits soiling of the bedding around rising events increased with a lower (more restrictive) NSH ratio. Thus, flexible neck straps can be a viable alternative to rigid neck rails by limiting soiling of lying cubicles around rising events without considerably impeding dairy cow movements during rising and lying down.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101507"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879132","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":"CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing to assess the role of RF-amide−related peptide 3 in ovine seasonal breeding","authors":"C. Richard ,&nbsp;A. Allais-Bonnet ,&nbsp;M. André ,&nbsp;V. Gelin ,&nbsp;M-C. Deloche ,&nbsp;D. Thépot ,&nbsp;E. Canon ,&nbsp;L. Laffont ,&nbsp;O. Dubois ,&nbsp;P. Congar ,&nbsp;O. Lasserre ,&nbsp;T. Aguirre-Lavin ,&nbsp;G. Gomot ,&nbsp;C. Moussu ,&nbsp;S. Barbey ,&nbsp;E. Pailhoux ,&nbsp;H. Dardente","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101508","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101508","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seasonal breeding is an adaptive strategy that ensures the birth of the offspring during the best time of year and allows energy saving in times of food scarcity and adverse environmental conditions. At temperate and polar latitudes, photoperiod is the main synchroniser of seasonal functions, which exerts its action through melatonin. Within the <em>pars tuberalis</em> of the anterior pituitary, melatonin triggers a series of events that lead to enhanced local triiodothyronine (<strong>T3</strong>) production in the medio-basal hypothalamus specifically under long days and ultimately drive the appropriate GnRH output at the median eminence. How T3 governs GnRH output is mostly unknown but neuronal populations that respectively produce KISS1 and RFRP3 appear to be involved. However, while the role of KISS1 as a major GnRH secretagogue is undisputed, the function of RFRP3 in the control of (seasonal) breeding remains enigmatic, with conflicting results hinting at elusive mechanisms. Therefore, we launched an extensive series of experiments in sheep, aimed at invalidating the NPVF gene, which encodes RFRP3, using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Here, we report on the generation of six sheep for which the NPVF gene has been successfully edited. Four of these animals bear at least one allele expected to behave as a null and constitute founders for distinct ovine lines. These founder sheep will now enter a standard breeding scheme in order to obtain male and female homozygotes for distinct mutations. These animals are expected to provide a clear delineation of the function of RFRP3 in seasonal breeding.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101508"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879133","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":"Potential climate performance of modern fast- and slow-growing broiler genotypes","authors":"I. Leinonen","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101499","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101499","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Genetic selection aiming to improve the feed efficiency is believed to have a significant role in reducing the environmental impacts of livestock production. The aim of this study was to quantify the global warming potential of a wide range of modern fast−growing and slow−growing broiler genotypes under conditions where they are expected to meet their performance objectives set by breeding companies. The global warming potential was estimated for scenarios where the birds were fed on conventional and soy−free diets with different levels of balanced protein. Life cycle assessment approach based on the ISO 14040 standards was used to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the production. The results show that the fastest−growing genotypes have the lowest global warming potential when achieving their performance objectives, the difference being over 1 kg CO₂e per kg eviscerated carcass, compared to the slowest−growing genotypes. As the faster growth rate reduces the time to reach the slaughter weight (ranging from 38 days to 61 days between the genotypes), up to 13 MJ less energy per bird is lost as heat during the whole growth cycle and therefore less feed is needed. The improvement of feed efficiency is important because the feed-related emissions have a high contribution to the overall greenhouse gas emissions of broilers, ranging from 88 – 92%, when fed with the traditional soya-based diet. Additionally, differences in the body composition also have an effect on the energy consumption of the birds and on the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions. The protein sources in diets have generally high greenhouse gas intensity, and therefore reducing the protein concentration of the diet may, in some cases, reduce the global warming potential. On the other hand, this effect is limited by the adverse effect on the growth rate of the birds. In cases where protein sources with lower emission intensity can be used, the reduction of the protein concentration in the diet does not bring any further improvement to the climate performance of broiler production. In contrast, in such cases, low protein diets increase the emissions as a result of the longer growth cycle. In conclusion, the differences in Global Warming Potential of modern broiler genotypes are related to the differences in their efficiency of the use of feed energy. This efficiency is dependent on the growth rate of the birds, although the differences in body composition also have some effect.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101499"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873964","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":"Fibre-rich ingredients differing in physicochemical properties modulate digesta transit and digestion kinetics in pigs","authors":"C. Lannuzel ,&nbsp;R.J. Veersma ,&nbsp;G. van Erven ,&nbsp;M.A. Kabel ,&nbsp;W.J.J. Gerrits ,&nbsp;S. de Vries","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101473","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101473","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Physicochemical properties of fibres can affect digestive processes such as digesta transit, thereby affecting nutrient digestion kinetics. We evaluated the effects of (1) insoluble fibres differing in cell wall composition and physicochemical properties; wheat straw (<strong>WS</strong>), softwood flour (<strong>WF</strong>), and sunflower seed hulls (<strong>SF</strong>), and (2) addition of pectin to coarse insoluble fibres from straw (<strong>WSP</strong>), on the mean retention time (<strong>MRT</strong>) of digesta fractions and nutrient digestion throughout the gastrointestinal tract (<strong>GIT</strong>) of pigs. Twenty-four boars (49.1 ± 2.96 kg) were allocated to one of four diets, containing either 138 g/kg of WF, 144 g/kg of SF, or 150 g/kg of WS without or with the addition of 100 g/kg high-methylated pectin. The apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients was evaluated by quantitative faecal collection. After feeding diets supplemented with tracers, pigs were dissected following a frequent feeding procedure to approach steady-state passage of digesta, and assess MRT of liquids (Yb-EDTA), fine solids (TiO₂), and insoluble fibrous particles (Chromium mordanted fibres) throughout the GIT. Unlike coarse WS, no differences in pH nor DM were observed between the proximal and distal stomach for WSP, and fine WF and SF (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). Compared with WS, WF and SF reduced the MRT of fine solids (−01:51 to 01:03 h:min; <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05), and fibrous particles (−03:14 to 02:23 h:min; <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) in the proximal and distal stomach, decreasing their separation, especially in the distal stomach (−01:30 to 01:20 h:min; <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05). Addition of pectin to WS reduced separation between fine solids and liquids in the distal stomach (−43 min; <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05), increased starch digestibility in the mid-small intestine (<strong>SI</strong>; +9%-units; <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) but not at the end of the SI, and reduced total tract digestibility of nitrogen (−8%-units; <em>P</em> ≤ 0.05), reflecting a lower ileal digestibility (−8%-units). In the large intestine (<strong>LI</strong>), coarse WS reduced the MRT of digesta phases compared with fine WF and SF (−17:38 to 08:08 h:min). Regardless of origin, fermentation of insoluble fibres was poor (≤19%), while complete fermentation of pectin did not impact the fermentation of WS. In conclusion, fine WF and SF accelerated the emptying of solids and suppressed regional differences in pH in the stomach, and delayed digesta transit in the LI, compared with coarse straw. Pectin addition to coarse straw reduced gastric sieving between fine solids and liquids, and increased starch digestibility in the proximal SI.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 4","pages":"Article 101473"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Simulation of long-term impact of dairy cattle mating programmes using genomic information at the herd level","authors":"C. Bengtsson ,&nbsp;H. Stålhammar ,&nbsp;J.R. Thomasen ,&nbsp;W.F. Fikse ,&nbsp;E. Strandberg ,&nbsp;S. Eriksson ,&nbsp;M. Johnsson","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101498","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101498","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Genotyping provides breeders with new information at the single nucleotide polymorphism level that can be used in mating programmes. This study used stochastic simulation to explore the long-term effects of genomic mating allocations combining economic scores and linear programming at the level of commercial herds. The economic scores included genetic level, a favourable monogenic trait (polledness), a recessive genetic defect, and parent relationships. The results showed that compared with only maximising genetic level, including genomic or pedigree relationship in the economic score lowered the rate of pedigree and genomic inbreeding with minimal effect on genetic gain. Including the cost of a recessive genetic defect in the score almost eliminated the risk of expression. We set the start allele frequency of polledness to ∼12%, and the value of polledness varied in the different scenarios (€0, €10, €50, and €100). Including an economic value for polledness of (≥ €50) in the economic score increased the frequency of polled animals by up to 0.037 per generation, without negatively impacting other comparison criteria. The use of genomic relationships was favourable for the rate of genomic inbreeding and performed as well as pedigree relationships concerning the rate of pedigree inbreeding. Limiting the number of females per bull and herd to a maximum of 5% instead of 10% also decreased the rate of inbreeding. The 5% females per bull and herd constraint lowered the variation in carrier frequency for genetic defects, which reduced the risk of mating two carriers of an unknown genetic defect in future generations after the widespread use of carriers in previous generations. However, the 10% females per bull constraint accelerated the increase in the polled allele. Therefore, planning matings with genomic information at the herd level involves important risk management decisions, such as balancing the trade-off between using fewer bulls to increase the polled allele frequency more quickly and using more bulls to reduce the rate of inbreeding and the variation in carrier frequency for genetic defects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101498"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143848680","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":"Unravelling novel and closely linked association signals for fat-related traits in pigs using prioritised variants from whole-genome sequence data","authors":"E. Molinero ,&nbsp;R.N. Pena ,&nbsp;J. Estany ,&nbsp;R. Ros-Freixedes","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For most production traits, the largest proportions of genetic variance remain unmapped. Dense whole-genome sequence (<strong>WGS</strong>) data enable the possibility of discovering novel associations as well as unravelling closely linked association signals with a resolution that marker arrays cannot reach. However, the identification of variants from WGS data that are causal of the variation of complex traits is hindered by the high dimensionality and linkage disequilibrium. Thus, at best, we can narrow the circle around the causal variants to prioritise a set of variants for their posterior validation. In this study, we assessed the utility of WGS data for uncovering associations of weaker effects using, as a model, fat content and composition traits in a Duroc pig population where we previously described major effects of the <em>LEPR</em> and <em>SCD</em> genes. We genotyped 971 pigs for a set of 182 variants from 154 candidate genes that were prioritised from amongst the WGS variants discovered in 205 sequenced individuals. These variants were prioritised conditional to <em>LEPR</em> and <em>SCD</em>. The association of the prioritised variants with the target traits was then tested in the confirmation set of 971 pigs. A total of 17 potentially independent quantitative trait loci (8.4% of the total number of studied genes) were significantly associated (<em>q</em>-value &lt; 0.05) with at least one of the studied traits. We identified novel associations attributable to genes such as <em>ABCC2</em>, <em>MOGAT2</em>, or <em>PLPP1</em> for backfat thickness, myristic acid content, and monounsaturated fatty acid content, respectively. Our results also revealed a finer granularity of weaker genetic effects in loci such as those around the <em>DGAT2</em> and <em>FADS2</em> genes, which may mask the effects of closely located genes like <em>MOGAT2</em> and <em>DAGLA</em>, respectively. To refine the prioritisation of variants for validation studies, especially when targeting those of weaker effects, we recommend larger and more diverse discovery sets, more precise and complete functional gene annotation, and the integration of other omics data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101496"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143842669","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":"Died, euthanised, slaughtered or alive? outcomes for 10 023 Ayrshire and Holstein cows and associations between veterinary treatments and mortality","authors":"K. Sarjokari ,&nbsp;T. Hurme ,&nbsp;M. Hovinen ,&nbsp;L. Seppä-Lassila ,&nbsp;M. Norring ,&nbsp;O.A.T. Peltoniemi ,&nbsp;P.J. Rajala-Schultz","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animal welfare and disease prevention are important considerations for the modern dairy industry that strives for sustainability and responsibility. Diseases negatively impact cow welfare, lifespan, milk yield and lifetime productivity, and through those, farm economy, and resources needed in producing dairy foods for human consumption. Unassisted deaths and euthanasia represent cows that have suffered from an illness or trauma and leave the herd too early and without deliberate planning. The objectives of our study were to describe different ways cows exit the herd and farmer-reported reasons for culling, and to compare characteristics and veterinary treatment history of cows that either died unassisted or were euthanised on-farm. We studied data from the Finnish national Dairy Herd Improvement database and followed 10 023 cows in 76 herds in Finland, for 305 days. Based on a farmer-reported way for a cow exiting the herd, we grouped the cows into four categories based on their status at the end of the follow-up period: died unassisted (<strong>DIED</strong>), were euthanised (<strong>EUT</strong>) on farm, were sent to slaughter, or stayed alive in a herd, which accounted for 2, 4, 17, and 77% of the study population, respectively. We analysed cow characteristics and veterinary treatments (<strong>VET</strong>) the cows had received and explored their associations with on-farm deaths using generalised linear mixed models. Overall, the survival of Ayrshire and Holstein (<strong>HOL</strong>) cows was similar, but HOL cows died on farm more often. The median time from calving to exit was 26 days for DIED and 38 days for EUT cows. Compared to EUT cows, a smaller proportion of DIED cows had been treated by a veterinarian, but for a wider range of diseases. Having a VET for calving difficulty and digestive tract disease increased the odds of being a DIED cow, and VETs for milk fever, digestive tract or claw and leg diseases increased the odds of being an EUT cow, compared to not having the VET recorded. To gain more knowledge which could help to reduce mortality in the future, we suggest (1) separating the groups of DIED and EUT cows in forthcoming studies on culling and mortality, and (2) including the way dairy cows exit a herd into routinely monitored and reported statistics within the dairy industry and more detailed herd specific analyses into farmers’ and advisors’ tools for benchmarking and problem−solving at individual herd level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101497"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143842670","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":"The effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid on growth performance, diarrhoea, ruminal fermentation, and antioxidant capacity in pre-weaned calves","authors":"Y.T. Zhang ,&nbsp;Y. Yang ,&nbsp;D.P. Bu ,&nbsp;L. Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101493","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101493","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The pre-weaning phase is a vital period for the growth and development of calves, significantly impacting their future health and productivity. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (<strong>GABA</strong>) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system that lowers blood pressure, stimulates feed intake, and enhances antioxidant capability. Gamma-aminobutyric acid has been proven beneficial for adult cows, while little research has been conducted on calves. Therefore, this study examined the effects of GABA on growth performance, diarrhoea, ruminal fermentation, and antioxidant capacity in pre-weaned Holstein calves. Ninety male Holstein calves were allocated to five groups: 0 mg/d (G0), 25 mg/d (G25), 50 mg/d (G50), 100 mg/d (G100), and 200 mg/d (G200). The experiment was conducted from 11 to 75 days of calves age, and the calves were weaned at 75 days of age. Growth performance indicators, ruminal fluid, faecal score, and serum were collected at 11, 28, 42, 60, and 75 days of calves’ age. The results showed that adding GABA positively affected average daily gain and body height, with no effects on diarrhoea frequency. All dosages significantly reduced acetate and total volatile fatty acid levels in ruminal fermentation, with butyrate showing a complex response at higher doses. Overall, we recommended 100 mg/d as the optimal GABA supplementation level to improve growth performance and regulate the ruminal fermentation of pre-weaned calves before weaning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101493"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143868236","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":"Partial replacement of high-fibre forages with corn silage across the lactation cycle: effects on methane emission, rumen fermentation and efficiency in dairy cows","authors":"M. Eslamizad ,&nbsp;M. Schmicke ,&nbsp;H. Sauerwein ,&nbsp;B. Kuhla","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101494","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101494","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Feeding high-fibre forages to ruminants facilitates enteric methane emission but may also compromise milk yield. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of reducing methane emission and improving feed conversion efficiency with a forage-based ration by replacing high-fibre forages with corn silage across the whole lactation cycle. Twenty-eight Holstein dairy cows were fed the same close-up diet for 21 days before their second parturition. After calving, cows with a divergent breeding value for functional herd life were equally allocated to a lactation diet containing forage (66% of DM) of either low (<strong>LCS</strong>; 31.1% DM) or high corn silage (<strong>HCS</strong>; 37.7% DM) proportion. The increase in the proportion of corn silage was achieved by partial replacement of grass silage, straw, and hay with corn silage. Diets were fed during the whole lactation period for <em>ad libitum</em> intake, and DM intake and milk production were recorded daily. Cows were weighed and evaluated for their body condition score, milk samples were analysed for fat, protein, and lactose, and blood samples were taken for the analysis of glucose, non-esterified fatty acid, beta-hydroxybutyrate, insulin, adiponectin, and IGF-1. In the respiration chambers, methane production, energy balance, and digesta mean retention time were measured and rumen fluid samples were taken for short-chain fatty acid analysis. Cows fed the HCS diet had greater DM intake, milk and energy-corrected milk yield during the whole lactation period than counterparts fed the LCS diet. The molar percent of acetate was lower and that of propionate and butyrate was higher in the rumen fluid of HCS compared to LCS cows. Methane production was not different between groups but methane yield and intensity were lower in the HCS than in the LCS group. Plasma glucose and IGF-1 concentrations were higher and adiponectin, beta-hydroxy butyrate and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations were lower in HCS compared to LCS cows. In contrast, plasma insulin concentrations were not different between groups. In conclusion, partial replacement of high-fibre forages with corn silage in a lactation diet for dairy cows increased metabolisable energy supply via an increase in DM intake and ruminal fermentation efficiency all of which led to an increase in milk production, a better metabolic status, improved feed and energy use efficiency, and reduced methane yield and intensity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101494"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143856014","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":"Environmental impact of rabbit production systems: a farm-based cradle-to-gate analysis","authors":"F. Bordignon ,&nbsp;G. Xiccato ,&nbsp;A. Trocino ,&nbsp;A. Zuffellato ,&nbsp;C. Castellini ,&nbsp;S. Mattioli ,&nbsp;M. Berton","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101488","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101488","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rabbit meat could represent a sustainable protein source in a context of growing demand for animal products, but information about its environmental footprint and key hotspots along the production chain remain limited. The present study aimed at providing a multifaceted evaluation of the environmental impact associated with rabbit meat production considering the whole production cycle, by using primary data collected from 46 commercial farms and six interviews with academic and industry experts and technicians of the field. An attributional cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment model encompassed all the main production stages, from the birth of the rabbits to their sale to the slaughterhouse, and included two sub-models covering the breeding and the fattening phases. System boundaries were set to consider the impact associated with the animal and manure management, the production of the feeds consumed by animals and the farm use of the energy sources. The assessed impact categories were global warming potential (<strong>GWP</strong>, kg CO₂-eq), acidification potential (<strong>AP</strong>, g SO₂-eq), eutrophication potential (<strong>EP</strong>, g PO₄-eq), cumulative energy demand (<strong>CED</strong>, MJ), land occupation (<strong>LO</strong>, m²/y), abiotic depletion – elements (<strong>ADE</strong>, mg Sb-eq) and fossil energy (MJ), water scarcity (m³-eq) and terrestrial (<strong>TECO</strong>, kg 1–4,DB), freshwater (<strong>FECO</strong>, kg 1–4,DB) and marine (<strong>MECO</strong>, kg 1–4,DB) ecotoxicity. The functional unit was 1 kg live weight (<strong>LW</strong>), and the time reference was 1 year. Considering the whole production cycle, the production of 1 kg LW of meat rabbit generated an average of 2.56 kg CO₂-eq (GWP) and 3.19 kg CO₂-eq (GWP_LUC) with gas contribution 60% CO₂, 26% N₂O, 14% CH₄; 46 g SO₂-eq (AP), 21 g PO₄-eq (EP), 32 MJ (CED), 4.6 m² (LO) and 2.4 m³-eq (water scarcity). The average values for abiotic depletion categories were 2.6 mg Sb-eq (ADE) and 24 MJ (abiotic depletion – fossil energy); ecotoxicity values were 0.3, 2.9 and 269 kg 1,4-DCB for TECO, FECO and MECO, respectively. The fattening phase contributed more (65%, on average) than the breeding phase (35%) to the environmental impact for all the impact categories. Feed production accounted for more than 65% of the impact in EP, CED, water scarcity and abiotic depletion – fossil energy categories, and almost the unique responsible (98–100%) for LO, TECO and FECO categories. According to our study, the environmental impact of rabbit meat production is intermediate between those of poultry and pig meat productions. The fattening phase emerged as a priority area for future mitigation strategies that will address the impact related to feed production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 5","pages":"Article 101488"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143821088","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}