Animal最新文献

{"title":"Timing, risk factors, and causes of foetal and preweaning lamb mortality in lowland production systems involving a range of ewe genotypes","authors":"D. Shiels ,&nbsp;J.F. Mee ,&nbsp;J.P. Hanrahan ,&nbsp;C.M. Dwyer ,&nbsp;S. Fagan ,&nbsp;T.W.J. Keady","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reducing lamb mortality has production, economic and animal welfare benefits. The timing and causes of death and associated risk factors were investigated in a study conducted over 2 consecutive years (involving 1 103 and 1 038 ewes in 2017 and 2018, respectively) in three prolific (average litter size 1.91) indoor-lambing, lowland flocks (in Ireland) that consisted of a range of genotypes, managed in grass-based systems of production. Data were collected from all foetuses and lambs that died (between ∼120 days gestation and weaning at 14 weeks of age); 221 cases in 2017 and 241 cases in 2018. All cases were submitted to a Regional Veterinary Laboratory for necropsy examination using standardised protocols that were developed in advance of case submissions. The majority (60%) of lamb mortality occurred prior to or within 24 h of birth: 46% at or prior to birth and 14% within the first 24 h. Infection (32%) and dystocia (20%) accounted for over half of the mortality. <em>Chlamydia abortus</em> was detected more often in lambs from 2-year-old ewes lambing for the first time than in lambs from older ewes. Dystocia accounted for a statistically significant higher proportion of deaths among purebred lambs born to Texel ewes (49.4%, 95%CI (confidence interval) 36.0 – 62.9) compared to purebred lambs born to Belclare ewes (12.8, 95%CI 2.2 – 23.5). More lambs failed to yield a diagnosis of the cause of death when born to Belclare ewes (29.2%, 95%CI 17.8 – 40.6) than to Suffolk-X ewes (7.4%, 95%CI 0.1 – 14.8). About one−third of lamb mortality cases were adjudged to be preventable through more consideration of management factors during pregnancy, parturition and early postpartum. The use of good hygiene practices at lambing time and optimising lamb birth weight should reduce the level of preweaning lamb mortality in indoor lambing flocks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101401"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143076089","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":"Principles, barriers and enablers to agroecological animal production systems: a qualitative approach based on five case studies","authors":"B. Dumont ,&nbsp;C. Barlagne ,&nbsp;P. Cassart ,&nbsp;J.E. Duval ,&nbsp;A. Fanchone ,&nbsp;J-L. Gourdine ,&nbsp;O. Huguenin-Elie ,&nbsp;Y. Kazakova ,&nbsp;J. Klötzli ,&nbsp;A. Lüscher ,&nbsp;E. Oteros-Rozas ,&nbsp;D. Pomies ,&nbsp;M.G. Rivera Ferre ,&nbsp;W.A.H. Rossing ,&nbsp;V. Stefanova ,&nbsp;A. Swartebroeckx ,&nbsp;C. Zagaria","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agroecology is among the most promising options to alleviate the negative impacts of animal farming on the environment and build local food systems based on ethically acceptable production methods. So far, most of the research on agroecological animal production systems was conducted at farm scale, and the potential of agroecological principles addressing social dimensions and food system−level approaches has been underexplored. Here, we analyse how the whole set of agroecological principles was mobilised in five case studies on grassland-based, silvopastoral or integrated crop-livestock systems in Switzerland, Guadeloupe, French uplands, Bulgaria and Andalucía. Following a multilevel perspective, we propose a new eight-category framework to categorise barriers and enablers in these different socioecological contexts, and discuss the implications of these results for scaling out and scaling up agroecological niche innovations in animal production areas. Though we could observe activities related to each agroecological principle in each case study, the relative importance of each principle differed. For instance, in Switzerland, the focus was on ecological processes operating in multispecies mixtures, and therefore on mobilising principles of input reduction, synergy, soil health and biodiversity, while in Andalucía, a civil society organisation, a regional agricultural office, researchers, and farmers mainly mobilised transformational principles at the food system level, e.g. social values, connectivity and participation. Such contrasts highlight how agroecology allows different equilibria among principles, adapting to the needs of farmers and local communities. Inadequate infrastructure and lack of technology were frequently reported as barriers to agroecological transitions. Policy needs to go beyond the mere support of agroecological practices on livestock farms and adopt a systems approach looking downstream and upstream if it is to enable a large-scale agroecological transition with EU public policies. Market as an enabler was linked to direct sales and short distribution circuits, generating added value to the benefit of local communities. Most agroecological systems benefited from a positive image among citizens and consumers, but cultural barriers resulted from change in product characteristics, e.g. veal meat colour in dairy system that promote long-lasting cow-calf contact. All case studies were very advanced in the social dimensions of agroecology, and cooperation networks were always reported among the enablers for scaling out. The multiactor network approach fostered knowledge exchange between farmers, researchers and citizens, and allowed participants to share values. Long-term commitment from local practitioners is required so that co-designed solutions are implemented, which can strengthen the economic and social viability of animal production areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101367"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142752211","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":"Optimising compensatory growth in pastoral beef production systems: insights into feed efficiency, body composition, carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes","authors":"J.M. Clariget ,&nbsp;G. Banchero ,&nbsp;A. Saravia ,&nbsp;S. Luzardo ,&nbsp;G. de Souza ,&nbsp;D.A. Kenny ,&nbsp;K. Keogh ,&nbsp;A.K. Kelly","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Exploitation of compensatory growth (<strong>CG</strong>) is a widely practised management strategy in beef production, especially under pastoral conditions due to its potential to reduce feed costs. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of nutritional restriction during backgrounding in Angus steers slaughtered at either similar age and/or similar BW on feed efficiency, body composition, carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes under either a forage or feedlot-based finishing diet. Eighty steers (BW: 444 ± 39 kg, age: 18 ± 1 months) were blocked and randomly assigned within block to either an optimal (0.6–0.7 kg/day) or suboptimal (0.3–0.4 kg/day) growth rate, during 97 days of backgrounding. Following, half of the steers in each group were finished on a forage diet while the other half were finished on feedlot-based diet. Half of the steers in each treatment were then slaughtered at similar age (24 months), whilst all remaining steers were slaughtered at similar BW (∼620 kg). Two extra slaughters were done with other representative steers on day 0 and day 97, to provide baseline parameters for carcass and non-carcass measurements. During the backgrounding period, optimal steers gained more than suboptimal (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), resulting in higher BW and hot carcass weight (<strong>HCW</strong>; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). During the finishing period, the suboptimal group increased BW gain (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) and displayed an improved feed conversion ratio (<strong>FCR</strong>; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Differences (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) in BW and HCW remained between the treatments when slaughtered at a similar age. When the steers were slaughtered at similar BW, after additional days of finishing for the suboptimal groups, no differences (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05) in backgrounding treatment on HCW, carcass grading, body composition or FCR for the entire period (backgrounding and finishing) were apparent. Indeed, no differences (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05) by backgrounding growth strategy were observed for any meat quality variables assessed using instrumental or sensory evaluations. During the finishing period, feedlot steers had increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) BW and HCW gains, improved (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) FCR and carcass grading, and had higher (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) HCW compared to forage finished steers. However, no differences (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05) were observed for any meat quality variables assessed by finishing system. Overall, exploiting CG within pasture-based beef cattle production systems improves growth rate and FCR in both forage and feedlot finishing. Suboptimal backgrounded steers required additional days on feed to achieve similar BW to their contemporaries. Nevertheless, at similar BW, there were no residual differences in body composition, FCR during the entire period, meat tenderness or overall meat liking because of the backgrounding conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101408"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143014920","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":"Effects of the physical form of starter feed on the intake, performance, and health of female Holstein calves","authors":"Í.R.R. Castro ,&nbsp;G.B.C. Leite ,&nbsp;I.F. Carrari ,&nbsp;L.N.C. Silva ,&nbsp;J.C.C. Chagas ,&nbsp;D.D. More ,&nbsp;M.I. Marcondes","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101400","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101400","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Available literature on the effect of various physical forms of starter feed (<strong>PFSF</strong>) on calf performance is conflicting. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of the PFSF on feed intake, growth performance, blood metabolites, and the health of dairy calves. Twenty-four female Holstein calves (5-d-old; 40.4 ± 3.86 kg BW; mean ± SD) were used in a completely randomized block design. Calves were individually housed and randomly assigned to the treatments (n = 12 calves/treatment): (1) textured starter feed (<strong>TSF</strong>, a mix of pelleted ingredients and whole-kernel corn) and (2) pelleted starter feed (<strong>PSF</strong>). Both starter feeds had the same ingredients, nutrient compositions and pellet die size. Calves were fed the same milk replacer and weaned in a step-down scheme at 67 d. Health was evaluated daily until weaning. Treatments did not affect starter feed intake, water intake, BW, ADG, withers height, or clinical signs of disease (loss of appetite, ear position, and cough incidence). Nonetheless, scores for abnormal attitude (<em>P</em> = 0.01), ocular discharge (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), total respiratory disease (<em>P</em> = 0.02), and fecal consistency (<em>P</em> = 0.04) of PSF-fed calves were higher than those TSF-fed. Based on that, TSF-fed calves exhibited a higher non-disease probability compared to PSF over time. Calves TSF-fed sorted against small particles (0.425-mm sieve; <em>P</em> = 0.01). Coincidently, PSF-fed animals sorted for small particles in the same sieve sizes. No major changes in blood profile were found (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). In conclusion, starter feeds containing whole-kernel corn as a texturizer did not improve the intake and performance of dairy calves compared with pelleted starter feed; however, improvements were observed in health scores and non-disease probability of calves fed textured starter feed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101400"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143025653","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":"Assessing learning, behaviour, and stress level in goats while testing a virtual fencing training protocol","authors":"L. Wilms ,&nbsp;D. Hamidi ,&nbsp;C.H.U. Lüntzel ,&nbsp;M. Hamidi ,&nbsp;M. Komainda ,&nbsp;R. Palme ,&nbsp;J. Isselstein ,&nbsp;S. Waiblinger ,&nbsp;M. Egerbacher","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101413","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101413","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Virtual fencing (<strong>VF</strong>) is a modern fencing technology using Global Positioning System-enabled collars which emit acoustic signals and, if the animal does not respond, electric pulses. Studies with cattle indicate successful learning and no distinct negative impact on the animals’ behaviours and stress level. However, the number of studies testing VF with goats is relatively small. In this study, we used VF collars to test a VF training protocol recently applied to heifers to assess the development of goats’ learning to avoid the electric pulse, their behaviour, and faecal cortisol metabolites <strong>(FCM</strong>s) as an indicator for physiological stress in a grazing experiment. Twenty adult ‘Blobe’ goats with offspring were divided into two groups and assigned to the VF or physical fencing treatment in a cross-over design with two periods of 12 days each. The VF treatment involved a virtual fence at one side of the paddock, to which the goats were gradually introduced over the first 2 days (additional physical fence or posts as visual support). On day eight, the grazing areas were enlarged by shifting the virtual fence and one side of the physical fencing treatment. The experiment lasted 4 h per day. During this time, the following behaviours were recorded via instantaneous scan sampling of all goats every 2 min: grazing, lying, standing, standing vigilant, walking, and running. Additionally, faecal samples were collected once, or twice daily and FCM concentrations were measured. The VF collars delivered the number of acoustic signals and electric pulses and the duration of the acoustic signals. The daily number of acoustic signals and electric pulses of each goat was used to calculate a ‘success ratio’. A significant increase in the success ratio and a general decrease in the signal duration indicate the successful association of acoustic signals and electric pulses at the group level. Behavioural analyses revealed no clear influence of the VF treatment except for standing vigilant. Virtually fenced goats stood significantly more vigilant than physically fenced ones. However, free-moving kids could have had an influence. The VF treatment had no significant effect on the FCM concentrations, which decreased significantly over time. In summary, goats showed signs of learning when avoiding receiving electric pulses by responding appropriately to the acoustic signals. A higher occurrence of vigilance behaviour may suggest insecurity, but FCM concentrations did not indicate increased physiological stress. Future research needs to confirm these results and test VF with goats under practical conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101413"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043313","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":"A case-control genome-wide association study of estimated breeding values for resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes in two local dairy sheep breeds","authors":"C. Persichilli ,&nbsp;S. Biffani ,&nbsp;G. Senczuk ,&nbsp;M. Di Civita ,&nbsp;M.K. Bitew ,&nbsp;A. Bosco ,&nbsp;L. Rinaldi ,&nbsp;S. Grande ,&nbsp;G. Cringoli ,&nbsp;F. Pilla","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101403","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101403","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In sheep, gastrointestinal nematodes (<strong>GINs</strong>) can cause disease, reduced feed intake, and nutritional deficiencies. To counteract GINs, anthelmintics are widely used although it is well known they may enter the environment impacting ecosystems. In addition, anthelmintics resistance has rapidly developed and consequently, alternative approaches are crucial for profitable and sustainable sheep production. The occurrence of resistant individuals is mainly due to their intrinsic genetic diversity; therefore, the implementation of breeding plans for resistant animals may provide a promising strategy to reduce the use of anthelmintics. This study is aimed at identifying genomic regions involved in sheep resistance to GINs. To do this, faecal samples were collected from 642 Comisana and 323 Massese sheep over 3 years to assess Faecal Egg Counts, and Estimated Breeding Values (<strong>EBVs</strong>) for GIN resistance were estimated by a repeatability animal model. Then, EBVs in the 99.95th and 0.05th percentiles were used to identify the most and least “genetically resistant” individuals to GINs, using genotyped individuals with the Illumina OvineSNP50 beadchip. A genome-wide case-control analysis was performed retaining the most significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (<strong>SNPs</strong>) with a threshold of 0.005% for the false discovery rate. Genes and Quantitative Trait Loci overlapping significant SNPs were annotated and enriched respectively while genes have been also enriched for functional pathways. As a result, 13 genes on 12 chromosomes and 10 genes on 11 different chromosomes were identified in the Comisana and Massese breed, respectively. Among these, genes involved in the physiology or pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, in adaptive processes and in production traits, were detected. The enrichment analysis highlighted 36 significant pathways in the Comisana breed and 21 in the Massese breed. Many of these pathways were involved in the regulation of the immune response, drug metabolism and detoxification, and vitamin metabolism. Interestingly, pathways involved in vitamin and drug metabolism were also identified in previous research and have shown to play an active role in GIN resistance. In this study, we took advantage of the use of EBVs as a metric for GIN resistance in a case-control genome-wide framework and successfully identified several genomic regions that might be involved in the trait. The presence of overlapping functional pathways related to different genes in the two breeds seems to reinforce the idea of the polygenicity of this trait, and further studies are needed in order to make selection schemes an effective tool to contrast GINs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101403"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143060982","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":"Genetic parameters for milk production traits of Simmental cows with random regression test-day model","authors":"A. Otwinowska-Mindur ,&nbsp;E. Ptak ,&nbsp;W. Jagusiak ,&nbsp;A. Zarnecki","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101395","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101395","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Precise genetic parameter estimates can allow the breeding value evaluation to be adjusted to meet European requirements and to enable participation in the international evaluation of Simmental bulls conducted by Interbull. Genetic parameters were estimated for a multitrait multilactation random regression test-day model for milk in Simmental cattle in Poland. Data came from the official Polish national recording system. Records of 6 447 Simmental cows born from 2002 through 2021 in 1 046 herds were collected. The cows were daughters of 987 sires and 4 590 dams. A minimum of two daughters per sire was required. Daily yields were collected between 5 and 305 days in milk. The BLUPf90 package and a Bayesian method via Gibbs sampling were used to estimate (co)variance components. The model contained fixed herd-test-date effect, fixed regressions within age-season of calving classes, and random additive genetic and permanent environmental regressions. The Wilmink function was used for fixed regressions, and third-order Legendre polynomials for random regressions. The mean heritability for daily milk yields and milk composition ranged from 0.12 (somatic cell score) to 0.41 (protein content in milk). The majority of the analysed traits were most heritable at the end of 305-d lactation. Genetic correlations between daily milk, fat, protein and lactose yields were positive and high (0.78–0.99). This meant that selection for one of those milk traits indirectly induced a similar response in another milk trait. The lactational heritabilities of all nine traits were much higher than the estimates of average daily heritabilities, and varied from 0.29 for somatic cell score to 0.74 for urea content in milk. For both daily and lactational parameters, traits expressed in percent were more highly heritable than yield traits. The values of the genetic parameters estimated in this paper can be used when a single-trait multilactation random regression test-day animal model for production traits is applied in the official genetic evaluation of the Simmental population, replacing the current lactation model.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101395"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967155","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":"Are horned cows in loose housing more stressed than hornless cows? a cross-sectional study in organic dairy farms","authors":"A. Ebinghaus,&nbsp;G. Thiessen,&nbsp;S. Ivemeyer ,&nbsp;U. Knierim","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101405","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101405","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In commercial dairy farming, the majority of cows are dehorned or genetically hornless. It is argued that this reduces the risk of injurious and stressful social conflicts. On the other hand, in horned herds, management and housing may be better adapted to the cows, e.g. by avoiding changes in herd structure or by providing more space and resources, which would contribute to reducing stress. This cross-sectional study with 12 horned and 13 hornless organic dairy herds in loose housing aimed to explore the effect of horn status on faecal cortisol metabolites (<strong>FCMs</strong>) as an indicator for the cows’ stress level while taking into account possible differences in the farms’ compliance with management and housing recommendations for reducing social conflicts. Repeated faecal samples were collected from 674 cows (n = 2 625 samples), and FCMs were analysed by enzyme immunoassay. A total of 22 housing and management factors relating to guideline recommendations were recorded. Each factor was categorised as compliant, partly compliant, or non-compliant, and percentages of housing, management, and overall compliance were calculated. There was a wide variation in overall compliance between farms, ranging from 20 to 93%. Housing and management compliance correlated positively (r_s = 0.62) and farms with horned cows complied with more recommendations (median: 60 vs 48%). A linear mixed model was calculated with the fixed effects of horn status, overall compliance, and their interaction. Cow was nested within herd as a random effect, and days in milk and time of sampling were included as covariates. FCM levels were not higher in horned compared to hornless herds. However, contrary to expectations, no associations with compliance were found. More knowledge is needed about the extent to which FCM levels reflect social stress and whether individual housing or management factors may be particularly important in reducing stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101405"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142973145","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":"Effect of drinking water salinity on lactating cows’ water and feed intake, milk yield, and rumen physiology","authors":"A. Iritz ,&nbsp;D. Espinoza ,&nbsp;M.G. Taye ,&nbsp;F. Salhab ,&nbsp;Y. Portnik ,&nbsp;U. Moallem ,&nbsp;Y.A. Ben Meir","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101389","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Use of desalinated seawater in arid and semiarid regions for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes is on the rise. Consequently, in those regions, drinking water offered to lactating cows has lower salinity and mineral concentrations than in the past. Although water with total dissolved solids (<strong>TDSs</strong>) of up to 1 000 ppm is considered safe for drinking, lower salinity level may affect rumen physiology, feed and water intake, or milk yield. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of drinking water salinity in an electrical conductivity (<strong>EC</strong>) range of 400 to 1 000 micro Siemens (<strong>µS</strong>) / cm (TDS of 200 to 500 ppm) on lactating cows’ performance by artificially creating water EC &gt; 400 µS/cm by adding NaCl. Following 2 weeks of adaptation to individual feeders and troughs, four Israeli Holstein multiparous lactating cows were offered, in a Latin square design, drinking water with EC levels of 400, 600, 800 or 1 000 µS/cm, through addition of concentrated NaCl solutions (measured EC in troughs averaged 418, 624, 811, and 1 016 µS/cm and 209, 312, 406, and 508 TDS ppm, respectively), for four periods of 18 days each. Water EC in troughs was measured daily. Each period included 5 days for washout, 10 days for collecting data of feed and water intake, milk and milk component yields, and BW and 3 days for samplings of milk, urine, faeces, and rumen fluid. Rumen pH and temperature were recorded continually by inserting loggers into the reticulorumen. We analysed the total tract apparent digestibility, rumen fluid volatile fatty acids and NH₃, and mineral concentrations (Na, Cl, K, and N) in water, urine, faeces, and milk. Drinking water salinity was positively correlated with DM intake and energy-corrected milk yield, the latter showing the greatest response between EC of 400 and 600 µS/cm. Digestibility of ash-free amylase-treated NDF was negatively correlated with water salinity. There was no significant effect of water EC on rumen volatile fatty acid or NH₃ concentrations, or water intake. The results indicate possible effects of drinking water mineral concentrations on lactating cows’ milk yield and rumen physiology, warranting further investigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101389"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142973146","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":"Comparison of the effects of production and processing parameters on the eating quality of lamb","authors":"L.J. Farmer ,&nbsp;A.W. Gordon ,&nbsp;D.W. Sanderson ,&nbsp;J.S. Speers ,&nbsp;T.D.J. Hagan ,&nbsp;E.L. Swancott ,&nbsp;J.L. Evans ,&nbsp;D.J. Richards ,&nbsp;E.M. Thomas","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101407","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2024.101407","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While many separate research studies have investigated the effect of production and processing factors on eating quality of lamb, the relative impact of these parameters has been difficult to ascertain. In this study, the effect of eighteen production and processing factors on the eating quality of Welsh Lamb was compared, using meat from 624 lambs and assessments by 1920 UK consumers. Four experimental trials provided a balanced assessment of production and processing factors: muscle, breed type, lamb gender, ageing, finishing diet, season, carcase hanging and packaging method. The effect of other parameters was assessed using the combined data: farm type, individual farm, liveweight gain, abattoir, slaughter date, carcase weight, carcase conformation, carcase fat grade, age at slaughter, and transport time. The Meat Standards Australia protocol for consumer panels was used to provide a consistent methodology for comparing the effect on palatability of different treatments and factors and the interactions between them. The three factors that had the most significant effect on consumer sensory quality were muscle, season and individual farm. While the differences between muscles are well known, the effects of season within the 1st year and individual farm have not been widely reported. Meat from mid-season lambs received the highest scores for sensory quality while differences in sensory quality between meat from different farms were pronounced and unexplained; further research is needed to evaluate the role of genetics and/or microflora. Younger age and higher intramuscular fat content also gave improved eating quality, with gender and conformation grade having a small effect. Of the postslaughter factors, ageing to 14 or 21 days, gave significantly better eating quality than 7 days ageing, as did hanging “cross-legged” and vacuum packing, compared with Achilles hanging and modified atmosphere packaging, respectively. There was a significant muscle × hanging method interaction, with the greatest effect of “cross-legged” hanging observed in the loin. There was no significant effect of lamb finishing diet, abattoir, preslaughter daily liveweight gain or transportation time on any of the consumer sensory scores. The main factors tested that provide practical scope for improving the eating quality of lamb were ageing of the meat, carcase hanging and meat packaging. If the reasons for inter- and intra-farm differences in lamb quality can be elucidated, this may provide further management tools for improving the quality and consistency of lamb quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 101407"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143014283","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}