| 1. |
- Blanco Penedo, Isabel
(författare)
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Non-destructive evaluation of carcass and ham traits and meat quality assessment applied to early and late immunocastrated Iberian pigs
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Castration is a common practice in Iberian pigs due to their advanced age and high weight at slaughter. Immunocastration (IC) is an alternative to surgical castration that influences carcass and cut fatness. These traits need to be evaluated in vivo and postmortem. The aims of the present work were (a) to determine the relationship between ham composition measured with computed tomography (CT) and in vivo ultrasound (US) and carcass fat thickness measurements, (b) to apply these technologies to early (EIP) and late (LIP) immunocastrated Iberian pigs in order to evaluate carcass fatness and ham tissue composition and (c) to assess meat quality on these animals and to find the relationships between meat quality traits (namely, intramuscular fat (IMF)) and fat depot thicknesses. For this purpose, 20 purebred Iberian pigs were immunocastrated with three doses of Improvac (R), at either 4.5, 5.5 and 9 or 11, 12 and 14 months of age (EIP or LIP; respectively; n = 10 each) and slaughtered at 17 months of age. Fat depots were evaluated in vivo by US, in carcass with a ruler and in hams by CT. Carcass and cut yields, loin meat quality and loin acceptability by consumers were determined. Also, IMF was determined in the loin and three muscles of the ham. Carcass weight was 14.9 kg heavier in EIP vs LIP, and loin backfat thickness (US- and ruler-measured) was also greater in EIP. Similarly, CT-evaluated ham bone and fat contents were greater and smaller for EIP vs LIP, respectively. Loin and ham IMF were also greater in EIP, but the other meat quality parameters were similar. The acceptability of meat by consumers was high and it did not differ between IC protocols. Correlations between several fat depots measured with the different technologies were high. In conclusion, all these technologies allowed fat depot measurements, which were highly correlated despite being obtained at different anatomical locations. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Animal Consortium.
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| 2. |
- Blanco Penedo, Isabel
(författare)
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Short communication: Identifying key parameters for modelling the impacts of livestock health conditions on greenhouse gas emissions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Improved animal health can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity in livestock systems while increasing productivity. Integrated modelling of disease impacts on farm-scale emissions is important in identifying effective health strategies to reduce emissions. However, it requires that modellers understand the pathways linking animal health to emissions and how these might be incorporated into models. A key barrier to meeting this need has been the lack of a framework to facilitate effective exchange of knowledge and data between animal health experts and emissions modellers. Here, these two communities engaged in workshops, online exchanges and a survey to i) identify a comprehensive list of disease-related model parameters and ii) test its application to evaluating models. Fifty-six parameters were identified and proved effective in assessing the potential of farm-scale models to characterise livestock disease impacts on GHG emissions. Easy wins for the emissions models surveyed include characterising disease impacts related to feeding.
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| 3. |
- Boyner, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of hatching time on time to first feed intake, organ development, enzymatic activity and growth in broiler chicks hatched on-farm
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The conventional commercial hatcheries used today do not allow the newly hatched chicks to consume feed or water. Combined with natural variation in hatching time, this can lead to early hatched chicks being feed-deprived for up to 72 h before being unloaded at the rearing site. This study investigated the effects of hatching time on time to first feed intake and development of organs, digestive enzymes and productivity in terms of growth and feed conversion ratio in chicks hatched on-farm. Chicks were divided into three hatching groups (early, mid-term and late), and assessed over a full production cyde of 34 days. The results revealed that chicks remain inactive for a considerable amount of time before engaging in eating-related activities. Eating activity of 5% ( i.e. when 5% of birds in each hatching group were eating or standing dose to the feeder) was recorded at an average biological age (BA) of 25.4 h and a proportion of 50% birds with full crop was reached at an average BA of 30.6 h. Considering that the hatching window was 35 h in this study, the average chick probably did not benefit from access to feed and water immediately post-hatch in this case. At hatch, mid-term hatchlings had a heavier small intestine (30.1 g/kg bw) than both early (26.4 g/kg bw) and late (26.0 g/kg bw) hatchlings. Relative length of the small intestine was shorter in late hatchlings (735 cm/kg bw) than in mid-term (849 cm/kg bw) and early (831 cm/kg bw) hatchlings. However, the relative weight of the bursa fabridi was greater in mid-term (130 g/kg bw) than in early hatchlings (1.01 g/kg bw). At hatch, late hatchlings were heavier than early and mid-term hatchlings (P < 0.05), but by 3 days of age early hatchlings were heavier than mid-term and late hatchlings (P < 0.01). The only effect persisting throughout the study was a difference in the relative weight of the small intestine, where late hatchlings had heavier intestines than early hatchlings (P < 0.05). Thus, while there were differences between hatching groups, this study showed that the hatchlings seemed capable of compensating for these as they grew. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Animal Consortium.
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| 4. |
- Churakov, Mikhail, et al.
(författare)
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Milk fatty acids as indicators of negative energy balance of dairy cows in early lactation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most dairy cows experience negative energy balance (NEB) in early lactation because energy demand for milk synthesis is not met by energy intake. Excessive NEB may lead to metabolic disorders and impaired fertility. To optimize herd management, it is useful to detect cows in NEB in early lactation, but direct calculation of NEB is not feasible in commercial herds. Alternative methods rely on fat-to-protein ratio in milk or on concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in blood. Here, we considered methods to assess energy balance (EB) of dairy cows based on the fatty acid (FA) composition in milk. Short- and medium-chain FAs (primarily, C14:0) are typically synthesized de novo in the mammary gland and their proportions in milk fat decrease during NEB. Long-chain FAs C18:0 and C18:1 cis-9 are typically released from body fat depots during NEB, and their proportions increase. In this study, these FAs were routinely determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of individual milk samples. We performed an experiment on 85 dairy cows in early lactation, fed the same concentrate ration of up to 5 kg per day and forage ad libitum. Daily milk yield and feed intake were automatically recorded. During lactation weeks 2, 4, and 6 after calving, two milk samples were collected for FTIR spectroscopy, Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, blood plasma samples were collected Thursday morning. Net energy content in feed and net energy required for maintenance and lactation were estimated to derive EB, which was used to compare alternative indicators of severe NEB. Linear univariate models for EB based on NEFA concentration (deviance explained = 0.13) and other metabolites in blood plasma were outperformed by models based on concentrations of metabolites in milk: fat (0.27), fat-to-protein ratio (0.18), BHB (0.20), and especially C18:0 (0.28) and C18:1 cis-9 (0.39). Analysis of generalized additive models (GAM) revealed that models based on milk variables performed better than those based on blood plasma (deviance explained 0.46 vs. 0.21). C18:0 and C18:1 cis-9 also performed better in severe NEB prediction for EB cut-off values ranging from −50 to 0 MJ NEL/d. Overall, concentrations of C18:0 and C18:1 cis-9 in milk, milk fat, and milk BHB were the best variables for early detection of cows in severe NEB. Thus, milk FA concentrations in whole milk can be useful to identify NEB in early-lactation cows.
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| 5. |
- Clasen, Julie, et al.
(författare)
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Dairy cattle farmers' preferences for different breeding tools
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Breeding technologies play a significant role in improving dairy cattle production. Scientifically proven tools for improved management and genetic gain in dairy herds, such as sexed semen, beef semen, genomic testing, dairy crossbreeding, and multiple ovulation embryo transfer (MOET), are readily available to dairy farmers. However, despite good accessibility, decreasing costs, and continuous development of these tools, their use in Sweden is limited. This study investigated Swedish dairy farmers' preferences for breeding tools through a survey including a discrete choice experiment. The survey was distributed online to 1 521 Swedish farmers and by an open link published through a farming magazine. In total, the study included 204 completed responses. The discrete choice experiment consisted of 10 questions with two alternative combinations, which gave 48 combinations in total. Utility values and part-worth values were computed using a conditional logit model based on the responses in the discrete choice experiment for nine groups of respondents: one group with all respondents, two groups based on respondents using dairy crossbreeding or not within the past 12 months, two based on herd size, two based on respondent age, and two based on whether respondents had used breeding advisory services or not. The strongest preferences in all groups were for using sexed semen and beef semen. Genomic testing was also significantly preferred by all groups of respondents. Except in large herds, MOET on own animals was significantly and relatively strongly disfavoured by all groups. Buying embryos had no significant utility value to any group. Dairy crossbreeding had low and insignificant utility values in the group of all respondents, but it was strongly favoured by the group that had used dairy crossbreeding within the past 12 months, and it was disfavoured by the group that had not. Part-worth values of combined breeding tools showed that combinations of sexed and beef semen, alone or with genomic testing without dairy crossbreeding, were the most preferred tools. Compared with the most common combinations of breeding tools used in the past 12 months, the part-worth values indicated that Swedish dairy farmers may prefer to use breeding tools more than they do today. Statements on the different breeding tools indicated that the respondents agreed with the benefits attributed to the breeding tools, but these benefits may not be worth the cost of genomic testing and the time consumption of MOET. These valuable insights can be used for further development of breeding tools.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson, Hanna, et al.
(författare)
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Strategies for keeping dairy cows and calves together - a cross-sectional survey study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although it is still most common to rear dairy calves separately from adult cattle, the interest in pro-longed contact between dairy calves and lactating cows during early life is increasing. Previous research has documented positive effects of cow-calf contact (CCC) on for example early calf growth and udder health of suckled cows, but also negative effects such as increased separation distress and reduced weight gains after weaning. The aim of this study was to use information from European farms with prolonged cow-calf contact to identify innovative solutions to common challenges for CCC farms. Commercial dairy farms that kept calves with adult lactating cows for seven days or more after birth were invited to participate, and interviews were performed with 104 farmers from six countries. During interviews, information about farm management, calf rearing, farmers' perception of animal health on their farm, and farmers' drivers and barriers for implementing CCC were collected. We found that CCC was practised in a large variety of housing and management systems, and that calves could be reared together with their dam, with foster cows, or using a combination of the two. The contact period varied considerably (7-305 days) between farms and about 25% of the farms manually milk fed the calves during parts of the milk feeding period. Daily contact time varied between farms, from 30 minutes per day to permanent contact except at milking. Behaviours indicative of separation distress, most commonly vocalisation in cows and calves, were reported by 87% of the farmers. Strategies to alleviate separation distress, for example simultaneous gradual weaning and separation, were used on some farms. Building constraints were most often mentioned as a barrier for implementing CCC. Our findings suggest that CCC is practised in a variety of commonly used husbandry systems. Reported challenges were primarily related to weaning and separation, and to building constraints; these aspects should be areas of future research.@2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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| 7. |
- Friman, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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Inclusion of silage in diets to fattening pigs: effect on gastric ulcers and skin lesions
- 2024
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Limited access to high-quality feed protein for pigs has made it necessary to evaluate new protein sources that both promote sustainable pig production and meet the nutritional requirements of pigs. Providing pigs with roughage has positive effects on their behaviour and gut health. However, roughage is seldom given as a part of the pigs’ diet and often has a long straw length. Knowledge is lacking on the effect of feeding silage with smaller particle size and as a part of the pigs' diet on pig behaviour and welfare. This study evaluated the influence of feeding fattening pigs silage with different particle sizes on aggressive encounters, measured as the number of skin lesions, and on the occurrence of gastric lesions and ulcers. In total, 128 Swedish Yorkshire × Hampshire pigs were fed either a commercial control feed without silage (Pellet-C), or silage mixed with commercial feed, either in a pellet (Pellet-S) or in a total mixed ration (TMR) with chopped (TMR-Ch) or intensively treated silage (TMR-Ex). Skin lesions were assessed twice in the study according to the Welfare Quality® protocol. The first assessment was performed when the pigs were 105 days old and the second assessment at 132 days of age. Gastric lesions were examined in both the pars oesophagea and the pars glandularis region of the stomach. Stomachs were collected after slaughter, and gastric lesions were scored based on established scoring criteria. There was a treatment × assessment interaction on the number of skin lesions on the ear (P = 0.049). Apart from this interaction, no other effect of treatment on the number of skin lesions could be observed between the treatments or the assessment occasions. Treatment had a clear effect on the occurrence of gastric lesions and pigs fed the fresh silage (TMR-Ch and TMR-Ex) had a lower occurrence of gastric lesions and ulcers compared to the pelleted treatments (Pellet-C and Pellet-S) (P = 0.001). This study could not show any clear reduction effect of dietary silage inclusion on skin lesions. However, feeding silage in TMR significantly reduced the occurrence of stomach ulcers.
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| 8. |
- Humblot, Patrice
(författare)
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Review: Perspective on high-performing dairy cows and herds
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Milk and dairy products provide highly sustainable concentrations of essential amino acids and other required nutrients for humans; however, amount of milk currently produced per dairy cow globally is inadequate to meet future needs. Higher performing dairy cows and herds produce more milk with less environmental impact per kg than lower performing cows and herds. In 2018, 15.4% of the world's dairy cows produced 45.4% of the world's dairy cow milk, reflecting the global contribution of high-performing cows and herds. In high-performing herds, genomic evaluations are utilized for multiple trait selection, welfare is monitored by remote sensing, rations are formulated at micronutrient levels, health care is focused on prevention and reproduction is managed with precision. Higher performing herds require more inputs and generate more waste products per cow, thus innovations in environmental management on such farms are essential for lowering environmental impacts. Our focus is to provide perspectives on technologies and practices that contribute most to sustainable production of milk from high-performing dairy cows and herds. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium.
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| 9. |
- Högberg, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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Subclinical nematode parasitism affects activity and rumination patterns in first-season grazing cattle
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sickness behaviour has been suggested as an applicable indicator for monitoring disease. Deviating feeding behaviour and activity can provide information about animals' health and welfare status. Recent advances in sensor technology enable monitoring of such behaviours and could potentially be utilized as an indicator of gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections. This study investigated activity and rumination patterns in first-season grazing steers exposed to subclinical infection levels of the GIN Ostertagia ostertagi and Cooperia oncophora. At turnout, animals were allocated to one of four experimental groups and were faced with "high" (H1, n = 15; H2, n = 17) or "low" (L1, n = 17; L2, n = 11) levels of parasite exposure by grazing in similar enclosures contaminated with overwintering third stage (13) GIN larvae. Animals in H1 and H2 (HP) received a 1:1 mix of approximately 10,000 0. ostertagi and C. oncophora L3 at turnout; whereas the animals in Ll and L2 (LP) were treated monthly with ivermectin. Activity and rumination patterns were monitored by fitting animals with leg- (IceQube) and neck-mounted (Heatime) sensors. BW was recorded every fortnight, whereas faecal and blood samples were examined every four weeks for nematode faecal egg count and serum pepsinogen concentrations (SPCs). There was an interaction effect of exposure level and period (P < 0.0001) on average lying daily time across the entire grazing time. A higher mean daily lying time (P = 0.0037) was found in HP compared with LP during the first 40 days on pasture. There was also interaction effects of treatment and day since turnout on rumination time (P < 0.0001) and rumination change (P = 0.0008). Also mean daily steps (P < 0.0001) and mean daily motion index (P < 0.0001) were markedly higher in HP during days 62-69, coinciding with peaking SPC in HP. Strongyle eggs were observed both in HP and LP from 31 days after turnout. Eggs per gram (EPG) differed between parasite exposure levels (P < 0.0001), with mean EPG remaining low in LP throughout the experiment. Similarly, an increase in SPC was observed (P < 0.0001), but only in HP where it peaked at day 56. In contrast, no difference in BW gain (BWG) (P = 0.78) between HP and LP was observed. In conclusion, this study shows that behavioural measurements monitored with sensors were affected even at low infection levels not affecting BWG. These combined results demonstrate the potential of automated behavioural recordings as a tool for detection of subclinical parasitism. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium.
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| 10. |
- Iannaccone, M., et al.
(författare)
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Whole-transcriptome profiling of sheep fed with a high iodine-supplemented diet
- 2020
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 14:4, s. 745-752
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Iodine (I) is a micronutrient that mammals need for proper functionality of thyroid gland since it is the main component of thyroid hormones. Besides studies that have investigated the role of I in livestock nutrition, it is also important to know the transcriptomics changes in small ruminants following I supplementation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of I on the whole blood transcriptome in sheep. Fifteen lactating cross-bred ewes (3 to 4-year-old, 55 to 65 kg BW) at their late lactation period were enrolled in this study. At the beginning, all the animals had a 2-week acclimation period where they were fed with a basal diet which includes an adequate level of I (2 mg I/animal per day) in the form of calcium iodate (CaI2O6). Then, the ewes were randomly divided into two groups and fed in individual troughs: the control group (n = 5) was maintained on basal diet and the experimental group (I, n = 10) was fed for 40 days with a diet containing a high I supplementation (equivalent to 30 mg I/animal per day), in the form of potassium iodide. Whole blood and milk were collected individually at the beginning (T0) and after the 40 days of supplementation (T40). Iodine quantification was assessed in serum and milk sample. Microarray gene expression analysis was performed on whole blood and, filtering data using a fold change >2 with an adjusted P < 0.05, we identified 250 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the I group (T40 v. T0). Looking for biological processes associated with our DEGs, we found significant association with cell growth regulation. Thus, our study unveils the role of I supplementation on gene expression in sheep improving the knowledge about micronutrients in animal nutrition.
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