| 1. |
- Almeida, A. M., et al.
(författare)
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Animal board invited review: advances in proteomics for animal and food sciences
- 2015
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP): STM Journals. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 9:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal production and health (APH) is an important sector in the world economy, representing a large proportion of the budget of all member states in the European Union and in other continents. APH is a highly competitive sector with a strong emphasis on innovation and, albeit with country to country variations, on scientific research. Proteomics (the study of all proteins present in a given tissue or fluid - i.e. the proteome) has an enormous potential when applied to APH. Nevertheless, for a variety of reasons and in contrast to disciplines such as plant sciences or human biomedicine, such potential is only now being tapped. To counter such limited usage, 6 years ago we created a consortium dedicated to the applications of Proteomics to APH, specifically in the form of a Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action, termed FA1002 - Proteomics in Farm Animals: www.cost-faproteomics.org. In 4 years, the consortium quickly enlarged to a total of 31 countries in Europe, as well as Israel, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. This article has a triple purpose. First, we aim to provide clear examples on the applications and benefits of the use of proteomics in all aspects related to APH. Second, we provide insights and possibilities on the new trends and objectives for APH proteomics applications and technologies for the years to come. Finally, we provide an overview and balance of the major activities and accomplishments of the COST Action on Farm Animal Proteomics. These include activities such as the organization of seminars, workshops and major scientific conferences, organization of summer schools, financing Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) and the generation of scientific literature. Overall, the Action has attained all of the proposed objectives and has made considerable difference by putting proteomics on the global map for animal and veterinary researchers in general and by contributing significantly to reduce the East-West and North-South gaps existing in the European farm animal research. Future activities of significance in the field of scientific research, involving members of the action, as well as others, will likely be established in the future.
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| 2. |
- Andrée O´ Hara, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of dry period length on milk production and energy balance in two cow breeds
- 2018
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 12, s. 508-514
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Shortening the dry period (DP) has been proposed as a strategy to improve energy balance (EB) in cows in early lactation. This study evaluated the effects of shortening the DP on milk yield (MY), EB and residual feed intake (RFI) in two breeds; Swedish Red (SR) and Swedish Holstein (SH). Cows were blocked by breed and parity and then randomly assigned to one of two treatments; short DP of 4 weeks (4W, n = 43) or conventional DP of 8 weeks (8W, n = 34). Cows were kept and fed under the same conditions, except for the 4 weeks when the 4W group were still lactating prepartum and thus kept with the lactating cows. Milk yield and BW were recorded and body condition score (BCS) was rated from 10 weeks prepartum to 12 weeks postpartum. Dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded for lactating cows postpartum. Milk yield was reduced by 6.75 kg/day during the first 12 weeks postpartum ( P< 0.001) for the 4W cows compared with 8W cows, but there was no significant difference in total MY (3724 kg compared with 3684 kg, P = 0.7) when the milk produced prepartum was included. Protein content was higher in 4W cows (3.42%) than in 8W cows (3.27%) ( P<0.001) postpartum. In the 8W group, cows lost more BCS after calving ( P<0.05). Cows of SR breed had higher BCS than cows of SH breed (SR = 3.7, SH = 3.2, P< 0.001), but no differences in BW were found between breed and treatment. Energy balance was improved for cows in the 4W group ( P< 0.001), while feed efficiency, expressed as RFI, was reduced for 4W cows than for 8W cows (5.91 compared with −5.39, P<0.01). Shortening the DP resulted in improved EB postpartum with no difference between the breeds and no milk losses when including the milk produced prepartum.
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| 3. |
- Backhans, Annette, et al.
(författare)
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The biosecurity status and its associations with production and management characteristics in farrow-to-finish pig herds
- 2016
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 10, s. 478-489
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disease prevention through biosecurity measures is believed to be an important factor for improvement of the overall health status in animal production. This study aimed at assessing the levels of implementation of biosecurity measures in pig production in four European Union (EU) countries and to describe possible associations between the biosecurity level and farm and production characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 232 farrow-to-finish pig herds in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden between December 2012 and December 2013. The biosecurity status in each of these herds was described and quantified by using the risk-based scoring tool Biocheck.UGentTM (www.biocheck.ugentbe). Production and management characteristics, obtained from the herd management system and by interviewing the farmer, were analysed for their association with the biosecurity A causal path was designed to study statistical associations. The results showed that there was substantial room for improvement in the biosecurity status on many pig farms. Significant differences (P < 0.01) both in internal and external biosecurity levels were observed between countries. The external biosecurity status, combining all measures taken to prevent disease introduction into the herd, was highest in Germany and lowest in France. The internal biosecurity status, combining all measures taken to prevent within herd disease transmission, was highest in Sweden and lowest, with a large variation, in Belgium. External biosecurity scores were in general higher compared to internal biosecurity scores. The number of pathogens vaccinated against was significantly associated with internal biosecurity status, suggesting an overall more preventive approach towards the risk of disease transmission. A higher external biosecurity was associated with more weaned piglets per sow per year. Furthermore also the weaning age and the mortality till weaning were highly associated with the number of weaned piglets per sow per year. The negative association observed between the biosecurity level and the estimated frequency of treatment against certain clinical signs of disease as a proxy for disease incidence is consistent with the hypothesis that a higher biosecurity level results in healthier animals. These findings promote an improved biosecurity status at pig farms and are of relevance in the discussion on alternative ways to keep animals healthy with a reduced necessity of antimicrobials; Prevention is better than cure!
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| 4. |
- Brunius, Carl, et al.
(författare)
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Skatole metabolites in urine as a biological marker of pigs with enhanced hepatic metabolism
- 2016
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 10, s. 1734-1740
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Boar taint is a quality defect in meat, related to accumulation of skatole and androstenone in male pigs. The levels of skatole and its main metabolites in plasma and urine samples were measured with a validated liquid chromatography-MS method and related to activity of hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP450) in order to identify fast metabolizing' pigs. Urine (n=46), blood (n=12), liver (n=25) and adipose tissue (n=46) were sampled from a total of 46 entire male pigs. Skatole levels in fat were negatively correlated to CYP2E1 activity and positively to 3-hydroxy-3-methyloxindole (HMOI), indole-3-carboxylic acid (ICA) and 2-aminoacetophenone in urine. HMOI and ICA levels in urine were the best predictors of high skatole levels in fat. In summary, the present study provided further evidence for the key role of CYP2E1 in skatole metabolism and suggested that measurement of HMOI and/or ICA in urine might provide information about skatole levels in live pigs.
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| 5. |
- Derks, Marjolein
(författare)
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Coupling a reproductive function model to a productive function model to simulate lifetime performance in dairy cows
- 2019
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 13, s. 570-579
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reproductive success is a key component of lifetime performance in dairy cows but is difficult to predict due to interactions with productive function. Accordingly, this study introduces a dynamic model to simulate the productive and reproductive performance of a cow during her lifetime. The cow model consists of an existing productive function model (GARUNS) which is coupled to a new reproductive function model (RFM). The GARUNS model simulates the individual productive performance of a dairy cow throughout her lifespan. It provides, with a daily time step, changes in BW and composition, fetal growth, milk yield and composition and food intake. Genetic-scaling parameters are incorporated to scale individual performance and simulate differences within and between breeds. GARUNS responds to the discrete event signals 'conception' and 'death' (of embryo or fetus) generated by RFM. In turn, RFM responds to the GARUNS outputs concerning the cow's energetic status: the daily total processed metabolizable energy per kg BW (TPEW) and the net energy balance (EB). Reproductive function model models the reproductive system as a compartmental system transitioning between nine competence stages: prepubertal (PRPB), anestrous (ANST), anovulatory (ANOV), pre-ovulating (PREO), ovulating (OVUL), post-ovulating (PSTO), luteinizing (LUTZ), luteal (LUTL) and gestating (GEST). The transition from PRPB to ANST represents the start of reproductive activity at puberty. The cyclic path through ANST, PREO, OVUL, PSTO, LUTZ and LUTL forms the regime of ovulatory cycles, whereas ANOV and GEST are transient stages that interrupt this regime. Anovulatory refers explicitly to a stage in which ovulation cannot occur (i.e. interrupted cyclicity), whereas ANST is a pivotal stage within ovulatory cycles. Reproductive function model generates estradiol and progesterone hormonal profiles consistent with reference profiles derived from literature. Cyclicity is impacted by the GARUNS output EB and clearance of estradiol is impacted by TPEW. A farming system model was designed to describe different farm protocols of heat detection, insemination, feeding (amount and energy density), drying-off and culling. Results of model simulation (10 000 simulations of individual cows over 5000 days lifetime period, with randomly drawn genetic-scaling parameters and standard diet) are consistent with literature for reproductive performance. This model allows simulation of deviations in reproductive trajectories along physiological stages of the cow reproductive cycle. It thus provides the basis for evaluation of the relative importance of different factors affecting fertility at individual cow and herd levels across different breeds and management environments.
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| 6. |
- Emanuelson, Ulf
(författare)
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Graph-based impact analysis as a framework for incorporating practitioner knowledge in dairy herd health management
- 2018
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 12, s. 624-633
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Production diseases in dairy cows are multifactorial, which means they emerge from complex interactions between many different farm variables. Variables with a large impact on production diseases can be identified for groups of farms using statistical models, but these methods cannot be used to identify highly influential variables in individual farms. This, however, is necessary for herd health planning, because farm conditions and associated health problems vary largely between farms. The aim of this study was to rank variables according to their anticipated effect on production diseases on the farm level by applying a graph-based impact analysis on 192 European organic dairy farms. Direct impacts between 13 pre-defined variables were estimated for each farm during a round-table discussion attended by practitioners, that is farmer, veterinarian and herd advisor. Indirect impacts were elaborated through graph analysis taking into account impact strengths. Across farms, factors supposedly exerting the most influence on production diseases were feeding', hygiene' and treatment' (direct impacts), as well as knowledge and skills' and herd health monitoring' (indirect impacts). Factors strongly influenced by production diseases were milk performance', financial resources' and labour capacity' (directly and indirectly). Ranking of variables on the farm level revealed considerable differences between farms in terms of their most influential and most influenced farm factors. Consequently, very different strategies may be required to reduce production diseases in these farms. The method is based on perceptions and estimations and thus prone to errors. From our point of view, however, this weakness is clearly outweighed by the ability to assess and to analyse farm-specific relationships and thus to complement general knowledge with contextual knowledge. Therefore, we conclude that graph-based impact analysis represents a promising decision support tool for herd health planning. The next steps include testing the method using more specific and problem-oriented variables as well as evaluating its effectiveness.
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| 7. |
- Felton, Annika
(författare)
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Review: Using physiologically based models to predict population responses to phytochemicals by wild vertebrate herbivores
- 2018
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 12, s. S383-S398
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- To understand how foraging decisions impact individual fitness of herbivores, nutritional ecologists must consider the complex in vivo dynamics of nutrient-nutrient interactions and nutrient-toxin interactions associated with foraging. Mathematical modeling has long been used to make foraging predictions (e.g. optimal foraging theory) but has largely been restricted to a single currency (e.g. energy) or using simple indices of nutrition (e.g. fecal nitrogen) without full consideration of physiologically based interactions among numerous co-ingested phytochemicals. Here, we describe a physiologically based model (PBM) that provides a mechanistic link between foraging decisions and demographic consequences. Including physiological mechanisms of absorption, digestion and metabolism of phytochemicals in PBMs allows us to estimate concentrations of ingested and interacting phytochemicals in the body. Estimated phytochemical concentrations more accurately link intake of phytochemicals to changes in individual fitness than measures of intake alone. Further, we illustrate how estimated physiological parameters can be integrated with the geometric framework of nutrition and into integral projection models and agent-based models to predict fitness and population responses of vertebrate herbivores to ingested phytochemicals. The PBMs will improve our ability to understand the foraging decisions of vertebrate herbivores and consequences of those decisions and may help identify key physiological mechanisms that underlie diet-based ecological adaptations.
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| 8. |
- Gräns, Albin, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Stunning fish with CO2 or electricity: contradictory results on behavioural and physiological stress responses
- 2016
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 10:2, s. 294-301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies that address fi sh welfare before slaughter have concluded that many of the traditional systems used to stun fi sh including CO 2 narcosis are unacceptable as they cause avoidable stress before death. One system recommended as a better alternative is electrical stunning, however, the welfare aspects of this method are not yet fully understood. To assess welfare in aquaculture both behavioural and physiological measurements have been used, but few studies have examined the relationship between these variables. In an on-site study aversive behaviours and several physiological stress indicators, including plasma levels of cortisol and ions as well as blood physiological variables, were compared in Arctic char ( Salvelinus alpinus ) stunned with CO 2 or electricity. Exposure to water saturated with CO 2 triggered aversive struggling and escape responses for several minutes before immobilization, whereas in fi sh exposed to an electric current immobilization was close to instant. On average, it took 5 min for the fi sh to recover from electrical stunning, whereas fi sh stunned with CO 2 did not recover. Despite this, the electrically stunned fi sh had more than double the plasma levels of cortisol compared with fi sh stunned with CO 2 . This result is surprising considering that the behavioural reactions were much more pronounced following CO 2 exposure. These contradictory results are discussed with regard to animal welfare and stress physiological responses. The present results emphasise the importance of using an integrative and interdisciplinary approach and to include both behavioural and physiological stress indicators in order to make accurate welfare assessments of fish in aquaculture.
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| 9. |
- Guinguina, Abdulai, et al.
(författare)
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Predicting feed intake and feed efficiency in lactating dairy cows using digesta marker techniques
- 2019
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 13, s. 2277-2288
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Direct measurement of individual animal dry matter intake (DMI) remains a fundamental challenge to assessing dairy feed efficiency (FE). Digesta marker, is currently the most used indirect technique for estimating DMI in production animals. In this meta-analysis we evaluated the performance of marker-based estimates against direct or observed measurements and developed equations for the prediction of FE (g energy-corrected milk (ECM)/kg DMI). Data were taken from 29 change-over studies consisting of 416 cow-within period observations. Most studies used more than one digesta marker. So, for each observed measurement of DMI, faecal dry matter output (FDMO) and apparent total tract dry matter digestibility (DMD), there was one or more corresponding marker estimate. There were 924, 409 and 846 observations for estimated FDMO (eFDMO), estimated apparent total tract DMD (eDMD) and estimated DMI (eDMI), respectively. The experimental diets were based mainly on grass silage, with soya bean or rapeseed meal as protein supplements and cereal grains or by-products as energy supplements. Across all diets, average forage to concentrate ratio on a dry matter (DM) basis was 59 : 41. Variance component and repeatability estimates of observed and marker estimations were determined using random factors in mixed procedures of SAS. Between-cow CV in observed FDMO, DMD and DMI was, 10.3, 1.69 and 8.04, respectively. Overall, the repeatability estimates of observed variables were greater than their corresponding marker-based estimates of repeatability. Regression of observed measurements on marker-based estimates gave good relationships (R-2=0.87, 0.68, 0.74 and 0.74, relative prediction error =10.9%, 6.5%, 15.4% and 18.7%for FDMO, DMD, DMI and FE predictions, respectively). Despite this, the mean and slope biases were statistically significant (P<0.001) for all regressions. More than half of the errors in all regressions were due to mean and slope biases (52.4% 87.4%, 82.9% and 85.8% for FDMO, DMD, DMI and FE, respectively), whereas the contributions of random errors were small. Based on residual variance, the best model for predicting FE developed from the dataset was FE (g ECM/kg DMI)=1179(+/- 54.1) +38.2(+/- 2.05)xECM(kg/day)-0.64(+/- 0.051)xBW (kg)-75.6(+/- 4.39)xeFDMO (kg/day). Although eDMD was positively related to FE, it only showed a tendency to reduce the residual variance. Despite inaccuracy in marker procedures, eFDMO from external markers provided a reliable determination for FE measurement. However, DMD estimated by internal markers did not improve prediction of FE, probably reflecting small variability.
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| 10. |
- Guinguina, Abdulai
(författare)
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Review: In vivo and postmortem effects of feed antioxidants in livestock: a review of the implications on authorization of antioxidant feed additives
- 2016
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 10, s. 1375-1390
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pivotal roles of regulatory jurisdictions in the feed additive sector cannot be over-emphasized. In the European Union (EU), antioxidant substances are authorized as feed additives for prolonging the shelf life of feedstuffs based on their effect for preventing lipid peroxidation. However, the efficacy of antioxidants transcends their functional use as technological additives in animal feeds. Promising research results have revealed the in vivo efficacy of dietary antioxidants for combating oxidative stress in production animals. The in vivo effect of antioxidants is significant for enhancing animal health and welfare. Similarly, postmortem effect of dietary antioxidants has been demonstrated to improve the nutritional, organoleptic and shelf-life qualities of animal products. In practice, dietary antioxidants have been traditionally used by farmers for these benefits in livestock production. However, some antioxidants particularly when supplemented in excess could act as prooxidants and exert detrimental effects on animal well-being and product quality. Presently, there is no exclusive legislation in the EU to justify the authorization of antioxidant products for these in vivo and postmortem efficacy claims. To indicate these efficacy claims and appropriate dosage on product labels, it is important to broaden the authorization status of antioxidants through the appraisal of existing EU legislations on feed additives. Such regulatory review will have major impact on the legislative categorization of antioxidants and the efficacy assessment in the technical dossier application. The present review harnesses the scientific investigations of these efficacy claims in production animals and, proposes potential categorization and appraisal of in vivo methodologies for efficacy assessment of antioxidants. This review further elucidates the implication of such regulatory review on the practical application of antioxidants as feed additives in livestock production. Effecting these regulatory changes will stimulate the innovation of more potent antioxidant products and create potential new markets that will have profound economic impacts on the feed additive industry. Based on the in vivo efficacy claims, antioxidants may have to contend with the legislative controversy of either to be considered as veterinary drugs or feed additives. In this scenario, antioxidants are not intended to diagnose or cure diseases as ascribed to veterinary products. This twisted distinction can be logically debated with reference to the stipulated status of feed additives in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003. Nonetheless, it is imperative for relevant stakeholders in the feed additive industry to lobby for the review of existing EU legislations for authorization of antioxidants for these efficacy claims.
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| 11. |
- Gunnarsson, Stefan
(författare)
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Possible risk factors for keel bone damage in organic laying hens
- 2019
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 13, s. 2356-2364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Keel bone damage (KBD) in laying hens is an important welfare problem in both conventional and organic egg production systems. We aimed to identify possible risk factors for KBD in organic hens by analysing cross-sectional data of 107 flocks assessed in eight European countries. Due to partly missing data, the final multiple regression model was based on data from 50 flocks. Keel bone damage included fractures and/or deviations, and was recorded, alongside with other animal based measures, by palpation and visual inspection of at least 50 randomly collected hens per flock between 52 and 73 weeks of age. Management and housing data were obtained by interviews, inspection and by feed analysis. Keel bone damage flock prevalences ranged from 3% to 88%. Compiled on the basis of literature and practical experience, 26 potential associative factors of KBD went into an univariable selection by Spearman correlation analysis or Mann-Whitney U test (with P<0.1 level). The resulting nine factors were presented to stepwise forward linear regression modelling. Aviary v. floor systems, absence of natural daylight in the hen house, a higher proportion of underweight birds, as well as a higher laying performance were found to be significantly associated with a higher percentage of hens with KBD. The final model explained 32% of the variation in KBD between farms. The moderate explanatory value of the model underlines the multifactorial nature of KBD. Based on the results increased attention should be paid to an adequate housing design and lighting that allows the birds easy orientation and safe manoeuvring in the system. Furthermore, feeding management should aim at sufficient bird live weights that fulfil breeder weight standards. In order to achieve a better understanding of the relationships between laying performance, feed management and KBD further investigations are needed.
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| 12. |
- Hansson, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Use and non-use values as motivational construct dimensions for farm animal welfare: impacts on the economic outcome for the farm
- 2018
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 12, s. 2147-2155
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explored how farmers' motivation in terms of use values and/or non-use values to work with farm animal welfare are associated with the economic outcome for the farm. Use values in farm animal welfare refer to economic value derived from productivity and profitability considerations. Non-use values in farm animal welfare refer to economic value derived from good animal welfare, irrespective of the use the farmer derives from the animal, currently or in the future. The analysis was based on detailed information about the income statements of a sample of Swedish dairy farmers, obtained from the Swedish Farm Economic Survey, complemented with survey information about their perceived use and non-use values in farm animal welfare. The findings suggest that farm economic outcome is significantly associated with motivation in terms of use values, but not so much with motivation in terms of non-use values. This is interesting from a policy point of view, because it indicates that farmers with different approaches to farm animal welfare may experience different economic outcomes for their farms. Findings can, for instance, be used to strengthen farmers' engagement in various private quality assurance standards, which generally focus on values of non-use type, by pointing to that realisation of such values will not impair the economic outcome of the farms. Moreover, findings also suggest that farmers' economic incentives for engagement in such standards may need to be further strengthened in order to become more attractive, as findings point to that a focus on non-use values generally is not associated with more favourable economic outcomes.
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| 13. |
- Hitchens, Peta, et al.
(författare)
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An epidemiological analysis of equine welfare data from regulatory inspections by the official competent authorities
- 2017
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 11, s. 1237-1248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Determining welfare status in a population is the first step in efforts to improve welfare. The primary objective of this study was to explore a new epidemiological approach for analysis of data from official competent authorities that pertain to compliance with animal welfare legislation. We reviewed data already routinely collected as part of Swedish official animal welfare inspections for 2010-13, using a checklist containing 45 checkpoints (CPs). These covered animal-, resource- and management-based measures of equine welfare. The animal-based CPs were measures that directly related to the animal and included social contact, body condition, hoof condition and cleanliness. Non-compliance with one or more of the animal-based CPs was used as a binary outcome of poor equine welfare; 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using the exact binomial distribution. Associations were determined using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for clustering on premises. Resource- and management-based CPs (model inputs) were reduced by principal component analysis. Other input factors included premises characteristics (e.g. size, location) and inspection characteristics (e.g. type of inspection). There were 30 053 premises with horses from 21 counties registered by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. In total 13 321 inspections of premises were conducted at 28.4% (n = 8532) of all registered premises. For random inspections, the premises-prevalence of poor equine welfare was 9.5% (95% CI 7.5, 11.9). Factors associated with poor equine welfare were non-compliance with requirements for supervision, care or feeding of horses, facility design, personnel, stable hygiene, pasture and exercise area maintenance, as well as the owner not being notified of the inspection, a previous complaint or deficiency, spring compared with autumn, and not operating as a professional equine business. Horses at premises compliant with stabling and shelter requirements had significantly better welfare if they also complied with documentation requirements. We present a novel approach for analysis of equine welfare data from regulatory inspections by the official competent authorities, and propose on-going analyses and benchmarking of trends in animal-based measures over time. We also suggest how such a database could be further improved to facilitate future epidemiological analyses of risk factors associated with poor equine welfare. The study has implications for other competent authorities and researchers collaborating in the area of animal welfare epidemiology.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Huhtanen, Pekka
(författare)
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The development of a model to predict BW gain of growing cattle fed grass silage-based diets
- 2015
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 9, s. 1329-1340
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this meta-analysis was to develop and validate empirical equations predicting BW gain (BWG) and carcass traits of growing cattle from intake and diet composition variables. The modelling was based on treatment mean data from feeding trials in growing cattle, in which the nutrient supply was manipulated by wide ranges of forage and concentrate factors. The final dataset comprised 527 diets in 116 studies. The diets were mainly based on grass silage or grass silage partly or completely replaced by whole-crop silages, hay or straw. The concentrate feeds consisted of cereal grains, fibrous by-products and protein supplements. Mixed model regression analysis with a random study effect was used to develop prediction equations for BWG and carcass traits. The best-fit models included linear and quadratic effects of metabolisable energy (ME) intake per metabolic BW (BW0.75), linear effects of BW0.75, and dietary concentrations of NDF, fat and feed metabolisable protein (MP) as significant variables. Although diet variables had significant effects on BWG, their contribution to improve the model predictions compared with ME intake models was small. Feed MP rather than total MP was included in the final model, since it is less correlated to dietary ME concentration than total MP. None of the quadratic terms of feed variables was significant (P>0.10) when included in the final models. Further, additional feed variables (e.g. silage fermentation products, forage digestibility) did not have significant effects on BWG. For carcass traits, increased ME intake (ME/BW0.75) improved both dressing proportion (P<0.01) and carcass conformation (P<0.001) and increased (P<0.001) carcass fat score. Increased dietary CP concentration had no significant (P>0.10) effect on dressing proportion or carcass conformation score, but it increased (P<0.01) carcass fat score. The current study demonstrated that ME intake per BW0.75 was clearly the most important variable explaining the BWG response in growing cattle. The effect of increased ME supply displayed diminishing responses that could be associated with increased energy concentration of BWG, reduced diet metabolisability (proportion of ME of gross energy) and/or decreased efficiency of ME utilisation for growth with increased intake. Negative effects of increased dietary NDF concentration on BWG were smaller compared to responses that energy evaluation systems predict for energy retention. The present results showed only marginal effects of protein supply on BWG in growing cattle.
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| 16. |
- Jansson, Anna
(författare)
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Review: Feeding conserved forage to horses: recent advances and recommendations
- 2017
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 11, s. 958-967
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The horse is a non-ruminant herbivore adapted to eating plant-fibre or forage-based diets. Some horses are stabled for most or the majority of the day with limited or no access to fresh pasture and are fed preserved forage typically as hay or haylage and sometimes silage. This raises questions with respect to the quality and suitability of these preserved forages (considering production, nutritional content, digestibility as well as hygiene) and required quantities. Especially for performance horses, forage is often replaced with energy dense feedstuffs which can result in a reduction in the proportion of the diet that is forage based. This may adversely affect the health, welfare, behaviour and even performance of the horse. In the past 20 years a large body of research work has contributed to a better and deeper understanding of equine forage needs and the physiological and behavioural consequences if these are not met. Recent nutrient requirement systems have incorporated some, but not all, of this new knowledge into their recommendations. This review paper amalgamates recommendations based on the latest understanding in forage feeding for horses, defining forage types and preservation methods, hygienic quality, feed intake behaviour, typical nutrient composition, digestion and digestibility as well as health and performance implications. Based on this, consensual applied recommendations for feeding preserved forages are provided.
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| 17. |
- Jorjani, Hossein
(författare)
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Multiple-breed genomic evaluation by principal component analysis in small size populations
- 2015
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 9, s. 738-749
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, the effects of breed composition and predictor dimensionality on the accuracy of direct genomic values (DGV) in a multiple breed (MB) cattle population were investigated. A total of 3559 bulls of three breeds were genotyped at 54 001 single nucleotide polymorphisms: 2093 Holstein (H), 749 Brown Swiss (B) and 717 Simmental (S). DGV were calculated using a principal component (PC) approach for either single (SB) or MB scenarios. Moreover, DGV were computed using all SNP genotypes simultaneously with SNPBLUP model as comparison. A total of seven data sets were used: three with a SB each, three with different pairs of breeds (HB, HS and BS), and one with all the three breeds together (HBS), respectively. Editing was performed separately for each scenario. Reference populations differed in breed composition, whereas the validation bulls were the same for all scenarios. The number of SNPs retained after data editing ranged from 36 521 to 41 360. PCs were extracted from actual genotypes. The total number of retained PCs ranged from 4029 to 7284 in Brown Swiss and HBS respectively, reducing the number of predictors by about 85% (from 82% to 89%). In all, three traits were considered: milk, fat and protein yield. Correlations between deregressed proofs and DGV were used to assess prediction accuracy in validation animals. In the SB scenarios, average DGV accuracy did not substantially change when either SNPBLUP or PC were used. Improvement of DGV accuracy were observed for some traits in Brown Swiss, only when MB reference populations and PC approach were used instead of SB-SNPBLUP (+10% HBS, +16%HB for milk yield and +3% HBS and +7% HB for protein yield, respectively). With the exclusion of the abovementioned cases, similar accuracies were observed using MB reference population, under the PC or SNPBLUP models. Random variation owing to sampling effect or size and composition of the reference population may explain the difficulty in finding a defined pattern in the results.
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| 18. |
- Krizsan, Sophie Julie
(författare)
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Effect of organic grass-clover silage on fiber digestion in dairy cows
- 2017
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 11, s. 1000-1007
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are differences in grass-clover proportions and chemical composition between herbage from primary growth (PG) and regrowth (RG) in grass-clover leys. Mixing silages made from PG and RG may provide a more optimal diet to dairy cows than when fed separately. We tested the hypotheses that increasing dietary proportions of grass-clover silage made from RG compared with PG would increase digestion rate of potentially degradable NDF (pdNDF), and increase ruminal accumulation of indigestible NDF (iNDF). Eight rumen cannulated Norwegian Red cows were used in two replicated 4x4 Latin squares with 21-day periods. Silages were prepared from PG and RG of an organically cultivated ley, where PG and RG silages were fed ad libitum in treatments with RG replacing PG in ratios of 0, 0.33, 0.67 and 1 on dry matter basis in addition to 8 kg concentrate. We evaluated the effect of the four diets with emphasis on rumen- and total tract fiber digestibility. Increasing RG proportions decreased silage intake by 7%. Omasal flow of pdNDF decreased, whereas iNDF flow increased with increasing RG proportions. Increasing RG proportions decreased rumen pool sizes of NDF and pdNDF, whereas pool sizes of iNDF and CP increased. Increasing RG proportions increased digestion rate of NDF, which resulted in greater total tract digestion of NDF. Pure PG diet had the highest calculated energy intake, but the improved rumen digestion of NDF by cows offered 0.33 and 0.67 of RG leveled out milk fat and protein yields among the three PG containing diets.
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| 19. |
- Li, Bingjie, et al.
(författare)
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Review: Selecting for improved feed efficiency and reduced methane emissions in dairy cattle
- 2018
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 12, s. S336-S349
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- It may be possible for dairy farms to improve profitability and reduce environmental impacts by selecting for higher feed efficiency and lower methane (CH4) emission traits. It remains to be clarified how CH4 emission and feed efficiency traits are related to each other, which will require direct and accurate measurements of both of these traits in large numbers of animals under the conditions in which they are expected to perform. The ranking of animals for feed efficiency and CH4 emission traits can differ depending upon the type and duration of measurement used, the trait definitions and calculations used, the period in lactation examined and the production system, as well as interactions among these factors. Because the correlation values obtained between feed efficiency and CH4 emission data are likely to be biased when either or both are expressed as ratios, therefore researchers would be well advised to maintain weighted components of the ratios in the selection index. Nutrition studies indicate that selecting low emitting animals may result in reduced efficiency of cell wall digestion, that is NDF, a key ruminant characteristic in human food production. Moreover, many interacting biological factors that are not measured directly, including digestion rate, passage rate, the rumen microbiome and rumen fermentation, may influence feed efficiency and CH4 emission. Elucidating these mechanisms may improve dairy farmers ability to select for feed efficiency and reduced CH4 emission.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Mõtus, Kerli, et al.
(författare)
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Reasons and risk factors for beef calf and youngstock on-farm mortality in extensive cow-calf herds
- 2018
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 12, s. 1958-1966
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Raising calves and youngstock is an essential part of beef production. High on-farm mortality (unassisted death and euthanasia) is a consequence of poor animal health and welfare, and is economically unfavourable. The present study aimed to identify the reasons and risk factors for beef calf and youngstock on-farm mortality, using registry data for the years 2013 to 2015. Cox regression models were applied for the data of four age groups: calves up to 30 days (n=21 075), calves 1 to 5 months (n=21 116), youngstock 6 to 19 months (n=22 637) and youngstock 20 months of age (n=9582). We found that dystocia, small birth weight and older parity of the mother increased the mortality hazard in calves up to 30 days of age. A summer birth was a common protective factor against mortality for calves up to 30 days and calves 1 to 5 months of age, compared with birth in other seasons. Among calves 1 to 5 months old, being the offspring of a first-parity cow was associated with significantly higher risk of death compared with calves who were the offspring of third- or higher-parity cows. A high herd-level stillbirth rate was associated with higher mortality hazard. The most commonly reported reasons for calf mortality were digestive disorders and respiratory disease. According to the models of youngstock from 6 months of age, male sex was a risk factor for mortality. Cattle having more than 10% dairy breed experienced a higher mortality risk in the 20 months age group. No significant differences were found across regions, herd size or different breeds in any of the calf or youngstock groups. Metabolic and digestive disorders, as well as traumas and accidents, were the most common causes of mortality in beef youngstock older than 6 months. We can conclude that in young calves, animal-level factors associated with calving had a high impact on mortality. Further, timing calving for the warmer spring months would benefit calf survivability. Further studies including complementary information about farm factors adapted across the whole youngstock period is highly needed to provide sound recommendations in reducing on-farm mortality.
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| 22. |
- Nilsson, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
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Development of automatic surveillance of animal behaviour and welfare using image analysis and machine learned segmentation technique.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 9:11, s. 1859-1865
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper the feasibility to extract the proportion of pigs located in different areas of a pig pen by advanced image analysis technique is explored and discussed for possible applications. For example, pigs generally locate themselves in the wet dunging area at high ambient temperatures in order to avoid heat stress, as wetting the body surface is the major path to dissipate the heat by evaporation. Thus, the portion of pigs in the dunging area and resting area, respectively, could be used as an indicator of failure of controlling the climate in the pig environment as pigs are not supposed to rest in the dunging area. The computer vision methodology utilizes a learning based segmentation approach using several features extracted from the image. The learning based approach applied is based on extended state-of-the-art features in combination with a structured prediction framework based on a logistic regression solver using elastic net regularization. In addition, the method is able to produce a probability per pixel rather than form a hard decision. This overcomes some of the limitations found in a setup using grey-scale information only. The pig pen is a difficult imaging environment because of challenging lighting conditions like shadows, poor lighting and poor contrast between pig and background. In order to test practical conditions, a pen containing nine young pigs was filmed from a top view perspective by an Axis M3006 camera with a resolution of 640×480 in three, 10-min sessions under different lighting conditions. The results indicate that a learning based method improves, in comparison with greyscale methods, the possibility to reliable identify proportions of pigs in different areas of the pen. Pigs with a changed behaviour (location) in the pen may indicate changed climate conditions. Changed individual behaviour may also indicate inferior health or acute illness.
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| 23. |
- Nohalez, A., et al.
(författare)
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Factors of importance when selecting sows as embryo donors
- 2017
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Ingår i: Animal. - : CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 11:8, s. 1330-1335
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The improvement in porcine embryo preservation and non-surgical embryo transfer (ET) procedures achieved in recent years represents essential progress for the practical use of ET in the pig industry. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of parity, weaning-to-estrus interval (WEI) and season on reproductive and embryonic parameters at day 6 after insemination of donor sows superovulated after weaning. The selection of donor sows was based on their reproductive history, body condition and parity. The effects of parity at weaning (2 to 3, 4 to 5 or 6 to 7 litters), season (fall, winter and spring), and WEI (estrus within 3 to 4 days), and their interactions on the number of corpus luteum, cysts in sows with cysts, number and quality of viable and transferable embryos, embryo developmental stage and recovery and fertilization rates were evaluated using linear mixed effects models. The analyses showed a lack of significant effects of parity, season, WEI or their interactions on any of the reproductive and embryonic parameters examined. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that fertilization rates and numbers of viable and transferable embryos collected at day 6 of the cycle from superovulated donor sows are not affected by their parity, regardless of the time of the year (from fall to spring) and WEI (3 or 4 days).
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| 24. |
- Patel, M., et al.
(författare)
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Upgrading plant amino acids through cattle to improve the nutritional value for humans : effects of different production systems
- 2017
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 11:3, s. 519-528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Efficiency in animal protein production can be defined in different ways, for example the amount of human-digestible essential amino acids (HDEAA) in the feed ration relative to the amount of HDEAA in the animal products. Cattle production systems are characterised by great diversity and a wide variety of feeds and feed ration compositions, due to ruminants’ ability to digest fibrous materials inedible to humans such as roughage and by-products from the food and biofuel industries. This study examined the upgrading of protein quality through cattle by determining the quantity of HDEAA in feeds and animal products and comparing different milk and beef production systems. Four different systems for milk and beef production were designed, a reference production system for milk and beef representing typical Swedish production systems today and three alternative improved systems: (i) intensive cattle production based on maize silage, (ii) intensive systems based on food industry by-products for dairy cows and high-quality forage for beef cattle, and (iii) extensive systems based on forage with only small amounts of concentrate. In all four production systems, the quantity of HDEAA in the products (milk and meat) generally exceeded the quantity of HDEAA in the feeds. The intensive production models for beef calves generally resulted in output of the same magnitude as input for most HDEAA. However, in beef production based on calves from dairy cows, the intensive rearing systems resulted in lower output than input of HDEAA. For the extensive models, the amounts of HDEAA in meat were of the same magnitude as the amounts in the feeds. The extensive models with beef calves from suckler cows resulted in higher output in meat than input in feeds for all HDEAA. It was concluded that feeding cattle plants for production of milk and meat, instead of using the plants directly as human food, generally results in an upgrading of both the quantity and quality of protein, especially when extensive, forage-based production models are used. The results imply that the key to efficiency is the utilisation of human-inedible protein by cattle and justifies their contribution to food production, especially in regions where grasslands and/or forage production has comparative benefits over plant food production. By fine-tuning estimation of the efficiency of conversion from human-edible protein to HDEAA, comparisons of different sources of protein production may be more complete and the magnitude of amino acid upgrading in plants through cattle more obvious.
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| 25. |
- Ringmark, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of training distance on feed intake, growth, body condition and muscle glycogen content in young Standardbred horses fed a forage-only diet
- 2017
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 11, s. 1718-1726
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examined feed intake, growth, body condition, muscle glycogen content and nutrition-related health in 16 Standardbred horses fed a high-energy, forage-only diet ad libitum and allocated to either a control training programme (C-group) or a training programme with the high-intensity training distance reduced by 30% (R-group), from January as 2-year olds until December as 3-year olds. Feed intake was recorded on 10 occasions during 3 consecutive days. Body weight was recorded once in a week and height, body condition score (BCS), rump fat thickness and thickness of the m. longissimus dorsi were measured at 7 +/- 3-week intervals throughout the study. Muscle biopsies of the m. gluteus medius were taken in December as 2-year olds and in November as 3-year olds and analysed for glycogen content. Nutrition-related health disorders were noted when they occurred. Horses consumed 1.7% to 2.6% dry matter of BW, corresponding to 19 to 28 MJ metabolisable energy/100 kg BW. There were no differences between training groups in feed intake or any of the body measurements. The pooled weekly BCS was maintained between 4.8 and 5.1 (root mean square error (RMSE)=0.4). Muscle glycogen content was 587 and 623 mmol/kg dry weight (RMSE=68) as 2- and 3-year olds, respectively, and there was no difference between training groups. When managed under normal conditions, no nutrition-related health disorders or stereotypic behaviours were observed. It was concluded that the training programme did not affect feed intake, growth, BCS or muscle glycogen content. In addition, the forage-only diet did not appear to prohibit muscle glycogen storage, growth or maintenance of body condition, and seemed to promote good nutrition-related health.
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