High costs from external inputs in small-scale dairy systems (SSDS) and possible effects of climate change, require forage alternatives as silage for the dry season, from small-grain cereals that have short cropping cycles, winter hardiness, and good nutritional quality. The objective was to assess the provision of 10 kg dry matter (DM) cow^-1 d^-1 of barley (BLY) or black oat (BKO) silages in three treatments: T1 = 100% BLY; T2 = 50% BLY + 50% BKO; T3 = 100% BKO for milking cows. All treatments also received 4.6 kg DM cow^-1 d^-1 of concentrates and access to pasture. Nine Holstein cows in groups of three were randomly assigned to a 3 × 3 Latin square design repeated three times, with 14 d experimental periods. Measurements of animal variables and sampling for chemical analyses of feeds were done during the last 4 d of each period. Feeding costs were by partial budgets. There were no differences (P > 0.05) for milk yield, milk fat and protein content, milk urea nitrogen, body condition score, or live weight. The cost of BLY silage was 8% less than BKO silage. T1 had the higher margin over cost of feeds followed by T2. Both silages alone or in combination are viable options for SSDS, as there were no differences in performance, or in feeding costs or margins.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of broiler chickens in different lighting programs. Broiler chickens were fed on feeders of different colours at different breeding phases. In total, 240 Cobb500^™ chicks mixed at 1 d of age were used. They were distributed in a completely randomized design. The treatments followed a 2 × 4 factorial design: two lighting programs (continuous and intermittent), and four colours of feeders (white, green, blue, and red). The birds were evaluated for weekly productive performance and the data were submitted to analysis of variance and later Tukey’s test for comparison of means. In the periods 1–7, 1–21, and 1–42 d of age, lighting programs and feeder colours affected weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion. Intermittent red feeders influenced positively the performance of birds. It is possible to replace conventional lighting programs for intermittent lighting programs. Red feeders exert a positive influence on the performance of broiler chickens.

This study was conducted to evaluate changes to antioxidant systems in the postmortem muscle of three duck breeds and to analyze their relationship with meat quality. Pekin ducks, Muscovy ducks, and Mulard ducks were euthanized at the age of 70 d. The antioxidant enzyme activities and related gene expressions as well as meat quality in muscle tissues were examined. The breed of the duck had a significant effect on the antioxidant capacity of muscle tissues (P < 0.05), with the exceptions of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity at 96 h as well as total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) at 120 h. The SOD, glutathione peroxidase (GPx/GSH-Px), and T-AOC activities from highest to lowest were Muscovy duck > Mulard duck > Pekin duck, whereas the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration followed the opposite pattern. During cold storage (0–120 h), a decrease in the GPx, SOD, and T-AOC activities was noted, although MDA concentration increased gradually. The GPx1 and Cu/Zn-SOD gene expression levels in Muscovy duck muscle tissues were significantly higher than those in other breeds at both 0 and 24 h. Correlation analysis showed that higher antioxidant enzyme activity in duck muscle tissues was associated with higher water-holding capacity (WHC) and more stable meat color. Higher antioxidant enzyme activity in duck meat similarly resulted in higher pH values, higher WHC, and more stable meat color. These data indicate that antioxidant enzymes may inhibit lipid oxidation and participate in the regulation of meat quality.

Two ruminally cannulated steers [928 ± 25.5 kg body weight (BW)] were fed alfalfa hay at 2.0% of BW and served as donors of rumen fluid. Treatments were early-bud alfalfa (CON) or a combination [dry matter (DM) basis] of 80% early-bud alfalfa with 20% of corn silage (CS), brome grass hay (BGH), soybean hulls (SBH), beet pulp (BP), corn grain (CORN), dried corn distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS), or wheat middlings (MIDD). Tubes were incubated at multiple time points over a 72 h period and assessed for rate and extent of digestion. Samples were run in duplicate and replicated over 3 d. The potential extent of DM and organic matter (OM) degradation increased (P < 0.001) with CS, SBH, BP, CORN, and DDGS supplementation compared with CON. All supplements except MIDD decreased (P < 0.001) the fractional rates of DM and OM degradation compared with CON, with BGH, SBH, and DDGS having the lowest rates. Supplementation of SBH had the lowest (P < 0.001) initial rate of DM and OM degradation. These data indicate that SBH increases the extent of digestion while reducing the initial rate of degradation, suggesting that SBH has potential to reduce the incidence of frothy legume bloat.

Camels are considered as integral and notable components of the heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Genetic variabilities within and among four camel populations in Saudi Arabia were evaluated using 21 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci of 122 unrelated individuals, including three indigenous breeds [Humur (HA), Zurg (ZR), Shuguh (SG)] and one exotic breed [Sudanese (SN)]. Nineteen SSR markers generated multilocus fingerprints with a total of 225 alleles, a range of 4–23 alleles per locus, and an average of 9, 7, 7, and 6 alleles per locus in HA, ZR, SG, and SN populations, respectively. The mean multilocus F_ST value (0.034 ± 0.005) showed non-significant population differentiation. Mean observed heterozygosity values were 0.908 for HA, 0.860 for ZR, 0.919 for SG, and 0.887 for SN, which were higher than the expected heterozygosity. An excess of heterozygotes was observed, suggesting the presence of overdominant selection or the occurrence of outbreeding. Pairwise genetic distances indicated that the three indigenous camel breeds were genetically close to each other and genetically distant to the SN population. This genetic variability assessment by microsatellite analysis is important and useful for the conservation of local camel genetic resources as well as the future development of breeding programs.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of feed restriction and sex class on the intake and digestibility of nutrients as well as meat fatty acid profiles in Santa Ines lambs. Thirty lambs with initial body weights of 13 ± 1.49 kg and ages of 60 d were used in a completely randomized study with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of three feeding levels (0 or ad libitum, 30%, and 60% feed restriction) and two sex classes (15 intact male and 15 castrated male), comprising five animals in each treatment. The experimental trial lasted 100 d. Increased feed restriction levels resulted in lower intake (P < 0.001) and higher digestibility of nutrients. There were decreases (P < 0.05) in the excretion of nitrogen compounds and purine derivatives when feed restriction increased. The feed restriction decreased (P < 0.05) the concentrations of C18:2n6 and C18:3n3 in the meat but did not affect the C18:2c9t11. The ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids:monounsaturated fatty acid was higher in the 60% feed restriction. The results suggest that feed restriction improves nutrient utilization efficiency. The feed restriction up to 30% leads to a higher concentration of saturated fatty acids in meats.

The effects of dietary omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratios on growth performance, digestibility, blood lipid profiles, fecal microbial counts, and meat quality in finishing pigs were examined by using linseed and fish oil. A total of 140 crossbred finishing pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] were used in a 10 wk trial. Pigs were blocked based on body weight (BW) and sex and randomly allotted to four dietary treatments formulated to have n-6/n-3 ratios of 5/1, 10/1, 15/1, and 17/1 (control). Throughout the experiment, BW, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake were significantly (P < 0.05) increased with a decreased ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA. Energy digestibility and fecal Lactobacillus count showed a linear (P < 0.05) increase in week 10. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood triglyceride concentrations increased (P < 0.1) during week 10. However, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was reduced (P < 0.05) linearly during week 5 and week 10 with a reduction in dietary n-6/n-3 ratio. This study provides a basis for future research on altering n-6/n-3 ratio by using linseed oil and refined fish oil in finishing pigs.

The objective of this study was to assess the carcass yield, organ weights, and gut morphology response to Vachellia tortilis inclusion in broilers. Unsexed 14-d-old Cobb500^™ chicks were randomly assigned to six diets containing 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 g kg^-1 dry matter of V. tortilis leaf meal. The slaughter weight (SW), dressed carcass weight (DCW), breast weight, thigh weight (TW), drumstick weight (DW), and internal organs were measured. Villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), epithelial, submucosa, and muscularis thickness were taken. The apparent villus surface area (AVSA) and villus to crypt ratio were calculated. There was a linear decrease in SW and DCW (P < 0.05) with the increase of V. tortilis leaf meal. The SW and DCW decreased by 0.77 and 5.25 g for each g kg^-1 increase in V. tortilis, respectively. The TW and DW showed no relationship with levels of V. tortilis leaf meal. The relative weight of gizzard, intestine, stomach, heart, and kidney increased linearly (P < 0.05) as levels of V. tortilis increased. The relative weight of the liver was not related to V. tortilis inclusion. The VH, AVSA, VH to CD ratio, as well as submucosa, muscularis, and epithelial thicknesses linearly increased as the V. tortilis inclusion level increased. There was no relationship between V. tortilis leaf meal inclusion and CD (P > 0.05). The increased morphological measurements suggest that leaf meal inclusion alters gut physiology and could influence the digestion and absorption of nutrients in broilers.

Most of the calculations for genetic relationship matrices and their inverses utilized in recent (t + 1) evaluations for populations of interest can be avoided by updating these matrices at t evaluations for only new animals. This study describes and develops existing methods for updating pedigree-based and marker-based relationship matrices and their inverses. Updating some of the matrices could benefit from parallel computing.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of including different levels of ethanolic extract of mango seed (EEMS) in broiler chicken rations on their phenolic compound levels, antioxidant activity, and meat quality. Initially, 756 one-day-old male chicks of the Ross 308 line were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design with seven treatments and six replicates of 18 birds. The treatments consisted of (i) a ration without the addition of antioxidants, (ii) a ration with the addition of 200 ppm of the antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and (iii) a ration with the addition of 200, 400, 600, 800, or 1000 ppm of EEMS. According to the results, the values of phenolic compounds, the lipid stability of meat (measured by the value of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), shear force, loss of cooking water, color, and pH of the meat differed significantly between the treatments. For the antioxidant activity of the meat, there was no significant difference between the treatments by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method; however, by the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) method, the breast meat of broilers fed diets containing EEMS from 600 ppm and up presented higher antioxidant capacity when compared with the meat of the birds fed the control diet. In the ABTS method, there was no significant difference between the use of synthetic antioxidant BHT and the addition of EEMS at different levels. In conclusion, the addition of EEMS does not affect meat quality parameters of broilers, but when a dose of 600 ppm or more is added, the antioxidant capacity of meat measured by the ABTS method increases.

In total, 28 multiparous sows (n = 7) and their litters were used to determine the effects of levan-type fructan supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, and fecal noxious gas emissions. The dietary treatments included (1) CON, basal diet; (2) FC1, CON + 0.1% fructan; (3) FC2, CON + 0.2% fructan; and (4) FC3, CON + 0.3% fructan. No significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) in body weight (BW), average daily feed intake, or back fat loss in lactating sows among treatments. However, blood lymphocyte concentrates were higher (P < 0.05) in sows fed levan-containing diets than in those fed the CON diet. Weaning BW and overall average daily gain (ADG) of piglets in the FC3 treatment were higher (P < 0.05) than piglets in the CON treatment. Blood lymphocytes and nutrient digestibility of sows, as well as the weaning BW and the ADG of piglets were increased linearly (P < 0.05) as the concentration of levan increased in the diet. The diarrhea score of piglets and the fecal gas emissions of sows decreased linearly (P < 0.05) as dietary levan increased. In conclusion, levan supplementation did not affect feed intake or decrease back fat loss of lactating sows, but it improved nutrient digestibility and immune ability, decreased fecal noxious gas emissions of lactating sows, and it improved growth performance and reduced diarrhea in piglets.

The objective of this study was to obtain heritability estimates for reproductive (litter size at birth, number born alive, litter size at weaning) and growth traits (individual weaning weight, individual weight at the end of the fattening period), then determine the genetic correlation between them in a synthetic rabbit line. A total of 805 females, 3242 parities, and 18 472 growth records were measured from 2006 to 2017. A pentavariate animal model was used with reproductive and growth traits. Heritability ranged from 0.025 to 0.126 for reproductive traits and from 0.033 to 0.059 for growth traits. These traits showed a large coefficient of variation (from 32% to 56% for reproductive traits and from 21% to 28% for growth traits). The repeatability of reproductive traits was low and the common litter effect for growth traits was the most important component of total variance. The genetic and phenotypic correlations between reproductive and growth traits were high and negative, especially with weight at weaning (-0.848, -0.922, and -0.854 for litter size at birth, number born alive, and litter size at weaning, respectively). In conclusion, because of the high negative correlation between reproductive and growth traits, both reproductive and growth traits should be selected in independent lines and the response to selection should be due mainly to the high coefficient of variation of the traits.

This study aimed to evaluate the productive performance, nutrient intake, and ingestive behavior of lambs fed high-moisture triticale grain (HMTG) ensiled with different additives. Twenty-four intact male lambs with an initial body weight (BW) of 20.05 ± 2.88 kg were assigned to one of four dietary treatments: silage of HMTG, without additive; silage of HMTG ensiled with enzyme–bacterial additive; silage of HMTG ensiled with 0.5% urea; and silage of HMTG ensiled with 1.5% sodium benzoate. No difference (P > 0.05) was seen in the performance (with an average daily weight gain of 210 g d^-1), nutrient intake, or ingestive behavior of the lambs. There was a significant difference in the intake of ether extract according to the additive used in the silage. The highest intake (in relation to metabolic BW) was found for HMTG ensiled with enzyme–bacterial additive: 1.49 g kg^-1 BW^0.75. The silage of HMTG can be used as a single source of concentrate, aiming at moderate weight gains for feedlot lambs, thus providing an alternative for the conservation of nutritional quality of ensiling without causing changes in the performance of the animals.

This study compared the estimates of variance components using various animal models for Large White pigs. The traits included three production traits, birth weight (BW), age at 100 kg (Age_100), and backfat thickness at 100 kg (BF_100), and two reproduction traits, number of total born (NTB) and the ratio of healthy births (RHB). Five models including or ignoring common litter environmental effects, maternal effects, and the direct-maternal covariance (σ_am) were used for this study. The results showed that the model including all terms, or including all terms except σ_am, yielded the best-fitting result. The direct variance and heritability were overestimated when the model ignored all previously listed effects, especially for production traits. When all terms were modeled, the direct heritability estimates ( ± standard error) were 0.038 ± 0.008, 0.216 ± 0.022, 0.416 ± 0.023, 0.066 ± 0.013, and 0.049 ± 0.007 for BW, Age_100, BF_100, NTB, and RHB, respectively. The common litter effects reached statistical significance for all traits, and maternal heritability reached statistical significance for three production traits. The direct-maternal correlations were negative for all traits but only reached statistical significance for BW. These results indicate that using a more complex model may result in more accurate estimation of variance components in Large White pigs.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of rumen-protected methionine (RPM) supplementation on growth performance, nitrogen (N) balance, carcass traits, and meat quality of lambs fed diets containing buckwheat straw. Twenty male Tan lambs from Ningxia were housed in individual pens and were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments that were supplemented with RPM at levels of 0 (control), 1.5 (T1), 3.0 (T2), 4.5 (T3), and 6.0 g d^-1 (T4). Dry matter intake was higher in T4 than control (P < 0.05). The feed:gain ratio generally reduced with increasing dietary RPM, but the lowest ratio was found in T3 (P < 0.05). Dry matter digestibility and N retention were highest in T3 (P < 0.05) while N excretion was the lowest. Carcass fat weight and grid reference tissue depth increased while drip loss decreased by supplemental RPM, and significant differences were found between T4 and control (P < 0.05). However, pH, color, cooking loss, and shear force were not affected. The results from this study demonstrated that dietary RPM supplementation may be able to improve the feed efficiency, N utilization, and meat quality of lambs; however, the optimal dose of RPM needs to be explored further.

The composition of rumen microbiota during late gestation and early lactation was compared between cows receiving a close-up diet (1.43 Mcal net energy of lactation (NEl) kg^-1 dry matter (DM)) throughout a 40 d dry period (SHORT) and cows receiving a far-off diet (1.28 Mcal NEl kg^-1 DM) as well as the close-up diet (as above) for 39 and 21 d, respectively, during a conventional 60 d dry period (CONV). Rumen fluid was collected at weeks -2, -1, +1, +2, and +7 relative to calving. Extracted DNA was analyzed for taxonomic composition of the rumen microbiome using MiSeq Illumina sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. At week +1, this composition differed (P < 0.05) between treatments. In cows under the CONV treatment, this composition only differed (P < 0.05) between weeks -1 and +1. For SHORT cows, this composition tended to differ between weeks +1 and +2 (P = 0.09) as well as between weeks +2 and +7 (P < 0.03). The change of the taxonomic composition of the rumen microbiota after calving, mainly consisting of increases in the abundance of Firmicutes and decreases in that of Bacteroidites, was comparatively slower and less favourable under the SHORT treatment. This may have been due to more excessive grain intake before calving of cows on the latter treatment.

Melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) is an important cytoplasmic RNA sensor that detects viral double-stranded RNA in innate immunity. The objective of this study was to characterize the structure and function of the MDA5 gene in the duck. In this study, full-length duck MDA5 (duMDA5) complementary DNA (cDNA) was obtained using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of the cDNA ends. The cDNA consisted of a 123 nucleotide 5′ untranslated region (UTR), a 735 nucleotide 3′ UTR, and a 3012 nucleotide open-reading frame, encoding 1003 amino acids. Multiple sequence alignments showed that duMDA5 had 91.18% and 83.11% amino acid sequence similarity with geese and chicken MDA5, respectively, as well as 59.76%–61.26% sequence identity with mammalian homologs. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that MDA5 has been highly conserved throughout vertebrate evolution. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the duMDA5 mRNA is scarcely detected in healthy tissues and the highest relative transcript level of duMDA5 was induced during poly(I:C) stimulation. Furthermore, knockdown duMDA5 significantly inhibited the transcription of poly(I:C)-induced beta interferons, nuclear factor kappa-B, interferon regulatory factor 7, translocated intimin receptor domain-containing adaptor protein inducing beta interferons, interferon-induced GTP-binding protein, signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 and 2 mRNA. Taken together, these results suggest that duMDA5 is an important receptor for inducing antiviral activity in the duck’s innate immune response.

Two hundred and forty weaned pigs [initial body weight (BW) 7.2 ± 0.07 kg] were allocated to three diets (eight pens per treatment, 10 pigs per pen) to determine the effects of a temporary lysine (Lys) restriction on subsequent growth, body composition, as well as carcass and loin quality at slaughter. For a 3 wk restriction period, pigs were fed diets that were 110% (control), 20% (Lys20), or 40% (Lys40) below estimated Lys requirements. Thereafter, all pigs were fed a common grower diet containing 120% of the estimated Lys requirement for 6 wk (recovery period) and commercial diets until slaughter at ∼125 kg BW. During the restriction period, average daily gain, gain-to-feed ratio, and whole body protein deposition decreased (linear; P < 0.01), while whole body lipid deposition increased (linear; P < 0.001) with decreased dietary Lys concentrations. At the end of the recovery period, there were no differences in BW, although whole body protein concentration tended to decrease and lipid concentration tended to increase (linear; P = 0.07 and 0.06, respectively) with decreased dietary Lys concentrations. At ∼125 kg, there were no differences in BW, chemical composition, or carcass and loin quality. Compensatory growth was achieved by ∼125 kg BW after a 3 wk Lys restriction for newly weaned pigs without negatively impacting carcass and loin quality.

Two separate experiments were conducted to compare the nutrient digestion and growth performance of beef cattle fed diets containing up to 77% of two conserved alfalfa hays. The two alfalfa hays were baled either at the optimum moisture (8.6%) or at a higher-than optimum moisture (21.4%) with application of a mixture of Pediococcus pentosaceus and chitinase at baling. Digestibility of dry matter, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, rumen parameters, and growth performance were similar (P ≥ 0.16) for cattle fed either diet. A combination of P. pentosaceus and chitinase has the potential to preserve high-moisture alfalfa hay.

Crossbred lambs were grown under different production systems (unshaded, moderate shading, intense shading) and were submitted to a feedlot finishing period where the performance, efficiency, carcass characteristics, and meat characteristics were evaluated. The dry matter intake was similar among treatments as well as the daily gain and feed efficiency. Hot and cold carcass weights, their dressing percentages, initial and final carcass temperature and pH, as well as initial and final color of meat were unaffected by treatments. In conclusion, the silvopastoral system used during the growing phase neither improved feedlot performance, feed efficiency, nor carcass and meat characteristics of crossbred lambs.