Sixty gilts were allotted to one of the following feeding regimes: CR, a conventional diet offered at a restricted level according to Swedish feeding standards; SA, a simplified gestation diet (mainly oats and barley) offered at a restricted level and a conventional diet offered ad libitum during lactation; CA, a conventional gestation diet offered at a restricted level and the same diet offered ad libitum during lactation. The sows were followed for four parities. Piglet birth weight was unaffected by sow feeding, but differences in piglet live weight were found from 3 weeks of age to the end of the experiment when the piglets were 9 weeks old. CA piglets were heavier than SA piglets at 3 and 9 weeks of age and heavier than both CR and SA piglets at weaning (35 ± 3 days). Litter size was unaffected by treatment as was piglet mortality, whereas the cause of death varied with treatment. Mortality due to trauma was higher among CA piglets than among others, while mortality due to weakness was higher among SA piglets than others and there was also a tendency for higher mortality due to diarrhoea among CR piglets. It was concluded that the CA feeding regime was superior with regards to piglet performance.

The digestibility of a feed containing hull material prepared mechanically from Throws MS field bean (Viciafaba L) was determined in a 12-day balance trial with sheep. The pelleted feed contained 62 % hulls and 38 % of a concentrate mixture, and was given at a maintenance level. The mean digestibility coefficients of the feed were for dry matter, 66·3; organic matter, 68·2; nitrogen, 65·7; crude fibre, 59·4; and energy, 65·5%.

The coefficients for the bean hulls themselves, estimated by assuming coefficients for the concentrates, were dry matter, 59·6; organic matter, 61·0; nitrogen, 58·2; crude fibre, 60·3; and energy, 59·9%. By assuming a value of 2·515 Mcal/kg for the metabolizable energy of the concentrates, the metabolizable energy of the bean hulls was calculated to be between 2·00 and 2·10 Mcal/kg.

Digestibility coefficients for the bean hulls determined in vitro were found to agree with those determined in vivo.

Trials involving a total of 401 steers were carried out from 1974 to 1976 to determine the effect of implantation with zeranol on the performance of fattening steers under grazing and feedlot conditions i n Botswana.

Over a 180-day grazing period in 1974, 1975 and 1976 there was a significant improvement in live-weight gain of 11·9, 24·5 and 12·3% i n implanted steers over control steers. Under feedlot conditions there was a mean improvement in live-weight gain of implanted steers over control steers of 17·9% over an average stay in the feedlot of 95 days.

Charolais cows were individually given hay ad libitum around calving for two successive winters (no. = 40 and no. = 43). Profiles of hay intake are defined for each cow as the evolution of individual daily intake level around calving.

The aim of this work was to build a typology of these profiles, using multivariate analysis. Four and three groups of cows were distinguished respectively for a 2-month and a 4-month period around calving (PI and PI). These groups corresponded to different kinetics of intake level around calving which were defined as follows: group 1 — plane profiles, with a low difference of intake level between pregnancy and lactation; group 2 — profiles characterized by a marked decrease in intake level just before calving followed by a long and regular increase after calving; group 3 — profiles with no decrease before calving but an early break in the increase in intake after calving; group 4 — intake profiles with a large difference in intake level between pregnancy and lactation. Groups 2 and 3 were pooled for P2.

Cows from groups 2 and 4 increased intake after calving fast enough to prevent the use of their body reserves even with a high milk-production level. Their calculated energy balance became positive very quickly, only 1 week after calving. At the other extreme, a decrease in body reserves was observed for cows which needed at least 1 month after calving to reach their maximum intake capacity and then recover a positive energy balance.

Despite the importance of the role of Climate Finance to comply with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1.5°C objective, there is no consensus on the definition of Climate Finance and the estimated assessment of its aggregated flows and effects remains challenging. Despite being a major emitter and having a significant and cost-effective mitigation potential, the livestock sector has so far only received a marginal share of Climate Finance. As demand for animal protein products continues to increase (68% between 2010 and 2050), there is a compelling case for channeling more Climate Finance investments into the sector to incentivize greenhouse gas emissions reduction at scale. Bottlenecks in linking the livestock sector to Climate Finance include the insufficient capacity to assess the cost-benefit of projects, high upfront cost and risk perception of investors, the informality of the sector, non-existence of Climate Finance instruments dedicated to the livestock sector and lack of cost-efficient Monitoring, Reporting and Verification systems. Nevertheless, recent developments provide avenues to increase the access of the animal protein sector to Climate Finance.

Androstenone production increases during pubertal development and plays a major role in boar taint. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a subclinical inflammation on the pubertal development of boars and hence on fat androstenone. Contrasted hygiene conditions were applied during rearing to increase the variability of the inflammatory status. Boars from a commercial cross line were allocated at 139±0.9 days of age (Day 0) and 81.3±5.9 kg of live weight either to Good (n=61) or Poor (n=54) hygiene conditions until slaughter at 172.9±4.8 days of age and 116.7±4.5 kg live weight. Inflammatory status, growth and pubertal development were evaluated on Day 0, Day 27 and at slaughter by analysing the blood formula, plasma inflammatory proteins; testosterone and oestradiol, salivary cortisol, rectal temperature, live weight, back fat thickness, weight of reproductive organs and clinical scores of organs (lungs, stomach, snout). Fat was collected on Day 27 by biopsy and at slaughter to measure androstenone concentration. A principal component analysis including inflammatory indicators followed by a clustering procedure was performed to identify pigs with a high (Infl+, n=50) or a low (Infl−, n=65) inflammatory status. Infl+ pigs had more granulocytes/ml, higher concentrations of haptoglobin, C-reative protein and cortisol (P<0.05), lower growth rate and higher lung pneumonia score. However, regardless of stage, the inflammatory status had no significant effect on plasma testosterone or oestradiol, fat androstenone or sexual organ development. Present data suggest that a mild inflammatory status has no influence on pubertal development or fat concentration of androstenone in boars.

Several external markers can be used for estimating total faecal output in view of assessing ruminant intake at pasture. Among them, ytterbium (Yb) has been used for many years in various conditions. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a promising external marker because it can be rapidly determined using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The study consisted of 24 adult lactating dairy ewes over three periods (P1, P2 and P3), fed with three different diets: P1, total mixed ration (TMR); P2, Italian ryegrass (IRG); and P3, pasture. After an adaptation period, the ewes were administered a daily dose of ytterbium oxide (0.35 g/day) and PEG (20 g/day) for 2 weeks. During the last week, the daily organic matter intake (OMIOBS) was measured. Faecal samples were collected at milking time (0800 and 1600 h) to determine marker content, using only samples collected in the morning (PEGm) or by averaging samples (Yb, PEGma). Faecal marker content made it possible to assess total faecal output, either using the two recovery rates for PEG (0.98 or 0.87) or not. The OMIOBS was assessed on the basis of total faeces estimated with Yb (OMIYb) or PEG (OMIPEG), and the digestibility was calculated on the basis of feed analysis. With total TMR (P1), the OMIPEG, corrected with recovery rate (OMIPEGm98) or not corrected (OMIPEGm) was 2.40 kg/day and 2.50 kg/day, respectively, and was not different (P>0.05) from OMIOBS (2.51 kg/day), whereas OMIYb was lower (2.14 kg/day) (P<0.001). With IRG (P2), OMIPEGm98 (1.67 kg/day), OMIPEGm87 (1.51 kg/day) and OMIYb (1.59 kg/day) were not different (P>0.05) from OMIOBS (1.57 kg/day). With pasture (P3), the OMIPEGm (1.54 kg/day) and OMIPEGm98 (1.48 kg/day) were not different (P>0.05) from the OMI assessed from the biomass measurement (1.52 kg/day). The OMIYb (1.36 kg/day) was lower (P<0.05) but not different from OMIPEGm98 and OMIPEGm87. Spearman’s rank correlation between OMIOBS and other OMIs (predicted with Yb or PEG P1 and P2) showed that it is possible to rank animals using PEG when there is a sufficiently wide range of OMIOBS (1.65 to 2.8 kg/day in P1) but not within a narrower range (1.47 to 1.72 kg/day in P2). In conclusion, the present study confirms that PEG is a valuable external faecal marker, easy to prepare (solution), administer and determine (NIRS). It can be used to assess intake with numerous animals at pasture, but only for groups, and not to quantitatively estimate individual OMI.

The use of modern prolific lines of rabbit does in intensive production systems leads to an increase in productivity but also causes a rise in several problems related to the does’ health status. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the litter size on the metabolic, inflammatory and plasma amino acid profile in rabbit does. The blood of 30 pregnant does was sampled on the 27th day of pregnancy. The does were retrospectively grouped according to the number of offspring into a high litter size group (HI, does with ≥ 12 kits; n = 16) and a low litter size group (LO, does with ≤ 11 kits; n = 14). Data were subjected to Pearson’s correlation analysis. Further, data were analysed in agreement to a completely randomized design in which the main tested effect was litter size. The linear or quadratic trends of litter size on parameters of interests were post hoc compared by using orthogonal contrasts. In addition, compared with the LO group, the HI group had lower levels of glucose (−5%; P < 0.01), zinc (−19%; P < 0.05), albumin (−6%; P < 0.05) and total cholesterol (−13%; P < 0.07), but the total bilirubin level was higher in the HI group (+14%; P < 0.05). Regarding the plasma amino acids, the HI group had lower concentrations of threonine (−15%), glycine (−16%), lysine (−16%) and tryptophan (−26%) and a higher level of glutamic acid (+43%; P < 0.05) compared with the LO group. The exclusively ketogenic amount of amino acids was lower (P < 0.06) in the HI (55.8 mg/100 ml) does compared with the LO does (56.8 mg/100 ml). These results show that a few days before delivery, rabbit does that gave birth to a higher number of offspring had a metabolic profile and an inflammatory status that was less favourable with respect to does who gave birth to a lower number of offspring. Moreover, the plasma amino acid profile points out that there was an enhanced catabolic condition in the rabbit does with a high number of gestated foetuses; it was likely related to the greater energy demand needed to support the pregnancy and an early inflammatory response.

Seasonal reproduction patterns are typically observed in small ruminants and are a major limitation for production efficiency in most meat- and dairy-type production systems. Indeed, selection for reduced seasonality could be an appealing strategy for the small ruminant industry worldwide, although its genetic background has been poorly analyzed. One of the main limitations relied on the availability of appropriate analytical tools to cope with the circular (i.e. year-round) pattern of lambing and kidding data. The recent development of a heteroskedastic circular mixed model provided the statistical tool to go deeply into the knowledge of seasonality in small ruminants. In this study, 26 005 lambing distribution records from 4764 Ripollesa ewes collected in 20 purebred flocks were analyzed. The model accounted for systematic (lambing interval and ewe age), permanent environmental (flock-year-season and ewe) and additive genetic sources of variation influencing both mean and dispersion pattern (i.e. heteroskedasticity). Systematic effects suggested that first-lambing ewes and short lambing intervals delayed lambing date (~30 days) and increased dispersion of the lambing period. Nevertheless, this was partially compensated by ewe age, given that youngest females tended to concentrate the lambing peak. Flock-year-season, permanent ewe and additive genetic sources of variation reached moderate variance components for direct (and residual) effects on lambing distribution, they being 0.119 (0.156), 0.092 (0.132) and 0.195 (0.170) radians2, respectively. Moreover, all 95% credibility intervals were placed far from the null estimate. Covariances between direct and residual effects where high and positive for additive genetic (posterior mean, 0.814) and permanent ewe effects (posterior mean, 0.917), whereas it was not relevant for flock-year-season. Selection for direct additive genetic effects should be able to advance or delay the lambing peak, whereas selection applied on residual additive genetic effects should increase or reduce seasonality (i.e. concentrate or flatten the lambing peak). Moreover, the positive and relevant genetic covariance between direct and residual effects also suggested correlated genetic responses. As example, genetic selection for earlier lambing peaks must also reduce seasonality, whereas selection for narrower lambing seasons may originate a delay in the lambing peak. These results must be viewed as the first attempt to analyze systematic, environmental and genetic sources of variation of lambing distribution within the circular paradigm, they providing a reliable characterization of these effects within the context of an heteroskedastic model.

In the Molise region (Italy), some autochthonous populations are still bred and, between them, some wild horses named ‘Pentro horses.’ The breeding area is a natural pasture. It is 2200 ha extended including a broad plane surrounded by wooden hills. The aim of this research was to determine the nutritional characteristics of this area over a 2-year period to improve the management of the herd and to define the stocking rate in relation to the forage production in terms of production and quality. The forage samples were collected over two successive years during the grazing period (May to October) from five experimental areas and analysed for dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), acid-detergent fibre (ADF), acid-detergent lignin (ADL) and gross energy (GE). Horse feed units (HFU) and horse-digestible crude protein (HDCP) were also predicted. Data were analysed with a one-way ANOVA test using month and area as factors. The DM, HFU and HDCP total production was determined to be compared with the total nutrient requirements of the herds from May to October. The results show that seasonal and yearly climatic variations significantly affect chemical composition and nutritive value of the pasture. The parameters most influenced were DM, CP, ADF and to a less extent NDF, while OM, ADL and GE show smaller differences during the observed period. The results show a low production per ha; nevertheless, because of the low stocking rate (0.3 to 0.6 head per ha), nutrient production meets the nutrient requirements of the horses regarding DM and energy. The differences among the areas have to be ascribed to the different botanical compositions and to the different draining capacity of the soil, and also in this case the greatest variations are for DM, CP and ADF.

In many countries, high somatic cell scores (SCS) in milk are used as an indicator for mastitis because they are collected on a routine basis. However, individual test-day SCS are not very accurate in identifying infected cows. Mathematical models may improve the accuracy of the biological marker by making better use of the information contained in the available data. Here, a simple hidden Markov model (HMM) is described mathematically and applied to SCS recorded monthly on cows with or without clinical mastitis to evaluate its accuracy in estimating parameters (mean, variance and transition probabilities) under healthy or diseased states. The SCS means were estimated at 1.96 (s.d. = 0.16) and 4.73 (s.d. = 0.71) for the hidden healthy and infected states, and the common variance at 0.83 (s.d. = 0.11). The probability of remaining uninfected, recovering from infection, getting newly infected and remaining infected between consecutive test days was estimated at 78.84%, 60.49%, 11.70% and 15%, respectively. Three different health-related states were compared: clinical stages observed by farmers, subclinical cases defined for somatic cell counts below or above 250 000 cells/ml and infected stages obtained from the HMM. The results showed that HMM identifies infected cows before the appearance of clinical and subclinical signs, which may critically improve the power of the studies on the genetic determinants of SCS and reduce biases in predicting breeding values for SCS.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the daily measured traits milk yield, water intake and dry matter intake with fixed and random regression models added with different error covariance structures. It was analysed whether these models deliver better model fitting in contrast to conventional fixed and random regression models. Furthermore, possible autocorrelation between repeated measures was investigated. The effect of model choice on statistical inference was also tested. Data recording was performed on the Futterkamp dairy research farm of the Chamber of Agriculture of Schleswig-Holstein. A dataset of about 21 000 observations from 178 Holstein cows was used. Average milk yield, water intake and dry matter intake were 34.9, 82.4 and 19.8 kg, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using different linear mixed models. Lactation number, test day and the parameters to model the function of lactation day were included as fixed effects. Different structures were tested for the residuals; they were compared for their ability to fit the model using the likelihood ratio test, and Akaike’s and Bayesian’s information criteria. Different autocorrelation patterns were found. Adjacent repeated measures of daily milk yield were highest correlated (p1 = 0.32) in contrast to measures further apart, while for water intake and dry matter intake, the measurements with a lag of two units had the highest correlations with p2 = 0.11 and 0.12. The covariance structure of TOEPLITZ was most suitable to indicate the dependencies of the repeated measures for all traits. Generally, the most complex model, random regression with the additional covariance structure TOEPLITZ(4), provided the lowest information criteria. Furthermore, the model choice influenced the significance values of one fixed effect and therefore the general inference of the data analysis. Thus, the random regression + TOEPLITZ(4) model is recommended for use for the analysis of equally spaced datasets of milk yield, water intake and dry matter intake.

Accounting for environmental heteroscedasticity and genetics by environment interaction (G×E) in genetic evaluation is important because animals may not perform predictably across environments. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the presence and consequences of heteroscedasticity and G×E on genetic evaluation. The population considered was crossbred lambs sired by terminal sires and reared under commercial conditions in the UK. Data on 6325 lambs sired by Charollais, Suffolk and Texel rams were obtained. The experiment was conducted between 1999 and 2002 on three farms located in England, Scotland and Wales. There were 2322, 2137 and 1866 lambs in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively. A total of 89 sires were mated to 1984 ewes of two types (Welsh and Scottish Mules). Most rams were used for two breeding seasons with some rotated among farms to create genetic links. Lambs were reared on pasture and had their parentage, birth, 5 week, 10 week, and slaughter weights recorded. Lambs were slaughtered at a constant fatness, at which they were ultrasonically scanned for fat and muscle depth. Heteroscedasticity was evaluated in two ways. First, data were separated into three subsets by farm. Within-farm variance component estimates were then compared with those derived from the complete data (Model 1). Second, the combined data were fitted, but with a heterogeneous (by farm) environmental variance structure (Model 2). To investigate G×E, a model with a random farm by sire (F×S) interaction was used (Model 3). The ratio of the F×S variance to total variance was a measure of the level of G×E in the population. Heterogeneity in environmental variability across farm was identified for all traits (P<0.01). Rank correlations of sire estimated breeding value between farms differed for Model 1 for all traits. However, sires ranked similarly (rank correlation of 0.99) for weight traits with Model 2, but less so for ultrasonic measures. Including the F×S interaction (Model 3) improved model fit for all traits. However, the F×S term explained a small proportion of variation in weights (<2%) although more in ultrasonic traits (at least 10%). In conclusion, heteroscedasticity and G×E were not large for these data, and can be ignored in genetic evaluation of weight but, perhaps, not ultrasonic traits. Still, before incorporating heteroscedasticity and G×E into routine evaluations of even ultrasonic traits, their consequences on selection response in the breeding goal should be evaluated.

Previous studies have demonstrated that sperm head morphometry can be used as a potential diagnostic tool for detecting biophysical changes associated with sperm viability in bovine spermatozoa. In this study, sperm head morphometry was used to investigate its value as a biophysical marker for detecting volumetric changes in bovine spermatozoa under in vitro capacitating and non-capacitating incubation conditions. To further test this hypotesis, aliquots of pooled, washed bovine sperm were incubated in either Tyrode’s complete medium with heparin (TCMH; a capacitating medium containing Ca2+, NaHCO3 and heparin), Tyrode’s complete medium heparin-free (TCM; a medium containing just Ca2+ and NaHCO3) or Tyrode’s basal medium (TBM; a non-capacitating medium free of Ca2+, NaHCO3 and heparin, used as control). Aliquots of sperm were processed for morphometric analysis at different incubation-time intervals (0, 3 and 6 h at 38°C), and the chlortetracycline assay was used simultaneously to confirm the ability of the sperm to undergo capacitation (B pattern) and the acrosome reaction (AR pattern) status in each medium. After 3 h of incubation under TCMH conditions, a significant increase was observed in the percentage of B and AR patterns and a significant decrease was found in all sperm morphometric parameters (P<0.01). Interestingly, after 6 h of incubation in TCMH, the percentage of B and AR patterns increased drastically over time and marked differences were found in the dimensional and shape parameters, which were significantly smaller compared with TBM or TCM media (P<0.001). Significant correlations were observed between sperm size and AR pattern (r=−0.875, P<0.01). In conclusion, sperm head morphometry can be used as a potential biophysical marker for detecting volumetric changes during capacitation process in bovine spermatozoa.

We examined short- and long-term effects of high milking frequency (HMF) for the first 21 days of lactation. The study included 122 Israeli Holstein cows – 32 pregnant heifers, 40 cows in second lactation and 50 cows in >second lactation. Heifers were paired according to predicted transmitting ability and cows according to energy-corrected milk (ECM) production, age, days in milk and expected calving date. Thin cows (body condition score <2.75) were not included. One cow from each pair was arbitrarily allocated to a control group milked three times daily (3× milking cows) and the counterpart to an experimental group milked six times daily for the first 21 days of lactation and then three times daily for the rest of the lactation (6× milking cows). During the first 21 days of lactation, 6× milking cows produced 9.3 kg more milk (26.5%) and 7.16 kg more ECM (19%) than the 3× milking cows. The higher milk production persisted throughout the entire lactation (305 days), as reflected by treatment×age interaction showing higher milk production for the first and second (7%) but not >second lactation cows relative to their control counterparts (−0.37%); ECM production was also higher in 6× milking first and second lactation (7.6% and 5%, respectively) but not for >second lactation cows. Furthermore, HMF had long-lasting effects, expressed as significantly higher milk production through the succeeding lactation in the previous first lactation cows (10%); a tendency toward significance in the second lactation cows relative to the controls (4.7%), but a deleterious effect on the >second lactation cows, reflected by lower milk production (−5.25%) than in controls; similar patterns were found for the ECM. For the entire 305 days of lactation, fat and protein yields were higher for first and second lactation cows, whereas protein yield for >second lactation cows was lower in the 6× milking v. control group. Given that HMF during the first 21 days of first or second lactation increases milk and ECM yields throughout the concurrent and successive lactation with no adverse effect on energy balance, mastitis, metabolic diseases or reproduction, it seems to be economically beneficial. However, caution should be paid for >second lactation cows due to absence of significant effect in the entire of the first HMF applied lactation and the deleterious effect in the succeeding lactation.

The use of antibiotics as performance enhancers in animal feeding is declining, so Lippia gracilis Schauer essential oil (LGSEO) could be used as a potential substitute for the conventionally used growth promoters. The LGSEO contains components such as carvacrol and thymol, which kill and/or control pathogenic bacteria, increase population of beneficial organisms, act against oxidative processes and onto nutrient digestibility and absorption. The aim of this study was to investigate the action and the effects of LGSEO as a growth promoter in the diet of Japanese quail by examining their productive performance, intestinal microbiology, blood biochemical parameters, hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content and intestinal gene expression. A total of 252 two-day-old quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were assigned to 3 treatments in 7 replicates, using 12 birds per experimental unit. The treatments consisted of a basal diet, basal diet + LGSEO at 400 mg/kg of diet and basal diet + chemical antimicrobial (bacitracin methylene disalicylate) at 500 mg/kg of diet. The experimental period was 34 days. The highest feed intake (P < 0.01) was found in the group receiving the conventional antimicrobial, whereas the best feed conversion (P < 0.01) was shown by the animals receiving LGSEO. Escherichia coli growth was restricted in the quail receiving the growth promoters. Salmonella spp. growth was controlled by the treatment containing the conventional antimicrobial. There was no difference between the treatments (P > 0.05) for the concentration of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase enzymes in the blood or hepatic TBARS content. Birds receiving negative-control treatment exhibited a higher expression of sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT1), while those receiving the treatment with essential oil showed lower catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX7) expressions compared to the conventional antimicrobial and control groups, respectively. Lippia gracilis Schauer essential oil is a powerful performance enhancer for Japanese quail by virtue of its abilities to improve their intestinal environment, balance the microbial population and reduce energy expenditure for oxidative processes.

Access to drinking water is essential for animal welfare, but it is unclear if temporary water restriction during the night represents a welfare problem. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of various durations of nightly restriction of water on thirst in loose housed lactating sows from day 10 to 28 of lactation. A total of 48 sows were deprived of water for either 0 h (n=12; control), 3 h (n=12; 0500 to 0800 h), 6 h (n=12; 0200 to 0800 h) or 12 h (n=12; 2000 to 0800 h). Control sows consumed 22% of their water intake during the night (2000 to 0800 h), whereas water consumption during this time was reduced to 13%, 7% and 0% in sows restricted for 3, 6 and 12 h. With increased duration of nightly water restriction a reduced latency to drink (26.8, 18.0, 5.3 and 6.7 min for 0, 3, 6 and 12 h sows; P<0.001) and an increased water intake during the 1st hour after water became accessible (2.1, 3.4, 4.7 and 5.6 l for 0, 3, 6 and 12 h sows; P<0.001) was seen. During the last 30 min before water became accessible more sows deprived of water investigated (0%, 50%, 75%,and 50% of 0, 3, 6 and 12 h sows; P<0.01) or forcefully manipulated (0%, 17%, 50% and 33% of 0, 3, 6 and 12 h sows; P<0.05) the water trough, suggesting frustration and a negative experience of thirst. When all signs of imminent water access were provided, but access was delayed by 25 min, a tendency for more of the sows deprived of water for 6 and 12 h to interact forcefully with the water trough was seen (22%, 18%, 42% and 67% of 0, 3, 6 and 12 h sows; P=0.09). Duration of water restriction did not affect water consumption on a 24-h basis, nursing behaviour or performance. In conclusion, behavioural indicators of thirst increased with increasing duration of nightly water restriction in lactating sows.

The objective of this work was to investigate the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) by Western blot (WB) in swine liver. Subsequently, the study aimed to apply this method to two experimental groups of heavy pigs raised in different confinement systems: intensive/indoor (Group A) and extensive/outdoor (Group B). Thirty-six crossbred commercial heavy pigs were divided as follows: Group A (eight castrated males and eight females) was equally distributed into two single-sex indoor pens (1.02 m2/pig); Group B (11 castrated males and nine females) was kept in one single (partially grassy and partially wooded) open area of about 6000 m2. Group A was slaughtered at 41 weeks of age (170 ± 9 kg) and Group B at 48 weeks of age (172 ± 13 kg). At the abattoir the livers of all the animals were collected and analyzed by WB assay in order to quantify the levels of HSP70. Moreover, a further liver sample was taken from the same animals in order to investigate the cellular localization of HSP70 by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The interaction between sex and group resulted statistically significant (P = 0.001). When stratified by sex, Group A showed significantly higher HSP70 values compared with Group B for both male and female subjects (P < 0.001). Stratifying by group, males showed significantly higher HSP70 values than females in Group A (P < 0.001), whereas no statistical differences were observed between sexes for Group B (P = 0.653). The IHC results evidenced cytoplasmic immunoreactivity in a granular pattern in both groups. The different expression pattern observed by WB could prove to be a useful tool in the assessment of pig health and welfare.

Knowing how energy intake is partitioned between maintenance, growth and egg production (EP) of birds makes it possible to structure models and recommend energy intakes based on differences in the BW, weight gain (WG) and EP on commercial quail farms. This research was a dose-response study to re-evaluate the energy partition for Japanese quails in the EP phase, based on the dilution technique to modify the retained energy (RE) of the birds. A total of 300 VICAMI® Japanese quail, housed in climatic chambers, were used from 16 weeks of age, with averages for BW of 185 g and EP of 78%, for 10 weeks. To modify the RE in the bird’s body, a qualitative dilution of dietary energy was used. Ten treatments (metabolisable energy levels) were distributed in completely randomised units, with six replicates of five quails per experimental unit. Metabolisable energy intake (MEI), egg mass (EM) and RE were expressed in kJ/kg0.67. The utilisation efficiency (kt) was estimated from the relationship between RE and MEI. The metabolisable energy for maintenance was given by RE = 0. The net energy requirement for WG was obtained from the relationship between RE in the BW as a function of the BW. The utilisation efficiency for EP (ko) was obtained from the relationship between EM and RE corrected MEI for maintenance and WG. Based on these efficiencies, the requirements for WG and EM were calculated. The energy intake by Japanese quails was partitioned according to the model: MEI = 569.8 × BW0.67 + 22 × WG + 13 × EM. The current study provides procedures and methods designed for quails as well as a simple and flexible model that can be quickly adopted by technicians and poultry companies.

The aim of this study was to assess the apparent digestibility of broken rice using total collection of feces and the pepsin-cellulase in vitro technique to provide updated and more accurate digestion coefficients for this by-product when fed to horses. The in vivo digestibility trial was consecutively performed, using five adult geldings, weighing 555.6 kg on average. First, hay was given as the only feedstuff, while second, the experimental diet consisted of the same hay plus broken rice at a forage-to-concentrate ratio of 70/30 (on dry matter (DM) basis). Feces were collected over 6 days preceded by a 14-day adaptation period. The digestibility trial was carried out to determine the digestion coefficients for DM, organic matter (OM), CP and gross energy in both diets, while apparent digestion coefficients for the same parameters were calculated for broken rice alone, using the difference between the two sets of results. At the same time, an in vitro trial was carried out using pepsin-cellulase technique on the samples of hay and broken rice tested during the in vivo trial. As expected, supplementation with broken rice increased digestibility according to all the parameters used. The high OM digestion coefficients of broken rice were confirmed both by the calculated in vivo method and by the predicted results of pepsin-cellulase technique (92.6% and 87.1%, respectively), underlining the high digestibility of this by-product when fed to horses.