The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of milking frequency and nutritional level on some aspects of animal health. Holstein-Friesian cows (n = 60) were assigned post calving to a factorial arrangement of treatments; twice a day (TAD) milking on a high or low nutritional level; once a day (OAD) milking on a high or low nutritional level. Milking characteristics were recorded daily. Blood samples to evaluate changes in the composition of the blood cells, milk leakage, udder tension and locomotory ability were measured on four occasions. Teat-ends were classified for hyperkeratosis (HK) monthly post partum. TAD had longer daily milking times (P < 0.001) compared with OAD cows. There was no effect of milking frequency or nutritional level on morning milking time, time to milk letdown or peak milk flow rate (P>0.05). High nutritional level cows had higher average flow-rates (P < 0.05) than low nutritional level cows. Neither milking frequency nor nutritional level affected HK (P>0.05). However, HK values were positively correlated with daily milking time for OAD cows for 6 months of lactation (P < 0.05). This correlation was significant (P < 0.01) for cows milked OAD on high nutrition during the peak lactation period. OAD cows had higher levels of milk leakage compared with TAD cows during the month of May (P < 0.01). Cows on high nutrition milked OAD showed higher udder firmness scores than cows milked once or twice daily at the low nutrition level in June and July (P < 0.05). OAD cows had higher locomotion scores compared with TAD cows (P < 0.001). Locomotion and udder firmness scores were significantly correlated for OAD in June (P < 0.05). OAD cows had lower blood lymphocyte counts, numerically higher counts of neutrophil and a higher monocyte count at peak lactation compared with TAD cows suggesting that OAD cows had altered immune responses. The increase in milk leakage, higher udder firmness and locomotion scores in conjunction with changes in blood cells, suggests that OAD milking may have caused some discomfort to the cows during peak lactation. A reduction in the concentrate input to OAD cows during this period could ameliorate this problem.

Newborn rabbits depend on a daily nursing interaction with the mother to gain milk and to survive. During this interaction, they localise and seize the nipples displaying a typical behaviour triggered by maternal odour cues. The mammary pheromone constitutes such a signal in domestic rabbits: it elicits sucking-related movements in more than 90% of the pups. However, some newborns remain unresponsive to the presentation of the pheromone, even pups apparently healthy and highly motivated to suck. The main goal of the present study was therefore to explore the link between the unresponsiveness of rabbit pups to the mammary pheromone and their growth and survival in breeding conditions. To that end, 293 newborns from 30 litters were tested for their head searching-oral grasping responses to the mammary pheromone on days 1 and 3, and their milk intake and mortality were followed up from days 1 to 21. It was hypothesised that unresponsive newborns would have subsequent difficulties in finding nipples, sucking and surviving. Early weight and success in milk intake were further considered as mediating factors in growth and viability. The results showed that pups that were unresponsive to the mammary pheromone on day 1 were less successful in gaining milk and had a higher rate of mortality than the responsive pups. However, this impact was modulated by the weight of pups: it appeared only in the lightest newborns. Moreover, this impact vanished on day 3. On the other hand, the pup weight and sucking success on days 1 to 3 strongly influenced viability and growth during the period extending from days 1 to 21. Taken together, the results show that the day-1 responsiveness of rabbit pups to the mammary pheromone can be considered as an indicator of individual viability in pups having a small weight (<48 g on day 1). The predictive validity of the pups’ pheromonal reactivity seems however time-limited as it works only during the first, but crucial, postnatal days.

Twenty-four low dry matter (DM) silages differing in fermentation quality were harvested at the same time from a crop that consisted mainly of timothy (Phleum pratense), and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis). The silage samples were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) – mass spectrometry and gas chromatography – flame ionisation detection in order to determine and quantify volatiles present in silage. The voluntary intake of the 24 silages had been measured in a previous feeding trial with growing steers of Norwegian Red. Thirteen esters, five aldehydes, three alcohols, and one sulphide were identified and quantified. A total of 51 variables describing the chemical composition of the silages were included in a partial least-squares regression, and the relationship of silage fermentation quality to voluntary intake was elucidated. The importance of variables describing silage fermentation quality in relation to intake was judged from a best combination procedure, jack-knifing, and empirical correlations of the variables to intake. The GC-analysed compounds were mainly present in poorly fermented silages. However, compared with other explanatory chemical variables none of these compounds was of importance for the voluntary intake as evaluated by partial least-squares regression. A validated variance of 71% in silage DM intake was explained with the selected variables: total acids (TA), total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), lactic acid/total acid ratio and propionic acid. In this study extent (by the variable TA) and type of silage fermentation (by TVFA) influenced intake. Further, it is suggested that by restricting the fermentation in low DM grass silages the potential intake of silage DM is maximised.

The ability to authenticate the feed given to animals from the animal products has become a major challenge for scientists, monitoring bodies and commercial entities alike. This study compared two methods based on the use of the visible reflectance spectrum of the fat to discriminate pasture-fed (P) from stall concentrate-fed (S) lamb carcasses. A total of 307 (143 P and 164 S) Limousine lambs were used over 2 years. Pasture-fed lambs grazed a permanent pasture that was maintained at a leafy, green vegetative stage, and offered ad libitum; they received no supplementation at pasture. Body weight of P lambs when turning out to pasture and at slaughter averaged 9.2 (standard deviation (s.d.) 2.21) kg and 33.2 (s.d. 2.89) kg, respectively. S lambs were fed indoors on an ad libitum diet of commercial concentrate and hay until slaughter at a mean body weight of 33.7 (s.d. 3.62) kg. The reflectance spectrum of perirenal and subcutaneous caudal fat was measured at slaughter and at 24 h post mortem. Plasma carotenoid concentration was measured at slaughter. In method 1, the fat reflectance spectrum data were used at wavelengths between 450 and 510 nm to calculate an index quantifying light absorption by carotenoid pigments. In method 2, a multivariate analysis was performed over the full set of fat reflectance data at wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm. Method 2 yielded a higher proportion of correctly classified lambs compared with method 1 (P < 0.05 to 0.001), except for measurements made at 24 h post mortem on perirenal fat for S lambs. The proportion of lambs correctly classified using method 2 was 87.4% and 92.9% for measurements made on perirenal and caudal fat at slaughter, and 93.9% and 91.0% for measurements made on perirenal and caudal fat 24 h post mortem. Plasma carotenoid concentrations were higher in P lambs than in S lambs (P < 0.001), which led to correct classification of 90.7% of the lambs.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) residues in milk are regulated in many parts of the world and can cost dairy farmers significantly due to lost milk sales. Additionally, due to the carcinogenicity of this compound contaminated milk can be a major public health concern. Thirty-four lactating dairy cows were utilised to investigate the relationship between somatic cell counts (SCC), milk yield and conversion of dietary aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) into milk AFM1 (carryover (CO)). The AFM1 in milk increased as soon as the first milking after animal ingestion with a pattern of increment up to the observed plateau (between 7th and 12th days of AFB1 ingestion). There was a significant (P < 0.01) effect of the milk yield whereas no effect could be attributed to the SCC levels or to the milk yield × SCC interaction. Similarly, the main effect of milk yield was also observed (P < 0.01) on the total amount of AFM1 excreted during the ingestion period. Although the plasma concentration of gamma-glutamyl transferase was significantly affected by aflatoxin administration, levels of this liver enzyme were within the normal range for lactating dairy cows. The current data suggest that milk yield is the major factor affecting the total excretion of AFM1 and that SCC as an indicator of mammary gland permeability was not related to an increase in AFM1 CO.

The effect of rate of substitution of processed, urea-treated whole-crop wheat (pWCW) for grass silage on intake, performance and whole-tract digestibility was evaluated using 44 dairy cows. Cows received 10.5 kg of concentrates per day and one of the following forage mixtures (dry matter (DM) basis): grass silage alone (W-0); 0.75 grass silage, 0.25 pWCW (W-25); 0.5 grass silage, 0.5 pWCW (W-50) or 0.25 grass silage, 0.75 pWCW (W-75). Forage DM intake increased linearly with inclusion rate of pWCW from 9.7 kg DM per day in cows fed W-0 to 14.6 kg DM per day in W-75. By contrast, milk and protein yield (kg/day) were higher (P < 0.05) in cows receiving W-25 compared with W-0, but there was no effect (P>0.05) of treatment on fat yield (kg/day). From week 11 of the experiment onwards, body condition score increased with rate of inclusion of pWCW (P < 0.05). Whole-tract apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM) and fibre (kg/kg), decreased linearly with rate of inclusion of pWCW. Assuming a constant digestibility of starch in the other diet components, the apparent digestibility of starch in pWCW was 0.95 kg/kg and was not affected by rate of inclusion (P>0.05). Four continuous culture vessels were used to determine the effect of rate of inclusion of pWCW on ruminal metabolism in four periods, each of 14 d duration with sampling conducted on days 9 to 14. Vessel ammonia concentration increased linearly (P < 0.05) with rate of inclusion of pWCW whilst mean pH tended (P = 0.06) to decrease. The ratio of acetate to propionate increased from 2.5 in vessels receiving W-0 to 3.2 in those receiving W-75 (P < 0.001). There was no effect (P>0.05) of treatment on digestibility (g/g) of OM, fibre or starch or microbial protein flow (g/day). It is concluded that forage DM intake increased linearly with rate of inclusion of pWCW, but there was no further improvement in milk yield from inclusion rates above 0.25 of the forage DM, with body condition score increasing instead. Increasing the inclusion rate of pWCW resulted in a more ketogenic volatile fatty acid profile but did not affect the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis when determined in vitro.

The purpose of the current study was to determine if the parity of the litter in which a female was born and the number of pigs within that same litter are associated with future length of productive life (LPL). An additional objective of the study was to examine the associations of leg conformation (evaluated at approx. 100 kg of live weight), age at first farrowing, litter size at first farrowing, and age and backfat thickness at 100 kg on LPL in the Finnish crossbred (Landrace × Large White or Large White × Landrace) population. The data analysed contained information on 11 761 sows, and proportional hazard model (Weibull) was fitted on the data using the Survival Kit. Log likelihood tests were utilised to determine if the individual effects have a significant impact on LPL. Farm conditions and management were identified as major factors impacting on LPL ( P < 0.001). Other factors significantly ( P < 0.001) associated with LPL were leg soundness score, age at first farrowing, and litter size at first farrowing. The better the leg score, the younger age at first farrowing, and the larger litter at first farrowing, the longer sows tended to remain in the herd from the present. Although sows born in litters first, second, and sixth parities had slightly greater risk of being culled when compared with sows born in litters from the other parities, the effect was not statistically significant. Sufficient genetic variation exists in the population evaluated in this study for LPL (h2 = 0.25), such that it will be possible to improve LPL through traditional selection methods in an efficient breeding programme. Thus, there are many factors which impact on LPL, and possibilities to improve all of them should be considered in order to improve the economics and animal welfare of modern pork production operations.

The aim of this study was to compare the environmental impact of the straw-flow system for fattening pigs with the slatted-floor system by measuring pollutant gas emissions such as ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), manure nitrogen (N) content and emissions of water vapour (H2O). Three successive batches of 32 pigs were fattened. For each batch, pigs were allotted to two groups raised in separated rooms fitted either with a concrete totally slatted-floor system (0.75 m2 per pig) or with a straw-flow system (0.79 m2 per pig). With this last system, pigs were kept on a sloped floor, straw being provided daily at the top of the pen. Throughout the fattening period, about 34.4 kg of straw were supplied per pig. The straw, mixed with dung, travelled down the slope by pig motion and went out of the pen to a scraped passage. The solid fraction was scraped every day, stored in a heap in the room and removed every month, 1 week before each period of gaseous emission measurement. The liquid fraction was automatically pumped from the scraped passage into a hermetic tank, which was emptied at the end of each fattening period. Rooms were ventilated mechanically in order to maintain a constant ambient temperature. Once a month, the emissions of NH3, N2O, CH4, CO2 and H2O were measured hourly for 6 consecutive days via infrared photoacoustic detection. Mean daily emissions per pig fattened on the slatted floor or on the sloped floor were, respectively, 4.98 and 13.31 g NH3, 0.67 and 0.68 g N2O, 15.2 and 8.88 g CH4, 548 g and 406 g CO2 equivalents, 1.61 and 1.77 kg CO2 and 2.33 and 2.95 kg H2O. Except for N2O emissions, all the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). From the slatted-floor system, the amount of slurry removed per fattening period was on average 256 kg per pig. From the straw-flow system, solid manure amounted on average to 209 kg per pig and liquid manure to 53 kg per pig. The total N-content of the manure was 2.23 kg N per pig with the straw-flow system (solid and liquid manure) v. 3.26 kg N per pig for slurry from the slatted-floor system. This reduction of 30% observed with the sloped floor was mainly explained by the higher level of NH3-N emissions.

The present study was undertaken to study different methodological aspects of quantifying CO2 production and milk intake of suckling piglets using the doubly labelled water (DLW) technique. In total, 37 piglets were enriched intraperitoneally with DLW to study equilibration time of 18O (n = 3), to validate the estimation of milk intake and CO2 production (n = 10) of piglets fed milk replacer and to quantify milk intake and CO2 production of piglets nursed ordinarily by sows (n = 24). Enrichment of 18O in expired air was analysed without any sample preparation, whereas enrichment of 18O in serum was analysed after a minimum step of sample preparation, which included pipetting of the sample, blowing gaseous CO2 into the vial for 3 s and equilibrating for 24 h. The 18O enrichment of CO2 in expired air was constant within 30–40 min of intraperitoneal injection, suggesting that DLW was equilibrated within the body water by that time. For piglets fed milk replacer, the estimation of the daily CO2 production by the DLW method (64.0 ± 2.7 l CO2/day) was in agreement with that obtained by respiration trials (64.7 ± 1.8 l CO2/day). Furthermore, the intake of milk replacer (891 ± 63 g/day) determined by deuterium oxide (D2O) dilution was similar in magnitude to that found by weighing the milk disappearance (910 ± 58 g/day). The milk intake of piglets fed milk replacer was comparable with that of sucking piglets, but sucking piglets had a remarkably higher CO2 production than artificially reared piglets, which likely was caused by a higher intake of milk solids and a higher activity level. For sucking piglets, the daily CO2 production increased curvilinearly with increasing live weight (LW) in kg: piglet CO2 production (l/day) = 25.75 × LW − 1.01 × LW2. In conclusion, 18O equilibrates fast within the body water pool when administered intraperitoneally, and the accuracy of assessing milk intake and rate of CO2 production using the DLW technique is promising. Assessment of excess enrichment of 18O in serum proved to be robust. Finally, the CO2 production of piglets fed milk replacer differs considerably from that of sucking piglets.

New housing systems for commercial egg production, furnished cages and non-cage systems, should improve the welfare of laying hens. In particular, thanks to the presence of a litter area, these new housing systems are thought to satisfy the dust-bathing motivation of hens more than in conventional cages, in which no litter area is present. However, although apparently obvious, there is no concrete evidence that non-cage systems, particularly aviaries, satisfy hens' motivation to dust-bathe and thus improve hens' welfare in terms of dust-bathing behaviour. The aim of this study was to compare hens' dust-bathing motivation when housed for a long time under similar conditions to commercial conditions in laying aviaries (with litter) and in conventional cages (without litter). Three treatments were compared: hens reared in floor pens then housed in conventional cages, hens reared in furnished floor pens then housed in a laying aviary, and hens reared in rearing aviaries then housed in a laying aviary. All three treatments provided access to litter during the rearing period. After transfer to the laying systems, access to litter was maintained for the aviary hens but stopped for the cage hens. Twelve groups of four hens per treatment were tested 36 to 43 weeks after transfer. The hens were placed in sawdust-filled testing arenas, and latency to dust-bathe, duration and number of dust baths, and number of hens dust-bathing were recorded. Latency to dust-bathe was shorter, dust baths were longer and more numerous and more hens dust-bathed among cage hens than among aviary hens. Our results indicate that hens' motivation to dust-bathe was more satisfied in laying aviaries than in conventional cages. Thus, laying aviaries improve hens' welfare in term of dust-bathing behaviour compared with conventional cages.

Genetic parameters for eating quality assessed by trained taste panellists were estimated on longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle in Scottish Blackface lambs, comprising lines previously divergently selected for carcass lean content (FAT and LEAN lines) as well as crosses between these lines. Also, relationships between eating quality assessments and fatty acid composition were investigated. Eating quality and fatty acid phenotypic measurements were made on 350 male lambs, at ca. 8 months of age. Eating quality measurements included 18 descriptive terms and fatty acid composition measurements included in total 17 fatty acids of three types: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. The FAT line had juicier meat and more vegetable flavour than the LEAN line. Most of the eating quality traits were moderately to highly heritable, with heritabilities ranging from 0.21 (lamb flavour) to 0.92 (sweet flavour). Lamb flavour, juiciness and overall liking were strongly negatively correlated with individual polyunsaturated fatty acids, with the correlations being significantly different from zero. Overall liking was strongly positively correlated with the proportion of total monounsaturated fatty acids. This study provides new information on genetic parameters for eating quality traits in sheep, which may lead to novel opportunities for genetically improving these traits.

Two 2 × 2 factorial experiments were conducted to investigate the interaction between cereal type (wheat v. barley) and exogenous enzyme supplementation (with or without) on odour and ammonia emissions (experiment 1) and growth performance (experiment 2) in grower-finisher pigs. The enzyme supplement used contained endo-1, 3 (4) - β- glucanase (EC 3.2.1.6) and endo-1, 4 - β-xylanase (E.C 3.2.1.8). The diets were formulated to contain similar levels of net energy (9.8 MJ/kg) and lysine (10.0 g/kg). The experimental treatments were as follows: (1) wheat-based diet, (2) wheat-based diet containing a β-glucanase and β-xylanase mixed enzyme supplement, (3) barley-based diet and (4) barley-based diet containing a β-glucanase and β-xylanase mixed enzyme supplement. In experiment 1, the diets were offered to the pigs for 23 days in sealed pens (eight pigs per pen) and this was repeated four times (n = 4). Odour and ammonia emissions were measured on days 9, 11, 14, 16, 21 and 23 of each replicate period. Odour samples were collected in 20-l Nalophan bags and analysed for odour concentration using an ECOMA Yes/No Olfactometer. Ammonia concentrations in the ventilation air were measured using Dräger tubes. In experiment 2, 220 pigs were group fed in mixed sex pens using single-space feeders (11 pigs per feeder, six boars and five gilts) (n = 5). There was a cereal × enzyme interaction in odour emission rates, ammonia emissions and selected microbial populations in the caecum and colon (P < 0.05). The addition of an enzyme supplement to the barley-based diet increased both odour and ammonia emission, however the addition of an enzyme to the wheat-based diet decreased ammonia emission rates and had no effect on odour emission. Pigs offered the unsupplemented barley-based diet had a significantly (P < 0.05) lower population of Enterobacteriaceae spp. and a higher population of Bifidobacteria spp. compared with enzyme-supplemented barley diets. However, there was no effect of enzyme supplementation in wheat-based diets. In the performance experiment, neither cereal type nor enzyme inclusion had an effect on pig performance or carcass characteristics. In conclusion, the inclusion of an enzyme mix to barley-based diets increased odour and ammonia emissions, while the addition of an enzyme mix to wheat-based diets decreased ammonia emissions.

The objective of the present study was to quantify the relationships among body condition score (BCS; scale 1 to 5), live weight (WT) and milk production in Irish Holstein-Friesian spring calving dairy cows. Data were from 66 commercial dairy herds during the years 1999 and 2000. The data consisted of up to 9886 lactations with records for BCS or WT at least once pre-calving, or at calving, nadir or 60 days post-calving. Change in BCS and WT was also calculated between time periods. Mixed models with cow included as a random effect were used to quantify the effect of BCS and WT, as well as change in each trait, on milk yield, milk fat concentration and milk protein concentration. Significant and sometimes curvilinear associations were observed among BCS at calving or nadir and milk production. Total 305-day milk yield was greatest in cows calving at a BCS of 4.25 units. However, cows calving at a BCS of 3.50 units produced only 68 kg less milk than cows calving at a BCS of 4.25 units while cows calving at 3.25 or 3.00 BCS units produced a further 50 and 114 kg less, respectively. Cows that lost more condition in early lactation produced more milk of greater fat and protein concentration, although the trend reversed in cows that lost large amounts of condition post-calving. Milk yield increased with WT although the marginal effect decreased as cows got heavier. Milk fat and protein concentration in early lactation also increased with WT pre-calving, calving and nadir, although WT did not significantly affect average lactation milk fat concentration.

Reproductive efficiency in the dairy herd is the most important factor for its economic success and a major concern for dairy farmers when using artificial insemination (AI) or natural service (NS). Our objectives were to estimate, compare and analyse the costs associated with breeding cattle by do-it-yourself (DIY) AI and NS and identify the factors that influence them, under typical dairy farming conditions in Greece. A simulation study was designed based on data from 120 dairy cattle farms that differed in size (range 40 to 285 cows) and milk production level (4000 to 9300 kg per cow per year). Different scenarios were employed to estimate costs associated directly with AI and NS as well as potentially extended calving intervals (ECI) due to AI. Results showed that bull maintenance costs for NS were €1440 to €1670 per year ($1,820 to $2,111). Direct AI costs were higher than those for NS for farms with more than 30 cows and ECI constituted a considerable additional burden. In fact, amongst the factors that affected the amount of milk needed to cover total extra AI costs, number of days open was the dominant one. Semen, feed and heifer prices had a very small effect. When, hypothetically, use of NS bulls results in a calving interval of 12 months, AI daughters with a calving interval of 13.5 months have to produce about 705 kg of additional milk in order to cover the extra cost. Their actual milk production, however, exceeds this limit by more than 25%. When real calving intervals are considered (13.0 v. 13.7 months for NS and AI, respectively) AI daughters turn out to produce more than twice the additional amount of milk needed. It was concluded that even under less than average management conditions, AI is more profitable than the best NS scenario. The efficient communication of this message should be a primary concern of the AI industry.

Supplementation of pregnant ewes with long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) demonstrably improves indicators of neonatal lamb vigour, potentially improving the number of lambs reared per ewe. The present study investigated the effect of supplementing ewes with fish oil and vitamin E (α-tocopherol acetate) throughout both pregnancy and lactation on the performance of lactating ewes and sucking lambs. Forty-eight ewes were supplemented with one of four concentrates containing either Megalac or fish oil plus a basal (50 mg/kg) or supranutritional (500 mg/kg) concentration of vitamin E from 6 weeks pre-partum until 4 weeks post partum in a two-by-two factorial randomised-block design. All concentrates were formulated to contain approximately 60 g/kg supplemental fatty acids. Ewes were housed, penned on sawdust and offered straw ad libitum. Blood samples were taken from ewes and lambs at intervals throughout the experiment and milk samples were obtained at 21 days into lactation. There was no notable effect of dietary vitamin E concentration upon ewe or lamb performance. Ewe dry-matter (DM) intake and yield were unaffected by dietary treatment, although ewes fed fish oil lost less weight during lactation (−1.88 kg compared with −3.97 kg for Megalac-supplemented ewes; P < 0.01). Milk fat concentrations (67.3 g/kg compared with 91.8 g/kg; P < 0.01) and yields (6.65 g/h v. 9.26 g/h; P < 0.01) were reduced in ewes fed fish oil and these decreases were associated with lower litter-growth rates (0.49 g/day compared with 0.54 g/day; P < 0.05). Milk protein yield was increased by fish oil supplementation (3.82 g/h) compared with Megalac supplementation (3.28 g/h; P < 0.05); moreover, there was an interaction between fat source and vitamin E concentration in that both protein concentration and yield were significantly lower in milk from ewes fed treatment with Megalac + basal vitamin E (MB) compared with the other three treatments. Fish oil supplementation increased the concentrations of C18:1trans-, cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), C20:5 (n-3) and C22:6 (n-3) within ewe plasma, milk and lamb plasma. The mechanisms by which fish oil supplementation affects milk composition warrants further investigation.

Colostrum yield and composition of 40 Landrace×Large White sows were determined from the onset of parturition until 24 h post partum. Colostrum yield was calculated by adding individual piglets’ colostrum intakes for each litter. Colostrum was assayed for prolactin, progesterone, oestradiol-17β, immunoglobulin G and its nutritional composition was determined. Piglets’ individual colostrum intake averaged 300 ± 7 g and sows’ colostrum yield averaged 3.67 ± 0.14 kg (minimum 1.91 kg, maximum 5.31 kg). Live weight and characteristics at birth (umbilical cord already ruptured, splayleg, difficulty to breathe) were the major factors influencing individual colostrum intake. Colostrum yield was not affected by litter size, tended to be influenced by parity (P = 0.059) and was lower when farrowing was induced (P = 0.017). On the other hand, no relationships were found between hormone concentrations in colostrum and colostrum yield. Mean piglet birth weight and litter weight variation at birth were related to colostrum yield (r = 0.38; P = 0.015 and r = −0.34; P = 0.030, respectively). These results suggest that determinism of colostrum yield depends, in part, on global vitality of the litter but seems to be, most probably, affected by the capacity of sows to produce enough colostrum for the whole litter. Further studies are needed to understand the endocrine regulation of colostrum secretion in sows.

A total of 240 pigs, 74 days old, half boars and half females, were included in a trial designed to assess the effect of the stress caused by changes in the pattern of food administration on the concentration of acute phase proteins (APP) and productive performance parameters. Half of the animals (pigs fed ad libitum, AL group) had free access to feed, while the rest were fed following a disorderly pattern (DIS group), in which animals had alternating periods of free access to feed and periods of no feeding, when food was removed from the feeder. The periods of free access to feed (two daily periods of 2-h duration) were randomly assigned, and varied from day to day. Total feed supplied per day was identical in both groups, and exceeded the minimal amount required for animals of these ages. Pen feed intake, individual body weights and the main positive pig APP pig major acute phase protein (Pig-MAP), haptoglobin, serum amyloid A (SAA), C-reactive protein (CRP), and the negative APP apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) and transtherytin were determined every 2 weeks during the period 76 to 116 days of age. Animals fed ad libitum had better average daily gain (ADG) than DIS animals in the whole experimental period (P < 0.01) but the differences in ADG were only produced in the two first experimental sub-periods (60 to 74 and 74 to 116 days of age), suggesting that the stress diminished when the animals get used to the DIS feeding. Interestingly differences in ADG between DIS and AL pigs were due to males, whereas no differences were observed between females. The same differences observed for ADG were found for APP. DIS males had higher Pig-MAP concentration than AL males at 74 and 116 days of age, lower ApoA-I concentration at 74 days of age and higher haptoglobin and CRP concentration at 116 days of age (P < 0.05). The results obtained in this trial show an inverse relationship between weight gain and APP levels, and suggest that APP may be biomarkers for the evaluation of distress and welfare in pigs.

Extremely high nutrient loads have been reported in grazed grassland regimes compared with cutting regimes in some dairy systems that include the use of supplemental feeding. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects on productivity and behaviour of high-yielding dairy cows with limited access to indoor feed and restriction in the time at pasture in a continuous stocking system. During a 6-week period from the start of the grazing season 2005, an experiment was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of restrictive indoor feeding combined with limiting the time at pasture on the productivity and behaviour of high-yielding dairy cows (31.0 ± 5.4 kg energy-corrected milk) in a system based on continuous stocking. The herd was split into three groups allocated to three treatments consisting of 4, 6.5 and 9 h at pasture, respectively. Each group of cows grazed in separate paddocks with three replicates and was separately housed in a cubicle system with slatted floor during the rest of the day. All cows were fed the same amount of supplement, adjusted daily to meet the ad libitum indoor intake of the cows at pasture for nine hours. The herbage allowance was 1650 kg dry matter (DM) per ha, and the intake of supplemental feed was 9.1 kg DM per cow daily. The limitation of the time at pasture to 4 h in combination with restrictive indoor feeding reduced the daily milk, fat and protein yield and live weight compared with 9 h of access to pasture. The proportion of time during which the cows were grazing while at pasture increased from 0.64 to 0.86 and the estimated herbage intake per h at pasture decreased from 2547 g DM to1398 g DM, when time at pasture changed from 4 to 9 h. It can be concluded, that in systems with a high herbage allowance, the cow was able to compensate for 0.8 of the reduction in time at pasture by increasing the proportion of time spent grazing and presumably also both the bite rate and mass, although the latter two have not been directly confirmed in the present study.

A randomised design involving 66 continental cross beef steers (initial live weight 523 kg) was undertaken to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of maize or whole-crop wheat silages in grass silage-based diets on animal performance, carcass composition, and meat quality of beef cattle. Grass silage was offered either as the sole forage or in addition to either maize or whole-crop wheat silages at a ratio of 40:60, on a dry matter (DM) basis, alternative forage: grass silage. For the grass, maize, and whole-crop wheat silages, DM concentrations were 192, 276, and 319 g/kg, ammonia-nitrogen concentrations were 110, 90, and 150 g/kg nitrogen, starch concentrations were not determined, 225, and 209 g/kg DM and in vivo DM digestibilities were 0.69, 0.69, and 0.58; respectively. The forages were offered ad libitum following mixing in a paddle type complete diet mixer wagon once per day, supplemented with either 3 or 5 kg concentrates per steer per day, in two equal feeds, for 92 days. For the grass, grass plus maize and grass plus whole-crop wheat silage-based diets food intakes were 8.38, 9.08, and 9.14 kg DM per day, estimated carcass gains were 514, 602, and 496 g/day and carcass weights were 326, 334, and 325 kg; respectively. Altering the silage component of the diet did not influence carcass composition or meat eating quality. Increasing concentrate feed level tended ( P = 0.09) to increase estimated carcass fat concentration and increased sarcomere length ( P < 0.05), and lean a* ( P < 0.01), b* ( P < 0.05), and chroma ( P < 0.01). There were no significant silage type by concentrate feed level interactions for food intake, steer performance, carcass characteristics or meat eating quality. It is concluded that replacing grass silage with maize silage increased carcass gain, and weight due to higher intakes, and improved utilisation of metabolisable energy. Whilst replacing grass silage with whole-crop wheat silage increased live-weight gain, the reduced dressing proportion resulted in no beneficial effect on carcass gain, probably due to increased food intakes of lower digestible forage increasing gut fill. Meat quality or carcass composition were not altered by the inclusion of maize or whole-crop silages in grass silage based diets.

We characterised the livestock-farming management strategies of multiple-job holders and identified which variables contributed most to the differentiation of these strategies. We hypothesised that they would mainly be differentiated by the contribution of the farming income to the total household income and the availability of the household members for farming. The multiple-job holding livestock-farmer’s motivations, decisions and actions about both multiple-job holding and livestock farming were obtained in semi-directed interviews of 35 sheep farmers who held multiple jobs, on farm and off farm. They were synthesised into six variables characterising the diversity of the livestock-farming objectives and management guidelines. Thanks to a multiple factorial analysis, we showed that the diversity of the sheep-farming management strategies of multiple-job holders was better explained by two factors ‘level of motivation of the farmer to get high technical results’ and ‘more personal fulfilling v. the family business conception of farming’, than the factors we hypothesised. Within our sample, the performances ranged from 0.7 to 1.4 weaned lambs per ewe per year. Six sheep-farming management strategies were identified. They illustrated the importance of the level of production objectives and of farming income expectation, which were found to be independent, in explaining diversity. No direct relationship between farm work organisation and sheep-farming management strategy was identified. Explaining the diversity of the livestock-farming management strategies of multiple-job holders appears to require that all the benefits expected from farming and their hierarchy be identified before analysing how they are translated into production objectives and management guidelines.