In order to improve the regional applicability of existing evaporative misting systems, a new evaporative misting system based on photovoltaic/thermal and ventilation heat exchange is proposed for sow farms. Compared to traditional systems, the proposed system can help to improve their regional applicability and reduce their energy consumption. Meanwhile, its simulation model is constructed and the reliability is verified for its core equipment. The maximum error is less than 14.5% for the above models. Through simulation, the optimal regulation variable ranges in the proposed system are determined for mass flow rate of working fluid (MFWF) and misting power by analysing its operating characteristics. The results show that its optimal ranges of MFWF and misting power are 7245–9245 kg/h and 40–45 kW, respectively. The annual performance is further quantified and analysed under different load ratios for the proposed system in Guangzhou. It can be found that the annual exergy loss, heat exchange coefficient and solar energy benefits of the proposed system in Guangzhou are negatively correlated with load ratio, but its annual energy consumption and energy efficiency ratio are positively correlated. Meanwhile, the system performance and benefits are not significantly improved by increasing device investment and sow density when load ratio exceeds 120% in sow farms. The above conclusion can contribute to improving the existing evaporative misting systems in sow farms and guiding the operating regulation of the proposed system.

This research aimed to examine the impact of varying levels of dietary copper (Cu) hydroxychloride on the performance, egg quality, yolk antioxidant capacity, tibia traits, and mineral excretion in laying quails. 125 female 10-week-old quails were randomly distributed into five experimental groups with five replicates, each consisting of five quails. Five experimental isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were designed to contain different Cu hydroxychloride (54% Cu) levels at 7.20 (basal diet), 15, 30, 45 and 60 mg/kg respectively. Quails were fed with trial diets for 12 weeks. Performance, egg production, eggshell quality, and biomechanical traits of the tibia were not impacted (P > 0.005) by variations in dietary Cu levels. Yolk antioxidant capacity, measured as yolk DPPH value, exhibited an increase (P < 0.01) in the high-dose group (60 mg/kg). Regarding tibia mineral concentration, Cu concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.001) with increasing Cu level, manganese and zinc content recorded the highest values in quails that had received 60 mg/kg Cu in the diet (P < 0.01), while the lowest phosphorus content was described for 45 and 60 mg/kg. Contrarily, increases (P < 0.01) in dietary Cu resulted in raised faecal Cu content, while phosphorus, manganese, and zinc, were reduced when Cu was added. It can be inferred that adding Cu to the diet of laying quails would not be necessary, which in turn decreases Cu excretion and prevents substantial environmental harm.

Two 10-day in vitro experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between nitrogen (N) isotope discrimination (δ15N) and ammonia (NH3) emissions from sheep manure. In Exp. 1, three different manure mixtures were set up: control (C); C mixed with lignite (C + L); and grape marc (GM), with 5, 4 and 5 replications, respectively. For C, urine and faeces were collected from sheep fed a diet of 550 g lucerne hay/kg, 400 g barley grain/kg and 50 g faba bean/kg; for C + L, urine and faeces were collected from sheep fed the C diet and 100 g ground lignite added to each incubation system at the start of the experiment; for GM, urine and faeces were collected from sheep fed a diet consisting of C diet with 200 g/kg of the diet replaced with GM. In Exp. 2, three different urine-faeces mixtures were set up: 2U:1F, 1.4U:1F and 1U:1F with urine to faeces ratios of 2:1, 1.4:1 and 1:1, respectively, each with 5 replications. Lignite in C + L led to significantly lower cumulative manure-N loss by 81 and 68% in comparison with C and GM groups, respectively (P = 0.001). Cumulative emitted manure NH3-N was lower in C + L than C and GM groups by 35 and 36%, respectively (P = 0.020). Emitted manure NH3-N was higher in 2U:1F compared to 1.4U:1F and 1U:1F by 18 and 26%, respectively (P < 0.001). This confirms the relationship between manure δ15N and cumulative NH3-N loss reported by earlier studies, which may be useful for estimating NH3 losses.

Bread wheat and durum wheat genotypes were grown in field experiments at two locations in New South Wales, Australia across several years and using two sowing times (‘early’ v. ‘late’). Genotypes were grouped based on genetic similarity. Grain yield, grain size, soil characteristics and daily weather data were collected. The weather data were used to calculate water and heat stress indices for four key growth periods around flowering. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) was used to predict grain yield and to identify the most influential features (a combination of index and growth period). A novel approach involving the crop water supply–demand ratio effectively summarized water relations during growth. LASSO predicted grain yield quite well (adjusted R2 from 0.57 to 0.98), especially in a set of durum genotypes. However, the addition of other important variables such as lodging score, disease incidence, weed incidence and insect damage could have improved modelling results. Growth period 2 (30 days pre-flowering up to flowering) was the most sensitive for yield loss from heat stress and water stress for most features. Although one group of bread wheat genotypes was more sensitive to water stress (drought) in period 3 (20 days pre-flowering to 10 days post-flowering). Evapotranspiration was a significant positive feature but only in the vegetative phase (pre-flowering, period 1). This study confirms the usefulness of LASSO modelling as a technique to make predictions that could be used to identify genotypes that are suitable candidates for further investigation by breeders for their stress-tolerance ability.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of reducing calcium (Ca) and available phosphorus (AvP) on performance, carcass yield, tibia traits and jejunum histomorphology in broilers. For this purpose, 480 one-day-old Ross 308 male chicks were distributed into four trial groups with eight subgroups. During the starter period, birds were fed with recommended or reduced Ca and AvP contents of 66.7 and 62.5 g/kg, respectively. Calcium and AvP contents of the groups were as follows: control: 8.70 g/kg Ca, 4.40 g/kg AvP for grower and 7.80 g/kg Ca, 3.90 g/kg AvP for finisher; LCP1: 8.30 g/kg Ca, 4.20 g/kg AvP for grower and 7.10 g/kg Ca, 3.50 g/kg AvP for finisher; LCP2: 7.90 g/kg Ca, 4.00 g/kg AvP for grower and 6.00 g/kg Ca, 3.00 g/kg AvP for finisher; LCP3: 7.00 g/kg Ca, 3.80 g/kg for grower and 5.00 g/kg Ca, 3.00 g/kg AvP for finisher. Performance variables have been calculated from the data of each period, and samples were obtained from the slaughtered birds on the final day of the trial (42nd day) for carcass and tibia traits and jejunum histomorphology. Reducing dietary Ca and AvP did not affect the broiler performance, carcass yield and mortality. Tibia ash decreased in LCP2 and LCP3 groups (P < 0.01). Villus width and villus surface area increased in LCP2 and LCP3. Overall, feeding with a diet 100 g/kg lower than the recommended Ca and AvP did not affect performance in broilers, but improved jejunal development.

The increase in demand for dairy products requires continued progress in dairy farming for a sustainable supply. Europe, known as the world's leading milk producer, plays a key role in meeting this growing demand. Modern dairy farming has moved beyond its historical focus on milk yield and now focuses on functional traits such as udder health, fertility and calf survival. As a result, selection indicators have become essential tools, combining multiple attributes to support selective decisions. However, these rates show considerable variability across countries, reflecting their distinct breeding goals. Poland's production and functionality (PF) Index emphasizes production and functional traits to enhance dairy cattle. Portugal uses the total economic merit (M€T) and total performance index (IPT) for a broader assessment covering a wider range of traits. Ukraine is transitioning towards a more comprehensive breeding system incorporating stress tolerance and longevity. Factors such as climate change and the need for sustainable practices drive this evolution, underscoring the economic importance of traits beyond mere production. Future trends may include features such as feed efficiency, methane emissions reduction and stress resistance. Diverse breeding objectives across countries lead to different selection index constructions, essential for effective selection, ranking and breeding of superior individuals. This comprehensive review offers insight into constantly evolving dairy farming strategies in Europe, with a focus on Poland, Portugal and Ukraine, while highlighting the key role of functional traits in shaping the future of dairy farming.

The study evaluated forage and livestock performance in different grazing systems over two years. Treatments were three contrasting grazing systems: (I) N-fertilized bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) in the summer overseeded during the winter by N-fertilized ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and oat (Avena sativa L.) (Grass + N); (II) unfertilized bahiagrass during the summer overseeded with ryegrass + oat and a blend of clovers (Trifolium spp.) in the winter (Grass + Clover); (III) unfertilized bahiagrass and rhizoma peanut (RP; Arachis glabrata Benth.) mixture during summer, overseeded during winter by ryegrass + oat + clovers mixture (Grass + Clover + RP). Average daily gain (ADG), gain per area (GPA), and stocking rate (SR) in the winter did not differ across treatments and averaged 0.87 kg/d (P = 0.940), 303 kg/ha, and 2.72 AU/ha. In the summer, Grass + Clover + RP had greater ADG than Grass + N (0.34 vs. 0.17 kg/d, respectively). During the summer, the GPA of Grass + Clover + RP was superior to Grass + N (257 vs. 129 kg/ha, respectively), with no difference in SR among treatments at 3.19 AU/ha. Over the entire year, ADG and GPA tended to be greater for Grass + Clover + RP. Annual SR differed between treatments, where Grass + N was greater (3.37 AU/ha) than the other treatments, which averaged 2.76 AU/ha. Integration of legumes into pasture systems in the summer and winter contributes to developing a sustainable grazing system, reducing N fertilizer use by 85% while tending to increase livestock productivity even though SR was decreased by 18%.

The age at first calving (AFC) is an important trait to be considered in breeding programmes of dairy buffaloes, where new approaches and technologies, such as genomic selection, are constantly applied. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare the predictive ability of different genomic single-step methods using AFC information from Murrah buffaloes. From a pedigree file containing 3320 buffaloes, 2247 cows had AFC records and 553 animals were genotyped. The following models were performed: pedigree-based BLUP (PBLUP), single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP), weighted single-step GBLUP (WssGBLUP), and single-step Bayesian regression methods (ssBR-BayesA, BayesBπ, BayesCπ, Bayes-Lasso, and BayesRR). To compare the methodologies, the accuracy and dispersion of (G)EBVs were assessed using the LR method. Accuracy estimates for the genotyped animals ranged from 0.30 (PBLUP) to 0.39 (WssGBLUP). Predictions with the traditional model (PBLUP) were very dispersed from what was expected, while BayesCπ (0.99) and WssGBLUP (1.00) obtained the lowest dispersion. The results indicate that the use of genomic information can improve the genetic gain for AFC by increasing the accuracy and reducing inflation/deflation of predictions compared to the traditional pedigree-based model. In addition, among all genomic single-step models studied, WssGBLUP and single-step BayesA were the most advantageous methods to be used in the genomic evaluation of AFC of buffaloes from this population.

This study investigates the genetic and phenotypic aspects of early growth performance in the Murciano-Granadina goat breed, using data collected between 2016 and 2022 from a private dairy farm in Ghale-Ganj city, located in the southern area of Kerman province, Iran. Pedigree and data information were collected on several early body weight traits, including birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), average daily gain (ADG), Kleiber ratio (KR) and growth efficiency from birth to weaning (GE). Nine univariate animal models included direct additive genetic effects and different combinations of maternal effects were compared by using Akaike information criterion (AIC). Among the tested models, the best genetic analysis model for BW, included direct additive, maternal additive, maternal permanent and maternal temporary environmental effects. The best model for ADG, KR and GE included direct additive, maternal permanent and litter effects. For WW, the best model was determined to be one that included direct additive and maternal additive genetic effects. The estimated direct heritabilities were low values of 0.04, 0.07, 0.08, 0.05 and 0.07 for BW, ADG, KR, GE and WW, respectively. The estimates of genetic correlations among the studied traits were positive and low to high in magnitude which ranged from 0.11 for BW-KR to 0.91 for BW-GE. The phenotypic correlations ranged from 0.03 for KR-WW to 0.87 for ADG-KR. The positive correlations observed among the studied growth traits of the Murciano-Granadina goat breed indicate no negative genetic or phenotypic changes associated with selection for these traits.

The objective was to develop equations to predict carcass weight (CW), use CW to predict empty body weight (EBW); and carcass gain (CG) to predict empty body weight gain (EBWG) and retained energy (RE) in hair sheep. To generate the prediction models, a data set was composed of individual measurements from 569 sheep encompassing intact males (n = 416), castrated males (n = 51), and females (n = 102). Validation analyses were performed by using the Model Evaluation System (MES). The prediction equations for CW, EBW, and EBWG were not influenced by sex class (P > 0.05), and the following equations were generated, respectively: CW (kg) = − 0.234 (±1.1358) + 0.485 (±0.0387) × FBW; EBW (kg) = 1.367 (±0.5472) + 1.681 (±0.0210) × CW and EBWG (kg) = 0.004 (±0.0026) + 1.679 (±0.0758) × CG. There was an effect of sex class on the intercept (P = 0.0013) of the relationship between RE and CG: RE (MJ/day) = 1.448 (±0.0657) × EBW0.75 × CG0.797 (±0.0399); RE (MJ/day) = 1.522 (±0.0699) × EBW0.75 × CG0.797 (±0.0399) and RE (MJ/day) = 1.827 (±0.0739) × EBW0.75 × CG0.797 (±0.0399) for intact males, castrated males and females, respectively. This study highlights the importance of incorporating carcass information into EBW, EBWG, and RE predictions. Replacing empty body weight gain with carcass gain might be a suitable alternative to estimate the retained energy of hair sheep. In addition, the generated equations will provide support for meat production systems in carcass weight prediction.

A growth monitoring study (0–7 day of age) was conducted involving 87, one-day old Ross 308 male broilers to evaluate organ weights, bone parameters and ileal transcriptomic profile of broiler chicks as influenced by day 7 bodyweight (BW) grouping. The chicks were raised in a deep-litter house under common controlled environmental conditions and commercial starter diet. Chicks were grouped on day 7 into two distinct BW, super performer (SP) and under performer (UP) with bodyweights >260, and <200 g respectively. Results revealed that the SP chicks had significantly higher bone ash, sodium (Na), phosphorus (P) and rubidium (Rb) concentrations compared to the UP chicks on D7. In contrast, the UP chicks had significantly higher tibial cadmium (Cd), caesium (Cs) and lead (Pb) compared to the SP group; the UP chicks also had proportionally heavier relative gizzard weight than the SP chicks. The ileal transcriptomic data revealed differentially expressed genes (DEG) between the two groups of chicks, with 150 upregulated and 83 down-regulated genes with a fold change of ≥1.25 or ≤ 1.25 in the SP chicks relative to the UP chicks. Furthermore, functional annotation and pathway analysis revealed that some of these DEG were involved in various pathways including calcium signalling, Wnt signalling, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis. This study revealed that chicks of the same breed and of uniform environmental and diet management exhibited differences in digestive organ weights, tibial bone characteristics and ileal gene expression that may be related to BW.

The aim of this study is to assess the effects of substituting soybean meal with extruded urea in the diet of crossbred Texel x no defined racial pattern lambs under continuous grazing on Brachiaria ssp., focusing on both their productive and nutritional performance. 60 Texel crossbred lambs (12 animals for each treatment) were used, with an average initial weight of 20.7 ± 0.87 kg and an average age of 2.5 ± 0.70 months, fed treatments with increasing levels of UE (Urea extruded Amireia® 200S): 0; 6; 12; 18 and 24 grams of EU 100/kg of body weight, with trial period was 5 months, using the multivariate technique. The data were subjected to principal component and canonical discriminant analysis to check possible differences between the evaluated treatments and identify the variables that best discriminate and use these variables to create a discriminant function that represents the differences between treatments. Of the 12 variables initially used, we observed that 9 were used by the main components, but 6 were those that presented the greatest discriminatory power for the study. Main component 1 was characterized by biometric measurements and showed the greatest power of variation in the study (60%), followed by main component 2, represented by slaughter weight and empty body weight (13%). These correlations indicate that biometric measurements can serve as reliable indirect indicators for estimating carcass traits in sheep, offering a practical alternative to visual assessments.

Growth data on Jersey crossbred calves, maintained at ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Eastern Regional Station, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India, were collected and analysed to assess the influence of maternal effects on growth traits of calves. Traits considered for this study were birth weight (BW) and weights at 3 months (W3M), 6 months (W6M), 9 months (W9M) and 12 months (W12M) of age. Least-squares analyses were employed to obtain the effects of non-genetic factors on the traits of interest. Determination of influence of maternal effects on growth traits was estimated by fitting three univariate animal models (including or excluding maternal effects) using Bayesian approach. The most appropriate model for each trait was selected based on Deviance Information Criterion. Direct heritability (h2) estimates for BW, W3M, W6M, W9M and W12M were 0.31 ± 0.08, 0.26 ± 0.10, 0.48 ± 0.10, 0.44 ± 0.11 and 0.39 ± 0.14, respectively, under the best model. Permanent environmental maternal effects (c2) varied from 0.04 to 0.12 for all traits. Existence of maternal effects for all ages reflects the importance of maternal components for these traits. Moderate to high heritability estimates for growth traits indicate the possibility of modest genetic progress for these traits through selection under prevalent management system.

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of breed and genomic inbreeding on 305-day lactation yields of milk, fat and protein; and fertility traits of pasture-based dairy cows in Argentina. The genomic inbreeding and heterozygosity of 890 first-lactation cows and 27 bulls were calculated through methods based on the genomic relationship matrix and run of homozygosity using 44 174 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Cows were classified into four breed groups: Holstein, Holstein crossbred, Holstein–Jersey crossbred and Jersey crossbred. The effect of genomic inbreeding was not significant on production traits, but inbred cows increased 3.0 days calving to conception interval (CCI) per 1% genomic inbreeding. On average, purebred Holstein cows produced 1119 kg milk, 22 kg fat and 30 kg protein more than Jersey crossbred cows. In the case of the fertility traits, Jersey crossbred cows had 45 days shorter CCI than purebred Holstein cows. A possible reason for the non-significant effects of genomic inbreeding of production and fertility traits is that these effects were evaluated in a crossbred population in which rates of heterozygosity would operate to some extent in the opposite direction to rates of genomic inbreeding.

This study was conducted to estimate the relative contribution of dominance genetic effects to efficiency-related traits including Kleiber ratio (KR), efficiency of growth (EF) and relative growth rate (RGR) in Baluchi sheep. To this end, each trait was analysed with a series of 12 animal models which were identical for fixed and additive genetic effects but differed for combinations of dominance genetic and maternal effects. The Akaike's information criterion (AIC) was used to rank models. (Co)variances between traits were estimated using bivariate analyses. For all traits studied, according to AIC values, models containing the dominance genetic effects provided a better data fit than otherwise identical models. By including dominance genetic effects in the model, additive genetic variance did not change, but a significant decrease was observed in the residual variance (24, 19 and 25% for KR, EF and RGR, respectively). Estimates of dominance heritability $( {\boldsymbol h}_{\boldsymbol d}^ 2 )$ were 0.20 ± 0.05, 0.17 ± 0.05 and 0.19 ± 0.07 for KR, EF and RGR, respectively, more than corresponding estimates of additive heritability ${\bf ( }{\boldsymbol h}_{\boldsymbol a}^{\bf 2} {\bf ) }$ as 0.14 ± 0.02, 0.09 ± 0.03 and 0.13 ± 0.02, respectively. Dominance genetic correlations between traits were 0.89 ± 0.17 (KR-EF), 0.86 ± 0.20 (KR-RGR) and 0.93 ± 0.21 (EF-RGR). Additive genetic correlations between traits were 0.84 ± 0.05 (KR-EF), 0.78 ± 0.04 (KR-RGR) and 0.83 ± 0.04 (EF-RGR). The Spearman correlation between additive breeding values including and excluding dominance genetic effects were close to unity either for all animals or top ranked animals. Since presence of dominance genetic effects increased the model power to fit the data, inclusion of these effects in the genetic evaluation models for Baluchi sheep was recommended.

The interest in the search for alternatives to antibiotics in poultry production has been increasing, especially with the focus on essential oils due to their remarkable bioactive properties. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of essential oils on the performance and gut morphometry of broilers, by using an approach of systematic review and meta-analysis. In the conduction of the systematic review, three electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct and Scielo) were consulted in January 2023. Out of an initial amount of 162 papers, only 27 met the requisites to be included in the database. Furthermore, after the use of established criteria for the meta-analysis, only 16 papers were qualified for the evaluation of the aimed parameters. In the meta-analysis, it was observed that the supplementation had significant impact (P < 0.05) of 2.88% in weight gain, in comparison to the basal diet. In addition, the supplementation of essential oils significantly improved (P < 0.05) gut morphometry parameters such as villus height in the ileum (15.66% higher), and 8.26% increase in the villus height to crypt depth ratio in jejunum compared to the basal diet. Dietary essential oils improve the growth performance and gut histomorphometry of broilers, even when combined with antibiotics as growth promoters.