Commercial pig producers may wish to house more pigs than normal in a pen in the immediate post weaning period to reduce heating requirements. However, this may necessitate groups being split or pens being expanded at a later stage. This study investigated the effects of a number of different management regimes on the performance and behaviour of weaned pigs.

Losses of pigs (dead and non-ambulatory) during transport are of great concern from both animal welfare and also economic perspectives. Based on several field studies, we have reported the incidence of transport losses in market weight pigs to be ~1% (Ellis et al. , 2003). Transport losses can be influenced by numerous factors including genetics, carcass muscling, health status, structural soundness, live weight, nutrition, handling, facility design, and conditions during transport to the plant. Few, if any, of these factors have been examined under typical commercial conditions. Floor space on the trailer during transport is a potential contributing factor that can be easily changed by varying the number of pigs placed on the truck and represents a simple approach to managing transport losses. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of two floor spaces (0.39 and 0.48 m2/pig) during transport, that represent the range currently being used in commercial practice in the U.S., on the incidence of dead and non-ambulatory pigs and to evaluate relationships between transport conditions and transport losses.

Pregnant sows are traditionally fed a restricted diet which leaves sows unsatisfied and with a high motivation to forage (Meunier-Salaün, et al., 2001). Recent amendments to European Union pig welfare legislation state that pregnant sows and gilts must be given a sufficient quantity of bulky or high-fibre food, as well as high-energy food, in order to satisfy hunger and the need to chew (Council Directive 2001/88/EC). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of providing access to straw in racks on the welfare of sows in a large dynamic group.

Feedlots are important in both fattening of lambs prior to slaughter and familiarizing sheep with a pellet diet prior to live export. Feedlotting is prominent in Western Australia, with 19% of prime lamb producers identifying feedlotting as their main finishing method (Connell et al. , 2002). Anecdotal reports are that temperatures within a West Australian feedlot during summer can often be in excess of 40˚C. Past research has shown that excessive heat load is a problem with feedlotted cattle (Hahn and Nienaber, 1993) and could be of particular importance when animals are being fed high energy rations; however, the extent of the problem in sheep is unknown. Previous work has shown that high temperatures lead to a decrease in feed intake and therefore productivity of the animal (Baile and Forbes, 1974). The aim of this study was to determine environmental conditions in a Western Australian feedlot during summer and to determine the core temperature of both wethers and ewes within this feedlot. The hypothesis was that sheep exposed to feedlot conditions during summer would have an increased core body temperature above normal.

The relative diversity in body shape and type between breeds indicates a relationship between body shape and performance. Numerous studies on the relationship between body shape and performance are reviewed by Sasstamoinen and Barrey (2000). A limited number of studies (Langlois et al, 1978) have looked at the relationship between horse height at the wither and performance. Holmstrom et al, (1990) found elite dressage and show jumping horses had a higher mean wither height than four year old quality assessed riding horses and riding school horses. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between wither height and performance in three groups of event horses, elite, potential and non-achieving. Additionally wither height is analysed via body depth and ground clearance and performance level within the three groups. The UK a world leader within the equestrian sport of eventing, currently the Olympic individual and team silver medallist winning nation.

The relationship between conformational structure and function in the equine is thought to be important in the judgement of the future soundness and performance of the horse (Holmstrom et al 1990). Holmstrom et al (ibid ) demonstrated that elite dressage and show jump horses possess a more horizontal shoulder enabling the horse to demonstrate an improved forelimb technique. Holmstom et al (ibid ) further related this difference as a contributory factor to the higher levels of performance observed in the elite groups he studied. Furthermore Holmstrom and Philipsson (1993) showed a positive correlation between ‘good’ gaits and a sloping shoulder. Additionally Holmstrom and Philipsson (1993) found that those horses which had a more vertical position of the scapula and a straighter shoulder joint suffered more concussion and are, therefore, at a greater risk of developing lameness. This study investigated the relationship between shoulder angle and performance within three groups of event horses.

Unsoundness amongst racehorses has considerable financial and welfare implications; Sasstamoinen and Barrey (2002) state the value of an athletic horse is largely determined by its ability to exercise and the health of its limbs. The forelimb of the horse is more likely to be predisposed to injury as a consequence of it supporting more than 65% of the horse’s bodyweight (Hodgson and Rose, 1994). Unsoundness associated to the third metacarpal (MC3) and associated soft tissues has been documented within the equine (Walter and Davies, 2001). Davies (2001) established that MC3 size and shape were significantly related to strain loadings within the equine forelimb. He concluded that unsoundness may be closely related to bone size and shape. Speirs (1994) states that the ability of bone to resist imposed loads is related to many factors – including bone geometry. Additional work (Davis, 2001) has concluded that bone strength and stiffness depend on the physical properties of the bone, overall anatomical shape as well as loading effects. This study aimed to investigate whether there is any link between MC3 length and recorded lower forelimb unsoundness in National Hunt racehorses.

Donkeys have historically been the least valued farm animal in Botswana. However, following commercialization of the beef cattle industry coupled with escalating oil prices, donkeys have gained popularity as both draught and transport animals in most remotely located rural areas of the country. Further, due to their resistance to drought, the population of donkey in the country has substantially increased while those of cattle, sheep and goats have decreased. Without exception, all donkeys in Botswana derive their food from the open free-range. Despite their growing popularity as draught animals, very little attention has gone into research on foraging tactics of donkeys. This study was undertaken to determine forage preference of free-ranging work donkeys utilizing an Acacia dominated sandveld in Botswana. The expectation of the researchers was that due to limited grazing time, work donkeys grazed all available grasses without regard to choice in which case the quality of their diet from the range, compared to that of their non-work donkey compatriots would be suspect.

Conventional in vitro embryo production and cryopreservation strategies applicable to livestock could benefit from further enhancement of biosecurity features. In particular, there is scope for a new generation of sequential culture media that avoid ill-defined constituents but closely match changing embryo needs. Likewise, complementary cryopreservation protocols using sealed containers would be beneficial, if they emulate or surpass existing embryo storage and subsequent survival standards. This study compared blastocyst yields from zygotes incubated in a conventional monoculture medium or in an alternative defined 2-stage sequential media system, with or without Trolox, a water-soluble antioxidant, and subsequently investigated blastocyst survival following vitrification in sealed CryoTips.

Testicular development of bulls, during the post-weaning period, is associated to the age and breed of the animals, environmental conditions, and nutritional regime. A positive correlation between testicular development and fertility has been documented through numerous studies (Bailey et al. 1996). Scrotal and testicular measurements, which are simple and inexpensive to obtain, have been used to predict sperm production and semen quality. However, because SC is an indirect measurement of testicular mass which discounts variation in scrotal wall thickness and individual testis shape, the length and width measurements could provide a useful tool for predicting bull fertility. Therefore we conducted a study to evaluate testicular growth during puberty and to determine 1) appropriate models for analysis of phenotypic relationships of testicular dimension and growth traits to age during puberty; and 2) correlations of testis width and length to plasma testosterone and body weight in pubertal Holstein bulls under environmental conditions of Iran.

Early embryo loss is a major cause of reproductive wastage in the dairy cow. Stronge et al. (2005) reported that low concentrations of progesterone around days 5 to 7 was associated with a low probability of embryo survival. McNeill et al. (2005) have shown that the gene encoding retinol binding-protein (RBP) is sensitive to changes in progesterone around day 7 of the oestrous cycle. However, changes in gene expression are not always translated into corresponding changes in protein expression. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between systemic progesterone and retinol binding protein expression in the uterus of cyclic cows on days 3, 7, 11 and 15 of the oestrous cycle.

Puberty is the phase of development during which the potential to reproduce is first realized. Puberty is associated with a variety of physiological and behavioural changes brought by testicular maturation and the production of adult levels of testosterone. These events are the result of re-activation of the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal system, which after a brief prenatal period of activation is quiescent throughout early postnatal life (Romeo et al., 2002).

The hypothesis that leptin plays an important role in regulating GnRH secretion, and ultimately in reproduction, stems from several studies. However, both sexual maturation and nutritional status are important determinants of how leptin affects the H-P-G axis in ruminants. Leptin is one of several permissive factors, whose presence is necessary but alone is not sufficient to initiate sexual maturation in rodents (Williams et al., 2002; Spicer et al., 2002). Furthermore, Garcia et al. (2002) reported that serum leptin increases linearly as puberty approaches in heifers, hence it is plausible to hypothesize that leptin may play a functional role in regulation of the central reproductive axis. The objective of this experiment was to study the changes of plasma leptin during puberty and its relationship with testosterone and testis dimensions in bull Holstein calves.

Previous studies from our group suggest that the synchronised onset of oestradiol secretion by preimplantation conceptuses from Meishan pigs may contribute to the enhanced prenatal survival characteristic of this breed (Ashworth and Pickard, 1998). We have recently reported that in vitro, the onset of oestradiol secretion by conceptuses can be regulated in a dose-dependent manner by an aromatase inhibitor (letrozole; Ashworth et al., 2005). Before commencing in vivo trials to assess the efficacy of letrozole to promote prenatal survival, it is important to determine whether exogenous letrozole reaches the uterine lumen and to establish the relationship between the dose administered and the impact on oestradiol secretion at the conceptus-uterine interface.

Residual feed intake (RFI) is a measure of feed efficiency calculated as the difference between an animal’s actual intake and its expected intake based on its liveweight and growth rate over a specified period of time (Richardson, Herd et al. 2002). The efficiency with which an animal utilises energy during growth, is dependent on a number of physiological factors including body composition and the relative proportions of lean tissue mass (LTM) and fat tissue mass (FTM), due to differences in the energy cost of depositing and maintaining these tissues. Protein or lean tissue is continually degraded and resynthesised and thus the rate at which this occurs may contribute to the variation in energy required by an animal for maintenance and growth (Archer, Richardson et al. 1999). The objective of this work was to determine the relationship between feed conversion ratio (FCR, kg feed:kg gain) and residual feed intake (RFI) with body composition in rams at six months of age (6mo), and then again in the same rams at thirteen months of age (13mo).

The isotope dilution technique is the most important way to study the metabolism of minerals. With the use of radiophosphorus (32P), it is possible to describe the kinetics of P including the endogenous fraction. The aim of this work was to study the metabolism of supplemented P using the isotope dilution technique and to apply bio mathematical model to investigate its kinetics.

Calcium is needed for bone formation, muscle contraction, nerve transmission and a variety of other functions in the organism. Experiments has been carried out to study phosphorus metabolism in sheep and cattle, by using isotope dilution techniques however, there is very little information on Ca metabolism in sheep. The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of various Ca sources on the Ca flows in sheep by two models.

Supplemental fat is commonly incorporate in diet of ruminant as to elevation of energy intake of the animals (Palmquist and Jenkins, 1980). It has been known that added fat was interfered rumen fermentation. Vegetable oils were pronounced in alteration of rumen fermentation than animal fats. Fumarate is a promising substance to reduce methanogenesis and fumarate is an intermediate of propionate production (Asanuma et al. , 1999). Yuangklang et al. (2005) found that added fumarate in tallow diet lowered gas production in vitro study and enhanced fat digestibility in beef cattle fed tallow containing sodium fumarate. Thus, the present experiment was to study the effect of fat source and sodium fumarate supplementation on nitrogen utilization.

Formaldehyde reduces protein degradability by forming crosslink between protein chains and has antimicrobial properties that may alter the bacterial population and fermentation pattern of silage (Nagel and Broderick, 1992). Urea is man made feed ingredient containing 46 g/Kg nitrogen or 287 g/Kg crud protein equivalents. Ingested urea is degraded to ammonia, and the ruminal bacteria in corporate the ammonia into bacterial protein (Haffman, 1999). The objective of this study was to determine of effect of formaldehyde and urea on rumen and blood metabolites of sheep.

The growth rate of Arabi lamb during the suckling period (from birth to weaning at about day 100) is very slow particularly for lambs born in the autumn (Dabiri, 1999). Poor quality and limited quantity of feed for lactating ewes in free grazing system was shown to limit milk production, which was the main reason for slow lamb growth (Dabiri and Mosavi 2000). On the other hand, in conventional Iranian sheep production systems, offering a limited quantity of low quality supplemental (Sup) feed (or even no supplemental feed) to the lactating ewes was an important factor for severe reduction of the growth rate of the wool of lactating ewes during the autumn season (Dabiri, 2002). It was hypothesized that offering a high quality supplemental feed to ewes for a short period during early lactation would improve the growth rate of lambs and may alleviate the poor wool growth rate of lactating ewes during the autumn season. Therefore, the aims of this experiment were to 1) compare the growth of lambs suckled from experimental supplemented ewes with the growth of lambs suckled from conventionally ewes, and 2) compare the wool growth of lactating (wet) ewes with non-lactating (dry) ewes during autumn season

Although some argument is still ongoing about the resistance to different anthelmintics, there is a general agreement that reversion to susceptibility is rare once drug resistance (DR) has developed in livestock helminths, even when other drugs with completely different working mechanisms are used for prolonged periods. Some in vitro methods have been used to investigate the efficacy of towards nematode parasite: larval development (LD), larval migration inhibition (LMI), larval feeding inhibition (LFI) and egg hatch (EH) assays (Amarante et al. , 1997; Coles et al., 1988). The aim of this work was to determine the potential inhibitory effect of condensed tannins or other bioactive compounds from Acacia molissima extract on the feeding of first stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus vitrinus and Teladorsagia circumcincta, using the LFI test.