Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy enables the fast and accurate prediction of the essential amino acid contents in soy, rapeseed meal, sunflower meal, peas, fishmeal, meat meal products, and poultry meal

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations were developed to enable the accurate and fast prediction of the total contents of methionine, cystine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and other essential amino acids, protein, and moisture in the most important protein-rich feed ingredients. More than 1000 samples of global origin collected over four years were analyzed on amino acids following the official methods of the United States and the European Union. Detailed data and graphics are given to characterize the obtained calibration equations. NIRS was validated with independent samples for soy and meat meal products and compared to the amino acid predictions using linear crude protein regressions. With a few exceptions, validation showed that 85-98% of the amino acid variance in the samples could be explained using NIRS. NIRS predictions compared to reference results agree excellently, with relative mean deviations below 5%. Especially for meat and poultry meals, NIRS can predict amino acids much better than crude protein regressions. By enabling the amino acid analysis of many samples to be completed in a short time, NIRS can improve the accuracy of feed formulation and thus the quality and production costs of mixed feeds.     

A cross-sectional survey of Thoroughbred stud farm management in the North Island of New Zealand

AIM: To obtain initial baseline data on the management of Thoroughbred stud farms in the North Island of New Zealand.

METHODS: Data on the management of Thoroughbred stud farms were collected from a sample of 22 stud farms located in the south Auckland/Waikato region (n=15) and lower North Island (n=7) of New Zealand, using a face-to-face survey. The studmaster provided information on the size, scope and management of the farms during the 2004/2005 breeding season. Analysis was based on the location of the farm and size of the breeding operation (number of resident mares).

RESULTS: Effective farm size ranged from 20 to 526 ha and averaged 167 (standard error (SE) 36) and 88 (SE 49) ha in the south Auckland/Waikato and lower North Island areas, respectively. Some farms in the Auckland/Waikato region stood shuttle stallions. The median number of stallions per farm was three (range 0.9), and the median mare-to-stallion ratio was 43 (range 10.250). The farms had a mean of 50 (range 7.180) wet mares and 21 (range 0.100) dry mares. The number of mares per breeding stallion increased with increasing size of breeding operation (p=0.04), being 28 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 10.56) vs 40 (95% CI=16.74) vs 74 (95% CI=44.113) for moderate (≤70 mares), medium (90–199 mares) and large (≥200 mares in total) operations, respectively. Seventy-one percent of farms aimed to breed dry mares early in the breeding season, and used a combination of lights, hormone therapy, and rising plane of nutrition to achieve this.

Foaling took place in foaling paddocks monitored using a night foaling attendant (17/22) or with foaling alarms (5/22). At birth, 17/22 studmasters routinely administered antibiotics, 14/22 administered tetanus antitoxin, 9/22 administered an enema to foals, and 2/22 did not routinely administer prophylactic treatments. Weaning occurred at 5 (range 3.7–7) months of age, and foals were confined to a box for 1–2 weeks on 16/22 farms. Weaned foals were drenched with anthelmintics every 7 (range 4–9) weeks, and were fed 2.9 (range 1–6) kg of concentrate feed while at pasture until intensive management associated with preparation of the horses for auction began 13 (range 6–20) weeks before the yearling sales. Eight farms weighed the weanlings, at least monthly, to monitor growth.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The management of Thoroughbred horses was relatively consistent throughout the regions surveyed. Utilisation of breeding stallions tended to be more efficient on the larger stud farms in the south Auckland/Waikato region. Even though foals are grown at pasture they are often provided with large quantities of concentrate feed.     

Problems in quantifying bone response to exercise in horses: a review

Detecting changes in bone during growth, training, rest from competition (spelling), and disease in horses requires imaging techniques that have a high level of accuracy and precision. Currently, most imaging techniques used in horses do not possess such characteristics and are more suitable for detecting endstage disease than subtle changes. Some are incapable of detecting changes in bone size. Non-planar techniques should be used for estimating or determining bone strength. This review outlines available imaging techniques and shows why cross-sectional procedures are required to accurately estimate bone strength. If these can be validated and improved for use in the standing horse, serial examination can be used to show the magnitude of changes in bone strength that occur during training or varying management regimens. Such knowledge can then be used to improve training and spelling regimens for equine athletes, hopefully resulting in a reduction in racing or athletic injury.     

Infectious and rearing-system related risk factors for chronic pleuritis in slaughter pigs

Chronic pleuritis (CP) in Danish pigs for slaughter is by far the most frequent finding at the routine post-mortem meat inspection. An initial investigation published in 1990 demonstrated infectious and management-related risk factors. Serological testing for additional infectious agents, as well as the need to consider the effect of disease clustering at the herd level, required a re-analysis of the data.

Our re-analysis used a representative sample of 4800 pigs originating from 623 Danish herds. Each pig was examined for the presence of CP and progressive atrophic rhinitis (PAR). The gender of the pig, the weight of the carcass, and the herd of origin were also recorded. Individual blood samples were examined for seropositivity for Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (AP) serotypes 2, 6, 7, 12, Haemophilus parasuis, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MYC) and swine influenza (SI). Herd-level information retrieved through a questionnaire included health status, production type, herd size (i.e. pigs per year) and vaccination procedures.

Associations between CP and infectious, individual and herd-related factors were investigated by logistic regression with random effects. Among pigs from herds with conventional health status, seropositivity for AP serotypes 2 and 6, and MYC had odds ratios (ORs) of CP of 9.0, 1.6 and 1.8, respectively. Neither seropositivity for AP serotype 7 nor SI were associated with CP by themselves, but interacted: OR of CP of 5.3 (1.8) when present at the same time among pigs exhibiting (not exhibiting) PAR. An association of PAR with CP was found, and PAR interacted with AP serotype 7: OR=10.0 (4.3) when both factors were present among pigs exposed (non-exposed) to SI. The OR (0.97) for an increase of carcass weight by 1 kg was negligible.

In pigs from specific pathogen-free (SPF) herds, seropositivity for MYC and herd size were associated with CP. Moreover, for a herd size of 1000 pigs, CP was associated with exposure to MYC by an OR of 3.3 (decreasing to 1.9 when the herd size was increased by 1000). Farrow-to-finish as opposed to finishing herd had an OR of CP of 3.2.

In conventional herds, seropositivity for AP serotype 2 and MYC were associated with 51% and 29% of the occurrence of CP. In SPF herds, farrow-to-finish as opposed to finishing herds was associated with 47% of the occurrence of CP. Seropositivity for MYC was associated with 33% (39%) of the occurrence of CP in herds with a size > (≤) 1500 pigs.     

Articular/epiphyseal osteochondrosis in Thoroughbred foals at 5 months of age: Influences of growth of the foal and prenatal copper supplementation of the dam

AIMS: To determine the influence of copper (Cu) supplementation by injection of mares in late gestation on the frequency and severity of osteochondrosis (OC) lesions in their foals at around 160 days of age. To determine if there was any influence of the concentration of Cu in the liver, growth rate, birthweight, weight at 160 days of age, fatness, sex, or year of birth of the foal on the frequency and severity of OC lesions. To determine the influence of dam's age, and sex and birthweight of the foal on the growth rate from birth to 160 days of age, and weight at 160 days of age.

METHODS: Thirty-three Thoroughbred foals, born in two consecutive years, were weighed every 2 weeks from birth. The dams had been supplemented with parenteral Cu or saline during late gestation, and the supplementation regimens were different in each year. Foals had liver biopsies harvested at birth for determination of Cu concentration. Pasture samples were collected every 4–8 weeks for analysis of concentration of Cu and zinc (Zn). At 160 days of age, articular cartilage of long bones was examined. Gross lesions were counted and scored, then sawn and radiographed, and processed for histopathology. Lesions were given radiographic scores and histopathological scores. Maximum scores for each lesion were combined to give a total OC score for each joint and each foal. The fatness of 20 foals (10 each from Years 1 and 2) at 160 days of age was determined chemically.

RESULTS: Supplementation of dams with Cu had no significant effect on the concentration of Cu in the liver of foals at birth, or on the frequency or severity of lesions in articular cartilage at 160 days of age. The Cu and Zn concentrations of pasture were similar in Years 1 and 2, and were lower than current recommendations. All foals in Year 2, and 9/10 foals in Year 1 had irregularities in cartilage that was confirmed histologically to be indicative of OC. The average number of lesions per foal was 4.7 (SD 1.1) and 5.7 (SD 1.1) in Years 1 and 2, respectively. However, the severity of the lesions was considered mild, and no foals showed any clinical evidence of OC while alive. The number of lesions in the tarsocrural (TC) joint and the TC OC score at 160 days were positively associated with average daily weight gain (ADG) in the previous 4 weeks (p=0.005 and p=0.001, respectively). There was no significant effect of sex, fatness, birth-weight, weight at 160 days of age, or year of birth of the foal on the frequency and severity of OC lesions.

CONCLUSIONS: Many of the lesions classified as OC, using classification systems described by other authors, were likely to be normal variations of the process of endochondral ossification. Despite the high frequency of such lesions, they were considered to be of minor significance and none were clinically evident. The distribution of lesions was not typical, and most probably reflected the subtlety of the lesions. These results support the hypothesis that Cu is an over-emphasised factor in the aetiopathogenesis of OC. The relationship between subtle macroscopic lesions and lesions resulting in clinical signs of disease requires further investigation.