Estrous and litter traits in gilts altered by altrenogest, flushing and pubertal status

Influences of estrous synchronization with altrenogest and flushing on reproductive traits in gilts were evaluated in three experiments on two farms. Crossbred gilts were fed altrenogest or altrenogest and an additional 1.55 kg ground sorghum grain for at least 10 d before breeding (flushing), or served as controls. Additional grain for the flushing treatment was provided to gilts from the eighth day of altrenogest treatment until they were detected in estrus. The combination of altrenogest and flushing (on Farm A) increased (P less than .05) litter size when compared with gilts treated only with altrenogest and controls that received neither altrenogest nor flushing. This response was entirely among gilts inseminated at their pubertal estrus. For pubertal gilts fed altrenogest and the flushing treatment, litter traits were similar to other treated or control gilts inseminated at a postpubertal estrus. No treatment effects on litter size were detected for gilts inseminated at a postpubertal estrus. Gilts on Farm B responded differently, with larger litter sizes (P = .08) for those treated with altrenogest and flushing plus altrenogest than for control gilts. Reasons for farm differences might be unidentified genetic or management factors or different seasons of the year when gilts were treated on Farm B (summer) vs Farm A (fall, winter and spring). Our results indicate a marked potential for increasing litter size in gilts mated at their pubertal estrus because their unstimulated ovulation rate (no altrenogest or flushing) did not challenge adequately the biological capacity of their uteri.     

Pulsatile or continuous infusion of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and hormonal concentrations in prepubertal beef heifers

An experiment was conducted to determine if exogenous luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) administered iv intermittently as pulses (P) or by continuous sc infusion (I) using osmotic minipumps could sustain pulsatile LH release and induce estrous cyclicity in prepubertal heifers. Prepubertal heifers were assigned randomly to: 1) receive pulses of LHRH (n = 6; 2.5 micrograms LHRH/2 h for 72 h), 2) be infused with LHRH (n = 11; 1.25 micrograms LHRH/h for 72 h), or 3) serve as controls (n = 16). Blood was collected at 20-min intervals for 8 h (0900 to 1700 h) from six heifers in each group on d 1, 2, 3 (during treatment), and on d 4 (during 8 h after terminating LHRH treatments). Heifers given LHRH had higher (P less than .01) LH concentrations than controls. Preovulatory-like LH surges occurred in three I, two P and no control heifers during treatment. Pulse frequencies of LH (no. LH pulses/8 h) were greater (P less than .001) for P heifers than for I and control heifers due to pulsatile LHRH treatment. Serum estradiol was higher (P less than .01) during treatment for LHRH-treated heifers than for controls. Serum follicle-stimulating hormone, cortisol, and progesterone were unchanged during treatment. High levels of cortisol on d 1 declined (P less than .001) to baseline by d 2. Characteristic progesterone rises or short luteal phases occurred within 10 d of treatment initiation in more (P less than .05) LHRH-treated heifers (I = 45%, P = 33%) than controls (6%), although days to first observed estrus and first ovulation were unaffected by treatments. Although both continuous and pulsatile administration of LHRH successfully induced LH and estradiol release as well as preovulatory-like LH surges in some heifers, earlier initiation of estrous cycles was not achieved. Estrous cycles appeared to be delayed by exposure to continuous LHRH infusions during the peripubertal period.     

The effects of maedi-visna virus infection on productivity in ewes

A total of five data sets obtained from four separate sheep flocks were used to evaluate the effects of subclinical maedi-visna virus infection (as determined by serological procedures) on productivity in ewes. In general, infection with maedi-visna virus had a detrimental effect on productivity. Infection resulted in a reduction in conception rates, with the odds of an infected ewe conceiving being only approximately 0.67 times those of a non-infected ewe. For ewes which did conceive, there was no detrimental effect of infection on the number of lambs born. The birth weights of lambs born to middle-aged (3–4 years) infected ewes were 3–6% lower than the weights of lambs born to non-infected ewes of the same age. There was very little apparent effect of infection in younger (1–2 years) and older (5 + years) ewes: some factors which may have biased these results are discussed. Lamb weights at 25–50 days of age appeared to be reduced by maedi-visna infection in the ewe but the results were not statistically significant.     

Area-level risks for BSE in British cattle before and after the July 1988 meat and bone meal feed ban

In this paper we investigate area-level risk factors for BSE for the cattle population present in Great Britain between 1986 and 1997. By dividing this population into two birth cohorts, those born before the July 1988 ban on feeding ruminant-derived meat and bone meal to ruminants and those born after, second-order regional influences are distinguished from the strong first-order south-to-north gradient of area-level BSE risk using Bayesian hierarchical models that account for structured (spatially correlated) and unstructured heterogeneity in the data. For both cohorts area-level risk of BSE was increased by a more southerly location and greater numbers of dairy cattle, relative to non-dairy cattle. For the cohort of cattle born after the July 1988 ban on feeding ruminant-derived meat and bone meal area-level BSE risk was additionally associated with greater numbers of pigs, relative to cattle. These findings support the role of low level cross-contamination of cattle feed by pig feed as an influence on BSE incidence risk as the epidemic evolved. Prior to the 1988 meat and bone meal ban unexplained BSE risk was relatively uniformly distributed across the country whereas after the ban there were spatially aggregated areas of unexplained risk in the northern and eastern regions of England suggesting that local influences allowed BSE control measures to be less-successfully applied in these areas, compared with the rest of the country. We conclude that spatially localised influences were operating in divergent ways during the two phases of the epidemic.