Effect of feed type and essential oil product on equine chewing activity

The ingestive and post-digestion effect of a blend of special essential oil compounds (EO) on eating, chewing and faecal parameters were measured in horses. Ingestive effects appear after no adaptation. Post-digestion effects appear after adaptation. Six Icelandic horses were assigned to two groups in a Latin Square subplot design with EO treatments to four different roughage types and four different concentrates. The horses were fed four different roughage meals and two different concentrate meals on each of the four sampling days. Eating time and saliva were observed during meals. Jaw movements (JM) were recorded using a special chewing halter. Eating time was derived from JM and related to DM intake. The size characteristics of faecal particles were measured by using image analysis. All chewing characteristics measured were significantly affected by roughage (p < 0.001) and concentrate type (p < 0.01). EO had a significant ingestive effect on the frequency of observed saliva during concentrate meals. No significant (p < 0.05) post-digestive or ingestive effect of EO was found for any measured chewing characteristic, which was reflected in the absence of effect on faecal particle dimensions. In conclusion, effect of type of roughage and concentrate was more significant than potential effects of EO.     

Energy expenditure in Awassi sheep grazing wheat stubble in the northern Negev Desert of Israel

In semi-arid Mediterranean areas, small grain aftermath stubble represents an important summer source of food for grazing flocks of small ruminants. Wheat stubble is a mediocre source of forage and flocks are grazed in summer under harsh conditions of temperature and air dustiness. However, stubble grazing procedures are changing, water and shading are more frequently available between grazing sessions (“improved management”), and the biological soundness of this ancestral practice needs to be re-visited. The present study was aimed at evaluating the cost in energy of “improved” wheat stubble grazing, compared with feeding a similar diet indoors. The intake of stubble was first quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated in Awassi sheep. Ewes consumed daily 980 ± 100 g day^− 1 of wheat stubble. Ewes were then housed and fed diets consisting of wheat hay, straw and grain formulated to be iso-energetic and iso-nitrogenous to diets consumed from wheat stubble. The average intake of ME was similar during the confinement and the pasture periods (6.4 ± 0.5 and 7.6 ± 0.8 MJ day^− 1of ME, respectively). During 2 days of each period, animals were fitted with external electrodes and data loggers of heart rate and skin temperature. Energy expenditure (EE) was calculated from oxygen consumption estimated as the product of heart beats rate measured for the two days by the amount of oxygen delivered to body tissues at each heart beat (O₂ pulse). The O₂ pulse was determined by simultaneously measurement of oxygen consumption and HR twice daily on two occasions, while grazing stubble and indoors. Energy expenditure and energy balance were not different in sheep while grazing wheat stubble (11.1 and − 3.5 MJ day^− 1) or fed indoors (11.1 and − 4.8 MJ day^− 1). Our data show that stubble did not cover nitrogen and energy requirements for maintenance, and that the cost of summer stubble grazing carried out under conditions described here is less than thought before.     

Effects of Cage Location and Tier Level with Respect to Light Intensity in Semiconfined Housing on Egg Production and Quality During the Late Laying Period

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of cage location and tier level with respect to light intensity on egg production and egg quality of hens housed in a semiconfined facility. Hens (ISA Brown, n = 225) at 75 wk of age were placed into 3-tier cages as top (T), middle (M), and bottom (B) tiers located in cages illuminated artificially (EI), by window (FW), or between corridors (C) for 2 mo. Light intensity was measured monthly for each cage at 5 cm from feeders every 6 h. Egg production was recorded daily and egg quality was assessed biweekly. Light intensity was the greatest for cages in the FW group (151.9, 119.8, and 89.8 lx for tiers T, M, and B, respectively), followed by EI (52.6, 54.5, and 51.0 lx for tiers T, M, and B, respectively), and C (44.5, 23.4, and 4.7 lx for tiers T, M, and B, respectively). Hens at location EI had greater egg production than hens at FW and C. Egg production for hens at tier T was also greater than for hens at tiers M and B. Egg production for hens at EI and C decreased quadratically, whereas that for hens at FW decreased linearly from tiers T to B. Cage location, but not tier level, affected egg weight. Hens at EI and FW produced heavier eggs than hens at C. Shape index, yolk color, and yolk index were independent of cage location and tier level. Hens at EI and FW produced eggs with thinner and weaker shells than hens at C. Moreover, eggshell strength increased linearly from tier T to B. Both albumen index and Haugh unit were the greatest for hens at FW, followed by EI and C. Their responses to cage location varied with tier levels. In conclusion, variation in light intensity in multitier cage systems in semiconfined laying hen houses may be a contributing factor for depressed laying performance and egg quality.     

松嫩羊草草原火烧后地上生产力的变化

松嫩羊草草甸草原不同时间火烧后，对羊草种群地上初级生产力产生不同影响，伴随出现不同的次级生产力变化格局，早春火烧提高羊草种群地上生产力，８月份产量增１４．６％，晚春火烧导致羊草种群地上生产力下降，８月份产量降低１５．５％，与未烧相比差异显著，火烧后，叶茎比率提高，尤其是晚春火烧处理，叶茎比率最高，火烧后，蝗虫数量增多，但晚烧地７月份蝗虫数量多，早烧地８月份蝗虫数量多，未烧地基本保持稳定，三者之间差     

《家禽生产学》培养学生实践能力教学模式的建立

从大学教育中注重学生实践能力培养的重要性入手,对作者在《家禽生产学》专业教学中总结出的专业课《家禽生产学》的教学模式进行探讨,旨在提出一种新的思路——如何在专业课教学中培养学生的实践操作能力,以切实提高课程的教学效果,使学生在毕业后走向工作岗位时,既具有扎实的理论知识,又具有和娴熟的实践技能。     

青蒿素及其衍生物在动物生产中的应用研究

青蒿素是一种倍半萜内酯类化合物,其特殊的过氧基团结构使其具有抗疟疾、抗菌、抗炎、抗氧化、抗寄生虫、免疫调节、缓解热应激、促进生长等作用.青蒿素及其衍生物应用于动物生产中可以替代抗生素,具有广阔的应用前景.文章对青蒿素及其衍生物的生理功能、主要提取方式及在动物生产中的应用进行论述.     

紫花苜蓿品种在金沙江干热河谷地区的生产性能

基于灰色系统理论,对金沙江干热河谷地区引种的14个紫花苜蓿Medicago sativa品种的鲜草产量、干草产量、株高、分蘖数、茎叶比、蛋白质含量主要生产性能指标进行灰色关联度分析,根据权重比较得出各项生产性能指标的权重顺序为：蛋白质含量>鲜草产量>茎叶比>株高>干草产量>分蘖数;依据各项指标权重构建了紫花苜蓿综合评价模型,并应用综合评价模型对各品种生产性能进行综合评价,结果表明：猎人河（74-55）在综合评价模型中评价值最高,综合生产性能最好,在金沙江干热河谷地区特殊的生态条件下,是最适宜推广种植的优良品种。     

Egg production forecasting: Determining efficient modeling approaches

Several mathematical or statistical and artificial intelligence models were developed to compare egg production forecasts in commercial layers. Initial data for these models were collected from a comparative layer trial on commercial strains conducted at the Poultry Research Farms, Auburn University. Simulated data were produced to represent new scenarios by using means and SD of egg production of the 22 commercial strains. From the simulated data, random examples were generated for neural network training and testing for the weekly egg production prediction from wk 22 to 36. Three neural network architectures-back-propagation-3, Ward-5, and the general regression neural network-were compared for their efficiency to forecast egg production, along with other traditional models. The general regression neural network gave the best-fitting line, which almost overlapped with the commercial egg production data, with an R(2) of 0.71. The general regression neural network-predicted curve was compared with original egg production data, the average curves of white-shelled and brown-shelled strains, linear regression predictions, and the Gompertz nonlinear model. The general regression neural network was superior in all these comparisons and may be the model of choice if the initial overprediction is managed efficiently. In general, neural network models are efficient, are easy to use, require fewer data, and are practical under farm management conditions to forecast egg production.     

Dairy Production and Reproduction by Crosses of Holstein,Jersey or Brown Swiss Sires with Holstein-Friesian/Gir Dams

The performance was compared of cows sired by Holstein, Jersey or Brown Swiss bulls out of Holstein-Friesian×Gir dams of 1/2 to 3/4 Holstein-Friesian content. The animals were kept in a single herd under the same management. The data were analysed by least-squares techniques under a model that included the fixed effects of breed of sire, Bos taurus fraction of the dam, parity, year and season of calving, and a random cow effect. Based on 480 observations, the milk yields per lactation for the Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss sired groups were 2821±163, 2320±61 and 2418±119 kg, respectively. The corresponding means for fat yield per lactation were 96.9±6.6, 86.8±2.5 and 92.8±4.8 kg; for protein yield per lactation were 85.3±5.1, 71.3±1.9 and 76.3±3.7 kg; for lactation length, 339±18, 283±7 and 313±14 days for fat percentage, 3.37±0.10, 3.73±0.04 and 3.77±0.07%; and for protein percentage, 3.02±0.05, 3.10±0.02 and 3.16±0.04%. The respective calving intervals were 487±24, 408±11 and 461±245 days. The yields of milk and protein per day of calving interval were similar in the Jersey and Holstein sired groups, while the former had higher yields of fat, implying that production economics might favour the smaller Jersey crosses in production systems in which the males were not reared. Crossing with Brown Swiss did not improve performance over the Holstein sired crosses.     

昆虫抗菌肽的抗菌效应及在畜牧生产中的应用前景

 昆虫抗菌肽是一类具有免疫效应的小分子多肽,它具有热稳定、抗菌谱广、无免疫原性、作用机制独特等特性,是昆虫能够抵御自然界中有害微生物侵染的重要因素。论文针对畜牧业生产,从昆虫抗菌肽分类、生物活性及作用机理等几个方面综述了昆虫抗菌肽的研究现状及其应用前景。