Malmbergweber1652

These effects are farm management-related factors. The age at first insemination and weaning to insemination interval were significant only for other reproduction traits (e.g., TNB1, TNB2, litter weight in parity 1 and 2). The heritability of biSLS was 0.05 (on observed scale), whereas heritability of Range was 0.03. To verify the existence of SLS data with records of 50 000 sows and 9 parities was simulated. The simulations showed that the average expected frequency of SLS across all the parities was 0.49 (±0.05) while the observed frequency in the actual data was 0.46 (±0.04). We compared this to SLS frequencies in 67 farms and only 2 farms had more piglets born in the first parity compared to the second. Therefore, on the individual sow level SLS is likely due to statistical properties of the trait, whereas on the farm level SLS is likely due to farm management. Thus, SLS should not be considered an abnormality nor a syndrome if on average the herd litter size in parity 2 is larger than in parity 1.Optimal management of gilt reproduction requires oestrus synchronization. Hormonal treatments are used for this purpose, but there is a growing demand for non-hormonal alternatives, especially in organic farms. The boar effect is an important alternative opportunity to induce and synchronize oestrus without hormones. Before puberty, gilts exhibit a 'waiting period' during which boar exposure could induce and synchronize the first ovulation. We searched for salivary biomarkers of this period of boar effect receptivity to improve detection of the gilts to stimulate with the perspective of enhancing the efficacy of the boar effect. Saliva samples were collected from 30 Large-White×Landrace crossbred gilts between 140 and 175 days of age. Gilts were exposed twice a day to a boar and subjected to oestrus detection from 150 to 175 days of age. Among the 30 gilts, 10 were detected in oestrus 4 to 7 days after the first introduction of the boar and were considered receptive to the boar effect, 14 were detected in oesntial salivary biomarkers of boar effect receptivity were identified in our experimental conditions. Further studies with higher numbers of gilts and salivary sampling points are necessary to ascertain their reliability.The rearing of finfish larvae is a key element in their further culture. Improper breeding protocols may result in high mortality rates, body deformation and growth rate decreases in both the larval and fattening periods. These errors can be avoided by thorough exploration of various aspects of early larvae biology, at least in model fish species. In this study, anatomical and morphological developments were analysed using allometric growth patterns of common barbel, Barbus barbus, larvae reared under optimal controlled conditions. Larvae of common barbel, which is a model species for fish of the genus Barbus, were reared for 30 days at 25 °C in the recirculated aquaculture system (RAS). Four periods of the barbel larval development were identified pre-flexion (0-5 days post hatching - DPH; total length - TL 9.5 ± 0.3 to 12.3 ± 0.3 mm), flexion (6-11 DPH; TL 12.4 ± 0.3-15.4 ± 0.3 mm), post-flexion (12-21 DPH; TL 16.1 ± 0.5-21.2 ± 0.8 mm) and juvenile (from 22 DPH; TL from 21.4 ± 1.7 mm). The largest changes in barbel growth were observed during the first two periods of their life (pre-flexion and flexion), which resulted in the frequency of noted flexion points (64.3% flexion points) and was also associated with intensive morphometric growth, primarily the head and tail parts of the body. Despite a low degree of growth progress upon hatching (e.g. no eye pigment, no distinct liver or pancreas, no unobstructed alimentary tract), barbel larvae pass through the larval periods very quickly in comparison to other cyprinids and enter the juvenile period (22 days).While breeding indexes exist globally to identify candidate parents of the next generation, fewer tools exist that provide guidance on the expected monetary value of young animals. see more The objective of the present study was therefore to develop the framework for a cattle decision-support tool which incorporates both the genetic and non-genetic information of an animal and, in doing so, better predict the potential market value of an animal, whatever the age. Two novel monetary indexes were constructed and their predictive ability of carcass value was compared to that of the Irish national Terminal breeding index, typical of other terminal indexes used globally. A constructed Harvest index was composed of three carcass-related traits [i.e., 1) carcass weight, 2) carcass conformation and 3) carcass fat, each weighted by their respective economic value] and aimed at purchasers of animals close to harvest; the second index, termed the Calf index, also included docility and feed intake (weighted by their respective ecs alone. Including phenotypic live-weight data, collected during the animal's life, strengthened the predictive ability of the indexes further. Based on the results presented, the proposed indexes may fill the void in decision support when purchasing or selling cattle. In addition, given the dynamic nature of indexes, they have the potential to be updated in real-time as information becomes available.Abatement of odour emissions in poultry production is important to ensure the quality and safety in the poultry industry as well as for the benefit of the environment. This study was conducted to compare the effects of supplementation with different amounts of dietary soybean oligosaccharides (SBO) and chlortetracycline (CHL) on the major odour-causing compounds in the excreta and on the caecal microbiota in broiler chickens. One-day-old broiler chickens were subjected to a 42-day experiment involving 6 treatments with 6 replicates per treatment (10 birds/cage). The treatments were as follows negative control (NC; basal diet), positive control (PC; basal diet supplemented with CHL) and basal diet supplemented with 0.5, 2.0, 3.5 and 5.0 g/kg SBO (0.5SBO, 2.0SBO, 3.5SBO and 5.0SBO, respectively). Fresh excreta were sampled for the analysis of odour compounds by HPLC. Caecum content was collected for the caecal microbiota analysis through 16S rRNA sequencing. Results showed that on day 42, the excreta indole concentration in the broilers fed with 2.