This study provides estimates of genetic parameters for various diseases, fertility and 305-day milk production traits in dairy cattle using data from a UK national milk recording scheme. The data set consisted of 63891 multiple lactation records on diseases (mastitis, lameness, milk fever, ketosis and tetany), fertility traits (calving interval, conception to first service, number of services for a conception, and number of days to first service), dystocia and 305-day milk, fat and protein yield. All traits were analysed by multi-trait repeatability linear animal models (LM). Binary diseases and fertility traits were further analysed by threshold sire models (TM). Both LM and TM analyses were based on the generalized linear mixed model framework. The LM included herd-year-season of calving (HYS), age at calving and parity as fixed effects and genetic, permanent environmental and residual effects as random. The TM analyses included the same effects as for LM, but HYS effects were treated as random to avoid convergence problems when HYS sub-classes had 0 or 100% incidence. Because HYS effects were treated as random, herd effects were fitted as fixed effects to account for effect of herds in the data. The LM estimates of heritability ranged from 0•389 to 0•399 for 305-day milk production traits, 0•010 to 0•029 for fertility traits and 0•004 to 0•038 for diseases. The LM estimates of repeatability ranged from 0•556 to 0•586 for 305-day milk production traits, 0•029 to 0•086 for fertility traits and 0•004 to 0•100 for diseases. The TM estimates of heritabilities and repeatabilities were greater than LM estimates for binary traits and were in the range 0•012 to 0•126 and 0•013 to 0•168, respectively. Genetic correlations between milk production traits and fertility and diseases were all unfavorable: they ranged from 0•07 to 0•37 for milk production and diseases, 0•31 to 0•54 for milk production and poor fertility and 0•06 to 0•41 for diseases and poor fertility. These results show that future selection programmes should include disease and fertility for genetic improvement of health and reproduction and for sustained economic growth in the dairy cattle industry.

Partial least-squares (PLS) models based on visible (Vis) and near infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy data were explored to predict intramuscular fat (IMF), moisture and Warner Bratzler shear force (WBSF) in pork muscles (m. longissimus thoracis) using two sample presentations, namely intact and homogenized. Samples were scanned using a NIR monochromator instrument (NIRSystems 6500, 400 to 2500 nm). Due to the limited number of samples available, calibration models were developed and evaluated using full cross validation. The PLS calibration models developed using homogenized samples and raw spectra yielded a coefficient of determination in calibration (R2) and standard error of cross validation (SECV) for IMF (R2=0·87; SECV=1·8 g/kg), for moisture (R2=0·90; SECV=1·1 g/kg) and for WBSF (R2=0·38; SECV=9·0 N/cm). Intact muscle presentation gave poorer PLS calibration models for IMF and moisture (R2<0·70), however moderate good correlation was found for WBSF (R2=0·64; SECV=8·5 N/cm). Although few samples were used, the results showed the potential of Vis-NIR to predict moisture and IMF using homogenized pork muscles and WBSF in intact samples.

Ruminant-based food production faces currently multiple challenges such as environmental emissions, climate change and accelerating food–feed–fuel competition for arable land. Therefore, more sustainable feed production is needed together with the exploitation of novel resources. In addition to numerous food industry (milling, sugar, starch, alcohol or plant oil) side streams already in use, new ones such as vegetable and fruit residues are explored, but their conservation is challenging and production often seasonal. In the temperate zones, lipid-rich camelina (Camelina sativa) expeller as an example of oilseed by-products has potential to enrich ruminant milk and meat fat with bioactive trans-11 18:1 and cis-9,trans-11 18:2 fatty acids and mitigate methane emissions. Regardless of the lower methionine content of alternative grain legume protein relative to soya bean meal (Glycine max), the lactation performance or the growth of ruminants fed faba beans (Vicia faba), peas (Pisum sativum) and lupins (Lupinus sp.) are comparable. Wood is the most abundant carbohydrate worldwide, but agroforestry approaches in ruminant nutrition are not common in the temperate areas. Untreated wood is poorly utilised by ruminants because of linkages between cellulose and lignin, but the utilisability can be improved by various processing methods. In the tropics, the leaves of fodder trees and shrubs (e.g. cassava (Manihot esculenta), Leucaena sp., Flemingia sp.) are good protein supplements for ruminants. A food–feed production system integrates the leaves and the by-products of on-farm food production to grass production in ruminant feeding. It can improve animal performance sustainably at smallholder farms. For larger-scale animal production, detoxified jatropha (Jatropha sp.) meal is a noteworthy alternative protein source. Globally, the advantages of single-cell protein (bacteria, yeast, fungi, microalgae) and aquatic biomass (seaweed, duckweed) over land crops are the independence of production from arable land and weather. The chemical composition of these feeds varies widely depending on the species and growth conditions. Microalgae have shown good potential both as lipid (e.g. Schizochytrium sp.) and protein supplements (e.g. Spirulina platensis) for ruminants. To conclude, various novel or underexploited feeds have potential to replace or supplement the traditional crops in ruminant rations. In the short-term, N-fixing grain legumes, oilseeds such as camelina and increased use of food and/or fuel industry by-products have the greatest potential to replace or supplement the traditional crops especially in the temperate zones. In the long-term, microalgae and duckweed of high-yield potential as well as wood industry by-products may become economically competitive feed options worldwide.

Genetic improvement of livestock is a particularly effective technology, producing permanent and cumulative changes in performance. This paper highlights some of the options for including mitigation in livestock breeding schemes, focusing on ruminant species, and details three routes through which genetic improvement can help to reduce emissions per kg product via: (i) improving productivity and efficiency, (ii) reducing wastage in the farming system and (iii) directly selecting on emissions, if or when these are measurable. Selecting on traits that improve the efficiency of the system (e.g. residual feed intake, longevity) will have a favourable effect on the overall emissions from the system. Specific examples of how genetic selection will have a favourable effect on emissions for UK dairy systems are described. The development of breeding schemes that incorporate environmental concerns is both desirable and possible. An example of how economic valuation of public good outcomes can be incorporated into UK dairy selection indices is given. This paper focuses on genetic selection tools using, on the whole, currently available traits and tools. However, new direct and indirect measurement techniques for emissions will improve the potential to reduce emissions by genetic selection. The complexities of global forces on defining selection objectives are also highlighted.

The purpose of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for measures offertility and several health disorders in dairy cows. Data consisted of 33732 records, of which 9163 were on heifers, on 305-day milk yield, health disorders and inseminations. Measures offertility were calculated from calving and insemination dates and included calving interval, days to first service and conception to first service. Health disorders included milk fever, mastitis and lameness. Genetic and phenotypic (co)variances were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood. Heritability estimates for both health disorders and fertility traits were low, ranging from 0·003 to 0·080. All genetic correlations between 305-day milk yield and health and fertility traits, in cows and heifers together, were antagonistic implying that selection for milk yield may have caused a deterioration in health and fertility. The unfavourable correlation between milk yield and health and fertility traits, plus the economic importance of the latter, suggests that future breeding goals should be expanded to include some health disorders and fertility.

Due to their high energy requirements, high-yielding dairy cows receive high-grain diets. This commonly jeopardises their gastrointestinal health by causing subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) and hindgut acidosis. These disorders can disrupt nutrient utilisations, impair the functionalities of gastrointestinal microbiota, and reduce the absorptive and barrier capacities of gastrointestinal epithelia. They can also trigger inflammatory responses. The symptoms of SARA are not only due to a depressed rumen pH. Hence, the diagnosis of this disorder based solely on reticulo-rumen pH values is inaccurate. An accurate diagnosis requires a combination of clinical examinations of cows, including blood, milk, urine and faeces parameters, as well as analyses of herd management and feed quality, including the dietary contents of NDF, starch and physical effective NDF. Grain-induced SARA increases acidity and shifts availabilities of substrates for microorganisms in the reticulo-rumen and hindgut and can result in a dysbiotic microbiota that are characterised by low richness, diversity and functionality. Also, amylolytic microorganisms become more dominant at the expense of proteolytic and fibrolytic ones. Opportunistic microorganisms can take advantage of newly available niches, which, combined with reduced functionalities of epithelia, can contribute to an overall reduction in nutrient utilisation and increasing endotoxins and pathogens in digesta and faeces. The reduced barrier function of epithelia increases translocation of these endotoxins and other immunogenic compounds out of the digestive tract, which may be the cause of inflammations. This needs to be confirmed by determining the toxicity of these compounds. Cows differ in their susceptibility to poor gastrointestinal health, due to variations in genetics, feeding history, diet adaptation, gastrointestinal microbiota, metabolic adaptation, stress and infections. These differences may also offer opportunities for the management of gastrointestinal health. Strategies to prevent SARA include balancing the diet for physical effective fibre, non-fibre carbohydrates and starch, managing the different fractions of non-fibre carbohydrates, and consideration of the type and processing of grain and forage digestibility. Gastrointestinal health disorders due to high grain feeding may be attenuated by a variety of feed supplements and additives, including buffers, antibiotics, probiotics/direct fed microbials and yeast products. However, the efficacy of strategies to prevent these disorders must be improved. This requires a better understanding of the mechanisms through which these strategies affect the functionality of gastrointestinal microbiota and epithelia, and the immunity, inflammation and ‘gastrointestinal-health robustness’ of cows. More representative models to induce SARA are also needed.

In a population in which generations overlap the improvement in performance in successive years resulting from a single year of selection is not constant, for the genes from a group of selected individuals may take many years to pass through the population. A formal method is developed for predicting responses and discounted returns from improvement in populations with overlapping generations including, if necessary, generations of multiplication of breeding stock.

The method is based on a matrix which specifies the passage of genes between the different age groups and sexes. Simple matrix operations can be used to compute the proportion of genes in animals of both sexes and each age in the population at any time which derive from a group of selected animals at an earlier time. The response produced by these selected animals equals the product of their genetic selection differential and the proportion of genes deriving from them. Comparisons are made between responses predicted using this theory and the classical theory of uniform rates of response, and a method is given for computing the time lag of genes passing through the population.

The results are extended to enable computation of discounted returns from improvement.

Neonatal mortality in small ruminant livestock has remained stubbornly unchanging over the past 40 years, and represents a significant loss of farm income, contributes to wastage and affects animal welfare. Scientific knowledge about the biology of neonatal adaptation after birth has been accumulating but does not appear to have had an impact in improving survival. In this paper, we ask what might be the reasons for the lack of impact of the scientific studies of lamb and kid mortality, and suggest strategies to move forward. Biologically, it is clear that achieving a good intake of colostrum, as soon as possible after birth, is crucial for neonatal survival. This provides fuel for thermoregulation, passive immunological protection and is involved in the development of attachment between the ewe and lamb. The behaviour of the lamb in finding the udder and sucking rapidly after birth is a key component in ensuring sufficient colostrum is ingested. In experimental studies, the main risk factors for lamb mortality are low birthweight, particularly owing to poor maternal nutrition during gestation, birth difficulty, litter size and genetics, which can all be partly attributed to their effect on the speed with which the lamb reaches the udder and sucks. Similarly, on commercial farms, low birthweight and issues with sucking were identified as important contributors to mortality. In epidemiological studies, management factors such as providing assistance with difficult births, were found to be more important than risk factors associated with housing. Social science studies suggest that farmers generally have a positive attitude to improving neonatal mortality but may differ in beliefs about how this can be achieved, with some farmers believing they had no control over early lamb mortality. Facilitative approaches, where farmers and advisors work together to develop neonatal survival strategies, have been shown to be effective in achieving management goals, such as optimising ewe nutrition, that lead to reductions in lamb mortality. We conclude that scientific research is providing useful information on the biology underpinning neonatal survival, such as optimal birthweights, lamb vigour and understanding the importance of sufficient colostrum intake, but the transfer of that knowledge would benefit from an improved understanding of the psychology of management change on farm. Developing tailored solutions, on the basis of adequate farm records, that make use of the now substantial body of scientific literature on neonatal mortality will help to achieve lower neonatal mortality.

In vitro production (IVP) of embryos and associated technologies in cattle have shown significant progress in recent years, in part driven by a better understanding of the full potential of these tools by end users. The combination of IVP with sexed semen (SS) and genomic selection (GS) is being successfully and widely used in North America, South America and Europe. The main advantages offered by these technologies include a higher number of embryos and pregnancies per unit of time, and a wider range of potential female donors from which to retrieve oocytes (including open cyclic females and ones up to 3 months pregnant), including high index genomic calves, a reduced number of sperm required to produce embryos and increased chances of obtaining the desired sex of offspring. However, there are still unresolved aspects of IVP of embryos that limit a wider implementation of the technology, including potentially reduced fertility from the use of SS, reduced oocyte quality after in vitro oocyte maturation and lower embryo cryotolerance, resulting in reduced pregnancy rates compared to in vivo–produced embryos. Nevertheless, promising research results have been reported, and work is in progress to address current deficiencies. The combination of GS, IVP and SS has proven successful in the commercial field in several countries assisting practitioners and cattle producers to improve reproductive performance, efficiency and genetic gain.

Improvements in feed efficiency of beef cattle have the potential to increase producer profitability and simultaneously lower the environmental footprint of beef production. Although there are many different approaches to measuring feed efficiency, residual feed intake (RFI) has increasingly become the measure of choice. Defined as the difference between an animal’s actual and predicted feed intake (based on weight and growth), RFI is conceptually independent of growth and body size. In addition, other measurable traits related to energy expenditure such as estimates of body composition can be included in the calculation of RFI to also force independence from these traits. Feed efficiency is a multifactorial and complex trait in beef cattle and inter-animal variation stems from the interaction of many biological processes influenced, in turn, by physiological status and management regimen. Thus, the purpose of this review was to summarise and interpret current published knowledge and provide insight into research areas worthy of further investigation. Indeed, where sufficient suitable reports exist, meta-analyses were conducted in order to mitigate ambiguity between studies in particular. We have identified a paucity of information on the contribution of key biological processes, including appetite regulation, post-ruminal nutrient absorption, and cellular energetics and metabolism to the efficiency of feed utilisation in cattle. In addition, insufficient information exists on the relationship between RFI status and productivity-related traits at pasture, a concept critical to the overall lifecycle of beef production systems. Overall, published data on the effect of RFI status on both terminal and maternal traits, coupled with the moderate repeatability and heritability of the trait, suggest that breeding for improved RFI, as part of a multi-trait selection index, is both possible and cumulative, with benefits evident throughout the production cycle. Although the advent of genomic selection, with associated improved prediction accuracy, will expedite the introgression of elite genetics for feed efficiency within beef cattle populations, there are challenges associated with this approach which may, in the long-term, be overcome by increased international collaborative effort but, in the short term, will not obviate the on-going requirement for accurate measurement of the primary phenotype.

The aim of this review is to focus the attention on the nutrition ecology of the heavy metals and on the major criticisms related to the heavy metals content in animal feeds, manure, soil and animal-origin products. Heavy metals are metallic elements that have a high density that have progressively accumulated in the food chain with negative effects for human health. Some metals are essential (Fe, I, Co, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, Se) to maintain various physiological functions and are usually added as nutritional additives in animal feed. Other metals (As, Cd, F, Pb, Hg) have no established biological functions and are considered as contaminants/undesirable substances. The European Union adopted several measures in order to control their presence in the environment, as a result of human activities such as: farming, industry or food processing and storage contamination. The control of the animal input could be an effective strategy to reduce human health risks related to the consumption of animal-origin products and the environmental pollution by manure. Different management of raw materials and feed, animal species as well as different legal limits can influence the spread of heavy metals. To set up effective strategies against heavy metals the complex interrelationships in rural processes, the widely variability of farming practices, the soil and climatic conditions must be considered. Innovative and sustainable approaches have discussed for the heavy metal nutrition ecology to control the environmental pollution from livestock-related activities.

The ability to accurately measure body or carcass composition is important for performance testing, grading and finally selection or payment of meat-producing animals. Advances especially in non-invasive techniques are mainly based on the development of electronic and computer-driven methods in order to provide objective phenotypic data. The preference for a specific technique depends on the target animal species or carcass, combined with technical and practical aspects such as accuracy, reliability, cost, portability, speed, ease of use, safety and for in vivo measurements the need for fixation or sedation. The techniques rely on specific device-driven signals, which interact with tissues in the body or carcass at the atomic or molecular level, resulting in secondary or attenuated signals detected by the instruments and analyzed quantitatively. The electromagnetic signal produced by the instrument may originate from mechanical energy such as sound waves (ultrasound – US), ‘photon’ radiation (X-ray-computed tomography – CT, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry – DXA) or radio frequency waves (magnetic resonance imaging – MRI). The signals detected by the corresponding instruments are processed to measure, for example, tissue depths, areas, volumes or distributions of fat, muscle (water, protein) and partly bone or bone mineral. Among the above techniques, CT is the most accurate one followed by MRI and DXA, whereas US can be used for all sizes of farm animal species even under field conditions. CT, MRI and US can provide volume data, whereas only DXA delivers immediate whole-body composition results without (2D) image manipulation. A combination of simple US and more expensive CT, MRI or DXA might be applied for farm animal selection programs in a stepwise approach.

The use of medicinal plants for the prevention and treatment of gastro-intestinal parasitism has its origin in ethnoveterinary medicine. Although until recently the majority of the evidence on the antiparasitic activity of medicinal plants was anecdotal and lacked scientific validity, there is currently an increasing number of controlled experimental studies that aim to verify and quantify such plant activity. There are indeed a large number of plants whose anthelmintic activity has been demonstrated under controlled experimentation, either through feeding the whole plant or administering plant extracts to parasitised hosts. However, contrary to traditional expectation, there are also a great number of plants with purported antiparasitic properties, which have not been reproduced under experimental conditions. In this paper, we discuss the source of such inconsistencies between ethnoveterinary wisdom and scientific experimentation. We focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing methodologies used in the controlled studies to determine the activity of antiparasitic plants. We discuss issues like the seasonal and environmental variability of the plant composition, and how this can affect their antiparasitic properties and highlight the importance of identifying the mechanisms of action of such plants and the target parasite species. In addition to their antiparasitic properties, medicinal plants may also have anti-nutritional properties, which can affect animal performance and behaviour. For this reason, we emphasise the need for considering additional dimensions when evaluating medicinal plants. We also question whether using similar criteria as those used for the evaluation of anthelmintics is the way forward. We propose that a holistic approach is required to evaluate the potential of medicinal plants in parasite control and maximise their benefits on parasitised hosts.

The relationship between the interval to post-partum (PP) commencement of luteal activity (CLA) and traditional measures of fertility was studied in 1733 lactations of British Friesian cows. Milk progesterone (P4) concentrations were used to determine the interval to PP ovulation and to confirm pregnancy. Milk samples were taken thrice weekly from cows in 20 commercial herds and daily in the University of Nottingham research herd. Commencement of luteal activity was defined as the day of first PP occurrence ofP4 levels >3 μg/l which was then maintained for at least two consecutive readings in the commercial herds and for 4 days in the university herd. Records from animals with retained placenta, uterine infection or those treated with reproductive hormone preparations for reproductive disorders were excluded for this analysis from the original database of cows during 2503 lactations. The interval to PP CLA averaged 27·0 (s.d. 12·1) days (no. = 1733), interval to first service 71·2 (s.d. 19·9) days (no. = 1646), interval to conception 87·2 (s.d. 35·0) days (no. = 1510), number of services per conception 1·50 (s.d. 0·83, no. = 1510) and conception to first service was 0·65. Linear models were then fitted to subsets of the data with complete information to assess the influences of lactation number, season and herd (at least 1243 observations in all analyses). The interval to PP CLA was favourably correlated with measures of fertility such that for every day delay in the interval to CLA there was an average delay of 0·24 and 0·41 days (P < 0·001) in the interval to first service and conception, respectively. The number of services per conception was reduced by 0·11 for each additional 21 days in the interval between PP CLA and first service (P < 0·001). Furthermore, conception rate was influenced by the interval from the onset of luteal activity to first insemination (P < 0·01) such that each additional 21 days progressively reduced the probability of failure at a given insemination number to 0·89 of its previous value. There were significant effects of parity and season (P < 0·05) on the interval to first PP service while the variation among herds in the interval to PP service and days open was significant (P < 0·01). The regressions of measures of fertility on milk yield were not significant. This extensive database on the hormone profiles of PP cows shows that the early re-establishment of PP ovarian activity is an important prerequisite for high fertility.

There is increasing interest in the use of continuous housing systems for dairy cows, with various reasons put forward to advocate such systems. However, the welfare of dairy cows is typically perceived to be better within pasture-based systems, although such judgements are often not scientifically based. The aim of this review was to interrogate the existing scientific literature to compare the welfare, including health, of dairy cows in continuously housed and pasture-based systems. Although summarising existing work, knowledge gaps and directions for future research are also identified. The scope of the review is broad, examining relevant topics under three main headings; health, behaviour and physiology. Regarding health, cows on pasture-based systems had lower levels of lameness, hoof pathologies, hock lesions, mastitis, uterine disease and mortality compared with cows on continuously housed systems. Pasture access also had benefits for dairy cow behaviour, in terms of grazing, improved lying/resting times and lower levels of aggression. Moreover, when given the choice between pasture and indoor housing, cows showed an overall preference for pasture, particularly at night. However, the review highlighted the need for a deeper understanding of cow preference and behaviour. Potential areas for concern within pasture-based systems included physiological indicators of more severe negative energy balance, and in some situations, the potential for compromised welfare with exposure to unpredictable weather conditions. In summary, the results from this review highlight that there remain considerable animal welfare benefits from incorporating pasture access into dairy production systems.

The objective of the study was to compare growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and fatty acid composition of the adipose tissue of group-penned barrows, immunocastrated boars and entire males. Furthermore, the effect of housing of entire males on the aforementioned parameters was evaluated. At 55.2 days of age, 52 Swiss Large White pigs were blocked by litter and assigned by BW to four experimental groups: barrows (C), immunocastrated boars (IC), entire males (EMG) reared in group pens and entire males (EMP) reared in individual pens. In experiment 1, the effects of the method of castration were investigated (experimental groups C, IC and EMG). In experiment 2, the effects of housing on entire male pigs were evaluated (experimental groups EMG and EMP). All pigs had ad libitum access to standard diets from weaning to 107 kg BW. The two vaccinations (Improvac®) were applied to the IC pigs at an average BW of 22.6 and 73.0 kg. In experiment 1, average daily gain (ADG) did not (P > 0.05) differ among the experimental groups. However, EMG consumed less feed and had a better feed-conversion ratio than C (P < 0.001 for each). For IC, intermediate values were observed, which differed (P < 0.001) from EMG and C. Lean meat percentage decreased (P < 0.05) from EMG to IC, and from IC to C. The androstenone and skatole levels were higher (P < 0.05) in the adipose tissue of EMG than IC and C. Shear force values were higher (P < 0.01) in the longissimus muscle of C and EMG, compared to IC. The concentration of saturated fatty acid in the adipose tissue increased (P < 0.001) from EMG to IC, and from IC to C pigs, and that of polyunsaturated fatty acid decreased (P < 0.001). In experiment 2, ADG did not (P > 0.05) differ between EMP and EMG. However, EMP pigs consumed more feed than EMG pigs and had a poorer feed efficiency (P < 0.01 for each). In conclusion, EMG pigs had a better feed efficiency than IC pigs and their carcasses were leaner, but the risk of boar tainted pork was elevated. Group-housing negatively affected average daily feed intake but not ADG of entire males. At the moment, immunocastration offers a good approach to avoid castration and minimize the risk of boar taint.

Within-litter variation of piglet birth weight (BW0) is associated with an increased piglet mortality and a high variability in pig weight at weaning and weight or age at slaughter. Data collected in two experimental herds were used to quantify within-litter variability in BW0 and to assess the influence of factors mainly related to the sow. Within 24 h after birth, piglets born alive were individually weighed and stillborn piglets were collectively (first data set) or individually (second data set) weighed. The first data set was restricted to litters with no or only one stillborn piglet (3338 litters). It was used to assess the influence of genetic selection on BW0 variation by comparing litter characteristics before (1994 to 1996) and after (2001 to 2004) the development of hyperprolific sows in this herd. The second data set included all litters (n = 1596) from sows born between 2000 and 2004. For each litter, mean BW0 (mBW0) and its coefficient of variation (CVBW0) were calculated. Then, variance analyses were performed to test the influence of litter size, parity, year of sow birth and season at conception. Prolificacy improvement was associated with an increased CVBW0 in litters from pure Large White (LW) and Landrace × Large White (LR × LW) crossbred sows. The CVBW0 averaged 21% and was significantly influenced by litter size and parity. It increased from 15% to 24% when litter size varied from less than 10 piglets to more than 15 piglets. The proportion of small piglets (i.e. weighing less than 1 kg) increased concomitantly. The CVBW0 was not repeatable from a parity to the following. It was lowest for first and second parities (20%) and thereafter increased progressively. The CVBW0 was positively related to sow’s backfat thickness gain during gestation. Taking into account litter size, parity, year of sow birth and season at conception explained 20% of BW0 variation. Thus, major part of heterogeneity is due to other factors, presumably including embryo genotype, on the one hand, and factors that influence embryo and foetus development, such as epigenetic factors, on the other hand.

Appropriate thyroid gland function and thyroid hormone activity are considered crucial to sustain the productive performance in domestic animals (growth, milk or hair fibre production). Changes of blood thyroid hormone concentrations are an indirect measure of the changes in thyroid gland activity and circulating thyroid hormones can be considered as indicators of the metabolic and nutritional status of the animals. Thyroid hormones play a pivotal role in the mechanisms permitting the animals to live and breed in the surrounding environment. Variations in hormone bioactivity allow the animals to adapt their metabolic balance to different environmental conditions, changes in nutrient requirements and availability, and to homeorhetic changes during different physiological stages. This is particularly important in the free-ranging and grazing animals, such as traditionally reared small ruminants, whose main physiological functions (feed intake, reproduction, hair growth) are markedly seasonal. Many investigations dealt with the involvement of thyroid hormones in the expression of endogenous seasonal rhythms, such as reproduction and hair growth cycles in fibre-producing (wool, mohair, cashmere) sheep and goats. Important knowledge about the pattern of thyroid hormone metabolism and their role in ontogenetic development has been obtained from studies in the ovine foetus and in the newborn. Many endogenous (breed, age, gender, physiological state) and environmental factors (climate, season, with a primary role of nutrition) are able to affect thyroid activity and hormone concentrations in blood, acting at the level of hypothalamus, pituitary and/or thyroid gland, as well as on peripheral monodeiodination. Knowledge on such topics mirror physiological changes and possibly allows the monitoring and manipulation of thyroid physiology, in order to improve animal health, welfare and production.

A total of 897 pigs were used in a study to investigate the relative effects of terminal sire genotype (lines Av.Bv. C), sex (castrate v. gilt), slaughter weight (80 v. 100 v. 220 kg), feeding regimen (ad libitum v. restricted, 0·82 ad libitum intake) and slaughter-house (HI v. H2 v. H3) on growth performance, carcass and meat quality characteristics and the eating quality offresh pig meat. Sire line A was a pure Duroc population, and B and C were European-type experimental lines where C contained Pietrain and B did not. In total, 26 sires from line A, 42 sires from line B, and 21 sires from line C were mated to females from the same crossbred dam line and progeny were reared under standard conditions to slaughter. Following slaughter and carcass evaluation, samples of longissimus dorsi were investigated for a range of meat quality and organoleptic characteristics. Line A produced fatter carcasses (C fat depths = 15·6 v. 24·0 v. 14·0 mm for lines A, B, and C, respectively, average s.e. 0·39) with higher killing-out proportions (g/kg) (790 v. 779 v. 786 respectively, average s.e. 1·4) and higher visible marbling, less tissue separation, firmer backfat, and juicier (3·81 v. 3·67 v. 3·72 respectively, average s.e. 0·044: on a scale 1 (extremely dry) to 8 (extremely juicy)) and more acceptable meat (4·54 v. 4·37 v. 4·42 respectively average s.e. 0·037: on a scale 1 (dislike extremely) to 8 (like extremely)) with a lower shear force (5·35 v. 5·78 v. 5·67 kg respectively, average s.e. 0·078) than lines B and C which were similar in most respects. Increases in slaughter weight were associated with a reduction in growth rate (785 v. 769 v. 725 glday for 80, 100 and 120 kg slaughter weight respectively, average s.e. 8·5), increases in backfat (Cfat = 13·3 v. 24·2 v. 26·3 mm respectively, average s.e. 0·34) and longissimus muscle area (34·6 v. 40·7 v. 44·6 cm2 respectively, average s.e. 0·59) and a deterioration in tenderness (4·72 v. 4·40 v. 3·95 respectively, average s.e. 0·062: on a scale 1 (extremely tough) to 8 (extremely tender) and overall acceptability (4·65 v. 4·44 v. 4·25 respectively, average s.e. 0·045) and an increase in shear force (5·37 v. 5·58 v. 5·87 kg respectively, average s.e. 0·085). Slaughter-house had a significant impact on pork odour scores but not on other organoleptic properties. Pigs reared under ad libitum feeding grew faster (840 v. 678 g/day respectively, average s.e. 3·7), were fatter (Cfat = 15·8 v. 23·2 mm respectively, s.e. 0·28), had lower carcass yields (780 v. 790 g/kg respectively, average s.e. 1) and produced more tender, juicier meat than those reared under restricted feeding. Differences between castrated males and gilts in growth and carcass trait were in line with other studies and there were no significant differences between the sexes for eating quality. There were relatively few significant interactions (P < 0·05) for eating quality traits and most of these involved slaughter-house and were for pork odour intensity, which are of limited practical significance. This suggests that the effects of sire genotype, slaughter weight and feeding regimen on eating quality identified in this study are likely to be additive.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of partial or total replacement of finisher diet soybean oil with black soldier fly (Hermethia illucens L.; HI) larva fat on the growth performance, carcass traits, blood parameters, intestinal morphology and histological features of broiler chickens. At 21 days of age, a total of 120 male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to three experimental groups (five replicates and eight birds/pen). To a basal control diet (C; 68.7 g/kg as fed of soybean oil), either 50% or 100% of the soybean oil was replaced with HI larva fat (HI50 and HI100 group, respectively). Growth performance was evaluated throughout the trial. At day 48, 15 birds (three birds/pen) per group were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Carcass yield and proportions of carcass elements were recorded. Blood samples were taken from each slaughtered chicken for haematochemical index determination. Morphometric analyses were performed on the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Samples of liver, spleen, thymus, bursa of fabricius, kidney and heart were submitted to histological investigations. Growth performance, carcass traits, haematochemical parameters and gut morphometric indexes were not influenced by the dietary inclusion of HI larva fat. Histopathological alterations developed in the spleen, thymus, bursa of fabricius and liver and were identified in all of the experimental groups, but HI larva fat inclusion did not significantly affect (P>0.05) the severity of the histopathological findings. The present study suggests that 50% or 100% replacement of soybean oil with HI larva fat in broiler chickens diets has no adverse effects on growth performance or blood parameters and had no beneficial effect on gut health.