This study aimed to explore some fertility biomarkers in seminal plasma (SP) and blood of rams with different field fertility, based on their conception and lambing rates. Ejaculates were collected from fertile (n = 20) and subfertile (n = 10) Ossimi rams by electroejaculation for 16 replicates. Each ejaculate was analyzed for volume and sperm characteristics before centrifugation at 12,000 × g for

Jamunapari goat is majestic dual purpose goat adapted to semi-arid climate in India. The aim of the present study was to assess the genetic potential of Jamunapari goat and design breeding program based on growth and feed efficiency traits. A total of 8763 animals descended from 1845 dams and 339 sires between 1982-2019 (37 years) at ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom were used

Rumen motility is depressed by a number of anesthetic agents, making them unsuitable for the reduction of animal anxiety and distress during experimental investigations of rumen motility. Little is known about the influence on rumen motility inhibition of chemical agents that induce sedation without unconsciousness. A pilot trial was performed to assess the effect of three commonly used ruminant sedatives

The physical form of the diet and level of straw in fattening total mixed rations (TMR) can influence sorting behavior and rumen morphometry. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were to evaluate two levels of wheat straw (WS) in conventional and pelleted TMR on feed sorting behavior, rumen morphometry, the thickness of stratum corneum (SC), and color of reticulorumen mucosa. Thirty-two Beetle

Quantitative traits such as pre-weaning growth is expressed as a result of combined genetic and environmental effects. The phenotypic expression of those traits in offspring is affected by direct genetic effect and sometimes also maternal genetic effect which is the ability of the dam to provide optimum nurturing conditions. The objective of the current study was to estimate genetic parameters for

Three post-slaughter methods, electrical stimulation and immediate chilling (ES-IC), non-stimulation and delayed chilling (NS-DC), and non-stimulation and immediate chilling (NS-IC), were compared on uncastrated Beetal Bucks and Lohi Rams (n = 27/species) carcasses. This experiment intended to evaluate the conditions optimised for the small ruminant’s meat safety and quality. The microbiological safety

Based on pedigree information, the population structure, within-breed genetic variability and causes of genetic variability losses in Wallachian sheep (WS), and Sumava sheep (SS) were studied. The maximum number of generations observed in both WS and SS was 16, and the equivalent number of complete generations 5.66 and 4.35, respectively. The average generation intervals were in WS and SS 4.33 and

The aim of this study was to investigate variation in the bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) and growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) genes, and ascertain whether it was associated with reproductive traits in Barki ewes. Records for conception rate of ewe, lambing number of ewe, lambing rate of ewe, twining rate of ewe, total number of lambs born per ewe (TNLB), total weight of lambs born per ewe

The aims of the present study were to compare growth curve traits using various growth models and to estimate associated genetic parameters under most appropriate growth model using data records of weights at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age pertained to 96 male and 196 female Harnali sheep for the period of year 2014 to 2018. Five growth models viz., Brody, Gompertz, logistic, Bertalanffy, negative

The present study was conducted on Beetal goat to study the suitability of five growth curve models and to estimate associated genetic parameters under most appropriate growth model using 1501 records of weights from birth to 12 months of age pertained to 60 males and 241 females for the period of year 2004–2019. Five growth models viz., Brody, Gompertz, Logistic, Bertalanffy, Negative exponential

The objective of this study was to evaluate stearic acid supplementation (C18:0) on the production, composition, fatty acid profile and the expression of lipogenic genes in the mammary gland of late lactating ewes. We used 30 primiparous and multiparous Lacaune ewes with a mean body weight (BW) of 66.5 ± 9.4 kg and body condition score (BCS) of 3.0 ± 0.5 at late lactation (122 ± 12 DEL), producing

Footrot is a contagious disease of sheep and other small ruminants. The causative agent, Dichelobacter nodosus, is transmitted between hooves via contaminated pasture and soil. However, the bacterium cannot invade the epidermis unless it is compromised in some manner and water maceration, which follows prolonged exposure to a moist substrate, is the most common predisposing factor. Experimental infection

The objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy of estrous manipulation protocols and pregnancy specific protein B (PSPB) levels to determine kid number at birth in Lezhi black goats. Eighty-eight does were randomly allocated to three treatments. The PPe group (n = 29) was treated with Controlled Internal Drug Release devices (CIDR) for 7 days and 300 IU eCG and 0.2 mg PGF2α at the time of

Goat milk composition can be influenced by diet, such as adding exogenous enzymes into the feed to improve digestibility. The objective of this study was to evaluate milk composition and cheese goat yield when ruminants consumed an enzymatic extract obtained from spent Pleurotus ostreatus substrate. A one-way experimental design was used in this study. Enzymatic activity and milk composition were measured

The effects of feeding lucerne hay (Medicago sativa) and or barley grain to grazing reproducing Angora does on birth weight, live weight, body condition, quality and production of milk and mohair and gastrointestinal parasitism were investigated in does and kids. The design was supplementation for the last 8 weeks prepartum to 8 weeks postpartum with 5 levels of whole barley grain (GL: 0, 115, 230

An experiment was carried out to compare the use of fresh cactus with cactus ensiled with and without a microbial inoculant in sheep diets by examining their feed intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and microbial protein synthesis and counting fecal enterobacteria. Twenty uncastrated mixed-breed sheep at approximately six months of age, with an average initial weight of 23.48 ± 2.40 kg

Although sheep meat has a small share of ∼1.5% of the total meat production in the EU, sheep farming is of great importance to rural development and the environment. Enhancing the quality of lamb meat of local breeds is essential to ensure both profitability for sheep producers and the conservation of endangered breeds. This study aimed to (i) characterise the evolution of spoilage microorganisms in

Methane production was individually measured, using open-circuit respiration chambers, in Segureña wethers fed diets including two different levels of olive cake (OC) sprayed with soda solutions to attain 0, 5, 7.5 and 10 g NaOH/100 g OC. Increasing level of OC in diet reduced (P < 0.001) CH4 production (from 3.34 to 2.37 % of total ingested carbon and from 8.97 to 7.90 % of total digestible energy

This study investigated the effects of dietary protein levels on growth, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical index, and meat quality of Hu male lambs. Sixty lambs were randomly divided into 5 groups with 12 lambs in each group. The protein levels of the five diets were: 125 g/kg, 132 g/kg, 140 g/kg, 148 g/kg, and 156 g/kg. Fifteen lambs were slaughtered at the end of 70-d feeding experiment

This study aimed to verify the effects of short-term supplementation of diets rich in lipids or glycogen precursors on the follicular environment, oocyte mitochondrial gene expression, and in vitro embryo development. Thirty adult Anglo-Nubian multiparous crossbred goats were fed for 28 days with a total mixed ration (TMR) to satisfy the requirements of breeding for adult non-dairy goats. Seven days

The addition of sucrose to the diet may accelerate rumen development and improve the utilization of dietary protein, thus increasing lamb performance. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of four dietary sucrose levels on the ingestive behavior, blood parameters, and performance of crossbred Dorper lambs fed on feedlot. Twenty-four non-castrated male lambs with a mean age of 4 months and a body

The ruminal microbiota is a complex and rich community that is stable and difficult to manipulate. Transfaunation is considered a useful method to re-stablish a dysbiotic community, such as in cases of ruminal acidosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the consequences of transfaunation on the ruminal bacteria of healthy sheep receiving bovine ruminal fluid. For this, three healthy cows

In recent years, the improvement of sheep production traits has met with great interest from breeders. A significant effect of the JAK2 gene encoding Janus kinase 2 on growth and reproductive parameters in different animal species has been confirmed. The aim of the present study was to identify new polymorphic sites in the ovine JAK2 gene. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified

This study evaluated the effects of propolis extract, mixed in milk, on growth as well as on antimicrobial, antioxidant and immune responses in lactating lambs. Thirty-six Lacaune lambs [males; 7.0 ± 1.2 day (d) of age; 4.9 ± 0.80 kg of body weight (BW)] were assigned to the following groups: T0, T150, T200 and T250, representing 0, 150, 200, and 250 μL of propolis/kg of BW/d, respectively. All dosages

Kashmir Merino is the fine wool breed developed from cross of native sheep breeds of Kashmir valley (India) and Delain Merino rams (USA). This new breed is very popular in the temperate Himalayan region of Kashmir, for wool and mutton production, thereby contributing significantly to the economy of local farmers. We determined seroprevalence and associated risk factor of Mycobacterium avium subspecies

Temperature Humidity Index (THI) is a single value representing the combination of air temperature and humidity associated with the level of thermal stress. Ejaculates (n = 890) from 12 Barbari bucks (2–4 years) maintained under semi-intensive management system were utilized to find out the effect of THI on sexual behavior and semen quality in Barbari buck. Semen with mass activity ≥ 4 was considered

Endoparasitosis is one of the major health problems in South American camelids (SACs) often leading to massive damage of the gastric or intestinal mucosa. In ruminants this damage results in increased gastrin and pepsinogen concentrations in the peripheral blood. These values have been used as diagnostic parameters for subclinical gastrointestinal nematode infections in ruminants but have not been

To evaluate the effect(s) of the heat stress (HS) on body composition thirty-two growing Afshari lambs were randomly housed outdoor (OUT) without access to shade (mean temperature humidity index = 74.98) or kept indoor (IN) under shade (mean temperature humidity index = 73.08). At the end of study 10 lambs were processed and separable body protein and fat were determined. Neither morning rectal temperature

This study aimed to edit the SNPs panel for sheep paternity testing in Mexico. The genotypes of 10,097 individuals distributed in ten breeds were analyzed: Blackbelly (459), Charollais (209), White Dorper (122), Dorper (2106), Dorset (534), Hampshire (1,298), Katahdin (3864), Pelibuey (821), Suffolk (596), and Texel (88). In all breeds the panel was comprised of 84 SNPs; the allele frequencies, the

DLK1 (protein delta homolog 1) plays an important role in production of adipocytes, muscle development, wound healing, pancreas, liver and lung cells development and also in the development of meat quality, digestion and growth performance. Therefore, the goal of this research was to investigate the effects of different levels of fennel seed power in the diet on growth performance and on DLK1 gene

Projected climate change will involve an additional threat for the sustainability of small ruminant production systems in Europe. Aiming to understand its implications, we conducted a literature review on climate change interactions with sheep and goat systems. The review first identifies the main potential impacts on productivity at the animal level (heat stress effects) and at the forage level (quantity

Growth, being a repeatable trait, is found to be more suitable for random regression models (RRM). Especially in a field performance recording system the nature of data is heterogenous and the structure of data causes problems in genetic evaluation through normal univariate models. In this study, RRM was used to estimate variance components for growth in farmers’ flocks of Madras Red sheep, reared

The aim of the present study was to estimate the (co)variance components and genetic parameters for pre-weaning [weight at birth (BWT), weight at 3 months (WT3), average daily gain from birth to 3 months (ADG1) and Kleiber’s ratio (KR1:ADG1/WT30.75)] and post-weaning [weight at 6 months (WT6), average daily gain from 3 to 6 months (ADG2) and Kleiber’s ratio (KR2:ADG2/WT60.75), weight at 9 months (WT9)

To study the effect of Ca-salt of linseed oil (Ca-LSO) supplementation in diets with varying protein content, thirty-six 12-day-old Farahani lambs with an average BW of 8.9 kg were used in a completely randomized block design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement as follows: (1) no Ca-salt of linseed oil supplementation and 18 % CP (NLSO-18CP); (2) no Ca-salt of linseed oil supplementation and 21 % CP

This study aimed to determine the effect of temperature on energy balance of Saanen and Anglo-Nubian goats, using indirect open circuit respirometry. Six non-lactating and non-pregnant Saanen goats (initial body weight [BW] of 53.7 ± 7.7 kg) and Anglo-Nubian goats (initial BW of 56.4 ± 8.0 kg) were randomly assigned to three groups. Each group was allocated in climatic rooms and randomly assigned to

Two experiments (in vitro and in vivo evaluation) were conducted to evaluate the ability of three different tanniniferous legumes to replace berseem hay on ruminal fermentation, digestibility and methane (CH4) emission. Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) hay (BH) was considered as control, or replaced at 50 % with Acacia saligna (AS), Leucaena leucocephala (LL) or Atriplex halimus (AH) on a DM basis

Effect of increasing levels of olive leaves in the diet on intake, growth rate and meat quality of kids was studied. Twenty-four Mahabadi kids (initial body weight (BW) of 21.3 ± 1.14 kg and 5–6 months of age) were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 8). One group was fed a basal diet as control (without OL) while the diet of the other two groups was modified by substituting 7.5 % (OL7.5) and 15

The family of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) is exclusively expressed in the skeletal muscle, contributing to muscle growth and development, which affects carcass traits and meat characteristics. Skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) are important regulators of developing skeletal muscle, serving as a model for understanding the biology of the skeletal muscle of ruminants. In this study, we evaluated

The sudden introduction of males to anestrous females stimulates synchronous ovulations. The effectiveness of males to induce this response is androgen dependent. The aim of the present study was to compare the reproductive response of anestrous does to the introduction of teaser bucks treated with or without deslorelin implants, which continuously release a GnRH agonist. While 5 bucks were acutely

In Ethiopia, small ruminant breeding programs has been shifted from central nucleus scheme to community based breeding programs considering the past genetic improvement approaches and their suitability to the Ethiopia's production system. One-tier community-based breeding program (CBBP) is currently active breeding strategy implementing with farmers having a common interest to improve and share their

Cryptosporidiosis is the second major cause of diarrheal illness in humans and animals. Despite being a major cause of digestive anomalies in goats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan), there is a serious dearth of data regarding the infection induced alterations in physiological biomarkers. The present study was conducted to record changes in vital body parameters caused by the cryptosporidiosis. A total

Microalgae, have gained significant attention as a source of beneficial biomolecules such as long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and are considered to be an effective strategy to enhance ruminant milk with PUFA. However, milk fatty acids (FA) profile is affected by ruminant biohydrogenation process and consequently by possible adaptations of rumen microbiome related with the duration

Kid survival is very critical to be profitable in goat production. Thus, this study was conducted to identify genetic and non-genetic factors affecting the survival rate of Boer x Central Highland goat and to estimate genetic parameters for survival using linear animal and Weibull proportional hazard model. Data collected from the Sirinka goat breeding station were utilized for this study. Survival

A pen feeding study was conducted using 10 month old Poll Dorset × Merino ewe lambs to test the effect of perennial wheat forage on growth rates and carcass characteristics in comparison to annual wheat forage. Individual lambs (n = 48) were fed one of four diets, namely perennial wheat (PW), annual wheat (W), perennial wheat + lucerne (alfalfa) (PW + L) or annual wheat + lucerne (W + L). Lambs were

The current study examined the effect of in-feed administration of thyme and celery on lactational performance of Barki ewes. Thirty ewes (38 ± 2.6 kg) were stratified into 3 treatment groups and fed: (1) a basal total mixed control diet of concentrates and fodder maize (Zea mays L.) at 60:40 dry matter basis, (2) the control diet supplemented with 20 g of thyme, and (3) the control diet supplemented

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between residual intake and body weight gain (RIG) and the performance, ingestive behavior, and characteristics of longissimus muscle of crossbred ½ Dorper × ½ Santa Inês lambs. Nineteen non-castrated male lambs, with a mean age of 4 months and a body weight (BW) of 23.04 ± 3.16 kg, were individually fed ad libitum in a feedlot for 90 days. The

The objective was to evaluate the effect of increasing levels (0, 6, 12, and 18 %) of crude glycerin replacing corn in the diet of lambs on the chemical composition, physicochemical parameters, and fatty acid profile of the meat. Forty male non-castrated Santa Inês crossbred lambs with an initial average weight of 21.0 ± 0.8 kg were distributed in a randomized block design, according to initial weight

Sheep production in southern Australia (particularly south west Victoria) is based increasingly on the Maternal Composite ewe, a self-replacing stable crossbred. Breeding programs have focussed on maternal traits such as reproduction and lamb growth. Understanding the variability, range and correlations between the traits of residual feed intake (RFI), feed intake (dry matter intake, DMI), growth rate

The present study aims to investigate the genetic variability of the Blanche de Montagne breed (=Siroua sheep). The genetic variability was assessed by the analysis of a 628 bp fragment in the mtDNA of the control region from 32 unrelated animals. Sequence comparison revealed 44 polymorphic sites, of which 16 were parsimony informative and 28 were singletons. Haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversities

The objective of this trial was to determine if an anticipated first shearing at 10 months of age affects skin characteristics and fibre quality in alpacas in order to assess the possibility of practice two different shearings over a period of 16 months in the animals destined for slaughter. Twenty alpaca Huacaya (10 females and 10 males) were randomly assigned to two groups named Group S and Group

Ram testes must be ∼4 to 5 °C cooler than core for normal spermatogenesis, emphasizing importance of intrascrotal temperatures. Our goal was to use implantable data loggers (DL; ∼8 × 25 mm) to measure changes in intrascrotal temperature in rams. We compared DL temperature (DLT) to expected and measured intrascrotal temperatures. In four Ile de France rams (11–12 mo of age), a DL was surgically implanted

The aim of this study was to identify, from questionnaire responses, the way Brazilian consumers perceive natural coloured sheep and their products, and to seek information that might assist in the development of this production chain. The responses of 503 consumers were analysed through the use of objective questions, and assigning scores or importance to different factors, as well as free word association

The alpaca is of greatest economic importance in the Peruvian High Andes. This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of three Peruvian alpaca farms, as well as, to validate a microsatellite markers panel for paternity testing. In this study, 247 samples of Huacaya alpacas were taken from three different localities (Sanjo, San Pedro de Raco and Cachipampa) from Pasco Region in Peru. DNA was

This study aimed to compare lamb meat composition from five Iberian breeds raised in their typical rearing systems and to reveal trends in compositional meat attributes due to breed or production system. The meat quality of 153 animals was analysed. The combined effect of breed × production system produced significant differences in lamb meat quality. Meat from the extensively-reared Bordaleira-de

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of the meat of lambs submitted to diets with grape pomace silage (GPS) in substitution of the whole plant corn silage. Twenty four male lambs were distributed in four diet treatments with increasing levels of GPS, using a forage:concentrate ratio of 50:50. The diet treatments were characterized for chemical composition, and the lamb meat was evaluated

The aim of this study was to explore spatial patterns of genetic structure in sheep breeds sampled in Brazil using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in order to evaluate whether or not the genetic and geographic distances are interrelated in this species. Samples genotyped using the 50KSheepSNPChip (Illumina) included 215 animals from eight different sheep breeds. All collection sites were georeferenced

Data suggests crossbreeding a Romney ewe flock with Merino sires to achieve a second cross ¾ Merino ¼ Romney (¾M¼R) flock would reduce wool fibre diameter and increase income from wool sales. It is not known how cashflow would vary during such a breed transition and which factors would affect the profitability of such a strategy. A bio-economic system-dynamics modelling study was conducted to simulate

This study examined the effects of Origanum majorana leaf (OML) on the growth, carcass parameters and blood factors in fattening lambs. Twenty-four Kermani male lambs (initial body weight of 26 ± 0.8 kg and seven-month-old) were assigned to three dietary treatments including one control diet (OML0), and two diets containing 2 and 4 % OML (OML2 and OML4) on the dry matter basis. The diets were fed as

The effect of single subcutaneous melatonin (MEL) administration on reproductive performance in Singharey goats during the non-breeding season was studied. Forty clinically healthy female goats were selected and divided into four groups (control, MEL - 10, MEL - 20 and MEL - 40) of 10 animals each. Treatments were given as single subcutaneous injection of melatonin dissolved in one ml sterilized corn