Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Michela Ablondi, Alberto Sabbioni, Giulia Esposito, Valentino Beretti, Vittoria Asti
Summary: Alpacas, an exotic species in Italy, have become the most widespread camelid species reared in the country. This study assessed the growth parameters of alpacas in the new environment and found that body weight and linear measures were influenced by category and age class. Male alpacas had higher body weight and measurements compared to females, while females had larger rump width. The study also established an equation to estimate alpaca body weight from body measures.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Qian Liu, Guoliang Luo, Li Guo, Lifeng Zhao, Chunqing Wang, Xiaocheng Li, Wei Zhong
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of fermented Chinese herb residues on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical indices, and microflora of Simmental beef cattle during the fattening period. The results showed that fermented Chinese herb residues could replace corn husk and had no significant effects on the growth performance and serum biochemical indices of the beef cattle.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Luigi Faucitano, Eleonora Nannoni
Summary: Pre-slaughter handling practices have a significant impact on the welfare of pigs and the quality of carcase and meat. Producer-controlled factors such as housing system, handling experience, genetics, gender, nutrition, and slaughter weight affect pigs' ease of handling and sensitivity to stress, leading to economic losses. Pigs from enriched housing conditions and proper handling training exhibit better resilience to stress. However, the effects on meat quality remain unclear. The alternative methods of castration and modifying transportation and handling practices for heavier slaughter pigs can improve ease of handling and reduce meat quality defects.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Hehua Wang, Jinhai Liu, Ziyu Dong, Jingnan Song, Zhaoyu Zhu
Summary: With the advancement of science and technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a mainstream technology in society, playing an important role in human development. In order to improve animal feeding, the use of AI technology to enhance animal feed has become necessary. This study utilizes Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) technology to construct an intelligent prediction model for metabolic energy, providing guidance for animal feed formulation. The LSTM model's performance is evaluated through simulation and shows that the model with 10 nodes has the best performance, achieving a data calculation accuracy of approximately 90%. The model also exhibits high fitting degrees, ranging from 96.2% to 98.2%, indicating its ability to accurately predict metabolic energy. This work provides technical support for expanding the application of AI technology and contributes to the automation of animal feeding.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Xungang Wang, Qian Zhang, Tianwei Xu, Linyong Hu, Na Zhao, Hongjin Liu, Shixiao Xu
Summary: This study investigated the impact of different feeding strategies on the growth performance, meat quality, and rumen fungal community of Tibetan sheep in the winter. The results showed that barn feeding significantly improved the growth performance and meat quality of the sheep, and also enhanced the abundance of certain dominant fungal genera, indicating the significance of barn feeding strategy for Tibetan sheep in the winter.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jianbo He, Xiangyu Su, Shenglan Guo, Haitao Shi, Chunhua Guo, Jiantao Li, Jirong Lv, Miao Yu, Mingya Huang
Summary: Both compound essential oil and oregano oil can enhance the immunity and antioxidant capacity of weaned rabbits, as well as reduce the rate of diarrhea and mortality. They also have positive effects on the economic benefits of farm animals.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Giovanni Bittante, Matteo Bergamaschi, Ni Qianlin, Nageshvar Patel, Hugo Toledo-Alvarado, Alessio Cecchinato
Summary: The use of sexed semen in dairy farms facilitates crossbreeding between beef and dairy breeds, resulting in improved meat production. Through quantitative and qualitative evaluations, this study found that the meat produced by dairy farmers using sexed semen was higher in quality than that produced by specialized fatteners. There were minor differences in veal quality between different crossbreed combinations, while intensive beef production showed slight variations based on breed mix.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Marco Berton, Enrico Sturaro, Stefano Schiavon, Alessio Cecchinato, Luigi Gallo
Summary: This study aimed to assess the environmental impact of milk production in cereal-based dairy farms in Italy. The study analyzed the effects of farm management, lactating cows' ration composition, and animal responses on the environmental impact. The results showed that stocking rate and feed self-sufficiency had a linearly decreasing impact on global warming and land occupation, while intermediate feed self-sufficiency values had the lowest eutrophication potential. Increasing dietary inclusion of cereal silages decreased global warming potential, and decreasing dietary crude protein content decreased acidification and eutrophication potentials. Milk yield and age at first calving also had an impact on global warming, acidification, and eutrophication potentials.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Farhang Faghih-Mohammadi, Alireza Seidavi, Mehrdad Bouyeh
Summary: This experiment aimed to investigate the effect of chelated form of trace elements in diet on the production traits, immunity, and blood parameters of Ross 308 broiler breeder chickens. The results showed that the chelated form of trace elements significantly affected egg production and egg mass, with the highest levels observed in treatments 2 and 3. The chelated form also increased the number of settable eggs and improved immunity. Glucose, triglyceride, progesterone, AST, and ALT levels were affected by the treatments. In conclusion, the use of chelated form or a combination of chelated and non-chelated form of trace elements in the diet improves the performance of Ross 308 broiler breeder chickens in terms of production traits, immunity, and blood parameters.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Maged A. Al-Garadi, Gamaleldin M. Suliman, Elsayed O. Hussein, Abdullah N. Al-Owaimer, Ayman A. Swelum, Nabil A. Almalamh, Rashed A. Alhotan, Mohammed M. Qaid
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of water-added betaine (BET) and Magic oil (MAGO) on growth performance and blood biochemistry of broilers exposed to constant heat stress. The results showed that BET alone or in combination with MAGO improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) under heat stress conditions. Therefore, it is recommended to use BET alone or both supplements under high-temperature conditions in broiler houses. Further studies on the use of MAGO and/or BET at different doses are needed to maximize body weight gain and maintain the productivity of the birds.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Giovanni Niero, Steffi Anna Thomas, Kassiani Mouratidou, Giulio Visentin, Massimo De Marchi, Mauro Penasa, Martino Cassandro
Summary: The present study evaluated the performance of the radial immunodiffusion (RID) technique for quantifying milk lactoferrin (LF) and investigated the sources of variation in LF concentration in individual milk samples. The RID method showed good repeatability and reproducibility, indicating its suitability as a consistent test for LF quantification. Milk LF was found to be positively associated with somatic cell score and negatively associated with lactose content. Lower LF concentration was observed in milk from healthy and susceptible cows compared to mastitic and chronic cows. Milk LF has the potential to be a useful biomarker for early mastitis detection.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Shuo Li, Fengyang Wu, Man Zhao, Baojiang Chen, Xiang Chen
Summary: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin on the growth performance, slaughter performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and enzyme activity in meat rabbits. The results showed that diets supplemented with curcumin improved body weight gain, feed intake, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and enzyme activity in rabbits. Curcumin can be considered as a valuable feed additive for improving the overall performance and fur development of meat rabbits at a dosage of 100 g/t.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Moufida Atigui, Imen Fguiri, Samira Arroum, Marwa Brahmi, Brahim Ghzaiel, Mohamed Hammadi
Summary: This study examined the impact of on-farm practices on milk production, quality, and the Somatic Cell Count (SCC) in camel dairies in southern Tunisia. The use of machine milking was limited and milking hygiene practices were found to be inadequate. Raw camel milk had mediocre conservation and marketing conditions. The quality of milk was affected along the production chain, with high microbial loads observed in bulk and point of sale milk. Improvements in milking hygiene, milk storage, and transport conditions are crucial to ensure the quality of camel's milk for consumers.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Nael Ismail, Belal S. Obeidat
Summary: This research evaluates the effects of incorporating sun-dried olive leaves into the diets of Awassi lambs. It found that adding 50 g/kg and 100 g/kg of olive leaves did not affect growth performance and carcass characteristics, but it did lower production costs, making it a good alternative to wheat straw in lamb diets.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Mankga William, Hilda. K. K. Mokoboki, Freddy Manyeula, Monnye Mabelebele, Nthabiseng. A. A. Sebola
Summary: This study explores the supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaves on carcass characteristics and meat quality of rabbits. The results show that the addition of Moringa oleifera leaves does not adversely affect the carcass characteristics and meat quality of rabbits, thus it can be recommended as a nutraceutical source for sustainable rabbit production.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jiaming Luan, Xin Feng, Dongxu Yang, Meng Yang, Yinghai Jin, Min Zhang, Chunyin Geng
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of active dry yeast on the growth performance, hormone levels, fatty acid concentrations, and trace mineral elements utilization in finishing bulls. The results showed that the supplementation of active dry yeast significantly improved the dry matter intake, hormone concentrations, and metabolism of fatty acids and trace minerals in finishing bulls.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Maria Ripolles-Lobo, Davinia Isabel Perdomo-Gonzalez, Pedro Javier Azor, Mercedes Valera
Summary: This study aimed to determine the prevalence, associated effects, and genetic parameters of hock and knee defects in Pura Raza Espanola horses using two different approaches. The results showed that the heritability of hock and knee defects varied among different types of defects. These results imply that selective breeding against these defects is possible and can reduce the genetic risk of offspring suffering from them.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Yuan Wang, Ting Duan, Wenwen Wang, Jinju Mao, Na Yin, Tao Guo, Hui Guo, Na Liu, Xiaoping An, Jingwei Qi
Summary: This trial aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of dry dandelion on broiler chickens' carcase traits, breast meat quality, muscle fatty and amino acid composition, and antioxidant capacity. The results showed that higher supplementation levels of dandelion tend to increase eviscerated percentage and decrease abdominal fat yield. Dandelion also improved meat quality by increasing redness, water loss rate, specific fatty acid proportions, and reducing cooking loss. Furthermore, it acted as a natural antioxidant by decreasing lipid oxidative stability.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Stefano Paolo Marelli, Luisa Zaniboni, Manuela Madeddu, Maria Giuseppina Strillacci, Silvia Cerolini
Summary: The aim of this research is to study breeders' management strategies and their effects on reproductive performances in heritage breeds. A total of 468 litters were analyzed, and the results showed no effects of breeds on litter size, percentage of weaned kits, and percentage of selected kits. However, the year of birth had significant effects on litter size and percentage of weaned kits. The inclusion of external breeders did not significantly influence the analyzed reproductive data. The number of litters per buck and per doe were not influenced by breed.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Marco Berton, Stefano Bovolenta, Luigi Gallo, Maurizio Ramanzin, Mirco Corazzin, Enrico Sturaro
Summary: This study assessed the consequences of reducing the concentrates supply level (CSL) in the diet of lactating cows on the GHG emissions in the Alpine dairy system. The study used a cLCA approach to evaluate the effects within the 'dairy_system' and outside the system ('expanded_system'). The results showed that reducing the CSL had varied impacts on GHG emissions and the feed conversion ratio. The study provides new insights into the challenge of reducing GHG emissions while maintaining milk production.
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
