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Genetic Divergence In Component Strains Of Karan-Fries Cattle, R. K. Sethi, M. Gurnani

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Data on 50 percent and higher Holstein Friesian crossbred genetic groups revealed significant differences with respect to age at first calving, first lactation 305 days yield, dry period and service period. 91.7 percent of the divergence among genetic groups was contributed by 305 days lactation yield. F₁ crossbreds formed separate cluster. Among the higher crosses (75% and above) genetic groups involving only 2 breeds formed separate cluster from genetic groups involving three breeds. Three breed cluster was farthest from the F₁ crossbreds cluster. There was an indication of all the clusters having animals of good genetic potential.

Economic Selection Indices For Lean Meat Production In Sheep, G. Simm

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Economic selection indices were derived for terminal sire sheep breeds or strains, using physical and financial results from New Zealand export lamb-producing flocks. The aggregate breeding value comprised carcass lean weight and carcass total fat weight. Index measurements were live weight, ultrasonic fat depth and ultrasonic muscle depth. Economic values of lean weight and fat weight were estimated to be NZ $5. 07 and NZ $-3.72 per kg, respectively. The s.d. of the aggregate breeding value was NZ $3.20 and the correlation between the full index and the aggregate breeding value was 0.23. The expected economic response to selection on …

Costs And Benefits Of Breed Utilization Strategies In Sheep, William D. Hohenboken

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Problems involved in choosing appropriate criteria and procedured for economic analyses of breed and mating system evaluation experiments in sheep are described. Literature is reviewed of experiments in which biological or economic efficiency has been investigated. The range in relative economic merit from the poorest to the best group in an experiment typically is from 100 to 120, with values over 140 not uncommon for the best group in an experiment. Heterosis for exonomic traits per ewe mated has ranged from 2% to 26%. Suggestions are presented for consideration in future studies on the economic ramifications of mating system and …

Interactions Between Response Stereotypy And Memory Strategies On The Eight-Arm Radial Maze, Robert H.I. Dale, Nancy K. Innis

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Three groups of water-deprived rats collected water from the ends of the 8 arms of an 8-arm radial maze. Sighted subjects, and subjects blinded either with or without pre-enucleation experience on the radial maze, all retrieved the water efficiently. Most of the subjects exhibited the same response stereotypy, regularly choosing 8 adjacent arms of the maze, then stopping in the center of the maze. The strategies underlying this performance were analyzed by interrupting trials and rotating the maze 180° after the subject had made 3 choices. Sighted subjects depended on extramaze stimuli, naive-blind subjects depended on intramaze stimuli and experienced-blind …

Spatial And Temporal Response Patterns On The Eight-Arm Radial Maze, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Six maze-experienced hooded rats were timed during five trials on which they collected water from all arms of an eight-arm radial maze, then made five more choices. All subjects frequently exhibited a “task-completion pause:” The subjects rarely spent more than 1 sec in the center of the maze between choices until they had entered all eight arms, then stopped in the center of the maze. In contrast, the time spent in each arm gradually increased until all of the water had been obtained, then decreased slightly. Four subjects began every trial by choosing eight consecutive adjacent arms. The task-completion pause …

Heritability Estimates For First Lactation Milk Yield Of Registered And Nonregistered Holstein Cows, J. C. Schneider, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Heritabilities of milk yield and fat test were estimated from first lactation records of 196,672 Holstein daughter-dam pairs separately for registered and nonregistered cows for four milk yield groups and by years of freshening of the daughter. The model included herd-season and sire of the daughter. Heritability estimates were similar for registered and nonregistered cows averaging about .33 for milk yield and .62 for fat test. Estimates of heritability increased slightly over time for both milk yield and fat test. Heritability of fat test was similar for all groups. Heritability estimates for milk yield, however, averaged about .25 in low, …

Ovulation Rate Of Ewes : Role Of Energy And Protein, E Teleni, J. B. Rowe

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Western Australia's sheep farmers are familiar with the low ovulation rate of Merino ewes and how this limits the lambing performance of ewe flocks.

One way in which ovulation rate and therefore lambing percentage may be increased is to feed seed of sweet lupin (Lupinus augustifolius) to ewes at mating. However, Department of Agriculture research has found that these increases do not show up consistently, and that there is considerable variability between farms.

If improved nutrition is to be a useful way to increasing ovulation rate, the mechanism by which nutrition affects ovulation rate must first be understood. This article …

Preventing Lupinosis With Phomopsis-Resistant Lupins, Jeremy G. Allen, W. A. Cowling

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Lupinosis is one of the major livestock siseases in Western Australia. It is caused by stock eating toxins produced by the fungus Phomopsis leptostromiformis which colonises the stems of dead lupin plants.

In 975, the Department of Agriculture started a breeding programme to develop Phompsis-resistant lupins to overcome or control lupinosis. In the previous issue of this Journal the results of small plot evaluations of new lines of Phompsis-resistant lupins developed in this programme were reported. This article describes the first trial involving grazing of Phompsis-resistant lupins.

Supplementary Feeds For Sheep, J B. Rowe

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

No abstract provided.

Wool Staple Strength, I G. Ralph

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The staple strength of western Australia's wool has come under scruitiny since additional wool measurements to those of yield, fibre diameter and vegetable matter began throughout the Australian 985-86 wool selling season.

In 1980, the Sale by Additional Measurement Trial conducted on the September-October wool sales at Fremantle showed a range in staple breaking forcesfrom 10 to 70 Newtons per kilotex, with an average breaking force of between 30 and 35 N/ktex, A third of the lots offered for sale had a staple breaking force of less than 26 N/ktex, a value which, according to the Australian Wool Testing Authority, …

Phomopsis Infection Of Lupin Seed, D S. Petterson, P. Mcr. Wood

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Early reports of lupinosis in Western Australia implicated infected stems and leaves of the sandplain or W,A. blue lupin (Lupinus cosentinii) as the main source of toxicity.

After the introduction of low alkaloid varieties of L. augustifolius, lupinosis continued to oddur on stubbles but random testing of seeds showed only low levels of Phomopsis leptostromiformis infection.

However in 1976, scientists at the University of Western Australia who were evaluating the use of an all lupin seed ration for drought feeding sheep encounted lupinosis in one of their trials.Seven per cent of the seed used was found to be infected …

Control Strategies For Annual Ryegrass Toxicity, W J. Burdass

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In 982-83, annual ryegrass tocicity (ARGT) was estimated to have cost Western Australian sheep farmers between $7 and $8 million in total economic losses.

The disease can severely disrupt farming operations. Sheep must be checked daily and if affected moved to a 'safe' paddock. The availability of paddock feed is reduced, as is stock carrying capacity. Worry about the possibility of dramatic stock losses, and uncertainty about what decisions to make, are all stressful.

Stock losses from ARGT can be minimised by the use of selective herbicides to control ryegrass in pastures and crops. This breaks the disease cycle - …

Annual Ryegrass Toxicity Research Update, A G P Brown, P. Vogal

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT) is a complex disease that kills sheep and cattle grazing pastures which contain infected ryegrass. The disease results when a nematode (Anguina agrostis) and a batcerium (Corynebacterium sp.) invade annual ryegrass and cause the seed heads to become toxic as the grass dries off.

The bacterium produces a complex toxin of 18 glycolipid compounds or corynetoxins which have been found to be virtually identical to the antibiotic tunicamycin.

Pregnancy Diagnosis Using Ultrasound, M A C Johns

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Few Western Australian ewe flocks are diagnosed for pregnancy despite the precence of high numbers of barren ewes. Surveys of farm flocks in the early 1970s recorded that between 14 and 29 per cent of ewes failed to lamb each year.

Techniques for diagnosing pregnant ewes have been available for many years, but ultrasonic devices and computer technology have made it possible for skilled operators to determine whether ewes are pregnant and more importantly, whether they have one, two or more foetuses.

Once the number of pregnant ewes is known farmers can use labour more efficiently. They can minimise the …

Forage Utilization Estimated By Height-Weight And Grazed-Plant Methods, Joann Clark

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Determining utilization has been one of the most difficult tasks required of range scientists down through the years (Pieper 1973). Utilization is defined as the portion of the current year's growth of the plant that the animal consumes or destroys. For this reason it is difficult to measure utilization because you are trying to measure something that no longer exists.

Numerous methods have been developed for determining utilization. Some methods are rapid while others are more detailed and time consuming, but may give greater accuracy.

This study was done to see how well utilization estimates made by the grazed-plant method …

Genetic Evaluation Of Holsteins In Columbia, B. Y. Abubakar, R. E. Mcdowell, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Original data consisted of 31,777 records of progeny of 1442 sires for calvings between 1975 and 1983. Unadjusted means for milk yield (kg), days in milk, days dry, calving interval, days carried calf, and age at calving were 4281, 267, 88, 421, 145, and 36.6. Estimated total variance for first lactation milk yield by Henderson's method 3 was 1,385,436 kg 2 with sire and error variances accounting for 1.8 and 98.2%. Heritabilities for milk yield, lactation length, age at calving, and days carried calf were .07, .06, 2.59, and .01. High estimate for age was attributed to confounding of sires …

The Effects Of Rate Of Change In Body Weight On Tissue Development And Meat Quality Of Youthful Bulls, J. D. Crouse, Chris R. Calkins, S. C. Seideman

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Forty-eight Angus bulls about 13 mo of age were used to study the effects of rate of change in live weight on muscle fiber, collagen and sensory characteristics of meat. Bulls were fed a finishing diet before treatment, and assigned to three treatments: 1) negative, 2) zero or 3) positive weight gain for 30 or 60 d prior to slaughter. Treatments were imposed by adjusting feed intake. Seventy-two hours after slaughter, carcasses were observed for quality and yield grade characteristics and longissimus muscle samples were obtained for fiber type, collagen and sensory characterization. Carcass lean at the 12th rib interface …

The Effects Of Sorbic Acid In High Moisture Sorghum Grain Diets On Performance Of Weanling Swine, J. D. Crenshaw, E. R. Peo, Jr., A. J. Lewis, N. R. Schneider

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Three experiments were conducted with 288 weanling pigs to determine the effects of sorbic acid (SA) added to dry (DSG), high moisture (HMSG) or reconstituted (RSG) sorghum grain diets on gains and feed conversion. Dietary treatments for Exp. 1 were: DSG with and without .1% SA; HMSG with .1% SA and RSG with .1% SA. The DSG diets were fed ad libitum. The HMSG and RSG diets were mixed fresh from oxygen-limiting storage every 3 and 7 d and were also fed ad libitum. Pigs fed RSG diets consumed more feed than those fed HMSG diets (P<.08). Performance was similar between pigs fed DSG diets without or with SA. Dietary treatments for Exp. 2 and 3 consisted of sorghum grains reconstituted to two moisture contents (MC), with additions of either 0, .05 or .I% SA. The diets were mixed fresh from oxygen-limiting storage every 7 d and fed ad libitum. In Exp. 2 and 3, pigs fed the higher MC diets were more efficient in feed conversion (P<.03) than those fed the lower MC diets. In Exp. 3, a quadratic response (P<.04) for average daily gain and average daily feed intake was observed for the main effect of SA. Feed efficiency improved (P<.05) in a linear fashion as SA levels were increased in the diets. The results of these experiments indicate that weanling pigs may be fed HMSG or RSG without adverse effects on pig performance. Inconsistencies in pig response to SA were observed. Feed temperature measurements indicated that SA prevented heat production in the RSG diets for at least 10 d after removal from oxygen-limiting storage, while diets without SA became moldy within 5 d.

Threonine Requirement Of Pigs Weighing 5 To 15 Kgs., A. J. Lewis, E. R. Peo, Jr.

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Weanling crossbred pigs (avg initial wt 6.4 kg) were fed diets containing six levels of threonine to determine the threonine requirement of young pigs fed diets somewhat similar to those used in commercial swine production. The diets (16% crude protein) were composed primarily of grain sorghum, oat groats and soybean meal supplemented with minerals, vitamins, lysine, tryptophan, methionine and isoleucine, and were calculated to be adequate in all nutrients except threonine and crude protein. Threonine levels were .53, .57, .62, .68, .75 and .83% of the diet. There were two trials, each with 96 pigs. The pigs were fed the …

Zinc-Amino Acid Complexes For Swine, D. A. Hill, E. R. Peo, Jr., A. J. Lewis, J. D. Crenshaw

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of sources of dietary zinc on gain, feed conversion and blood and bone traits of swine. In the first experiment 96 pigs were used in a 28-day study.

Reproductive Wastage In Sheep, R W. Kelly

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The average lambing performance of Western Australia's ewe flock fluctuates between 60 and 70 per cent. Although this level of performance and variation between years is important for the sheep industry, individual farmers are more concerned about performance of their own flocks.

Figure shows the range in lambing performances that exist between farms in this State in 1983-84. The seriously poor performance of many flocks is apparentm - 28 percent of farms had less than 60 per cent lambing. By contrast, 24 farms had performances better than 100 per cent. The reasons for the large differences between farms ( and …

Survey Of Post-Weaning Management, Growth And Mortality Of Merino Weaners, Richard Thomas Norris

Technical Bulletins

Flock owner's excessive use of supplementary feed, especially of hay, lack of knowledge of nutritional requirements of weaners and failure to follow recommended methods of internal parasite control were the main areas of inefficient management. Management of the weaners as observed in the first year, suggested that previous advice by the Department of Agriculture was not well accepted or had not reached some producers.

More Lambs From Feed And Chemical Treatments, K P. Croker

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The ovulation rate, or the number of eggs shed per ovulating ewe, represents the upper limit of the capacity of a flock of ewes toproduce lambs. Several methods can be used to increase ovulation rates and lambing percentages of ewes, including selection for better breeding, feeding and the use of chemicals.

The potential for improving the reproductive performance of Western Australia's ewe flocks by the use of different approaches to breeding was discussed by L.G. Butler and R.P. Lewer in the Journal of Agriculture in 1983.

This article mainly discusses the research conducted by the Department of Agriculture's Sheep and …

Growth, Carcass And Palatability Traits Of Intact Males And Steers Implanted With Zeranol Or Estradiol Early And Throughout Life, Chris R. Calkins, D. C. Clanton, T. J. Berg, J. E. Kinder

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

This study was conducted to assess the impact of implanting intact beef males with protein anabolic agents at varying intervals throughout life. Ninety-six intact males were assigned to three implant treatments: 1) not implanted, 2) implanted at 9 wk of age, weaning and at 56-d intervals thereafter with a 36-mg zeranol implant or 3) estradiol implant at 9 wk of age and 68 d post-weaning. During the 118-d, post-weaning growing period, eight animals per treatment (one replication) were castrated. After a 114-d finishing period, cattle were slaughtered (average age of 13 to 14 mo). Feedlot performance, carcass and palatability data …

Effect Of Dietary Flourine On Growth, Blood And Bone Characteristics Of Growing-Finishing Pigs, T. W. Burnell, E. R. Peo, Jr., A. J. Lewis, J. D. Crenshaw

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Three hundred eighty-four growing-finishing pigs were used in two experiments to determine the effect of dietary fluorine (F) on growth, blood and bone physical characteristics. Fourteen dietary treatments were formulated by supplementing F (as NaF) to a milo-soybean meal basal diet (7 ppm F) to provide levels of 7, 132, 257, 382, 507 and 632 ppm F for Exp. 1, and 7, 25, 43, 61, 79, 97, 115 and 133 ppm F for Exp. 2. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were not affected (P>.09) when F was fed at levels between 7 and approximately …

Effect Of Dry, High-Moisture And Reconstituted Normal And High-Lysine Corn Diets And Particle Size On Energy And Nitrogen Metabolism In Growing Swine, G. L. Asche, J. D. Crenshaw, A. J. Lewis, E. R. Peo, Jr.

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Two metabolism studies were conducted with 24 (Exp. 1) and 36 (Exp. 2) crossbred barrows (initial weight 35 kg) to determine the effect of corn type - normal corn (NC) and high-lysine corn (HLC) - and storage method - dry (D), high-moisture (HM) and reconstituted (RC) - on energy and N digestibility. Diets fed in Exp. 1 were: 1, NC-soybean meal formulated at .78% lysine (dry matter basis); 2, HLC-soybean meal containing the same amount of corn as diet 1 (.87% lysine); 3, HLC-soybean meal with the same lysine level as diet 1. In Exp. 1, dry matter, energy and …

Comparison Of The Symbiotic Fauna Of The Family Plethodontidae In The Ouachita Mountains Of Western Arkansas, Douglas A. Winter, Wojciech M. Zawada, Arthur A. Johnson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

During the spring of 1985, 101 salamanders representing six host species (29 Plethodon ouachitae, 25 P. caddoensis, 6 P. fourchensis, 23 P. serratus, 13 Desmognathus brimleyorum, and 5 P. glutinosus glutinosus) were collected from six localities in three counties in Arkansas (Polk, Scott, and Montgomery) and examined for symbionts. With the exception of Hannemania dunni, all symbionts recovered from the first five species listed constitute new host records, and the endoparasitic fauna in all species establish new locality records. Examinations revealed one or more species of parasites in 82% of the hosts. Eight species of symbionts (3 nematode, 1 trematode, …

Evaluation Of A Fin Ray Scarring Technique For Individually Marking Fish, Les Torrans, Fran Lowell, Howard Clemens

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Lactational And Systemic Responses To The Supplementation Of Protected Methionine In Soybean Meal Diets, Daniel J. Illg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The high producing dairy cow requires a complex balance of protein and energy. Microbial protein provides a substantial amount of the amino acids absorbed by the small intestine. High production rates cannot be attained with microbial protein as .the sole source of amino acids. The ten classical essential amino acids are required for milk protein synthesis. Increasing the amount of available amino acids to the mammary gland has improved casein production, indicating substrate availability as a controlling factor to milk protein synthesis. A major portion of the nitrogen component of milk is derived from free plasma amino acids. Uptake by …

Inhibition Of Psychrotrophic Bacterial Growth In Refrigerated Milk By Addition Of Carbon Dioxide, Robert Francis Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The advent of on-farm refrigerated storage for raw milk in the late 1940's and its subsequent adoption by North American dairyman 'during the next 20 years essentially eliminated spoilage of milk by lactic acid bacteria. However, refrigeration does not prevent growth of all microorganisms present in raw milk (9, 33, 51, 52, 54, 55). Many microorganisms capable of growth at refrigeration temperatures, termed psychrotrophic bacteria, are present as normal contaminants in raw milk supplies. For purposes of clarity, psychrotrophic microorganisms have been defined as microorganisms capable of growth at 7°C or below regardless of their optimum growth temperature (9). Milk …