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Individual cage housing affects feed intake and induces sex-specific effects on body weight in Japanese quails
137-142Views:172Individual cage housing in poultry production could be a potentially stressful environment for the birds that can alter feed intake, consequently induce negative effects on performance. Previous studies used individual bird-based experiments to extract the detailed molecular, physiological, and fitness outcomes of treatments. Understanding sex-specific effects of isolation on social birds such as Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) may reveal important considerations. To understand this phenomenon, birds were kept in groups of 10 for one week and they were kept in individual cages for another week. Daily feed intake (DFI) was measured each day and body weight was measured at the beginning, middle, and end of group rearing and at the beginning and end of individual rearing. It was found that both males and females showed a reduction DFI in response to individual rearing (p<0.0001). Females consumed on average 29.38% higher amount of feed than males. Additionally, females showed a pronounced reduction in body weight after isolation, while the effect on males was not significant. Similarly, females had on average 17.61% higher body weight than males. The body weight to DFI ratio was higher in males than females. The finding of this research revealed an important implication of isolation and sex differences.
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The effect of wool staple length on the mineral content using the same sheep feeding regime
97-100Views:276The wool of sheep is suitable to test the mineral supply; however, a number of factors could affect the results. The growth rate and length of staple can be very different according to season, physiological state and individual variation. These factors are likely to affect the quantity of minerals accumulated into the wool. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine whether there is a difference between the mineral content of wool nearly reached the full staple length and the freshly grown wool using the same feeding regime.
10 Tsigai pregnant sheep have been selected randomly from the same farm. Wool samples were obtained from the withers, side and quarter with bended scissors. Samples were mineralized using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide using ultrasonic cleaning unit. P, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Cu,Se and Zn content were determined by ICP-OES. Statistical analyses were carried out by SAS (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) GLM procedure.Differences between means were tested by Tukey test. Significantly lower Ca, Na, P, Zn values were found in case of intensively grown wool. Sampling location did not affect the mineral content. Herd mineral supply was adequate. Our results suggest that intensively grown wool samples have to be used for mineral analyses. -
The effect of genotype and the location of sampling on the mineral content of wool
157-160Views:256Mineral supplementation is very important in high producing farm animals. The estimation of exact mineral intake is very difficult in forage eating animals, like sheep. Accessing of long term mineral status seems to be possible using wool mineral analysis. However several factors can affect the results. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the effect of breed and sampling location on the mineral content of sheep wool. 20 Dorper and 20 Tsigai sheep were chosen from the same farm. Samples were obtained from 3 locations (withers, side and quarter) and tested for 8 elements: Ca, Mg, Na, Co, Cu, P, S, Se , Zn. The samples were cleaned with ethyl alcohol from organic contamination, then after adding nitric acid were mineral analized using ultrasonic cleaning unit. The samples were analysed with ICP-OES (Perkin-Elmer, Optima 3300 DV). Statistical analyses were carried out by GLM procedure of SAS statistical analyses software. Differences between means were checked with Tukey-test. Significant breed differences were detected in the case of Mg, Na, S, Se in spite of the same feeding regime. The wool mineral content were within the reference range. The sampling location had no effect on the mineral content of wool.
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Perspectives of the livestock sector in the Philippines: A review
175-188Views:3153The Philippine livestock industry is a vital component in the country's agricultural sector. It contributes around 18.23 percent of the gross output value in agriculture and provides livelihood to many people living in rural areas, signifying its importance with regard to the country’s economy. The constantly increasing demand for animal protein associated with the increase of the world’s population led to the intensification of livestock production, realized through the various initiatives implemented by the government, such as the import of high producing purebreds of various species. This strategy greatly influenced the country's animal genetic resource's diversity and increased food animals' population; however, it impacted the native breeds of food animals. Understanding the characteristics, performance and value of native and exotic breeds is essential to prioritize their livestock industry existence. Thus, this paper aims to characterize various native and exotic breeds of livestock in the Philippines and assess the current conservation of native animals.
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Effect of genotype on the hematological parameter of TETRA-SL and Hungarian Partridge coloured chickens at young age
99-104Views:254Indigenous chickens are well known for their dual-purpose function and palatable meat. However, the information on their hematology parameters is lacking and hence hampering the poultry industry production of local breeds. The main objective of this study was to examine the hematological parameters of Hungarian Partridge Coloured hen (HPC) and TETRA-SL (TSL) genotype and determine the hematological reference interval values. This trial was part of the larger experiment where a total of 200 chicks (HPC + TSL) were reared. For this trial the blood samples were obtained from brachial wing veins of 8 chicks of each genotype for blood hematological analysis. The results indicated that some of the hematological parameters such as red blood cells-RBC, white blood cells-WBC, hemoglobin-Hb, hematocrit-Ht, platelets-Plt, lymphocytes-LYM, and granulocytes-GRAN were significantly affected by the genotypes (p < 0.05). The genotype did not affect the mean corpuscular volume-MCV, mean corpuscular hemoglobin-MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration-MCHC, and GRAN (p > 0.05). The hematological reference interval values were slightly higher in the TSL genotype compared to HPC chicks. It is concluded that genotype has a significant effect on the hematological parameters. The results from this trial will be help and design the baseline reference values for the HPC genotype which will be useful in assessing the health status of these indigenous chickens.
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Combined traffic control of irrigation on heterogeneous field
187-190Views:251In arid areas, such as Hungary, most climate models forecast a rise in water scarcity. Irrigated land accounts for 2% of agricultural land in Hungary, with most irrigation technology being relatively outdated. The aim of this research was to lay the foundation for a combined traffic management system for a water-saving precision irrigation system on an 85-ha field in the Tisza River basin's reference region. High-precision soil maps were created to support the water-efficient variable-rate irrigation system by selecting and selecting areas for different agrotechnical implementations and precision farming zones.
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Testing a biological active plant extract’s antifungal effect against soil fungi
247-252Views:124In Hungary today is about 5 million hectares of agricultural land contaminated with ragweed. The ragweed problem a year is about 60 billion HUF to be paid, of which 30 billion are used to reduce the agricultural damage. Experiments with ragweed pollen has mainly been carried out in connection with terms of allergy. The other biochemical experiments and studies with this plant, have so far been the scientific horizons of public life, boosted the edge. We wanted to demonstrate that the ragweed, which is a weed, containsbiological active (for example: antifungal) compounds. For our experiments in the previous cycle of flowering, plants were collected manually, with its roots and with each plant part. The extraction of the substance from dry plant – meal was carried out using appropriate solvents. The biological activity of ragweed-extracts were tested against fungi isolated from soils and meadow with different mode of cultivation. Our results suggest that ragweed contains biologically active substances, which inhibit the growth of fungi, depending on the concentration of active ingredients of the plant.