Increasing litter size is associated with reduced offspring fitness, and trials exploring the effect of sire line on piglet vitality, litter size and interactions between these traits are limited. Sire line selection to improve sire contributions to litter size of their mates, along with improved piglet vitality, provides an alternative or complimentary strategy to further selection for increased litter size in dam lines.

To reach the recommended consumption of 1 egg per day, egg production should increase by 60%. The nutrition in the growth and pre-laying trials is responsible for the correct development of the hens. We found that the inclusion of growth of the body, feathers and reproductive organs, feather loss and efficiency of utilisation in the model enabled the Met+Cys requirements for growth in pre-laying trials to be predicted with precision. This model could be extended to other amino acids and species.

Tannins are phenolic compounds derived from secondary plant metabolism that at moderate levels can present benefits from a tannin–protein complex in the ruminal environment, improving amino acids availability in the small intestine, and improving the use of dietary protein and reducing the nitrogen excretion. We tested and confirmed the hypothesis that Acacia mearnsii extract tannin at the 17.7 g/kg DM level in goat kid diets improves the synthesis and efficiency of microbial production and the performance, without an ingestive behaviour effect.

Montmorillonite (MMT) is likely to be a potential substitute antibiotic; however, it has been less reported in broiler chickens. In this paper, we studied the effects of MMT on the growth performance, immunity, intestinal morphology and caecal microflora of broilers. We found that supplementation with MMT could enhance broiler growth, modulate microbial population and improve immune function in the intestinal tract, which may serve as a new beneficial feed additive in poultry diets.

Deoxynivalenol is a major mycotoxin that can be detected in cereal grains. It can cause a growth reduction in broiler chickens and endanger human health. Consumption of deoxynivalenol can reduce the production efficiency of animals and cause severe economic losses. Consequently, some feed additives are used as a detoxifier, which ameliorate the detrimental effects of deoxynivalenol on growth performance and the immune system.

Integrating trees and pastures can provide benefits to grazing animals in warm climates, such as provision of shade during the excessive heat. When animals were exposed to sun, the silvopastoral system was efficient for avoiding heat stress; however, the density of trees reduced forage mass production. Therefore, silvopasture is a viable alternative production system in warm climates because ruminants with improved thermal comfort will drive energy that is otherwise wasted in thermoregulatory processes to preferred activities such as grazing and ruminating.

Several studies have found inconsistencies in the productivity of dairy cows fed varying corn to barely ratios. We hypothesised that a diet based on corn silage with coarse particles encourages chewing and saliva secretion, which neutralises acids produced during excessive fermentation of a high-barley diet and, thus improves dairy cow productivity. Overall, the increased proportion of barley grain in replacement of corn grain in corn silage-based diet might be advised as it increased the efficiency of feed conversion to milk.

Artificial insemination (AI) is an important tool for commercial pig farming in developed countries; however, it is rarely used in smallholder/backyard pig production systems in other countries due to the lack of a proper channel for effective AI in pigs. This study developed different cost-effective AI delivery models for smallholder/backyard pig farmers to enhance productivity of existing nondescript pigs as well as overcoming the breeding constraints. The study demonstrated the benefits of crossbred pigs obtained through AI over the existing pigs in smallholder production system and suggests that wider implementation of these models would reward sustainable, economic and profitable piggery development in these systems.

There is on-going debate over how the eating quality of beef is influenced by the age at which cattle are slaughtered. When the eating quality of beef derived from cattle ranging from 14 to 34 months in age was compared, overall, there were few differences due to age and beef was of satisfactory eating quality. However, the likely increased greenhouse gas emissions from the older cattle need to be considered when assessing beef quality characteristics.

Pre-slaughter transport, an unavoidable common practice, results in detrimental effects on meat quality of broilers. Three-hour transport decreased muscle glycogen content, and SOD, GSH-Px and CAT activity, increased muscle lactate dehydrogenase activity and MDA concentration, and was accompanied with lower pH_45min and pH_24h. Dietary COS supplementation decreased muscle MDA concentration, increased muscle SOD and CAT activity, and was accompanied with an improved pH_24h. In conclusion, dietary COS supplementation could maintain meat quality by improving muscle anti-oxidant capacity.