Ram reproductive potential is affected by nutrition and its action at testicular level may be mediated by leptin, although the specific compartment expressing its receptor (Ob-Rb) remains uncertain. After 14 weeks of improved nutrition, we promoted histological changes linked to increased spermatogenesis, and found that the Ob-Rb expression in the Leydig cell cytoplasm was similar among treatments.

The candidate-gene approach could identify genes influencing the superovulatory response. The study was to analyse associations between the number of embryos recovered and polymorphisms of LHβ and GnRHR genes and showed that two SNPs had significant effects on the number of embryos recovered. LHβ and GnRHR genes are potential markers for the number of embryos recovered.

Yolk hormones play an important role in the regulation of offspring development through maternal effects. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the enzyme 3βHSD1 has an effect on yolk progesterone; we found that 3βHSD1 in the follicular wall may play a key role in the accumulation of yolk progesterone. This finding may be used to improve the quality of offspring by further research.

Commercial producers should access available crossbreeding systems using existing swine breeds before application. In this study, the profits of terminal, rotational and rotaterminal cross were evaluated using three imported swine breeds in south-western China, and their profits were ￥3895.15, 3749.02 and 3317.33/sow, respectively. The results suggested terminal cross or rotaterminal cross should maximise effective use of heterosis and breed complementarity in China.

Short-term elevated nutrition around mating is a potential means of increasing the number of lambs born to ewes. This study showed that ewes grazing live pasture for 7 days before and during the first 7 days of mating in autumn can produce more lambs than those grazing dead herbage. This method provides a simple, natural means of increasing lamb production.

Organic and inorganic Se supplementation would be useful for producers who raise animals in Se-deficient regions. There is higher efficiency of L-selenomethionin (Se-Met) than the sodium selenite (SS) supplement. The kids with adequate levels of Se obtain more maternal antibodies in colostrum. Both Se supplementations in pregnant goats improved Se status of goats and the newborn kids. The Se-Met supplement could have influenced passive immunity of kids.

Dry matter production and nutritive characteristics of the pasture feed-base during pregnancy and lactation are key drivers of ewe and lamb performance. A paddock-scale field experiment in Victoria, Australia, evaluated plantain as a forage alternative to perennial ryegrass for lambing ewes. There were rarely differences in forage or livestock performance between the forage species. Based on our experiment, there are no clear benefits of using plantain instead of perennial ryegrass for lambing ewes.

Production of canola seed is increasing in the United States and alternate uses for seeds other than oil may be necessary in the future. On-farm use of whole canola seed for ruminant livestock production is discussed, but little is known regarding necessary processing to optimise digestion in grazing cattle. Grinding of whole canola seed should provide a viable protein supplement that requires minimal processing before feeding.

Three tropical browse legumes were assayed in vitro to estimate the proportion of the response in different parameters when tannins are inactivated with polyethylene glycol (biological effect). Tannins differing in their amount or chemical nature may have different biological effect and this may be an easy and rapid index of the microbial fermentation pattern of tropical feeds.

Rice straw has generally not been considered as a feed for dairy cattle in the developed world, partly due to its tough physical character. While our results confirmed the lower nutritional value of rice vs. wheat straw, they demonstrated the practical utility of using energy restriction/re-alimentation feeding systems to increase heifer growth efficiency.

Feeding high amounts of supplements to grazing dairy cows as a mixed ration containing maize grain can increase milk production responses compared to traditional systems of feeding supplements. An experiment showed that cows fed PMR had higher ruminal pH than cows fed grain and silage separately, but that this did not result in any changes to whole tract digestibility. Benefits of PMR systems are presumably related to increased intake of both supplement and pasture rather than improvements in digestibility.

The combination of medicinal plants and probiotics is a new possibility for addition to cattle feed supplements, as it provides complementary antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and lacks side effects. This study aimed to ferment Alisma canaliculatum with multi-strain probiotics and investigate its effects on Hanwoo steers. Alisma canaliculatum probiotics showed a potential role in improving growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat oxidative stability of beef cattle.

Automatic monitoring of farm animals could be a useful tool in large-scale husbandry. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between pig activity and environmental parameters in a piggery by means of image analysis. Climate variations affected occupation and activity indices of animals, which could be used as indicators of the of pigs’ physiological status change in response to external inputs.

Aggression in pigs is a serious issue in pig farming since it poses enormous welfare and economic problems. This study aimed to use acoustic-reward learning as a new approach to reduce the incidence of aggression among pigs. The presented method showed some potential to reduce the frequency and duration of aggressive actions among young piglets.

The main purpose of this study was to find out the effect of season on chemical composition and microbial quality of milk and yoghurt produced from sheep milk. Data revealed that the quality of yoghurt samples made in winter was better than those made in summer; so the marketability of dairy products could be affected by season.

We extracted acetic acid-soluble and pepsin-soluble collagen from antler velvet. Thermal denaturation temperature and peptide mapping were similar between antler and porcine type I collagen. There is a possibility of using collagen extracted from elk antler velvet as an alternative to using porcine or cattle collagen for industrial purposes.

Milk harvesting is a fundamental component of dairy farming and affects all parts of the business from cows to people and financial performance. Previous researchers have investigated strategies to improve the efficiency of different components of milking, without quantifying the effect that these strategies, or combinations of them, may have on the overall milking system. This study analysed the effect of rotary size, platform speed, cluster attachment time, milk yield and end-of-milking criteria on cow throughput, operator efficiency and return on investment.