From the literature, it is evident that broiler breeder pullets exhibit photorefractoriness, and while it is assumed that male broiler breeders respond in a similar manner to females, it would be beneficial to determine if that is the case. This…
This paper describes the responses of two genotypes of male broilers to constant 8- and 16-h photoperiods, and to an abrupt transfer from 8 to 16 h at 10, 15 or 20 d. Body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion…
Variance components and genetic parameter were estimated for piglet growth traits of Large White (LW) pigs managed under intensive production systems in Kenya. Data were on piglet performance of LW pigs born between 1982 to 1996. Growth performance traits of…
This experiment was carried out to study the effect of the inclusion of a yeast culture in the diet of feeder dairy calves on their growth and carcass characteristics. Thirty male Friesian calves were randomly allocated to two groups of…
Fully developed rigor mortis in muscle is characterised by maximum loss of extensibility. The course of post mortem changes in ostrich muscle was studied by following isometric tension, shortening and change in pH during the first 24 h post mortem…
Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) using six marker combinations were applied to detect genetic variation and phylo genetic relationships among 12 indigenous Chinese chicken breeds and a Recessive White chicken breed introduced from France. The DNA was pooled for each…
Performance, physiological and behavioural parameters of two groups of domestic chickens were compared. Chickens were raised in classical commercial conditions in buildings housing 12000 birds. One group acted as a control, while the environment of the other was perfused with…
A 2 x 2 factorial experimental design was used to evaluate effects of ovariectomy and implantation (200 mg trenbolone acetate and 28 mg estradiol benzoate; Synovex-Plus) on the performance, serum urea nitrogen, serum insulin like growth factor -1 (IGF-1), and…
The current trial was conducted to determine the influence of different raising systems on the meat quality properties of male Turkish Pekin ducks. Ninety male ducklings were randomly allocated to three experimental groups: an animal-fish integrated farming group (IG), a…
Procedures have been developed for calculation of a Persistency Index for South African dairy breeds. This index is based on the Canadian Persistency Index, which is simple and easy to understand. Data used in this study were test-day records of…
The effects of genotype and egg weight on hatching weight, fertility, hatchability of fertile eggs and incubated eggs were investigated in Japanese quail. The birds were obtained at an age of 20 weeks from four genetic lines selected for 11…
Nineteen Holstein steers were randomly assigned to one of four treatments; no implant (CON); 36 mg zeranol (Ralgro) on d 0 and 20 mg estradiol benzoate plus 200 mg progesterone (Synovex S) on d 84 and 169 (RSS); Ralgro on…
Consumer sensory evaluations of oven-roasted goat and sheep m. longissimus dorsi samples were conducted in two series to determine the acceptability of chevon from indigenous South African goats to consumers. Chevon samples were from goat carcasses of known description. In…
The study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding diets containing two levels of metabolisable energy (normal or low) and three sources of fat (palm-, sunflower- or fish-oil) with or without L-carnitine (0 or 500 mg/kg diet) on the…
In this study microsatellite markers were applied to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the six local chicken lines kept in the "Fowls for Africa" program, for better clarification of parameters for breed differentiation and genetic conservation of…
This study was conducted to establish prediction equations for subcutaneous adipocyte area and body and tail measurements to estimate carcass composition and fat depots of indigenous Akkaraman lambs. As a major carcass tissue, body fat depots play an important role…
Backcrossing, coupled with marker or gene assisted selection, can be used to introgress a specific gene or chromosomal region from one population into another. The objective of this study was to assess the genomic structure of cattle produced by backcrossing…
Two experiments were conducted to determine the response in performance, including uniformity and mortality, of two broiler strains to dietary protein content. In Experiment 1, 480 Cobb 500 and 480 Ross 788 day-old sexed broiler chickens were housed in cages…
The effects of production system (feeding regime and time on feed) on growth performance, yield and economics and the effects of feeding regime, pre-slaughter treatment and electrical stimulation on meat quality were evaluated. Sixty Bonsmara steers were divided into three…
Data obtained from a pair-mated ostrich flock maintained at Oudtshoorn, South Africa, were used to estimate environmental and genetic parameters for egg weight (EWT), water loss of incubated eggs up to 21 days (WL21), water loss up to 35 days…
