The major advancements in molecular technology over the past decades led to the discovery of DNA-markers, sequencing and genome mapping of farm animal species. New avenues were created for identifying major genes, genetic defects, quantitative trait loci (QTL) and ultimately…
Feed efficiency is of major economic importance in beef production. The objective of this work was to evaluate alternative measures of feed efficiency for use in genetic evaluation. To meet this objective, genetic parameters were estimated for the components of…
This is the second paper in a series that reports the allometric relationships between some of the physical parts and body protein weight of commercial broiler strains reared, sexes separate, on different dietary protein levels. In this trial, four commercial…
In South Africa, the Dairy Swiss breed, which originated in Switzerland, consists of 27 breeders and 1135 breeding cows. Pedigree information on the breed was analysed to determine its effective population size (Ne) and rate of inbreeding. The rate of…
A total of 210 day-old male Cobb broiler chickens were randomly assigned to six treatments in a 3 × 2 factorial design. The treatments consisted of three levels of maize: 250 g/kg (LM), 500 g/kg (MM) and 750 g/kg diet…
Two trials were conducted to investigate the effects of exposing layer-type breeder eggs before incubation to ultrasonic waves (ULT). Eggs were subjected to ULT of 117 volts at 40 kHz for up to 15 minutes. Eggshell breaking force (EBF), hatchability…
The BovineSNP50 genotyping array is a product with a wide range of applications in cattle such as genome-wide association studies, identification of copy number variation and investigation of genetic relationships among cattle breeds. It also holds potential for genomic selection,…
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a progestagen treatment (fluorogestone acetate sponge) alone or in combination with equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) on oestrus response in Red Sokoto (RS) goats. One hundred RS does were treated…
A cattle welfare index was estimated through 14 visual indicators in the cow-calf system in northern Mexico. The study was carried out at 25 ranches in Chihuahua, Mexico. The indicators were rangeland forage availability; rangeland plant diversity; ease of walking…
The aim of this work was to evaluate the nutritive value of carob pulp for rabbits using the in vitro digestibility and gas production techniques with inocula from caecal content of rabbits. Experimental diets contained 0% (D1), 10% (D2), 20%…
The purpose of this study was to compare the fatty acid and proximate composition of two commercially exploited trout species (wild brown trout (WBT) and farmed rainbow trout (FRT)). The mean crude lipid content in FRT (4.3%) was significantly higher…
A total of 2160 images of candled, incubated ostrich eggs were digitized to determine the percentage of egg volume occupied by the air cell at different stages of incubation. The air cell on average occupied 2.5% of the volume of…
In this study the effect of transport method on bruising, ultimate pH (pHu) and colour of beef (L* = lightness, a* = redness and b* = yellowness) was determined. Cattle transported directly from farms had the highest bruise scores, pHu…
The SA Dairy Swiss population could not previously be incorporated into the National Dairy Genetic Evaluation System, owing to inadequate population numbers and data structures. However, in recent years participation in Milk Recording has improved sufficiently to allow for genetic…
The aim of this study was to examine carcass properties and variability in chemical content and fatty acid composition in the musculus longissimus lumborum et thoracis (MLLT) of different genotypes of pigs. Of 36 male castrated animals used in the…
Nineteen rural Nguni cattle enterprises managed at communal and small-scale level were used in a study to determine population genetic parameters, level of Nguni genetic contribution, and risk status of community-based animal genetic resources. Chi-square tests were performed to ascertain…
Using breed differences effectively facilitates high productivity and profitability. Thus, the objective of the study was to estimate direct and maternal additive and heterosis effects for growth traits (birth weight, weaning weight, 19-month weight of heifers and cow weight) from…
The goal of this research was to document the influence of Line 1 Hereford cattle, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture at its research facility in Miles City, Montana, on Hereford cattle in South Africa. Analytical approaches made…
A study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of crude glycerol as a partial replacement of maize at 50 g/kg and 100 g/kg in pig grower diets. Three experimental diets were formulated, a control (CN) and…
Heat processing is an effective way of reducing antinutritional factors (ANFs) in legumes, but requires expensive facilities and equipment. Accurate control of temperature is critical to avoid under- or overheating. Therefore, heat treatment of soybeans is not a viable option…
