A study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of an organic acid, a probiotic or a prebiotic alone or the prebiotic combined with the organic acid or the probiotic on the performance and slaughter characteristics of broiler…
The effect on ostrich muscle quality of an additional thoracic stick (TS) to the normal ventral throat slit to bleed ostriches after electrical stunning was evaluated. The additional TS had no negative or positive effect on the drip loss, cooking…
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of location in an incubator on the hatching characteristics of eggs obtained from Bronze turkeys of different ages, viz. at the ages of 8, 10 and 12 months. In the…
In a 2 x 2 factorial design, attainment of puberty in 32 Black Indigenous (BI) and 60 SA Landrace (SAL) gilts was studied under the effects of two treatment diets fed individually ad libitum. Treatment 1 contained 160 g CP…
Belgian Blue double-muscled (BBDM) heifers (n = 341) were used to investigate the effect of body weight (BW) at first calving at an age of two years (BWC). Females with a birth weight (BWB) <40 kg realized a lower body…
A study was conducted to determine the influence of different dietary lipid sources and inclusion levels on sensory characteristics of chicken breast meat. Eight isoenergetic (15.1 MJ AME/kg DM) and isonitrogenous (223 g CP/kg DM) diets were formulated, using high…
One hundred and sixty hens and 32 cocks of four different South African indigenous chicken breeds (Naked Neck (NN), Ovambo (OVB), Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) and Venda (VD) were used in this study. Reproductive performance tests as determined by the number…
Sheep fat contains relatively high levels of saturated fatty acids while poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are toxic to cellulolytic bacteria and are also saturated in the rumen. Stabilization of residual oil in sunflower oilcake by conversion into calcium salts would…
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of vitamin C on malonaldehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) concentrations, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in chickens stressed by adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). Sixty Leghorn chickens (20 weeks…
Genetic parameters for production and reproduction traits in the Elsenburg Dormer sheep stud were estimated using records of 11743 lambs born between 1943 and 2002. An animal model with direct and maternal additive, maternal permanent and temporary environmental effects was…
This study was conducted to determine the effects of the supplementation of different levels of fish oil (FO) and flax seed (FS) in the diets of layers on the content of egg yolk fatty acid, cholesterol, blood parameters, egg production…
Large White boars (n = 120) were assigned to hemi-orchidectomy at 60, 100, 140 or 300 days of age or as intact controls throughout the 450 day observation period to evaluate the effects of unilateral testicular hypertrophy on libido (reaction…
A study was conducted to investigate the effects of wood ash treatment on the nutritional value of high tannin sorghum. High tannin sorghum was either soaked in wood ash slurry and then germinated for four days or soaked in wood…
A survey to identify forage mineral sources for settlement-based camels was carried out in the semi-arid rangelands of the southwestern Marsabit district of Kenya during dry and wet periods. The respondents included men and boys who were responsible for the…
A 14-day battery trial using 336 four-day old male broilers was undertaken to compare the thermostability and efficacy of phytase produced in solid-substrate culture, a Solid Substrate Enzyme Product (SSEP), with phytase produced in liquid culture, a Liquid Enzyme Product…
A breeding policy to improve milk production in the Elsenburg Holstein-Friesland herd was adopted in 1984. Cow selection was based on partial (90 days) and completed (300 days) lactation records of 4% fat corrected milk and protein yields during first…
In order to study the embryo recovery rate using the transcervical technique in Saanen goats raised in the tropics, 20 donors were submitted to an oestrus synchronisation treatment using intravaginal progestagen sponges for 11 days. On the ninth day of…
Data were recorded for birth weight, birth coat score and weaning weight of between 2018 and 4235 Merino lambs born over a 17-year interval from 1986 to 2002. The resource population was divergently selected from the same base population since…
This study details the production performance of ewes and lambs that originated from a terminal crossbreeding experiment that involved five Merino type dam lines and two terminal crossbreeding sire lines from 1999 to 2002. Ewe lines were SA Mutton Merino…
In a study on ostrich nutrition that spanned three breeding seasons, we assessed the effect of different energy and protein levels in the previous breeding season on production in the following breeding season. During the first breeding season, groups of…
