A primary objective of commercial pig production is lean meat yield in order to satisfy consumer needs. The majority of the commercial pig breeds in South Africa have been selected for high lean growth potential and reduced backfat thickness. There…
Growth and carcass characteristics of three Ethiopian goat breeds, the Afar, Central Highland (CHG) and Long-eared Somali (LES) were evaluated using three grainless diets varying in concentrate:roughage ratios (diet 1 was 50:50, diet 2, 65:35 and diet 3, 80:20) under…
Sheep from a Merino selection experiment at the Tygerhoek research farm in the Southern Cape provided material for this study. The selection lines involved included a line selected for clean fleece weight, a "Wet and Dry" line, a fine wool…
The study was conducted to measure the development of several testicular characteristics and to investigate the relationship between testicular parameters with body growth, semen characteristics and serum testosterone levels in growing ram lambs. Seventeen single born Kivircik ram lambs from…
Live, carcass, leg and muscle weight (kg) as well as dressing percentage were compared between South African Black (Struthio camelus var. domesticus) ostriches, purebred Zimbabwean Blue Neck (Struthio camelus australis) ostriches and the progeny of Zimbabwean Blue Neck males crossed…
Sixty, two-month old male Awassi lambs were used in this study to investigate the effects of feed refreshing (FR) frequencies on their growth and carcass characteristics over a period of 65 days. Treatments were: Feed refreshing at 2 h (FR2),…
Saanen milk goats were crossed with South African Indigenous goats to evaluate productivity, milk production and disease incidence, and to assess their suitability for milk production by small-scale farmers and households in developing areas. Goat kids were separated from their…
Seasonal effects on semen quality of Gorno Altai cashmere goats and South African indigenous goats were studied in this experiment. A definite breeding season for the two breeds was determined. Semen quality parameters that were quantified include semen volume, sperm…
The acaricidal effect of the essential oil of the flowers of Ageratum houstonianum on Rhipicephalus lunulatus was tested in the Laboratory of Parasitology of the University of Dschang in the Western Highlands zone of Cameroon. Five doses of the essential…
Antibiotic residues in goat milk were measured in two trials. In Trial 1, eight goats were treated with Curaclox LC and six goats were untreated controls. All goats were in early lactation except for one. Withdrawal periods of Curaclox LC…
Meat with a low pH is generally paler than at a high pH. Paleness related to pH is caused by light scattering. Myofibrils are a primary cause of pH-related light scattering in meat, but light scattering is also related inversely…
Two fixed regression testday models were applied for variance component estimation and prediction of breeding values for somatic cell score, using testday records of the first three lactations of South African Holstein and Jersey cows. The first model (ML-model) considered…
Methodology has been developed to implement testday models in the national genetic evaluation of dairy breeds for production traits in South Africa. Positive definite covariance matrices have been estimated, using multitrait, multi-lactation, fixed regression testday BLUP animal models, including testday…
Data from 2801 individuals (born from 1996 to 2002) were used to obtain heritability (h2) estimates for five objectively measured and six linearly assessed type fleece traits (scored on a 1-50 point scale) from the Tygerhoek Merino flock. Correlations of…
Kidney Fat Index (KFI) is the most used indicator of body condition for African ungulates and regarded most reliable. The possible use of Metatarsus Marrow Dry Weight (MMDW) as an alternative for KFI and femur marrow dry weight as indices…
Genetic selection to improve feed efficiency aims to reduce the cost of feeding costs in beef cattle production and thereby improve profitability. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic (co)variances to compare residual feed intake (RFI) and feed…
A study with the aim to evaluate the effects of different dietary energy concentration (8.23, 9.77 and 11.32 MJ ME/kg DM) on scrotal, testicular and semen characteristics of young Dorper rams was conducted during the breeding season. Thirty-six 11-12 month…
Four different goat ecotypes are recognized in Namibia. These ecotypes represent a unique genetic resource due to their adaptation to the different environmental conditions. Sufficient phenotypic characteristics exist that distinguish between the ecotypes. This study is a first attempt to…
Six ruminally-cannulated cows were assigned to a 2 x 3 changeover experiment with two periods to determine the effect of supplemental biotin on in vitro fibre fermentation kinetics. All the cows received the same basal diet but with different biotin…
The energy and nitrogen retention of Merino and Dohne Merino lambs offered a feedlot diet were measured. The energy retentions of the two breeds were relatively similar (0.96 vs. 1.00 MJ/kg BW0.75), but the Merino lambs had a higher nitrogen…
