In the arid sweetveld regions of South Africa producers are marketing beef steers increasingly as long weaners (ca. 12 months of age) or finishing them on the natural grazing to a ready-to-slaughter stage at between 18 and 30 months of…
A triticale/oat grain mixture (2: 1) was enriched with either a commercially available formula or a locally composed supplement in addition to different protein sources (urea, urea plus fish-meal, urea plus cottonseed oilcake, urea plus bitter lupins or bitter lupins…
Thermo-ammoniated maize residues supplemented with 1% urea (Diet 2) or 4.5% fish-meal (Diet 3) and untreated maize residues supplemented with 2% urea (Diet 1), were compared on an isonitrogenous base. The in vitro dry matter digestibility for Diets I, 2…
Different amounts of hull were removed from sunflower oilcake to obtain oilcake with a protein content of 40% (SFOC 40), 42% (SFOC 42), 44% (SFOC 44) and 46% (SFOC 46). respectively. The increase in crude protein content from 40% to…
The chemical composition and in vitro dry matter digestibility of a number of forages, namely lucerne (Medicago sativa), Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), triticale (Triticale hexaploide), oats (Avena sativa), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), babala (Penniseturn typhoides), forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolour…
The suckling behaviour of one- to three-month-old calves, suckled by 66 Hereford, Simmentaler and Hereford X Simmentaler cows, was studied. The most common frequency of suckling in 24 h was 4, and the mean duration of each suckling event was…
The performance of 92 Holstein-Friesian bulls, which were accepted for progeny testing under the South African National Dairy Animal Performance and Progeny Testing Scheme during 1982, 1983 and 1984, was compared. Bulls which were locally bred for more than one…
The influence of sire breed and breed genotype of dam on birth and weaning mass in calves of Afrikaner, Hereford, Simmentaler and Bonsmara cattle, as well as F1 and two- and three-breed rotational crosses between Afrikaner, Hereford and Simmentaler were…
The influence of sire breed and breed genotype of dam on calving interval (CI) and cow productivity (CP) in Afrikaner, Hereford, Simmentaler and Bonsmara cattle, as well as in Fl, and two- and three breed rotational crosses between Afrikaner, Hereford…
Breeding values of production traits, relative to a genetic control flock, were estimated for 40 registered Merino studs. Breeding values, expressed as a percentage deviation from the control flock, varied from -16.7 to 31.2 for body mass, -6.4 to 28.1…
Data were recorded for annual reproduction, wool traits and pre-joining live weight of between 992 (for staple strength) to approximately 1200 production records of Merino ewes over the period from 1997 to 2002. The resource population has been divergently selected…
Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is a cell-surface receptor that activates innate and adaptive immune responses. Recognizing a broad class of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), TLR4 is implicated as a receptor mediating cellular activation in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 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…
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…
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…
This study was performed to evaluate the effect of different doses of sage extract on the growth and blood parameters, oxidative stress and DNA damage in partridges. In total, 252 day-old partridges (Alectoris chukar) were used. The birds were divided…
Periodic restrictions in feed quality and quantity is an important phenomenon in regions where animal production should bridge the gap between periods of forage production separated by a dry season. Eighteen Swifter male lambs, weaned at the age of ca…
The mineral composition of poultry manure and litter from poultry enterprises throughout South Africa was determined. The manure contained high concentrations of macro and micro minerals. Ash content levels in more than 40% of the Breeder and Pullet litter and…
