Average growth and body weight data, which comprised 745 400 weaning records and 14 990 Phase C growth records of young bulls of 16 breeds were obtained from the National Beef Cattle Performance and Progeny Testing Scheme and used in…
Multivariate prediction models were developed from the results of three divergent trials with multicannulated steers. Diets differed in composition and physical structure. Energy contents varied from 10 to 13 MJ ME/kg DM, starch from 20 to 62%, CP from 102…
The object of this study was to determine the influence of different stocking rates (viz. 2, 4, 6 & 8 sheep /ha for a six-month period) on the performance of Dohne merino ewes grazing Digitaria eriantha (Smuts finger grass) pasture…
Testes diameter of 110 Merino ram lambs was measured at 100, 260 and 550 days of age. At 80 days of age the LH response to exogenous GnRH was determined in these rams. During the breeding season at 18 months…
Over a three-year period (1986 to 1988), non-lactating, pregnant Sussex beef cows were subjected to grazing maize crop residues over the winter feeding period at one of three stocking rates [1.75 (LSR), 3.5 (MSR) or 5.26 (HSR) cows /ha]. Cows…
The aim of the present investigation was to improve maturation, fertilisation and blastocyst production rates by adding insulin (10 μg /ml), selenium (10 ng /ml) or transferring (10 μg /ml) individually and in different combinations to in vitro culture media…
The objective was to study the partial digestion by sheep of the 500-mm regrowthof three Pennisetum selections (Bana, Greengold and Pennaris) over three seasons (autumn, spring and summer). There were no differences (p > 0.05) between selections in the quality…
Ten Dohne merino wethers with an average mass of 50 kg, were used to study differencesin ruminal VFA production rates, whole body kinetics of VFA, glucose and FFA as well as blood hormone concentrations when fed a high- or a…
Mitochondrial DNA cleavage patterns from representative animals of the Afrikanerand Nguni sanga cattle breeds, indigenous to Southern Africa, were compared to the mitochondrial DNA cleavage patterns of the Brahman (zebu) and the Jersey (taurine) cattle breeds. Identical restriction patterns were…
Knowledge of genetic correlations among traits is essential for deriving a selectionstrategy for any breed. In this study, genetic and phenotypic correlations were estimated among weaning weight (WW), nine- (W9) and 18-month body weight (W18), clean fleece weight (CFW), mean…
The objective of this study was to estimate heritability and breeding values on theunderlying scale for different reproductive traits and survival rate in Afrino sheep to ascertain whether they can be improved by selection on estimated breeding values obtained under…
Data from 1390 to 1902 Dohne Merino progeny of a nucleus flock were used toevaluate environmental influences, and to obtain heritability estimates for live weight at birth, weaning and yearling age and for yearling fleece traits. Estimated breeding values for…
In an effort to quantify herd-year-season x sire interaction in Bonsmara cattle, four differentmodels were fitted to the data used in Neser et a/. (1996). The herds were also divided into two (bushveld and sour grassveld) regions in order to…
The productive and reproductive performance of, as well as income generated by Afrino, Dorper and Merino sheep at two localities in the False Upper Karoo region were evaluated. A total of 1242 ewe reproductive records was available, while data of…
Genetic variation within and differentiation between juvenile and adult elephants (Loxodonta africana) culled during April 1992 and May 1993 were compared to determine the effect of culling on successive generations. Gene products of 25 protein-coding loci were examined by horizontal…
Two trials were conducted to determine the effects of rumen degradable protein (RDP) level and source on the duodenal essential amino acid (AA) composition of Dohne Merino wethers. The animals had ad libitum access to wheat straw (32 g crude…
The objective of this study was to investigate the use of four different mathematical functions (Wood, Inverse Polynomial, Quadratic and Cubic models) for describing the lactation curve of unimproved Awassi ewes. Data were collected from 136 ewes from the same…
This study was conducted to determine the potential of coriander seed as a natural growth promoting substance in quail nutrition. Five hundred and ninety four 3-day old Japanese quails were divided into six groups of 99 birds each and randomly…
Biological data repositories are widely applied to assist researchers in effectively storing and retrieving data. The recent developments in molecular biology intensified the need for well-designed biological databases, which can be queried without increasing the computational time. This study describes…
