Semi-intensive Management System Research Articles

Composition and specific gravity of milk of West African Dwarf sheep as affected by stage of lactation and parity

Twelve matured lactating ewes weighing between 16 and 24 kg live weight were used to evaluate the effects of stage of lactation and parity on milk composition and specific gravity of milk of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep in a semi-intensive system of management. Stage of lactation was divided into 4: early, mid, late and very late respectively with 3 weeks interval. The animals were of parities 1and 2 and were allowed to graze on an established paddock in the University Farm for 5 hours and supplemented with concentrate (17% CP, 5% BW) daily. Animals were hand milked once daily at 8.00 am for 12 weeks. Stage of lactation significantly (P < 0.05) affected specific gravity of milk while parity did not have any significant effect. Daily milk mass and daily milk volume decreased linearly from early to very late stage of lactation; 158.276 to 34.411 g and 156.054 to 34.410 cm3 respectively. Average composition of milk components were 3.78%, 4.49%, 0.76%, 4.99%, 9.02% and 14.00% for protein, lactose, ash, fat, solid non-fat and total solids respectively. Stage of lactation significantly (P<0.001) affected milk protein, lactose, fat, solid non-fat and total solid except ash. However, parity did not significantly affect any of these milk constituents. The contents of total solids, solid non-fat, fat and protein were positively correlated with. On the other hand, phenotypic correlations between lactose, protein and fat were negative. It was concluded that stage of lactation exerts significant influence on specific gravity and composition of milk of WAD sheep while parity did not

Prevalence of Eimeria Oocysts in West African Dwarf goats at the University of Ibadan Farm

An outbreak of acute coccidiosis is reported in West African Dwarf (WAD) goats kept under a semi intensive management system at the University of Ibadan farm. During the period of the outbreak, clinical signs observed among the animal included anorexia, fever, coughing, ocular and nasal discharges and diarrhoea. Sixty nine out of eighty-five (85%) animals were scouring, 6 out of 20 (30%) pregnant did abort, 8 out of 80 (10%) died through severe infection. Average oocyst counts was 2.73 x 10°/gram faeces in kids and 0.9 x 10 gram faeces in adult goats. Eimeria species predominant in goats and percentage occurrence were E. arloingi (77.5%), E. ninakohlyakimovae (62.89%), E. hirci (58.6%). E, alijevi (39.5%). Areas of glandular degeneration and necrosis of epithelium of the small intestine were seen. Also coccidia schizonts, immature oocysts, and neutrophilic infiltrations can be seen in the intestinal mucosa. The presence of pathogenic species of the Eimeria in WAD goats suggest that coccidiosis may be contributing to the enteric syndromes, poor feed conversion and low productivity

A study of effect of sex, season, type and parity of birth on absolute and relative body weight of Black Bengal goats at different ages under farm condition of management

Goats are an important contributor to the rural economy providing food and nutritional security along with self–employment opportunities to the small and marginal farmers. It being free from any religious taboos is the choicest meat in India with huge demand for chevon. Medicinal properties of goat milk is arousing the interest and the demand of goat meat a step further. Black Bengal goats are the dwarf goats found in northeastern India like West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand etc. which are a good source of meat, milk, and leather. The productivity of goats under the prevailing traditional production system is very low because they are maintained under the extensive system on natural vegetation on degraded common grazing lands and tree lopping. Therefore it is imperative and mandatory to rear goat under intensive and semi-intensive system using improved technologies for commercial production. Current study deals with the growth traits, absolute as well as relative, as recorded in Black Bengal goats under farm system of management. Absolute growth traits observed included body weight at birth, 1months, 2months, 3 months and 6months. Relative Growth traits included 1-3 months body weight gain and 3-6 months body weight gain. Significant effect of different factors i.e. sex, parity, type and season of birth was observed on various traits under study. It might be concluded that the intensive and semi-intensive system of management will help in realizing the full potential of Black Bengal goats and will also meet the increasing demand of chevon (goat meat) in the domestic as well as international markets.

Relationships between body conformation, hematological, and serum biochemical parameters in Kiko and Nubian goat bucks under a semi-intensive management system

Relationships between body conformation, hematological, and serum biochemical parameters in Kiko and Nubian goat bucks under a semi-intensive management system

Serum biochemistry and oxidative stress indicators in West African dwarf goats under semi intensive management system

This study aims to evaluate variations in serum biochemistry and oxidative status between male and female WestAfrican dwarfgoats under semi intensive management system. Twenty, each of bucks and does (12 months old) were randomly selected from a herd purchased from Oyo livestock market, in Oyo State. The average body weights of the goats were12.08 ± 3.26 and 12.15 ± 1.51kg does and bucks, respectively. Blood samples were collected from fastened goats and assayed for serum biochemicals, lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant activity, catalase and superoxide dismutase using standard procedures. Data obtained were subjected to T-test. The result showed serum glucose, albumin, cholesterol, total protein, globulin, triglyceride, creatinine, alanine amino transferase(ALT),aspartate amino transferase(AST) and urea were not significantly (P>0.05) different among the sexes. Serum high density lipoprotein was significantly (P<0.05) higher in does (13.96 mmol/l) than in bucks (5.91mmol/l) and alkaline phosphatase was significantly (P<0.05) higher in bucks (2580.55 IU/L) than in does (1594.58 IU/L). Serum lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant activity and superoxide dismutase were statistically similar (P>0.05) in both sexes. Serum catalase was significantly (P<0.05) higher in bucks than in does. From this study, it can be deduced that serum biochemical indices in does and bucks are similar except for alkaline phosphatase and high density lipoprotein. Bucks recorded higher catalase than does.It could be concluded that during physiological and environmental stress conditions, antioxidant supplementation should be adopted to boost the antioxidant capacity of the does.

HOST FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREVALENCE OF CLINICAL MASTITIS IN LACTATING GOATS AT CHATTOGRAM CITY CORPORATION AREAS IN BANGLADESH

Background: Mastitis is a multi-factorial and complex contagious disease of animal and public health importance associated with heavy economic loss in dairy industry worldwide. Some inland reports on the prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis (SCM) have been published but reports on clinical mastitis (CM) in lactating goats are very limited in Bangladesh. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of host factors associated with the prevalence of CM in lactating goats of Chattogram City Corporation areas (CCCA). Materials and Methods: This study included 100 selected lactating goats brought for treatment at the two Veterinary medical hospitals which include TVH, CVASU and Upazila Veterinary Hospital, CCCA in Bangladesh during the month of April 2019. The CM was diagnosed in each of the selected lactating goats by visual inspection and physical palpation methods of teat and udder and abnormalities of milk. Results: This study examined clinically 100 lactating goats brought for treatment at the two veterinary hospitals at the CCCA, of which 43.0% affected with CM. Host factors including breeds, age, parity and lactation periods were used to detect their influence on the prevalence of CM in lactating goats. Higher prevalence of CM was recorded in Jamnapari (48.21%) in comparison to crossbred (37.5%) and Black Bengal (33.33%) goats. Higher prevalence of CM was observed in goats aged between 3 and 4 years (53.66%) in comparison to < 2 years (28.57%), 5-6 years (44.44%) and >6 years (50.0%). Influence of parity on the higher prevalence of caprine mastitis was observed during 3 to 4 parities (58.06%), followed by > 6 (28.57%) and < 2 (26.67%) parities. Similarly higher prevalence of CM was recorded in late (60.0%) in comparison to mid (43.90%) and early (33.33%) lactations. Conclusions: An overall 43.00% prevalence of CM recorded in lactating goats at the CCCA where goats are mainly maintained in both semi-intensive and intensive management systems. This study showed some association exists between the host factors and prevalence of CM in lactating goats which suggests the need for prevention of mastitis in goats considering these host factors.

Correlation of milk intake and body weight with linear body measurements of white Fulani calves in semi-intensive system of management

Body weight of animals in the rural areas has not been accurately ascertained due to lack of accurate measurement scales, hence this experiment. The study was conducted to determine the correlation between milk intake and body weight with linear body measurements in white Fulani calves raised in semi-intensive system of management. A total of seven (7) white Fulani calves managed semi-intensively was used for the study. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. The overall mean±SEM value for milk intake, body weight, neck circumference, neck length, body length, body circumference, girth circumference, height at wither and tail length were 1.20±0.40g, 5.18±1.02kg, 21.54±0.66cm, 13.23±0.21cm, 28.36±0.31cm, 36.41±0.43cm, 35.84±0.37cm, 35.87±0.43cm and 23.43±0.39cm respectively. There was significant (P<0.05) effect of lactation stage on all body measurements taken except for neck circumference and tail length. Correlation between all body pairs of measurements were high, positive and highly significant (P<0.05). The highest correlation was recorded for body length, body circumference, girth circumference and height at wither. Linear function provided the best fit for milk intake weight and linear body measurements indicating that body measurements can be used for selection and the estimation of body weight in the fields where accurate scales are not usually available. It is recommended that any of the body measurement parameters could be used in the estimation of the body weight. Also, an improvement of non-genetic factor such as nutrition and general husbandry of the animal as much as possible will bring about improvement in the body parameters as well as maintaining the animal's physiological balance.

Effects of genetic and environmental factors on productive performances of Hilly Brown Bengal goat at Naikhongchari

The present experiment was studied to investigate the effect of genetic and non-genetic factors on productive performances of Hilly Brown Bengal (HBB) goats at the research farm. For this purpose, initially, a total of 69 does of different generations and 20 bucks and finally, a total of 76 does and 09 bucks were used to study productive parameters of HBB goat. The studied Animals were reared in a semi-intensive management system with natural breeding facilities. Goats were allowed to browse for 6-8 hours and mounting in hills with two times concentrates supplementation @ 1% of their body weight. Here three seasons, three generations were considered and parity was counted up to fifth. The data were statistically analyzed by using least-squares analyses of variance of the general linear model (GLM) procedure of the SPSS, 20.00. Sex of kids was significantly (p<0.05) affect the birth weight of kids, where male kids had higher birth weight (1.24 kg) than female kids (1.15 kg). Kids born in summer season had higher birth weight, litter weight, liter size, placental weight, kidding frequency, fortnightly body weight gain up to 6 months, pre and post-weaning gain with reduced mortality rate. Statistically, in summer season, approximately 11.22% and 3.45% heavier kids born, 9-10 g higher daily gain occurs in pre and post-weaning periods and 900-1100 g higher body weight at 3 months of age were found when compared with rainy and winter season respectively, where rainy season had highest body weight at 6 and 9 months of age. Highest percentage of total kidding (41.61%) was also found in summer season with reduced mortality rate (14%), while the highest mortality (64%) occurred in rainy season. Dams parity had significant (p<0.01) impact on production performances and kids mortality rate, where kids litter weight (1.60 to 2.35 kg), litter size (1.38 to 2.08) and placental weight (246.85 to 263.77 g) were increased linearly with the increment of parity up to four, while kids mortality were reduced from 36.57 to 8.44% with the increment of parity up to 5th. Results suggested that the trends of multiple births (twin and triplet) were increased with the advancement of parity, where twin and triplet kid composition increased linearly from 21 to 68% and 0 to 18% among the total kids born, respectively, while single kid percentage reduced from 79 to 14%. Best productive performances of goats were attained in 1st generation with its highest value of kids’ birth weight, weaning weight, litter weight and litter size. There had significant effect (p<0.01) of birth type on kids birth weight, body weight changes and placental weight, where single kid had 30.85% heavier birth weight than the quadruplet with highest placental weight (219.77 to 257.45 g), while highest dams post-partum weight losses (4.8 kg) occurred in triple kidded does. Reduced kid mortality from 36.56 to 1.76% and 51 to 18% can be obtained with the increment of kids’ birth weight and age, respectively.

Characterization of Maithili duck in middle Gangetic plain of Bihar

A study was conducted in middle Gangetic plain of Bihar to evaluate the smallholder duck production systems in the regions. A total of 70 duck farmers in Bihar were selected for this study. The information were collected by using standard questionnaire and an interview. The majority of the farmers (60%) belonged to middle-aged category. Majority of duck rearers in Bihar rears the duck more than 20 years. The average flock size was 6.1±0.33. Ducks were raised under semi-intensive management system and mostly depend on scavenging for their nutritional needs in the study area. About 88.6% farmers provided some kind of housing for their ducks, usually constructed mainly from simple and locally available materials in their backyard. Farmers did not possess any permanent shelter. Majority of the farmers (94.29%) did not vaccinate against the diseases of ducks due to unavailability. In both drake and duck, body carriage was slightly upright and Bill shape was horizontal. The ducks are raised both for meat and eggs. The average annual egg production per duck was ranged to be 30–60 eggs per annum. The average body weight of drake and duck were 1.40±0.07 and 1.37±0.08 kg, respectively. The predominant plumage colours of the Head, neck, breast, wing, and tail were brown (43.75%), brown and white mix with or without white ring (53.75%), brown (80.00%), brown, black and white mix (57.50%) and brown (40.00%) respectively. The dominant bill colour were yellow (43.75%) and web colour were orange (56.25%) respectively in Maithili duck. Mosaic plumage colour pattern was predominant in Maithili duck of Middle gangetic plain.

Effect of temperature humidity index on sexual behavior and semen quality in Barbari buck under Indian climatic condition

• Buck mounting per cent during May and June were 93.88 % and 90.81 % respectively while comparatively lower values (61.64 %, 57.93 %) were observed in November and December month respectively. • The progressive motility, live sperm count, abnormality, hypo osmotic swelling positive spermatozoa and acrosomal integrity (Mean ± SE) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in post thaw semen in November and December month compared to other month. • The comfortable THI during November and December month have beneficial effect on semen quality in spite of poor libido. • The freezable quality of semen (mass activity >4) was good in November (73.33 %) and December (66.33 %) month. The present study suggests that semen freezing should be carried out in November-December months not round the year in Barbari breed of goats. Temperature Humidity Index (THI) is a single value representing the combination of air temperature and humidity associated with the level of thermal stress. Ejaculates (n = 890) from 12 Barbari bucks (2–4 years) maintained under semi-intensive management system were utilized to find out the effect of THI on sexual behavior and semen quality in Barbari buck. Semen with mass activity ≥ 4 was considered freezable. Buck mounting per cent during May and June were high whereas comparatively lower during November and December. Interestingly freezable quality of semen was good during November and December. The poorest freezable quality was observed during January and February. The comfortable THI (<72) during November and December have beneficial effect on semen quality in spite of poor libido. It is suggested that semen freezing should be carried out in November-December not round the year in Barbari bucks.

Better odds of lamb survival in sheep at dry arid tropical region of India

Lamb survival till first 28 days of life is critical as it increases the chances of economic gain in flock. Objective of the current study was to assess the incidence of neonatal mortality in lambs born in arid region of India and genetic and non-genetic factors affecting it. The present study was conducted using the data on 4,137 Magra and 4,595 Marwari sheep over 17 years (1999 to 2016). Incidence of neonatal mortality was very low in Magra (1.04%) and Marwari (2.48%) sheep, respectively in semi-intensive management system. Year and seasonal variation was observed for neonatal losses. Males had lower odds of survival as compared to females. Odds of survival were low if the lambs were born to dams of low body weight and in their first parity. It was observed that the lamb survival can be improved if due care of the lambs born with low birth weight (&lt;2 kg) is taken. The heritability estimate was moderate in Magra sheep (0.17), indicating further scope for genetic improvement for lamb survival through selection. However, for Marwari sheep, the total heritability was 0.02, thus limiting the scope for selection. Arid region favoured the lamb survival. Hardiness of the Magra and Marwari sheep, their high lamb survival along with standard production potential is indicative of the good genetics of these sheep along with better management practices adopted at arid regional campus, thus reflecting better sheep welfare practices.

Effect of cervical insemination with frozen semen on fertility of Indian goat breed

Artificial Insemination (AI) has great potential to multiply superior quality of goat with faster rate in spite of lower conception rate. This technique will spread elite genetic material throughout a population and is also important for breed conservation and has paved the way for other reproductive biotechnologies. Ejaculates from bucks aged between 2–4 years old from Jamunapari, Barbari, Sirohi and Jakhrana were collected using artificial vagina, twice a week. Immediately after collection, the volume, colour, consistency, and mass motility of ejaculate were assessed and were extended with Tris -Egg yolk- Fructose diluent having 10% (v/v) egg yolk and glycerol 6% (v/v). Sperm concentrations were adjusted to 1×108/ml and diluted semen was equilibrated at 5°C for 4 h before being frozen. The post thaw motility in Jamunapari and Barbari was significantly higher then Jakhrana and Sirohi. In two major breeding seasons (May–June and October–November), 181 goats of different breeds (Barbari, Jakhrana, Jamunapari and Sirohi) including 35 goats in villages were intra-cervical inseminated with frozen semen in natural estrous condition. The kidding percentage in Barbari, Jamunapari, Jakhrana and Sirohi were 53.12±2.40%, 34.61±1.96%, 26.53±2.12% and 28.57±2.32% respectively. Overall, a success rate of 37.57% was recorded on the basis of actual kidding rate irrespective of goat breed maintained at this institute under semi-intensive management system. The best post thaw quality of buck semen and comparative deeper cervical insemination in Barbari and Jamunapri breeds results in higher conception and kidding percent compared to other breeds (Sirohi and Jakhrana).

Analysis of the management competencies of goat farmers in some selected local government area of Lagos State Nigeria

This study focused on the analysis goat farmers’ management competency in ensuring sustainable production in some selected local government areas of Lagos state, Nigeria. A total of 80 goat farmers were sampled for the study with the aid of structured questionnaires which were used to collect data needed for the study. The objectives of this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the hypothesis was tested using binary logistic regression. The result showed that men dominated women in goat farming and that the average age of respondents was 42.4 years. It revealed that majority of the respondents (65.4%) made an annual income of 100,000-300,000 annually and had lived in the study area for 10-15 years. This study also showed that majority of the respondents practiced semi intensive system of management, used family labour (55.6%), the study further revealed that the goat farmers in the study area has low management competency with poor extension service, lack of pasture and graze land and prevalence of ectoparasite among the major challenges facing the goat farmers. It was recommended that farmers be encouraged to belong to organizations such as cooperatives to solve problems in management and government should revamp the extension service to improve service delivery to the farmers.

A field study on the occurrence of gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep over the wet and dry seasons in two West Indian Islands.

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infestations are a major constraint to sheep production in the West Indies (WI). Intensive and semi-intensive management systems are most commonly employed. These islands display tropical weather patterns with wet and dry seasons. Semi-intensive farming combined with increased rainfall during the wet season has been reported to be most favourable for development and survival of GIN. This study was conducted to determine whether there was a relationship between GIN burdens in sheep with seasonality and management practices of farmers in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). Farms were visited on a monthly basis from January to December 2017. A maximum of ten sheep, three to nine months of age, were selected from each farm. A total of 3,053 faecal samples were collected and analysed using the Modified McMaster technique. Environmental data on daily precipitation and temperature were collected from the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Office during the period of sampling. A mixed effects negative binomial regression model was constructed to analyse the relationship between gastrointestinal nematode faecal egg counts (GINFEC) with season, management system and use of dewormers as fixed effects and farm as a random effect. Average diurnal temperatures of T&T fluctuated between 23.2°C to 32.6°C and 23.9°C to 32.3°C in the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Average daily precipitation ranged between 1.6-1.8mm and 6.1-8.5mm during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. A decreased risk of 0.34 (95% CI 0.25-0.47, p<.0001) for GINFEC was observed in dewormed animals versus not dewormed. Semi-intensive management systems experienced an increased risk of GINFEC by 1.39 (95% CI 1.05-1.84, p=.021) compared with intensive and the risk of GINFEC was reduced by 0.40 (95% CI 0.33-0.49, p<.0001) in the wet season versus the dry. A higher prevalence of GIN was observed during the drier months of the year. Climatic conditions observed in T&T remained favourable for GIN survival, development and distribution year-round. Proper management is therefore required for reducing the occurrence of GIN in sheep of T&T throughout the year. This is the first reported study in the WI on the influence of seasonality and management on GIN infestations in sheep during the dry and wet seasons. Further investigation is needed to elucidate why GIN burdens appear to be higher in the dry season than the wet season. This study can be used as a baseline for public education in T&T as well as other developing countries.

Effect of concentrate supplementation on growth, nutrient availability, carcass traits and meat quality in barbari kids reared under semi-intensive and intensive systems

Eighteen post-weaned male Barbari kids (10.68±1.63 kg BW) were divided into three equal groups viz. T1, T2 and T3 to study the effects of supplementation of concentrate mixture under a semi-intensive as well as intensive system of management. The kids under T1 and T2 were allowed 5–6 h of grazing daily. Additionally, the kids were supplemented with either barley grain alone (T1, control) or a concentrate mixture (CP 18.87%, TDN 70.33%) both at 2% of BW (T2). The kids under T3, reared undertheintensive system, were fed with the same concentrate mixture as of T2 (at 2% of BW) along with gram straw and green fodder provided ad libitum. The ADG of the kids was similar (P>0.05) among the three groups. The TDN intake was significantly (P<0.05) higher in T2 and T3 than T1. Five kids from each group were sacrificed at 10 months of age. However, the highest (P<0.05) DCP intake was recorded in kids under the T2 group. The hot carcass weight was marginally higher in T2 (10.34 kg) and T3 (10.48 kg) than T1 (9.24 kg). Similarly, the dressing percentage tended to increase in T2 (49.12%) than T1 (46.10%); however, the difference was non-significant. The kids supplemented with concentrate mixture showed significantly (P<0.05) higher for equarter percentage (27.93% in T2, 27.18% in T3) than the control T1 (25.61%). Kids under T2 had significantly (P<0.05) higher separated lean (71.65%) than T3 (66.38%), but T3 deposited more fat in the muscles. However, no differences were observed in the chemical composition of longissimus dorsi muscle among various dietary treatment groups. It is concluded that supplementation of concentrate mixture at 2% of the BW of finisher Barbari kids reared under semiintensive or intensive system of management resulted in increased intake of nutrients which, in turn, resulted in higher growth and meat production.

EVALUATION OF PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCES OF BLACK BENGAL GOATS IN RAJSHAHI GOVERNMENT GOAT DEVELOPMENT FARM IN BANGLADESH

Background: The Black Bengal goat (BBG) is well adapted food animals with profitable productive and reproductive traits being naturally reared to enhance economic status and food security in rural people. Bangladesh government has taken program through establishment of ‘Government Goat Development Farms’ (GGDF) to enhance the goat rearing activities of the smallholders at rural level but the research reports on the productive and reproductive performances of goats in these GGDF are very limited. Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the productive and reproductive performances of the BBG reared in semi-intensive system at the Rajshahi GGDF Materials and Methods: The Rajshahi GGDF had 398 goat populations of which 121 does were selected to study the productive and reproductive performances during the period from July 2010 to June 2011. The age of first estrus, conception rate by natural service, gestation length, post-partum heat, kidding interval, litter size, survivability of kids, morbidity and mortality of kids and their seasonal influence were studied. Results: The age of young female BBG showed 1st estrus varied from 180 to 270 with an average of 204  27 days. The conception rate varied from 88 to 100 with an average of 97% with natural services. The gestation length varied from 145 to 182 with an average of 150  5 days. The post-partum heat period varied from 60 to 90 days with an average of 69  7 days. The kidding interval varied from 199 to 268 with an average of 219  13 days. The litter size varied from 1 to 3 with an average of 2. Out of 234 kids borne, 47.44% were male and 52.56% female with higher mortality in male (10.81%) than female (5.69%) with an overall average mortality of 8.12%. There was no significant influence of season and parity on the birth weight of kids. However, the heavier birth weight of kids was recorded in male (1.38 kg) than female (1.17kg) kids. The birth of twin kids (56.41%) was found significantly (p &lt; 0.0001) highest in comparison to triplets (26.92%), single (11.54%) and quadruplet (5.13%). Conclusions: The results support promising breeding and reproductive efficiency of BBG under local environmental conditions and therefore, there is a need to be improved milk yield of dam and control of morbidity and mortality in BBG kids. It may be concluded that the productive and reproductive performances of the BBG reared by using semi-intensive system of management appears to be encouraging at the Rajshahi GGDF which could be extended and compared to research findings with other four GGDF in Bangladesh.

Follicular and Luteal Phases of Estrus Cycle of Tapri and Mixed Goats Under Semi Intensive Management System

Follicular and Luteal Phases of Estrus Cycle of Tapri and Mixed Goats Under Semi Intensive Management System

Chicken germplasms and their conservation in Bangladesh: A review

The present article addresses the scenario of chicken genetic resources, their production and reproduction performances and their conservation in Bangladesh. The chickens, among other poultry species available in the country, are the most versatile component for meat and egg production. The chicken germplasms available in the country are indigenous, exotic, crossbred, and commercial hybrid. The indigenous chicken population is comprised of Non-descript Desi (ND), Naked Neck (NN), Aseel (AS), Hilly (H), Native Dwarf and Jungle Fowl etc. The exotic chicken such as, White Leghorn (WL), White Rock (WR), White Cornish (WC), Rhode Island Red (RIR), Australorp, Fayoumi, Barred Plymouth Rock (BPR) etc. are imported mostly to upgrade the indigenous stock. The crossbred of different chickens are used in the country in intensive, semi-intensive and scavenging management system. The commercial hybrid such as grandparent stock (GP), parent stock (PS), commercial broiler, commercial layer etc. has got most popularity for meat and egg production in the country. Conservation and improvement program of endangered native chicken such as Aseel and Native Dwarf chicken should be taken both in-situ or ex-situ in vivo by public sector/research institutes/universities.&#x0D; SAARC J. Agri., 17(1): 119-134 (2019)

Interacción genotipo-manejo de la alimentación en la producción de pollos camperos

&lt;p&gt;La producción de carne aviar en sistemas de manejo semi-intensivo es una modalidad ecológica que contempla aspectos vinculados con el bienestar animal. El pollo Campero es un ave con menor velocidad de crecimiento que los parrilleros comerciales, destinado a la producción de carne. El esquema tradicional de alimentación incluye la utilización de tres tipos de alimentos especialmente formulados a tal fin (iniciador, crecimiento y terminador), lo cual introduce complicaciones en el manejo, particularmente en lo referido a la disponibilidad del alimento “crecimiento” para los pequeños productores. Una alternativa que facilitaría el manejo de estas aves es un esquema basado en sólo dos tipos de alimentos: iniciador y terminador. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el efecto del cambio del manejo tradicional de la alimentación por uno alternativo reemplazando el alimento “crecimiento” por una mezcla de iniciador y terminador, en dos genotipos de pollo Campero con diferente velocidad de crecimiento: el híbrido experimental de tres vías Campero Casilda y el híbrido simple Campero INTA. La evidencia indicó que el cambio en el manejo de la alimentación no afectó el crecimiento, la relación de conversión ni los caracteres a la faena. Ambos grupos genéticos se comportaron de manera equivalente, pudiendo obviarse la inclusión de la categoría “crecimiento” si se la reemplaza por una mezcla de iniciador y terminador.&lt;/p&gt;

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Leptospira serovar Pomona and Leptospira serovar Hardjo infection in dairy cows in Jordan.

This study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Leptospira serovars Pomona and Hardjo infection in dairy cows. Seroprevalence was determined using ELISA using 160 healthy and 80 recently aborted cows. Risk factor assessment was carried out using a pre-validated questionnaire. The true farm seroprevalence of Leptospira serovars Pomona and Hardjo was 92.3% (95% CI: 66%-98%). In healthy cows, the true and apparent cow seroprevalence of Leptospira serovars Pomona and Hardjo were 26.9 (95% CI: 20-34%), 26.25% (95% CI: 20-33%) and 28.75% (95% CI: 22-36%) and 27.5% (95% CI: 21-35%), respectively. Semi-intensive management system (OR = 11.43; P < 0.01), surface water as a source of drinking water (OR = 1.21; P < 0.03), lack of special wear for visitors (OR = 1.39; P < 0.05), and previous history of abortion (OR = 1.02; P < 0.05) were associated with high rate of seropositivity against Leptospira serovars Pomona and Hardjo. In recently aborted cows, the true and apparent seroprevalence rates of Leptospira serovars Pomona and Hardjo were 53.25% (95% CI: 47.5-62%), 53.75% (95% CI: 48.5-63.2%) and 56% (95% CI: 49-61%), 56.25% (95% CI: 49.8-61.2%), respectively. Leptospirosis is an endemic disease in Jordan and further studies are required to effectively control the disease in dairy cows.