Beta-Glucans Improve the Mammary Innate Immune Response to Endotoxin Challenge in Dairy Ewes.

This study evaluated short-term immune responses of dairy ewes supplemented with barley β-glucan (BG) following an intramammary lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. In the adaptation period, 36 ewes were fed an alfalfa hay diet ad libitum and barley grain cv. Hispanic (3.

Low public awareness opens up new opportunities for highlighting milk as an iodine dietary source.

This international survey provides insights into public awareness of the importance of iodine as an essential trace mineral in human health along with knowledge of iodine dietary sources. The online questionnaire included sociodemographic aspects and dietary iodine consumer awareness on 7-point Likert-type questions. A total of 4,704 questionnaires from 16 countries were considered.

Faecal nutrient deposition of domestic and wild herbivores in an alpine grassland.

The contribution of herbivores to ecosystem nutrient fluxes through dung deposition has the potential to, directly and indirectly, influence ecosystem functioning. This process can be particularly important in nutrient-limited ecosystems such as alpine systems. However, herbivore dung content (carbon, C; nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; potassium, K) and stoichiometry (C/N) may differ among species due to differences in diet, seasonality, body type, feeding strategy, and/or digestive system with consequences for soil biogeochemistry.

Feeding Ecology of the Cuvier's Gazelle (, Ogilby, 1841) in the Sahara Desert.

Knowledge of the feeding ecology of ungulates in arid biomes offers an interesting model for understanding the drought resistance of large desert-adapted herbivores, a crucial issue in the face of increasing desertification due to climate change. To assess the feeding ecology of the endangered Cuvier's gazelle () in the Sahara desert, we used a multi-method approach combining faecal samples, direct observations, and the recording of indirect signs of feeding. We hypothesised that browser behaviour is the best foraging strategy for species living in hyper-arid environments, mainly due to long periods without grazing opportunities.

When to shear dairy ewes: before breeding, during pregnancy or let them unshorn?

Shearing dairy ewes may improve their fitness and heat tolerance during late pregnancy, with positive effects on lambs and lactation performances. To test this hypothesis, two Mediterranean breeds (MN, Manchega, n = 43; LC, Lacaune, n = 28), differing in lactation performances and fleece traits, were submitted to three shearing strategies: (i) shorn before breeding (SBB), (ii) shorn at day 100 of pregnancy (S100) and (iii) unshorn (CO). Ewes were bred in spring and gestated during summer.

Grazing influences biomass production and protein content of alpine meadows.

Alpine grasslands are essential for carbon sequestration and food supply for domestic and wild herbivores inhabiting mountainous areas worldwide. These biomes, however, are alternatively threatened by the abandonment of agricultural and livestock practices leading to a fast-growing shrubification process while other mountain grasslands are suffering from the impacts of overgrazing. The functioning of alpine meadow ecosystems is primarily driven by climatic conditions, land-use legacies and grazing.

Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Analysis to Predict Diet Composition of a Mountain Ungulate Species.

The diet composition of ungulates is important to understand not only their impact on vegetation, but also to understand the consequences of natural and human-driven environmental changes on the foraging behavior of these mammals. In this work, we evaluated the use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy analysis (NIRS), a quick, economic and non-destructive method, to assess the diet composition of the Pyrenean chamois . Fecal samples ( = 192) were collected from two chamois populations in the French and Spanish Pyrenees.

Effect of Soybean Oil Supplementation on Milk Production, Digestibility, and Metabolism in Dairy Goats under Thermoneutral and Heat Stress Conditions.

In a previous work, we observed that heat-stressed goats suffer reductions in milk yield and its contents of fat and protein. Supplementation with soybean oil (SBO) may be a useful strategy to enhance milk quality. In total, eight multiparous Murciano-Granadina dairy goats (42.

Milk Production and Energetic Metabolism of Heat-Stressed Dairy Goats Supplemented with Propylene Glycol.

Heat-stressed dairy animals increase their reliance on glucose. This elevated glucose demand is partially met by increasing the conversion of glucogenic amino acids (AA) in the liver. Propylene glycol (PG) is a glucogenic precursor and was not tested in dairy goats under thermoneutral (TN) and heat stress (HS) conditions simultaneously.

Lactational Responses of Heat-Stressed Dairy Goats to Dietary L-Carnitine Supplementation.

Heat stress causes significant losses in milk production, and nutritional strategies are needed to alleviate its effects. Endogenous carnitine synthesis is also reduced by heat stress (HS). Carnitine plays a central role in fatty acid oxidation and buffers the toxic effects of acyl groups.

Effects of shearing 2 breeds of dairy ewes during lactation under mild winter conditions.

The lactational effects of shearing (CO, control unshorn; SH, shorn) were investigated in 48 dairy ewes of 2 breeds (Lacaune, LC, n = 24; Manchega, MN, n = 24) having a similar stage of lactation (120 ± 6 d in milk) and body frame (65.1 ± 1.5 kg of body weight and 2.

Prediction of Cortisol and Progesterone Concentrations in Cow Hair Using Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS).

Concentrations of different steroid hormones have been used in cows as a measure of adrenal or gonadal activity and, thus, as indicators of stress or reproductive state. Detecting cortisol and progesterone in cow hair provides a long-term integrative value of retrospective adrenal or gonadal/placental activity, respectively. Current techniques for steroid detection require a hormone-extraction procedure that involves time, several types of equipment, management of reagents, and some assay procedures (which can also be time-consuming and can destroy the samples).

Predicting herbivore faecal nitrogen using a multispecies near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy calibration.

Optimal management of free-ranging herbivores requires the accurate assessment of an animal's nutritional status. For this purpose 'near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy' (NIRS) is very useful, especially when nutritional assessment is done through faecal indicators such as faecal nitrogen (FN). In order to perform an NIRS calibration, the default protocol recommends starting by generating an initial equation based on at least 50-75 samples from the given species.

Using long-term averted goats for selective grazing in olive groves.

Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is a useful tool to modify animal feed preferences, allowing the implementation of selective grazing to control weeds in tree orchards without damaging the trees or affecting fruit production. LiCl is commonly used for inducing CTA. However, studies investigating the long-term persistence of CTA by LiCl in small ruminants are scarce.

How to Create Conditioned Taste Aversion for Grazing Ground Covers in Woody Crops with Small Ruminants.

Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is a learning behavior process where animals are trained to reject certain feed after gastrointestinal discomfort has been produced. Lithium chloride (LiCl) is the preferred agent used in livestock to induce CTA because it specifically stimulates the vomit center. In addition, LiCl is commercially available, and easy to prepare and administer using a drenching gun.

Prediction of rumen degradability parameters of a wide range of forages and non-forages by NIRS.

Kinetics of nutrient degradation in the rumen is an important component of feed evaluation systems for ruminants. The in situ technique is commonly used to obtain such dynamic parameters, but it requires cannulated animals and incubations last several days limiting its application in practice. On the other hand, feed industry relies strongly on NIRS to predict chemical composition of feeds and it has been used to predict nutrient degradability parameters.

Influence of final baking technologies in partially baked frozen gluten-free bread quality.

The effect of final baking in convection oven (FBC), microwave oven (FBM), and microwave oven with susceptor packaging material (FBMS) on partially baked (PB) frozen gluten-free bread characteristics was investigated. Specific volume and crust color of loaves were measured at day 0. Bread moisture, water activity, and crumb and crust texture (at 15, 45, and 90 min after baking) were analyzed at day 0 and after 28 d of frozen storage (-18 °C).

Kinetics of lithium as a lithium chloride dose suitable for conditioned taste aversion in lactating goats and dry sheep.

Lithium chloride (LiCl) is widely used for inducing conditioned taste aversion (CTA) so that livestock will reduce or avoid ingestion of toxic plants and graze groundcover mingled with valuable crops. However, pharmacokinetic studies of LiCl at effective CTA doses are lacking. With this aim, 6 Murciano-Grandina dairy does during late lactation and 6 dry Manchega dairy ewes were orally dosed with 200 and 225 mg LiCl/kg BW, respectively.

Effect of tiger nut-derived products in gluten-free batter and bread.

Tiger nut is a tuber used to produce tiger nut milk that yields a high quantity of solid waste, which can be dried and used as fiber source. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the quality of gluten-free bread formulated with different tiger nut-derived products in order to substitute soya flour (which is an allergen ingredient) and, at the same time, increase the use of tiger nut-derived products. Four gluten-free formulations based on corn starch and containing tiger nut milk, tiger nut milk by-product, tiger nut flour, or soya flour (as reference formulation) were studied.

Physiological responses and lactational performances of late-lactation dairy goats under heat stress conditions.

Eight Murciano-Granadina dairy goats in late lactation were exposed to different ambient conditions, using metabolic cages in a climatic chamber. The experimental design was a crossover (2 periods of 35 d and 4 goats each) and conditions were (1) thermal neutral (TN; 15 to 20 °C day-night) and (2) heat stress (HS; 12-h day at 37 °C and 12-h night at 30.5 °C).

Use of near-infrared spectroscopy to predict energy content of commercial dog food.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is used in the pet food industry for rapid assessment of several macronutrients and GE content, but there is little published data on its usefulness for evaluating GE and GE digestibility (GED) of commercial pet food. Using NIRS spectra of 71 commercial extruded dog foods and reference values determined with calorimetry and in vivo feeding trials, chemometric models were developed for GE, GED, and DE prediction. The SE and R(2) of cross-validation were 0.

Long- and short-term effects of omitting two weekend milkings on the lactational performance and mammary tight junction permeability of dairy ewes.

The long- and the short-term effects of omitting 2 milkings weekly in early (wk 8 to 14) and mid lactation (wk 15 to 22) were investigated in an experiment conducted with a total of 58 dairy ewes (40 Manchega and 18 Lacaune). Ewes submitted to 2 milking omissions were milked twice daily from Monday to Friday (0800 and 1800 h), and once daily on Saturday and Sunday (1600 and 1400 h, respectively). Individual data were collected for milk yield (weekly), milk composition (biweekly), and somatic cell count (SCC; monthly).

In vitro fermentative characteristics of ruminant diets supplemented with fibrolytic enzymes and ranges of optimal endo-beta-1,4-glucanase activity.

Effectiveness of fibrolytic enzymes supplementing a range of forage to concentrate (F:C) diets was assessed with goat (G) or cow (C) inoculum using the gas production (GP) technique. Four F:C diets were evaluated: forage (1:0), high forage (0.7:0.

Changes in alveolar and cisternal compartments induced by milking interval in the udder of dairy ewes.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of milking interval (4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 h) on cisternal size and milk partitioning (cisternal and alveolar) in the udders of dairy ewes. Twenty-four dairy ewes (Manchega, n = 12; Lacaune, n = 12) were used in a 2-wk experiment during mid-lactation. Cisternal and alveolar milk yields were measured and milk samples from each udder fraction were collected for analysis.