Performance and incidence of diarrhea in suckling Jersey calves supplemented with mineral-vitamin complex and Virginiamycin.

The rearing of calves is an essential activity of a dairy system, as it impacts the future production of these animals. This study aims to evaluate the incidence of diarrhea, performance, and blood parameters of suckling calves that received mineral-vitamin supplementation in milk plus virginiamycin that was offered in milk (via the abomasum) or by esophageal tube (via the rumen). Twenty-seven calves were used, from the first week to 60 days of age, submitted to the following treatments: CONTROL, without supplementation; MILK, supplementation of 20 g of a mineral-vitamin complex with 100 mg of virginiamycin, diluted in milk; RUMEN, supplementation of 20 g of a mineral-vitamin complex diluted in milk and 100 mg of virginiamycin in gelatin capsules via an esophageal applicator.

Assessment of runs of homozygosity, heterozygosity-rich regions and genomic inbreeding estimates in a subpopulation of Guzerá (Bos indicus) dual-purpose cattle.

For decades, inbreeding in cattle has been evaluated using pedigree information. Nowadays, inbreeding coefficients can be obtained using genomic information such as runs of homozygosity (ROH). The aims of this study were to quantify ROH and heterozygosity-rich regions (HRR) in a subpopulation of Guzerá dual-purpose cattle, to examine ROH and HRR islands, and to compare inbreeding coefficients obtained by ROH with alternative genomic inbreeding coefficients.

Genomic prediction in Brazilian Guzerá cattle: application of a single-step approach to productive and reproductive traits.

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of genomic prediction for productive and reproductive traits in Guzerá cattle using single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP). Evaluations included the 305-day cumulative yields (first lactation, in kg) of milk, lactose, protein, fat, and total solids; adjusted body weight (kg) at the ages of 450, 365, and 210 days; and age at first calving (in days), from a database containing 197,283 measurements from Guzerá males and females born between 1954 and 2018. The pedigree included 433,823 animals spanning up to 14 overlapping generations.

Effect of Thermal Stress on Thermoregulation, Hematological and Hormonal Characteristics of Caracu Beef Cattle.

This study evaluated the influence of environmental temperature on thermoregulation, hormonal, and hematological characteristics in Caracu cattle. Blood samples, hair length, coat and muzzle colors, rectal (RT), and surface temperatures were collected from 48 males and 43 females before (morning) and after sun exposure for eight hours (afternoon). Infrared thermography (IRT) was used to identify superficial temperature that exhibits a high correlation with RT.