Assessing the impact of thermoregulatory mineral supplementation on thermal comfort in lactating Holstein cows.

Heat stress (HS) occurs when animals are enable to effectively dissipate excessive body heat, potentially affecting their welfare and productivity. Several tools can be used to mitigate HS in dairy cows. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of thermoregulatory mineral supplementation on dairy cows' physiological response to HS and reproductive status.

Performance of broiler chicken submitted to a quantitative feed restriction program.

The search for better zootechnical indexes such as feed conversion, daily weight gain, uniformity, and lower bird mortality has become a priority within the poultry industry. The use of food restriction programs has emerged as an alternative to improve these rates as well as to mitigate the effect of the increased cost of nutrition over the past few years. In this work, the feed conversion (FC), daily weight gain (DWG), uniformity, and mortality of male broilers submitted to two food restriction programs were evaluated; one program reduced food by 10% and the other by 20% in relation to the feeding program suggested by the Cobb500 strain.

Re-emergence of Chorioptes bovis (Acari: Psoroptidae) in cattle in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Here we describe an outbreak of chorioptic mange in cattle, 56 years after its first identification in Brazil. Between the months of June and July 2011, dermatitis characterized by alopecia and crusted and thickened skin at the insertion of the tail and in the ischiorectal fossa was recognized in 40 (35.7%) out of 112 Holstein cows on a farm in the northeastern mesoregion of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.