Animal Bytes

Take Home Message: Exposing ewes to parasites does not affect mean lamb birth weight, but reduces lamb weight gain in the first 5 weeks post lambing and increases lamb weight gain during lamb exposure to parasites.
The expression of immunity to parasites in immune ewes is nutritionally expensive and body reserves may be sacrificed over reproductive [...]

Traditional British and New Zealand lambs are similar in performance for birth assistance and lamb vigour traits, but high index-selected lambs required more assistance at birth than NZ lambs.

Although the average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio of pigs between breeds may not differ significantly, their feeding behaviour can be very different.

Increasing herbage allowance in mid-gestation ewes increased subsequent birth and weaning weights of lambs.

To accelerate changes in carcass composition and muscularity, within the context of a multi-trait selection index for hill sheep, consideration should be given to including objective CT-derived carcass traits in the index in addition to the Meat and Livestock Commission carcass grades or ultrasound measurements.

Including alternative forages with perennial ryegrass during reseeding had no beneficial effects on lamb performance.

Supplementing ewes with crude fish oil during mid and late pregnancy has limited benefits for lamb viability and weaned lamb output, irrespective of the timing or duration of the supplementation period.

The inclusion of inulin in pig finisher diets had no effect on phosphorus, calcium or nitrogen digestibility and there was no effect of inulin supplementation on proximal colon bacterial populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli spp.

The time spent lying by pigs during trials comparing treatments did not differ significantly, which may suggest this parameter is not a good welfare indicator, or that it was not recorded over a sufficient timeframe.

As birth weight increased, variable weight of pigs at weaning decreased suggesting that light birth weight pigs are ‘less predictable’ in terms of weaning weight than heavier pigs.