• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.408-415
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• 1997

Data from 5,311 ewes and 13,076 lambing from 1977 through 1994 were used to analyse both annual and cumulative outputs in terms on total number of lambs born, total lamb weight weaned and total wool produced per ewe for ewe longevity 1 to 8 depending on their productive life in the flock. Ewes at Khushab produced 0.08 more lambs per parturition than ewes at Khizerabad; however, 0.39 less lambs were weaned at Khushab than at Khizerabad. Similarly, cumulative number of lambs born was more at Khushab flock than Khizerabad flock (p < .01). However, total weight of lambs weaned was greater at Khizerabad than Khushab flock (p < .01) for each ewe longevity. Most ewes (35%) were sold/replaced just after their first parturition (i. e. ewe longevity 1). The overall mean for annual sale/replacement was 32 and 23% at Khushab and Khizerabad, respectively. Distribution of growth and reproductive traits from 1977-94 did not show upward or downward trend inspite of heavy sale/replacement except yearly variation. Lack of any genetic progress over the year suggested that random breeding was employed without any scientific selection programme. Annual means for lambs born, lambs weaned and weight of lambs weaned per ewe present in the flock were the highest for ewe longevity 2 compared with other ewe longevity groups. Relative efficiency in terms of net income was highest for ewe longevity 5 followed by ewe longevity 4 and 6 in both flocks.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.102-105
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• 2002

Seventy-two crossbred pigs weighing an average of 41.5 kg were assigned on the basis of sex, weight and litter to one of four dietary treatments in a factorial (4 treatments${\times}$2 sexes) arrangement. The control diet was based on barley and soybean meal while the experimental treatments consisted of diets in which a portion of the dietary protein was supplied by 20% of a 50:50 blend of extruded ($130^{\circ}C$ for 20 to 25 sec) peas and full-fat canola seed, 20% of a 50:50 blend of unextruded peas and full-fat canola seed or a diet containing 10% peas, 6% canola meal and 4% canola oil (to equal the level of canola oil provided by 10% whole canola seed). Digestibility coefficients for dry matter, crude protein and gross energy were significantly higher (p<0.05) for the control diet than for the other three diets. Extrusion produced no beneficial effects (p>0.05) on nutrient digestibility and there were no differences in digestibility between the diet based on intact canola seed compared with the diet containing canola meal and oil. Choice of protein supplement had no significant effects on gain, feed intake or feed conversion during the grower or finisher phases and over the entire experimental period. Extrusion of the pea-canola blend produced no beneficial effects on pig performance as the performance of pigs fed either the extruded or unextruded blend of peas and canola seed was similar. In addition, the performance of pigs fed diets containing intact canola seed was similar to that of pigs fed canola meal and oil. Castrates gained faster and consumed more feed than gilts (p<0.05). However, their feed conversion was poorer than that of the gilts during the finisher period. There were no significant differences in carcass traits between pigs fed the control and any of the experimental treatments. Extrusion had no effect on carcass traits and the carcasses of pigs fed canola meal and oil did not differ from those of pigs fed whole canola seed. Castrates had a significantly lower dressing percentage, lower estimated lean yield but greater loin fat depth than gilts (p<0.05). The results of this experiment indicate that peas in combination with canola seed or canola meal are an acceptable alternative to soybean meal as a protein supplement for use in growing-finishing swine diets. Extrusion did not appear to have any beneficial effects on the nutritional value of the canola seed-pea blend as nutrient digestibility, growth performance and carcass traits were similar for pigs fed the unextruded blend of peas and canola seed compared with the extruded product. Since the process adds to the cost of the raw products, its use is unlikely to be economical.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1104-1111
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) gene and explore association of this candidate gene with reproductive traits in Jiaxing Black sows. Methods: Six pairs of primers of the gene were designed to amplify all exons thus sequences of which were detected by means of direct sequencing and then SNP loci were scanned. The effects of SNPs on total number of piglets born (TNB), number of piglets born alive (NBA), number of still born piglets (NSB), and litter weight at birth (LWB) of Jiaxing Black sows were analyzed. Results: Three SNP loci, including T3739C, C3878T and T6789C, were identified via comparison of sequencing and two genotypes (AB, BB) at each SNP site were observed. T3739C resulted in the change of amino acid ($Leu{\rightarrow}Pro$) in corresponding protein, and C3878T resulted in synonymous mutation ($Ile{\rightarrow}Ile$). Statistical results demonstrated that allele B was the preponderant allele at the three SNP loci and Genotype BB was the preponderant genotype. Meanwhile, Chi-Square test of these three SNPs indicated that all mutation sites fitted in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p>0.05). For GPR54-T3739C locus, Jiaxing Black sows with genotype BB had 1.23 TNB and 1.28 NBA (p<0.01) that were more than those with genotype AB, respectively. Jiaxing Black sows that had the first two parities with genotype BB had additional 2.23 TNB, 2.27 NBA (p<0.01), and 1.94 LWB (p<0.05) compared to those with genotype AB, respectively. However, for other two loci, no significant difference was found between TNB, NBA, NSB, and LWB, and different genotypes of Jiaxing Black sows. Conclusion: In conclusion, the polymorphisms of GPR54-T3739C locus were significantly associated to TNB, NBA, and LWB and could be used as a potential genetic marker to improve reproductive function of Jiaxing black sows.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.55-64
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• 2010

This study was conducted to estimate genetic parameters for reproductive traits using multivariate animal models in Yorkshire breed. For the study, 4,989 records for litter traits collected between the year 2001 and 2005 from Yorkshire pigs in K GGP were used. The effects of environmental factors such as farrowing year, parity, weaning to estrus interval (WEI), and suckling period were statistically significant (p<0.05), but farrowing season was not significant, for reproductive traits. The estimates genetic correlations and phenotypic correlations in total number of born and number of suckling, was shown to highly correlated. The genetic correlations were higher than phenotypic correlation. The estimates of heritabilities for reproductive traits, considering permanent environment effects (PE) were much lower than those obtained when permanent environment effects were not considered (NPE) in the model. The estimates of heritabilities were 0.240 and 0.076 for total number of born and 0.187 and 0.096 for number of suckling in NPE, and PE, respectively. These results itivcate that PE should be considered in the statistical mode to estimate more acco ate breeding values.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.565-572
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• 1999

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of conditioning (conventional vs expander) corn- and sorghum-based diets on production traits for lactating sows and finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, one hundred sixty-eight sows (parity 1-4, PIC line C15) were fed the corn or sorghum grain diets as a meal, standard (steam) conditioned pellets, or expanded pellets to give a $2{\times}3$ factorial arrangement of treatments. Pellet durability index (PDD was similar for the sorghum- vs corn-based diets, but increased when diets were expanded pellets for both corn- and sorghum-based diets. The corn-based meal diet supported 3.3% greater litter weight gain than the sorghum-based meal diet (44.0 kg vs 42.8 kg). However, the advantage for the corn-based diet disappeared with expander processing (ie., sows fed the sorghum-based diet responded more to diets processed with the alternative processing technology). Sow weight change during lactation was similar (p>0.15) among treatments, although average daily feed intake tended to be greater (p<0.09) for the sows fed sorghum. For Exp. 2, a total of 71 barrows (average initial weight of 58.0 kg) were used in a growth assay to determine the effects of feeding com- and sorghum-based diets, as meal or pellets, after processing with a conventional steam conditioner or an expander (high-shear) conditioner. PDI was not different for the sorghum- vs corn-based diets, but increased from 84 to 95% with expander conditioning compared to conventional steam conditioning. Rate and efficiency of gain, and carcass leanness were similar for pigs fed sorghum and corn (p>0.15). Efficiency of gain was greater (p<0.04) for pigs fed the pelleted (356 g/kg) diets compared to those given the meal (348 g/kg) diets. However, efficiencies of gain were similar (p>0.11) for pigs fed the conventional- and expander-conditioned diets. Pelleting increased (p<0.01) the incidence and severity of stomach lesions regardless of grain type. In conclusion, corn-based meal diet resulted in a greater litter weight gain than the sorghum-based meal diet. However, that advantage disappeared when the diets were expanded and pelleted. Finishing pigs fed pelleted diets were more efficient than those fed meal diets.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.165-170
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• 2017

Pigs have been extensively used as mediators of xenotransplantation research. Specifically, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) miniature pig was developed to fix major histocompatibility antigens for use in xenotransplantation studies. We generated transgenic pigs for xenotransplantation using MGH pigs. However, it has not been studied yet whether these pigs show similarity of reproductive physiological characteristics to wild types of MGH miniature pig. In this study we analyzed the estrous cycles and pregnancy characteristics of wild type (WT) and transgenic MGH miniature pigs, which were ${\alpha}1,3$-galactosyltransferase (GalT) heterozygous and homozygous knock-out, and membrane cofactor protein (MCP) inserted in its locus, $GalT^{-MCP/+}$ and $GalT^{-MCP/-MCP}$ pigs. Estrous cycles of WT, $GalT^{-MCP/+}$ and $GalT^{-MCP/-MCP}$ pigs were $20.9{\pm}0.74$, $20.1{\pm}1.26$, and $17.3{\pm}0.87days$, respectively, and periods of estrous were $3.2{\pm}0.10$, $3.1{\pm}0.12$, and $3.1{\pm}0.11days$. The periods of gestation of WT, $GalT^{-MCP/+}$ and $GalT^{-MCP/-MCP}$ pigs were $114.2{\pm}0.37$, $113.3{\pm}0.67$, and $115.4{\pm}0.51days$, respectively. Litter sizes of WT, $GalT^{-MCP/+}$ and $GalT^{-MCP/-MCP}$ pigs were $4.8{\pm}0.35$, $4.8{\pm}1.11$ and $3.0{\pm}0.32$ respectively. There were no significant differences on estrous cycle, periods of estrous and gestation, and litter size among WT, $GalT^{-MCP/+}$ and $GalT^{-MCP/-MCP}$ pigs, meaning that GalT knock-out and additional expression MCP of the MGH miniature pig did not effect on reproduction traits. These results provide relevant information to establish breeding system for MGH transgenic pig, and for propagation of $GalT^{-MCP/-MCP}$ pig to supply for xenotransplantation research.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1749-1756
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• 2021

Objective: Microminipig (MMP) is a miniature pig with an extra small body size for experimental use. In the present study, the occurrence of stillbirths and their genetic association with swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) class II haplotypes were evaluated in a population of MMPs. Methods: The occurrences of stillbirth and genetic association with SLA class II haplotypes using 483 stillborn and 2,246 live piglets, and their parents were compared among the three groups of newborn piglet litters; an all stillborn (AS) group consisting of only stillborn piglet litters, a partial stillborn (PS) group consisting of stillborn and live piglet litters, and an all alive (AA) group consisting of only live piglet litters. Results: The incidence of stillborn piglets was 483/2,729 (17.7%). Distributions of litter sizes, numbers of stillborn piglets in a litter, parities, and gestation periods were distinct among the three groups. The frequencies of low resolution haplotype (Lr)-0.7 or Lr-0.23 were higher in the AS group than in the PS or AA groups. In sires, the frequency of Lr-0.7 associated with the AS group was significantly higher in the AS group than with the AA group. In dams, the frequency of Lr-0.23 was significantly higher in the AS group than in the PS or AA groups, whereas the frequency of Lr-0.7 was not significantly different. Conclusion: The incidence of stillborn piglets in MMPs appears to be higher than those in other pig breeds. Several traits related with stillbirths such as the number of stillborn piglets and parities of the AS group were different from those of the PS and AA groups. Specific SLA class II haplotypes were associated significantly with a high incidence of stillbirths and could be used as genetic markers to adopt breeding strategies to lower the rate of stillbirth in MMPs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.1666-1672
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• 2003

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of an alumninosilicate clay, marketed under the trade name Biotite V, to improve growing-finishing pig performance and to determine its effects on nutrient digestibility and excretion. Sixty crossbred pigs (22.3${\pm}2.7kg$, Camborough 15 Line female${\times}$Canabred sire) were assigned on the basis of sex, weight and litter to one of four dietary treatments in a $2{\times}4$ (two sexes and four treatments) factorial design experiment. The experimental diets were based on barley and soybean meal and contained 0, 0.25, 0.5 or 0.75% biotite during the growing period (22.3-60.5 kg) and 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5% biotite during the finishing period (60.5-110.3 kg). Each pig was allowed access to its own individual feeder for 30 min twice daily (07:00 and 15:00 h). Individual pig body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion were recorded weekly. The pigs were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir when they reached an average weight of 110.3 kg. Carcass weight was recorded and dressing percentage calculated. Carcass fat and lean measurements were obtained with a Destron PG 100 probe between the 3rd and 4th last ribs, 70 mm of the midline. Total tract digestibility coefficients for dry matter, energy, nitrogen and phosphorus were determined using three males and three females per treatment starting at an average weight of $52.2{\pm}3.8kg$. These pigs were housed under identical conditions as those used in the growing stage and were fed the same diets modified only by the addition of 0.5% chromic oxide as a digestibility marker. Over the entire experimental period (22.3-110.3 kg), daily gain was unaffected (p>0.05) by the inclusion of biotite in the diet. There was a cubic response for feed intake (p=0.06) and a quadratic response (p=0.07) for feed conversion due to biotite. Feeding biotite produced no significant (p>0.05) linear or quadratic effects on any of the carcass traits measured. Dry matter digestibility decreased linearly (p=0.02) with increasing levels of biotite in the diet. However, digestibility coefficients for energy, nitrogen and phosphorus were unaffected (p<0.05) by biotite inclusion. Lactobacilli and enterobacteria numbers were unaffected by inclusion of biotite while Salmonella was not detected in any of the fecal samples. The overall results of this experiment indicate that biotite inclusion did not reduce fecal excretion of nitrogen or phosphorus and failed to improve nutrient digestibility. Neither growth rate nor carcass quality was improved while a modest improvement in feed conversion was observed at lower levels of inclusion. Based on the results of this experiment, it would be difficult to justify the routine inclusion of biotite in diets fed to grower-finisher pigs. Whether or not a greater response would have been obtained with pigs of a lower health status is unknown.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1501-1509
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• 2003

The simultaneous addition of xylanase (5,600 EXU/kg) and phytase (500 FTU/kg) feed enzymes to wheat-based broiler diets was investigated. Starter, grower and finisher diets, with three tiers of nutrient specifications, were fed to 1,440 broiler chicks kept on deep litter from 1-42 days post-hatch, without and with xylanase plus phytase, to determine the effects of diet type and enzyme supplementation on growth performance. The nutrient specifications of type A diets were standard; energy density and protein/amino acid levels were reduced on a least-cost basis to formulate type B diets and further reduced to type C diets. Phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) levels were adjusted in supplemented diets. From 1-42 days post-hatch, diet type significantly influenced growth performance. Birds on type C diets had lower growth rates (2,429 vs. 2,631 g/bird; p<0.001), higher feed intakes (4,753 vs. 4,534 g/bird; p<0.005) and less efficient feed conversion (1.96 vs. 1.72; p<0.001) than birds offered type A diets. Enzyme supplementation increased growth rates by 3.2% (2,580 vs. 2,501 g/bird; p<0.005) and improved feed efficiency by 2.7% (1.80 vs. 1.85; p<0.05) over the entire feeding period. There were no interactions between diet type and enzyme supplementation. At 21 days, 5 out of 30 birds per pen were transferred to cages to ascertain treatment effect on apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and nitrogen (N) retention. Xylanase plus phytase enhanced AME (13.48 to 13.91 MJ/kg DM; p<0.001) and N retention (56.3 to 59.7%; p<0.005). Carcass and breast weights of the caged birds were determined following commercial processing. Diet type significantly influenced breast weight, carcass weight and yield. Birds offered Type A diets, in comparison to Type C diets, supported heavier breast (467 vs. 424 g; p<0.001) and carcass weights (1,868 vs. 1,699 g; p<0.001) with superior carcass yields (71.8 vs. 70.6%; p<0.005). Enzyme addition increased carcass weight by 3.9% (1,752 vs. 1,821 g; p<0.005) and breast weight by 5.8% (431 vs. 456 g; p<0.01) without influencing yields. Feed ingredient costs per kg live weight gain and per kg carcass weight indicated that enzyme addition was economically feasible, where supplementation of Type A diets generated the most effective results. Importantly, soluble and total non-starch polysaccharide and phytate contents of the wheat used were typical by local standards. This study confirms the potential of supplementing wheat-based broiler diets with xylanase plus phytase but further investigations are required to define the most appropriate inclusion rates and dietary nutrient specifications in this context.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 1985

This study was carried out to investigate reproductive traits and sex hormone levels by growth in Korean native goats. Serum levels of FSH, LH, prolactin, estradiol-$17{\beta}$ and progesterone were determined every 15 days from the 70 days of age to 190 days by radioimmunoassay. The age and weight at sexual maturity were 183.6 days and 14.3 kg; the length of estrous cycle and estrus period were 20.3 days and 36.7 hours, respectively. The gestation period, litter size and body weight at birth were 148.4 days, 1.4 head and 1.8 kg, respectively. The levels of serum LH were highest with 3.93 mIU/ml at 70 days of age, thereafter decreased gradually to 1.21 mIU/ml at 190 days of age. The concentrations of FSH in serum were below 1.25 mIU/ml throughout the experimental period. The levels of prolactin were lowest with 3.09ng/ml at 85 days of age and highest with 4.65 ng/ml at 175 days of age. The serum levels of estradiol-$17{\beta}$ were increased with age, thus highest with 7.95 pg/ml at 190 days of age. The serum progesterone concentrations were maintained low levels (below 1.0 ng/ml) throughout the experimental period.