Heat stress is one of the major factors adversely affecting animal welfare and thus economic benefits of farms. This study was designed to determine the effects of two different spraying methods on goats exposed to high air temperatures. Thirty goats were divided into three groups for the trial (sprayed once per day, OTS; sprayed twice per day, TTS; and non-sprayed, Controls). Respiration and pulse rates, rectal and surface temperatures (from head and udder skin) were taken three times a day (08.00 - 09.00; 16.00 - 17.00 and 00.00 - 01.00) on hot summer days in July 2005 in a Mediterranean climate. Some behavioural aspects such as eating, ruminating, drinking, walking and resting, and daily feed and water consumption were regularly measured. Rectal temperatures, pulse and respiration rates, udder and head temperatures differed between the three groups. Rectal, head and udder temperatures and respiration and pulse rates increased at 16.00 relative to 08.00, and at 00.00 had returned to the same level as at 08.00. TTS goats showed smaller increases in all physiological measurements at 16.00 than the other groups. TTS goats spent more time than OTS and Control goats eating (P=0.002), ruminating (P=0.032) and walking (P=0.021), but less time drinking (P=0.041) and lying (P=0.001). TTS goats consumed more concentrate feed (P=0.001) and alfalfa hay (P=0.024) than the other two groups, whereas Control goats consumed more water (P=0.003) than the other groups. Ultimately, the spraying had positive effects on yearling goats for alleviating heat stress and improving animal welfare

No abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the addition of micronized zeolite (MZ) on the fattening performance, blood parameters, faecal ash and nitrogen levels of lambs fed concentrate feeds intensively. For two months 25 four-month-old Merino x Ile de France crossbred male lambs (21.1 ± 1.32 kg live weight) were fed 100 g alfalfa hay and a mixed concentrate diet containing 0%, 1%, 2% or 3% additional MZ. At the end of the study, bodyweight gain and feed consumption were not affected by the treatments. Similarly, the addition of up to 2% MZ to the diet did not affect slaughter weight, hot carcass or cold carcass weights, but they decreased at 3% MZ inclusion. No differences were observed between the groups in terms of blood urea nitrogen, plasma glucose, serum creatinine, triglyceride, sodium, potassium and chlorine concentration. However, serum total protein, calcium and phosphorus concentrations were affected by MZ supplementation. The addition of MZ to the ration did not affect the faecal dry matter content and total nitrogen level, yet it increased the ash content of the faeces. Consequently, it was demonstrated that the addition of up to 2% MZ to lamb grower feed does not have a negative impact on performance and carcass yield of the animals, but affects serum total protein, calcium and phosphorus concentrations.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of ovary transportation in a semi-complex medium containing HEPES at different temperatures on the developmental competence and the quality of in vitroproduced embryos. The cattle ovaries were transported in normal saline (NS), phosphate buffer saline (PBS), K simplex optimization medium (KSOM), Chatot-Ziomek-Bavister medium (CZB) and Charles Rosenkrans medium (CR1) at various temperatures (38 ºC, 25 ºC and 4 ºC). The developmental competence of retrieved cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) was evaluated by maturation, fertilization, morula and blastocyst formation and numbers of inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) cells. The COC maturation rate was affected by medium and temperature. It was found that 4 ºC resulted in a higher maturation (81.0 ± 4.75) rate than other transportation temperatures. The CR1 (80.5 ± 6.66) and KSOM (80.2 ± 6.15) gave a better maturation rate than the others. Fertilization rate, which was evaluated by cleavage rate, was not affected by transportation temperature. However, the transporting medium had a significant effect on the fertilization rate. Moreover, CR1 (43.6 ± 4.60), KSOM (43.2 ± 4.86) and CZB (41.1 ± 4.86) media gave higher percentages of cleaved embryos. There was no significant difference in morula and blastocyst formation rate or in ICM and TE cell counts regarding transportation factors. In conclusion, the transport of ovaries in CR1 at 4 ºC is effective for maintaining early developmental competence of cattle oocytes.

Abstract. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of increasing ovulation rate in Norduz sheep by immunization against inhibin-based peptide immunogens. A total of 18 primiparious Norduz ewes were used for this experiment. Eight ewes have received two times inhibin α-subunit 1-32 porcine vaccine with 3 weeks interval. The rest was kept as control. Antibody binding test by standard ELISA method did not provide reliable information. However, ultrasonographic inspection showed that significantly high number of follicle with 5 mm and larger diameter (P<0.01) has developed in immunized ewes. Moreover, 3 of immunized ewes have lambed twin. However, twin birth was not observed in control group.