The microalgae cultivation has been developed over the last decades because it is capable of producing valuable metabolites, such as n-3 fatty acids for nutraceutical purposes. Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the micro-alga as fat supplement on fatty acid profile of goat and cow milk, with particular reference to n-3 fatty acids and rumenic acid. Twenty dairy goats and 16 dairy cows were randomly allocated to two isonitrogenous treatment groups to investigate the effect of micro-alga supplementation on the composition and fatty acid profile of milk. The 1 st goat group was fed with alfalfa hay and concentrate; the 2 nd goat group received the same forages but the concentrate was supplemented with 10 g kg -1 DM intake micro-alga. The control group cows were fed with alfalfa hay, corn silage and concentrate, while the experimental animals were fed with the same forages but the concentrate was supplemented with 7.4 g kg -1 DM intake micro-alga. The experimental periods lasted for 17 d. The micro-alga supplements considerably increased rumenic acid concentration in milk (1.20% vs. 1.54%, P < 0.001 for goats; 0.75% vs. 0.85%, P < 0.05 for cows). The n-3 fatty acids were higher in milk (1.02 vs. 1.35; P < 0.001 for goats; 0.47 vs. 0.56; P < 0.05 for cows) and in addition the n-6/n-3 ratio was also more favorable in the micro-alga supplemented groups (3.53 vs. 2.88; P < 0.01 for goats; 4.18 vs. 3.36; P < 0.05 for cows). It is concluded that the diet with micro-alga supplementation significantly increased the concentration of beneficial fatty acids in both goat and cow milk.

From the 1990s, extensive research was started on the physiological aspects of individual traits in animals. Previous research has established two extreme (proactive and reactive) coping styles in several animal species, but the means of reactivity with the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity has not yet been investigated in cattle. The aim of this study was the characterization of cardiac autonomic activity under different conditions in cows with different individual characteristics. For this purpose, we investigated heart rate and ANS-related heart rate variability (HRV) parameters of dairy cows (N = 282) on smaller- and larger-scale farms grouped by (1) temperament and (2) behavioural reactivity to humans (BRH). Animals with high BRH scores were defined as impulsive, while animals with low BRH scores were defined as reserved. Cardiac parameters were calculated for undisturbed lying (baseline) and for milking bouts, the latter with the presence of an unfamiliar person (stressful situation). Sympathetic tone was higher, while vagal activity was lower in temperamental cows than in calm animals during rest both on smaller- and larger-scale farms. During milking, HRV parameters were indicative of a higher sympathetic and a lower vagal activity of temperamental cows as compared to calm ones in farms of both sizes. Basal heart rate did not differ between BRH groups either on smaller- or larger-scale farms. Differences between basal ANS activity of impulsive and reserved cows reflected a higher resting vagal and lower sympathetic activity of reserved animals compared to impulsive ones both on smaller- and larger-scale farms. There was no difference either in heart rate or in HRV parameters between groups during milking neither in smaller- nor in larger-scale farms. These two groupings allowed to draw possible parallels between personality and cardiac autonomic activity during both rest and milking in dairy cows. Heart rate and HRV seem to be useful for characterisation of physiological differences related to temperament and BRH.

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The effect of grazing on the fatty acid profile of milk and cheese was evaluated on 20 goats divided into two groups. The goats in the first group were kept indoors and fed with lucerne hay, the goats from the second group were kept on a natural pasture. Utilization of native pasture has been on a low level (extensive) for years in order to avoid over-grazing of the grassland. The milk from grazed goats had significantly higher contents of fat, protein and total solids without fat (P<0.001) as well as lower lactose content than goats kept indoors (P<0.01). Grazing considerably increased the total conjugated linoleic acid content in milk (0.59 vs 0.77%; P<0.001) and cheese (0.52 vs 0.84%; P<0.01). The distribution of n-3 and n-6 was much better in the grazed goats, i.e. the values of series n-3 fatty acids were higher in milk (0.52 vs 0.69%; P<0.01) and cheese (0.64 vs 1.07%; P<0.01). In addition, the n-6/n-3 ratio was also more favourable in the grazed group (milk: 6.10 vs 3.44; cheese: 4.19 vs 2.51; P<0.01). It is concluded that the milk and cheese from goats kept on the natural pasture were better in terms of nutraceutical parameters, which are advantageous in human nutrition, than the milk produced by animals kept indoors and fed with hay.

The aims of present study were to investigate the relationship between temperament score and cortisol and lactic acid levels of blood, as well as the effect of temperament on the maternal ability traits (milk production, lamb preweaning gain) and the postweaning growth of lambs in Tsigai breed. The temperament of thirty-one Tsigai ewes was scored by the temperament score test (behaviour of animals was assessed in a 5-score system (1: calm, 5: nervous) while spending 30 s on the scale during weighing), in addition, the cortisol level and the lactic acid concentration of blood were measured at weaning. The weaning weight, temperament, cortisol concentration, the pre-and the postweaning weight gain of lambs were also investigated in this study. The cortisol level and lactic acid concentration were highly related to the temperament scores of ewes (r rank =0.79, P<0.001; r rank =0.53, P<0.01). The calmer ewes had a lower cortisol (1.79 nmol/l, P<0.001) and lactic acid (1.87 mmol/l, P<0.01) concentration compared to the results of nervous ewes (5.35 nmol/l, 3.11 mmol/l, resp.). It was statistically proven (P<0.01) that the calm ewes' lambs had higher preweaning weight gain (244.0 g/day) and weaning weight (22.0 kg) than nervous animals (201.7 g/day, 18.1 kg). In addition, the calm ewes milked by hand produced more milk (52.4 l, P<0.05) than nervous ewes (46.1 l) in the milking period. Furthermore, the calm ewes' lambs had lower temperament score and cortisol concentration and better fattening performance than lambs were originated from nervous ewes.Keywords: temperament, cortisol concentration, lamb rearing, milk production, Tsigai Zusammenfassung Einfluss des Temperamentes von Zackelschafen auf ihre Mütterlichkeit und die Aufzuchtleistung ihrer Lämmer nach dem AbsetzenUntersucht wurden bei 31 Zackelschafmüttern deren Temperament, die Kortisol-und Milchsäurekonzentration des Blutes sowie die Muttereigenschaften beurteilt nach der Milchleistung, der Lebenstagszunahme der Lämmer vor und nach dem Absetzen dieser. Sowohl die Blutkennwerte als auch der Temperamenttest der Mütter und Lämmer erfolgte bei der Tierwägung, wobei in einem Zeitraum von 30 Sekunden das Verhalten nach einem 5-Punktesystem (1=ruhig, 5=nervös) bewertet wurde. Sowohl bei der Kortisol-als auch der Milchsäurekonzentration ergaben sich bei den Müttern signifikante Rangkorrelationen zu den Temperamentpunktzahlen (r rank =0,79 bzw. r rank =0,53). Die Kortosol-bzw. MilchArchiv Tierzucht 53 (2010)