The national database of the use of stallions, supplied by the Department of Animal Registration and Breeding Organization of the Hungarian National Food Safety Authority was analyzed for the purpose of this research. 680 foaling data of 7 horse breeds was processed during the work. The factors effecting gestation length were examined by univariate analysis of variance (GLM). Breed, month of mating, method of fertilization, age of the mare, and sex of the foal were considered as fixed effects, and the sire was used as random effect in the study. The population genetic parameters of gestation length were also estimated. The overall mean value of gestation length was 334.1±2.62 days. Differences between the breeds were not significant. The effect of month of mating and effect of sex of foal on the gestation length were statistically proven (P<0.01). The mares fertilized in March and April had the longest gestation lengths 342.4 days, 341.4 days, respectively. In the cases of mares fertilized in later months of the year the gestation length was about 10 days shorter. Fillies had longer gestation length (335.6 days), than colts (333.5 days). Method of fertilization and age of the mare had no significant effect on the gestation length. The effects of sire on the gestation length were significant (P<0.05). The heritability (h 2 ) of gestation length was 0.18. Based on the analysis it can be presumed, that if the mares are kept in a suitable environment (professional nutrition, good health and breeding practices), well-balanced gestation parameters can be expected in the case of any genotypes. ÖsszefoglalásA Szerzők a NÉBiH Állattenyésztési Igazgatóság Tenyésztés Szervezési és Teljesítményvizsgálati Osztályától kapott országos ménhasználati adatbázist dolgozták fel. A munka során hét lófajta összesen 680 ellési adatát értékelték. A vemhességi időt befolyásoló tényezők hatásának vizsgálatát többtényezős varianciaanalízissel (GLM) végezték. A munka során fix hatásnak tekintették a fajtát, a fedeztetés hónapját, a termékenyítés módját, a kanca életkorát, valamint a megszületett csikó ivarát. A modellbe véletlen hatásként az apát is beépítették. A vemhességi idő tulajdonság populációgenetikai paramétereit is megbecsülték. A vemhességi idő főátlaga 334,5±2,62 nap volt. A fajták közti különbségeket nem találták statisztikailag igazolhatónak. A fedeztetés hónapjának, valamint a csikó ivarának a hatása statisztikailag igazolhatóan (P<0,01, ill. P<0,05) befolyásolta a vemhességi időt. A leghosszabb vemhességi idővel (342,4 nap, ill. 341,4 nap) a márciusban és áprilisban termékenyített kancák rendelkeztek. Az év későbbi hónapjaiban termékenyített kancák vemhességi ideje ennél mintegy 10 nappal rövidebb volt. Kancacsikó születése esetén a vemhességi idő (335,6 nap) hosszabb volt, mint a méncsikóknál (333,5 nap). A termékenyítés módja, valamint a kanca életkora nem gyakorolt szignifikáns hatást a vemhességi időre. Az apa hatása a vemhességi idő tulajdonságra statisztikailag igazolhatónak (P<0,05) bizonyult. A vemhességi idő örökölh...

Live weights and 21 body measurements of 110 adult brood mares from Hungarian Thoroughbred broodmares were evaluated. Body measurements and some body measure indices were determined. One way ANOVA was used to compare the studs. Regression equations were developed to estimate the live weight from body measurements. The overall mean values of body measurements were as follows: live weight 542.0 kg, height at withers with stick 160.9 cm, height at withers with tape 168.8 cm, height of back 151.9 cm, height at rump 159.9 cm, depth of chest 75.5 cm, height of bieler-point 85.4 cm, length of body 163.3 cm, diagonal length of body 167.5 cm, upper neck measure 93.6 cm, length of back 85.2 cm, length of rump 49.6 cm, width of breast 46.0 cm, width of chest 48.0 cm, 1st, 2nd, 3rd width of rump 56.0-54.2-23.2 cm, circumference of chest 192.1 cm, circumference of cannon bone left front-rear 19.8-22.0 cm, length of head 59.3 cm, width of head 22.9 cm. The standard deviation and cv% values of body measurements were between 0.7-5.8 cm and 2.1-6.7%, respectively (excluding 3rd width of rump). Only few differences among studs, concerning evaluated body measurements, were presented-firstly: body measurements, related to the kilter and nutritional status (hearth girth)-were significant. Between the mentioned traits and the live weight medium positive correlation (r = 0.47-0.79; P<0.01) was found. For the estimation of live weight with regression model the necessary data are as follows: hearth girth, 2 nd width of rump and diagonal length of body. The determination coefficient was 0.80 (P<0.01). As a conclusion it can be stated that the Thoroughbred population in Hungary is quite homogenous in terms of the most important body measurements.

The Ammonia Gas Emission Model for Swine (AGEM-S), a nitrogen flow model, was created with the objective of assisting in the reduction of ammonia emissions in the Hungarian pig sector. Regarding the applied technological processes and considering the factors that influence ammonia emissions, the model quantifies the amount of ammonia emissions of pig farming in all stages (feeding, housing technology, manure storage, and application in the field). The aim of the project was to create a system that performs general calculations using the input data used by practicing farmers, without compromising the information content of the output data. Using this system, the input parameters can be entered as simply as possible and in the shortest possible time. In addition to demonstrating the impact of ammonia emission reduction measures to farmers from an integrated N management approach, AGEM-S has the potential to support the transfer of emission reduction technologies and practices at the farm level as a knowledge transfer tool primarily, but also as a decision support tool for technological change.

In this trial, the effects of different nutritional treatments on the N balance parameters of fattening pigs in the 55–65 kg live weight category were evaluated. The following diets were used: control diet (C) and low-protein (LP) diet with 2% crude protein reduction, with and without 10% sugar beet pulp (S) or 0.5% benzoic acid supplementation. Six pigs per treatment with similar live weight were used, and in the context of the balance trial, the daily N intake, fecal and urinary N excretion and the pH of urine were measured. From the data N digestibility, the TAN % and N retention were calculated. Feeding LP diets reduced the fecal, urinary and total N excretion and also the pH of urine significantly compared with the control diet. Sugar beet pulp significantly increased the fecal N excretion and urinary pH, and it also reduced significantly N digestibility and the TAN ratio. Benzoic acid failed to reduce urinary pH. The measured N excretion, retention and TAN excretion values were more favorable than those that can be found in the different guidelines or those used in the Hungarian ammonia emission inventory.

The effects of feeding low-protein (LP) diets and the age and genotype of fattening pigs were evaluated in an N-balance trial. Sixty weaned piglets of two genotypes were allotted to three different diets. Besides the control diets for the crossbred Topigs 20 × DanBred Duroc (TD) and Hungarian Large White (HLW) pigs, two LP diets were fed containing 1.5 (T1.5) and 3% (T3) less dietary protein than the control. The LP diets were supplemented with crystalline lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and methionine to equalize their digestible amino acid contents. Starter diets were fed between 20–30, grower I between 30–40, grower II between 40–80 and finisher between 80–110 kg live weights. Pigs were kept in floor pens, with 10 animals per pen. In all phases, six pigs with similar live weight were placed into individual balance cages and in the frame of a seven-day long balance trial, the daily N-intake, fecal and urinary N-excretion were measured. From the data N-digestibility, the total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) and N-retention were calculated. All the investigated main factors, the genotype and age of pigs and the protein content of the diets had significant effects on the N-balance of fattening pigs. The determinacy of the factors depended on the investigated parameter. Fecal N-excretion and N-digestibility were steadier compared with the urinary N-exertion and TAN percentage. N-digestibility increased and the urinary N-excretion decreased when LP diets were fed. The urinary N-decreasing effect of LP diets was not linear. Compared with the control (19.6 gN/day), T1.5 treatment resulted in 14.5, treatment T3 in 12.4 g daily urinary N-excretion. The TAN and the N-retention of HLW pigs were more favorable than those of TD pigs. Based on our results, it can be concluded that the accuracy of the nitrogen and TAN excretion values of pigs, used in the calculation of the national NH3 inventories, could be improved if the genotype, the more detailed age categories and the different protein levels of feeds are considered.