Anatomy for economy: Starting from the rumen keratinization degree to enhance the farm income

Apelin System in Mammary Gland of Sheep Reared in Semi-Natural Pastures of the Central Apennines

“…In this perspective, supplementation may have had a positive effect by maintaining the mammary gland active for longer after the end of lactating period. This hypothesis is partly supported by the fact that, after using the same experimental protocol on lactating ewes, a high decrease in milk production was observed in MxD group, while the Exp group maintained significantly higher milk yields for a certain time [5]. It may be assumed that the major milk production induced by supplementation maybe due to higher levels of APLNR expression, as observed in the dry Exp group.…”

“…The natural and semi-natural pastures in the central Apennines in Italy are used as trophic resources for zootechny, but the increase in summer aridity causes a decrease in the pastoral value of the grasslands; in fact, it is registering an anticipation of the moment of pasture maximum flowering and a shortening of the period between maximum flowering and maximum dryness of pastures. This fact reflects on a lower availability of both forage quality and quantity; the increase in drought stress is therefore detrimental to the sustainability of extensive sheep farms because it affects the morpho-functional features of the animals [1,2,3,4] and greatly reduces milk production [5].…”

“…The main income in Italian dairy sheep farms comes from milk (72%), followed by milk-fed or light lamb sales (21%), and subsidies (7%) [6]. So, sheep milk production is an important source of income for livestock breeders and farm economy implementation [5]. Sheep milk, due to its advantageous organoleptic properties, is mainly used for making cheese and dairy products; therefore, it is essential to study the molecular mechanisms and modifications that occur in ovine mammary glands in order to implement milk quality and to improve production strategies.…”

“…Physiological dry period was chosen in order to respect the 3Rs concept of reduction using animals intended for human consumption. Grazing activity is fundamental to maintain the grassland biodiversity but this goal can be reached only ensuring an economical sustainability to the farmers [2,5]. The lack of this condition represents one of the most threats for the pasture abandonment [17], particularly in the 2016 earthquake basin.…”

Effects of Feed Supplementation on Nesfatin-1, Insulin, Glucagon, Leptin, T3, Cortisol, and BCS in Milking Ewes Grazing on Semi-Natural Pastures

“…Milk production was monitored at three different times: at the beginning (7 July 2016, near 75 days after parturitions, morning milking mean yield 297 ± 63 mL by UNS and 306 ± 64 mL by SUP ewes), in the middle (21 July 2016, 134 ± 47 mL by UNS and 240 ± 52 mL by SUP ewes), and in the end (9 August 2016, 125 ± 51 mL by UNS and 192 ± 52 mL by SUP ewes) of the period of nutritional supplementation as previously described [ 28 ].…”