The effects of silage additives on performance of dairy bulls were determined in a feeding trial using 45 Nordic Red and 45 Holstein bulls. Both breeds were allotted randomly to three treatments: (1) timothy silage (TS) without additives + barley (CON); (2) TS with sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and sodium nitrate-based additive + barley (SALT); and (3) TS with a mixture of mostly formic acid and propionic acid-based additive + barley (ACID). The bulls were fed total mixed rations ad libitum. During the experimental period of 259 days, the average dry matter intake was 10·1 kg/d and there was no difference among the treatments. The average live-weight gain (LWG) and carcass gain was 1363 and 741 g/d, respectively. There were no treatment differences in the carcass gain but LWG of the CON bulls was 5% higher compared with the SALT and ACID bulls. Carcass conformation score of the SALT and ACID bulls was 6% higher compared with the CON bulls. The experiment demonstrated that there was only a slight benefit from silage additives in animal performance when silage dry matter was 350–400 g/kg and silage was ensiled in round bales.

The objective of the present study was to determine the pasture intake of European wild boar and domestic pigs throughout their growth period (from 60 to 207 days of age). The proportion of time that each animal type spent grazing was also determined. Twelve 60-day-old pure-bred European wild boar (six castrated males and six females, average live-weight (±s.e.m.) 6·8 ± 0·37 kg) and 12 70-day-old domestic pigs (Large White × Landrace, six castrated males and six females, average live-weight [ ± s.e.m.] 24·1 ± 0·66 kg) were used in the study. Each day during the study, the animals grazed from 08·00 until 16·00 h, after which they had ad-libitum access to a supplemental diet for 1 h. Every 14 days throughout the study (a total of ten determinations), the pasture consumption was determined as the difference between the pasture dry matter (DM) availability pre- and post-grazing. The supplemental diet consumption was also determined. Three times during the study (age of animals 85, 140 and 198 days), the behaviour of each animal was observed over four consecutive days while grazing. When considered on a metabolic bodyweight basis, the pasture consumption of the European wild boar was greater than that in the domestic pigs. Approximately 0·20 of the total DM intake by the wild boar was pasture, whereas only 0·10 of the total DM intake by the domestic pigs was pasture. However, domestic pigs consumed a greater quantity of supplemental diet than the wild boar. The wild boar obtained 0·20 of their total daily dietary apparent energy intake from pasture, compared with 0·07 in the domestic pigs. Wild boar were more active during 8-h grazing periods spending 0·54 of their time grazing or moving around, compared with 0·32 of the time in domestic pigs.

In vitro rumen methane output (IRMO) of over 200 feed/feed mix samples representing approximately 74 feed types was investigated in a series of completely randomized experiments. The samples comprised dry fodder, grass, tree leaves, cultivated grasses, cereal by-products, cereal grains, oilseed/meals, compound feeds and total mixed rations (TMRs) from the tropical regions. These samples were subjected to three in vitro gas production tests at 39 °C in 100 ml Heberle syringes. The first incubation was conducted with 200 mg dry matter (DM) substrate for 96 h to determine half-time gas production (t1/2, h) value of each sample. The second and third incubations were carried out simultaneously. The second incubation was done with 200 mg DM substrate until t1/2 time to determine IRMO and third with 500 mg DM to estimate in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of each samples, respectively. The IRMO was expressed as ml/100 mg digestible substrate. Crude protein content (g/kg DM) was lowest in dry fodder samples and highest in oilseed meals, whereas it was similar in local grass and tree leaves. The IVDMD values ranged from 0·48 to 0·87; the lowest digestibility was recorded in tree leaves. The potential gas production (PGP, ml/200 mg DM) ranged from 9·76 to 61·3. The PGP from grasses and compound feeds was similar, whereas it was lowest in tree leaves. The rate constant (mg/h) was maximum in compound feed followed by oilseed meal. The rate constant was similar among other group of feedstuffs. The t1/2 time ranged from 9·8 to 19·4 h. The highest t1/2 time was recorded in local grass samples followed by dry fodder and cultivated grasses. However, they were similar among tree leaves, cereal grains, by-products and compound feeds. The methane % in the total gas varied from 9·79 (tree leaves) to 20·2 (local grasses). Among straw, IRMO varied from 3·88 (Zea mays fodder) to 12·0 (Sorghum vulgare) and it was lower in fruit tree leaves than cultivated grasses. Among protein and energy sources, IRMO was higher in cereal by-products as compared with cereal grains, oil meals and compound feed. The IRMO was similar among TMR, irrespective of the composition of the concentrate mixture. Nevertheless, it varied with the amount of concentrate in the TMR. This is the first exhaustive data on IRMO from the tropical region. Because of the substantial amount of dietary gross energy lost in methane, knowledge of the methane output from these feed ingredients will help in formulating low methane emitting diets for ruminants. Incorporation of tropical tree leaves in the diets and feeding TMR are potential strategies to reduce enteric methane emission in ruminants.

Polymorphisms in the myostatin (MSTN) gene were detected in 150 female Iranian Markhoz goats. Two 573 base pairs (bp) and 475 bp fragments of the MSTN gene, which contains a deletion 5 bp indel (206 TTTTA/), in the region of exon 1 encoding the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the MSTN transcript, and two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of substitution (339T/A, 169T/G) in exon 1 and 3 regions, respectively, were amplified. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products were digested separately using restriction enzyme endonuclease DraI, HinIII and HindIII. The digestion results indicated AA and AB genotypes in the region of exon 1 encoding the 5′UTR of the MSTN transcript, AA, AT and TT genotypes in exon 1 and TT, TG and GG genotypes in exon 3. The SNPs loci were in Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium but the deletion locus showed equilibrium in the Markhoz goat population. Evaluation of associations between the polymorphisms with the studied growth traits showed that the AA and GG genotypes of exons 1 and 3 have a significant positive effect on weight at 6 months of age (W6) and average daily gain (ADG) traits, but genotypes in the region of exon 1 encoding the 5′UTR of the MSTN transcript did not have any significant effect on the studied growth traits. The statistical analyses showed a positive and significant effect of the 339A allele (exon 1) for W6 and negative and significant effect of the 169G allele (exon 3) for ADG trait. Therefore, these results suggest that the MSTN gene could be a potential candidate gene that affects ADG and W6 traits in goats. More studies are needed to simultaneously consider variants of this region in a larger population to better understand MSTN gene effects on the economic traits in goat.

Moringa oleifera is a rich source of antioxidants and a promising feed for livestock, due to significant amounts of protein, vitamins, carotenoids and polyphenols, and negligible amounts of anti-nutritional factors. The current study tested whether ensiling would preserve the antioxidant capacity of M. oleifera plants, and assessed whether Moringa silage, fed as a substitute for maize silage, would confer health-promoting traits and affect milk production in dairy cows. To this end, hand-harvested M. oleifera plants were ensiled, with or without molasses and inoculants, in anaerobic jars at room temperature (25 °C) for 37 days. At the end of the storage period the silages were analysed for pH, lactic acid and acetic acid concentrations, aerobic stability, antioxidant capacity, polyphenols and protein content, and tocopherols and carotenoids concentrations. Moringa silages exhibited higher antioxidant capacity compared with fresh and dried Moringa plants, not related to polyphenol content but presumably attributed to accumulation of amino acids and low molecular weight peptides. Based on these findings, a large-scale ensiling protocol was implemented, followed by a feeding trial for dairy cows, in which Moringa silage replaced 263 g maize silage/kg in the diet. Cows fed Moringa silage had higher milk yield and antioxidant capacity and lower milk somatic cell counts compared with controls, during some stages of lactation. These findings imply that ensiling M. oleifera is an appropriate practice by which health and production of dairy cows can be improved.

In the near future, ruminants may be forced to consume low-quality water since potable drinking water will become increasingly scarce in some regions of the world. A completely randomized design trial was completed to evaluate the effect of increasing concentrations of total dissolved salts (TDS) (640, 3187, 5740 and 8326 mg TDS/l) in drinking water on the performance, diet digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, nitrogen (N) and water balance using 24 Red Sindhi heifers (200 ± 5 kg) that were fed Buffel (Cenchrus ciliaris) grass hay and concentrate in a ratio of 50 : 50. After a 15-day diet adaptation period, the digestion study was completed over a 5-day period and the performance trial was completed over a 56-day period. Dry matter intake, average daily gain, feed:gain, intake and digestibility of most feed components were unaffected by the concentration of salt in the water. However, intake and digestibility of neutral detergent fibre declined linearly as TDS inclusion rate increased. Further, the inclusion of TDS resulted in a linear increase in the intake of drinking water and total (food plus drinking) water intake. Similarly, TDS inclusion levels resulted in a linear increase in total water excretion, with urine being the major route of water excretion. In contrast, increasing concentrations of TDS caused a linear decrease in creatinine and allantoin excretions. Finally, increasing the inclusion rate of TDS resulted in a linear decrease in N retention and a linear increase in urinary N excretion, which may pose a considerable challenge for farmers with respect to the reduction and management of nutrient losses.

The present study aimed to explore the molecular factors underlying differences in Calpain/Calpastatin proteolytic system in Nellore and Angus cattle. Longissimus muscle samples were collected in Nellore (n = 6; body weight (BW) = 373 ± 37·3 kg) and Angus (n = 6; BW = 383 ± 23·9 kg) cattle at slaughter for analysis of gene and protein expression, and Calpastatin enzyme activity. Additionally, the myofibrillar fragmentation index was used to quantify the extension of proteolysis in longissimus muscle samples. A greater myofibrillar fragmentation was observed in skeletal muscle of Angus compared with Nellore cattle. Conversely, no differences were found between breeds for mRNA expression of Calpain 1 (CAPN1) and Calpastatin (CAST). Similarly, no differences were observed for the abundance of Calpain and Calpastatin proteins between skeletal muscles of Nellore and Angus cattle. Despite the lack of differences in mRNA and protein abundance, a greater activity of Calpastatin was observed in skeletal muscle of Nellore compared with Angus cattle. These data indicate that the greater proteolysis in skeletal muscle of Angus compared with Nellore cattle is mainly driven by a greater Calpastatin activity rather than Calpain or Calpastatin mRNA and protein expression.

Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of lime pre-treatment on the chemical composition and in vitro rumen degradability of date palm leaves (DPL). Lime pre-treatments, with or without oxygen supply, were applied for 1, 2 and 3 weeks at 25 and 40 °C. Lime was neutralized by the Calcium-Capturing-by-Carbonation process. Delignification and in vitro rumen gas production were significantly influenced by duration, temperature and oxygen. At 40 °C, oxygen presence stimulated more delignification and subsequently increased in vitro rumen degradability. Lime pre-treatment with 0·2 g calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2)/g dry biomass for 3 weeks at 40 °C in the presence of oxygen resulted in a 3-fold increase in gas production after 24 h of incubation, compared with untreated biomass. Lime treatment of DPL with aeration resulted in higher lignin removal and subsequent rumen degradability than without aeration. A techno-economic analysis is needed to select the most efficient and economically feasible pre-treatment procedure.

Sugarcane is an important forage resource in sub-tropical and tropical areas as it is used during the winter or dry season when the growth rate of pastures is significantly reduced. The current research study assessed the effect of four vertical sections of sugarcane in a pen trial and the level of sugarcane utilization in a grazing trial on the ingestive behaviour and forage intake of two age groups of steers (1 and 2 years old). The pen trial was comprised of two simultaneous 4 × 4 balanced Latin square designs (one for each age group of animals) of four periods, four animals and four feeding treatments, which consisted of four equal vertical sections of sugarcane. Dry matter (DM) and digestible DM (DDM) intake per kilogram of metabolic weight declined gradually from top to bottom of the sugarcane, with no significant differences between the age groups of steers. This difference in intake was associated with a decline in intake of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) as a proportion of the liveweight of the animal and an increase of total chewing time per kilogram of DM or NDF from top to bottom of the sugarcane. It was concluded that the toughness of plant material played a significant role regulating intake, which was higher for the top sections of sugarcane. In the grazing trial, steers of both age groups grazed down sugarcane in three plots over 9 days. Steers grazed up to four distinctive grazing strata. Digestible DM intake (DDM intake) was high at low levels of horizontal utilization of the top grazing stratum but DDM intake started to decline sharply when this stratum was removed in 0·92 of paddock area (i.e. equivalent to 0·08 of the pasture area remaining un-grazed). It was concluded that the proportion of un-grazed area of the pasture can be used as a grazing management strategy to control forage intake for sugarcane.