The Productivity Of Mashona Cattle in Rhodesia

1966 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Oliver

SummaryThe productivity of a herd of Mashona cattle is described, where hand-feeding was practised in winter to prevent loss of body weight. Calves weighed about 50 lb at birth, and gained weight at the rate of 1.27 lb a day to six months of age, compared widi 1.56 and 0.87 lb a day for calves at two other sites. Young animals gained an average of ½ lb a day from weaning to maturity. Mashona steers responded to pen-feeding and produced carcasses which were satisfactory for the Smithfield market. The mature weight of breeding cows was just under 700 lb and the calving rate varied from 72 to 92 per cent. Cows which failed to calve and those whose calves were early-weaned gained almost 100 lb liveweight by the end of die grazing season. Early-weaned calves fed a complete diet were 40 lb heavier than their contemporaries at 28 weeks of age. The need to develop die breed is discussed.

2002 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. McG. Argo ◽  
J. E. Cox ◽  
C. Lockyer ◽  
Z. Fuller

AbstractSeven, 3-year-old pony mares (~230 kg) were used in a cross-over study to compare the appetite, energy and nutrient digestibilities, growth rate and feeding behaviour, when a complete diet was offered ad libitum in either the original loose-chaff mix (C), or as a more convenient, milled and pelleted preparation (P). Ad libitum access to the study diet (gross energy = 17·2 MJ/kg dry matter (DM)) was attained over 2 weeks. In the following 4 weeks, groups 1 (no. = 3) and 2 (no. = 4) received pelleted and chaff-based diets respectively. Dietary forms were exchanged during week 5 and ad libitum provision continued for a further 4 weeks. Behaviour and apparent nutrient digestibilities were assessed in weeks 3 and 4 of each period. Pelleted food had a lower proportion of water (P, 0·12; C, 0·22), but relative proportions of oil (0·04), crude protein (0·08), crude fibre (0·29), neutral-detergent fibre (NDF; 0·53) and gross energy (GE) were neither altered by food processing nor time. Apparent digestibilities (DM, 0·49; GE, 0·50; NDF, 0·40 in period 1) of the pelleted and chaff-based diets were similar within periods but decreased (P 0·01) to a similar extent for both diet types (proportional changes: DM, –0·14; GE, –0·16; NDF, –0·28) in period 2. Overall, mean intakes of digestible energy (DE) for chaff-fed animals during period 1 were 0·73 (P 0·001) of pellet DE intake (DEI). Mean DEI of pellets increased (P 0·001) during period 1 to attain 1·76 (s.e. 0·25) MJ/kg M0·75 on day 25. Following transfer from pellets to chaff, DEI decreased (P 0·001) to 0·68 (s.e. 0·07) MJ/kg M0·75 by the end of period 2. In contrast, DEI of animals which progressed from chaff to pellets remained relatively constant between periods. Oestrous behaviour caused no detectable change in the appetite of individual mares. Irrespective of differences in DEI, average daily gain (ADG) in body weight and condition score (CS) did not differ between groups. Overall, mean ADG decreased (P 0·01) from 1·54 (s.e. 0·17) kg/day in period 1 to 0·26 (s.e.0·08) kg/day in period 2. Changes in body weight were associated with CS (R2 = 0·72). Each CS point represented a 53·4 (s.e. 4·8) kg gain in body weight. Chaff meals were longer (30·6 (s.e. 1·6) min, P 0·001), less frequent (23·8 (s.e. 1·4) per day, P 0·001) and associated with a lower bite rate (3·8 (s.e.0·2) per min, P 0·001) and increased chewing requirement (23 (s.e. 1·2) per bite, P 0·001), which decreased the rate of DM intake (17·0 (s.e. 0·9) g/min, P 0·0.01). Overall, chaff-fed animals spent more time feeding (0·50 (s.e. 1·3) of the time; P 0·0.01), primarily at the expense of non-feeding activity and rest. The ad libitum feeding regime enabled stabled ponies to re-establish natural feeding patterns and offers a viable alternative to meal and forage feeding. The more slowly ingested chaff form maximized time spent feeding and limited changes in DEI during the introductory period. Although CS and ADG increased over the first 4 weeks, growth and appetite returned to near maintenance values within 9 weeks in association with a decrease in dietary energy intake and nutrient digestibility.


1992 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 995-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Larue-Achagiotis ◽  
C. Martin ◽  
P. Verger ◽  
J. Louis-Sylvestre

2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (3) ◽  
pp. R780-R789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Labouré ◽  
Sandrine Saux ◽  
Stylianos Nicolaidis

A complete diet was prepared with cooked pieces of meat, beans, cream starch, and water and presented to the rats in two different textures: a blended purée and a rough mixture that required a lot of chewing. We hypothesized that this texture modification might change both anticipatory reflexes and feeding behavior. Feeding rate, meal size, intermeal intervals, and their correlation were monitored in response to each texture. The long-term (6 wk) effect on body weight was assessed. Periprandial plasma glucose, insulin, glucagon, and lipid concentrations were assayed. Whole and background metabolism, respiratory quotient, and locomotion were measured using a computerized calorimeter of original design. In the short term, rats preferred the mixture. However, after 3 wk, they ingested more purée than mixture and gained more body weight per gram of food ingested as purée. Insulin response declined earlier with the mixture. During meals, glycerol and free fatty acid increased earlier with purée, whereas in the postprandial period, glycerol increased earlier with mixture. The metabolic rate, however, was not significantly affected. We concluded that texture, an everyday manipulation performed on food for human consumption, affects not only palatability of ingestants but also their metabolic management in the short and long term.


1976 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
SV AA Henriksen ◽  
R.J. Jørgensen ◽  
P. Nansen ◽  
KR Sejrsen ◽  
J. Brolund Larsen ◽  
...  

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1116-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Watkins ◽  
D. E. Ullrey

Three wild, female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) collected in Missaukee County, Michigan, during February and March 1979 had lower (P < 0.01) serum total thyroxine (T4), free T4 (FT4), and triiodothyronine (T3) levels, thyroid iodine (I) concentration, and body weights than 17 captive does fed a complete diet. Thyroid weight per metabolic body weight (body weight (kilograms)0.75) was greater (P < 0.01) in the wild deer. These data indicate malnutrition and incipient I deficiency in the wild deer.


1982 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Blaxter ◽  
V. R. Fowler ◽  
J. C. Gill

SUMMARYTwo groups of weaned sheep weighing about 30 kg, one born in March and the other in September, were each divided into two and given ad libitum one of two pelleted diets, ruminant diet A or ruminant diet AA6. The March-born sheep commenced experiment in July and those born in September in January. The experiment continued for 4½ years. At intervals sheep were killed and the fat protein and ash contents of their digesta-free bodies determined.The voluntary intake of feed showed a seasonal periodicity with minima in the winter and maxima in summer. The amplitude was 30% in the 1st year and in subsequent years averaged 13%. Those given the higher quality diet (AA6) consumed slightly less than those given the poorer one.Mean daily feed intake averaged over 6-month periods from January to July and July to January was invariant with age during 4 years of observation. In this time the sheep increased in weight from about 30 kg to about 130 kg. There were, however, considerable differences between individual sheep in the amount of feed they habitually consumed.The body weight of the sheep increased and eventually plateaued. The asymptotic weight defined as A in the equation W = A–Be–kt, where W is weight at time t and B and k are constants, was related to the mean daily feed intake averaged over 6 months; mean daily feed intake measured over 6 months was proportional to a fractional power of body weight indistinguishable from 0·75, the interspecies power to which metabolism is proportional. Growth of wool during successive 6-month periods did not vary with age of animal but differed significantly between animals.Fasting metabolism of the sheep was 316 kJ/kg W0·75 for wethers and 336 kJ for rams.Analysis of the bodily composition data showed that over a range of digesta-free body weight from 46 to 130 kg it was not possible, on statistical grounds, to distinguish between linear relationships between body weight and its fat, protein, ash and water content, and allometric ones. The linear relationships had marginally smaller residual standard deviations and the regression coefficients show that the gain of the empty body in these sheep consisted of 68% lipid, 8% protein, 1% ash and 24% water. The lipid in the carcass accounted for 88% of the total lipid gain and half the accretion of protein and ash was in the carcass. These results confirm those of Searle, Graham & O'Callaghan (1972) based on tritium dilution which showed that post-puberal growth in sheep is of constant composition.The results of the metabolic studies are shown to be consistent with the growth studies.Growth to maturity, as affected by different hypotheses related to the determinants of maintenance energy expenditure and the regulation of appetite, was examined algebraically. It is shown that mature weight is the rate of feed intake divided by the rate of maintenance metabolism per unit weight, and for defined feeding systems the rate constant for the approach to mature weight is the rate of maintenance metabolism divided by the feed equivalent of unit gain.The implications of the results in terms of the measurement and prediction of feed intake and the use of metabolic body size as a scaling factor in comparative and genetic studies of growth are briefly discussed.


1949 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
George S. Mirick ◽  
William B. Leftwich ◽  

Young mice fed diets deficient in pyridoxine for 8 days or longer before the inoculation of PVM, as well as after inoculation, were more susceptible to infection than control mice fed complete diets. Young mice fed a pyridoxine-deficient diet gained weight as well as controls fed a complete diet for 5 weeks, but they lost weight in the 6th week. The ratio of thymus or spleen weight to body weight was less in mice fed a pyridoxine-deficient diet for 6 weeks than in controls fed a complete diet. Histologically the thymuses and spleens showed hypoplasia. No measurable difference in antibodies against PVM was found in the sera of uninoculated mice fed complete or pyridoxine-deficient diets for 6 weeks.


1975 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. De Blas ◽  
J. F. Galvez

SUMMARYOne hundred and twenty-four young rabbits of the Giant of Spain breed (mature weight, 4 to 4·5 kg) were slaughtered in groups at birth, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days of age.Energy retention over the six 10-day periods was 10·7, 26·5, 39·0, 48·9, 72·6 and 57·3 kcal/day, energy content per unit of weight increase was 5·18, 5·52, 5·52, 5·47, 5·80 and 5·89 kcal/g, and deposition of protein (N×6×25) was 1×45, 3×09, 4×28, 5×56, 7×31 and 5×44 g/day. The regression of the energy content of the empty body (kcal) on empty-body weight (g) was:Y = 1×734 X – 88·536with a coefficient of regression of 0·97.


1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. RODE

In a 110-d grazing study, 75 yearling steers were left unimplanted or implanted at Day 0 with 24 mg 17β-estradiol, 36 mg zearanol, 72 mg zearanol, or 36 mg zearanol at Day 0 and 84. Within each implant group, steers were also supplemented with barley (0.5 kg head−1 d−1) with or without lasalocid (0.75 mg kg body weight−1 d−1) or were given no supplement in a 5 × 3 factorial design. Average daily gain (ADG) for all implanted steers was 17.5% greater (0.94 vs. 0.80 kg d−1) than for unimplanted steers (P < 0.01). Increasing the dosage of zearanol from 36 to 72 mg extended the time over which ADG was increased but total liveweight gain and ADG over the 110-d grazing season were similar for all implant types. A second implant of zearanol (2 × 36 mg) increased ADG during the final 26 d of the pasture phase and during the drylot period, compared with 72 mg zearanol given initially. Barley + lasalocid-supplemented steers had ADG 17.3% greater (1.02 vs. 0.87 kg d−1) than barley-supplemented steers (P < 0.01). During the following drylot phase, when no lasalocid was fed, ADG was lower (P < 0.10) for steers that had previously received lasalocid than for other groups. No interactions were observed between implant and supplement type. Thus, the anabolic implants and ionophores used in this study are additive in improving growth rate. Key words: Cattle, feedlot, grazing, lasalocid, zearanol, 17β-estradiol, growth


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