Variation in growth and efficiency in twin cattle with live weight and food intake controlled

1966 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
ST C. S. Taylor ◽  
G. B. Young
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Feeding System ◽  
Similar Growth

In an experiment to investigate the interrelationships of genetics and nutrition in the growth of cattle up to 2 years of age, five monozygotic and six dizygotic Ayrshire twin heifers were reared under close nutritional control on an all cubed diet.Two control systems were used. Some animals were fed similar amounts of food, and differences in growth rate and efficiency examined while others were made to grow alike and differences in food consumption and efficiency examined. Overall, similarly fed animals had similar growth rates and efficiencies and similarly grown animals similar food intakes and efficiencies. Variation in growth, food consumption and efficiency was much less than in an ad lib. feeding system.

A note on the performance of Soay ewes, when mated to Soay and Dorset Down rams, and the growth rate and carcass production of their lambs

1980 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-310
Author(s):  
R. V. Large
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Weight Changes ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Good Nutrition ◽  
Very High

ABSTRACTSoay ewes were mated to a Soay or a Dorset Down ram. Live-weight changes of the ewes, birth weights, growth rates and carcass production of the lambs were recorded, and the food consumption of the ewes and lambs was measured. The use of the Dorset Down ram resulted in significantly heavier birth weights, higher growth rates and heavier carcasses. Under conditions of good nutrition the Soay ewes proved to be capable of carrying very high foetal burdens and it was estimated, from lamb live-weight gains, that they produced a large quantity of milk, relative to their size, particularly when crossed with the Dorset Down ram.

Increasing food intake in late gestation improved sow condition throughout lactation but did not affect piglet viability or growth rate

2000 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Miller ◽  
G. R. Foxcroft ◽  
F. X. Aherne
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Backfat Thickness ◽  
Maintenance Energy ◽  
Early Lactation ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Food Intake Level

AbstractIncreasing sow food intake in late gestation prevents loss of sow fatness prior to farrowing. However, this may result in reduced food intake and greater overall fat loss during lactation and has also been associated with increased incidence of agalactia. In this experiment 78 Camborough sows (parities 1 to 3) were given food at one of two levels: either 1·15 × maintenance energy (normal-N sows, 2·3 (s.e. 0·03) kg/day) or 2·00 × maintenance energy (high-H sows, 3·9 (s.e. 0·04) kg/day) from day 100 of gestation until farrowing. Lactation food intake, changes in sow live weight and backfat thickness and piglet growth rates were then measured. Diet digestibility in early lactation was measured using a chromium III oxide marker in the food. There was no change in backfat thickness in late gestation in H sows (0·2 (s.e. 0·25) mm), whereas N sows lost backfat during this period (1·6 (s.e. 0·23) mm, P <; 0·001). There was no difference in lactation food intake between the two groups (6·5 (s.e. 0·13) kg/day) and differences in backfat thickness at parturition were maintained through to weaning. H sows did not show increased incidence of agalactia compared with N sows. There was no difference in diet digestibility between the two treatment groups. Food intake level in late gestation did not affect piglet birth weights, growth rates or mortality. It is concluded that the main benefit of increasing sow food intake in late gestation was to reduce sow backfat loss during the reproductive cycle.

A note on the growth and food consumption of crossbred lambs of five sire breeds

1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Woolliams ◽  
G. Wiener
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Fish Meal ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Food Conversion ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Ad Libitum

ABSTRACTLambs, 8 weeks of age, the offspring of sires of the Scottish Blackface, East Friesland, Finnish Landrace, Suffolk and Texel breeds mated to Scottish Blackface females as a common maternal breed were fed ad libitum on a concentrate containing barley and fish meal for 14 weeks. Live weight and food intake were measured at intervals of 2 weeks.Live-weight gain varied between sire breeds, Suffolk crosses having the greatest growth rate and the Blackface lambs the least, but there were no significant differences in their food conversion ratios. Food intakes were compared with those predicted by two methods. When the only criteria for prediction were live weight and the metabolizability of the diet the prediction was poor, whereas very accurate agreement was found when the criteria for prediction included consideration of the changes in energy efficiency with food intake and with maturity.

The effects of food intake in gestation on sows lactating for 14 days

1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Birth Weight ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Weaning Weight ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat Thickness ◽  
Fat Thickness

ABSTRACTNinety-two gilts in replicates of four littermates were mated at puberty at a mean live weight and age of 95 kg and 191 days respectively. The littermates were allocated at random to one of four food allowances (kg/day) during four successive gestations: (A) 1·5, (B) 2·0 in parity 1 followed by 1·5 in subsequent parities, (C) 20 and (D) 2·5. A diet calculated to contain 12·7 MJ digestible energy per kg was fed throughout gestation, the 2-week lactation and from weaning to conception.The numbers of sows which conceived at parity 5 when the experiment terminated were 10, 12, 13 and 16 for treatments A to D respectively. Sow live weight at conception differed significantly (P < 0·01) from parity 2 onwards: the maximum live weights of sows on treatments A and B did not exceed 130 to 135 kg, but the live weights of sows on treatment D continued to increase to reach 195 kg at the end of the experiment. The in vivo skin plus subcutaneous fat thickness at the P2 location differed significantly (P < 0·001) between treatments from parity 2 onwards, decreasing by 3 mm in treatment A and increasing by 6 mm in treatment D from the start of the experiment to conception at parity 4. The interval from weaning to conception was significantly (P < 0·05) lower in treatment B in parity 2. This was the only significant effect and was contrary to the tendency for the interval to increase as the food allowance in gestation was decreased. The numbers of pigs born alive, stillborn or weaned (including fostered pigs) were not significantly affected by treatment. Birth weight and post-natal growth rates were significantly (P < 0·05) increased after parity 1 as gestation food allowance increased, with the exception of the post-natal growth rate in parity 3. Overall birth weight was increased by 018 kg per pig and weaning weight by 0·93 kg per pig on treatment D compared with treatment A.

The rôles of photoperiod and nutrition in the seasonal increases in growth and insulin-like growth factor-1 secretion in male red deer

2001 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Webster ◽  
I. D. Corson ◽  
R. P. Littlejohn ◽  
S. K. Martin ◽  
J. M. Suttie
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Insulin Like Growth Factor

AbstractYoung male red deer follow a seasonal growth pattern that can be shifted by altering the photoperiod they experience. An increase in photoperiod to 16 h of light per day (16L : 8D) during winter advances the onset of rapid growth and high food intake that normally commences in spring. These changes are associated with increased growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) secretion. The GH/IGF-1 axis is acutely sensitive to the level of nutrition and the relative rôles of photoperiod and nutrition in determining the spring IGF-1 rise is unknown. The present experiment set out to examine this by exposing two groups of deer (no. = 8 per group) to a photoperiod shift during their 1st year of life (16L : 8D from 2 June), designed to cause accelerated growth and increased food intake after approximately 7 weeks. However, after 6 weeks the food intake (pellets containing 11 MJ metabolizable energy and 160 g crude protein per kg dry matter (DM)) of one group (LDRES) was clamped, thereby preventing the intake component of the response. The intake of the other group (LDAL) remained ad libitum for a further 12 weeks until 6 October, when the experiment concluded.During the first 6 weeks of 16L : 8D, growth rate (118 (s.e. 15·4) g/day) and food intake (1·37 (s.e. 0·031) kg DM per head per day) did not differ between the groups. Food intake following the clamp in LDRES averaged 1·40 (s.e. 0·015) kg per head per day. The intake of LDAL increased 2 weeks after the clamp and thereafter was higher than LDRES (P < 0·001). Food intake of LDAL averaged 2·13 (s.e. 0·051) kg during the nutritional clamp period. Growth rates increased in both groups during the first 3 weeks of the clamp, averaging 237 (s.e. 25·0) g/day, then growth slowed in LDRES and live weights diverged. Growth rates until the end of the experiment (147 (s.e.23·0) g/ day v. 299 (s.e. 12·5) g/day, P < 0·001) and mean live weight over the last 5 weeks of the experiment were lower (P < 0·05) in LDRES than LDAL, weights reaching 88·3 (s.e. 1·86) kg and 97·9 (s.e. 2·74) kg respectively on the final sampling date. Metatarsal bone length grew more in LDAL than in LDRES (3·1 v. 2·2 cm, s.e.d. = 0·23, P < 0·01). Prior to the nutritional clamp, mean plasma prolactin and IGF-1 concentrations increased at 3 and 6 weeks after 16L : 8D respectively, in both groups. Prolactin concentrations were lower in LDRES than LDAL on two occasions, at weeks 3 and 7 after the onset of the nutritional clamp, and IGF-1 concentrations were lower in LDRES than LDAL (676 v. 872 ng/ml, s.e.d. = 73·8, P < 0·05) over the last 7 weeks of sampling.In summary, a photoperiodically driven increase in IGF-1 occurred even when the usual associated increase in food intake was prevented. This indicates that the seasonal IGF-1 rise in red deer is not a consequence of the increased food intake, although the latter appears necessary to maintain elevated IGF-1 concentrations. The rise in IGF-1 may therefore be considered as a component of the photoperiodically entrained seasonal drive to grow, and the increase in food intake a response to satisfy the increased energy demand.

A note on the response of pigs weaned at 28 days to dietary protein

1986 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Campbell ◽  
M. R. Taverner
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Dietary Protein ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Gain Ratio ◽  
Digestible Energy ◽  
Voluntary Food Intake

ABSTRACTThirty-six piglets were used to investigate the effect of six concentrations of dietary protein ranging from 155 to 235 g/kg, and corresponding dietary lysine concentrations from 10·1 to 15·4 g/kg, on the performance of pigs weaned at 28 days of age and growing between 7·5 and 20 kg live weight. Voluntary food intake was not significantly affected by dietary protein, and growth rate increased with increase in dietary protein and lysine up to 167 and 10·9 g/kg respectively (0·75 g lysine per MJ digestible energy (DE)). Food: gain ratio improved significantly with each increase in dietary protein and lysine up to 177 and 11·6 g/kg (0·79 g lysine per MJ DE) respectively.

Photoperiodic requirements for rapid growth in young male red deer

1998 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Webster ◽  
I. D. Corson ◽  
R. P. Littlejohn ◽  
S. K. Stuart ◽  
J. M. Suttie
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Reproductive Development ◽  
The Other ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Lower Amplitude

AbstractWinter growth of young male red deer can be increased by exposure to 16 h of light (L) and 8 h of dark (D) per day (16L: 8D). This study tested the duration of photoperiod required for this growth response, determined if the time to reach slaughter weight can be reduced and monitored plasma IGF-1, prolactin and reproductive development. Fifty male calves were allocated to five equal groups. Four groups were housed indoors and for 33 weeks from the winter solstice (22 June, southern hemisphere) until 11 February were placed under either 16L: 8D (16L), 13·25L: 10·75D (13L), 10·751:13·25D (111) or 8L: 16D (8L) photoperiods. The fifth group of deer (OC) remained outside in a gravelled enclosure. All groups were given a pelleted diet ad libitum. Group food intake was recorded daily, individual live weight was measured weekly and testes diameter and blood samples taken at weekly or 2-week intervals.Plasma prolactin concentrations in 16L increased within 4 weeks of treatment and were different (P < 0·001) between groups from 14 August to 4 September. IGF-1 increased in both 16L and 13L 4 weeks after treatments and then increased further in 16L above that of 13L (P < 0·01). All groups grew at the same rate for the first 7 weeks. 16L then gained more weight (P < 0·001) than the other groups over the next 19 weeks (50·7 kg v. 38·5 for 13L, 35·7 for 11L, 37·0 for 8L and 37·4 for OC; s.e.d. 3·76). Food intake was positively related to growth rate in a similar way among the inside groups (P < 0·001), however there was a higher energy requirement outdoors (P < 0·05). A target live weight for slaughter of 95 kg was reached 7 weeks earlier for 16L than the other groups (P < 0·01). Testes diameter of 16L was larger than in the other groups from 13 November until 24 December (P < 0·001). The growth oflSL slowed from 1 January while that of OC increased and the live weight ofOC was equal to 16L by the end of the experiment. OC also had the largest testes diameter from 5 February onwards (P < 0·01). The live-weight increase in OC was associated with increases in both prolactin and IGF-1 levels.This study confirmed that 16L: 8D stimulates rapid growth of young male red deer during winter for sufficient time to achieve an earlier slaughter date. The live-weight advantage was lost by late summer however. The increased growth rate was mediated by food intake and associated with increases in IGF-1 and prolactin and earlier reproductive development. Photoperiods of 13 h of light per day or less did not stimulate growth and increases in IGF-1 and prolactin were of a lower amplitude than under 16L: 8D.

Tests of two theories of food intake using growing pigs 2. The effect of a period of reduced growth rate on the subsequent intake of foods of differing bulk content

2001 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.C. Whittemore ◽  
G.C. Emmans ◽  
B.J. Tolkamp ◽  
I. Kyriazakis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Sugar Beet Pulp ◽  
Beet Pulp ◽  
Bulk Content ◽  
High Bulk ◽  
Subsequent Intake

AbstractThe effect of a period of feeding on a high bulk food, upon the subsequent intake of foods of differing bulk content, was investigated in two experiments of the same design. The intention was to provide a severe test of the two current conceptual frameworks available for the prediction and understanding of food intake. In each experiment 40 male Manor Meishan pigs were randomly allocated to one of four treatment groups at weaning. Each experiment was split into two periods, P1 (12 to 18 kg) and P2 (18 to 32 kg). The treatments, all with ad libitum feeding, were: a control food (C) given throughout (treatment CC); a medium bulk food (M) given throughout (treatment MM); a high bulk food (H) given in P1 and then C in P2 (treatment HC); H given in P1 and M in P2 (treatment HM). C was based on micronized wheat with 13·4 MJ digestible energy and 243 g crude protein per kg fresh food. In experiment 1 M contained 350 g/kg and H 560 g/kg of unmolassed sugar-beet pulp and in experiment 2 M contained 500 g/kg and H 700 g/kg of unmolassed sugar-beet pulp. Framework 1 predicted that food intake on the medium bulk food (M) would not be increased, whereas framework 2 predicted that intake on M would be increased after a period of feeding on H, compared with when M was offered continuously.In P1, both food intake (P < 0·01) and growth (P < 0·001) were severely limited on H compared with C. In experiment 1 growth was limited on M compared with C during the first 7 days of P1 (P < 0·01) only. In experiment 2 intake (P < 0·001) and growth (P < 0·001) on M were limited throughout P1, compared with C but not thereafter. Therefore, in neither experiment did M cause a lower growth rate than C from 18 to 32 kg. In experiment 1 there was full adaptation to M after about 10 days from 12 kg. In experiment 2 adaptation was complete by the end of the first 7 days from 18 kg.In P2, food intake (P < 0·001) and live-weight gain (P < 0·05 and P < 0·001 in experiments 1 and 2, respectively) were increased on HC compared with CC. By the last 7 days of P2 intake was still higher (P < 0·01) but growth rate was no longer different to CC. Intake and gain were increased in P2 on HM compared with MM but, in general, these differences were small and not significant. In the first 7 days of P2, in experiment 1 pigs on HM had higher intakes (P < 0·001) and gains (P < 0·05) than those on MM, but in experiment 2 only intake was higher (P < 0·01) with no difference in gain. By the last 7 days of P2 there was no difference in either intake or gain between these two groups in either experiment. Pigs on HC increased intake by more than those on HM. There was, therefore, a significant interaction for food intake (P < 0·05, in experiment 1 and P < 0·001, in experiment 2) between prior and present food.The unexpected failure of either M food to limit growth throughout the experimental period meant that the results of these experiments could not be used as a strong test to reject either one of the frameworks. However, the ability of the pigs to compensate on M was less than that on C. The data provide some evidence that under conditions of compensation foods such as M may be limiting. This is in closer agreement with the framework that predicted that consumption of a limiting food will not increase after a period of feeding on a high bulk food (framework 1).

Effects of crossbred ewe genotype and ram genotype on ewe prolificacy, lamb viability and lamb output in the lowland sector

2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. R. DAWSON ◽  
A. F. CARSON
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Genetic Improvement ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Growth Index ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lean Growth ◽  
And Control ◽  
Lamb Growth

A study was carried out on five lowland farms in Northern Ireland over 3 years to investigate the effect of crossbred ewe and ram genotype on ewe prolificacy, lamb viability and weaned lamb output. Four crossbred ewe genotypes were sourced from six hill farms involved in a previous study – Bluefaced Leicester×Blackface (BLXB), Texel×Blackface (TXB), Suffolk×Cheviot (SXCH) and Texel×Cheviot (TXCH). On each farm, groups of 20–30 of each crossbred ewe genotype were mated with Suffolk or Texel rams. Throughout the 3 years of the study, the ewe genotypes lambed at 1, 2 and 3 years of age. Within each of the ram breeds, high lean growth index rams sourced from UK sire reference schemes were compared with rams sourced from flocks not involved in objective genetic improvement programmes (control). BLXB ewes were the most prolific of the four ewe genotypes producing 1.73 lambs per ewe lambed compared with 1.47 for TXB, 1.46 for SXCH and 1.41 for TXCH (P<0.001). Lamb mortality was similar for the four ewe genotypes, thus number of lambs weaned was greatest for the BLXB ewes (P<0.001) with the other three crosses producing similar numbers of lambs. A greater proportion (P<0.05) of SXCH ewes lambed without assistance compared with BLXB and TXB ewes and a greater proportion of TXCH ewes had abundant supplies of colostrum compared with the other crosses (P<0.10). Output of weaned lamb per ewe lambed and per ewe metabolic live weight (P<0.001) was greatest in the BLXB ewes. Ewe productivity, prolificacy, number of lambs weaned and the proportion of ewes lambing without assistance increased with ewe age (P<0.001). Lamb growth rate from birth to 6 weeks and from birth to weaning increased with ewe age (P<0.05). Crossbred ewes lambing at 3 years old had a greater output of weaned lamb compared with ewes lambing at 1 and 2 years old (P<0.001). Ram genotype had no effect on ewe prolificacy, lamb viability or pre-weaning growth rates, although Texel-sired lambs had lower birth weights than Suffolk-sired lambs and control-sired lambs had lower birth weights than high lean index-sired lambs (P<0.05).

Growth and herbage consumption of grazing Merino and Border Leicester lambs reared by their mothers or fostered by ewes of the other breed

1972 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Langlands
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
The Other ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Voluntary Food Intake

SUMMARYEight Border Leicester castrated male lambs (wethers) were fostered on to 8 Merino ewes (MB) at birth, and 10 Merino wethers were fostered on to Border Leicester ewes (BM). Two additional groups of 10 wethers consisted of Border Leicester lambs (BB) and Merino lambs (MM) reared by their natural mothers. The lambs and ewes grazed together and growth rate, and milk and herbage consumption of the lambs were recorded.Live-weight gains to weaning at 74 days were 275, 245, 204 and 184 g/day for groups BB, MB, BM and MM respectively. Lambs reared by Border Leicester ewes received more milk and consumed less grass than lambs of similar genotype reared by Merinos, but BM lambs consumed less milk than BB lambs. Merino lambs also consumed less grass than Border Leicester lambs.It was concluded that Merinos grew more slowly than Border Leicester lambs primarily because of their lower voluntary food intake. The lower milk production of Merino ewes was considered to be of secondary significance since if herbage is available ad libitum, lambs with high voluntary intakes will compensate for the lack of milk by consuming more forage.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document