Diet quality affects the cashmere production and liveweight of Western Australian cashmere goats

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
TJ Johnson ◽  
SG Gherardi ◽  
S Dhaliwal

Young cashmere bucks (n = 113; offspring of mating of domesticated mainland feral does with commercial mainland, Bernier, and Faure Island bucks) were offered a high protein-high energy pelleted diet of lucerne chaff, lupin seed, and barley grain [crude protein, 202 kg; dry matter (DM) solubility, 75.0%] or a low protein-low energy diet of oaten chaff and oat grain (crude protein, 71 kg; DM solubility, 59.6%) ad libitum in groups (n = 4-8) from 14 January to 17 December 1987. Intakes and liveweight gains were measured for January-April, May-July, and August-December. Total fibre and cashmere production (weight, fibre diameter, yield) were recorded at shearing in June, October, and December. Faure bucks produced 34 and 64% more (P<0.05) cashmere on the high, than the low, quality diet at shearings in June and December, respectively; Bernier bucks produced twice as much (P<0.05) cashmere on the high quality diet at the October shearing. Mainland bucks produced similar amounts of cashmere on both diets at each shearing. The fibre produced on the high quality diet had a lower yield of cashmere and the cashmere had a greater diameter at shearings in June (26.0 v. 41.1% w/w, 16.7 v. 15.8 pm; both P<0.001) and December (22.1 v. 27.0% w/w, P<0.05; 16.9 v. 16.4 pm, P<0.01). The cashmere produced by Faure bucks was, on average, 1.0 pm coarser than that of the mainland and Bernier bucks at each shearing. Liveweights of bucks followed a seasonal pattern and increased at a faster rate in January-April and August-December than in May-July. Liveweight gains adjusted for body sizes were greater (P<0.001) for bucks on the high, than the low, quality diet in January-April (2.85 v. 1.71 g/kg LW0.75.day) and, conversely, lower (P<0.05) in August-December (1.49 v. 1.69 g/kg LW0.75.day) . Liveweight gains of all 3 genotypes adjusted for body sizes were markedly lower (P<0.05) in May-July, irrespective of diet (0.75 and 0.55 g/kg LW0.75.day for the high and low quality diet, respectively), with the exception of Bernier bucks on the high quality diet (1.67 g/kg LW0.75.day). The lower liveweight gains were not associated with decreases in the intakes of the diets. These results indicate that diet quality affects cashmere production and growth of Western Australian cashmere goats.

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1853
Author(s):  
María A. Reyes-López. ◽  
Carla P. González-Leyva ◽  
Ameyalli M. Rodríguez-Cano ◽  
Carolina Rodríguez-Hernández ◽  
Eloisa Colin-Ramírez ◽  
...  

A high-quality diet during pregnancy may have positive effects on fetal growth and nutritional status at birth, and it may modify the risk of developing chronic diseases later in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between diet quality and newborn nutritional status in a group of pregnant Mexican women. As part of the ongoing Mexican prospective cohort study, OBESO, we studied 226 healthy pregnant women. We adapted the Alternated Healthy Eating Index-2010 for pregnancy (AHEI-10P). The association between maternal diet and newborn nutritional status was investigated by multiple linear regression and logistic regression models. We applied three 24-h recalls during the second half of gestation. As the AHEI-10P score improved by 5 units, the birth weight and length increased (β = 74.8 ± 35.0 g and β = 0.3 ± 0.4 cm, respectively, p < 0.05). Similarly, the risk of low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) decreased (OR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.27–0.82 and OR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.36–0.85, respectively). In women without preeclampsia and/or GDM, the risk of stunting decreased as the diet quality score increased (+5 units) (OR: 0.62, 95%IC: 0.40–0.96). A high-quality diet during pregnancy was associated with a higher newborn size and a reduced risk of LBW and SGA in this group of pregnant Mexican women.


1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
SW Walkden-Brown ◽  
BW Norton ◽  
BJ Restall

The effects of season and diet quality on voluntary feed intake and growth were examined in mature cashmere bucks over a 16 month period at Wollongbar (29�S., 153� E.). Three-year-old bucks were individually housed under natural photoperiod and fed ad libitum diets of High (pelleted lucerne, CP 17.6%, ME 8.3 MJ/kg) or Low (pasture hay; CP 6.9%, ME 6.6 mJ/kg) quality, between July 1988 and Oct. 1989 (n = 6/treatment). Bucks on both diets exhibited a seasonal pattern in voluntary feed intake with maximal intakes during spring and summer, and minimal intakes during autumn. The pattern appeared to be circannual with high intakes during spring of both years. Liveweight also varied with season peaking in mid to late summer and reaching a seasonal nadir in late autumn or early winter. Change in liveweight was closely associated with digestible energy intake ( r = 0-87, P < 0.001) resulting in a growth cycle closely resembling that of voluntary feed intake. In both treatments, bucks lost weight throughout autumn, while growth rates were maximal between mid-winter and mid-spring. Diet quality did not alter the magnitude of the autumnal decline in liveweight with bucks losing 7.6% (Low) and 7.8% (High) of liveweight during this period. However, bucks on the high quality diet exhibited significantly elevated growth rates between mid-winter and mid-spring. We conclude that mature cashmere bucks exhibit an annual growth cycle with weight loss during autumn and maximal weight gains between mid-winter and mid-spring; that the growth cycle is driven primarily by changes in voluntary feed intake; and that increasing diet quality does not reduce the autumnal decline in liveweight but significantly increases liveweight gain during the seasonal peak in growth.


1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 253 ◽  
Author(s):  
RM Jones ◽  
Neto M Simao

We determined how the recovery, rate of passage and viability of pasture seeds fed to sheep were affected by the quality of the associated diet and by the proportion of seeds in the diet. Penned sheep were fed basal diets of low (45%), medium (60%) and high digestibility (70%). A proportion of each diet (20%) was milled, and on 1 day half of the milled feed was replaced by a mixture of seeds of carpet grass (Axonopus afinis), Pensacola Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum), Kenya white clover (Trifolium semipilosum) cv. Safari and shrubby stylo (S. scabra) cv. Seca. Seed was fed at 3 levels; 12 000, 18 000 and 24 000 seeds of each species. Faeces were collected for 5 days after feeding the seed and germination tests carried out on seed washed out from the faeces. The proportion of seed in the diet had no effect on percentage seed recovery or on the viability of recovered seed. However, only 10% of ingested seed was recovered with the low quality diet, compared with 28% with the medium and high quality diets. Less Seca seed was still in pods with the low quality diet (6%) than with the medium and high quality diets (11%).


Author(s):  
Kayo Kurotani ◽  
Kaori Honjo ◽  
Tomoki Nakaya ◽  
Ai Noda ◽  
Tetsuya Mizoue ◽  
...  

Individuals residing in more deprived areas have a lower diet quality. While several studies have shown that individuals with a lower diet quality have a higher mortality risk, a low quality diet might also lead to poor health in highly deprived areas. We aimed to examine the association between deprivation within an area and all-cause mortality risk according to diet quality. Methods: We conducted a population-based prospective study on 27994 men and 33273 women aged 45&ndash;75 years. Neighborhood deprivation was assessed using the Japanese areal deprivation index (ADI). Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated 147-item food frequency questionnaire. Subsequently, Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top scores were calculated. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of mortality were calculated according to tertiles of ADI by diet quality score. Results: Individuals residing in the most deprived area had the lowest dietary scores. During the 16.7-year follow-up, compared to individuals with a high quality diet residing in the least deprived area, individuals with a low quality diet had a higher risk of mortality according to increment of ADI (P trend = 0.02); the multivariate adjusted HR (95% CI) was 1.07 (1.00-1.15), 1.15 (1.07-1.24), and 1.18 (1.08-1.29) in those residing in the lowest through the highest third of ADI, respectively. However, individuals with a high quality diet had no significant association between ADI and mortality (P trend =0.87). Conclusion: A well-balanced diet may prevent early death associated with neighborhood socioeconomic status among those residing in highly deprived areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1388-1388
Author(s):  
Yuni Choi ◽  
David Jacobs ◽  
Haitao Chu ◽  
Daniel Duprez ◽  
Daniel Gallaher ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing health problem in young adults and may be associated with dietary patterns. We examined the association of a plant-centered diet with incident moderate-to-very high risk CKD in young adults who were initially free of CKD. Methods We followed 3026 community-based participants (Black and White men and women) from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) cohort (1985–86 to 2015–16). Diet was assessed by an interviewer-administered diet history at exam years (Y) 0, 7, and 20. Higher plant-centered diet quality was judged by higher cumulative average value of the A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS, range 0–132), a hypothesis-driven index based on 46 food groups. A higher APDQS is characterized by high consumption of nutritionally rich plant foods and limited meat, added sugars, and other less nutritious foods. Kidney status, assessed at 5-year intervals from Y10 to Y30, was based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using CKD-EPI creatinine equation and spot urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR). CKD diagnosis included new onset of micro- or macro-albuminuria (ACR ≥30 mg/g), eGFR &lt;60 mL/min/1.73m,2, or (hospitalized or fatal) end stage renal disease. Prevalent CKD cases throughout Y10 were excluded. Proportional hazards regression estimated the association of time-varying cumulative average APDQS with incident CKD, adjusted for age, sex, race, education, energy intake, % energy from protein, physical activity, and smoking. Results Mean Y10 age was 35.1 y (±3.6 y) and mean cumulative average APDQS was 65.0 (±11.4). We identified 358 incident CKD cases (59 of whom were severe cases) during mean follow-up of 17.7 years (±4.4) after Y10. Eating a plant-centered, high quality diet was associated with a lower risk of incident CKD. In multivariable analysis, participants in the highest quintile of the APDQS had 37% (95% confidence interval: 0.41–0.97) lower risk of CKD as compared with those in the lowest quintile of the APDQS. For each 11-point increment in APDQS, there was 15% lower risk of CKD (0.74–0.97). The association remained similar after further adjustment for prevalent cases of hypertension and diabetes. Conclusions A plant-centered, high quality diet was associated with a lower risk of developing CKD. Funding Sources CARDIA and MnDRIVE (University of Minnesota).


2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (7) ◽  
pp. 748-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.W. Weckerly ◽  
G. Bhaskar ◽  
A. Duarte ◽  
R.S. Luna ◽  
H.D. Starns

The organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract have high energy demands. Therefore, when these organs vary in mass, they should impact metabolic requirements. Mass of the rumen–reticulum organs, the organs that comprise the largest part of the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, might vary from bulk or nutrient availability of the diet. We examined differences in mass of the rumen–reticulum organs in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) from two sites in Texas, USA, with different diet types. Specifically, at one site deer were fed a pelleted ration and at the other site deer consumed a natural browse diet. Accounting for body mass, deer consuming the browse diet had rumen–reticulum organ masses that were about 1.7 times heavier than deer consuming the pelleted diet. Deer consuming the browse diet also had lower diet quality, as indexed by crude protein concentration, than deer consuming the pelleted diet. The digesta loads of deer, however, were similar for the two types of diet. Our study findings are consistent with increased mass of rumen–reticulum organs from greater bulk, not diet quality. Understanding variation in rumen–reticulum organ mass has implications for understanding energy conservation in white-tailed deer.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2194
Author(s):  
Kayo Kurotani ◽  
Kaori Honjo ◽  
Tomoki Nakaya ◽  
Ai Ikeda ◽  
Tetsuya Mizoue ◽  
...  

Background: Individuals residing in more deprived areas with a lower diet quality might have a higher mortality risk. We aimed to examine the association between deprivation within an area and all-cause mortality risk according to diet quality. Methods: We conducted a population-based prospective study on 27,994 men and 33,273 women aged 45–75 years. Neighborhood deprivation was assessed using the Japanese areal deprivation index (ADI). Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated 147-item food frequency questionnaire. Results: Individuals residing in the most deprived area had the lowest dietary scores. During the 16.7-year follow-up, compared to individuals with a high quality diet residing in the least deprived area, individuals with a low quality diet had a higher risk of mortality according to increment of ADI (p trend = 0.03); the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) was 1.09 (0.999–1.19), 1.17 (1.08–1.27), and 1.19 (1.08–1.32) in those residing in the lowest through the highest third of ADI, respectively. However, individuals with a high quality diet had no significant association between ADI and mortality. Conclusion: A well-balanced diet may prevent early death associated with neighborhood socioeconomic status among those residing in highly deprived areas.


1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
DM Orr ◽  
CJ Evenson ◽  
DJ Jordan ◽  
PS Bowly ◽  
KJ Lehane ◽  
...  

A grazing study conducted between 1979 and 1983 assessed the seasonal trends of ewe productivity in Astrebla grassland in south- western Queensland. This study was designed originally to compare productivity on two pastures with different compositions, however, these differences in pastures composition were not achieved. Large differences in liveweight, wool growth and reproductive performance occurred between years in response to differences in pasture growth resulting from large variation in the seasonal incidence of rainfall. Rainfall effective for plant growth, both forbs and grasses, resulted in a high quality diet which resulted, in turn, in increased sheep productivity. Reproductive performance was particularly sensitive to the quality of the ewes diet around the time of lambing through the effect of diet quality on lamb survival and growth rate. It is suggested that the effect of rainfall on reproductive performance is pasture.


2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 879 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Van Beem ◽  
D. Wellington ◽  
B. L. Paganoni ◽  
P. E. Vercoe ◽  
J. T. B. Milton

There is anecdotal evidence from Western Australian breeders that Dohne sheep maintain a higher level of meat and wool production than Australian Merinos. Feed efficiency, carcass and wool attributes are moderately heritable so we hypothesised there would be differences in these traits between Merino and F1 Dohne × Merino lambs. Two groups of 15 Merino and 15 F1 Dohne × Merino wether lambs (29–40 kg) were fed a pelleted diet of either moderate or high energy and protein content for 48 days. Ad libitum pellet intake and liveweight gain were measured and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) for both wool growth and liveweight were calculated. Wool growth and quality were measured and the lambs were slaughtered to measure carcass and meat quality attributes. The F1 Dohne lambs were heavier at the start of the study and grew faster than the Merinos (P < 0.05) irrespective of diet. Consequently, the carcasses of the F1 Dohne lambs were heavier than the Merinos (P < 0.001), but the differences in FCR were not significant. Merino lambs produced more clean wool of lower fibre diameter from less feed than the F1 Dohne lambs (P < 0.05). These results suggest that F1 Dohne × Merino lambs may have an economic advantage in terms of meat production, but this is traded-off against wool production.


2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Wilkes ◽  
P. I. Hynd ◽  
W. S. Pitchford

The use of animals that are resilient to challenging environments is becoming of increasing importance in animal production systems. Interest in breeds of sheep such as the Damara for sheep meat production is increasing in Australia. Anecdotally this breed outperforms the traditionally grazed Merino in the harsh rangeland environments encountered in the Pastoral Zone of Australia, but little evidence is available to support this claim. A trial was conducted to quantify differences in the efficiency of feed utilisation and growth performance of Damara and Merino sheep under two contrasting dietary regimes. Eighteen castrate males of each breed were offered a ‘low-quality’ diet (L) (7 MJ/kg ME; 8% crude protein, as per manufacturer’s analysis) followed by a ‘high-quality’ diet (H) (11 MJ/kg dry matter and 16% crude protein, as per manufacturer’s analysis). On the L diet, Damaras had similar ad libitum feed intake as Merinos, but the digestibility of feed dry matter and energy was ~10% higher in Damaras than Merinos. Damaras also gained weight (38 g/day) on the L diet, while Merinos lost weight (28 g/day) (P < 0.002). On the H diet the Damaras consumed 14% more feed (P < 0.053) and grew 30% faster than Merinos (P < 0.002), but there was no difference in the apparent dry matter or energy digestibility of the feed. At the conclusion of the trial the Damara carcasses were 22% heavier (28.1 versus 23.1 kg), and had higher dressing percentages (53.2 versus 41.5%) than Merinos, but the proportions of carcass components did not differ. The Damaras achieved higher total digestible energy intakes than the Merinos on both diets. On the low-quality feed this was achieved through higher feed digestibility and on the high-quality feed through greater voluntary feed intake. We speculate that this arises from variation between the breeds in rumen volume, particle flow and the site of digestion, but further studies are required to confirm this contention. The ability of Damara sheep to obtain more nutrients from widely differing feed bases makes them an attractive alternative sheep breed for sheep meat production. Furthermore, the presence of such variation between genotypes offers potential for selective breeding and development of commercial lines of sheep.


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