scholarly journals The effect of maternal nutritional restriction on fetal development and performance of offspring in beef cattle

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Rainforth

Health, growth efficiency and carcass quality are major considerations in beef production. The foundation for this is thought to be linked to fetal development. Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is one factor that can influence fetal development and offspring growth. However, its specific effects on postnatal growth of castrated calves (steers) raised for meat are not well understood. This review considers the nutritional requirements of pregnant cows and summarizes the effect of maternal nutritional restriction throughout gestation on calf growth. It also evaluates the different developmental stage at which nutritional restriction will have the greatest impact. It is found that even though early gestation is a critical period for the formation of the placenta and the initial organ development, the fetus has the ability to compensate for developmental restrictions resulting from maternal malnutrition during this period. Meanwhile, during mid-to late gestation maternal nutritional restriction has the greatest impact on offspring performance. Maternal malnutrition during this key period can reduce birth weight, which is strongly correlated to the lifetime performance of steers in terms of health and growth efficiency. Proper nutritional management of cows is essential throughout gestation, but additional attention should be given to the mid-to-late gestational period to ensure calves are born at optimal birth weight. Further, it is suggested that maternal nutrition does not appear to have a consistent effect on carcass quality, instead, external factors near the time of slaughter may be the major determinants.

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 36-36
Author(s):  
Philipe Moriel

Abstract The beef cattle industry in the Southeastern United States relies primarily on forages that not always meet the cowherd nutritional requirements, resulting in reduced performance if supplemental nutrients are not provided. Although precalving nutrition modulates postnatal offspring performance, most studies did not utilize Bos indicus-influenced cows consuming low-quality, warm-season forages. Hence, 3 studies evaluated the impact of different supplementation strategies during gestation on subsequent cow and calf performance.Study 1focused on timing of dried distillers grains (DDG) supplementation during late-gestation. Treatments initiated 84 d before calving and consisted of no supplementation, 1 kg/d of DDG from d 0 to 84, or 2 kg/d of DDG from d 0 to 42. Timing of prepartum DDG supplementation did not impact cow reproduction, but calf pre-weaning growth was enhanced only when cows received longer vs. shorter or no periods of prepartum supplementation. Study 2evaluated the use of prepartum supplementation of sugarcane molasses/urea added or not with DL-methionine hydroxyl analog. At 56 d before calving, Brangus heifers received no supplementation or molasses/urea (7.2 kg DM/wk) with or without methionine (105 g/wk; Alimet, Novus) until calving. Sugarcane molasses/urea supplementation improved cow BCS at calving and calf postnatal growth compared to no supplementation. However, supplemental methionine did not further enhance cow and calf growth performance. Study 3 compared winter vs. annual supplementation of sugarcane molasses/urea or range cubes. Starting on d 0 (pregnancy diagnosis; May), Brangus cows were assigned to receive molasses/urea supplementation during winter only (calving until end of breeding season) or year-round supplementation of molasses/urea or range cubes. Treatments had similar annual supplement DM amount (272 kg/yr). Year-round supplementation of molasses/urea and range cubes enhanced cow BCS at calving but did not impact pregnancy rate of cows and calf weaning weights than winter molasses/urea supplementation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alamgir Kabir ◽  
Md Mahbubur Rashid ◽  
Kamal Hossain ◽  
Md Arifuzzaman Khan ◽  
Shegufta Shefa Shikder ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The burden of maternal malnutrition and low birth weight (LBW) incurs enormous economic costs due to their adverse consequences. Women’s empowerment is believed to be one of the key factors for attaining maternal and child health and nutritional goals. Our objective was to investigate the association of women’s empowerment with maternal malnutrition and LBW.Methods We used nationally representative data from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey for 2011 and 2014. We analysed 27,357 women and 9,234 mother-child pairs. A women’s empowerment index (WEI) was constructed using principal component analysis. We estimated odds ratios as the measure of association between the WEI and the outcome measures using generalized estimating equations to account for the cluster level correlation.Results The overall prevalence of maternal malnutrition was 20% and LBW was 18%. The WEI was significantly associated with both maternal malnutrition and LBW with a dose-response relationship. The adjusted odds of having a LBW baby was 32% [AOR (95% CI):0.68 (0.57, 0.82)] lower in the highest quartile of the WEI relative to the lowest quartile. Household wealth significantly modified the effect of the WEI on maternal nutrition.; in the highest wealth quintile, the odds of maternal malnutrition was 54% [AOR (95% CI): 0.46 (0.33, 0.64)] lower while in the lowest wealth quintile the odds of malnutrition was only 18% [AOR (95% CI): 0.82 (0.67, 1.00)] lower comparing the highest WEI quartile with the lowest WEI quartile. However, the absolute differences in prevalence of malnutrition between the highest and lowest WEI quartiles were similar across wealth quintiles (6-8%).Conclusions This study used a comprehensive measure of women’s empowerment and provides strong evidence that low levels of women’s empowerment is associated with maternal malnutrition as well as with delivering LBW babies in Bangladesh. Therefore, policies to increase empowerment of women would contribute to improved population health.


1979 ◽  
Vol 237 (3) ◽  
pp. E273
Author(s):  
D L Hard ◽  
L L Anderson

The relationships of maternal nutrition and progesterone secretion to prenatal fetal loss and neonatal survival and growth were investigated in domesticated pigs that normally experience 40% fetal loss. Yorkshire pigs were subjected to prolonged starvation (40 days; 0 kcal/day; water only) in either the middle third or last third of pregnancy and then gradually realimented to a full diet and allowed to advance to parturition; controls received a full diet (7,028 kcal/day) throughout gestation. Pregnancies were maintained in 74% of the pigs starved during either middle or late gestation compared to 100% in controls. In dams starved from days 30--70, progesterone levels remained similar to controls, but were maintained at lower levels during realimentation between days 72 and 99. Progesterone levels in dams starved days 50--90 and controls were similar from days 50 to 130. At parturition, litter size in starved dams (9.4) was similar to full-diet controls (8.0) although birth weight and neonatal growth of piglets were reduced markedly from dams starved in middle or late pregnancy. These results indicate that severe maternal nutrient deprivation during the middle or last third of gestation has little effect on ovarian progesterone secretion and is not a major limitation to fetal survival in this litter-bearing species. Maternal nutrient deprivation imposes a significant detrimental effect, however, on birth weight and neonatal growth to 80 days of age.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (9) ◽  
pp. 3958-3971
Author(s):  
Atta Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Daniel A Columbus ◽  
Chantal Farmer ◽  
A Denise Beaulieu

Abstract This study investigated the effects of supplementing late gestation sow diets with processed or unprocessed oat or wheat straw on physiology, early lactation feed intake, and offspring performance. One hundred fifty gestating sows were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments (30 sows per diet) from day 86 of gestation until farrowing. Treatments, arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial plus a control, were a standard gestation diet (control) or control supplemented with 10% wheat or oat straw, processed or unprocessed. Sows were fed a standard lactation diet postfarrowing. The processed straws were produced by high-pressure compaction at 80 °C. On day 101 of gestation (day 15 of the trial), blood samples were collected from a subset of sows (n = 8 per treatment) through ear vein catheters and analyzed for insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), prolactin, glucose, and urea concentrations. Fecal samples were collected on days 103 to 104 of gestation to determine nutrient digestibility, and feeding motivation was investigated on day 104. Litter characteristics and sow feed intake were recorded for 7 d postfarrowing. Three piglets per litter were selected at weaning, fed standard diets, and followed to market. Treatment had no effect on feeding motivation, piglet characteristics at birth, estimated milk production, and offspring BW at market or carcass quality. Processed straw improved DM digestibility and energy content and the effect was greater with oat straw (straw × processing effect, P < 0.05). Pre- and postprandial glucose concentrations tended to decrease (P < 0.10) with processing of wheat, but not oat straw, and this effect was more apparent in the preprandial samples. Preprandial prolactin concentration increased with oat but decreased with wheat straw, whereas postprandial IGF-1 and prolactin concentration increased with processing of wheat, but not oat straw (straw × processing, P < 0.05). Sow lactation feed intake improved (P < 0.05) with oat straw supplementation relative to wheat straw. Piglet weaning weight increased (P < 0.05) with oat straw supplementation and processing improved (P < 0.05) nursery exit BW. However, straw supplementation, regardless of processing, had no effect on offspring BW at market or carcass quality. Overall, oat straw supplementation had a greater impact on sow physiology and provided benefits for sows in late gestation, and there was some indication that further benefits could be obtained through mild processing.


2013 ◽  
Vol 153 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 154-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Dhakal ◽  
C. Auckland ◽  
Y. Huang ◽  
B. Ambros ◽  
T. Duke ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 411-412
Author(s):  
Kortney Acton ◽  
Ira B Mandell ◽  
Lee-Anne Huber ◽  
Michael A Steele ◽  
Katharine M Wood

Abstract The objective of this study was to assess if rumen-protected methionine supplementation during gestation would impact male offspring performance and carcass quality in an applied setting. Sixty-seven gestating cows were randomly assigned to control (CON), or methionine (MET) treatments. Cows had ad libitum access to hay from a round bale feeder and were fed once daily in a bunk for approximately eight weeks prior to calving either: 0.75 kg/head/d of supplement pellet supplying 12 g rumen-protected MET/cow/d, or identical pellet with no added MET. The 34 steer progeny (MET n = 18; CON n = 16) were transported to a feedlot, assigned to one of seven pens by weight and fed a corn-based grower diet (58% corn silage, 26% alfalfa haylage, 15% soybean meal) for 47 days, followed by a finisher diet (78% high moisture corn, 12% alfalfa haylage, 8% soybean meal) for 115±31.5 days until slaughter. Body weights were recorded biweekly. Organ weights were recorded at slaughter. Carcass quality, meat quality, and rib composition were recorded 24 to 48 hours after slaughter. Data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX in SAS, with treatment as the fixed effect, and pen as the random effect. Supplementation of MET during pregnancy increased weaning weight (MET: 311, CON: 291 ±14.8 kg; P ≤ 0.001), final weight (ME: 668, CON: 631 ±16.8 kg; P = 0.01), and individual dry matter intake (MET: 13, CON: 12 ±0.5 kg/d; P = 0.04) during the finishing phase. There was no effect of maternal methionine supplementation (P ≥ 0.05) for average daily gain. Hot carcass weight was greater for MET steers (MET 372 vs. CON 353 ±9.5 kg; P = 0.03), while organ weights and carcass quality were not affected (P ≥ 0.05) by MET supplementation. This study showed that supplementing methionine during late gestation in an industry applied setting improved some offspring performance measures but did not result in enhanced carcass quality.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1859
Author(s):  
Maslyn A. Greene ◽  
Jessica L. Britt ◽  
J. Keith Bertrand ◽  
James L. Klotz ◽  
William Bridges ◽  
...  

Weaned lambs (n = 82), born to ewes fed endophyte-free (E−) or endophyte-infected (E+; 1.77 mg hd−1 d−1 ergovaline + ergovalinine) tall fescue seed from d 35 to 85 of gestation (MID) and/or d 86 of gestation to parturition (LATE), were used to examine how ergot alkaloid exposure during fetal development altered subsequent puberty attainment or carcass quality. Lambs were weaned at 75 d of age and separated by sex to assess puberty in ewe lambs (n = 39) and to evaluate growth, carcass and meat quality in wethers (n = 43). Data were analyzed with maternal fescue treatment, stage of gestation, and two-way interaction in the model. Age at puberty tended (P = 0.06) to be longer for ewe lambs born to dams fed E+ fescue during LATE gestation versus those fed E−. Post-weaning average daily gain tended to be higher (P = 0.07) for wether lambs born to dams fed E+ fescue seed during MID gestation compared to E−. Exposure to ergot alkaloids during fetal growth altered (P < 0.10) longissimus muscle weight and color, lipid deposition, fatty acid composition, and shear force values of semimembranosus muscle in wether lambs. These results indicate that exposure to ergot alkaloids in utero does alter subsequent post-weaning puberty attainment and body composition in offspring.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 31-31
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A Palmer ◽  
Marcelo Vedovatto ◽  
Rhaiza A Oliveira ◽  
Juliana Ranches ◽  
Joao Vendramini ◽  
...  

Abstract This 2-yr study investigated the timing of dried distillers grains (DDG) supplementation of Bos indicus-influenced cows during late gestation and its impacts on offspring performance. On d 0, 84 Brangus cows/yr were stratified by BW (482 ± 75 kg) and BCS (5.3 ± 0.8) and randomly assigned to bahiagrass pastures (14 cows/pasture). Treatments were randomly assigned to pastures (2 pastures/treatment/yr) and consisted of no prepartum supplementation (CON), 2 kg/d of DDG from d 0 to 42 (LATE42), or 1 kg/d of DDG from d 0 to 84 (LATE84). At weaning (d 347), 38 steers/yr were vaccinated against bovine respiratory disease, transported for 720 mi to the feedlot, penned according to prepartum pasture distribution, and fed the same corn silage-based diet until harvest. Data were analyzed using SAS GLIMMIX procedure. Cow BCS at calving was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for LATE84 and LATE42 vs. CON cows and did not differ (P = 0.16) between LATE84 and LATE 42 cows. Cows offered LATE42 supplementation had greater (P ≤ 0.05) calving percentage from wk 2 to 6 of the subsequent calving season than CON and LATE84 cows. Calf BW at weaning was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for LATE 84 vs. LATE42 calves, and the latter greater than CON calves (269, 261, and 255 ± 2.6 kg, respectively). Seroconversion against parainfluenza-3 virus at weaning was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for LATE42 vs. CON steers, with LATE84 being intermediate. Feedlot BW and carcass weight did not differ (P ≥ 0.36) among treatments, but marbling scores and carcasses grading choice tended (P ≤ 0.10) to be greater for LATE42 vs. CON steers, with LATE84 being intermediate. Therefore, timing of DDG supplementation during late gestation in Bos indicus-influenced cows enhanced calf weaning weight, humoral immunity, and carcass characteristics at different magnitudes than cohorts born from non-supplemented cows.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (12) ◽  
pp. 4957-4964 ◽  
Author(s):  
André L Mallmann ◽  
Deivison P Fagundes ◽  
Carlos E Vier ◽  
Gabriela S Oliveira ◽  
Ana P G Mellagi ◽  
...  

Abstract The effects of two different feeding levels, offered in two phases during gestation, on body measurements and litter traits were evaluated in 152 gilts and 551 sows. The treatments consisted of the combination of two gestation phases (phase 1—days 22 to 42; phase 2—days 90 to 110) and two feed amounts (1.8 or 3.5 kg/d). Females were weighed on days 22, 42, 90, and 110 of gestation. Born alive and stillborn piglets were weighed within 12 h of birth. Total placental efficiency (ratio between litter weight and total placental weight) was measured in 518 females. Variables concerning body measurements at days 42 and 90 of gestation were analyzed considering the effects of feed amount, parity order (PO) and its interaction as a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Body measurements at day 110 of gestation and litter traits were analyzed considering the effects of feed amounts in phase 1, feed amounts in phase 2, PO and their interactions, as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. As expected, BW, backfat, and caliper units were greater at days 42, 90, and 110 (P ≤ 0.006) for females fed 3.5 kg/d during the previous phase than those fed 1.8 kg. No differences were observed among feed levels in total number of piglets born, mummified fetuses, sum of born alive and stillborn piglets, and within-litter birth weight CV (P ≥ 0.118). The percentage of stillborn piglets was affected by a three-way interaction (feed level at phase 1 × feed level at phase 2 × PO). Gilts fed 1.8 kg/d at phase 1 and 3.5 kg/d at phase 2 had fewer stillborn piglets than the other females (P ≤ 0.004). Birth weight was not affected by feed levels (P ≥ 0.153); however, sows had heavier piglets than gilts (P &lt; 0.001). Females fed 3.5 kg/d during phase 2 tended to have heavier litters (P = 0.054) than those fed 1.8 kg/d. Feeding a high level at phase 2 reduced the occurrence of lightweight piglets in gilts, but not in sows (feed level phase 2 × PO; P = 0.031). Total placental weight, average placental weight, and total placental efficiency were not affected by feed level at phase 1, feed level at phase 2 or interactions (P &gt; 0.14). Sows had total placental weight and average placental weight greater (P ≤ 0.003) than gilts. In conclusion, increasing feed intake during phase 1, phase 2, or both phases resulted in increased maternal BW gain, without expressive effects on litter traits. Feeding 3.5 kg/d to gilts during phase 2 reduced the occurrence of lightweight piglets.


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