scholarly journals Effects of Genotype and Weaning Age Interaction on Growth Traits in Rabbits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-256
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ragab ◽  
Saad Mohamed Mostfa ◽  
Khaled Hassan El-Kholy ◽  
Lamia M. Radwan ◽  
Abeer El-Shafie ◽  
...  

Weaning age is an important factor that affects the growth and health of weaned animals. Therefore, the current experiment was conducted to study genotype (G) and weaning age (WA) interaction (G×WA) effects on growth traits of the animals belonged to two lines of rabbits (APRI and V line) reared under Egyptian conditions. Multiparous doe rabbits were serviced to obtain 225 litters with 1800 young rabbits at weaning. The weaning ages ranged from 26 to 43 days where the young rabbits were weaned at different ages (≥28 days, WA1; 28 < Treatment ≥ 35 days, WA2; 35 < Treatment ≥ 40 day, WA3 and 40< Treatment, WA4). Body weight (BW) from 4 to 16 weeks of age and corresponding average daily gain (ADGt1-t2) were measured. The BW significantly increased in APRI rabbits, compared to those in V line at the different ages where at the end of the fattening period, the difference was 105 g per animal with higher ADG. Regarding the weaning age effects, positive effects were observed where the highest BW was observed at the fattening period. The ADG of rabbits weaned in late weaning was higher than in early weaning with significant differences. The observed results suggest the existence of relevant G×WA interaction for the investigated traits. Therefore, the weaning age of 29-35 days is recommended for young APRI rabbits while it is suggested to wean the V rabbits after 35 days. The study confirmed that early weaning is not preferable for the rabbit under Egyptian conditions and it is better to wean young rabbits at the minimum age of 30 days to achieve the best BW and growth rate.

Author(s):  
V. Sravanthi ◽  
D. Suresh Babu ◽  
A. Anitha ◽  
P. Asha Latha

The behavioural pattern and growth performance of three groups of LWY piglets weaned at different ages was studied for six months. The first, second and third groups were weaned at 25, 40 and 56 days, respectively. The playing and huddling behavior was more in group 1 piglets. While fighting, standing, locomotion and tail biting behavior was more in group 2 piglets. Whereas the lying behavior was more in group 3 piglets. There was a significant difference (P is less than 0.01) among the three groups of piglets for all behavioral patterns. The post weaning weight (kg) gains reached 56.63 ± 0.41, 65.03 ± 0.36 and 63.09 ± 0.38 Kg for group 1, group 2 and group 3 respectively, at the end of study period. A significant difference (P is less than 0.01) was observed among the three groups for all the fortnightly interval body weights. The mean average daily gain for group 1, 2 and 3 was 0.33, 0.38 and 0.36 respectively. Significant difference (P is less than 0.01) had been observed between the groups for average daily gain. The present study had suggested that early weaning at 40days age was more advantageous than 25 days age and conventional 56days weaning age.


Zygote ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Ankit Magotra ◽  
Yogesh C. Bangar ◽  
Ashish Chauhan ◽  
Abhay Singh Yadav ◽  
Zile Singh Malik

Summary The present study evaluated maternal and additive influences that contribute to phenotypic variation in various growth traits in Munjal sheep. The targeted traits that pertained to 2278 records of 706 lambs were birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WT3), 6-month body weight (WT6), 12-month body weight (WT12), average daily gain (ADG1: 0–3 months; ADG2: 3–6 months, ADG3: 6–12 months of age) and their corresponding Kleiber ratios designated as KR1, KR2 and KR3. The direct heritability estimates for BWT, WT3, WT6, WT12, ADG1, ADG2, ADG3, KR1, KR2 and KR3 under animal models were 0.20 ± 0.08, 0.28 ± 0.08, 0.17 ± 0.07, 0.47 ± 0.09, 0.33 ± 0.08, 0.09 ± 0.06, 0.36 ± 0.10, 0.33 ± 0.08, 0.09 ± 0.06 and 0.32 ± 0.10, respectively. The estimates of maternal genetic effects contributed significantly and were 8% and 7% for BWT and WT3 traits, respectively, which highlighted the considerable role of maternal effects on early growth traits. Genetic and phenotypic correlations ranged from moderate to high between weaning and post-weaning traits. It was concluded that early selection that considered additive as well as maternal effects at weaning age may be delivered to the desired genetic progress in Munjal sheep.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Caro-Petrovic ◽  
M.P. Petrovic ◽  
Z.Z. Ilic ◽  
M.M. Petrovic ◽  
D. Ruzic-Muslic ◽  
...  

Success of crossing depends on the breeds used and the genetic distance among them, as well the combining ability of maternal and individual heterosis to make the proper choice of breeds employed in a crossing system. The aim of this study is to find the effect of genotype and crossing system on early weights and daily gain of lambs. The lambs of purebred Pirot Pramenka ( P) got the lowest body weight at birth, at 30 days, at 60 days and 90 days with a value of 3.65 kg, 9.48 kg, 14.99 kg and 21.96 kg while purebred Wurttemberg attained the highest body weight at birth of 4.48 kg. The lambs of three bred crossing (PxWxF) highest on BW30, BW60 and BW90 days. The results showed a highly significant difference on average daily gain (ADG) among genotypes (P ?0.01) except on the difference between W - PxW of which belongs to the lower border of significant level (P ?0.05). The highest difference on ADG was between P - PxWxF (105.950 g), wherein the lowest difference was between W- PxW (9.290 g). It can close that the attained value between pure bred Wurttemberg (W) and two-bred crossing (PxW) was almost equal. Genotype and crossing system have significant effect on body weight and average daily gain of lambs. Based on the results obtained, it shows an advantage effect of crossing system (PxWxF) when it comes on growth and daily gain of lambs.


1990 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
V. Buvanendran

SUMMARYThe effects of year of birth, age of dam, sex of calf, month of birth and weaning age on weaning weights of Mashona calves on six commercial farms in Zimbabwe were estimated by least squares procedures from data of 6365 calves born 1977–85. The least squares mean weight at 205 days among farms ranged from 123 to 159 kg while the linear regression coefficients of weight on age ranged from 0·31 to 0·46 kg. Adjustment for weaning age by the average daily gain from birth to weaning failed to remove the dependence of adjusted weight on age. Sex was the most important source of variation and the mean difference between male and female calves was 12·9 kg. Sex difference was markedly influenced by herd production rate, being greater in herds of above average production.Weights of calves of 3-, 4- and > 11-year-old dams deviated from those of dams aged 5–10 years (mature) by 14·5, 8·5 and 2·9 kg, respectively. Herd mean influenced the difference between 3-year-old and mature dams, the difference increasing as herd mean declined. Herd-year specific factors seem more appropriate for sex and 3-year-old dams and an annual crop of > 50 calves would confer an advantage to herd-specific over general adjustment factors. On the basis of equality of variances within subclasses, multiplicative factors were superior to additive factors for sex of calf and month of birth; both types of adjustment were suitable for age of dam.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pattarapol Sumreddee ◽  
El Hamidi Hay ◽  
Sajjad Toghiani ◽  
Andrew Roberts ◽  
Samuel E. Aggrey ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although inbreeding caused by the mating of animals related through a recent common ancestor is expected to have more harmful effects on phenotypes than ancient inbreeding (old inbreeding), estimating these effects requires a clear definition of recent (new) and ancient (old) inbreeding. Several methods have been proposed to classify inbreeding using pedigree and genomic data. Unfortunately, these methods are largely based on heuristic criteria such as the number of generations from a common ancestor or length of runs of homozygosity (ROH) segments. To mitigate these deficiencies, this study aimed to develop a method to classify pedigree and genomic inbreeding into recent and ancient classes based on a grid search algorithm driven by the assumption that new inbreeding tends to have a more pronounced detrimental effect on traits. The proposed method was tested using a cattle population characterized by a deep pedigree. Results Effects of recent and ancient inbreeding were assessed on four growth traits (birth, weaning and yearling weights and average daily gain). Thresholds to classify inbreeding into recent and ancient classes were trait-specific and varied across traits and sources of information. Using pedigree information, inbreeding generated in the last 10 to 11 generations was considered as recent. When genomic information (ROH) was used, thresholds ranged between four to seven generations, indicating, in part, the ability of ROH segments to characterize the harmful effects of inbreeding in shorter periods of time. Nevertheless, using the proposed classification method, the discrimination between new and old inbreeding was less robust when ROH segments were used compared to pedigree. Using several model comparison criteria, the proposed approach was generally better than existing methods. Recent inbreeding appeared to be more harmful across the growth traits analyzed. However, both new and old inbreeding were found to be associated with decreased yearling weight and average daily gain. Conclusions The proposed method provided a more objective quantitative approach for the classification of inbreeding. The proposed method detected a clear divergence in the effects of old and recent inbreeding using pedigree data and it was superior to existing methods for all analyzed traits. Using ROH data, the discrimination between old and recent inbreeding was less clear and the proposed method was superior to existing approaches for two out of the four analyzed traits. Deleterious effects of recent inbreeding were detected sooner (fewer generations) using genomic information than pedigree. Difference in the results using genomic and pedigree information could be due to the dissimilarity in the number of generations to a common ancestor. Additionally, the uncertainty associated with the identification of ROH segments and associated inbreeding could have an effect on the results. Potential biases in the estimation of inbreeding effects may occur when new and old inbreeding are discriminated based on arbitrary thresholds. To minimize the impact of inbreeding, mating designs should take the different inbreeding origins into consideration.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Yousef Abbaslou ◽  
Davood Zahmatkesh ◽  
Ehsan Mahjoubi ◽  
Mehdi Hossein Yazdi ◽  
Hamed Beiranvand ◽  
...  

The positive effects of nucleotide (NU) supplementation in milk replacer have been elucidated in infants and in dairy calves; however, NU addition to whole milk has not been evaluated previously. This study aimed to assess NU supplementation in the whole milk on calf growth and health. Thirty Holstein calves (body weight: 39.1 ± 1.0 kg; 3 d after birth) were randomly assigned to the following treatments: whole milk without any supplementation (NU0), whole milk + 0.5 g/d added a NU-containing supplement to whole milk (NUCS0.5), and whole milk + 1 g/d added a NU-containing supplement to whole milk (NUCS1). Calves were weaned at d 55 and stayed on study until d 75. Calves had free access to feed and water throughout the study. Dry matter intakes (DMI) were similar among treatments (p > 0.05) during the pre-weaning period; however, increasing NU resulted in a linear (p < 0.05) increase in DMI during the post weaning period (2158, 2432, and 2518 g/d for NU0, NUCS0.5, and NUCS1, respectively). Treatments did not affect body weight (BW) at the first and second month of study, but final BW linearly increased as NU was added (87.1, 90.6, and 95.4 kg for NU0, NUCS0.5, and NUCS1, respectively). Neither pre-weaning average daily gain nor post-weaning average daily gain was affected by treatments; accordingly, feed efficiency was similar among treatment groups. Days with loose fecal score were linearly decreased as NU was added to whole milk during the first month of life, while the fecal score did not differ among treatments until the end of the study. No difference was observed in the skeletal growth of calves in the current study. Therefore, it can be concluded that NU supplementation in the whole milk has some beneficial effects on calf performance in terms of final BW, post-weaning DMI, and less days with loose feces.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Palova ◽  
Jivko Nakev ◽  
Teodora Popova ◽  
Maya Ignatova

Abstract(An experiment with two groups of East Balkan pigs – castrated males (n=10) and females (n=10), was carried out to study the growth performance and fattening abilities of the animals from the weaning until slaughter. The pigs were included in the trial at 60 day age. The average live weight of the castrated males was 8. 65±1.08 kg and for the females, 8.5±0.62 kg.The pigs were reared using traditional technology, grazing on natural pastures in the Strandzha mountain, Bulgaria. In autumn, acorns were naturally present in their diet. According to the category, the animals additionally received ground organic feed (50% barley and 50% wheat). The trial lasted 304 days (from February to November, 2019). During this period the final live weight of the male castrated pigs reached 88.00 kg while that of the females was 84.4 kg. The difference, however, was not significant. Furthermore, no significant differences in the growth performance characteristics that could be attributed to the sex of the animals were observed. The average daily gain of both sexes tended to be lower in summer and higher in autumn. The feed conversion ratio was higher in summer. The animals showed high average daily weight gain at pasture when their live weight was over 50 kg.


2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 443-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zrůstová ◽  
A. Knoll ◽  
T. Urban ◽  
S. Čepica

Visfatin encoded by the <I>NAMPT</I> gene <I>(nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase,</I> formerly also known as <I>PBEF – pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor</I>) is suggested to play a role in lipid metabolism and pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus type 2. A new microsatellite <I>SCZ004</I> was detected within intron 9 of the <I>NAMPT</I> gene. In Czech Large White (<I>n</I> = 95) frequencies of alleles <I>282, 286, 287, 299</I>, and <I>304</I> were 0.02, 0.39, 0.07, 0.04, and 0.48, respectively. Allele <I>286</I> was predominant also in Landrace (<I>n</I> = 11) and Black Pied Prestice (<I>n</I> = 11) breeds. Association analysis was carried out between previously reported SNP AM999341:g.669T>C in intron 9 of the <I>NAMPT</I> gene and backfat thickness, average daily gain and lean meat content in Czech Large White (<I>n</I> = 215), Black Pied Prestice (<I>n</I> = 96) and Landrace (<I>n</I> = 105). The <I>CC</I> genotype was associated with higher backfat thickness (<I ≤ 0.01) in Black Pied Prestice, however in Czech Large White <I>CC</I> was associated with lower backfat thickness when compared to <I>TT</I> and <I>CT</I> genotypes (<I ≤ 0.05). In Czech Large White, <I>CC</I> genotype was associated with higher lean meat content when compared to <I>CT</I> (not significant) and <I>TT</I> genotype (<I ≤ 0.05) while in Landrace <I>CC</I> had the lowest lean meat content when compared to <I>CT</I> and <I>TT</I> genotypes but only the difference between <I>CC</I> and <I>CT</I>T was statistically significant (<I ≤ 0.05). In Black Pied Prestice no association with lean meat content was found. Average daily gain was not associated with the SNP in any breed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Christensen ◽  
M. Fredholm ◽  
A. K. Winterø ◽  
J. N. Jørgensen ◽  
S. Andersen

AbstractFour litters produced by father-daughter matings (back crosses) resulting in 35 animals with a theoretical inbreeding coefficient of 25% were typed with 21 independent informative markers. The differences between the two founder animals were estimated, based on the marker information, and it was found that the founder boar had higher genetic potential for proportion of lean meat and lower genetic potential for groivth than the founder sow. The proportion of the genome of each offspring which was identical by descent was investigated. On the basis of these markers the realized inbreeding was found to vary between 7 and 47%. The linear decrease in weight at days 1, 26 and 136, average daily gain and proportion of lean meat regressed on the realized inbreeding were estimated to 0·6 kg, 2·4 kg, 18 kg, 95 g/day and 15 g/kg, respectively. For weight at day 88 a corresponding linear increase of 11 kg was observed. The joint effect of founder differences and realized inbreeding were as expected negative and statistically significant for all growth traits.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 42-42
Author(s):  
Breno Fragomeni ◽  
Zulma Vitezica ◽  
Justine Liu ◽  
Yijian Huang ◽  
Kent Gray ◽  
...  

Abstract The objective of this study was to implement a multi-trait genomic evaluation for maternal and growth traits in a swine population. Phenotypes for preweaning mortality, litter size, weaning weight, and average daily gain were available for 282K Large White pigs. The pedigree included 314k individuals, of which 35,731 were genotyped for 45K SNPs. Variance components were estimated in a multi-trait animal model without genomic information by AIREMLF90. Genomic breeding values were estimated using the genomic information by single-step GBLUP. The algorithm for proven and young (APY) was used to reduce computing time. Genetic correlation between proportion and the total number of preweaning deaths was 0.95. A strong, positive genetic correlation was also observed between weaning weight and average daily gain (r = 0.94). Conversely, the genetic correlations between mortality and growth traits were negative, with an average of -0.7. To avoid computations by expensive threshold models, preweaning mortality was transformed from a binary trait to two linear dam traits: proportion and a total number of piglets dead before weaning. Because of the high genetic correlations within groups of traits, inclusion of only one growth and one mortality trait in the model decreases computing time and allows for the inclusion of other traits. Reduction in computing time for the evaluation using APY was up to 20x, and no differences in EPD ranking were observed. The algorithm for proven and young improves the efficiency of genomic evaluation in swine without harming the quality of predictions. For this population, a binary trait of mortality can be replaced by a linear trait of the dam, resulting in a similar ranking for the selection candidates.


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