RESULTS OF ANALYSIS OF OSTEOLOGICAL MATE RIALS OF SCYTHIAN TIME FROM THE HILLFORT BOLSHOE STOROZHEVOE: LATEST RESEARCH

The article analyzes osteological materials obtained during the latest excavations of one of the largest hillforts of the Middle Don culture of the Scythian time – Bolshoye Storozhevoe. The collection under study dates back to the end of the 5th - 4th centuries BC. and has 3650 bones, 1180 of which have been identified to species. The bones are kitchen remains associated with the butchering and consumption of animal meat directly on the site. The analyzed samples are represented exclusively by the bones of domestic animals. Among them, the remains of cattle (36.4%) predominate, fragments of the skeleton of a horse (23.1%) and small ruminants (23.2%) were found equally, pig bones (15.8%) were found somewhat less frequently. The bones of a dog were found, almost all of which were found in one of the household pits. Among the slaughtered animals, as a rule, adults prevailed, which indicates that people were engaged in animal husbandry directly on the hillfort. According to the proposed by E. E. Antipina method, the volume of consumption of meat products was calculated and the herd composition was reconstructed. The basis of the meat diet was beef and horse meat. Goat, lamb and pork supplemented the meat diet. The herd apparently consisted mainly of horses and cattle. There were few pigs, goats and sheep in it.

PSXIV-19 Heritability for growth and resistance to gastrointestinal parasitism in meat goats and hair sheep

Genetic selection for resistance to internal parasitism is of great research interest. Heritabilities were determined for average daily gain (ADG), logarithmic transformed fecal egg count (FEC), packed cell volume (PCV), and serum immunoglobin (Ig) levels of growing male meat goats and hair sheep from different farms in the southcentral USA during three consecutive central performance tests (CPT). Tests entailed 7–10 wk of data collection after artificial infection with Haemonchus contortus. In year 1, animals evaluated were selected randomly and in years 2 and 3 progeny of CPT sires classified as highly or moderately resistant, which included 46, 50, and 51 Boer, Kiko, and Spanish and 59, 61, 34, and 46 Dorper, Katahdin-farm A, Katahdin-farm B, and St. Croix, respectively. Females were classified accordingly on-farm based on FEC and FAMACHA. Pedigree records consisted of 32 and 57 known sires, 95 and 152 known dams including 4 and 10 full-sibs and 97 and 149 half-sibs for goats and sheep, respectively. Variance components and heritabilities were estimated by AIREML using WOMBAT with a multivariate animal model. Heritability estimates were 0.48 ± 0.214 and 0.85 ± 0.157 of ADG, 0.31 ± 0.237 and 0.20 ± 0.172 of FEC, 0.60 ± 0.206 and 0.24 ± 0.185 of PCV, 0.26 ± 0.172 and 0.51 ± 0.167 of IgA, 0.335 and 0.543 of IgM, and 0.14 ± 0.192 and 0.31 ± 0.190 of IgG for goats and sheep, respectively. Reasons for relatively high heritabilities for all traits include the low residual variance estimates due primarily to a standardized environment in the performance test. In conclusion, moderate to high heritabilities were found for growth performance and response to parasite infection for growing meat goat and hair sheep males under a standardized environment that suggests considerable for genetic improvement through selection.

PSXII-27 Effects of Sericea lespedeza on methane emission and health status in grazing Boer goat wethers

The objective was to determine effects of feeding 12 yearling Boer goat wethers Sericea lespedeza as supplemental pellets or grazed forage on ruminal methane emission and health status compared with grazing grass-based pasture and supplemental forage-concentrate pellets. There were 4 5-wk periods in the late spring and summer. Periods 1–3 were on a 0.7-ha native grass pasture and period 4 was on a 1.1-ha pasture of Sericea lespedeza. A forage-concentrate pellet was supplemented in period 1 (CON1), 3 (CON2), and 4 (SL-P), and pelleted Sericea lespedeza (Sims Brothers Inc., Union Springs, AL) was given in period 2 (SL-S). Pellets were supplemented and ruminal methane emission was measured with a small ruminant GreenFeed unit (C-Lock, Rapid City, SD). Pellets were dispensed up to 30 times daily, with 6 sessions of 5-9-g bait drops and a 2.5-h session interval. Body weight at the end of periods generally increased as period advanced (35.7, 38.8, 37.9 and 41.1 kg for CON1, SL-S, CON2, and SL-P, respectively; SEM=1.08). Sericea lespedeza decreased methane emission (P < 0.05), with pasture grazing having greater effect than pellet supplementation (43.7, 36.2, 40.9, and 32.5 g/d for CON1, SL-S, CON2, and SL-P, respectively; SEM=0.84). Likewise, SL consumption decreased FAMACHA score (P < 0.05), with a similar effect for both SL forms (3.28, 2.95, 3.21, and 2.86 for CON1, SL-S, CON2, and SL-P, respectively; SEM=0.061). Body condition score was similar among periods (2.65, 2.64, 2.68, and 2.67 for CON1, SL-S, CON2, and SL-P, respectively; SEM=0.022). In conclusion, the effect of consumption of SL on methane emission probably relates to condensed tannins and greater impact of SL-P could involve a higher dietary level. Similarly, inclusion of SL in meat goat diets has potential to decrease the parasite load and thereby improve health status, also presumably because of bioactive condensed tannins.

Klasifikasi Jenis dan Tingkat Kesegaran Daging Berdasarkan Warna, Tekstur dan Invariant Moment Menggunakan Klasifikasi LDA

Distribution process that takes a long time along with improper treatment, can cause meat become not fresh and decrease the quality of the meat. Therefore, unscrupulous meat sellers cheating on the non-fresh meat by mixing the non-fresh meat with the fresh one. A system that can classify the type and freshness level of meat automatically is needed. In this research, that system was developed based on texture, color and shape features using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) classification. The methods used in the feature extraction process are statistical approach, GLCM and the HU's invariant moment. The total of data used in this research was 960 images of 3 different meat types which are chicken meat, goat meat, and beef. The highest accuracy obtained from the testing process was 90% on the combination features of HSI and invariant moment for the meat type in refrigerator

CONSUMERS’ PREFERENCE FOR MEAT FROM FOOD ANIMALS IN HE NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

This paper assesses the consumers’ preference for food animas in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. The questionnaire was used to obtain information in a cross sectional study involving 470 respondents. The method of data analyses includes descriptive statistical tools and the consumers’ Preference profit (CPP). The results showed that there was no significant difference in preference between beef and goat meat. Goat meat was considered to be more nutritious, tastes better, cooks faster, even though less available, more costly and so not suitable for ceremonial cooking. However, beef was preferred to goat meat because its products are perceived to be affordable, readily available, and better for ceremonial use; and it is clearly preferred to other meat types in terms of all the attributes considered.

A Preliminary Study on Growth, Yield and Nutritive Value of Four Varieties of Alfalfa and the Utilization of Alfalfa Dehydrated Pellets in a Total Mixed Ratio in Meat Goat Diet

This study proposed to examine the alfalfa varieties suitable for further field experiments in Sa Kaeo province in order to cultivate alfalfa plants for a meat goat diet. Four varieties of alfalfa were collected from four distributors, source from the Republic of Turkey (coded as AC1), source from the United Kingdom (coded as AC2) and source from the United States of America (coded as AC3 and AC4, respectively). Their growth rate, yield and chemical composition were analysed in Sa Kaeo province. The results show that the plant height, the number of leaves per plant and the leaf width increased from 30 to 90 days after all the varieties were planted. There were significant differences between the varieties in their chemical composition after the first (90 days) and second (120 days) harvest times except for dry matter (DM) 90 days after planting. To determine the effects of increasing levels of alfalfa dehydrated pellets (ADP) in total mixed ration (TMR) on feed intake and productive performance of meat goat, a randomized complete block design experiment was conducted with 9 crossbred Native-Anglo Nubian goats, 3-4 months’ old, with body weight ranging from 8-10 kg which were fed received 0%, 10% and 20% of ADP in a TMR. The results revealed that increasing levels of ADP with 10% and 20% in the diet had no effect on DM intake, average daily gain, nutrient digestibility and blood urea nitrogen.

PSX-10 Program Chair Poster Pick: Effects of meat goat breed, salinity of drinking water, and level of protein supplementation on intake and digestion

The objective was to determine if effects of level of salinity in drinking water for yearling meat goat wethers consuming low-protein roughage are influenced by level of protein supplementation and breed. Eighteen Boer (initial BW of 37.9±1.12 kg and 1.15±0.009 yr) and 18 Spanish goats (33.5±0.66 kg and 1.16±0.008 yr) consumed wheat straw ad libitum for 10 wk. Soybean meal was supplemented at 0.13–0.14 or 0.27–0.28% BW (DM; Low and High, respectively) and water was fresh alone (240 mg/kg total dissolved salts) or with NaCl added at 5,000 or 10,000 mg/L (FW, MS, and HS, respectively). Final BW was not influenced by supplement or water treatments (P >0.12) and was greater (P = 0.003) for Boer vs. Spanish (38.6 and 34.7 kg; SEM=0.84). Water intake ranked (P < 0.05) FW< MS< HS (1,093, 1,295, and 1,541 g/d; SEM=66.6). Wheat straw DMI was similar between supplement treatments (684 and 692 g/d; SEM=21.1) and, thus, total DMI tended (P < 0.068) to be greater for High (733 and 793 g/d for Low and High, respectively; SEM=21.9). There was an interaction (P = 0.015) in total DMI between breed and water treatments because of a relatively low value for Spanish-FW (821, 733, and 811 for Boer and 636, 781, and 796 g/d for Spanish consuming FW, MS, and HS, respectively; SEM=38.0). Breed and water and supplement treatments did not influence the average of total tract digestibilities determined in wk 4 and 8 (P >010). In conclusion, these yearling meat goats displayed considerable tolerance of drinking water high in salinity as varied by NaCl addition, without consistent breed differences. Furthermore, under these conditions, effects of level of protein supplementation did not markedly differ among water treatments or between goat breeds. Future research should address animals with greater nutrient and energy demands and sources of saline water with various mineral arrays.

PSX-20 Internal parasite resistance measured on pasture and in confinement of young Kiko bucks

Resistance to internal parasites (IP) is important in the sustainability of a meat goat enterprise. Langston University (LU) and the American Kiko Goat Association conducted a SecondGeneration Buck Performance Test in 2019. The performance test measured fecal egg count (FEC) and packed-cell volume (PCV) in a natural challenge of 6 wk on pasture (PAS) and in an artificial challenge in dry-lot confinement (CON). Seventy-seven Kiko bucks less than 1 yr of age completed both PAS and CON. The PAS was conducted on a 23-ha pasture with native grasses and forbs. Bucks were supplemented at 0.5% BW (25.8±0.18 kg) daily to facilitate visual inspection of animals. CON was conducted at LU’s testing facility. Bucks were sampled every 2 wk in PAS. In CON, bucks were sampled on d 29, 34, and 38 following an artificial challenge with each buck receiving 7,000 L3 Haemonchus contortus larvae. Average FEC and PCV for each buck for PAS and CON were analyzed. The correlation between FEC-PAS and PCV-PAS was -0.283 (P < 0.05), which is almost identical to the correlation between FEC-CON and PCV-CON (r=-0.280, P < 0.05). The Spearman rank correlation between FEC-PAS and FEC-CON was 0.069 (P > 0.50). However, the Spearman rank correlation between PCV-PAS and PCV-CON was 0.376 (P < 0.01). Using mixed model methods, the means for FEC-CON and FEC-PAS were similar (1,428 vs 1,698±169 epg for CON and PAS, respectively). However, PCV were different (P < 0.01), with 28.3 vs. 20.7±0.34 for CON and PAS, respectively. Pasture PCV was a predictor of PCV in confinement and vice versa; however, that was not true for FEC, indicating that FEC in PAS and in CON may be two separate traits. Future buck performance tests should incorporate pasture and confinement phases to more precisely identify superior bucks for IP resistance.