Animal Bytes (Oct 09) - latest developments in livestock animal health and welfare

Thursday 15 October 2009

THE October update into the latest developments in animal science relevant to UK livestock farmers is now available.

In the latest edition there is animal health and welfare information on:

DAIRY: Out-wintering pads offer a viable ‘housing’ solution for dry cows

Take Home Message: Out wintered pads for dry cows, whether covered or not, result in similar dirtiness scores and udder health but with reduced costs compared to housing in cubicles, but must not be overstocked. Read the full article

PIGS: Genotype has the greatest influence on pig performance whereas improvements due to vaccination against PCV2 is dependent on herd health status

Take Home Message: Focus on pig genotype to improve growth rate and carcass composition with benefits due to vaccination dependent on herd health status. Read the full article

SHEEP: Scottish Blackface ewes more resistant to parasites than Greyface ewes

Take Home Message: Scottish Blackface ewes are more resistant to internal parasites and will shed less worms in their faeces around lambing compared with Greyface ewes. Read the full article

SHEEP: Scientists a step closer to an alternative to conventional anthelmintics

Take Home Message: Dosing grazing lambs with tannins tends to reduce faecal worm egg counts and increases daily liveweight gain, but not as effectively as conventional wormers. Read the full article

BEEF, DAIRY: Managing nutrition, heat detection levels and the reproductive cycle are key to improving reproductive performance

Take Home Message: Focus on improving nutrition and heat detection in dairy and beef herds as these account for 60% of the failure in reproductive performance.

DAIRY: Housing nutrition, and time of year, influence locomotion score

Take Home Message: Poorer locomotion in dairy cows will reduce milk yield, and is more likely to occur in older cows in higher input systems, particularly if housed all year. Read the full article

As part of the British Society of Animal Science, Animal Bytes' objective is to provide short and incisive ‘bytes’ of information on topical themes and current research within the field of UK Animal Science that is relevant to livestock farming.