Animals, Volume 10, Issue 2

In the first chapter [...]

In intensive aquaculture, the number of fish in a shoal can provide valuable input for the development of intelligent production management systems. However, the traditional artificial sampling method is not only time consuming and laborious, but als...

In 2014, atypical myopathy (AM) was linked to Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore maple) in Europe. The emergence of this seasonal intoxication caused by a native tree has raised many questions. This manuscript aims at answering the five most frequently as...

Pseudorabies, or Aujeszky’s disease, is a notifiable worldwide infection of domestic and feral swine that causes economic losses for the swine industry. In domestic pigs, the virus is responsible for nervous and/or respiratory symptoms; in preg...

Inhibin A is well known for its inhibitory properties against follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), released through a pituitary–gonadal negative feedback loop to regulate follicular development. Ovarian folliculogenesis, hormonal biosynthesis, a...

This study aimed to elucidate the effects of a dietary rumen-protected glucose (RPG) addition on uterine involution through the analysis of an insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system and associated pathways in the post-natal endometrium. Twelve Holst...

The hippocampus abundant transcript 1 (HIAT1) gene, which was detected by the genome-wide identification of selective sweeps among elite goat breeds and water buffalo, is proposed to play an important role in meat characteristics. Four indels of the...

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of excessive back-fat (BF) of sows on placental oxidative stress, ATP generation, mitochondrial alterations in content and structure, and mitochondrial function in isolated trophoblasts. Placental tis...

Heat stress influences lipid metabolism independently of nutrient intake. It is not well understood how cholesterol and bile acid (BA) metabolism are affected by heat stress. To investigate the alterations of cholesterol and bile acids when pigs are...

Artificial weaning is a standard practice known to be one of the most stressful events in a domestic foal’s life. Research has mainly focused on ways to alleviate weaning stress. However, there is still a need for more detailed research on what...

To continue dialogue over proposed Australian trials of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), we applied a framework requiring identification of areas of agreement, areas of disagreement, and identification of empirical data collection required to resolve disagr...

Most farrowing facilities in the United States use stalls and heat lamps to improve sow and piglet productivity. This study investigated these factors by comparing production outcomes for three different farrowing stall layouts (traditional, expanded...

The effects of supplementing chicken diets with an olive pomace extract (OE) from Olea europaea on performance and gut health after a challenge of intestinal permeability (IP) increase were studied. Treatments included a control diet with no additive...

In this study, we detected and characterized Leptospira infection and exposure in rats on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts for the first time. We detected Leptospira infection in 17/29 (59%), 14/29 (48)%, and 11/29 (38)% of rats by RT-PCR, culture...

The bedding materials used in dairy cow housing systems are extremely important for animal welfare and performance. A wide range of materials can be used as bedding for dairy cattle, but their physical properties must be analysed to evaluate their po...

Livestock herding dogs are crucial contributors to Australian agriculture. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of the behavioural interactions between dog and livestock during herding. A statistical approach that may reveal cause and effe...

The equine dairy chain is renewing the interest toward horse and donkey breeding for the production of milk with potential health promoting properties. The dairy equine chain for human consumption could contribute to the rural eco-sustainable develop...

This study investigated the proteomic characteristics of colostrum for sows housed under different conditions. Among 12 gilts, four were housed in a gestation-crate and farrowing-crate combined housing system (CC) as controls, four were housed in a g...

Objective pain assessment in donkeys is of vital importance for improving welfare in a species that is considered stoic. This study presents the construction and testing of two pain scales, the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Composite Pai...

Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 requires that vehicles that are transporting animals be subjected to checks conducted by competent authorities. Yearly, each member state sends a report to the European government on the infringements that have been...

In the biological process of testicular spermatogenesis, the expression and interaction of many genes are regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). However, comparisons of miRNA expression between descended testes (DTs) and undescended testes (UDTs) are rarel...

Artichoke by-products represent a high amount of waste whose removal entails several costs. Moreover, feed is the main cost in a farm. So, including these by-products in ruminant diets would lower feed costs. Two experiments were conducted to evaluat...

It was assumed that a horse with its rider body weight found in the upper limit may negatively impact the horse’s welfare. The objective of this paper was to analyze the differences in body temperature and selected heart rate parameters in hors...

Although the main route of transmission of Theileria equi is through tick feeding, transplacental transmission is also possible and may lead to abortion, or to the birth of a sick or carrier foal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of T. ...

Dairy cows are metabolically challenged during the transition period. Furthermore, the process of parturition represents an energy-consuming process. The degree of negative energy balance and recovery from calving also depends on the efficiency of mi...

The aim of this study was (i) to compare levels of accumulated heavy metals in the fox intestines with and without parasites. Moreover, our research also dealt with (ii) examination of the relationship between heavy metal content in fox intestines an...

Immune response of 107 vaccinated Holstein cattle was initially obtained prior to the ELISA test. Five cattle with high and low bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) type I antibody were identified as the final experimental animals. Blood samples from t...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of antimicrobial peptide microcin J25 (MccJ25) on growth performance, immune regulation, and intestinal microbiota in broilers. A total of 3120 one-day-old male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were r...

Castration of male pigs without anesthesia is a significant welfare issue. Improvac^®, a GnRH vaccine induces an endogenous immune response leading to a decrease in testicular steroids. Consequences of different vaccination schemes on testicular f...

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of carotenoid, oligosaccharide and anthocyanin supplementation in broiler diets under Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Ross 308 chickens were fed 5 diets: basal diet (control diet...

Milk can mediate maternal-neonatal signal transmission by the bioactive component extracellular vesicles (EVs), which select specific types of miRNA to encapsulate. The miRNA profiling of sheep milk EVs was characterized by sequencing and compared wi...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the diversity of broad-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Klebsiella spp. isolated from horses in Austria that originated from diseased horses. A total of seven non-repetitive cefotaxime-resistant Klebsie...

The main reproductive organs undergo different histological appearances and physiological processes under different reproductive statuses. The variation of these organs depends on a delicate regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apop...

Elizabethan collars are used in companion animals primarily to prevent self-trauma and associated negative welfare states in animals. However, they have been anecdotally associated with negative impacts on animal health and welfare including distress...

The study was conducted in vitro to investigate the effects of different ratios of Urtica cannabina and Leymus chinensis on fiber microstructure and digestibility in ruminal fluid. The experiment was divided into five groups based on the U. cannabina...

Depending on whether milk protein fractions are evaluated qualitatively or quantitatively, different genetic outcomes may emerge. In this study, we compared the genetic parameters for the major milk protein fractions—caseins (α_S1-, &alpha...

Antibacterial peptides were isolated and purified from whey proteins of camel milk (CaW) and cow milk (CoW) and their antimicrobial activities were studied. The whey proteins were hydrolyzed using trypsin, and the degree of hydrolysis was identified...

In the body of an animal, glutamine is a plentiful and very useful amino acid. Glutamine consumption in the body of animals in normal or disease conditions is the same or higher than the glucose. Many in vivo as well as in vitro experiments have been...

The buffalo milk industry has economic and social relevance in Italy, as linked to the manufacture of traditional dairy products. To provide an overview of the current status of buffaloes’ performances on a large scale, almost 1 million milk te...

This study hypothesized that reducing the level of crude protein (CP) in lambs′ feed may improve nutrient utilization and did not negatively affect their productive efficiency, blood metabolites, oxidative status (OS) or intestinal immune barri...

In order to investigate the effect of gentle handling on the behavior, performance, and meat quality of pigs from weaning to slaughter, 144 6-week-old weaned hybrid Min piglets (a native breed) were selected and divided into a handling group (HG: 9 p...

The present study evaluated gluco-conjugation as a measure to delay thymol absorption and enhance its antimicrobial activity in the gut of weaned piglets. The three dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet without additives (T_CON), supplemented w...

In Australia, free-range pullets are typically reared indoors, which may hinder later adjustment to outdoor access. Rearing enrichments could optimise pullet development. Hy-Line Brown^® chicks (n = 1700) were reared indoors across 16 weeks with 3...

A dog’s aggressive behavior is influenced by external and internal factors, including its psychological profile. In this study, dogs’ and owners’ personalities and the owners’ attachment style to their dogs were identified and...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of milk odd- and branched-chain fatty acids (OBCFA) with urinary purine derivates and estimated ruminal microbial crude protein (MCP) synthesis. Forty-four lactating Holstein cows were used in a...

Training has a huge effect on physiological homeostasis. The Thoroughbred racehorse is a valid animal model to investigate such changes for training schedule fine-tuning. As happens in human athletes, it is hypothesized that biochemical and immune re...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge and dietary fat sources on colostrum quality and inflammatory response in sows. Sixty Landrace × Yorkshire sows were randomly assigned to three dietary t...

We argue that there is currently an under-reporting of the ways in which pain can be associated with problem behavior, which is seriously limiting the recognition of this welfare problem. A review of the caseloads of 100 recent dog cases of several a...

We investigated the effect of different farrowing systems on the behavior of sows and piglets. In total, 22 hybrid sows (Yorkshire × Landrace) were randomly assigned into three farrowing systems, farrowing crate (FC), free farrowing pen with sl...

The study determined the effect of the addition of 15% of camelina, flax, and sunflower seeds to iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets for broiler chickens during 21–42 days of age on the nutrient digestibility, production traits, slaughter ana...