RESUMEN
Providing an exercise paddock may improve the behavior and health of cows in their dry period. We compared a control group of cows in a shed with no exercise paddock and an experimental group in the same shed but with access to an exercise paddock. Both groups had ad libitum total mixed ration (TMR) indoors combined with access to a paddock (Group EX). The other group was just offered TMR indoors (Group IN). Total lying time was longer for cows without the exercise paddock (859 min/d) than for those with the paddock (733 min/d) (p = 0.012). Lying bouts were shorter, there were more allogrooming bouts, and drinking time was longer if an exercise paddock was provided. Cows with the paddock spent on average 76 min/d in paddock activity. Non-esterified fatty acids in the blood were increased by providing the exercise paddock. No significant differences in postpartum milk yield and calf weight of dry cows with or without access to exercise paddock were observed. However, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber digestibility were increased by providing the exercise paddock. The results suggest that providing an exercise paddock for cows in their dry period increased activity, including allogrooming, reduced lying, and improved digestibility of some major nutrients in the feed.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of slaughter age on carcass traits, meat quality, and the relative mRNA levels of lipid metabolism-related genes in different muscles of Taihang black goats. METHODS: In this study, the triceps brachii (TB), longissimus dorsi (LD) and gluteus (GL) muscles of 15 grazing Taihang black goats slaughtered at the age of 2, 3, and 4 (designated as 2-year-old, 3-year-old, and 4-year-old, respectively) were collected. The differences in carcass shape, meat quality, amino acid composition and lipid metabolism gene expression among Taihang black goats of different ages and from different plant parts were compared. RESULTS: Compared with goats at other ages, goats slaughtered at the age of 4 had greater live and carcass weights, meat weights, bone weights and skin areas (p<0.05). LD in the 4-years-old had the lowest cooking loss and moisture content. The crude protein content in the LD of 2-year-old was significantly greater than that in the other age group, and at the age of 2, the LD had the highest crude protein content than TB and GL. The highest fat content was in LD, followed by TB, for goats slaughtered at the age of 4. Eight out of 9 essential amino acids had higher content in the TB compared with other muscles, regardless of age. The total essential amino acid content was highest in the 4-year-old and lowest in the GL muscle at the age of 3. The sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) and adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) genes were significantly more abundant in the TB muscle than in the other muscles for goats slaughtered at the age of 2. At the age of 4, the ATGL and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) genes were significantly more abundant in the GL than in the LD, while the fatty acid synthase (FAS) genes were significantly less abundant in the GL than in the other muscles. Similarly, compared with those in goats of other ages, the relative mRNA expression levels of the FAS and heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) genes in goats slaughtered at the age of 4 were the highest, and the relative mRNA expression of the PPARγ gene was the lowest (p<0.05). The relative mRNA expression of the H-FABP and FAS genes was positively correlated with the intramuscular fat (IMF) content, while the relative mRNA expression levels of the PPARγ and ATGL genes was negatively correlated with the IMF content. CONCLUSION: Overall, a better nutritional value was obtained for TB from 4-year-old goats, in which the total essential amino acid and fat contents were greater than those of other muscles. The comprehensive action of lipid metabolism genes was consistent with that of the IMF content, among which the FAS, H-FABP, PPARγ, and ATGL genes had positive and negative effects on the process of IMF deposition in Taihang black goats.
RESUMEN
The aim of this study was to evaluate peanut shells and rice husks as bedding for dairy cows. We analyzed material properties including dry matter, water holding capacity, pH level and bacterial counts. Bedding treatments were compared with a one-way ANOVA using twelve cows split into three groups. Colostrum microbiota was analyzed by sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Dry matter content was higher in rice husks compared with peanut shells. No treatment effects were found for water holding capacity and pH level. Streptococcus agalactia counts in peanut shell bedding were lower than in rice husk bedding, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa counts were not different between beddings. A significant enrichment for Enhydrobacter and Pantoea were detected in the colostrum of cows that used peanut shells compared with other beddings. Colostrum of cows housed on a peanut-rice combination had a greater relative abundance of Pseudomonas and Corynebacterium than those housed on peanut shells or rice husks. Higher numbers of Bacteroides, Akkermansia, Alistipes, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002 and Intestinimona were found in the colostrum of cows housed on rice husk bedding over other bedding types. These results suggest that bedding types were associated with the growth and diversity of colostrum bacterial loads. In addition, dry matter in peanut shells was lower than found in rice husks, but there was also a lower risk of mastitis for peanut shell bedding than other beddings.
RESUMEN
The provision and quality of bedding materials affect the behaviour, welfare, and health of dairy cows. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preference, behaviour, cleanliness, and physiological status of cows on three bedding materials, peanut shells, rice husks, and a combination of two-thirds peanut shells, one-third rice husk. In an initial experiment, 15 nonlactating, pregnant Holstein cows had free access to all 3 bedding treatments for 39 d. Cows spent more time lying down on rice husk (337 min/d) than on peanut-rice combination (212 min/d) and peanut shell (196 min/d) (p < 0.05), and lay down most often on rice husk (4.35 bouts/d) than on peanut shell (2.55 bouts/d) (p < 0.05) but did not differ between peanut shells and peanut-rice combinations in terms of lying time and lying bouts. In Experiment 2, 12 nonlactating cows were used to assess the effects of the 3 bedding materials on dairy cow behaviour, cleanliness, serum indicators, and productivity. The total duration of lying down (PS: 699.1 min/d, PRC: 645.6 min/d, RH: 852.5 min/d), the frequency of bouts of lying down (PS: 8.7 bouts/d, PRC: 7.6 bouts/d, RH: 11.1 bouts/d), and the mean duration of lying bouts (PS: 83.5 min/bouts, PRC: 91.8 min/bouts, RH: 81.4 min/bouts) did not differ between treatments. Similarly, no differences in eating or drinking behaviour of dairy cows were observed. In terms of hygiene, cleanliness scores did not differ between the three bedding materials, but udder and flank cleanliness decreased and improved, respectively. In addition, treatments did not affect serum metabolites or productivity of the cows. In summary, daily behaviour, serum metabolites, and productivity of dairy cows were all within the normal range, and no statistical differences occurred between the three bedding materials, although cows showed a preference for rice husk when given access to all three bedding materials at the same time. Finally, the results suggest that bedding comprised of peanut shells and peanut-rice combinations are all suitable for maintaining the health and comfort of dairy cows.