Economic weights for sow productivity traits in pure-line pig populations were derived from a single profit equation in order to provide flexibility to alternative market requirements or production systems. The profit function method was modified to account for differences in piglet perinatal survival environment imposed by litter size at birth. Both the 100kg finished pig and the feeder pig ma...

Contamination of litter in a broiler grow-out house with Salmonella prior to placement of a new flock has been shown to be a precursor of the flock's Salmonella contamination further down the production continuum. In the southern USA, broiler grow-out houses are primarily built on dirt pad foundations that are placed directly on top of the native soil surface. Broiler litter is placed directly ...

Although the importance of stream condition for leaf litter decomposition has been extensively studied, little is known about how processing rates change in response to altered riparian vegetation community composition. We investigated patterns of plant litter input and decomposition across 20 boreal headwater streams that varied in proportions of riparian deciduous and coniferous trees. We mea...

Inbred strains generated from native and exotic pigs were compared with their F1and f2 backcross populations for a range of litter size performance traits. Animals were intensively reared and at 81⁄2 months of age, the inbred genotypes from each strain were reciprocally mated to each other to generate F1 crossbred genotypes; while gilts from each crossbred group were backcrossed to their male p...

Chicken litter or chicken litter-based organic fertilizers are usually recycled into the soil to improve the structure and fertility of agricultural land. As an important source of nutrients for crop production, chicken litter may also contain a variety of human pathogens that can threaten humans who consume the contaminated food or water. Composting can inactivate pathogens while creating a so...

Ten replicates of two littermate gilts were used during a 21-d lactation in order to calculate relationships between milk nutrient intake and piglet growth rate and composition of gain. Gilts were fed 14.2 or 10.4 Mcal ME/d and litter size was standardized to 9 or 10 piglets. Piglets had no access to creep feed. Milk production was measured on 10 sucklings over 12 h on d 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 and 21 ...

The Australian Brush-turkey, Alectura lathami, constructs incubation mounds of decomposing forest litter in which many large eggs are incubated by microbial heat generation. On Kangaroo Island, the average mound is about 12.7 m3 and weighs about 6,800 kg. It maintains an incubation temperature of 33°C in an average ambient air temperature of 18°C. When eggs are in the mound, the rate of heat pr...

Success of captive-breeding programs centers on consistent reproduction among captive animals. However, many individuals do not reproduce even when they are apparently healthy and presented with mates. Mate choice can affect multiple parameters of reproductive success, including mating success, offspring production, offspring survival, and offspring fecundity. We investigated the role of famili...

The application of broiler manure and bedding (litter) on land has been a long-used disposal method that benefits plant and soil. For proper manure management, factors such as nutrient content, house cleaning management, application methods, and many land, crop, and climatic factors must be considered. A study was undertaken to characterize broiler cake and broiler litter as the by-products of ...

A major limitation for increasing litter size in swine is embryonic loss that occurs during the 2nd to 3rd wk of gestation. High ovulation rates of modern sows have more than supplied the potential number of embryos necessary to improve litter size. The current challenge is determining how early conceptus development affects the ability to maintain the viability through the remaining 90 d of ge...