A total of 192 Hyplus rabbits (male and female ratio 1:1) of weaning age 35 d were randomly divided into three experimental groups (n=64 each), group 1 was fed ad libitum (control), group 2 (R50) was restricted from 42 to 49 d of age (50 g/d/rabbit), and group 3 (R65) was restricted from 42 to 49 d of age (65 g/d/rabbit). After the restriction time, all the groups were back to ad libitum feedin...

Weight loss due to poor nutrition in adult ewes over summer–autumn is economically expensive due to immediate costs such as feed and labour but also due to ongoing costs to reproductive success and ewe health. We predicted that adult Merino ewes with a higher proportion of fat would be more efficient, both through lower intake and reduced weight loss. Four-year-old Merino ewes (n = 64) were hel...

The objectives of this study were to estimate (co)variance components for growth and feed efficiency measures, and to compare selection strategies to improve economic efficiency of gain. Variance components for pre- and postweaning growth, body weight, and measures of feed efficiency were estimated from data collected on 1,047 Targhee lambs over 7 yr. Approximately 21 d after weaning, lambs wer...

The brown midrib-3 (bm3) gene mutation has been incorporated into corn plants to potentially improve fiber digestibility. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of bm3 corn silage on digestion and performance of growing beef steers and to determine whether limiting intake would further enhance fiber digestibility of bm3 corn silage. A bm3 hybrid and its isogeneic normal count...

Horses fed beyond their nutritional requirement and that are physically inactive will develop obesity, which is often accompanied by insulin resistance and heightened risk of laminitis. The use of pharmacologic agents in combination with nutritional restriction may promote weight loss in obese horses unable to exercise because of laminitic pain. This study shows that reducing feed intake of bro...

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of 4 herbal products on growth performance of broiler chickens. A total of 150 d – old female broilers (Arbor Acres) were randomly divided into 5 treatments, 3 replicates with 10 birds in each. Treatments included: control (basal diet without feed additives), Digestarom (commercial product of herbal plants), Bioherbal (garlic essence, garden thym...

The effects of dietary level of lysine and of level and source of CP on voluntary feed intake, growth performance, plasma free amino acids, and carcass characteristics were investigated in a study involving 60 female and 60 castrated male Large White finishing pigs (from 42 to 101 kg live weight) with ad libitum access to feed. Six treatments were compared according to a 2 x 3 factorial plan, w...

To determine possible genetic influences on the steady-state concentrations of several key transcription factor transcripts and the transcript concentrations for adipocyte-characteristic proteins, young, genetically obese and lean pigs were given ad libitum access or feed or were restrictively fed at 50% of ad libitum intake for 5 wk. Obese pigs were smaller and fatter than lean pigs, whether i...

The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether differences in retention time (RT) of digesta in the rumen are associated with individual differences in wool growth rate between Merino rams. Fifty-eight rams were offered a pelleted diet at ad libitum and restricted levels. Digesta RT in the rumen was estimated from fecal excretion plots using 51Cr-mordanted feed as a marker. Wool growth...