The aim of the study was to identify the detailed impact of the season, parity and breed on reproductive performance of sows. The experimental material consisted of 2100 sows, in 3 breed variants: 700 PL, 700 PLW, 700 crossbreeds PL×PLW. Sows were observed until parity 5. In the context of the breed, depending on the order of parity groups of 140 sows were isolated. Then, sows were divided in t...

We investigated the fatty acid composition of the phospholipid fraction of the shoulder muscle (triceps brachii) from Jersey and Limousin yearling steers, yearling heifers, and nonlactating cows. The aim was to study breed, sex, and age differences. Significant breed differences in some individual fatty acids were apparent between Jersey and Limousin cows. Limousin cows had more palmitate, vacc...

Sanfratellano is a native Sicilian horse breed, mainly reared in the north east of the Island, developed in the 19th century from local dams and sires with a restricted introgression of Oriental, African and, more recently, Maremmano stallions. In this study, the genetic relationships and admixture among Sanfratellano, the other two Sicilian autochthonous breeds and Maremmano breed were assesse...

The Nguni is a hardy breed uniquely adapted to the South African environment. Regarded as inferior in the past, it was decimated by government decree and its gene pool diluted through replacement and cross breeding with exotic stock. The recent recognition of its adaptive traits led to its evaluation and development as a beef breed in the commercial sector. Simultaneously, a mistaken perception...

BACKGROUND A retrospective study was made to demonstrate normal variations of the color and size of the tapetal area and color of the nontapetal area in the ocular fundus in dogs, correlating them to breed, age and coat color. METHODS The study was based on protocols of five hundred and thirty-nine adult dogs describing eye examinations made during the years 1997-2001. The dogs were examined ...

Data from Angus, Hereford, and top-cross cows (n = 641) from 2- to 8-yr-old daughters of seven breeds of sires included in Cycle II of the Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, comprising cow weight (CW, n = 15,698), height (CH, n = 15,676), and condition score (CS, n = 15,667), were used to estimate breed-group differences. Data were recorded in four seasons of ...

Despite the long history of purebred dogs and the large number of existing breeds, few studies of canine litter size based upon a large number of breeds exist. Previous studies are either old or include only one or a few selected breeds. The aim of this large-scale retrospective study was to estimate the mean litter size in a large population of purebred dogs and to describe some factors that m...

Effects of foster dams can be included in genetic evaluations using animal models with maternal effects in several ways. The alternatives discussed involve minor changes in computing strategies from strategies used with reduced animal models that predict breeding values for direct and maternal effects. The easiest alternative is to assign foster dams to groups by breed and time period and add e...