Malnutrition during gestation and lactation modifies metabolic strategies and leads to metabolic disease in adult life. Studies in human populations suggest that malnutrition during infancy may also induce long term metabolic disorders.The present study investigated if post-weaning and a late period of development might be sensitive for long term metabolic impairment. Hereto male Wistar rats we...

Lactase activity declines during postnatal development in rats, but little is known about the underlying molecular mechanism of this phenomenon. We attempted to clarify whether the regulation was at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level and to examine the effects of dietary factors on that regulation. Newborn rats were divided into two groups, prolonged nursing and weaning, at d 21....

Evaluation of dairy replacement calf health is generally divided into the pre-weaning and post-weaning periods; with an average weaning age of 8.6 weeks [1]. In 2007, the NAHMS Dairy study found that the pre-weaning period accounts for about 81% of total dairy replacement calf mortality [1]. Accordingly, management strategies to optimize health during this period will have the greatest impact o...

Crossbred pigs (n = 1,400) were used to evaluate the effect of group size (25 vs 50 vs 100 pigs/pen) in a wean-to-finish production system on growth performance and carcass measures. Pigs were weaned at 17 d (range = 15 to 19) of age with a mean initial BW of 5.9 +/- 0.02 kg and taken to a final mean pen weight of 116 +/- 0.9 kg. A 10-phase dietary regimen was used, and pigs had free access to ...

As is in all economic activities, the highest yield per unit area is the main goal in animal production, while addressing the temperamental needs of animals often is ignored. Animal welfare is not only an ethical fact; it also has an economic value. Spatial environmental enrichment contributes positively to animal welfare by addressing their behavioral and mental requirements. The present study...

This study was designed to monitor the developmental changes in insulinemia and lipogenic enzyme activities in both inguinal adipose tissue and liver during suckling (7, 9, 14, and 17 days of age) and weaning (22 and 30 days of age) on to either a low-fat or a high-fat diet in lean (Fa/fa) and obese (fa/fa) rats. Tissues were removed through surgery and genotypes were retrospectively determined...

Weaning is a transition in early development with major implications for infant survival and well-being, and for maternal lifetime reproductive success. The particular strategy a primate mother adopts in rearing her offspring represents a negotiation between her ability to invest and her need to invest, and can be considered adaptive and influenced by biological and social factors. Any investig...

Abstract The objective was to evaluate growth performance and estimates of body composition in offspring dams that consumed diets containing tall fescue seed with (E+) or without (E-) the toxic endophyte melatonin during mid-late gestation. Pregnant heifers (n = 57) artificially inseminated sex-sorted semen (X chromosome-bearing sperm) from a single Angus sire were administered dietary treatmen...

Abstract Conversion of perennial grasslands to crop land in U.S. Northern Plains has resulted a need evaluate alternative management strategies for cow-calf production. A 3-yr study was conducted compare beef cow/calf performance two different August-calving cow systems. Multiparous cows (n = 318) were allocated 8 replicates, and replicate randomly assigned drylot (DL) or pasture (PAST) treatme...