The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis systems are inversely related in humans and animals. Although livestock animals, such as sheep (Ovis aries), tend to be well adapted to their environment, it is known that the livestock production processes subject animals to a multitude of physical and psychological stressful stimuli that have the p...

Changes in commodity pricing and environmental concerns are changing animal agriculture throughout the United States. Adopting multispecies grazing as an alternative production system could result in improved forage utilization, increased animal performance, and reduced production costs, and thereby improve the financial stability of livestock operations. This study focused on the Silver Spur R...

Seventeen ixodid tick species or subspecies have been collected from Dorper sheep in South Africa. The diseases transmitted or the conditions caused by these ticks in sheep are discussed. Although Dorper sheep may be infested with the scab mite, Psoroptes ovis, this does not seem to cause production losses. These sheep may, however, serve as a source of mite infestation for woolled sheep. The m...

I . An isotope dilution method, known to be satisfactory for measurement of volatile fatty acid (VFA) production in the rumen under steady-state conditions, was tested for its applicability where the VFA pool in the rumen could vary irregularly. The method indicated mean production rates closely similar to those obtained when the pool size was virtually constant. Tests carried out in a model ru...

background to current knowledge, different oocyte's recovery method and various seasons have profound impact on in vitro embryo production (ivep). objectives the aim of this study was to define an efficient recovery method for oocytes harvesting from slaughterhouse material in different seasons, and their effects on ivep yield. materials and methods ovaries from slaughtered ewes in breeding sea...

With climate change bound to affect food and feed production, emphasis will shift resilient adapted indigenous livestock sustain animal production. However, comprise several varieties, strains ecotypes whose genomes are poorly characterized. Here, we investigated genomic variation in an African thin-tailed Desert Sheep sampled Sudan, using 600K genotype data generated from 92 individuals repres...

The effect of body fatness on the fasting heat production and energetic efficiency of adult sheep was studied. Energy balance and heat production were determined in adult wether sheep at three fatness levels given a diet of grass hay and maize at four feeding levels, including fasting, in open-circuit respiration chambers. The sheep weighted approximately 60 kg at the start and were fed over a ...