In good environments, cow intake is sufficient for their own growth and for milk production to support their calf. In poor environments, cows lose BW or may reduce milk supply to maintain themselves. Heritability for direct genetic and maternal components of weaning weight as well as the correlations between these components might be expected to vary according to these circumstances. The purpos...

Four 50-cow, C-sire lines of Angus cattle were established as part of a long-term selection project. Performance data through yearling age were collected on 2,749 calves during the 16-yr period, 1964 to 1979. Lines were selected for individual weaning weight, (WWL), individual yearling weight (YWL) and a combination of individual and progeny weaning weights (PTL). The fourth line was maintained...

Understanding and using EPDs continues to be a popular topic among cattle producers because of their effectiveness when properly used in genetic selection. Use of EPDs, as with many other standard management tools, is not required to survive in the beef cattle business, but those who do will excel in terms of genetic improvement. With so many traits to monitor in a cow herd, producers should no...

The data were collected from 1992 to 2009 in Burri, White Boni and Black Boni sheep maintained at the Regional Research Station in the Central Highlands of Yemen. Data were analyzed to study the effects of environmental and genetic factors on body weight and growth rate from birth to weaning. The least square means for body weights (BW) were 2.54, 2.18 and 2.26 kg for birth; 12.49, 10.58 and 11...

The IGF1 gene (insulin-like growth factor 1) is a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection strategies. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region (IGF1/SnaBI) has been reported to be associated with production traits in several cattle breeds. Here, we report its allelic frequencies in Charolais and Beefmaster breeds; we confirm its association with three growth traits: weaning ...

Genetic parameters from both single-trait and bivariate analyses for prolificacy, weight, and wool traits were estimated using REML with animal models for Targhee sheep from data collected from 1950 to 1998 at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, Dubois, ID. Breeding values from both single-trait and seven-trait analyses calculated with the parameters estimated from the single-trait and bivariate...

Genetic parameters from both single-trait and bivariate analyses for prolificacy, weight and wool traits were estimated using REML with animal models for Columbia sheep from data collected from 1950 to 1998 at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station (USSES), Dubois, ID. Breeding values from both single-trait and seven-trait analyses calculated using the parameters estimated from the single-trait and ...

Twenty-one mixed-parity (average 2.4 +/- 0.49) crossbred sows and their offspring were used to determine whether sow milk leptin at farrowing was related to neonatal serum leptin and pig growth to weaning. During farrowing, pigs were randomly allotted to suckling (n = 99) or delayed suckling (n = 89) groups, with delayed suckling pigs placed in a group pen apart from the dam before suckling. Bo...

Sows (98 first parity and 104 second parity) were used to determine the effects of dietary lysine and valine on lactation performance. Treatments were arranged in a 2 x 3 factorial with two levels of lysine (.80 or 1.20%) and three valine:lysine ratios (80, 100, or 120% of lysine). For all sows, increasing dietary lysine increased litter weaning weight (P < .001) and litter weight gain (P < .00...

BACKGROUND Ability to maintain a normal body temperature in an open crib is an important physiologic competency generally requested to discharge preterm infants from the hospital. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of an early weaning protocol from incubator in preterm newborns in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. METHODS 101 infants with birth weight < 1600 g were included in t...