Effects of Supplementary Concentrate Level and Separate or Mixed Feeding of Grass Silage and Concentrates on Rumen Fluid Composition in Steers

The effects of dietary concentrate level and method of feeding (separate or mixed) on performance and carcass traits of steers may be mediated through changes in rumen fluid composition. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects on rumen fluid composition of (1) supplementary concentrate level with grass silage, and (2) separate or mixed feeding of silage and concentrates

Effects of Supplementary Concentrate Level and Separate or Mixed Feeding of Grass Silage and Concentrates on Carcass Tissue Composition in Steers

Supplementary concentrate level may affect carcass composition in steers. Feeder wagons facilitate feeding and management. The objectives were to determine the effects of (1) supplementary concentrate level with grass silage, and (2) separate or mixed feeding of silage and concentrates, on ribs joint composition

Effects of Supplementary Concentrate Level and Separate or Mixed Feeding of Grass Silage and Concentrates on Carcass Tissue Colour Traits in Steers

The level of supplementary concentrates fed with grass silage and the method of feeding (separate or mixed) may affect carcass tissue colour in steers. The objectives were to determine the effects of (1) supplementary concentrate level with grass silage, and (2) separate or mixed feeding of silage and concentrates, on muscle and fat colour

Effect of concrete slats, three mat types and out-wintering pads on performance and welfare of finishing beef steers

peer-reviewedBackground The objective was to investigate the effect of placing mats on concrete slatted floors on performance, behaviour, hoof condition, dirt scores, physiological and immunological variables of beef steers, and to compare responses with animals on out-wintering pads. Continental crossbred beef steers [n = 360; mean (±SD) initial live weight 539 kg (42.2)] were blocked by breed and live weight and randomly assigned to one of five treatments; (1) Concrete slats alone, (2) Mat 1 (Natural Rubber structure) (Durapak Rubber Products), (3) Mat 2 (Natural rubber structure) (EasyFix), (4) Mat 3 (modified ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam structure) and (5) Out-wintering pads (OWP’s). Results Animals on the OWPs had a greater (P  0.05) as the other treatments. Animals on the OWPs had reduced lying percentage time compared with all the other treatments. Dry matter (DM) intake was greater for animals on the OWPs compared with all the other treatments. Carcass weight, kill out proportion, carcass fat score, carcass composition score, FCR and physiological responses were similar (P > 0.05) among treatments. No incidence of laminitis was observed among treatments. The number of hoof lesions was greater on all mat types (P < 0.05) compared with concrete slats and OWP treatments. Dirt scores were greater (P < 0.05) for animals on OWPs when measured on days 42, 84, 105, 126 and 150 compared with animals on slats. Conclusions Under the conditions adopted for the present study, there was no evidence to suggest that animals housed on bare concrete slats were disadvantaged in respect of animal welfare compared with animals housed on other floor types. It is concluded that the welfare of steers was not adversely affected by slats compared with different mat types or OWPs

Effects of supplementary concentrate level with grass silage, and separate or total mixed ration feeding, on performance and carcass traits of finishing steers

peer-reviewedConcentrates are a major component of feed costs in winter finishing of beef cattle. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the response to increasing levels of supplementary concentrates with grass silage, and (2) to determine the effects of feeding silage and concentrates separately or as a total mixed ration (TMR). A total of 117 finishing steers (mean initial live weight 538 (s.d. 35.5) kg) were assigned to a pre-experimental slaughter group of 9 animals and to 6 feeding treatments of 18 animals each. The feeding treatments were (1) silage only offered ad libitum (SO), (2) SO plus a low level of concentrates offered separately (LS), (3) SO plus a low level of concentrates offered as a TMR (LM), (4) SO plus a medium level of concentrates offered separately (MS), (5) SO plus a medium level of concentrates offered as a TMR (MM), and (6) concentrates ad libitum plus a restricted silage allowance (AL). Low and medium concentrate target levels were 3 and 6 kg dry matter (DM) per head daily. When silage (210g/kg DM, 758 g/kg in vitro DM digestibility, pH 3.7) and concentrates were fed separately, the daily concentrate allowance was given in one morning feed. The animals were individually fed for a mean period of 132 days. After slaughter, carcasses were weighed and graded and a rib (6th to 10th) joint was dissected into its component tissues. Silage DM intake decreased (P < 0.001) but total DM intake increased (P < 0.001) with increasing concentrate level. Average live-weight gains for SO, LS, LM, MS, MM and AL was 0.34, 0.86, 0.86, 1.02, 1.00 and 1.12 (s.e. 0.064) kg/day, respectively. Corresponding carcass weight gains were 0.25, 0.58, 0.58, 0.71, 0.68 and 0.82 (s.e. 0.028)kg/day. All measures of fatness increased (P < 0.05), bone proportion of the rib joint decreased (P < 0.001), and muscle proportion was not significantly affected by dietary concentrate level. There were no significant interactions between concentrate level and method of feeding. Compared with offering the feeds separately, feeding as a TMR increased silage DM intake by proportionately 0.06 (P < 0.05) and total DM intake by proportionately 0.04 (P < 0.05). Method of feeding had no significant effect on performance, slaughter or carcass traits. It is concluded that silage intake decreased and total intake increased with increasing concentrate level. Live-weight and carcass-weight gains also increased with increasing concentrate level. Feeding a TMR had no effect on animal performance or carcass traits compared with separate feeding

Age-Dependent Susceptibility of the Retinal Ganglion Cell Layer to Cell Death

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to determine the susceptibility of the retinal ganglion cell layer (GCL) to apoptosis after optic nerve transection and excitotoxic stimulus and to investigate the regulation of apoptosis in the GCL during development. The authors also sought to determine the role played by caspases in cell death and their expression during development. METHODS. TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was used to identify cells undergoing apoptosis during mouse retinal development from postnatal day (P)3 to P5 and in retinal explant sections under various conditions. The expression of active caspases was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using an antibody that detects the cleaved large subunit. IHC was also used to detect the expression levels of procaspase-3, procaspase-9, and Apaf-1 in P6 and P60 whole eye sections. Retinal ganglion cells at ages P6 and P60 were purified by immunopanning, total RNA was extracted, and mRNA levels of the above proteins were determined by semiquantitative PCR. RESULTS. After optic nerve transection, a significant number of TUNEL-positive cells were seen 24 hours after lesion in P6 retinas. This death was caspase dependent, as shown by IHC and caspase inhibition with zVAD-fmk. In contrast, adult GCL was resistant to apoptosis under these conditions. Similarly, after excitotoxic stimulus, the GCL of the P6 retinas underwent apoptosis at 6 hours and was caspase dependent, whereas adult GCL was resistant. Developmental apoptosis in the GCL between P2 and P6 was shown to involve caspase-3 and caspase-9. Significant downregulation of Apaf-1 and caspase-3 was detected in the P60 GCL at both the mRNA and the protein levels. CONCLUSIONS. Adult GCL is more resistant to apoptosis than neonatal GCL after ON transection and excitotoxic stimulus. The expression of caspase-3 and Apaf-1 is significantly reduced in adult GCL. The authors suggest that age-dependent susceptibility to apoptosis may be caused by this reduced expression