Analisi retrospettiva di medio periodo sull’identificazione animale a tecnologia RFID nelle filiere ovine e caprine in Sardegna e considerazioni sull’impatto economico del suo utilizzo su larga scala

Reliability, efficacy and the efficiency of EID of animals according to RFID technology were assessed across different animal production filiere. Accident occurrence, un-detectability of electronic code, as well as technical aspects due to different types of devices deployed were considered before setting up a cost/benefit analysis of the system based on RFID technology for traceability purposes. A coded manual of operations for the electronic identification of animals in the practice on a large scale according different electronic devices (injectable transponders or ceramic boluses) was implemented. An experimental Help Desk Service (HDS) was created as a practical support concerning animal welfare, veterinary aspects and losses/breakages of electronic identifiers. An evolution of the system to check performance of RFID technology in farms was due to the detection of bolus/transponders presence in animals body by digitalized X-ray analysis, thus allowing a sound check for operators and for reliability assessment. A very weak point was identified in a consistent loss (36.9%) of miniboluses (20 g) in goats, after 2 years from the first electronic identification. The SWOT analysis showed that the adoption of RFID technology for animal identification is a good tool for traceability of animals and improving farm management and a concrete help to solve on field problems during hard fieldwork operations

An integrated approach towards the nutritional assessment of the Sardinian donkey: a tool for clinical nutritionists

The aims of the current study were to establish: i) a species-specific approach for nutritional assessment during clinical checks on Sarda breed adult donkeys, and ii) a suitable equation for body weight prediction, which at present is lacking. A total of 18 adult donkeys were sampled and the following criteria were recorded: body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), muscular mass index (MMI), along with somatometric measures (height at withers; chest girth) and metabolic profiles of each individual. The species-specific nutritional assessment based on the integrated approach turned out to correlate significantly (P<0.05) with the body condition score and levels of Na, P and cholesterol in blood. The parametric equation for predicting the BW (y=0.353a+0.443b-7.62, where a= height at withers in cm; b= chest girth in cm) closely fit the determined BW, with a standard error of SE=±5 kg BW

Ulcerogenic risk assessment of diets for pigs in relation to gastric lesion prevalence

Background: Gastric ulcers in fattening pigs from intensive pork production can cause sudden deaths on farm and the grinding intensity of the diet appears to be among the risk factors. The objective of this work is to adopt the latest laboratory tests and thresholds for the ulcerogenic risk assessment of diets from experimental reports and verify the class of risk in relation to gastric lesion prevalence in reared finishers. Results: Specificity and accuracy of feed safety tests based on the ulcerogenic risk of feed associated with the particle size distribution of diets were calculated on the occurrence of gastric lesions observed at a slaughterhouse: 41 lard-type hogs, fed with two diets [pelleted (n = 21 pigs) vs. mixed meal (n = 20 pigs)], analyzed at the laboratory of our Institute, were involved. Gross inspection at the abattoir allowed the identification of the development of macroscopic gastric lesions in the pigs (13/21) fed with a pelleted complete diet, ranked in Class 1 (high ulcerogenic risk) on laboratory assessment. Breakdown of gastric lesion severity: hyperkeratosis (13/13), mucosal erosions (11/13) and bleeding ulcers (2/13). This occurrence was compared to the morphology of stomach mucosa from 20 finishers fed with a mixed meal diet, ranked in Class 3 (low ulcerogenic risk), in which no gastric lesions were observed. Very fine particle (VFP) mass (&lt;0.4 mm) according to cut off thresholds (&gt;36%) for the safety ranking of diets, showed: 100% positive predictive value (PPV); 100% specificity; 88.1% accuracy; 72.2% sensitivity. Conclusions: Three factors emerged: the elevated mass (42.6%) of &lt;0.4 mm particles in the pelleted complete diet confirmed the associated risk rank in Class 1 assessed by laboratory procedures, as gastric lesions were selectively observed in 61.9% of finishers fed with the high risk diet; in these animals, macroscopic gastric lesions occurred within four weeks and showed a sub-clinical course, independently of severity; proper sieving analysis is necessary to define the VFP proportion in feedstuffs with certainty, as an adequate measure to assess the ulcerogenic risk class of the diet

Circulating levels of total cholesterol and alkaline phosphatase in healthy foals from weaning to 18 months of age vary significantly in relation to growth stage

In view of the peculiar nutritional demands of the growing foal, the concentration of selected circulating parameters may display to mirror the metabolic activity of developing tissues across growth stages, following yields of mass and size, over time. This study aimed to evaluate the possible change of selected serum biochemical parameters in foals at different growth stages and to target these parameters as potential biomarkers of body development. Twelve Anglo-Arab spring-born foals were screened from weaning to 18 months of age. Live weight and gains were analyzed according to respective growth stage and correlated with biochemical parameters. Individual double whole blood samples were collected before and after weaning and when the foals were 12 and 18 months old. Body mass and wither heights (WH of yearlings) were concomitantly recorded. Foals appeared healthy throughout the trial and showed significantly different (P &lt; .001) levels of total serum cholesterol (TC) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in relation to growth stages. Both those metabolites showed peaks in weanlings to progressively decrease in 18 months olds. On each sampling, ALP constantly displayed to set above the upper limit of the physiological range for the adult healthy horse. Results highlighted marked statistical significance across growth stages and point to ALP and TC as biomarkers of growth stage. These findings pave the way to the interpretation of circulating metabolites associated with growth stage and encourage further experiments to validate ALP and TC as potential biomarkers for body development assessment of foals

NEFA, BHBa and gamma-GT variation in the blood serum of weaned foals up to 18 months of age

The correct energy balance estimation of the growing foal may represent an issue for the nutritionist, given the dynamic change in body composition and fat tissue depots. In fact, the maintenance of adequate body weight and body measures over time for optimal growth curve accomplishment and the fulfilment of nutrient requirements are fundamental to address adequate individual feeding plans of the future sport horse. The metabolic profile of selected metabolites could be helpful in interpreting growth homeostasis and some of these could be used as indicators of energy balance state and liver health. Against this background, the literature on circulating indicators of homeostasis perturbation during the growth of foals is poor. We hypothesised that metabolites indicating the energy balance like non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxy-butyric acid (BHBa) and liver enzyme like γ-glutamyl-transferase (γ-GT) [interpreted in the light of circulating total bilirubin (TBIL) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)] may be used to monitor the growing foals from weaning to 18 months of age. For this purpose, a total of 12 Anglo-Arab (AA) foals from the same stable were enrolled in this trial. All foals were serially weighed on a digital scale and sampled for total blood at weaning, at 12- and 18-months of age. Feeding and rearing conditions were adopted simultaneously equal for all the foals used. All data were processed by a repeated measure ANOVA

Imponente perdita di miniboli per l’identificazione elettronica di capre di razza Maltese

L’impiego dell’identificazione elettronica su larga scala, come avviene in Sardegna nei piccoli ruminanti, offre l’opportunità di verificare praticamente l’eventuale insorgenza di problematiche che coinvolgono gli operatori del settore: in particolare, di affrontare la problematica segnalata, al fine di adottare un protocollo operativo di intervento alle necessità di campo. Nella presente nota, si riporta la segnalazione di una serie di eventi di perdita di miniboli ceramici che vengono utilizzati per l’identificazione degli animali in giovane età

Long term performance of RFID technology in the large scale identification of small ruminants through electronic ceramic boluses: implications for animal welfare and regulation compliance

Animal health and welfare together with technical aspects relating to the RFID based electronic identification (EID) of a total of 114,857 small ruminants, reared in 268 semi-extensive farms, were assessed in Sarda ewes, Sarda and Sarda × Maltese goats, over a period of six years (2006–2011). A multi-purpose investigation was carried out to: (1) monitor the effects on the health and welfare of electronically identified (EID) sheep and goats in farms; (2) support technicians and veterinary practitioners, during fieldwork (decision making) should problems arise relating to EID small ruminants, on a large scale. A coded manual of operations for EID problem solving was drawn up to support an experimental help desk service (HDS). The HDS relied on the technological breakthrough due to the improvement of radiological analysis (digital X-ray): such technology was used to check the performance of the RFID bolus (composed of a RFID device: transponder, and a ceramic case) directly on farms, in relation to its retention and the functioning of the transponder (carrier of the electronic individual code, EIC) in the animal body. The occurrences of administration accidents of the bolus were recorded; undetectable EICs in relation to the different types of devices deployed were listed as: loss, breakage, malfunctioning, doubled code/device fraud. The ceramic boluses currently in use were seen to vary considerably in terms of dimensions (length and width) and mass, as follows (in descending order): 70 mm × 21 mm, 72 g; 70 mm × 18 mm, 70 g; 66 mm × 18 mm, 50 g; 58 mm × 12 mm, 20 g. All kinds of ceramic bolus held an inner transponder (32.5 mm × 3.8 mm, 134.2 kHz), according to ISO standard 11784. Digital X-ray in the field was a useful tool to assess the localization of the transponder/bolus or both in the animals’ body, after ectopic detection or un-detection of the transponder's EIC. Accidents in bolus administration took place in 0.093% of cases, ranging in severity from mild (0.075%: bolus stopped in the oro-pharynx or in the naso-pharynx, X-ray checks are useful in the latter occurrence) to lethal (0.011%: bolus in trachea; 0.007%: oesophageal rupture, found at necropsy). A significant (p &lt; 0.001) loss rate (0.369%) involved both sheep and goats identified by means of a 20 g bolus, whereas the loss rate strongly decreased when 70 g (0.005%) or 72 g (0.002%) bolus was used, observed significantly in goats (p &lt; 0.05)