Preliminary study of an electro-mechanical artificial insemination device for small ruminants

Artificial Insemination (AI) technique is used worldwide in goats breeding, especially in intensive systems reproduction control. AI is a low cost technique and simple to perform, however the labor cost is steep since the need experts are necessity. The immediate need to produce good profits in goats production, has initiated a development and initialization of an electro-mechanical artificial insemination device prototype for goats is initially developed. This device is able to increase the accuracy of semen deposited to the cervix by visualizing the os. This is realized by a built-in circuit utilizing a PIC as its brain and functions well as pre-programmed in the PIC. Furthermore, a continuous use of this device could significantly reduce the labor cost. However, since the operation time is relatively slow, further improvements are required

Feed intake and kidding rate of goats under intensive and semi-intensive management systems in Peninsular Malaysia

Reproductive efficiency of goat production in Malaysia is low, despite an increase in production of kidding rate from year to year. It has been reported that, feed intake most probably affect the reproductive performance of goat by redusing the kidding rate and this has commonly been shown in sheep. With this unease, therefore, we assess the effect of dietary intake and kidding rate of three common breeds in Peninsular Malaysia (Boer, Jamnapari and Katjang) in two different animal husbandries; semi-intensive and intensive management system. A survey on type of feed intakes and kidding rate of goats were conducted from intensive and semi-intensive management farms in every states of Peninsular Malaysia from January 2014 until July 2014. Results show that the breed of goats (Boer, Jamnapari and Katjang) and the feed intake (Napier grass, soya hulls, oil palm fronds and pellet) do not have any significant effect on the kidding rate of goats in Peninsular Malaysia under intensive and semi-intensive system (p>0.05). The mean kidding rate ± SD of goats for intensive management system was 1.22 ± 0.64 while for semi-intensive management system the kidding rate was 1.08 ± 0.53 (p>0.05). Although the feeding systems for intensive farms seems to be more controlled and generally well-managed compared to the semi-intensive system, the kidding rate between each breed at both farm management systems were not significantly (p>0.05). A further study should be done in details on amount and frequency of feeds given in a day

In vitro supplements improves motility and progressive score of spermatozoa in Jermasia goats

Several supplement intakes exert a marked effect on sperm quality, and this is useful in Artificial Insemination practice which is widely used in goat farming. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of in vitro supplementations in different concentrations (selenium, L-Arginine and Vitamin E) on sperm qualities; motility and progressive score of Jermasia goats. Results shown from observation at time interval; 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 6 hours that the percentage of motility and progressive score of spermatozoa treated with 0.01 mM L-Arginine and 1 mg/ml vitamin E were significantly higher between 2 and 3 hours 0.01 mM L-Arginine and 1 mg/ml vitamin E compared to Control and other supplementation groups (p<0.05). Meanwhile, after 2 hours, the motility and progressive score of 0.6 ppm selenium were declined drastically compared to other groups (p < 0.05). The combination of L-Arginine and vitamin E supplements leads to increase productions of Nitric Oxide, hence stimulates the metabolism of glucose and triggering the ATP production in the sperm. In conclusion, both L-Arginine and vitamin E supplements are significantly stimulated and the motility of fresh semen of goats in a concentration-dependent manner is improved

Prediction of texture of raw poultry meat by visible and near–infrared reflectance spetroscopy

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a non-destructive, low cost and fast measurement technique that is required to improve the meat texture quality prediction. In this research, visible/NIR spectroscopy has been used for the prediction of raw chicken meat texture from different types of chickens by referring to the reference data obtained from destructive measurement using a Volodkevich Bite Jaws texture analyser. The Partial Least Squares analysis shows that the prediction accuracy is higher for the Az-Zain village organic chickens (85–95%) than for village chickens (42–68%) and broiler chickens (42–44%). The high prediction accuracy and low absorbance spectra of Az-Zain village organic chickens compared to broiler and village chickens could be correlated with the food composition of the chicken meal

Sound exposure and water supply modification effect towards the ross broilers growth rate

Previous research about the exposure of Mozart music and noise and the effects towards the feeding, growth rate and the stress level of the broilers were explored.Music has the ability to have a relaxing and antidepressant effect on humans, mammals and birds. Reports that music calms animals and improves productivity appear in commercial journals. The present study investigated the growth rate comparisons between the experimented broilers (Group A: water supply modification group; Group B: sound exposure group) and the control broilers (Group C: control group) in terms of weight and raw meat texture measured by shear force. The water supply modification group was given 12 litres of Yasin water twice per day while the sound exposure group were broadcasted with sound of Quran verses. Twenty-seven broilers were randomly selected from each group on Day 24 and weight measurement was carried out every week until the harvest day (Day 39). Group B showed a higher mean weight on Day 24 (1.441 ± 0.013 kg) than Group A and C. Significant difference in the weight on Day 39 existed for both Group A and B compared to Group C (p 0.05) difference of shear force in the same muscles (breast and drumstick raw meat) of the three groups but the shear force of the breast meat for Group A, B and C broilers was lower (p < 0.05) than that of their drumstick meat. Broadcasting the sound of the Quran verses in the coop and adding Yasin water to the broilers’ drink can be applied to improve the growth rate of broilers for producing better quality poultry

Nutritional supplements, leptin, insulin and progesterone in female Australian Cashmere goats

In small ruminants, reproductive wastage due to early embryo mortality is a major industry issue because it reduces reproductive efficiency and limits productivity. In sheep, early embryo mortality appears to be caused by reductions in progesterone concentrations when animals are over-fed, but this concept has not been studied in goats. Therefore we tested whether a supplement of lupin grain affects circulating progesterone concentrations in Cashmere goats during non- breeding season. We allocated 23 females into two groups: Controls were fed to ensure maintenance of body mass (85% chaff, 15% lupins head daily); Supplemented goats were fed twice their daily requirements for maintenance. All animals were anovulatory and treated with CIDRs to supply exogenous progesterone at a relatively constant rate. Nutritional treatments lasted for 18 days, and coincided with the presence of CIDRs. Leptin and insulin concentrations were increased (p < 0.05) by supplementation, but progesterone concentrations did not significant differ between groups at any time during the experiment. We conclude that a dietary supplement that elicits major changes in energy homeostasis does not reduce progesterone concentrations in goats and is thus unlikely to affect embryo mortality

Nutritional responses on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis on female goats

Livestock production efficiency depends greatly on nutritional management for reproductive efficiency (‘focus feeding‘), as embodied in the concept of ‘clean, green and ethical management‘. As reported in sheep studies, changes in the levels of nutrition primarily affect a range of blood-borne metabolic factors that appear to exert direct and indirect effects on reproductive performance through actions on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. The similarities between sheep and goats in their basic reproductive biology suggest that the same responses would be seen in female goats. However, there has been little experimentation in goats compared to sheep, so we know almost nothing for goats about the effects of nutritional supplements on the feed-forward-feedback loops in either the reproductive axis or the metabolic homeostatic systems. Thus, it is important to understand the fundamental of reproductive physiology that could alter the reproductive performances in goats

Initial study on electro-mechanical artificial insemination (AI) device for small ruminants

This paper presents an initial prototype construction of an electro-mechanical artificial insemination (AI) device for goats. AI technique is low cost and simple to perform, however the labor cost is steep for experts. To reduce the cost and increase the accuracy of AI, a device which is capable on visualizing the os of cervix is constructed, along with a built-in circuit utilizing a PIC as its brain. The device functions well as preprogrammed in the PIC, however the operation time is quite slow hence further improvements are required

Effect of short-term protein supplemention on ovulation rate and live weight of goats

Seventeen of matured female crossed-Boer goats with aged 2 to 3 years old were used to determine the effects of high protein intake on ovulation rate and live body weight. The does were divided into two groups; 1) Control group received maintenance diet (commercial pallet and napier grass) and 2) Treatment Group received double maintenance diet (commercial pallet-2M and napier grass). The feeding treatment was started 10 days prior to CIDR removal (Day 0) and last for 21 days. All the does were weighed every two weeks throughout the experiment. All does were synchronized with CIDR for 18 days (Day -18 to Day 0). On Day 16, ovaries were examined by ultrasound and ovulation rate were calculated by presence number of corpus luteum. Results showed that does supplemented with high protein intakes does not affects their live weight and ovulation rate (P>0.05). Therefore, we concluded that protein supplement on goat, does not give robust effect on the ovulation rate and live body weight