The study examined the economy of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland generally and that of its agricultural industry in particular. Enzootic Abortion of Ewes (EAE) was found to be the principal cause of ovine abortion in Scotland and the United Kingdom. In addition, the Highlands and Islands' area had certain advantages with respect to EAE that could be exploited. The literature review concluded that the production and marketing of high health status (HHS) breeding sheep offered development opportunities. An HHS breeding sheep research programme was designed and implemented. Firstly, surveys were carried out with producers in Caithness and in the Highlands and Islands as a whole. Secondly, the views of veterinary practices throughout Scotland were sought. Thirdly, the opinions of lowground breeding sheep farmers were surveyed in Grampian and the Borders of Scotland. It was found that a potential market existed for HHS breeding sheep accredited for EAE and vaccinated against the Clostridial Diseases and Pasteurella. The Highlands and Islands' area appeared to have advantages in this respect, especially that EAE lent itself to control by sheep health schemes and that the purchase of HHS replacements was believed to be the most reliable method of controlling EAE by the farmers, crofters and veterinary practices surveyed. The Highlands and Islands' Sheep Health Association (a co-operative) was found to be the market leader in this development area. A production and marketing strategy was proposed for HISHA containing guidelines for the prevention and control of EAE, identifying the productive capability of the Highlands and Islands and customer requirements for HHS breeding sheep. Objectives were proposed for HISHA to maintain and increase its membership, specifically to develop the market for HHS breeding sheep in collaboration with farmers, crofters and veterinary practices for the benefit of HHS sheep industry.

The current trends in the intensive production of growing/finishing pigs are to devise alternative systems which help to improve welfare by the provision of a malleable substrate, such as straw, in order that the pigs can carry out natural behaviour. This project examined the welfare of growing/finishing pigs on four treatments; a new alternative system called the Straw-Flow (c) (SF), which used roughly a 1/4 of the amount of straw of a traditional deep-straw bedded system (1.9 and 8 kg/d respectively), was compared to bare-concrete (BC), fully-slatted (FS) and deep-straw (DS) treatments using a multi-disciplinary study involving behaviour, physical health, productivity and physiology. The four pen treatments were all built within the same building and they all measured 4x2.7m. There were three replicates of entire male pigs which were randomly allocated to each treatment from approximately 28 to 89 kg. During daylight hours, the pigs on the straw-based treatments (ST), ie . the SF and the DS, spent approximately 26% of their time in straw-directed behaviour. Where there was no straw (NOST), ie , the BC and the FS, there was more inactivity (45% and 59% of time on the ST and NOST respectively, p< 0.001), behaviour directed towards the pen hardware (2% and 13% of time on the ST and NOST respectively, p&60 0.001), chewing penmates; (0.05% and 0.19% of time on the ST and NOST respectively, p< 0.07) and vacuum chewing (0.2% and 1.4% of time on the ST and NOST respectively, p< 0.001). These differences were thought to be due to a lack of suitable malleable substrate on the NOST treatments which caused a redirection in the exploratory and foraging behaviour of the pigs compared to the pigs from the ST treatments. However, there was more play on the ST compared to the NOST in the form of running and scampering (0.15% and 0.02% of time on the ST and NOST respectively, p< 0.05) and shoving and pushing penmates (2.9% and 1.8% of time on the ST and NOST respectively, p= 0.14).

The major objective of the study was to evaluate the nutritive value of the locally available feed resources as sources of nutrients for dairy cattle on smallholder farms on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Chapter one of the thesis is concerned with the review of literature on the farming systems approach to research. A short review of literature on roughage intake by ruminants and the evaluation methods used in determining their nutritive value is provided. In chapter two, results from a preliminary feed valuation experiment are presented. Nutritive value for 77 different locally available feeds are presented and discussed. In chapter three an experiment using twenty five yearling bulls aged 1 to 1.5 years and weighing 117 - 209 kgs was carried out in an attempt to estimate voluntary dry matter (DM) intake, digestible DM intake, DM digestibility and growth rates fed on 18 feeds. The animals were randomly allocated into five groups of five animals each. Feeds were then randomly allocated to the five groups four period of 60 days in which DM intakes were measured. A digestion trial was carried out to measure the feed's apparent digestibility. Solid outflow rates in the rumen were determined using Cr-mordanted fibre. DM degradation characteristics of the feeds were determined by incubation in nylon bags in the rumen of 3 Boran steers fed on guatemala grass. Washing loss (A) was also determined. DM intakes varied from 2.2 for banana pseudostem to 4.67 kg/day for urea treated maize stover. Digestibility ranged from 549 for untreated maize stover to 767 g/kg DM for banana pseudostem and growth rate ranged from 72 for banana leaves to 279g/day for urea treated maize stover.

The aim of this study was to identify the potential target sites for the action of melatonin in sheep and to relate the findings to the photoperiodic control of reproductive activity in the female. It has been proposed that melatonin may have a direct luteotrophic role in several species, therefore the first experiment in this thesis was designed to investigate if melatonin acts directly on the ovine ovary to enhance progesterone production. The oral administration of 3mg melatonin, daily at 1500h, to anoestrous Blackface ewes advanced the onset of oestrous cyclicity and was associated with an increase in ovulation rate, at the first overt oestrous, compared to naturally ovulating control ewes. Peripheral prolactin concentrations were significantly suppressed within 7 days of the start of melatonin treatment. The concentration of progesterone was determined in samples collected directly from the utero-ovarian vein, and compared to the pulsatile pattern of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion determined from samples collected from the jugular vein. The pattern of progesterone secretion in the utero-ovarian vein was episodic. The majority of progesterone pulses occurred independently of the pulsatile pattern of LH secretion, although each pulse of LH was followed by an increase in progesterone concentration. During the luteal phase of the first overt oestrous cycle, the pulsatile pattern of LH secretion and the progesterone concentrations in the utero-ovarian venous plasma were similar for both melatonin-treated and naturally ovulating control ewes. This suggests that melatonin does not have a direct luteotrophic action on the ovine ovary. The experiment described in Chapter 6 was designed to investigate if the ovine foetus is sensitive to photoperiodic information while in utero and also to assess the effect of prenatal photoperiod experience on the endocrine status and timing of puberty of ewe lambs. Three groups of female lambs were studied. Groups A and B were raised on a common postnatal photoperiod consisting of a 10 week block of long days (18L:6D) from birth followed by short days (6L:18D) until the end of the experiment at 38 weeks of age. These two groups of lambs differed only in the photoperiod experienced by their mothers during gestation; those in Group A were exposed to short days and those in Group B were exposed to long days from day 25 of gestation to parturition. Lambs in Group C experienced long days prenatally and short days from birth until the end of the experiment. Peripheral prolactin concentrations of lambs on the day of birth were dependent on the photoperiod to which their mothers were exposed during gestation. For the first 10 weeks after birth plasma prolactin profiles of the lambs raised under long days (Groups A and B) were influenced by their prenatal photoperiodic experience. The number of female lambs which exhibited puberty following a decrease in day length from 18L:6D to 6D:18L at 10 weeks of age was increased by maintaining their mothers on long days as opposed to short days during gestation. Puberty was delayed in the majority of female lambs which were exposed to long days in utero followed by short days from birth (Group C). The results suggest that lambs are sensitive to photoperiodic information prior to birth and that female lambs must be exposed to a minimum number of long days prior to a decrease in daylength to time the onset of puberty.

Supplements of a high quality dried grass, urea and molasses, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment were used to improve the intake and dry matter digestibility (DMD) of straw. Grass depressed straw intake by lambs significantly but increased that by steers non-significantly. Grass provided extra crude protein and motabolisable energy to meet maintenance requirements, and promoted liveweight gain at high levels of supplementation. Urea increased straw intake by lambs significantly, and increased intake in steers when it was contained in the grass supplement rather than the straw. There was no interaction between urea and grass on straw intake. Molasses depressed intake and DMD by lambs of straw supplemented with urea, but slightly increased straw intake in steers. There was no interaction between grass and molasses. NaOH-treatment increased straw intake and DMD significantly. Urea improved the intake of NaOH-treated straw significantly but had no significant effect on DMD. NaOH-treated straw plus-urea promoted a similar intake to straw treated with urea alone, but DMD was significantly better for the former. Maximal straw intake by steers occurred when the diet contained 4.0-5.2g crude protein per MJ gross energy. This was interpreted as a suitable ratio for optimum cellulolysis.

A..11 species of Tapiridae and Rhinocerotidae are threatened or endangered in the wild. Captive populations have been established for most of these species, but successful management has proved challenging. Effective ex situ conservation strategies, however, rely on the ability of zoological institutions to maintain and breed these endangered species. In this study, I examined the captive environment to identify the factors associated with reproduction, mortality, and health of rhinos and tapirs. Zoological institutions in the North American region that currently housed rhinos and/or tapirs were surveyed in 2003. Attaining an approximately 90% response rate, I compiled information on the following variables to describe the captive environment: number of enclosures, enclosure type, enclosure area, number of animals, public viewing, percent of walls surrounding the enclosure, enclosure substrate, topography, vegetation, mud wallows, pools, shelters, percent shade, climate, diet, feeding regime, time spent by keepers, and vaccinations. Information regarding the incidence of health problems also was obtained through the survey. Studbook data was used to obtain life history and demographic information. Three species of tapirs [Baird's (Tapirus bairdii), South American (T. terrestris), and Malay (T. indicus)] and three species of rhinos [black (Diceros bicornis), white (Ceratotherium simum), and Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis)] were included in this study. Due to the small captive population sizes, genetic and demographic Allee effects were detected. While tapirs responded similarly to their captive environment, each rhino species responded differently. Both exhibit area and completely were associated with the responses of captive tapirs and rhinos. Climate also was an influential factor for both groups of species. Other key factors included density, diet, keeper time, percent of public perimeter, and vaccinations. Complex interactions among the variables were found, including a nonlinear relationship between mean exhibit size and reproduction for black rhinos. The results of this study can be used to improve the captive management of tapirs and rhinos. By identifying the patterns associated with successful reproduction, reduced mortality, and fewer health problems, we can move towards establishing self-sustaining populations for these species. This goal is critical for the continued husbandry and conservation of these species.

In this Bachelor thesis an animal bone material from Västergarn parish is analyzed and discussed. The purpose of this thesis is to gain more knowledge about the Viking Age/Early Medieval Västergarn. Västergarn has a few remains from former days which have been discussed throughout the years and are still a bit of a mystery for archaeologists. The main focus is to inquire into whether Västergarn was an urban, complex society or a rural settlement. This will be done by studying the animal husbandry from the property of Snauvalds 1:2. The animal bones have been typed, and sex and age estimations have been made on the most common domestic animals, ergo cattle, sheep/goat and pig. The result from the analysis shows that Västergarn has tendencies of both countryside settlement and a more urban society and the final conclusion is that it has most probably been a trading place or a market place considering its closeness to a Viking Age harbor.

Mithilfe des Embryotransfers können mehrere Embryonen und somit mehr Nachkommen pro Jahr aus einer züchterisch wertvollen Stute erzeugt werden. Im sächsischen Hauptgestüt Graditz wurden dazu bei mehreren Spenderstuten Spülungen durchgeführt. Die Embryonen wurden entweder direkt in die Empfängerstuten transferiert oder für eine spätere Nutzung kryokonserviert. Das Verfahren ist insbesondere für Sportpferdezüchter geeignet und nun auch für sächsische Züchter nutzbar.

Research Article / This paper intends to observe and compare the R&D output on ‘Buffaloes’ by the researchers in India and Pakistan. The chosen study period is 55 years (1955-2009) and CAB Direct Online is the source database for this research. During the period (1955 – 2009) a total of 9,096 and 706 publications were published by the scientists of India and Pakistan respectively on buffalo research and India is the top producing country with 9,096 papers (92.80%) followed by Pakistan with 706 papers (7.20%). The average number of publications published per year by India and Pakistan were 165 and 12 respectively. The spurt in the literature output of India and Pakistan were reported during 2001-2009 and 1991-2000 respectively. The study also reports the most preferred journals and most productive authors in India and Pakistan. This study also provides an inventory and scientometric dimensions of publications on buffalo research by India and Pakistan.

No description available.