Identification of the genotype–environment interaction in beef cattle may increase the efficiency of genetic evaluation on sires subjected to different environments. This study investigated whether this interaction has any effect on bodyweight at post-weaning ages in Nellore cattle reared in Brazil. There is evidence of genotype–environment interaction in some of the environment studied.

Piglets born with low birthweights are more susceptible to suffering intrapartum asphyxia, a condition that reduces their probability of survival. This study determined the effect of caffeine in relation to improving the condition of low-birthweight piglets. The results indicate that administering caffeine at birth causes energy expenditures and thus reduces weight gain in these newborns.

This experiment investigated the effect of supplementation with 1,3,5,8-tetrahydroxyxanthone (Xan), a naturally polyphenol, on carcass characteristics and meat quality traits in pigs. The present results indicated that Xan supplementation improved carcass characteristics and meat quality traits by decreasing angiopoietin-like protein 3 mRNA expressions in pig. Findings from the present study suggest that Xan may be useful as a functional feed for pork.

The dairy industry is one of Australia’s major rural industries, ranked third behind beef and wheat, and it contributes ~1.6% of the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.This study examined 41 contrasting Australian dairy farms for their GHG emissions using the Dairy Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategies calculator, which incorporates Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Australian inventory methodologies, algorithms and emission factors. It was found that using a single emissions factor, such as milk production alone, to estimate any given individual farm’s GHG emissions, has the potential to either substantially under- or overestimate individual farms’ GHG emissions.

Genetic mapping of loci underlying economic traits in Japanese quail is of great interest both for biologists and animal breeders. The results of this study indicated significant regions on chromosome 1 affecting hatching weight and growth-related traits. These results pave the way for future gene discovery in Japanese quail as an animal model species.

Appropriate genetic covariance structure should be defined among the expressions of a trait taken at different ages. For the ages of fibre diameter in Merino sheep, a pre-structured multivariate model was found to be the most parsimonious model. This would enable drawing correct inferences from the data and help devise the selection strategies.

Livestock grazing dual-purpose wheats gain weight faster if supplemented with sodium and magnesium. We investigated whether these supplements were required for sheep grazing forage oats, barley or canola. Our results showed that supplements were not needed for sheep grazing forage oats or vegetative canola, but in sheep grazing barley, further studies are needed to clarify the response to supplement.

In the southern cone of South America sheep farmers are interested in crossbreeding their ewes with heavy rams, but for out-of-season breeding, rams from most heavy breeds display low sexual activity. We determined that Milchschaf rams have a similar seasonal pattern to Corriedale rams, but when rams from both breeds were used for teasing anoestrous ewes, Corriedale rams were effective as expected, but Milchschaf rams were ineffective in inducing ewes into oestrus. Therefore, although they seem to be active during spring, at least where Milchschaf rams are managed as in this experiment, they cannot be recommended as teasers.

Factor XI deficiency (FXID) is an important hereditary disorder of cows, which may cause financial losses. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of FXID carriers in normally fertile and repeat breeding cows in Turkey and pointed out the potential financial losses due to hereditary disorders. Consequently, the mutant FXI allele could lead to repeat breeder syndrome in FXID carriers and a repeat breeder cow may cause an extra $324 financial loss compared to a normally fertile cow.

Sheep and goat rearing is one of the most important traditional professions in Iran. Bodyweight records were collected for two flocks under supervision of the Agriculture Organisation of the Esfahan province between 2000 and 2007. Genetic parameter estimates indicate that selection can be used to improve growth traits in this goat breed.

The high cost of feed has caused an increase in using agricultural by-products in livestock production. This study evaluated the effects of pistachio by-product replacement for lucerne hay in the diets of sheep. The results showed that pistachio by-product improved rumen fermentative parameters and nitrogen metabolism in sheep, thus pistachio by-product can be considered as a useful feedstuff in the diet of sheep.

Feed efficiency is an economically important trait in beef production. The objective was to use qPCR to quantify the differentially expressed genes to examine the relationships between the gene expression and RFI phenotype. The gene expression data allowed for the classification of the bulls into their respective RFI selection lines.