Inbreeding in dairy cattle populations may affect important milk quality traits. We evaluated the effect of inbreeding on milk fatty acids content and identified impacts of small magnitude for some fatty acids. In this sense, the effects of inbreeding could be observed in long-term selection and, therefore, monitoring the inbreeding levels in breeding schemes for some of these traits may be of great importance.

Selection for feed efficiency in cattle has had undesirable effects on male reproductive development. Evaluating testes of bulls with delayed reproductive development associated with high feed efficiency, we identified differentially expressed genes and signalling pathways with significant correlations with the observed phenotype. Because selection for feed efficiency have negative associations with male fertility, managemental regimens in cow–calf farms should ensure minimum impact on fertility traits.

Brassica crops, which are used to supply feed in times of seasonal shortage, have high concentrations of readily fermentable carbohydrates; however, the type of carbohydrate might affect productive and metabolic responses. All four species tested were highly digestible, although they varied in NSC concentrations and profiles, swede being high in glucose and fructose, followed by kale and turnip, whereas in forage rape, starch was the main NSC. The results have implications for managing feed supplies to meet nutritional and dietary requirements of livestock.

Moderate dilution of commercial feed with copra meal was shown to maintain growth of modern broilers and reduce cost of production. Enzyme supplementation allowed the utilisation of higher levels of dilution by both growing and finishing broilers. These findings will sustain the broiler industry and add value to copra meal in regions where it is readily available.

Poor nutritional management during dry period can produce significant effects on production performance and health of a dairy cow. Current study investigated the effects of feeding straw sources and energy supplements to dry pregnant cossbred cows on their lactation performance and metabolic health. Results showed that feeding wheat straw and wheat bran in dry-cow diets controlled pre-calving energy intake and improved transition to lactation phase. Animals fed wheat straw- and wheat bran-based diets showed improved milk production, with a concomitant reduction in the incidence of metabolic diseases.

The effects of a feeding strategy used to produce a milk beneficial in terms of human health were studied for milk yield and composition, blood metabolic profile, and oxidative status. Such a feeding strategy, which requires a forage : concentrate ratio equal to 70 : 30, five different herbs in the forage and the use of silages prohibited, was compared with a semi-intensive strategy, and an improvement of animal oxidative status and no differences in milk yield and composition were detected throughout the trial.

Heat stress is a concern in dairy production systems, because it induces behavioural and physiological changes in animals and can reduce milk production and change its composition. In subtropical regions, shade is not always provided to cows in pastures. The present study evaluated the effects of shade provision on DNA damage and several physiological indicators of heat stress in lactating dairy cows. The outcomes from the study may encourage dairy farmers to provide shade for lactating cows.

High ambient temperature-induced heat stress has drawn greater public attention because of its detrimental impacts on animal production and animal welfare. Dietary resveratrol supplementation could protect the function of intestine and benefit the growth performance of heat-stressed broilers. Dietary resveratrol supplementation is a considerable nutritional strategy to anti-stress in animal production.

Preventing and alleviating environmental stress is becoming important in the poultry industry. Overall, dietary lysophospholipid supplementation did not improve broiler performance in cold stress condition, while the utilisation of 500 mg/kg vitamin C in the ration reduced performance of broilers under low ambient temperature. Lysophospholipid supplementation did not improve broiler performance in cold stress condition.