The heart rate variability (HRV) parameters of dairy cows were monitored during parlour (PARL) and the later installed automatic (AMS) milking on a small-scale commercial dairy farm in Hungary. The aim of the study was to assess stress in relation to the type of milking and the frequency of human interaction. Parlour milking involved regular moving and crowding of the animals with frequent human interaction, which were much less frequent in automatic milking. The first phase of the study was conducted prior to the changeover [n = 27] and the second two months afterwards [n = 19 (of the cows from the first phase)]. Heart rate (HR) was recorded by the Polar RS800 CX recording system. HRV parameters indicative of sympathovagal balance were calculated for periods of lying and standing in the barn, waiting before milking and milking, respectively. Morning and evening faecal glucocorticoid concentrations were also measured. Fear of humans was tested by an avoidance distance test. Baseline HRV parameters showed no difference (P > 0.05) between the two systems. In the periods before, during and after milking a higher sympathetic tone was detected in cows in the PARL phase. Mean faecal glucocorticoid concentrations were higher at the time of parlour milking. The avoidance distance did not differ between the two phases. The results suggest that automatic milking might be less stressful for cows than parlour milking, possibly due to the shorter duration of restraint after milking and the less frequent human interaction.

It is known that noise exerts negative effect on the animals and it could be a severe source of stress,1 while music has a positive effect on some species and could help reduce stress levels.2 Gvaryahu et al.,3 have found that chicks exposed to environmental enrichment and classical music were less afraid during challenging and ate more. In the study of Brantsaeter et al.,4 chicks, raired in complex environment showed less anxiety on weeks 19 and 23 and used better all the dimensions of space. Roy et al.,5 have found an improvement of postnatal perceptual behaviour and synaptic plasticity in chicks, received complex rhythmical musical stimuli before and during hatching. Freshly hatched chicks showed a spontaneous preference to consonant sounds over discordant ones.6 The biological function of the fear is to keep animals away from the source of danger. The fearfullness expresses how an animal react to frightful stimuli. The fearfullnes is developed by multiple genetic and epigenetic factors. The role of the environmental effects, especially in young age is decisive.7 In generally the fear has a useful function, but under some circumstances it may be damaging for the birds, if they cannot run away from the dreadful stimulus.8,9 The keeping conditions of the production and laboratory animals cannot totally eliminate environmental noise. The developed fearfulness depends greatly from the external stimuli of the young age. The raising in a complex environment did decrease the degree of fearfulness in poultry,10 mice,11 and in pig.12 Besides the appropriate environment, the conditioning of the animals may decrease the general fearfulness. The systematic desensitization has long been used for the treatment of phobias in human.13 This technique may work in case of animals, too and not only for the pathological phobias but also for natural fears. Some chicken strains are notably sensitive to noise, in these strains some noises (like thunderstorm) may cause heavy losses due to acute panic reaction. In the present study the authors tested the effect of 20-day-long noise and music exposure on the behaviour and stress state of young meat chicks. The aim of this work was to condition young birds by using soft noises and music in order to expect a positive effect on the acoustic sensitivity for the time being and in later ages.

The effect of 21-day-long noise and music exposure on open-field (OF) behaviour and stress state of young meat chicks has been investigated. The noise decreased the final body weight of cocks by 10.56%, but the noise and music did not influence weight gain of pullets (p›0.05). Necropsy and histopathology did not reveal any stress-related changes. Immobility time and number of siting up were inconsistent. The fluctuating asymmetry in the growth of 3rd toes was significantly higher, while corticosterone level was significantly lower in the control group than is the noise- and music-treated ones (2.83±0.51 vs. 6.39±1.23 and 6.90±0.94 ng/ml). There were differences in the OF behaviour (eating, chirping, gasping), too. There is no real difference between music and noise treatment; chicks respond to music endocrinologically and ethologically the same way as they respond to noise. These results indicate, that the three-week-long noise and music exposure does not mean a substantial stress of pathoclinical signs. The noise and music conditioning decreased, but not eliminated the stress. The serum corticosterone values showed a mild stress state of noise- and music-exposed chickens, but these treatments seemed to decrease the noxious effects of loud noise challenge, establishing a state of eustress.

The aim of this study was to determine whether measurements of certain metabolic (non-esterified fatty acid, beta-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, total protein, albumin, urea-nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, total calcium, inorganic phosphate and magnesium) and endocrine (cortisol, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, insulin and insulin-like growth factor) parameters in the peripartal period (2 months and 3 weeks before expected calving and within 1 hr after calving) were related to the prevalence of stillbirth in a Holstein-Friesian farm in Hungary. All together 155 dairy cattle (n = 22 primiparous, n = 133 multiparous cows) were monitored in two separate years selected randomly on the same farm. Overall, the prevalence of stillbirth was 11% (n = 17). Significantly higher stillbirth rate was detected in case of heifer calvings (OR = 8.5), and when >= 3 assistants (severe dystocia; OR = 8.9) were needed to assist at calving while the body condition score of the dams, the bodyweight and gender of the newborn calves, the percentage of posterior presentations had no significant effect on stillbirth rate. There were no significant differences between cows without and with stillbirth in case of any measured metabolic and endocrine parameters during the examined time periods. At the same time, some of the metabolic parameters (TP, AST and inorg.P) showed some significant differences among the stillbirth groups, but stillbirth could not be predicted by the measured parameters and therefore the role of metabolic and/or endocrine changes on the prevalence of stillbirth needs further elucidation.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of prepartum and postpartum (PP) supplementation with 2 isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on reproductive parameters and some related metabolic factors in dairy cows. High-producing, multiparous Holstein Friesian cows (n = 60) were allotted to 3 treatment groups: the CLA1 group (n = 20) was supplemented with 70 g of lipid-encapsulated CLA providing 7 g each of cis-9,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12 CLA from d 21 (d 21) before expected calving until d 7 after artificial insemination (AI), that is, until 77 to 91 d PP; the CLA2 group (n = 20) was supplemented with the same amount of CLA beginning at calving until d 7 after AI; and the control group (n = 20) received an isocaloric, isonitrogenous, and isolipidic diet. Blood samples were taken weekly to measure glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and leptin. Liver biopsy was performed in 10 cows per group for growth hormone receptor 1A and IGF-I mRNA analyses. At d 49 to 63 PP, ovulation was synchronized with the Pre-Synch protocol followed by fixed-time AI. Milk progesterone was monitored from calving until d 35 post-AI. Cows returning to estrus following AI were inseminated. Supplementation with CLA before calving improved the recovery of plasma leptin levels in the early PP period (from the day of calving until wk 3 PP; treatment effect). Later PP (wk 5), plasma IGF-I, and leptin remained significantly higher in both CLA1 and CLA2 groups compared with control, although hepatocellular IGF-I mRNA was not different among groups. Plasma IGF-I levels remained higher in both CLA-treated groups on the day of AI. Growth hormone receptor 1A mRNA levels in hepatic tissue decreased in all groups, reaching a nadir in the first week PP. Days to first PP ovulation did not differ between groups; however, both supplemented groups conceived earlier compared with control (d 97 ± 19, d 97 ± 23, and d 113 ± 30 for CLA1, CLA2, and control, respectively). Plasma progesterone concentration was higher in both supplemented groups on d 2 to 5 following the synchronized ovulation than in controls. We concluded that CLA supplementation around calving alters PP metabolic signals as reflected by higher plasma leptin and IGF-I levels. Conjugated linoleic acid stimulated early luteal function and reduced the PP interval to conception.

Piglets in commercial intensive pig husbandry are often abruptly weaned between 3 and 4 weeks for economic reasons. The process of weaning is a multifactorial stressor, in which nutritional, social, physical and psychologic stressors are combined. Piglets are often exposed to unfamiliar piglets around weaning which results in a period of vigorous fighting. Stress plays an important part in welfare research. Traditionally glucocorticoids are measured in blood samples but their use is often limited as the act of sample collection may stress an animal. Measurement of faecal cortisol/corticosterone metabolites is a non-invasive method for evaluation adrenocortical activity. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of litter’s let-together system (“kindergarten”) in the farrowing house by measuring faecal cortisol metabolites. According to our results the “kindergarten” system has no stress effect on sows and piglets, respectively.

We evaluated the lactation performance, liver lipid content and plasma metabolites indicating the energy balance of dairy cows supplemented with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) pre- and post-partum (PP) vs. only PP. A total of 60 cows were divided into three groups (n = 20). Daily diet of cows was supplemented with 14 g of CLA (7 g cis-9, trans-11 and 7 g trans-10, cis-12 isomers) from week 3 before the expected date of calving (group CLA1), or from the day of calving (group CLA2) until 77-91 days PP. Control cows were fed an isocaloric, isonitrogenous and isolipidic diet without CLA. Between week 3 and week 6 PP, the milk yield of cows in both CLA-treated groups was approximately 4.5 kg higher (p < 0.05) than in control. Milk fat concentrations decreased from week 3 and were lower in both CLA groups than in control (p < 0.01). Body condition score loss was lower (p < 0.05) in the CLA1 than in the control group on week 5 PP. By week 11 PP, the body condition of both CLA1 and CLA2 groups exceeded that of control. Plasma non-esterified fatty acid was lower in CLA1 compared to CLA2 and control during the early PP period (p < 0.05), while this difference faded away by the late PP period. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) increased rapidly in all groups following calving. In CLA1 group, it began to decrease sooner than in CLA2 and control. The prevalence of subclinical ketosis (BHBA > 1.2 mm) was lower in CLA1 group than in CLA2 and control (p < 0.05). Liver biopsy analyses showed that CLA1 treatment decreased (p < 0.05) the total lipid content of liver compared to control at week 5 after calving. Our results show that CLA supplementation is more efficient in alleviating body mass mobilization and decreasing the incidence of subclinical ketosis when applied as early as 3 weeks before calving than started feeding after calving.

Alpha-fetoprotein has proved to be a good indicator of fetal well-being in human medicine for decades. Although this molecule is present in most of the mammalian species including horses, reference values in healthy and high-risk pregnant mares have not yet been published. The aim of the present study was to determine whether equine alpha-fetoprotein (eqAFP) is a good indicator of complicated pregnancies in Lipizzaner mares. A total of in serum samples from 30 mares have been analyzed for eqAFP levels throughout gestation (Days 60-325). After the pregnancy was confirmed, 23 mares had normal pregnancies with viable foals, six had late embryonic loss, and one of the mares aborted in the ninth gestational month. Equine alpha-fetoprotein concentrations significantly differed in the normal group (72.93 +/- 49.25 pg/mL; mean standard deviation) and in the complicated pregnancy loss group (152 +/- 36.48 pg/mL; mean standard deviation). The mares' age, gestational age, and the conception rate significantly affected the alpha-fetoprotein concentrations in the normal group. Furthermore, notable individual differences occurred in eqAFP concentrations between mares. Equine alpha-fetoprotein seems to be an important indicator of fetal well-being in horses, but there are still some unanswered questions (levels in foals of different age, ponies, and draft horses) regarding this serum protein. Large-scale studies are needed to assess the specificity, sensitivity, and reliability of this test as a possible future diagnostic tool for fetal well-being in horses. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A study was conducted to examine the effects of different oils on the plasma corticosterone concentrations of broiler chickens fed ad libitum or deprived of feed for 24 hours. A total of 36 Ross broilers were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments at 10 days of age and fed a grower diet supplemented with 60 g/kg soybean oil (rich in linoleic acid, C18:2n-6), linseed oil (rich in a-linolenic acid, C18:3n-3) or fish oil (rich in C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, C20:1n-9; eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, EPA, C20:5n-3 and DHA, C22:6n-3), respectively, for 18 days. Dietary supplementation of fish oil resulted in lower (P < 0.05) baseline plasma corticosterone levels of chickens fed ad libitum for 18 days compared to soybean and linseed oil supplementations. Feed deprivation for 24 h induced a significant (P < 0.05) increase in corticosterone concentration in every treatment group compared to the ad libitum-fed birds. The hormone levels of feed-deprived birds did not differ significantly among groups fed diets supplemented with different oils.

The authors summarize the knowledge about the recently discovered mechanism of induced ovulation in Camelids and compare it to the well established 'classical' model of spontaneous and induced ovulation. In the eighties, Chinese authors (19) demonstrated that a so-called Ovulation Induction Factor (OIF) found in the seminal plasma of male Bactrian camels causes ovulation in females. Some 20 years later, Canadian scientists isolated and identified this ovulation inducing factor (OIF) from alpaca and llama semen. Recently, they have discovered simultaneously with researchers from Australia that OIF is identical to a well known neurotrophin, the so-called beta-neuro growth factor (beta-NGF syn. beta-NGF). According to the current hypothesis, beta-NGF is absorbed from the uterus following copulation, reaches the central nervous system through blood transport, and by acting on the hypothalamus and/or hypophysis beta-NGF induces the preovulatory LH surge. This new model of induced ovulation in Camelids differs from the previously described, classical model of induced ovulation. Remarkably, the presence of beta-NGF was also demonstrated in the seminal plasma of spontaneous ovulator species (boars and bulls), moreover the biological activity of the molecule present in their semen is preserved.

ABSTRACTThe actual level of circulating estrogen (17β-estradiol, E2) has a serious impact on regulation of diverse immune cell functions, where their classical cytoplasmic receptors, ERα and ERβ, act as nuclear transcriptional regulators of multiple target genes. There is growing evidence, however, for rapid, “non-nuclear” regulatory effects of E2 on lymphocytes. Such effects are likely mediated by putative membrane-associated receptor(s) (mER), but the mechanistic details and the involved signaling pathways still remained largely unknown because of their complexity. Here, we show that in lymphocytes, mERs can signalize themselves, and upon ligation, they are able to coordinate translocation of other E2Rs to the PM. Our data firmly imply existence of a complex, dynamic network of at least seven ER forms in murine lymphocytes: cytoplasmic and membrane-linked forms of ERα, ERβ, or GPR30 and a mER that can receive extracellular E2 signals. The latter mERs are likely palmitoylated, as they are enriched in lipid-raft microdomains, and their E2 binding is also cholesterol dependent. The data also support that ligation of mERs can induce rapid regulatory signals to lymphocytes and then internalize and let the E2 liberate in lysosomes. In addition, they can dynamically control the cell-surface linkage of other cytoplasmic ERs. As demonstrated by the differential effects of mER or cytoplasmic ER ligation on the proliferation of activated T and B lymphocytes, such a dynamic E2R network can be considered as a tool to manage accommodation/fine-tuning of lymphocytes to rapidly changing hormone levels.

The influence of melatonin implantation on scrotal circumference, semen quantitative and qualitative parameters, plasma melatonin as well as basal and provoked testosterone concentration was evaluated in Black Racka rams in the non-breeding season. Twelve rams were used in the 60-day-long trial; six of them were implanted (M) with Melovine® (Ceva, Libourne, France) subcutaneously on day 0 (10th May) and 30 days later again, while the other six rams remained untreated (C). Scrotal circumference (SC) was measured and semen was collected weekly and assorted to two 30-day-long periods. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 30 and 60 and basal testosterone level and GnRH-induced testosterone response were evaluated. Ejaculate volume (VOL) increased in both groups from the minimum value at the beginning of the trial (0.52±0.08ml vs. 0.44±0.06ml) to the maximum at 60 days after the first implantation (0.82±0.07ml vs. 0.73±0.05ml, P<0.05). Significant differences were found in SC, VOL and total spermatozoa number from day 30 to day 60 after the first melatonin implantation between the treatment groups (P<0.05). The statistical analyses revealed no difference between treated and control groups regarding total motility % (TM%) and progressive motility % (PM%) at the first implantation and the last sampling. However, at the second implantation melatonin treatment had a positive effect on TM% (P<0.05) and PM% (P<0.001) compared to group C. Basal testosterone (Tb) concentrations were not different between groups at the beginning of the treatment; nevertheless, 60 days later a significantly elevated Tb level was measured in group M compared to C (P<0.05). Testosterone response after the GnRH test was not different between groups at the first and second implantation, while at the third sampling elevated Tb was detected and the provoked testosterone concentrations (Tincr) were also higher in group M at 30 and 60min after GnRH treatment (P<0.05). Plasma melatonin level was increased by implantation to 445.3±91.55pmol/L measured at day 30 compared to 92.4±9.15pmol/L on day 0 (P<0.05), and a further increase of melatonin concentration was recorded after the insertion of the second implants at day 60 (699.45±163.91pmol/L; P<0.05). In conclusion, melatonin implantation in the non-breeding season (at the beginning of May) significantly improved the endocrine and exocrine function of testicles and some quantitative as well as quality parameters of the ejaculate in rams of the Hungarian native breed Black Racka.

This study reviews the lipid metabolism of dairy cattle. The biochemical processes are discussed in regard to decline of milk fat synthesis. Furthermore, this knowledge may help to find optimal nutrition strategies. When production is impaired in the lack of clinical symptoms, milk fat depression can be an indicator of pathological rumen physiology. In the background often subacute ruminal acidosis can be found or the decline of fiber digestibility due to use of high grain diet and certain fat sources. In both situations certain polyunsaturated fatty acids get in the rumen, that are precursors of milk fat synthesis inhibiting molecules.

The authors initiated turkey and geese tagging experiments. The aim of the study was to determine whether the RFID microchips, used for individual marking, have any effect on the weight gain, some physiological parameters of turkey and geese. It can be established that the applied RFID microchip marking has no negative effect on the weight gain. Plasma concentrations of AST, gamma-GT, glucose and corticosterone did not differ from those observed in untagged birds. Histopathological examinations also support the statement that the applied individual marking method could be suitable for turkey and geese marking. With the use of such process, tracing the product from farm to table could be done even in the poultry sector, furthermore, the illegal poultry stock could be selected.

Artificial insemination (AI) can undoubtedly be regarded as the oldest and most widely used assisted reproductive technique/technology (ART) applied in livestock production and it is one of the most important ARTs. The three cornerstones of its application are that it is simple, economical and successful. Artificial insemination offers many well-known benefits for producers. Fresh, fresh + diluted + chilled and frozen semen can be used for AI in small ruminants. To ensure its successful use, the AI technique must be selected on the basis of the type of semen planned to be used. This review paper gives a detailed overview of semen processing and its effects on semen quality, as well as of the AI techniques applied in small ruminants and their success rates.