¹Department of Animal Science

Faculty of Agriculture

²Gevas Vocational High School

³Department of Biostatistics

Faculty of Medicine

Yuzuncu Yil University, Van

Turkey

(Received November 6, 2007; accepted July 18, 2008)

Eyduran, E., Karakus K., Keskin S. and Cengiz F. 2008. Determination of factors influencing birth weight using regression tree (RT) method. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 109-112.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of genotype, sex, birth type and year and dam age on birth weight by applying regression tree method using 101 Karakas and 103 Norduz lambs raised at Research and Application Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey. The effect of sex on single-lambs was significant, whereas, genotype had a significant effect on twin-lambs. The heaviest mean birth weight was obtained by single-male lambs, but twin-lambs born by dam of 2, 3 and 6 years age in the Norduz breed had the lowest mean birth weight.

Key words: Birth weight, lamb, regression tree (RT) method.

¹Research Centre on Animal Welfare – RECAW

UNESP, Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista

Unidade São Vicente, Pça. Infante D. Henrique s/nº, São Vicente 11330-900, SP, Brazil

²Instituto de Neurociencias

CSIC-UMH, Unidad de Neurobiología del Desarrollo

Campus de Sant Joan

Apto 18, 03550 Sant Joan d’Alacant, Alicante, Spain

³Departamento de Fisiologia

Instituto de Biociências

UNESP, Rubião Jr. s/n, Botucatu 18618-000, SP, Brazil

(Received December 14, 2007, accepted October 23, 2008)

Barreto, R.E., Gontijo, Á.M.M.C. and Delicio, H.C. 2008. Correlations between pre- and post-fasting growth in Nile tilapia. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 113-116.

We tested the correlation between growth rate before and after a food deprivation phase in twelve single held Nile tilapias, Oreochromis niloticus. The experiment was divided into three phases: before food deprivation (phase 1: 15 d), food deprivation (phase 2: 12 d) and refeeding (phase 3: 15 d). The specific growth rate - SGR, food conversion efficiency - FCE and feed ingestion increased significantly during phase 3. Positive and significant correlations were found either to SGR or to feed ingestion between Phase 1 and 3 but not for FCE. The SGR on phase 3, moreover, were positively correlated to FCE and feed ingestion, while on phase 1 SGR was positively correlated to FCE only. Thus, high pre-fasting SGR or feed ingestion reflects in likewise high post-fasting SGR or feed ingestion values. Moreover, since SGR and FCE are correlated to each other in both phase 1 and 3, but phase 3 SGR is also correlated to feed ingestion; we could suppose that hyperphagic behaviour could be the main compensatory mechanism. Accordingly, we suggest that a fish with an elevated growth performance shall display a proportionally raised post-fasting growth response in order to normalize its predetermined growth trajectory and resume its normal growth rate.

Key words: Growth, food deprivation, fish, Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus.

Livestock and Wildlife Laboratory

Arid Land Institute

4119 Medenine, Tunisia

(Received May 22, 2008; accepted August 10, 2008)

Gaddour, A. and Najari, S. 2008. Adjustment of the kid’s growth curve in pure goat breeds and crosses under southern Tunisian conditions. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 117-120.

Five non-linear statistical models, Gompertz, Brody, Richards, Logistic and Polynomial, were tested to fit the kid’s growth curve parameters and shape of indigenous goat, Alpine, Damascus and their crosses. Data from 16 years periodical weighing was used to adjust growth curve before 5 months age of 1687 suckled kids. Gompertz model was the best to adjust kid’s growth evolution. Curve parameters were fitted by Gompertz model after about 16 iterations with a CD value of 71%. The crossbreeding allowed a better growth kinetic with respect to indigenous kids. The best growing performances were obtained for the first generation of crossbreeding. The growth curve adjustment will help to a better herd management and kid’s fattening according to each genotype potential.

Key words: Goat, kid’s growth, Gompertz, crossbreeding, Tunisian oases.

Mehmet Çetin¹, Sabri Yurtseven¹, Turgay Ôengül^1,*, Bünyamin Sögüt²

¹ Department of Animal Science

Faculty of Agriculture

Harran University, 63200 Sanliurfa, Turkey

²Department of Animal Science

Faculty of Agriculture

Yüzüncü Y2l University

Van, Turkey

(Received November 26, 2007; accepted July 16, 2008)

Çetin, M., Yurtseven, S., Ôengül, T. and Sögüt, B. 2008. Effect of black seed extract (Nigella sativa) on growth performance, blood parameters, oxidative stress and DNA damage of partridges. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 121-125.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different doses of black seed extract on fattening performance, some blood parameters, oxidative stress and DNA damage of partridges. Chicks were divided in four groups: I group (control) received 0.1% flavomycin, treatment groups II, III and IV received 2.5, 5 and 7.5 ml/kg black seed extract, respectively. Feed consumption was reduced linearly by increasing doses of black seed extract in 0 to 12 weeks of age (P<0.01). Mortality rates of the treatment groups were lower than control group (P<0.05). Alkaline phosphate levels (ALP) was affected by black seed extract (P<0.05). The results also showed that black seed extract decreased DNA damage linearly and significantly (P<0.01).

Keywords: Black seed extract, partridge, growth performance, blood parameters, DNA damage.

Departamento de Ciencia Animal

Universidad Politécnica de Valencia

Valencia, Spain

¹Departamento Producción Animal

Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera

Moncada, Valencia, Spain

(Received March 17, 2008; accepted September 6, 2008)

Fernández, C., Pascual, J.J., Piquer, O., Blas, E. and Cervera, C. 2008. Milk production prediction of dairy goats using multiple component systems models. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 127-132.

To predict milk production in dairy goats using multiple component systems models, a homogenous group of 34 dairy goats within a commercial farm (Excamur, S.L.) was used. During 5 months lactation period body weight and dry matter intake were recorded and a multiple component system model was developed. The training models are characterized by an expanding set of management options such as feed intake, energy digestibility, locomotion energy expenditure and maintenance. Total milk yield during lactation by goat was simulated. Milk yield (MY) from a group of 10 goats (from literature) and the MY obtained at the present trial were used to validate the multiple component simulation models. An r of 0.93 was obtained between MY observed and predicted with the multiple component system. Therefore, the multiple component simulation models at the present work are useful to predict MY in Murciano-Granadina goat during lactation when total mixed ratio was used to feed the animals.

Keywords: Multiple component model, dairy goat, milk yield prediction.

Ondokuz May2s University

Faculty of Agriculture

Department of Animal Science

Biometry and Genetics Unit, 55139 Samsun-Turkey

(Recieved November 6, 2007; accepted June 20, 2008)

Önder, H. 2008. A comparative study of permutation tests with Euclidean and Bray-curtis distances for common agricultural distributions in regression. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 133-136.

This study describes the efficiency of permutation test for Normal, Poisson, Chi-Square and Cauchy distributions. Permutation of raw data with Euclidean distance method can be recommended when the sample size is less than 15 and permutation of residuals under the full model with Euclidean distance method can be preferred when the sample size is higher than 15 except for normal distribution. Bray-Curtis distances are not suitable for such distributions.

Keywords: Distributions, linear regression, resampling methods, Euclidean distance, Bray-curtis distance.

*Department of Animal Science

**Department of Biometry and Genetics

Faculty of Agriculture

University of Selcuk, Konya, Turkey

(Received December 28, 2007; accepted September 11, 2008)

Zülkadir, U., Aytekin, ¤. and Keskin, ¤. 2008. Relationship between persistency values defined with various methods and some lactation traits of Brown Swiss cattle in Turkey. J. App. Anim. Res., 34: 137-141.

The study was conducted to compute the persistency values of the animals in different lactation periods with various methods drawing upon 3695 test day milk yield of 182 lactations of Brown Swiss cattle in Konya Konuklar Agricultural Enterprise. The computed persistency values of the animals in the first lactation were different (P<0.01) from the other lactations. Lactation number (P<0.05) and calving seasons (P<0.01) effected persistency values. The phenotypic correlation of the methods within the group and with lactation milk yield, lactation period, daily average milk yield and daily maximum milk yield were highly significant (P<0.01). The Sölkner and Fuchs’s model based on standard deviation of 305 d lactation period showed the highest phenotypic correlation for lactation milk yield (LMY), daily average milk yield ( DAMY), daily maximum milk yield (DMMY), and the best fit to the data collected from Brown Swiss cattle and allowed a suitable description of the shape of the lactation curve.

Key words: Brown Swiss, persistency, phenotypic correlation.

H.H. Musa^1,2, W.B. Bao³, K.H. Wang⁴, G.H. Chen³, G.Q. Zhu^1*

¹College of Veterinary Medicine

Yangzhou University

Yangzhou, 225009, China

²Faculty of Veterinary Science

University of Nyala

P.O. Box 155, Nyala, Sudan

³College of Animal Science and Technology

Yangzhou University

Yangzhou, 225009, China

⁴Poultry Institute

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science

Yangzhou, 225003, China

(Received March 18, 2008; accepted October 20, 2008)

Musa, H.H., Bao, W.B., Wang, K.H., Chen, G.H. and Zhu, G.Q. 2008. Genetic diversity, genetic distance and phylogeny of functional apoVLDL-II and lipoprotein lipase genes. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 143-147.

Five chicken populations including Anka, Rugao, Wenchang, Silkies and Red jungle fowl were used to study the genetic diversity of functional apoVLDL-II and lipoprotein lipase genes. Mutation was detected by PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP, thereafter, SNP was screened by direct gene sequence. The genetic diversity and distance were analyzed by POPGENE and the phylogeny tree was constructed by PHYLIP. Anka showed the highest genetic diversity, effective number of allele and Shannon’s information index among populations studied. Anka and Silkies observed the highest genetic distance. In addition, Red jungle fowl was more closely and genetically related to Wenchang than other populations, followed by Silkies, Rugao and Anka. From this study we concluded that the phylogenic tree developed from the molecular marker provided enough information to predict the likely originator and the genetic distances existing among the five chicken populations.

Key words: Genetic diversity, genetic distance, phylogeny, functional gene.

M. Topal¹, Ô.C. Bolukbasi

Department of Animal Science

Faculty of Agriculture

Atatürk University

25240 Erzurum, Turkey

(Received January 18, 2008; accepted May 18, 2008)

Topal, M. and Bolukbasi, Ô.C. 2008. Comparison of nonlinear growth curve models in broiler chickens. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 149-152.

This study was conducted to estimate the growth curves of broiler chickens using weekly body weight data from 1 to 42 d of age. The Logistic, Gompertz, Von Bertalanffy, Morgan-Mercer-Flodin (MMF) and Weibull growth curve models were compared to the best fit to the broiler age- weight data. MMF and Weibull were determined to be the best fitted models and Logistic was found the worst fitted for female and male broiler chickens. It is suggested that MMF, Weibull and Gompertz models can be useful for explaining broiler chickens growth performance.

Keywords: Growth curve, nonlinear models, broiler, body weight.

Department of Pathobiology

School of Veterinary Medicine

Shiraz University, Shiraz

Islamic Republic of Iran

(Received February 8, 2008; accepted July 31, 2008 )

Moghaddar, N. 2008. Seasonal variation in the incidence of gastro-intestinal nematodes in sheep in Iran. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 153-155.

To record the seasonal variations in the incidence of gastro-intestinal nematodes of sheep around Shiraz, Fars Province of Iran, 1114 sheep in different age groups were examined. Adult sheep showed higher (P<0.05) infection (52.3%) as compared to young ones (38.17%) in all the seasons of the year. Infection was higher (P<0.05) in summer and spring seasons. Nematodes of 11 genera were recorded and Haemonchus sp., Marshallagia sp., Ostertagia sp. and Trichostrongylus spp. predominated in adult sheep while Nematodirus spp. were more common in young animals. Mixed infection with 2-6 different nematode spp. was common in both categories of animals but emergence of Marshallagia sp. as common parasite in adult sheep and lambs was interesting. High infection in all seasons, suggested their endemicity in the area and need effective control measures.

Key words: Sheep, seasonal dynamics, gastro-intestinal nematodes, Fars Province.

National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region (KONARC)

NARO, Koshi, Kumamoto, 861-1192, Japan

(Received April 15, 2008; accepted October 31, 2008)

Nakamura, Y.-N., Orito, H., Tsuneishi, E., Hirano, K., Kato, N., Shoji, A., Kamiya, M. and Nakanishi, Y. 2008. Changes in plasma composition of Japanese black steers during grazing and fattening periods. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 157-161.

The plasma compositions of five Japanese black steers during about 23 months of grazing and fattening period of about 6 months were investigated. Plasma A/G, LDH, Glu, tCho and Ins concentrations increased (P<0.05), whereas TG, UN and NEFA concentrations decreased (P<0.05) during the fattening period. Plasma Na concentration increased (P<0.05) during the fattening period. Plasma β-carotene and tocopherol concentrations decreased (P<0.05) during the fattening period. Changes in plasma chemical composition during grazing and fattening were related to the chemical composition of the feed consumed and lack of exercise during housing.

Key words: Beef cattle, plasma, Japanese black steers, pasture.

^aEastern Anatolian Agricultural Research Institute

Erzurum, Turkey

^bDepartment of Animal Science

College of Agriculture

Atatürk University

25240, Erzurum, Turkey

(Received November 13, 2007, accepted August 1, 2008)

Ünlü, N., Yanar, M., Esenbuga, N., Özlütürk, A., Yüksel, S. and Macit, M. 2008. Effect of days on feed on the performance and carcass characteristics of Eastern Anatolian Red young bulls. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 163-168.

Thirty two native Eastern Anatolian Red (EAR) young bulls (10 mo) were fed to study the effect of days on feed (168, 210 or 270 d) on performance. With increasing age, rate of weight gain decreased but dressing per cent increased with decrease in non – carcass components. Almost all body fats and marbling score increased with longer feeding period. Meat from longer fed animals was rated higher for flavour intensity and tenderness score, which observation was substantiated by a decrease in Warner Bratzler Shear Value and number of chews before swallow. It was concluded that the native EAR cattle at 10 months of age should be fed intensively for a minimum of 270 d in order to get a large carcass without compromising meat quality.

Keywords: Cattle, beef, days on feed, meat quality, carcass, Eastern Anatolian Red, finishing.

Department of Anatomical Sciences

School of Veterinary Medicine

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Mashhad, 91775-1793, Iran

(Received March 17, 2008; accepted July 10, 2008)

Nabipour, A. and Safaei, H. 2008. Study on the atrioventricular conducting system in the heart of Turkey. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 169-172

The histological structure of different parts of the atrioventricular region of 5 female turkeys was studied. The atrioventricular node was present in the heart of turkeys. The cells of the ventral and anterior parts of the node were darker than the dorsal one. At the point of about middle part and at the apex of the interventricular septum, the atrioventricular bundle ran into the septum. There were atrioventricular ring (purkinje ring), nodus truncobulbaris and fasciculus truncobulbaris in the heart of turkeys.

Key words: Turkey, heart, atrioventricular conducting system, histology, myocardium.

¹Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

²Department of Pathology

³Organ Transplant Research Center

⁴Gastroenterohepatology Research Center

Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Shiraz, Iran

(Received March 29, 2008; accepted September 8, 2008)

Azarpira, M.R., Emami, M.J., Torabinejad, S., Abdinejad, F., Azarpira, N. and Mehrabani, D. 2008. Effect of sodium fluoride on fracture healing in experimental rabbits. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 173-177.

To determine the healing effect of sodium fluoride on experimentally induced transverse midshaft radial fracture, 60 (3 mo) healthy, white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were divided into 6 groups including four-case groups (A, B, C and D) and two-controls (E and F). Sodium fluoride (5 mg/kg/d for groups A and C and 10 mg/kg/d for groups B and D) was administered to the case groups from the first day postoperation. Groups A, B and E were euthanized at the end of the second week and groups C, D and F at the end of the sixth week. There was a significant difference in cortical bone regeneration thickness between B, E and C, F groups. In groups A, B and E there was a significant difference in the thickness of regenerated trabecular bone. The radiological scores showed gradual movement toward union. So, sodium fluoride can stimulate osteogenesis in periosteal and central osteoblasts in fractures.

Keywords: Sodium fluoride, fracture, healing, rabbit.

¹Department of Biology

College of Sciences, Shiraz University

²Department of Physiology

Shiraz Medical Sciences University

Shiraz, Iran

(Received April 25, 2008; Accepted July 19, 2008)

Bahaoddini, A., Mohabatkar, H., Nikfarjam, A. and Keshtgar, S. 2008. Effect of exposure to low frequency electromagnetic field on the plasma glucose, insulin, triglyceride and cholesterol of male rats. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 179-180.

Fortyfive adult male rats (220-250g) were divided into 3 equal groups. Rats of group 1 were exposed to 50Hz, 500μT in solenoid 10 h/day for 2 mo, group 2 were kept in condition similar to the group 1 except in off solenoid and group 3 were kept in normal condition of animal room. Serum glucose of the EMF exposed group was significantly higher and their weight gain, serum insulin and cholesterol were less than those of other groups. These findings demonstrated the potential role of EMF for clinical use.

Keywords: Electromagnetic field (EMF), insulin, triglycerides, glucose, cholesterol.

¹Department of Veterinary Anatomy

²Department of Veterinary Medicine

University of Nigeria

Nsukka, Nigeria

(Received January 28, 2008; accepted August 31, 2008)

Nwaogu, I.C., Ezeibe, M.C.O. and Ifeduba, O.F. 2008. Effects of alcohol consumption on humoral immunity in mice. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 181-183.

Key words: Alcohol, antibody titre, mice, PPR vaccination.

¹Animal Genetics Division

²Livestock Production & Management Section

³Director

Indian Veterinary Research Institute

Izatnagar - 243 122 India

(Received April 22, 2008, accepted October 16, 2008)

Bhushan, B., Singh, S. K., Umang, Agrawal, N., Dutt, T., Kumar, P., Sharma, A. and Ahlawat, S.P.S. 2008. Role of land holding patterns for adoption of dairy husbandry practices in rural areas of Bareilly district in India. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 185-188.

To find out the effect of various land holdings on dairy husbandry practices, door-to-door survey was conducted to collect information on landholdings and dairy husbandry practices in rural areas of Bareilly district. Out of 1932 dairy owners, majority (55.12%) had marginal land holding. Adoption scores of management practices increased from 53.17 to 60.46 and management indexes from 44.19 to 50.38 with increasing land holdings. R2 value was higher when only one practice was taken at a time and 48.6% of the variation in total practices score was explained by health practices score. Prediction equation also showed that with every one unit increase in the score of health practices, there would be an increase of 2.85 scores in total practices score. It can be concluded that the land holding patterns of the farmers influenced the various management practices of cattle and buffaloes under rural areas.

Key words: Dairy husbandry practices, adoption index, dairy owners, land holding patterns.

University of Warmia and Mazury

Chair of Fur-bearing Animal Breeding and Game Management

Oczapowskiego 5, 10-718 Olsztyn, Poland

(Received July 3, 2008; accepted September 16, 2008)

Gugolek, A., Lorek, M.O. and Janiszewski, P. 2008. Effect of application of onion bulbs and birch twigs on production performances of rabbits. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 189-192.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of onions and birch twigs on the welfare of intensively reared New Zealand White rabbits. Control group (C) were fed a complete pelleted diet without additives, while the rabbits in experimental groups received birch twigs (B) or onions (A) every other day. The best reproduction results were reported for females receiving an onion-supplemented diet. These females were characterized by better rearing performance expressed as the number of kittens born alive and weaned. Young rabbits of group A had higher final body weights. Coccidian oocyst counts per 1g of faeces were lower in group A, which was correlated with the lowest mortality rate. The number of rabbits with fur damage was lower in groups A and B. Environmental enrichment devices positively affected the production results of both females and growing rabbits. Whole onion bulbs provided to rabbits can be considered a novel enriching stimulus that exerts a beneficial biological influence on their growth and reproduction.

Key words: Animal welfare, birch twig, environment, onion, rabbit.

Pinar Tatli Seven^a*, ¤smail Seven^b

^aUniversity of Firat

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Diseases

23100 Elazig - Turkey

^bUniversity of Firat

Sivrice Vocational College

Department of Beekeeping

Elazig, Turkey

(Received January 21, 2008; accepted July 1, 2008)

Seven, P.T. and Seven, ¤. 2008. Effect of dietary Turkish propolis as alternative to antibiotic on performance and digestibility in broilers exposed to heat. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 34: 193-196.

To compare the effect of propolis with that of antibiotics on the performance of heat stressed broilers, 240 one day old Ross 308 chicks were divided into 4 groups. Group 1 was reared in a thermo neutral chamber and fed a basal diet. Groups 2-4 were reared in heat stressed chamber and fed a basal diet. Group 2 diet had no supplement, while group 3 diet was supplemented with 50 mg/kg diet flavomycin 40 (including 2 mg/kg diet flavophospholipol) and group IV (propolis) was supplemented with 5 g/kg diet the ethanol extracts of propolis. Heat stress adversely affected body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion and digestibility of CP and EE, which was partially improved by antibiotic and propolis supplements. As a conclusion, propolis supplementation as alternative to antibiotics in broilers in heat stress conditions may be used as redound to performance and digestibility.

Keywords: Antibiotic, propolis, performance, digestibility, heat stres, broiler.