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Simões J, Abecia JA, Cannas A, Delgadillo JA, Lacasta D, Voigt K, Chemineau P. Review: Managing sheep and goats for sustainable high yield production. Animal 2021; 15 Suppl 1:100293. [PMID: 34294548 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This review discusses the most relevant aspects of nutritional, reproductive and health management, the three pillars of flock efficiency, production and sustainability regarding the intensification of production in sheep and goats. In small ruminants, reproductive management is dependent on seasonality, which in turn depends on breed and latitude. Nutrition represents the major cost for flocks and greatly affects their health, the quality of their products and their environmental impact. High-yielding sheep and goats have very high requirements and dietary intake, requiring nutrient-dense diets and sophisticated nutritional management that should always consider the strong interrelationships among nutrition, immunity, health, reproduction, housing and farm management. The reproductive pattern is to a great extent assisted by out-of-season breeding, facilitating genetic improvement schemes, and more recently by advanced reproductive technologies. Heath management aims to control or eradicate economic and zoonotic diseases, ensuring animal health and welfare, food safety and low ecosystem and environmental impacts in relation to chemical residues and pathogen circulation. In highly producing systems, nutrition, genetic and hazard factors assume a complex interrelationship. Genomic and management improvement research and technological innovation are the keys to sustain sheep and goat production in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Simões
- Departamento de Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
| | - J A Abecia
- Departamento de Producción Animal, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragon (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Miguel Servet, 177, Zaragoza 50013, Spain
| | - A Cannas
- Dipartimento di Agraria, sezione di Scienze zootecniche, Università di Sassari, viale Italia 39, Sassari 07100, Italy
| | - J A Delgadillo
- Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Caprina (CIRCA), Programa de Posgrado en Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Periférico Raúl López Sánchez y Carretera a Santa Fe, 27054 Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
| | - D Lacasta
- Departamento de Patología Animal, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2, Universidad de Zaragoza - Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), C/Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - K Voigt
- Clinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services, LMU Munich, Sonnenstr. 16, 85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany
| | - P Chemineau
- UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (INRAE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (IFCE), Université de Tours, 37380 Nouzilly, France
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Becker VAE, Stamer E, Thaller G. Liability to diseases and their relation to dry matter intake and energy balance in German Holstein and Fleckvieh dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 2020; 104:628-643. [PMID: 33162077 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-18579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Dairy cow efficiency is increasingly important for future breeding decisions. The efficiency is determined mostly by dry matter intake (DMI). Reducing DMI seems to increase efficiency if milk yield remains the same, but resulting negative energy balance (EB) may cause health problems, especially in early lactation. Objectives of this study were to examine relationships between DMI and liability to diseases. Therefore, cow effects for DMI and EB were correlated with cow effects for 4 disease categories throughout lactation. Disease categories were mastitis, claw and leg diseases, metabolic diseases, and all diseases. In addition, this study presents relative percentages of diseased cows per days in milk (DIM), repeatability, and cow effect correlations for disease categories across DIM. A total of 1,370 German Holstein (GH) and 287 Fleckvieh (FV) primiparous and multiparous dairy cows from 12 dairy research farms in Germany were observed over a period of 2 yr. Farm staff and veterinarians recorded health data. We modeled health and production data with threshold random regression models and linear random regression models. From DIM 2 to 305 average daily DMI was 22.1 kg/d in GH and 20.2 kg/d in FV. Average weekly EB was 2.8 MJ of NEL/d in GH and 0.6 MJ of NEL/d in FV. Most diseases occurred in the first 20 DIM. Multiparous cows were more susceptible to diseases than primiparous cows. Relative percentages of diseased cows were highest for claw and leg diseases, followed by metabolic diseases and mastitis. Repeatability of disease categories and production traits was moderate to high. Cow effect correlations for disease categories were higher for adjacent lactation stages than for more distant lactation stages. Pearson correlation coefficients between cow effects for DMI, as well as EB, and disease categories were estimated from DIM 2 to 305. Almost all correlations were negative in GH, especially in early lactation. In FV, the course of correlations was similar to GH, but correlations were mostly more negative in early lactation. For the first 20 DIM, correlations ranged from -0.31 to 0.00 in GH and from -0.42 to -0.01 in FV. The results illustrate that future breeding for dairy cow efficiency should focus on DMI and EB in early lactation to avoid health problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- V A E Becker
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
| | - E Stamer
- TiDa Tier und Daten GmbH, 24259 Westensee/Brux, Germany
| | - G Thaller
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24098 Kiel, Germany
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McKnight L, Ibeagha-Awemu E. Modeling of livestock systems to enhance efficiency. Anim Front 2019; 9:3-5. [PMID: 32002245 PMCID: PMC6951937 DOI: 10.1093/af/vfz011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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