Livestock genomics is aimed at dissecting the genetic control of variation in economically important trait, such as disease resistance and product yield/quality. Unraveling the genetic control of such complex traits remains very challenging but farm animals are now well placed to bridge the gap between human biology and traditional model species. Livestock species share with model species the benefits of controlled breeding, while their biology is often much closer to that of humans. Livestock genetics can exploit the abundant genetic […]

Most livestock are not indigenous to Brazil. Several animal species were considered domesticated in the pre-colonial period, since the indigenous people manage them as would be typical of European livestock production. For over 500 years there have been periodic introductions resulting in the wide range of genetic diversity that for centuries supported domestic animal production in the country. Even though these naturalized breeds have acquired adaptive traits after centuries of natural selection, they have been gradually replaced by exotic breeds, […]

Quantitative genetics can be used to understand how traits will respond to artificial selection regimes, and therefore, it can be an important tool in the development of selective breeding programs for animal improvement. In order to predict the response to selection, the traditional approach in quantitative genetics partitions phenotypic variation into a heritable genetic component that contributes to the response and a non-heritable environmental component that does not. However, there is an increasing recognition that environmental variation contributed by the […]

Small ruminants have been one of the first domesticated species and from their origins have produced multiple benefits to humans. In the last two centuries, world sheep production has become more and more specialised upon geographical areas. But, recent changes in consumer attitudes, together with the increment in artificial fibre industries and human world population, some crisis related with the international wool market and some increments in lamb prices, have provoked that lamb meat has increased its relative importance inside […]

A mechanistic model that predicts nutrient requirements and biological values of feeds for sheep (Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System; CNCPS-S) was expanded to include goats and the name was changed to the Small Ruminant Nutrition System (SRNS). The SRNS uses animal and environmental factors to predict metabolizable energy (ME) and protein, and Ca and P requirements. Requirements for goats in the SRNS are predicted based on the equations developed for CNCPS-S, modified to account for specific requirements of goats, […]

In 1989, the National Research Council (NRC) Subcommittee on Horse Nutrition defined three categories of exercise: light, moderate or intense. In the 6th revised edition of “The Nutrient Requirements of Horses” (NRC, 2007), there are four categories for exercising horses: light exercise, moderate exercise, heavy exercise and very heavy exercise. Light exercise is described as 1 to 3 hours/week of mostly walking and trotting. Many horses kept for recreational riding would be included in the light exercise category. Moderate exercise […]

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different fluorine:phosphorus ratios in the diet on performance of broiler chickens. One thousand broiler chickens with one day old were allotted to a completely randomized experimental design with four treatments with five replications of fifty broilers per experimental unit. The treatments was composed by four phosphorus sources with fluorine: phosphorus ratios of 1:40, 1:60,1:80, 1:100 and fed during three experimental phases: 1-21, 22-42 and 43-49 days. In each phase, feed intake, […]

The broiler industry produces efficiently animal protein, but generates residues with high contents of N, P, K, trace minerals, and high bacterial charge. The rapid microbial decomposition of these residues cause ammonia volatilization, nuisance odor, fine particulate matter, and attract insects and rodents. This presentation will discuss the more effective methods to utilize these resources and minimize potential environmental impact. These procedures include planning, personnel training, zoning of areas used to dispose the final residues in crop lands, farm isolation, […]