Search

Tazegzawth: Characterization of an Algerian Sheep Breed. This paper aims at, firstly, highlighting the morpho-biometric characteristics of the Tazegzawth sheep breed, and, secondly, describing the sheep farmers profile and their farming practices. The study was carried out in Kabylie (Algeria) which is the breed cradle of Tazegzawth sheep. The survey concerned 16 breed farmers located in the Wilayas of Bejaia and Tizi-Ouzou. Each of the 85 sheep (24 rams and 61 ewes) was characterized and profiled. The study indicated that sheep farming is a diversification activity and not a specialized activity. Other breeds and species are kept by the farmers. Due to the sharing of grazing areas between farmers, anarchic matings occurred contributing to the Tazegzawth breed's decline. Farmers involved in this study were male having on average 12.13±3.84 livestock heads per household. All the farmers used local resources as supplement feeding: organic waste, crop leftovers, hay and olive foliage, ash, elm, oak and fig foliage. Average live weight of males (68.48±1.12 kg) were highly significantly higher (p-value

Effects of genetic and non-genetic factors on growth performance in Azawak cattle in Niger. Description of the subject. The effects of both non-genetic factors and of genetic parameters on the growth traits of Azawak cattle in Niger were estimated from performance data collected on animals raised in the Toukounous animal breeding station. Objectives. Following on from the results obtained, a model to predict breeding values of breeding stocks is to be developed. Method. The influence of non-genetic factors and of genetic parameters was estimated using a fixed effects linear model and a multi character animal model (REML), respectively. Results. Sex, season and year of birth, and their interactions had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on weight from birth to 20 months and average daily gains from birth to 12 months (ADG12) and to 18 months (ADG18). Heritability was moderate for birth weight (0.20) and for weight at 12, 14 and 20 months (0.15 to 0.43), whereas it was higher for weight at 13 months (0.61), ADG12 (0.58) and ADG18 (0.44). Genetic correlations between weights and gains were low to high, and they decreased gradually as the interval between weighing increased. All genetic correlations were positive except those between ADG12 and weight at 17 months and between ADG12 and ADG18. Environmental correlations followed the same trends as genetic correlations. Conclusions. Heritability of weight and gains was moderate to high, indicating that an improvement in meat production could be obtained from selection according to growth performance.

Description of the subject. Dietary fiber is largely used in pig production but some contradictions appear in the literature regarding the effects on performance and health. Objectives. This paper aims to contribute to the clarification of the effects of a diet rich in sugar beet pulp on animal behavior, growth performance, carcass quality and gut health of fattening pigs. Method. Two successive batches of 24 fattening pigs were each divided into two groups fed ad libitum either a standard diet based on cereals (STD, 19% NSP [non-starch-polysaccharides]) or a fibrous diet based on 23% sugar beet pulp (HFD, 31% NSP). Results. Pigs activity rate and feeder occupancy duration were increased by 57% and 165% for group fed HFD, respectively (P < 0.05). The fecal bacteria counts showed increases with HFD for Lactobacillus (10.21 vs 9.84 log10 of cfu·g-1 of feces dry matter, P < 0.05) and Bifidobacterium (9.49 vs 8.88, P < 0.01) but decreases for Enterobacteriaceae (4.85 vs 5.97, P < 0.001). Reductions of the average daily gain (788 vs 876 g per day, P < 0.001) and the dressing percentage (75.7 vs 78.9%, P < 0.001) were observed with HFD. Gastric lesion score was decreased with HFD (0.82 vs 1.55, P < 0.05). For pigs fed HFD, the proportion of surface area occupied by goblet cells was increased in the jejunum (10.06 vs 7.99%, P < 0.01) and the number of CD3 lymphocytes was increased in the colon (1.24 vs 0.90·mm-², P < 0.05). Conclusions. HFD contributes to strengthen the gut health of fattening pigs, but it impairs growth performance and carcass traits.