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Adaptation of Nigerian indigenous chickens (NIC), FUNAAB-α (F-α) and Transylvanian naked neck chickens (TNN) raised during hot-dry season under humid tropical environment was compared during a 4-week period. A well-adapted NIC (n = 12; 6 males and 6 females), a newly developed F-α (n = 12; 6 male and 6 females) and a newly introduced TNN (n = 12; 6 male and 6 females) chickens aged 36 weeks were used for this experiment. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT) and skin temperature on comb (COM), wattle (WAT), breast (BRE) and under wings (WIN) were monitored between 13.00 and 14.00h twice a week for four weeks. Wattle temperature (p = .017) and BRE (p = .000) differ significantly among the genotypes. Transylvanian naked neck chickens recorded higher WAT than NIC, though not different from F-α. Nigerian indigenous chickens had lower BRE temperature than other two genotypes. Significantly higher WAT (p < .001) and WIN (p < .05) were recorded in cocks than in laying hens. In contrast, laying hens had significantly (p < .001) higher RR and HSI than cocks. There was interactive (p < .05) effect of sex and genotype on BRE. Nigerian indigenous cocks and hens exhibited lower BRE than others, except F-α cock. There were positive significant correlations between WIN and WAT in the three genotypes. In NIC, COM had positive correlation with WAT (r = .532) and WIN (r = .696). Heart rate was positively correlated with WAT (r = .608) and WIN (r = .697) in F-α, and WIN (r = .512) in TNN chickens. In conclusion, the three genotypes can adequately adapt to the prevailing conditions of humid tropics. Reduction of feather on the neck and breast and higher heat loss capacity in TNN chickens could help the birds adapt to hot-humid environment. The two sexes could adapt to the tropical region. Cocks lose body heat predominantly via non-evaporative means while hens employ evaporative heat loss mechanism.

Stress is a state of disturbed homeostasis evoking a multiplicity of somatic and mental adaptive reactions resulting from any of the 5 freedoms of animals being violated. Many environmental forces disrupt homeostasis in farm animals, such as extreme temperatures, poor nutrition, noise, hunger, and thirst. During stressful situations, neuronal circuits in the limbic system and prefrontal cortex are activated, which lead to the release of adrenalin and noradrenalin. The hormones released during stress are needed for adaptation to acute stress and are regulated by many genes. This review examined molecular regulation, breed differences, and genes involved in stress control in farm animals. Major molecular regulation of stress, such as oxidative, cytosolic heat shock, unfolded protein, and hypoxic responses, were discussed. The responses of various poultry, ruminant, and pig breeds to different stress types were also discussed. Gene expressions and polymorphisms in the neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter pathways were also elucidated. The information obtained from this review will help farmers mitigate stress in farm animals through appropriate breed and gene-assisted selection. Also, information obtained from this review will add to the field of stress genetics since stress is a serious welfare issue in farm animals.

Newcastle disease and heat stress reduce the productivity of local chickens of Nigeria (LCN). This study compared the antibody response to Newcastle disease and heat tolerance among different LCN genotypes in hot humid tropics using multivariate discriminant analysis. A total of 299 birds were used for the study. Geometric mean titre against Newcastle disease before vaccination (GMTB), geometric mean titre against Newcastle disease after vaccination (GMTA), rectal temperature at week 4 (RT4), pulse rate at week 4 (PR4), respiratory rate at week 4 (RR4), heat stress index at week 4 (H4), rectal temperature at week 13 (RT13), pulse rate at week 13 (PR13), respiratory rate at week 13 (RR13) and heat stress index at week 13 (H13) were measured. All the traits were significantly (p

Goat plays a vital role in the rural village economy and are critical for food security and livelihood. The contributions of goats to the economy of millions of rural people notwithstanding are hindered by severe heat stress due to the global climate change. Prediction of climate change impact indicate that heat stress is the overriding factor influencing native habitats of different species of domestic animals and is an important determinant for either survival of each species in its current state with consequent decline in performance or in more severe conditions, species extinction. However, West African Dwarf (WAD) goats surpass other ruminants and have optimally adapted to harsh environmental conditions because of their unique adaptive traits. The goats can adapt to heat stress through a combination of morphological, behavioral, physiological and genetic traits. This review paper therefore, provides an update of integrative facts of potential impact of global climate change, and unique adaptive traits of WAD goats responsible for their resilience to environmental stress. The elucidation of the mechanisms involve in WAD goats’ adaptation may facilitate adoption of comprehensive control measures to ameliorate the impact of environmental stress in domestic animals.

The effects of plumage colour on different behaviours have been reported in several avian species, but there are only few studies for Nigerian indigenous turkeys (NIT). Fear is a negative affective state that is indicative of suffering and associated with adverse effects on welfare and productivity of livestock species. This study compared fear behaviours in NIT with different plumage colours during early life (first 16 days of life). Seventy-five birds (25 each of white, black and lavender) were used in this study. The three colour phenotypes were derived from the same genetic line. Tonic immobility, emergence, open field, inversion and attention bias tests were done at 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16 days old, respectively. Data were analysed with Kruskal-Wallis tests. The durations of tonic immobility and freezing during the attention bias test were not significantly associated with plumage colour (χ2 =1.7592, df=2, p = 0.42 and χ2 =3.9421, df=2, p = 0.14, respectively). The latency to emerge from a dark box was significantly related to plumage colour (χ2 =8.9229, df=2, p = 0.01), with the shortest emergence latency observed in black NIT. There was a significant plumage colour effect on the duration of ambulation (χ2 =9.6013, df=2, p = 0.01) and a significant effect on the percentage of floor squares explored by the birds in the open field test (χ2 =6.1191, df=2, p = 0.05). The least ambulation time was observed in black NIT (p = 0.02). Lavender turkeys explored fewer floor squares compared to black and white NIT (p = 0.04). The frequency of escape attempts was significantly associated with the plumage colour of the birds (χ2 =11.6810, df=2, p = 0.00). The highest frequency of escape attempts during the open field test was observed in black birds, while there was no significant difference in the frequency of escape attempts of white and lavender birds. There were no plumage colour effects on the duration of preening (χ2 =1.5896, df=2, p = 0.45), wall pecking (χ2 =3.3346, df=2, p = 0.19) and floor pecking (χ2 =1.7483, df=2, p = 0.42) of NIT in the open field test. The results from this study applied to the early life stage. It can be concluded that plumage colour influenced the level of fear in young NIT, with lavender turkeys being the most fearful in three out of the four statistically significant fear indicators (longer emergence duration, lower number of escape attempts and lower percentage of floor squares explored in an open field test), followed by white, whereas black turkeys were least fearful.

Feed and alarm calls induce arousal in chicks, the former for feeding and the latter for danger. However, the response of birds genetically selected for meat or egg production to these calls have not been investigated. Thirty-six chicks each of the ISA Brown pullet and FUNAAB Alpha broiler (2 weeks old) were randomly allocated into three groups per strain and subjected to three playbacks: no call (NCP), feed call (FCP) and alarm call (ACP) continuously for 1 h. The test was carried out for 3 days/week for two weeks. The behaviours monitored were foraging, feeding, pecking (grouped as oral-related behaviour, ORB), freezing and clustering (grouped as fear-related behaviour, FRB). The eye (ET) and under wing (WT) temperatures were measured before and after each call and the change (ΔET and ΔWT) calculated. Tonic immobility (TI) test was performed after each call and the number of attempts to induce TI (NOATI) and the duration of TI (DTI) was recorded. Data on these two behavioural categories were subjected to General Linear Model analyses separately for each call having strain and day as fixed factors. The ΔET, ΔWT, NOATI and DTI were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test. On both days, ΔET and ΔWT was similar after exposure to 1 h of FCP, ACP and NCP. FCP caused more (P 0.05) by day and strain. Strain × day interaction influenced (P 0.05) strain × day or strain effects on ORB and FRB, with ORB greater (P

The aim of this study was to determine breed differences in the behavioural responses of two domestic chicks to feed and alarm playback calls. Thirty two (32) each of Nigerian indigenous chicks (NIC) and commercial broiler chicks (CBC) of the same age group (a day old) were divided into four replicates with eight chicks per replicate. On day 1, chicks were acclimatized to the test arena for 30 min. On days 2 and 4, the feed call playback was played for one minute and was repeated every 10 min in a 50 min test period (playback repeated four times). On days 3 and 5, the alarm call playback was played for one minute and was repeated every 10 min in a 50 min test period. The behaviour of the chicks was recorded continuously for 50 min using digital cameras. The feed call behavioural responses monitored included the percentage of birds feeding, pecking and foraging while the alarm call behavioural responses recorded were the percentage of birds running, freezing, clustering and crouching. In addition, the duration was recorded for clustering and crouching behaviours. Data on the behaviour of the chicks prior to the playback, during the 1 min playback (immediate response) and after the playback (recovery period) was analysed using both the independent T and Mann-Whitney U tests. Prior to the playback, there was no breed difference on feeding and pecking but a higher percentage of NIC were foraging than the CBC. There was no significant (P > 0.05) effect of breed on the immediate response of the chicks to the feed call in terms of the percentage of chicks feeding, pecking and foraging. The immediate response to the alarm call playback showed that the percentage of CBC and NIC that ran, froze and clustered were similar (P > 0.05). However, the percentage of CBC that crouched was greater (P

The effects of coconut milk alone or supplementation with pyridoxine in tris-extenders on viability of spermatozoa obtained from West African Dwarf (WAD) goat bucks during vitrification were evaluated in two studies. In study I, semen samples were diluted with different levels of coconut milk (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mL/100 mL of diluent) in tris-extenders, while in study II, semen samples were diluted with tris-coconut milk extenders and supplemented with different levels (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 mM) of pyridoxine. Sperm were vitrified and stored for 30 days and thereafter evaluated for sperm quality characteristics. Following vitrification, acrosome reaction and capacitation of spermatozoa were induced in vitro. The results showed higher (P

Effects of semen extenders supplemented with pyridoxine or in combination with other antioxidants on motility, in vitro capacitation and acrosome reaction of spermatozoa obtained from West African Dwarf (WAD) goat bucks during cryopreservation were studied. Tris-based extenders supplemented with 2, 4, 6 and 8 mM of pyridoxine in study I, and 2 mM of pyridoxine (P) supplementation combined with 2 mM of vitamin E, vitamin C and melatonin (PE, PC, PM and PCEM) each in study II, were diluted with pooled semen samples. Sperm motility, capacitation and acrosome reaction were assessed following cryopreservation. The results showed higher ( P P

The relationships between live weight and eight body measurements of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats were studied using 211 animals under farm condition. The animals were categorized based on age and sex. Data obtained on height at withers (HW), heart girth (HG), body length (BL), head length (HL), and length of hindquarter (LHQ) were fitted into simple linear, allometric, and multiple-regression models to predict live weight from the body measurements according to age group and sex. Results showed that live weight, HG, BL, LHQ, HL, and HW increased with the age of the animals. In multiple-regression model, HG and HL best fit the model for goat kids; HG, HW, and HL for goat aged 13-24 months; while HG, LHQ, HW, and HL best fit the model for goats aged 25-36 months. Coefficients of determination (R(2)) values for linear and allometric models for predicting the live weight of WAD goat increased with age in all the body measurements, with HG being the most satisfactory single measurement in predicting the live weight of WAD goat. Sex had significant influence on the model with R(2) values consistently higher in females except the models for LHQ and HW.