Two maize hybrid cultivars, early (Cisko FAO 300) and late maturing (Arma FAO 700), were sown on three different dates (March, April or May) and harvested at two stages of maturity (kernel milk line (ML) scores of 1/4 < ML < 1/3 or 1/2 < ML < 2/3) in the western Po plain (Italy) in 2008. Yield, chemical composition and in vitro digestibility and fermentation kinetics of pre-ensiled whole-crop maize and of silage were measured. Cultivar and sowing date influenced the dry matter (DM) yield of whole-plant maize, with DM yield being 40% higher in Arma than in Cisko, and DM yield decreasing with later sowing dates. Later maturity increased DM concentration at harvest for both hybrids, due to differences in kernel development. The neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content declined and starch increased as plants matured. Digestibility was estimated in vitro following the Ankom procedure. Rate and extent of ruminal degradation were estimated from gas production (GP) profiles during incubation in diluted rumen fluid. Cultivar, planting date and maturity had no effect on in vitro DM digestibility of pre-ensiled whole-crop maize, but following 240 days of ensiling significant differences between cultivars in digestibility were detected. GP kinetic parameters differed between cultivars for pre-ensiled whole-crop maize, with Cisko having higher asymptotic GP but lower fractional fermentation rates and longer lag times than the Arma hybrid. GP volumes were greater as sowing or harvest dates were delayed. Energy value and milk production were estimated using the Milk2006 Model. With the pre-ensiled whole-crop maize, a 38% greater milk yield/ha was expected with Arma than with Cisko, matching the 40% greater DM yield. The same trend was observed in maize silage, where cultivar and planting date affected milk production/ha, with greater values for Arma than for Cisko and lower values for the latest planting date. Optimal management practices, including decision making on planting and harvest time and hybrid cultivar selection, can influence the yield and nutritive value of maize silage.

The personality of an animal is described by traits that cause consistent actions and reactions to environmental stimuli. An important part of personality is the reaction to unpleasant or uncontrollable situations. Methods described in the literature to measure personality in animals are often based on measuring or rating escape behaviour in these situations. In the methods described, human handlers are frequently part of the experiment or the animals’ personalities are scored by humans. Thus, these methods are at least partly subjective.

In the current study, an appliance to measure objectively the escape behaviour of ungulates and their reluctance during an uncontrollable situation (restraint) with a rather simple and comprehensible methodology is presented using a force transducer with adequate peripheral equipment. While the animals were restrained, a tractive force-time diagram describing escape behaviour was recorded and later analysed with software developed specifically.

To evaluate this newly developed technical method, 24 three-month-old calves were restrained by being tethered for 30 min on a halter that was connected to the force transducer. From the tractive force-time diagram, tractive force, maximal tractive force and the number of pulls that the calves performed during 5-min intervals were calculated. The multivariate results were analysed with a k-means-algorithm (function ‘kcca’) and a hierarchical clustering (function ‘hclust’) included in R version 2.12.1.

Both analyses revealed two clearly separated clusters including the same individuals in each analysis. The animals of cluster 1 showed a continuously higher reaction level than those of cluster 2 with a strong reaction in the beginning, a short decrease before increasing during the middle of the experiment and a final decrease at the end of the test. The animals of cluster 2 had a lower and quite steady reaction level throughout the experiment, although even here a slight increase during the middle of the experiment could be detected before a final decrease towards the end of the test was shown. There was no significant difference in weight between the two clusters.

The results showed that this newly developed method was able to detect differences in the animals’ escape behaviour patterns and reluctance with the measured parameters.

Woodchip pads can be a sustainable alternative to the overwintering of stock on grassland or in conventional housing and can offer benefits in improved animal performance, improved health and environmentally sustainable options for the management of the effluent resulting from the animal excreta (dung, urine and rainfall over the pad). Detailed observations were made on effluent flow and quality from woodchip pads on two commercial farms in the UK, one in Powys (Wales) and the other in Leicestershire (England), over a period of 8 months in 2009/10. Flow data and hydrological characteristics, reported in the companion to the current paper (Jackson & Smith 2012), were combined with the results of effluent sample and soiled woodchip analyses, together with records of animal numbers and activity on the pads, to calculate nutrient fluxes and nutrient balances across the pad for defined periods. Nutrient balances showed that, of the estimated nutrient inputs in animal excreta deposited on the pad, only 0·05–0·10 of the N and P were contained in the effluent draining from the pad, with the rest (>0·90 of N and P inputs) retained in the solids accumulating in the surface layers of soiled woodchip, ‘spent timber residues’ (STR). The STR was similar in analysis to straw-based farmyard manure (FYM), high in organic N, and land spreading of this material should be managed in a similar way to FYM. It also appears suitable for application to grassland, except when based on coarse woodchips. These results confirm the hypothesis that the effluent draining from the pads should be considered as consistently similar to dirty water rather than slurry, as in the current rules associated with Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in England and Wales.

The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of bacteriocin of Ruminococcus albus 7 that is expressed by yeast on growth performance, caecal flora, caecal fermentation and immunity function of broilers. A total of 180, one-day-old healthy broiler chicks were randomly divided into three groups: control, bacteriocin (2·5 g/kg feed) and nosiheptide (NHT) (2·5 mg/kg, as antibiotic control). Growth performance, caecal flora, caecal fermentation products and immunoglobulin (Ig) concentration were determined when chicks were 21 and 35 days old. The gene expression of avian β-defensin (AvBD) and mucin (MUC2) were measured at 35 days old. The supplementation of bacteriocin and NHT had no significant effect on body weight gain (BWG) during the experimental period. Bacteriocin supplementation significantly enhanced the growth of Lactobacillus (P<0·05) and resulted in higher lactate concentration (P<0·01) in broiler caeca at 21 days old. Both bacteriocin and NHT supplementation resulted in lower Escherichia coil (P=0·072) and Enterococcus (P=0·038) counts than in the control group at 35 days old. The bacteriocin treatment group tended to increase bile IgA and showed higher bile IgA than the NHT treatment group (P=0·059) at 35 days old. Higher levels of AvBD1, AvBD4 and MUC2 gene expression were observed in the NHT treatment group (P<0·05), but expression of AvBD9 was significantly decreased in both bacteriocin and NHT treatment groups (P<0·05). In conclusion, bacteriocin supplementation elevated the caecal Lactobacillus counts and affected the immunity function. These benefits suggested that bacteriocin supplementation could be a potential alternative to antibiotics in broiler feed.

Parametric approaches have been used widely to model animal growth and study the impact of growth profile on performance. Individual variation is often not considered in such approaches. However, non-parametric modelling allows this. Such an approach, based on spline functions, was used to study the importance of growth profiles from age 0 to 15 months (i.e. insemination) on milk yield and composition in primiparous cows. A dataset of 447 heifers was used for analysis of growth performance; 296 of them were also used to study impact on lactation. All of them originated from a French experimental herd and were born between 1986 and 2006. Clustering methods were also tested. Comparison of spline methods showed that a cubic spline interpolation method, with no smoothing parameter, was best suited to studying heifer growth. Similarly, partitioning around medoids proved the most accurate clustering method for classifying heifer growth into groups. The results of these analyses agreed with those previously published, supporting the utility of these methods. A final study on the impact of breakdowns in the growth curves was performed. A breakdown was considered only when the derivative of the interpolation function was negative or zero. Of the 447 heifers initially used, 125 (Gr0), 175 (Gr1) and 147 (Gr2) had no, one, or two or more breakpoints during the 0–15 months of age period. Milk yield on a 305 d basis was significantly reduced with an increased number of breakpoints (6548 v. 6828 and 6905 kg for Gr2, Gr1 and Gr0 animals, respectively). Fat content was also higher in Gr2 than in Gr0 groups, but overall, no difference in total fat or protein-corrected milk production was noted. The intersection between groups for growth and groups for breakdowns confirmed that animals with two or more breakdowns belonged more frequently to the group with the lowest growth performance. These results offer the possibility of analysing large databases, originating from an automatic collecting system (e.g. milking robots) or from different herds, breeds, genetics, etc. These approaches could also be used for studies on body score index, girth development, lactation profiles, etc. and in other species, such as dairy goats or beef cattle. They could find use in the development of new models of prediction, e.g. the probability of heat appearance on an animal basis, which could be included among useful management tools.

The aim of the current work was to investigate the possibility of modifying the existing mean stage by weight (MSW) system for evaluating the average development stage in alfalfa. The modification was performed with the aim of providing a simplified system that may be used to evaluate the alfalfa development stage and to predict its nutritive value for ruminants. The suggested modification consists of designating an MSW value on the basis of the fresh weight of all morphological stages in a fresh green plant, as opposed to the original method which is based on weighing all morphological stages dried at 65 °C. The investigation was done on 141 samples of one alfalfa cultivar, collected from the same location during the first three growth cycles: spring growth, the first and the second regrowth. On all collected samples the following characteristics were determined: MSW, modified MSW (mean stage by fresh weight (MSFW)), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), crude ash (CA) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD). For these characteristics of chemical composition (apart from CA) and nutritive value the regressions were calculated for their prediction based on MSW and MSFW. The regressions were derived for individual growth cycles and all cycles combined. A trend for an increase in the coefficient of determination (R2) was identified as well as a decrease in root-mean-square error (RMSE) for all equations derived for all investigated characteristics from the spring growth to the second regrowth. A deviation from this trend was observed only in equations derived for IVOMD. A very high correlation was observed between MSW and MSFW (r=0·999). The determined R2 and RMSE were very similar within the same growth cycle in all regressions for prediction of chemical composition and nutritive value derived for MSW and MSFW. Based on the results of this investigation the MSFW appears to be a quick and accurate method for determining the average development stage in alfalfa which can therefore be recommended for both scientific research and practical field use, as well as for prediction of its chemical composition and nutritive value.