261 HIGH NUTRITION DURING EARLY LIFE IMPROVES REPRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF HOLSTEIN BULLS

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
A. Dance ◽  
J. Thundathil ◽  
R. Wilde ◽  
P. Blondin ◽  
J. Kastelic
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Bull Calves ◽  
Fertilizing Ability ◽  
Holstein Bulls ◽  
Dairy Bull

The objective was to determine effects of early-life nutrition on reproductive potential of Holstein bulls. Twenty-six bull calves were randomly allotted to 3 groups and fed ~70, 100, or 130% of National Research Council recommendations for both energy and protein from 2 to 31 wk; thereafter, all were fed a 100% diet (adequate vitamins and minerals were constantly available) until slaughter (72 wk). Growth rate, scrotal circumference, and paired testis volume were determined every 4 wk during the differential feeding period. Once scrotal circumference reached 26 cm, semen collection was attempted (to confirm puberty). Post-pubertal semen quality was monitored; once bulls were producing 70% morphologically normal sperm, semen was cryopreserved (programmable freezer). These semen samples (3 bulls per group and 3 ejaculates per bull) were used in an IVF system to determine the fertilizing ability of sperm and developmental competence of resulting embryos. In the low-, medium-, and high-nutrition groups, respectively, bulls were 369.3 ± 14.1, 327.4 ± 9.5, and 324.3 ± 11.7 days at puberty; their paired testes weights were 561.6 ± 23.1, 611.1 ± 59.1, and 727 ± 33.0 g; cleavage rates were 68.0 ± 8.7, 77.1 ± 3.5, and 68.7 ± 4.5%; and blastocyst rates were 31.5 ± 5.6, 41.4 ± 4.9, and 33.7 ± 4.6% (no significant differences among the 3 nutrition groups for rates of cleavage or blastocyst formation). We concluded that early-life supplementation of energy and protein hastened puberty (P < 0.05) and increased testicular size (P < 0.05), without compromising sperm fertilizing ability. Therefore, feeding dairy bull calves a high plane of nutrition early in life is recommended as a management strategy to improve their reproductive potential.

scholarly journals Relationships Among Age, Body Weight, Scrotal Circumference, Semen Quality and Peripheral Testosterone and Estradiol Concentrations in Pubertal and Postpubertal Holstein Bulls

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhuminand DEVKOTA ◽  
Tsugio KOSEKI ◽  
Motozumi MATSUI ◽  
Motoki SASAKI ◽  
Etsushi KANEKO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Holstein Bulls

Fertility aspects in yearling beef bulls grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue pastures

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 479 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Schuenemann ◽  
J. L. Edwards ◽  
F. M. Hopkins ◽  
N. R. Rohrbach ◽  
H. S. Adair ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Sperm Morphology ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Normal Sperm ◽  
Endocrine Profiles ◽  
Beef Bulls

During a 2-year study, yearling beef bulls were used to determine the effects of grazing on endophyte-infected tall fescue on endocrine profiles, semen quality and fertilisation potential. Bulls were allotted to graze tall fescue pastures infected with Neotyphodium coenophialum (E+; n = 20 per year) or Jesup/MaxQTM (Pennington Seed, Atlanta, GA, USA; NTE; n = 10 per year). Bulls were grouped by scrotal circumference (SC), bodyweight (BW), breed composites and age to graze tall fescue pastures from mid-November until the end of June (within each year). Blood samples, BW, SC and rectal temperatures (RT) were collected every 14 days. Semen was collected from bulls every 60 days by electroejaculation and evaluated for motility and morphology. The developmental competence of oocytes fertilised in vitro with semen from respective treatments was determined. Bulls grazing E+ pastures had decreased BW gain (P < 0.01), increased overall RT (P < 0.01) and decreased prolactin (P < 0.01) compared with animals grazing NTE pastures. Neither percentage of normal sperm morphology nor motility differed between bulls grazed on the two pasture types. Semen from E+ bulls demonstrated decreased cleavage rates (P = 0.02) compared with semen from NTE bulls. However, development of cleaved embryos to the eight-cell and blastocyst stages did not differ between the two groups. In conclusion, semen from bulls grazing E+ tall fescue resulted in decreased cleavage rates in vitro, which may lower reproductive performance owing to reduced fertilisation ability.

Impacts of residual feed intake and pre-natal diet on reproductive potential of bulls

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 1827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinju Johnson ◽  
Carolyn Fitzsimmons ◽  
Marcos Colazo ◽  
Changxi Li ◽  
John Kastelic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feed Intake ◽  
Maternal Diet ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Residual Feed Intake ◽  
Reproductive Development ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Time Interaction ◽  
Bull Calves

Our objective was to determine effects of genetic potential for residual feed intake (RFI) and pre-natal diet on post-natal growth and reproductive development of bulls. Twenty-five bull calves with a divergent potential for RFI were produced by mating purebred Angus heifers (60) categorised as high or low RFI and inseminated with semen from high or low RFI bulls. From 30 to 150 days of gestation, half the heifers (balanced for RFI across treatments) in each RFI category were fed to gain 0.7 or 0.5 kg/day (~100% and 75% of recommended feed intake; designated normal- and low-diet, respectively). Birthweights of bull calves (n = 25) did not differ significantly among treatment groups (P ≥ 0.1). However, there was a tendency (P &lt; 0.1) for a maternal diet*time interaction for bull weights, with bulls from low pre-natal diet fed heifers growing faster between 10 and 16 months of age than bulls from normal pre-natal diet fed heifers. Furthermore, high-RFI bulls had a larger scrotal circumference (P &lt; 0.01) and attained puberty (P &lt; 0.05) earlier than low-RFI bulls. Other testes measures, including paired testes volume, epididymal sperm reserves, daily sperm production and total sperm production, were not significantly different among treatment groups (P ≥ 0.1). High RFI bulls tended (P &lt; 0.1) to have better average sperm motility than low RFI bulls. However, sperm morphology, viability and chromatin damage were not different (P ≥ 0.1). In summary, young beef bulls with low RFI had smaller testis, delayed onset of puberty (~1.7 months) and tended to exhibit lower progressive motility compared with high RFI bulls. Pre-natal diet had no direct influence on male reproductive development, nor did it interact with RFI of bulls.

Treatment with Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone increases male-male mounting behaviour in 8-week-old beef bull calves

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 ◽  
pp. PC10-PC10
Author(s):  
S. Madgwick ◽  
A. P. Beard ◽  
P.M. Bartlewski ◽  
D. Barrett ◽  
S. Huchkowsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Semen Quality ◽  
Hormone Secretion ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Pulse Frequency ◽  
Releasing Hormone ◽  
Bull Calves ◽  
Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone ◽  
Beef Bull ◽  
Circulating Levels

Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) is secreted in a pulsatile manner by the hypothalamus. GnRH is the major hormone controlling the pituitary-testicular axis and therefore influences aggressive and sexual behaviour in bulls. In 6 to 10 week old bull calves an increase in GnRH pulse frequency is responsible for a short-lived rise in circulating levels of LH. It has been shown that bulls with a higher rise in LH attain puberty at younger ages and have comparatively enhanced semen quality once they mature (Evans et al., 1995). Furthermore testicular growth has been enhanced in calves with a premature increase in LH brought about by GnRH treatment (Chandolia et al., 1997). This experiment tests the hypothesis that bull calves with increased GnRH pulsatility engage in more male-male mounting behaviour during this early period while the pattern of hormone secretion is becoming established. Studying this behaviour may give an indication of reproductive potential from as early as 8 weeks of age.

Splicing-related single nucleotide polymorphism of RAB, member of RAS oncogene family like 2B (RABL2B) jeopardises semen quality in Chinese Holstein bulls

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 2411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuge Wang ◽  
Xiaohui Cui ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Haisheng Hao ◽  
Zhihua Ju ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism ◽  
Splice Variant ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Intraflagellar Transport ◽  
Ras Oncogene ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphism ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Exon 2 ◽  
Chinese Holstein ◽  
Holstein Bulls

RAB, member of RAS oncogene family like 2B (RABL2B) is a member of a poorly characterised clade of the RAS GTPase superfamily, which plays an essential role in male fertility, sperm intraflagellar transport and tail assembly. In the present study, we identified a novel RABL2B splice variant in bovine testis and spermatozoa. This splice variant, designated RABL2B-TV, is characterised by exon 2 skipping. Moreover, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), namely c.125G>A, was found within the exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) motif, indicating that the SNP caused the production of the RABL2B-TV aberrant splice variant. This was demonstrated by constructing a pSPL3 exon capturing vector with different genotypes and transfecting these vectors into murine Leydig tumour cell line (MLTC-1) cells. Expression of the RABL2B-TV transcript was lower in semen from high- versus low-performance bulls. Association analysis showed that sperm deformity rate was significantly lower in Chinese Holstein bulls with the GG or GA genotype than in bulls with the AA genotype (P < 0.05). In addition, initial sperm motility was significantly higher in individuals with the GG or GA genotype than in individuals with the AA genotype (P < 0.05). The findings of the present study suggest that the difference in semen quality in bulls with different RABL2B genotypes is generated via an alternative splicing mechanism caused by a functional SNP within the ESE motif.

Youngstock health: Effective disease prevention today ensuring tomorrow's profitable herd

Livestock ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (Sup2) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
David Barrett ◽  
Oliver Tilling ◽  
Ellie Button ◽  
Kat Hart ◽  
Fiona MacGillivray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Lung Damage ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
Dairy Heifers ◽  
New Science ◽  
Bull Calves ◽  
Dairy Bull

Foreword Proactive youngstock health management is critical not only to optimise animal welfare and production efficiency and profitability, but also to minimising the environmental impact of livestock production. The morbidity and mortality rates tolerated by some producers, and at times even accepted by their vets, are often far too high. Whether it is the loss of dairy bull calves, who may have little monetary value but nevertheless contribute to both the carbon footprint and other environmental impacts of a dairy if not utilised for food production, dairy heifers with the additional loss of the best genetics in the herd or a beef suckler calf representing the only product of the cow that year, we need to do all we can to prevent death and disease. Even where calves do not die, managing sick animals is costly in treatment and labour and antibiotic use in these animals to treat, and on some farms still to prevent disease, is very likely to contribute to antimicrobial resistance. The only logical conclusion that one can come to is that if cattle units are to remain viable and produce sustainable milk and meat, we need to redouble efforts to prevent disease. Sometimes we talk of new science, while at other times we find ourselves repeating ‘the same old message’. The need for adequate colostrum management is one such case, the messages may not be new but far too many calves still fail to receive enough maternally derived antibody, making the article in this supplement on colostrum vital reading. Don't assume you, or more importantly your clients, know everything there is to know about colostrum. After ensuring calves have received initial protection via maternal derived antibody from colostrum then we need to ensure they are protected from infections as they grow, particularly respiratory diseases. Despite having had good vaccines for over 20 years, their uptake in the national herd I believe is still suboptimal, far too many calves still receive antimicrobials, and poor growth rates are common due to chronic lung damage. Ellie Button explains well in her article ‘Calf disease: an immunological perspective’ the calf's innate and acquired immunity and describes how an understanding of the calf's developing immunity can be used to enhance disease prevention. Finally, Kat Hart and colleagues discuss communication and promoting behaviour change in ‘How to engage farmers in youngstock care: a clinical forum’, something that in the past we have often forgotten. It's not good enough for vets to understand the science and turn a blind eye to poor on farm practices, or to simply tell clients what to do and walk away expecting them to do as they have been told! We often need to motivate clients towards real lasting change, and to do that we all need to communicate better. Together the three articles in this supplement are a powerful combination, the challenge is to read them and then effect valuable changes on your clients’ farms.

scholarly journals Training dairy bull calves to stay within light-built electric fences (Research Note)

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. MARTISKAINEN ◽  
L. TUOMISTO ◽  
A. HUUSKONEN
Keyword(s):  
Research Note ◽  
Training Period ◽  
Training Procedure ◽  
Bull Calves ◽  
Electric Fence ◽  
Electric Shocks ◽  
Electric Fencing ◽  
Dairy Bull

Training cattle to avoid electric fences before turnout to grazing reduces the risk of the animals breaking out from their paddock. We investigated the time needed for dairy bull calves to learn to avoid a light-built electric fence. Nineteen dairy bull calves were trained to an electric fence in a training yard during seven days. The number of electric shocks the animals received from the training fence was recorded continuously. After the training period, the calves were turned to pasture. Nine of the animals were also grazed the following summer as yearlings, and observed before turnout in a smaller enclosure. The calves got more shocks from the fence during training hour 1 than during any of the following seven hours. The number of shocks the calves received from the fence also declined from training day 1 to 2 and from training day 3 to 4. The results indicate that the dairy bull calves learned to avoid an electric fence quickly, even within an hour from release into the training yard. A simple training procedure was sufficient to ensure that the animals could be grazed in and would avoid a light-built electric fencing system as calves and, even after a winter-housing period, as bulls.;

scholarly journals Repeatability and Phenotypic Correlation Among Semen Quality Traits in Holstein Bulls

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Argi Argiris ◽  
Siswanto Imam Santoso ◽  
Yon Supri Ondho ◽  
Edy Kurnianto
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Insemination ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Correlation Method ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Quality Traits ◽  
Frozen Semen ◽  
Holstein Bulls ◽  
Fresh Semen ◽  
Selection Of

The purpose of this research was to analysis the value of repeatability and correlation among the traits affecting the production of frozen semen from Holstein’s bull in Indonesia. Repeatability and correlation were calculated based on the data of frozen semen production of 15.699 records from 44 Holstein bulls at Singosari Artificial Insemination Center (SAIC) and 8.935 records from 39 Holstein bulls at Lembang Artificial Insemination Center (LAIC). Repeatability for volume, motility, fresh semen concentration and frozen semen production was evaluated by intraclass correlation method. The repeatability values of LAIC for volume, motility, fresh semen concentration and frozen semen production were 0.60; 0.54; 0.37 and 0.47. The repeatability values of SAIC for volume, motility, fresh semen concentration and frozen semen production were 0.54; 0.30; 0.43 and 0.29. The linear correlation value between volume, motility and fresh semen concentration with the amount of semen produced per collections were 0.41, 0.36, and 0.58. Concentration was the most factors influencing the number of frozen semen produced. The effectiveness of the selection of Holstein's frozen semen producing could be determined by the value of repeatability and the phenotypic correlation among semen quality traits such as volume, motility, concentration and frozen semen production.

Male traits and herd reproductive capability in tropical beef cattle. 2. Genetic parameters of bull traits

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Corbet ◽  
B. M. Burns ◽  
D. J. Johnston ◽  
M. L. Wolcott ◽  
D. H. Corbet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Progressive Motility ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Normal Sperm ◽  
Igf I ◽  
Condition Score ◽  
Mass Activity ◽  
Percent Normal

A total of 4063 young bulls of two tropical genotypes (1639 Brahman and 2424 Tropical Composite) raised in northern Australia were evaluated for a comprehensive range of production and reproduction traits up to 24 months of age. Prior to weaning, peripheral blood concentrations of luteinising hormone (LH) and inhibin were measured at 4 months of age. At weaning (6 months) blood insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) and flight time were recorded. Body composition traits of fat depth and eye-muscle area were determined by ultrasonography at 15 months of age when additional measurements of liveweight, hip height and body condition score were recorded. Bull breeding soundness was evaluated at ~12, 18 and 24 months of age when measurements of scrotal circumference, sheath score, semen mass activity, progressive motility of individual sperm and percent morphologically normal sperm were recorded. Magnitude of heritability and genetic correlations changed across time for some traits. Heritability of LH, inhibin, IGF-I and of 18-month scrotal circumference, mass activity, progressive motility and percent normal sperm was 0.31, 0.74, 0.44, 0.75, 0.24, 0.15 and 0.25, respectively, for Brahmans and 0.48, 0.72, 0.36, 0.43, 0.13, 0.15 and 0.20, respectively, for Tropical Composites. Inhibin and IGF-I had moderate genetic association with percent normal sperm at 24 months in Brahmans but low to negligible associations in Tropical Composites. Body condition score in Brahmans and sperm motility (mass and individual) traits in both genotypes had moderate to strong genetic correlation with percent normal sperm and may prove useful candidates for indirect selection. There is scope to increase scrotal circumference by selection and this will be associated with favourable correlated responses of improved semen quality in both genotypes. The lack of genetic antagonism among bull traits indicates that selection for improved semen quality will not adversely affect other production traits.

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