A preliminary study on selected utility traits and mineral composition of meat in King pigeons managed under extensive system in Poland

The study was conducted on King pigeons managed by a private breeder in Poland. The studied population consisted of three years old parent pigeon pairs of the King breed and the their offspring obtained during the breeding season (March-November). The aims of the research involved an evaluation of the reproductive performance of King pigeons, analysis of growth rate, survival, slaughter performance and mineral composition of squab meat. In the analyzed breeding season, an average of 8.7 eggs was obtained per female. The fertilization rate and hatching rate of chicks from fertilized eggs were 80.0% and 75.8%, respectively. The highest weight gain in pigeons was observed between the date of hatching and 4 weeks of age. Pigeons slaughtered at 6 weeks of age were characterized by higher slaughter performance (66.1%) than 4 week-old pigeons (60.4%). Meat of this pigeon breed is a rich source of valuable minerals such as potassium (4060 mg per kg), magnesium (296 mg per kg), iron (52 mg per kg), zinc (9 mg per kg) and silicon (30 mg per kg).

Sarcocystis cristata sp. nov. (Apicomplexa, Sarcocystidae) in the imported great blue turaco Corythaeola cristata (Aves, Musophagidae)

Background Species of Sarcocystis are parasitic protozoa in poikilothermic and homeothermic animals. Out of the 26 valid species in birds as intermediate hosts, none has been reported in those of the order Musophagiformes, such as the great blue turaco Corythaeola cristata (Vieillot, 1816), which is a bird endemic to Central and Western Africa. The examination of great blue turacos imported from the Central Africa Republic to Czech Republic allowed the morphological and molecular characterization of a new species of Sarcocystis. Methods Four turacos imported from the Central Africa Republic to a private breeder (Czech Republic) underwent parasitological examination for the presence of sarcocysts through wet mounts of breast, heart and leg muscles. Found parasites were molecularly and histologically studied by four loci (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, ITS1 and cox1) and haematoxylin and eosin staining, respectively. Results Three out of four examined birds harboured numerous sarcocysts in the breast and leg muscles. No macroscopic lesions where observed. Sarcocysts were microscopic, elongate and ribbon-shaped with a wall characterised by the presence of finger-shaped villar protrusions and filled with numerous elongate, banana-shaped bradyzoites, 11.87–14.84 × 2.05–2.92 µm in size. The new species was most closely related to Sarcocystisalbifronsi, Sarcocystisanasi, Sarcocystisatraii, Sarcocystischloropusae, Sarcocystisrileyi, Sarcocystiswenzeli and Sarcocystis sp. isolate from chicken in the four loci. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first species of Sarcocystis found in a musophagiform bird worldwide. Genetically, S. cristata sp. nov. represents a distinct species. Phylogenetic analyses are useful for predicting potential definitive hosts of the new Sarcocystis species.

Sarcocystis Cristata sp. nov. (Apicomplexa, Sarcocystidae) in The Imported Great Blue Turaco Corythaeola Cristata (Aves, Musophagidae) from Czech Republic

Background: Species of Sarcocystis are parasitic protozoan in poikilothermic and homeothermic animals. Out of the 25 valid avian species, none has been reported in birds of the order Musophagiformes, as the great blue turaco Corythaeola cristata (Vieillot, 1816), which is an endemic bird inhabiting Central and Western Africa. The examination of great blue turacos imported from the Central Africa Republic to Czech Republic allowed the morphological and molecular characterization of a new species of Sarcocystis.Methods: Four turacos imported from the Central Africa Republic to private breeder (Czech Republic) were parasitologically examined through wet mounts of breast, heart and legs muscles for the presence of sarcocysts. Found parasites were molecular and histologically studied by 4 loci (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, ITS1 and cox1) and haematoxylin and eosin stain, respectively. Results: Three out of 4 examined birds (prevalence: 75%) harboured numerous sarcocysts in breast and leg muscles. No macroscopic lesions where observed. Sarcocysts were microscopic, elongate and ribbon-shaped with a wall characterised by the presence of finger-shaped villar protrusions. The new species is molecularly similar to S. albifronsi, S. anasi, S. atraii, S. chloropusae, S. lari and S. rileyi) in the four loci. Conclusions: This is the first species of Sarcocystis in a musophagiform bird around the world. Genetically, S. cristata sp. nov. represents a distinct species. Phylogenetic analyses are useful for predicting potential definitive hosts of the new Sarcocystis species.

Observations regarding the structure of the parotid and mandibular glands in rabbit

Our study aims to investigate the histological structure of two major salivary glands in adult rabbit. We used 5 adult rabbits, 3 males and 2 females, from a private breeder in Cluj. We harvested the salivary glands, fixed them in 10% buffered formalin, dehydrated in ethanol (increasing concentration), clarified in n-butanol and embedded in paraffin. The sections (5 µm thickness) were stained with Goldner’s trichrome method and examined with an Olympus BX41 light microscope. Histologically, parotid gland in rabbit contains only one type of acini, which presents morphological characteristics of serous acini. In mandibular gland, the acini are all the same, similar to the ones in parotid gland. Concerning the general aspect and dimension they are much larger and polymorphic.

Prevalence and Factors Associated With Fecal Shedding of Giardia spp. in Domestic Cats

The prevalence of cats shedding Giardia cysts (13.6%) in the present study was found to be higher than previously reported (1% to 11%) and may reflect a higher sensitivity for the diagnostic test used. The presence of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts, coccidial oocysts, and a clinical history of chronic (>2 weeks) gastrointestinal signs were significantly associated with the presence of Giardia spp. cysts in the feces. There were no associations between the presence of Giardia spp. cysts and type of housing, acute gastrointestinal signs, vomiting, gender, source of cat (i.e., animal shelter versus private breeder), or gastrointestinal parasites other than Cryptosporidium spp. and intestinal coccidial agents.

PRESERVATION OF PHENOTYPES VS. GENOTYPES?GENES

Key examples of germplasm use to resolve industry varietal problems will be reviewed. The pros and cons of preserving phenotypes and genotypes will be presented with a view to the future from a private breeder viewpoint.

Phenotypic and genetic variation for ovulation rate in Cambridge sheep

The Cambridge is a highly prolific composite breed derived mainly from the Clun Forest (53%) and Finnish Landrace (25%) breeds with minor contributions from ten other breeds (Owen et al 1980; Owen, 1982). Ovulation rate in Cambridge ewes is characterised by high variability (range 2-13; CV = 0.55) and high repeatability (r = 0.86) between years (Hanrahan and Owen, 1985). These observations suggest the segregation of a gene with a large effect on ovulation rate. Further investigations of variation in ovulation rate have been undertaken based on a small flock of Cambridge ewes and crossbred progeny of six Cambridge rams.Based on a single measurement of ovulation rate in October, 1983 on Cambridge ewes in the flock of University College of North Wales (UCNW) nine ewes were selected and imported to Ireland, together with four ram lambs, in August, 1984. The ewes chosen were those with the highest ovulation rate of those available (mean = 7.9) and the ram lambs were selected from dams with the highest ovulation rate (mean = 7.0). One additional ram lamb was purchased in 1985 from a private breeder in Northern Ireland who had purchased the parents from the UCNW flock.