2006 Abstracts - American Society of Animal Science

long-term objective is to determine if energy restriction affects longevityand lifetime productivity of prolific gilts that differ in lean growthrate. Gilts were progeny of maternal L M boars mated with females ofeither the UNL Large White-Landrace population (LW x LR, n = 80) orof a UNL line selected 22 generations for increased litter size (L45X, n= 80). Gilts were allowed ad libitum access to diets that met NRCrequirements until 123 d of age when they were randomly assignedwithin litter to treatments. Gilts (40 per line) were allowed ad libitumaccess to feed or were restricted to 75% of ad libitum intake untilbreeding age. Diets provided similar daily intake of all nutrients exceptenergy. Traits were recorded at 14-d intervals beginning at 56 d (BW andfeed intake) or 123 d (10th-rib BF and LMA) to 235 d. Heat checkingbegan at 140 d of age. Data were analyzed with quadratic regressionmodels accounting for random litter effects. The LW x LR gilts were 6.2± 3.0 d younger than L45X gilts at puberty (P = 0.04). Diet did notaffect age at puberty, but an interaction existed (P = 0.04); LW x LR giltswith restricted intake were 5.4 ± 4.0 d younger than those with adlibitum access to feed, whereas L45X gilts with ad libitum access to feedwere 6.1 ± 3.9 d younger than those with restricted intake. The LW x LRgilts grew faster than L45X gilts (P < 0.0001), being 9.6 ± 2.2 kg heavierat 235 d; but BF and LMA relative to BW did not differ. Restrictingenergy intake reduced BF (P < 0.0001) similarly in both populations(10.0 ± 1.1 mm at 235 d). Longissimus muscle area relative to BW wasnot affected by nutritional regimen. Restricting energy intake during giltdevelopment reduced growth rate and rate of BF deposition with littleeffect on LMA per kg of BW. Further research will evaluate effects onreproduction and longevity.Key Words: Pigs, Growth, Feed restriction41 The use of infrared thermography of the eye to assess painin lame dairy cows. J. R. Crossgrove*, B. A. Munsell, and A. J.Zanella, Michigan State University, East Lansing.Lameness and the associated pain impacts the dairy industry because ofits effects on productivity and animal welfare. Previous attempts toobjectively assess pain in cattle have been unsuccessful. Current lamenessand pain detection protocols include gait scoring, force and pressureplates and inspection at hoof trimming. Infrared thermography(IRT) of the eye has been previously used to detect fear and stress incattle and in the early detection of bovine respiratory disease. Theobjective of this study was to examine whether IRT of the eye (eyetemperature) would be a reliable way to assess pain in lame dairy cattle.We hypothesize that lame cows will show higher eye temperature thansound cows and asymmetry in temperature between the left and righteye. In this study, 15 sound and 15 lame Holstein cows were studied.Cows were selected based on parity and locomotion score. All cowswere in their second or third lactation and were less than 40 d in milk.Digital and thermal images were taken of both the right and left eyesonce a day for eleven consecutive days. On day six of the study, cowsâ€hooves were trimmed and all lesions were recorded. Images of the eyewere taken at a distance of approximately 1 m. Differences in eyetemperature were analyzed using a T-test to compare means. There wasno difference (P = 0.126) in eye temperatures between lame (37.08±0.030) and sound (37.148 ± 0.032) cows, no difference (P = 0.686) ineye temperatures between cow with lesions (37.122 ±0.031) and thosewith no lesions (37.104± 0.031), and no difference between left andright eye temperatures in sound (P = 0.431) and lame (P = 0.607) cows.These results suggest that using IRT of the eye to assess pain associatedwith lameness in dairy cattle would be ineffective.Key Words: Infrared thermography, Lameness, Eye temperature42 Effect of egg protein antibody on performance of dairycalves. R. Schnobrich* 1 , H. Chester-Jones 2 , D. Ziegler 2 , R. Larson 3 ,B. Ziegler 3 , and J. Linn 1 , 1 University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 2 Universityof Minnesota, Waseca, 3 Hubbard Feeds, Mankato, MN.This study was conducted to determine if a protein antibody (IgY)preparation derived from eggs produced by chickens vaccinated withbovine rota, corona, E. coli-K99 and cryptosporidia antibodies affectedthe growth and scouring of calves during the first two months of life.Forty heifer calves, born on 3 commercial dairies, were transported tothe SROC between 2 to 5 d of age and randomly assigned to 1 of 2treatments by farm source for a 56 d feeding study. Treatments werecontrol (C) at 0 grams or 9 grams per d of an egg protein antibody (EA)preparation in the AM milk replacer for the first 28 d. All calves werefed 0.28 kg of a 20% CP; 20% fat milk replacer mixed into 2 kg of watertwice daily for 35 d and then once daily until weaning at 42 d. Water andcalf starter (18% CP) were available free-choice throughout the study.Data collection on individual calves included: serum protein concentration;body weights (BW) on arrival, d 14, 28, 42 and 56; daily feedintake and daily fecal scores. All calves were housed individually inpens. Growth and intake data were analyzed using PROC MIXED(significance = P < .05) with initial BW as a covariate. Serum proteinwas similar across treatments averaging 5.5 g/dl. There was no differencein BW at d 14, 28, 42 or 56 or total weight gained through 56 d withC calves gaining 41.2 kg compared to 40.1 kg for EA calves. Egg proteinantibody did not affect the consumption of milk replacer with an averageintake of 20.5 kg DM through weaning. However, EA calves consumedless starter than C calves during the 56 d study (49.4 vs. 53.9 kg).There was a tendency (P = .11) for egg protein antibody to increase feedefficiency averaging 0.58 kg BW gain/kg DMI through 56 d compared to0.55 for control. Daily fecal scores (1 = normal; 4 = very watery) for the56 d averaged 1.53 and 1.56 for C and EA, respectively. In summary,IgY did not affect performance or fecal consistency of calves during thefirst two months of life.Key Words: Dairy calves, Milk replacer, Egg protein antibody43 Assessing farm owners’ attitudes and perceptions aboutlameness of dairy cattle. A. M. Edgecomb*, C. L. Wickens, and D. K.Beede, Michigan State University, East Lansing.Previous research showed that lameness reduces productivity and welfareof the dairy cows. Because management strategies have been suggestedto reduce lameness, it was thought that a better understanding ofthe perceptions of dairy farmers would provide insight. Therefore, perceptionsof dairy farmers were studied using a Survey instrument sentto 1,280 Michigan dairy farmers. Survey return rate was 30.5%. Thedata were analyzed using SPSS® and the Bernoulli proportion tests.Majority (53%) of farmers indicated less than 10% incidence of lamenessand 60% did not believe lameness was a problem in their herds.Moreover, farmers indicated that they not use a specific method fordocumenting lame cows (69%). Additionally, 77% of owners were the14